By Matters India Reporter

Panaji: Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa and Daman on November 26 opened the Biblical Year of the Pauline Family in the western Indian state.

The Pauline Family members and the Diocesan Centre for Biblical Apostolate launched the year with the theme “That the Word of the Lord may speed forward.”

The occasion marked the 49th death anniversary of Blessed James Alberione, the founder of the Pauline Family.

In his homily at the inaugural Mass, Archbishop Ferrao urged Catholics to fearlessly share the message of Christ in modern times.

A talk on the life and mission of Blessed Alberione was telecast on CCR TV in the evening. This is the first of seven talks on “Holiness in the Pauline Family.” The talks will be available on YouTube, the organizers told Matters India.

Referring to the parable of the Sower in the Bible, the archbishop said Jesus got out of the comfort zone of his home and moved out and entered a unsteady boat in the moving waters, from where he spoke to the crowd on the land.

“He took risk in sharing the message of his Heavenly Father. He tirelessly proclaimed the Word through his words and actions. He went around sowing the seeds of faith and love. He believed in his sowing and in its fecundity though some of it fell on rocky grounds, among thorny bushes, or some were eaten up by birds,” the prelate explained.

The Goa archbishop also noted that the words of Jesus were not always welcomed.

“Yet he did not stop. People like the Samaritan woman, Zacchaeus, Mary of Magdala accepted his message,” he explained.

According to him, a person transforms when Jesus enters his or her life.

“We see it in the life of St Paul and St Francis Xavier for whose feast we are preparing now,” he added.

Goa celebrates the feast of Saint Francis Xavier on December 3.

According to Archbishop Ferrao, Blessed Alberione lived the Word with devotion. “He is a powerful testimony of living the Word. It is the Word that gave him strength to give life to 5 Religious Institutes, 4 secular Institutes and one Association of Pauline Cooperators in the Church.”

The archbishop urged the faithful to follow the path of the saints who left their comfort zones to serve God’s people, sharing with them the Word that heals and vivifies.

The prelate released an eight-point program envisaged for the year, presented in a fan-shaped brochure.

According to Selvio Fernandes, a retired marketing official who designed the brochure, “The fan shaped brochure signifies our desire to spread the Gospel message far and wide to all, through the various programs.”

The year-long program envisaged by the committee for the Pauline Biblical Year in Goa for the public includes an online Bible quiz that aims to encourage the faithful read the Bible and discover new ways to face the current pandemic.

Another item is to “Showcase Your Talents” picking up a miracle or a story from the Bible and use the social media.

A painting contest, “Capture the Beauty of Biblical Virtues,” invites teenagers to discover the Biblical personalities who have influenced them.