Parish News

Sept 8, 2015 : We celebrated the Monthi fest, At 8:15 blessings of the Paddy, near the stage,  Mrs Rekha shatty Commissioner of the the municipality was present she spoke and said Mother Mary is the Mother of the Nature, Last nine days children offered flowers to the Mother that’s why we have little showers of rain, Mother Mary heard our prayer. Then she wished all the faithful. Then children offered the flowers to Mother Mary, and then the paddy or first grain is brought to the Altar in a procession. The offertory procession included the statue of Mother Mary, sugarcane, vegetables, flowers, fruits, bread and wine. The blessed paddy and sugarcanes are then taken home, and the grains are crushed, added to milk, and served to the family members. It is the symobel of family reunions, with members of the family sharing a festal lunch comprising sumptuous vegetarian dishes. In the Church I.C.Y.M and Shalom Stree Sanghatan jointly distributed the Payasam to the faithful. Thereafter there was lucky deep draw conducted by I.C.Y.M. The Festal Mass was celebrated by the the Vigar Rev. Fr. Alfred J Pinto, Homily Preached by Fr Santhosh D’Souza, Fr Antony Monteiro, Fr Vijay Lobo, Fr Maxim Fr Valerian were present.

For Konkani Christians, Monthi Fest is also the festival of the new corn (harvest).

People dressed in colourful attires, carrying paddy and baskets of flowers, were seen going to the churches in processions. Churches across the city and everywhere else brimmed with devotees and reverberated with traditional hymns.

Nine-day Novenas to the Blessed Virgin Mary precede the feast, at the end of which children offer flowers in a ceremonious manner at the grotto of Mother Mary. Sweets are distributed to all the children on the novena days.

The paddy or first grain is brought to the Altar in a procession and blessed by the priest. The offertory procession includes the statue of Mother Mary, sugarcane, vegetables, flowers, fruits, bread and wine.

The blessed paddy and sugarcanes are then taken home, and the grains are crushed, added to milk, and served to the family members.

It is also an occasion for family reunions, with members of the family sharing a festal lunch comprising sumptuous vegetarian dishes. Mangalurean Catholics celebrate this festival with great fervour, no matter which part of the world they are in. 

 Churches brimmed with thousands of faithful on Tuesday September 8 as the feast of Our Lady of Nativity, or Monthi Fest, was celebrated with much devotion.

The feast, marking the birthday of Mother Mary, is celebrated the world over by Catholics as the feast of Immaculate Conception.