The Parishioners involves themselves in various parish activities.
A sense of brotherhood is now becoming increasingly evident.
Our Parishioners now come together in wards to prepare the liturgy for Sunday Masses.
SCC’s have started functioning. In most wards, after the advent of Somudai’s, community spirit has set in
In the past, all the planning and the execution was done by the parish priests but now the PPC and PAT members work in collaboration with the parish priest.
Litanies near crosses are conducted in Konkani. People have stopped serving liquor after the litanies near these crosses.
Parish feasts are not celebrated individually (Presidents); they are communitarian celebrations. In some of the wards too, the chapel’s/cross feast are celebrated by the ward community
The novenas in the Chapels and Sunday Mass in the church are organized by the somudais.
The priest conducts the funeral rites at the home of the deceased and returns to the Church. The parishioners then bring the body to the church for the Eucharistic Celebration. Serving of the liquor has been stopped. After Mass, the funeral procession is carried on systematically: The congregation line out on either side, up to the cemetery door, allowing the family members to go along with the body to the burial site.
The feast of Our Lady of Hope which was celebrated after the Christmas is preceded and is now celebrated on 19th December in Advent, keeping in mind the season of Hope. We also use this occasion to spiritually prepare our parishioners, for the solemnity of Nativity.
In the past the members of the Confraternities had their own say in making arrangements for the 6th and 7th Santos Passos. Now they work in collaboration with the PPC for the same.
After a lot of conscientising, we now have one concelebrated, multiple intentions daily Mass like silver wedding anniversaries, birthdays, death anniversaries etc. where the whole congregation, as one family, prays for the intentions
Few School Children have started coming for daily Mass.
Intercessory Prayers have been conducted for various occasions – Family Mission, Exposition of the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier in 2004-05, School building work and for the pastoral visit of His Grace and now for the removal of the River Princess.
Booklets (Fr. Almir DeSouza’s booklets) for preparation for funerals and other celebration have been distributed to each family, which help them to prayer on various occasions like Deaths, Birthdays and other family events, etc… They were distributed on the occasion of Mother’s Day now celebrated as Family Day with a part of the collection that comes in from the wards for the August Feast.
Monthly communion for sick/needy is being administered.
Somudai’s are conducting Friday Adorations and Wednesday novenas before Mass with the help of the AFSUZ.
In the Lenten season, ‘the meditation on the way of the cross (at least two) , are organised somudai wise in the respective wards; and also Somudai wise, both in the morning & evening, in the church.
We have ward wise confessions during lent, besides two more days in the Church during the Holy Week.
Most of our Somudai’s organise Lenten/Easter and Christmas celebrations.
The feast of Our Lady of Vailankanni: Before we had novenas for the feast of O. L. of Vailankinni in 4 wards and feast Masses in 2 wards. After conscientising the parishioners we now have novena prayers in chapels and only one feast Mass celebrated in Church which is now celebrated also as family Day. This is followed by a communitarian Dinner prepared by those in the catering business in our village.
Pastoral Theme of the year is introduced in the novenas of Our Lady of Good Death/Assumption in August, carried on for the main feast of Our Lady of Hope in December, reinforced in Chapel novenas and feasts in wards and then carried on in the form of the Way of the cross in the season of Lent.
We do not have burning of crackers for Parish feasts, most chapel feasts and most visits of the statue of Our Lady to homes, most weddings etc…: Because of sound pollution, environmental pollution and in a way are in solidarity with those small children who work in those fire cracker factories. It is also because of the intensity of noise pollution esp. if pregnant mothers/small children in the vicinity as it could affect their hearing. This practice is on for the past 10 years.
Sunday anticipation Mass, in English, is held every Saturday at 5.45pm for the sake of the tourists; the practice of which has not been discouraged.
On Easter/Christmas/Parish Novena Sundays/Parish Feast days we do not have masses in the respective chapels (Saipem, Pintos and Dando). People are encouraged to come for Mass to Church with the PPC members, Animators and those having personal transport helping to take those who can’t travel on their own to Church.