Christmas celebration at Our Lady of Assumption Church, Hiriyur, Chitradurga District Diocese of Shimoga
Hiriyur-Chitradurga: Our Lady of Assumption Church, Hiriyur, Chitradurga District, Diocese of Shimoga celebrated Christmas in a grand manner. The Christmas celebration was unveiled by hoisting the star on December 10th. Parishioners together with their Parish Priest Fr Franklin D’Souza organised Carols from December 11th to 16th. The Youth of the Parish prepared a beautiful Crib in front of the Church.
On 24th December night 10:30 pm, the faithful gathered and prayed the Rosary. At 11 pm Choir led the Carols. At 11:45 pm Parish Priest Fr Franklin D’Souza celebrated the Holy Eucharist. He blessed the Crib and kept the baby Jesus in the Crib and paid homage. In his homily, he explained the meaning of incarnation. Jesus the Son of God became a human being to save us from our sins. He said the manger is the symbol of simplicity and humility. To attain divinity we have to be simple and humble. After the Holy Eucharist at 2 am, the faithful gathered in front of the Church to celebrate Christmas by cutting the Christmas cake. Minister of Government of Karnataka and MLA of Hiriyur Constituency Sri. D. Sudhakar sponsored the cake.
December 25th, at 9 am Holy Eucharist was celebrated by Fr Franklin D’Souza and in the evening people from the town visited the Church and prayed with lighted candles. The Youth of the Parish organised a cultural evening as part of the Christmas celebration. Faithful presented 20 programmes with the message of Christmas. Parish Priest Fr Franklin D’Souza was the Chief guest and Councillor Mrs. Madala Maria was the guest. They inaugurated the cultural evening by pouring water to the plant.
Fr Franklin D’Souza in his inaugural Speech wished everyone gathered blessings of Christmas. He said that Christmas is Salvation and everyone needs to experience that Salvation offered by God freely. The poverty of Jesus reminds us God loves the poor and downtrodden. Christmas is hope amidst a hopeless situation. We need to put trust in Jesus and we will overcome the hurdles in life.
Sr. D. Sudhakar, He is currently serving as Cabinet Minister in Government of Karnataka & member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly representing Hiriyur, Minister of Planning and Statistics of Karnataka, visited the Church and he celebrated Christmas with the people by cutting the cake. He was welcomed by the Parish Priest Fr Franklin D’Souza.
In his speech, he upheld the meaning and importance of Christmas. He said that Christmas brings Joy and peace. We need to defeat violence and terrorism and we pray for the peace which Jesus brought to this world. We need to live as brothers and sisters, understanding each other and striving to propagate peace through our lives. He was honoured by Councillor Mrs. Madala Maria and Fr Franklin D’Souza garlanded him and presented a Christmas cake on behalf of the Parish. Cultural programmes continued till 9 pm. Stanley Lawrence thanked the guests as well as all those who gathered. Ms Femina and Ms Lissanie compered the program.