Easter Vigil service to celebrate Risen Christ

Mumbai: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after he was crucified on Good Friday is the bedrock of the Christian faith. Celebrated as Easter Sunday, this most important feast of the liturgical calendar falls March 31 this year.The festival draws the curtain on 40 days of Lenten fasting and penance. Families celebrate the annual homecoming or reunion with meat, wine and other temptations they had forgone during Lent.The message of hope and spring inherent in Easter grants it universal appeal across communities. Bakeries and confectioneries have laid out trays of marzipan and chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies, and hot cross buns, most of which are purchased by non-Christians.The archbishop of Bombay Oswald Cardinal Gracias will celebrate Easter Vigil mass at Holy Name School quadrangle, Colaba, at 8.00 pm Saturday March 30.Fr Nigel Barrett, spokesman for the archdiocese of Bombay, said, “Easter Sunday is the day of our Lord’s resurrection. Our faith professes that Jesus who was crucified on Good Friday, rose from the dead three days later on Easter Sunday, symbolising victory over sin and death. The resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith for it signifies the fulfilment of God’s plan for redemption and offers believers the promise of eternal life. It is a day of great joy and hope.”St Andrew’s Church, Bandra, will conduct Easter Vigil service on the school grounds at 8.00 pm on Holy Saturday, which is a day of silence, said assistant priest Fr Clifford D’Souza.Sacred Heart Church in Santacruz will celebrate mass at 10.00 pm. Parish priest Fr Felix D’Souza said, “The service begins with lighting of the fire and the candles. People carry a candle with them which is lit in the beginning and for the second time to renew their faith in God. Holy water is sprinkled on the congregation. At the end of the service, people exchange Easter greetings.”Gleason Barretto of the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat explained the Easter tradition of the indigenous East Indian community. “The festival is called Pasku Cha Sann. ‘Pasku’ comes from the Portuguese word Pascoa (Easter) and Sann is (feast) in the East Indian dialect. In days gone by, the community waited for the priest to bless their home during Easter week but now this has changed and the house is blessed by a family member. The family prepares ethnic delicacies like duck moile, fugyas, varas, mutton khuddi, pork sarpatel, stuffed chicken, moogoori (sweet) and the all- time specialty, khimad. The family celebration starts when all raise their drinks together saying ‘Sukhala’!”Barretto says the East Indian community keeps its Lenten traditions alive through Papiya singing, Kursacha Vaat, Ramacha Pass, Krist Puran and Pasku Cha Sann.