The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart Jesus was celebrated at the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol with great devotion on the 13th of November 2022. It was after a gap of two years since the covid19 pandemic, the faithful were able to participate in the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was a joy to have the faithful back again devoutly participating in the novenas and the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The spiritual preparation for the feast was organised in the following manner. On the day of the blessing of the banner of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the seminary community spent a full day in Eucharistic Adoration, concluding with the Holy Eucharist. Based on the teachings of Pope Francis in his encyclical letter Desiderio Desideravi, the beauty and the meaningfulness of the liturgy in our faith journey, was reflected through the liturgical themes of the novenas and the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Fr. Aleixo Menezes, Rector of the Rachol Seminary was the main celebrant of the feast and Fr. Macson Fernandes, teacher of Scriptures at the Rachol Seminary was the preacher of the Eucharistic celebration. The solemn Eucharistic Mass was celebrated at 4pm in the evening, followed by a candle-lit Eucharistic procession and the Act of Consecration of the seminary. The Santa Cecilia Choir, under the leadership of Fr. Matthew Rebelo animated the congregation in the singing for the vespers and the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
On some days during the novenas there were special prayers and laying of hands, on children, youth, married couples and the sick and old. After the blessing each of them were offered a token of love. Some entertainment activities too were organised after the novena mass, namely Housie and cultural and spiritual music played by the seminary band. Earlier on the morning of the feast day, the seminary band played the traditional ‘Alvarado’ announcing the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the evening after the feast mass the St. Joseph’s Conference of Society of St. Vincent de Paul of the Rachol seminary organised a fete in aid of the less-fortunate brethren. It was a delight to watch the young and old enthusiastic crowd, participating in the kermes for a worthy cause.
The Apostleship of Prayer group of the Rachol Seminary co-ordinated the spiritual activities, for the preparation and celebration of the novenas and feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, later in the evening of the feast day there was a traditional Quermesse organized by St. Joseph Conference in order to generate funds to help the poor.