Enjoy yourselves for Carnival…know your limits
February 15, 2023
Work on a Carnival renewal – from inside out
February 15, 2023
Our Lady of Lourdes RC, Tacarigua, one of the communities which is a part of the Holy Trinity RC Parish, Arouca celebrated its Feast Day recently with a week of celebrations that included a Triduum.
This was indeed a special occasion for the Tacarigua community. The entire programme was planned by members of the Community Council who are extremely passionate to see God’s people grow from strength to strength. The celebration started with nine days of novena.
The first two days, February 2 and 3, were devoted to personal reflection at home. A copy of the novena and the programme to be followed was placed on the church’s social media platforms as well as hard copies given out at church in order to cater to all the members of our community.
On February 4 and 5, the church prayed the novena 15 minutes before the commencement of Mass. Many parishioners arrived early just to be part of this wonderful experience.
On February 6 and 7, to reach all parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes RC Church community, Tacarigua and the wider Holy Trinity RC Parish, virtual sessions were held via the Zoom platform. The two evenings were well spent with parishioners logging in and taking an active part in the novena.
The first evening was led by the ladies of the Society of St Vincent de Paul and the second evening was led by the male Extraordinary Ministers. The two groups are well deserving of commendation for a job well done.
The first day of the Triduum February 8, Holy Mass was celebrated by our own Parish Priest Fr Gregory Mc Lawrence CSSp who delivered his homily on the theme: The Almighty has done great things for me, Holy is His name. From early that afternoon, parishioners began to arrive at the church, eagerly awaiting the start of the Triduum.
Fr Mc Lawrence reminded us that we are conquerors and like Mother Mary, the favour of God is upon us. We are called to epitomise the Holy Spirit and as Mother Mary tells us, “Do whatever He tells you”.
On February 9, we were graced by the presence of one of our former parish priests Fr Dexter Brereton CSSp. Fr Brereton broke up his talk into three parts: the Bible, the Catholic teaching on Mary, and how the theme is true to us in 2023.
He mentioned that Mary is a source of strength and consolation, and encouraged us to be a voice for the right things and the change we want to see in the future.
Finally, the last day (February 10) was celebrated by Fr Raymond Francis who related the theme to Psalm 126. Consequently, he spoke to the fact that we are encouraged to be transformed from hopelessness and see God’s hands in everything that we do. It was indeed a powerful message of healing for God’s people.
On Saturday, February 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, and the Church’s World Day of the Sick, the sun was shining brilliantly as many of our sick and shut-ins came from many different parishes throughout the country to be part of the celebration of Holy Mass.
Fr Eliaza Mulemba CSSp assured us that God is interested in the affairs of the world. Our Lady comes to show God’s intervention and reflects our experiences and history as a people and as individuals.
Moreover, Our Lady appears to bring healing. He called on us to always keep alive the spirit of Our Lady in the ‘engine room’ of our lives.
All the ill persons present were anointed and a special prayer of healing was prayed. Members were treated to a special sharing at the end of the morning Mass. It must be noted that on all days of the Triduum there were over 100 persons in attendance.
On Sunday, February 12, a final celebration and sharing was done concluding with Holy Mass celebrated by Fr John Theodore CSSp and Fr Mc Lawrence. It was indeed a wonderful end to a beautiful, holy and spirit-filled celebration.
—Damian Legerton
