St. Sebastian Church

December is the last month of the Calendar, a month which is eagerly awaited by all Catholics as well as others. It is a time to be joyful. A time where families unite to celebrate the birth of Christ. Its Christmas time.  As the magazine reaches you we will be already in the mood of celebrating Christmas, with the markets flooded with decorations, Christmas carols are in the air,  and we listen to this music, as it helps us to come in the right spirit, right mood. But what is Christmas time?  Read more

Daisy and Amanda were schoolmates. Daisy hailed from a humble background while Amanda’s parents were from a rich and prosperous family. With the same education and almost similar career prospects, Daisy ended up toiling hard for a decade. Meanwhile, she married and had two beautiful children. Although Daisy earned a decent salary, she believed in enjoying the good things in life when she could afford them. However, her extravagant lifestyle resulted in lack of adequate savings to fall back on. Read more

I was on a short vacation to Europe, to cut off from my usual routines. I visited England, Rome-Vatican, Venice-Italy and finally Lisbon-Fatima. I was fortunate to get a glimpse of our Pope Francis, who appeared on the window, recited some prayers and then blessed the multitude of people, who inspite of hot sunshine, thronged the Basilica square. It was an awesome feeling.
Wherever I went, one thing which struck me most, at every nook and corner was the ‘Discipline’. The respect and fear of the law, little scope for breaking the rules. Be it the parking, traffic signals, queue systems everywhere, respect to elderly people and women, zebra crossings, everything is streamlined. Every possible act is captured on CCTVs with lot of monitors which record speeds of vehicles zooming along. The people of these countries must be really proud to boast of these nearly inch-perfect surroundings. Read more

Every month of the Calendar year is dedicated to some event or for a specific purpose, wherein the laity is requested to pray for the cause or commemorate the festivity.
The month of October is dedicated as month of the Rosary. The month of December is awaited as Christmas time. In any month of the calendar you will recall as what is most important in that particular month. Read more

In our Christian faith, we refer to our Lord Jesus, as ‘Christ the King”, a king of the Kingdom of God and not of any earthly kingdom. We believe that Jesus Christ is seated at the Right Hand of God, our Heavenly Father, ruling this kingdom.
By essence and by nature, Christ has dominion over all creatures. He is one with the Father and has all things in common with Him and therefore has necessarily supreme and absolute dominion over all the things that are created. Angels and the mankind are His subjects. He is our King by natural right as well, as He is our Redeemer. Christ has purchased us with a great price of His own life. We are no longer our own property but our bodies have become ‘members of Christ’. Jesus Himself said, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. (Mathew 28:18). Yes God has bestowed upon Christ, the nations of the World as His special possession and dominion. Read more

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru once said “The children of today will make the India of tomorrow. The way we bring them up will determine the future of the country”. He was known for his love and affection towards children, Nehru was affectionately addressed as Chacha Nehru.
The day talks about the importance of the rights to education care and a safe childhood. Nehru is often cited as saying that children should be lovingly nurtured as they are the nation’s future citizens.
Prior to the death of Jawaharlal Nehru, India celebrated November 20 as Children’s day as observed by United Nations but following his demise in 1964 Nehru’s birthday was unanimously decided to be celebrated as Bal Diwas or Children’s day in India. This day is celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm in the country. It’s a fun day for kids, it emphasizes the rights and needs of children.

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We all know that being socially aware means that you understand how you react to different social situations and effectively modify your interactions with other people, so that you achieve the best results. According to Karl Marx, human beings enter into certain productive or economic relations which lead to a form of social consciousness. Social awareness gives us the ability to understand and respond to others’ needs. By doing so, we improve our social skills and gain the respect of others. To achieve this, basically, we need to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. Someone who is desperate and in need of help. Empathy helps us understand someone else’s perspective. In a nutshell, social awareness is defined as being aware of the problems that different societies and communities face on a day-to-day basis. Read more

We remember people not only for what they have done for themselves but far more for what they have contributed to society at large. Their selfless dedication to the service of humanity makes them live on forever in our minds. One of them was Mahatma Gandhi, who spent his life sharing and spreading the message of love, peace and joy.
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