ON THE THRESHOLD

                                                                                               Msgr. Francis Correa.

The Regional Mission Congress to be held in Goa is almost on the threshold. The month of May opens with the inauguration of this Regional event, reminding us once again of our responsibility towards evangelization enshrined in the missionary mandate of Our Lord. The mandate of Jesus Christ ‘Go and proclaim… (Mk. 16:15) is also relevant till today even for our own times. Therefore, the Mission Congress that is to take place within a few weeks is an occasion for each one of us to make an attempt for introspection – trying to enter deep within oneself to see whether one has responded correctly and generously to the Last Will and Testament of the Risen Lord proclaimed at the Mount of Olives when going up to His heavenly Father.

Date Deferred:
Though the Mission Congress was due to commence on the 30th of April, 2009, in view of the scheduled dates of the elections affecting some areas of the Western Regions, the organizing committee has taken a wise decision to defer this assembly. This was with a view to enable the delegates to fulfill their civil obligation of exercising their franchise at their own polling stations before proceeding to participant in the religious event. The timely-decision was highly appreciated by the hierarchy, the clergy and the faithful as well.

The Event: The First-Ever:
This forthcoming Regional Mission Congress is the first of its kind. Never in the history of the local Church of the Western Region has an event of this nature ever taken place. Never before have the Gujarathi, Marathi and Konkani-speaking faithful ever assembled with their Spiritual leaders to intensely reflect upon their baptismal commitment of being ‘light to’ and ‘reaching out to’ the brethren of other faiths. Some 575 delegates from the 15 dioceses in Maharashtra, Gujrat and Goa will be attending the gathering under the leadership of their respective pastors. There 4 Archbishops and 11 Bishops who will be attending the gathering. His will be held at Pilar, Goa in the venue which will be called for the occasion Bl. Joseph Vaz Sabhamandir, in honour of the great missionary of this land. This is going to be a glorious experience giving the hierarchy, the clergy, the religious and the faithful an opportunity to come together in a prayerful atmosphere to seriously reflect upon their God-given missionary responsibility.

The Theme:
This coming together has a focus. The Congress has a Main theme. The theme is worded in this fashion: ‘Witnessing to the Life of Jesus in the Western Region’. In the words of St. Paul the theme can be expressed: ‘Aglow with the Spirit; witness the Lord’  (cf. Rom 12:11).
This main theme is further divided into three sub–themes for three days, each having a specific focus for the day:
– The sub-theme of the first day is: ‘Touched by the Lord Jesus’. To put it simply in the spirit of the letter of St. Paul to the Romans, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit’ (Rom 5:5).
- The sub-theme of the second day is: ‘Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus’. To put it in the words of the beloved evangelist John: ‘He whom God has sent speaks the word of God for He gives the Spirit without measure’ (Jn 3:34).
– The last day concludes the entire event with the focus: ‘Sharing And Celebrating In Jesus’ This event asks the participants to leave the premises to ‘Live (walk) in the Spirit…’ (Gal 5:16).
 
The Granth Dindi:
This Regional event will see the light of day with something that is very unique. It will open with a Granth Dindi. The ‘Granth Dindi’ is a procession in which a literary work is carried ceremoniously and reverently. In the procession that will take place in Goa, the famous epic of Fr. Thomas Stephens entitled ‘Kristpuran’ will be carried in a Palkhi accompanied by the music of the cymbals. Having solemnly enthroned it upon the dais, two prelates of the Church will garland it and perform aarti respectively.

The Main Ceremonies:
Though the Mission Congress will commence with a simple prayer service, the Inaugural Eucharist will be celebrated on the eve of the first day by His Eminence Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay. The Bombay choir will be in attendance at this ceremony.
On the second day, the Liturgical service will be conducted in the Syrian-rite. The language adopted, however, in the liturgy will be English for the benefit of all the participants. The Syrian choir will be in attendance.
The three-day event will conclude with a solemn Eucharistic celebration, the Chief Celebrant of which will be His Grace Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferao, the Partiarch of Goa. The Goa choir will be in attendance at this service.

The Keynote Address:
Bishop Valerian D’Souza of Pune in his Keynote Address will try to elaborate upon our personal response to the mandate of the Lord. This Keynote address will be the real key that will help us to unlock our own hearts to find out the answers first from within ourselves and thereupon open the hearts of all the Christian brethren of the 15 dioceses within the region. This presentation may not be so much of an ‘address’ but ‘a friendly sharing’ – a dialogue. It will only be a key that will open the door to search what is inside the mansion -. a key that will open the door to find out what is in the Kingdom of God.
This Keynote address will be a note not the symphony. This note will help us to find the right music, which has to be ringing into our ears all the time. The participants will have to discover the ‘music’ as well as its ‘symphony’. It will touch upon some relevant aspects, giving us an inkling into the teaching of the Magesterium, elaborately contained in the Apostolic Exhortation, the Evangelii Nunciandi, as well as in the encyclical Redemptoris Missio, and finally bringing us home to a homely atmosphere in Ecclesia in Asia

The Panel Sharing:
There will be a panel sharing by the grass-root level workers. These members of the first panel will share their own conversion experience as it was in the case of Saul who became Paul. The panel of speakers of the second session will explain how their encounter with Christ is seen in their day-to-day life when interacting with people of other faiths. The third panel will consist of the key persons from the members of other faiths. Our Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist friends will tell the delegates what they think of the Christian community and how they are impressed or not impressed by their day-to-day lifestyle and behaviour. This will provide the participants sufficient food for thought for introspection. It will also help them to draw necessary resolution for their life and for the life of the community at large.
With the enriching interaction of the 600 delegates coming from 3 states and their prayerful reflection and fellowship, the delegates of each diocese are expected to take along with them three resolutions - the fruit of their deliberations and group discussions. With their hands outstretched they will pledge that when returning to their own dioceses they will not be just preaching the Gospel according to the evangelists but translating it into their own day-to-day life for others to read.