Note : This is an article I wrote about a special the Sancoale Youth shared with the youth of Grace Church.
It was written some time ago, but I thought it would be a good read in case anyone wanted to relive the experience.
A DAY WITH BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ
“I give myself and all the I possess so that She, as my true Mistress and Mother,
may dispose of me and my possessions as she wills”.
These are excerpts from the ‘Letter of Bondage’ written by a selfless man who
lived an extraordinary and truly sacred life. His road to sanctity began the moment
he was born and still continuous 300 years after his death. As youth of the modern
age, many times we fail to lead idealistic lives; so in order to give direction to our
lives, Fr. Ramiro and Fr. Milagres, conceptualized ‘A day with Blessed Joseph Vaz’
a beautiful initiative to get a deeper insight into the life of Goa’s Holy Son, giving us
a sacred inspiration for life along with uniting the youth of Grace Church Margao
and the youth of Sancoale (Blessed Joseph Vaz-home village) for a day.
A perfect Sunday that had the youth exchanging warm greetings, it was to be a
long day for reflection, recollection and sharing of some quality time with the
almighty and some new found friends.
First stop, It was Sancoale’s old church. From the Zuari Bridge it may seems like
a familiar sight: a gleaming white church like any other, but as we approach the
place one realizes that the church is in total ruins and all the remains standing
miraculously, is just the façade. We sit ourselves comfortably in a set up place that
used to be part of the church with a little chapel behind us, that was built around
the alter; remnants of this remarkable Church, brings in curiosity for those of us
who don’t know the deep history of the place and the suffering that plagued its
people, but soon we were enlightened by a brief insight onto the history of the
place by a local, Seby Fernandes.
Moments with ourselves; had us revisiting the bold yet humbling ‘Letter of
Bondage’ by Blessed Joseph Vaz to Mother Mary, through which we discovered
a true fanatic and devotee of Our Virgin mother. Given time to ourselves, we had
the chance to get a glimpse of this love and experience it ourselves. Our solemn
prayers have a strong hold on us, and as long as we hold on to that, we shall never
lose our way from the church and that’s what we a reassured of.
“The doors of Cortalim church miraculously opened on its own for him, when he
went to visit the Blessed Sacrament late at night”.
The Church of Saints Philip and James, is another historical monument that holds
great significance in the life of Blessed Joseph Vaz and consequently in the lives of
those who wish to know more about him. The ‘little saint’ as the villagers would
call him embraced the church, and made sure he spread his love for the church
everywhere he went. We get a feel of that same power the moment you step on to
the threshold of the church.
“Bl. Joseph Vaz never missed saying his prayers everyday and he loved saying
the Holy Rosary. This made me contemplate on my life and inspired me to do the
same. Apart from this, something which is still strong on my mind is “The Letter
of Bondage.” This is the letter wherein Bl. Joseph Vaz wrote about surrendering
himself wholly to Mother Mary. This shows his great devotion towards Mother
Mary. Such passion and love for Mother Mary made me deepen my relationship
with Mamma Mary. In his lifetime Bl. Joseph Vaz experienced great miracles.
At midnight when he used to go to pray at the church of Cortalim, the doors of
this church would open up for him on their own. And our priests thought of re-
enacting the same event for us. We were all excited about it and in the course of
this excitement when I entered the church; I felt overwhelming peace dawning
over me which is unexplainable.”
- Stephanie (Grace Church Youth)
On to the Sanctuary that is the centre of his devotion, The Sanctuary Blessed
Joseph Vaz; a place that attracts thousands from all walks of life. Up the hill we
climb through ‘The station of the Cross’ with solemn hearts; the heat of the harsh
sun fails to deter our enthusiasm for the climb. Atop the hillock one experiences
a warm calm; a certain peace amid the tiredness. Enter the Sanctuary and one
finds that everything about this shrine explains aspects his life; the glass paintings
above chronicles his life from birth till after his passing from the mortal world and
his miracles beyond it. Here we are inspired by the greatness of a humble priest
who has denounced any luxury and embraced the life of a mere commoner.
“As soon as he consecrated himself as a slave of Mary, he gave up on wearing
slippers or shoes for life.” This was a sign that he had a self-imposed task to
complete and that he was destined leave his foot-prints everywhere he went.
(Literally as well)
A brisk 5 min walk and we his reach the ancestral home; now another centre to
spread his devotion. This quaint little house now attracts thousands of devotees
every year. A glimpse of the significant jackfruit tree that still stands strong after
300 years is a clear testimony of faith.
As we drive back to the Our Lady of Health Church, in deep thoughts you are
enlightened; you see that every part of this village has prints of this holy man. He
truly walked into our lives and left a mark for a lifetime. The day concluded with a
special Eucharistic celebration by Fr. Milagres and Fr. Ramiro, for the youth and by
the youth with the melodious chants of the Grace Church youth.
“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with
us or we find it not.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
The whole day was a sacred experience that will last us a lifetime. One can
ascertain that each and every youth that attended this historical experience will
definitely have a story to tell, more people to inspire and spread the life of this
remarkable man.
“Everything about Bl. Joseph Vaz has inspired me to be a better youngster.”
- Stephanie
“I knew nothing about this great man before; except his name. It was meaningful;
learning about his life especially as we prepare ourselves this Lenten season. It
was a plus point for me since I’m teaching; I got to share my experience with my
students in school which they really enjoyed and wanted to know more and more
about Blessed Joseph Vaz and also visit the place too.. It was really inspiring…”
- Daisy
“A day with Bl. Joseph Vaz made me realize the great influx of opportunity and
privileges I have to showcase my talents as well as work with greater zeal in the
service of God.” -Juvena
It was truly an impactful day that shall never be forgotten. Though Blessed Joseph
Vaz lived 300yrs ago, his story is still very relevant and inspiring today, and many
centuries ahead…
