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The life of Santa Rosa de Lima was one of sacrifice, sacrament and
sanctification.
“For Santa Rosa, the Eucharist was like an SSS tonic,” joked Bishop
Gabriel Malzaire, homilist at last Sunday’s patronal celebration of
the Arima parish. The actual feast day was August 23, the day before,
and was marked with a simple procession and a parang concert (see
News
from the Parishes ).
The annual event - a concelebrated Mass followed by a procession
through the eastern borough’s main streets with the statute of the
saint revered by Carib descendants - was held on the church compound.
Concelebrants were parish priest and Vicar General, Msgr Christian
Pereira; Msgr Urban Peschier; Dominicans Fr Joe Heffernan, former
Malabar parish priest; and deacons Alan Mohammed and Dwight Black.
Preaching the sermon next to the statue of the saint, the bishop of
Roseau, Dominica said it is “impossible to enter any relationship with
God without sacrifice.” St Rose understood this, he continued, citing
her decision to sacrifice her beauty, dress and even relationships,
all with the aim of being closer to God. Some of her actions of
sacrifice might seem “foreign to our culture” – like rubbing pepper on
her face - but all Santa Rosa wanted to do was please God, expecting
nothing in return, he said.
Concerning sacrament, he said this couldn’t be achieved without
sacrifice. “Santa Rosa didn’t cheat God. She wanted to become
sacrament, to be like Jesus, to be a true Christian,” so she spent
time with God.
He said this was a tremendous challenge to us, since if we are to
become sacrament, we too must be willing to spend time with God. He
questioned however how much time do we – himself included – spend,
when everyone seems so busy in today’s modern world.
He described sanctification as the effect of the Eucharist, and
remarked that if our spirituality was as close to Santa Rosa’s, there
would be no problems of insufficient church finances, or a lack of
volunteers for church-related ministries and groups.
Bishop Malzaire said Santa Rosa recognised the “marriage between
prayer and work” and in the later stages of her life worked to help
the sick, the needy, the elderly and the homeless.
“This is a natural overflow of the Eucharist…. What do we celebrate
at the altar, if there are people still suffering? This is our
challenge. To take it from the altar to the world…. Santa Rosa
sanctified the social order and the world in which we live.”
 Arima's
parliamentary representative Penelope Beckles greets Carib Queen
Valentina Medina during the Sign of Peace at Mass in Santa Rosa last
Sunday.
In closing, the St Lucia-born bishop said we live in a time of many
crises - from rampant crime to the breakdown of values - and we seem
enslaved. Santa Rosa was totally free, he stated. “Her quest was to
be, (rather) than to have”, he remarked, ending his homily with the
Shakespearean quote, “To be or not to be, that is the question (we
must answer)”.
Eight large tents were erected in the church courtyard, in front
the presbytery, to offer shade from the mid-morning sun. Inside the
church, a large video screen was set up for the overflow crowd to view
the outdoor Mass.
Seated in the front row was Arima’s parliamentary representative
Culture Minister Penelope Beckles, recently sworn-in Mayor Eustace
Nancis attending his first Santa Rosa Festival, Borough Council
members and representative of the business community.
On the opposite side of the aisle sat members of the Santa Rosa
Carib community, led by Queen Valentina Medina and president Ricardo
Bharath-Hernandez.
A parish choir, under the direction of People of Praise Community
leader Winston Garcia, led the singing.
Representatives of parish communities – Pinto Road, Aripo, Mausica,
Annunciation, Tumpuna - did the Prayers of the Faithful. The Carib
community representative first prayed in Spanish, and then did a
translation. In the presentation of gifts, the Carib community
presented two indigenous items.
Three presentations were made before the closing prayer: a papal
blessing was given to former lay minister Innocent Laban and his wife
Paulina, on the occasion of their 60th wedding anniversary; a bouquet
of flowers was presented to Medina on behalf of the parish to the
Carib community; and a gift was given to Msgr Pereira in recognition
of his recent appointment as monsignor.
With the church bells pealing and under police escort, the
procession began at the church’s Woodford Street entrance, on to
Church Street, Queen Street, pass the Dial to the Arima Market, Hollis
Avenue, back onto Woodford, thence to the square opposite the church
for closing Benediction. After the Benediction, parishioners were
entertained with steel band music as they enjoyed refreshments.
- R Syms |
