Festum festorum being celebrated at Holy Cross Parish, Dimapur on April 19 night.
Dimapur: Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil, the bishop of Kohima, celebrated the festum festorum (feast of feasts) Easter held on Saturday night at Holy Cross Parish, Dimapur. The service began at 10:00 pm and ended at midnight. Rev. Fr. P. J. Thomas, the Parish Priest, Fr. Thomas Toretkiu, Bishop’s Secretary and many other priests con-celebrated with the Bishop, said a press release received here.
Dimapur: Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil, the bishop of Kohima, celebrated the festum festorum (feast of feasts) Easter held on Saturday night at Holy Cross Parish, Dimapur. The service began at 10:00 pm and ended at midnight. Rev. Fr. P. J. Thomas, the Parish Priest, Fr. Thomas Toretkiu, Bishop’s Secretary and many other priests con-celebrated with the Bishop, said a press release received here.
The service had four parts – the service of the light, listening to the word of God, the blessing of the holy water and renewal of the baptismal promise and the Eucharist. The service began with the blessing of new fire outside the Church symbolizing the divine life of Jesus which was not destroyed on the cross, informed the note. The bishop explained the meaning of the symbols: the Paschal Candle, representing body of Christ and the Greek letters of Alpha and Omega, together with the year 2014 show that Christ is the Lord of all things, of all times, of all peoples. The five grains INSERT IGNOREed on to the candle symbolized the five wounds of Christ. The faithful, then, proceeded to the Church led by Bishop with the lighted Paschal Candle, showing Christ as the new leader to lead all people to God.
Bishop in his Homily said that resurrection is the key and core of Christian faith (1 Cor 15) and theme of apostolic preaching. “Easter is the guarantee of our own resurrection and it reminds us that life is worth living,” the Bishop asserted. “Resurrection is the power of God over all the forces that diminish and destroy life. Easter powerfully proclaims that death is not the end of human life, but a door way to better and fuller life. It tells us that no tomb can hold us down – the tomb of despair, discouragement, doubt or sin. Every Good Friday in our life has also an Easter Sunday. We do not have to wait until death to share in the power of the resurrection.”
In fact, the Bishop enunciated, “Christ has been raised from the dead! He was not only raised from the dead to prove to us that He is God; He was raised to prove to us that we will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.”
After the homily, the bishop blessed the water, sign of purification and life, and he administered the renewal of baptismal promises which was followed by the Eucharistic celebration.
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