The Annual Catechism Day was meaningfully celebrated at Guardian Angel Church on Sunday, 26th February 2023 with the Eucharistic Celebration at 9.30 a.m. Rev. Fr William Menezes the Parish Priest and Rev. Fr Lawrence Cutinha, the Assistant Parish Priest concelebrated the Holy Eucharist. Fr William Menezes in his homily highlighted the importance of Catechism to children. Catechism helps to build up and strengthen faith in one’s life. He emphasized that faith comes from hearing the Word of God and enables to spend time with Jesus and fight the struggle of temptation. Jesus being the Son of God also went through temptation but Jesus fought the battle through prayer. During the Holy Mass, thanksgiving prayers were offered to the Triune God for bestowing the blessings throughout the year. The liturgy was led by the children and all took active participation in the Eucharistic banquet.
The Catechism Day prize distribution and the cultural programme put forth by the students was held at 5.30 p.m. at the Golden Jubilee Hall. Children from different classes performed various value based cultural programmes. Vival Hasnia Serrao welcomed the dignitaries. Leon D’Souza and Vibha Mascarenhas shared their experience of being a catechism student. Sr. Lorna the coordinator of the Sunday Catechism presented a brief annual report of the Catechism classes. She mentioned that the catechism classes of this year were more interesting and the children were enthusiastic to participate actively in all the activities. The entire year of Catechism classes focused more on importance of the Word of God. The initiatives taken by the parish priest and assistant parish priest and the catechism teachers were effective to build up strong foundation of Christian faith in the life of the children. Mrs. Jessie Pinto the Chief Guest for the programme appreciated the efforts of parents and teachers in bringing children for regular catechism classes. She also appreciated the collective responsibility of leading the children on the right direction in order to acquire the good values in the life of children.
Rev. F rWilliam Menezes the Parish Priest delivered the message to the parents and the gathering regarding the importance of faith and the Gospel values that need to be instilled in the children. He thanked all the catechism teachers for their selfless service to the church. Rev. Fr Lawrence Cutinha, Mr. Paul Rodrigues the Vice President. Mrs. Lolina D’Souza the Secretary of the Parish Pastoral Council, and Ms. Renita Menezes the co-ordinator of 21 pastoral commissions were present for the Programme. Finally, prizes were given to the children for their good performance in the catechism exams and for securing 100 percent attendance. Neil Kenneth Fernandes and Reeva Jane D’Souza proposed vote of thanks. Shalom D’Souza and Princia Shalom Pinto compèred the entire cultural programme. At the end refreshments were served to the children.
