September 8 is the feast of Mary, mother of Jesus. The feast, marking the birthday of Mother Mary is a very special feast for the Catholics of coastal Karnataka and is fondly called as Monthi Fest in Konkani. It is also celebrated as the family feast and harvest feast.
The students and staff of St Aloysius College, AIMIT came together on September 7, 2020 to celebrate this grand feast of Mother Mary. The celebration began with the blessing of the paddy corn, followed by the Holy Eucharist.
The main celebrant of the festive Mass was Fr Wilson Moras SJ. In his homily, Fr Moras enlightened the devotees as to why Mother Mary is given great prominence in the Catholic Church. He said that every devotion of Mother Mary is to lead the faithful to Jesus and make Christ known. “The call for us Christians is to become like Mary, imitate her motherhood and give birth to Jesus by making him known to the people we come across in our daily life,” he said.
Fr Moras also said that just as Mary said yes to God, “we must offer ourselves to God’s will and say yes to God, yes to family, yes to love, life, responsibility, solidarity, justice, social responsibility, truth and yes to respect others.”
The celebration ended with the distribution of sugarcane and a cup of traditional Mangalorean payasam.