Doomini– It is rather uncommon to find a group of laity spending a major part of Friday each week in prayer and worship. The parishioners of St John Bosco parish Doomni come by cycle or on foot from villages within five kilometer radius of the tea garden parish in the morning to take part in this optional private devotion.
On arrival in the parish by 10 am, 3rd June, the lay men and women, many of them young people conducted two hours-long public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the Church. After the adoration service and benediction, the parish priest offers them red tea and biscuits which many of them do not take as they are on a volunteer fast.
By mid day, they return to their village the way they came, on foot or by cycle for further prayer and Bible reading.
Mr Elias Musahary the catechist of Bonga village, some 5 kms away from the centre is leader of the group.
“We are happy to make it every Friday to come to the church to be with Jesus, and this Friday it is the first Friday of the month dedicated to Sacred Heart of Jesus,” says Mr Musahary who looks just a little over 50 years old as he pushes an old and weather beaten cycle.
On asked how he and his companions could afford to spent the whole of Friday away from their works Musahary says, “We are farmers cultivating our own little fields and we can arrange one more day in the week besides Sunday, for Jesus to seek his blessings for us and our families.”
Explaining how they spend each Friday the Boro catechist says, “On return to our village we hold another prayer meeting for those who could not make it to the parish church. We read the Bible and pray the Rosary.”
The parish priest of St John Bosco parish Doomni Fr Ethelbert Minj has words of praise for his lay faithful, both men and women, who prove to be “mature Catholics who know the priorities and divide their time for work and prayer.”
Fr Minj does not hesitate to share the comment made by Salesian Mission Superior who spent about an hour with the parish council during the extraordinary visitation of the parish last April.
Mission Superior F r. Guillermo Basanes commented saying “I see a high level of maturity of the parish council here” and gave them high ratings for their attitude towards the Church and mission.
Besides, the Friday morning adoration, every Thursday the Principal of Don Bosco School Fr Kuriala, the former Education Commission Secretary of Catholic Bishops Conference of India conducts adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with healing service.
People from various groups attend the service which Fr Kuriala himself conducts.
A practitioner of alternative medicine Fr Kuriala is an expert in both Pranic healing as well as Reiki which effects ‘miraculous healing’ to many who attend the service