San Francisco, May 10: It was an eventful Sunday for the Indian Catholic families of Northern California as they joined to celebrate the Month of Our Lady at Mass (Mai Maino) on May 6th at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church in California.
The service was all the more special and solemn as the faith community of Indian Catholics in Northern California was consecrated to Mother Mary. The community members congregated and prayed holy rosary before the service. This was followed by a solemn mass. The holy mass was celebrated by Fr George Aranha. Mother Mary is the patron for the faith community of Indian Catholic families in Northern California.
The Mass began with all children walking in procession with flowers in their hands to offer to Mother Mary. The congregation sang hymns expressing their love and gratitude to our lady. Fr George Aranha a dynamic pastor from the San Jose diocese has a special talent for knowing the Gospel verbatim by memory. Fr George persuasively stressed to the faith community of Indian Catholics to strive to build an enduring identity on Christian love. All children were called to the altar by Fr George for a special blessing.
Following the mass the members met in the adjoining church hall for a delicious Indian lunch to be followed by games and fun activities for everyone. As always the lunch was cooked by the members with everyone chipping in to make it a sumptuous meal. The motherhood of Mary was revered in a touching way during the celebration as children individually presented to their own mothers in the audience a stem of flowers. It was a beautiful site to see the mothers touched by this gesture warmly hugging their children. An egg hunt was arranged for the kids. Children had a fun time treasure hunting for eggs in the church garden.
The Indian Catholic community of Northern California looks forward to INFOCUS community events. Several members from all over Northern California commute several miles to make it to these gatherings. The members and their families get to socialize with an Indian Catholic faith community. They get to relive some of the traditions of their Catholic upbringing back in India. Importantly it provides their kids who are growing in the United States a valuable opportunity to feel for themselves a sense of India and its rich Christian tradition.
INFOCUS (Indian Families Of Catholic Origin in US) is the faith community of Indian Catholics in Northern California. INFOCUS has a diverse membership of Catholics from India with a large number of Goan and Mangalorean families. Fr George Aranha the pastor of Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish in Palo Alto, California is the group's spiritual guide. Cresentia Lobo wife of Allwyn Lobo is the resource person. INFOCUS celebrates a Catholic Mass followed by a lunch and community celebration every month on a Sunday at 12:30PM. If you are living in Northern California, you and your family are very welcome to attend.
For pictures of this event, visit www.myinfocus.org
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Visit www.myinfocus.org for more information
INFOCUS welcomes Indian Catholics living in Northern California.
About INFOCUS
INFOCUS is a spiritual community group of Indian Catholic in the greater San Francisco Bay Area in California. INFOCUS community members meet every month on a Sunday for a Catholic Mass followed by lunch and recreation.
INFOCUS has a wide range of members as diverse as India. We always meet at the same location -
St.Thomas of Canterbury Church (1522, McCoy Ave, San Jose) at 12:30 for mass.
Please feel free to extend this invitation to family and friends who would like to join us at these gatherings and send us their email address so that we can notify them about future gatherings.Visit www.myinfocus.org for more information