Purushottam Nayak –
Kotamaha, Gajapati, Berhampur: About 5000 faithful, 25 nuns, and 35 priests and two bishops gathered to celebrate the feast of St.Therese of the Child Jesus Carmelite, Virgin Doctor of the Church, Patron of the Mission and patron Saint of Kotamaha, a remote parish of Berhampur diocese of Odisha, Eastern India.
On October 1, 2022 Catholics of Kotamaha Parish consists of 24 substations, honoured the life of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, or St. Therese of Lisieux on her feast day. She is the patron saint of Kotamaha Parish.
Bishop Sarat Chandra Nayak of Berhampur diocese and Bishop Aplinar Senapati, CM, of Rayagada diocese first inaugurated a newly built Mother Mary’s shrine.
“The faithful themselves came forward and contributed in labour, kind and in money to complete this new grotto which took four years shows sign of their strong faith in God and great devotion to Mother Mary,” says Father Paul Plackal, the parish priest who also celebrates 25 years of silver Jubilee of priesthood.
“I am touched with simplicity of people, their firm faith in God and special devotion to St. Therese of the Child Jesus and their love and care,” acknowledges the Parish Priest who was ordained May 18, 1998,
“Every person who has received God’s grace through faith is a temple of the living God. And every gathering of believers is God’s temple,” said main celebrant Msgr. Sarat Chandra Nayak Bishop of Berhampur in his introduction of the solemn Eucharistic celebration quoting 1 Corinthians 6:19.
“God’s temple is the whole building composed of all of those who belong to him through faith. The responsibility we share as Christians to live in the world in such a way that God is truly and obviously present. We are here to live that faith by coming together to thank the Lord for giving us St. Therese of the Child Jesus in our Church,” asserted the prelate.
“Path to greatness is to receive children in his name, that’s because he himself has received us as children. For us to become great, we first need to exercise our divine bond to the full, allow Jesus to receive us as children,” said Msgr. Aplinar Senapat, Congregation of Mission (CM), Bishop of Rayagada in his homily .
“St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, whose feast the Church celebrates today. She became a doctor of the Church, even though she never graduated high school, because she was filled with Divine Wisdom and simplicity and showed us all how to respond to God like beloved children. If we wish to enter the kingdom, we must convert and become like little children having simplicity, honesty, humility, sincerity and purity, “continued the Vincentian prelate refereeing to the Gospel Matthew 18:1-5.
Six children received Holy Communion newly during the parish feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus on the same day.
“I experienced joy and happiness, peace and serenity, fellowship with God. I commemorated the Lord’s death through prayer and meditation and thanked God for Jesus’ life and death after receiving Holy communion,” affirmed teen age girl Swagatika Baliarsingh of Kotamaha Parish studying standard 8.
Mamta Sing mother of Swagatika is proud and grateful to God for this day that her young daughter is united with the Lord after receiving Holy Communion first time.
It was a also a joyful occasion for Maria Angela Varuvel, belonging to the congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate who celebrated her golden jubilee of sisterhood.
The faithful and the young children who received newly holy communion prayed before St. Therese of the Child Jesus to end the terrible Russia and Ukrainian war..
“I thank God for accompanying me for last 50 years to serve Him and His people ,” expressed Sister Maria Angela, the pioneer of this parish serving the people since 2001 when the parish was started first.
Varuvel received final profession May 18, 1998 at Kodar Diocese of Tamil Nadu, the southern state of India.
Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate known as Nirmola Sister. Known as also P.I.M.E (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions). It was founded in France in the year 1931 by Rev. Louis Albert Michel Nassoy. Over 1000 sisters work in the world. There are about 500 sisters working in India from four provinces and Odisha has the only one community at Kotamaha where the sisters are working since inception of the parish from 2001.
The son of soil Father Pradeep Behera from Kotamaha Parish, another silver jubilarian was also present to thank God for the blessings and graces for last 25 years of priesthood abundantly.
God’s love is immeasurable and unimaginable for me who has been guiding and directing to be better instrument of God in His Kingdom for last 25 years in my priestly life admits Father Pradeep, a principal of Phulbani High School, Kandhamal, Home diocese is Berhampur but he is for the archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar who was ordained in 26.5. 1998.