Indore: Reopening the churches was a boon for Catholics and Christians. All the Catholics of the city were very happy to hear about the reopening of the Churches.
Fr Thomas Rajamanikam said, “To be able to pray to the lord in church and help devotees, is a boon from heaven.”
St Joseph's church, Nanda Nagar conducted four Holy Masses. The worship times were: 6:30 am, 8:00 am, 5:00 pm and 6:30 pm.
“Around 10 small groups called small Christian Communities are in our parish and they are distributed to various worship timings,” Rajamanikam said.
All the devotees maintained social distancing and ensured safety. Thermal screening was done at the entrance of the church. People sanitized themselves before entering the church premises.
All the devotees wore the masks throughout the worship. Churches ensured that standard operating procedure (SOP) for controlling spread of coronavirus is meticulously followed.
All the faithful were excited and grateful to be able to pray collectively in church. They prayed, listened to the word of God from the Holy Bible and received the sacrament.
“It was a great moment for people to receive the sacrament where they are united with Jesus,” Rajamanikam said. Prayers were offered for the speedy invention of vaccine for covid-19. “May Jesus the saviour save the universe from this pandemic, we urged and hoped,” Rajamanikam said.
Christians strengthened their faith & hope
A devotee Rithi Cutinho said, "After six months of lockdown, we are fortunate to come to the Church and participate in Community Worship. My faith is strengthened. Lord Jesus touched my body and soul by coming into my heart. I prayed to Jesus to relieve us from this pandemic".
Rose Mary Francis said, “I gained spiritual strength and peace. My two children got up early in morning and prepared to go to Church. They were spiritually elevated to see the altar. They prayed a lot and gained strength to fulfil their duties."
Shoba Kumrawat said, “I felt that new life has come to me as I entered the Church after six months. Although I had personal prayer at home during this time, yet no possibility of community worship. Today through community prayer I regained spiritual strength and peace."
Preaching of the day
Fr Rajamanikam preached, “We all need to constantly produce fruits in our lives and the lord Jesus expects us to bring good fruits. We need to be united in Jesus Christ as the Vine and the branches. Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches. If we are united with him, we can produce good fruits. The branches will be cut away and burned if we do not produce fruits. Let us remain in his love".
Fr Selvin said, “Jesus is the Truth. We need to constantly search him in our prayer life and speak the truth through our actions and attitudes".
