 |
| Holy Family church lit up for midnight Mass. |
 |
| Christmas visit. |
-Brian Mendonca
The psalm for the midnight Mass on 24th night for Christmas had a line that for me was deeply ironic. As the psalmist praises the day on which the Saviour is born the fourth verse proclaims, 'Then will the trees of the wood shout for joy / at the presence of the Lord, for he comes.' (Psalm 96:13)
There are no trees left - almost none - in Porvorim. They have all been massacred on the altar of development, to make way for the elevated corridor for NH 66.
The Mass at Holy Family church was deeply moving. With the cherubs opening for the choir at 11 p.m., all the seats in the central aisle were taken by then.
The Mass entered with all the priests vested in white. The youth choir was in attendance and the Gloria was sung with gusto. There were several Latin songs which they took which proved they had widened their repertoire. 'Adeste Fidelis' was one such.
The open air service was packed to capacity with people standing throughout. Cake and coffee were sponsored by Cafe Bhonsale. The magnanimous gesture reminded me of Annapurna restaurant, Vasco, which sponsored the snacks for the service at St Andrews church.
This morning we packed boxes of Christmas sweets made by Queenie. We distributed them to all the families on our floor. The decorations went up on 23rd night, when my Christmas break started, and 24th.
The flat at the far end did not answer the bell. When I went downstairs I saw the kid playing. I asked him to come with me to open the door so I could give the box of sweets to an adult. His amma opened the door and was surprised to see me. I introduced myself.
After I gave the box the kid - whose name was Ayaan - and his friend scampered after me and peeked into our place. Ayaan gasped when he saw the Christmas tree and gazed in wonderment. I invited them in and they happily took in the place. As they left I presented them with Santa caps which the wore with glee.
Soon after lunch of sausage pulao relatives of friends on the same floor dropped in. They were visiting from Hounslow, England.
I was invited in by the folks opposite them. The son and his family were visiting from Philadelphia, USA. He too had been a teacher in a college in Goa in Economics. His wife worked in pharma. The kids had attuned to Goa weather, which thankfully has seen a dip in temperatures.
On my way to Panjim in the evening I gave a box of sweets to the officers on duty at the Porvorim police station. They were very grateful. This year they bagged the third place in the all Goa competition for police stations. The first was Vasco, and the second was Mapusa.
On the way back I stepped in to a store in Panjim to pick up items for gifting for the Christmas family get-together at our place tomorrow. But not before I sank my teeth into the signature burger at my fav hole-in-the-wall joint, Lily's at Taleigao.
Comments