On the eve of Christmas, the mood was festive at Guardian Angel Church. With multi-coloured stars twinkling and elaborate lighting, it reminded one of walking the streets of Bethlehem during Christmas season.
At 7.00 p.m. the choir sang the carols that took everyone two thousand years back into history. The enchanting lyrics of the carols brought vivid pictures of that great event into the minds of the Faithful.
The Eucharistic celebration commenced at 7.30 p.m. Mr. Paul Rodrigues, Vice President of the Parish Pastoral Council, led the procession, flanked by altar servers carrying the incense. The mass was concelebrated by Rev. Fr Deep Fernandes, OCD; Rev. Fr William Menezes, Parish Priest; Rev. Fr Jerald Pinto, Socius Priest; and Rev. Fr Felix Moras. At the end of the mass Christmas cake sponsored by Karnataka Bank was distributed.
After the Eucharistic celebration the parishioners exchanged Christmas greetings. Following this, the members of Young Catholic Students took charge of the entertainment. They presented an enthralling flash mob. Children's favourite Santa Clause joined the flash mob, dancing to the tune and distributing chocolates. Mr. Manohar Saldanha took charge of the first part of the entertainment. First, the auction of Christmas was held. There was fierce competition among the bidders. This was followed by drawing the winner of the Lucky Number. The winners of Christmas Card and Christmas Star competition organised by YCS were also declared and prizes distributed. No event is complete without the ever-favourite Housie-Housie game, which was conducted by Mr. Daryl Monteiro, a member of YCS.
The main attraction of Christmas is the Crib. The members of AYM had toiled for hours each night for the past several days working well past midnight to present one of the most beautiful cribs in town. The crowd in front of the crib after the mass vying to take photographs was proof enough that the hard work of our youth has been well appreciated.
The Christmas celebrations would have been incomplete if not captured in the camera. Little Neil Fernandes beautifully captured every moment the celebration so that the parishioners could view them reminiscing the sweet memories.
After the entertainment, the parishioners left for their homes with the peace of the newborn Jesus in their hearts.
Photography: Neil Fernandes
