Kuwait: St Anthony’s Feast was celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at 05.30 pm, by the KONKANI KUTAM, a family of all Konkani speaking people of the Holy Family Cathedral Parish, Kuwait City, working for the spiritual and pastoral welfare of the Konkani community in the Parish under the spiritual director and Asst. Parish Priest Fr (Dr.) Antony Lopez – OFM.Cap, Chancellor and Ecclesiastical Judge of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia and Bombay.
St Anthony’s Novena was followed by the Eucharistic celebration. Fr Xavier D’Souza, OFM.Cap, Asst. Parish priest of Our Lady of Arabia Parish, Ahmadi, Kuwait, was the main celebrant and the Preacher. Fr Antony concelebrated with him. A very large group of devotees of St Anthony attended the festive celebration. In his homily, Fr Xavier D’Souza, stressed the importance of devotion to St Anthony and praying together softly and silently, than making the whole concept and purpose of prayer noisy and disturbing.
The St Joseph’s Konkani choir group of Cathedral Parish, which was born almost one and half years back, sung melodiously, magnificently and excellently for the Novena and the Mass, guided and orchestrated by none other than our Konkani community’s well known music maestro Adrian Gomes of Mangalore/Kuwait.
Lawrence D’Souza (Caesars Group in Kuwait), Pascal and Genevieve Pinto, Dennis and Helen Pinto, Carmo Santos, KCWA members, Konkani Committee members and many of the well known contributors to our Konkani Community were present for the Celebration. Fr Xavier D’Souza, Fr Antony Lopez and Lawrence D’Souza were facilitated.
At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, there was a huge line of faithful people waiting patiently to kiss the statue of St Anthony placed in front of our beloved blessed Virgin Mary’s grotto, which was followed by distribution of bread, juice packs and St Anthony’s Registers, by the Cathedral Parish Pastoral Helpers who did a great job in organizing and guiding the people in an orderly manner.
“Gracious God, You have given us many healing remedies that are a benefit to us when we are sick. Through the miraculous intercession of St Anthony, we ask Your blessing upon the medication prescribed for (mention name) so that he/she may experience healing, and be restored to full health in mind and body. Amen”
