First Ecclesial Visit in a Nutshell

As many as 38 saplings of the United Theological College garden kicked off their first ecclesial journey in style on June 28, 2015 to St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in the heart of Bengaluru city. With full enthusiasm we walked to the Cathedral which is close by and we got a warm welcome by the authorities as well.

We got the first hand information on the tradition of the catholic churches and also it made easy for us to differentiate the tradition of ours. Though we worship the same Lord everywhere, the way of worship and concept of Order of Service differ.

Putting incense around the Altar was new to most of us. During the Service people maintained the sanctity of worship. Another feature of the Catholic tradition is that the deacon with the permission and blessings of the chief priest read the Gospel passage and delivered the sermon. Interestingly, before reading the Gospel passage the deacon offered incense to the Holy Bible.

Only after going to this Cathedral we realized that this Sunday was the 13^th Sunday of this year and they were very particular about this. The sermon was based on Mark 5:21-43. This passage talks about mainly on ‘simple faith’ which was apt for the theological students like us.

One more thing we noticed is that the diocese of Karnataka has circulated the passage and required material for the service. A pamphlet which was in circulation suggests us that the diocese decides the subject for every week and circulates the same across the state. So whichever part of the state you go you will hear the same sermon on that particular day.