In the days I lived and worked in Mumbai, I would pass the St Michael's Church (Mahim Church) at the end of the Mahim causeway everyday. On Wednesdays, I would be particularly irked about the church because the thousands of devotees who came there would snarl up the traffic.
A few years ago, in her constant but somewhat unsuccessful attempts to introduce some best practices in the house, bharya priyaa, aka wife, decided that every Wednesday we (all four family members, self, children and herself who came under suzerainity) would all do the Novena prayers offered at the Mahim church. We, as a family, have been doing this, and, have done the Novena at unlikely locations like Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's. When we get together as a family and visit a church, we say the Novena. I suspect we would do so if we were all to visit the Guruvayoor temple together. I guess Sri Krishna would be OK with that for didn't he say somewhere that whatever was offered in prayer was acceptable, a leaf, water or good intentions.
For some time now I have been including friends and relatives of ours who have serious illnesses in the prayer. I am not looking for a result. Have just been thinking of them as we do the Novena on Wednesdays.
I have been wanting to visit the Mahim church for several years now. However, on previous visits to Bombay in the last few years, something or the other has come up. This time I realised I was going to be in Bombay on a Wednesday, the day on which devotees throng the church, and, I was a bit hesitant about making it through those crowds. Add to it the fact that today is Christmas.
I checked the website (thank God for the internet) and found that the first service is at 6.00am...now, I get up with the milk train and 6am is well into mid day for me. Add to it that many of the faith would have been celebrating the new King's arrival well into the night yesterday, and, may not be in a condition to drag themselves to the Church at 6am, however much their mothers may want them to do so. So, I got into a taxi at 5am and headed off to the Mahim church. There are new roads around Mahim creek that are somewhat scary at that time of the day, and, I did say an additional prayer to Our Lady as my taxi took me that way.
I was not wrong. The entrance was wide open, no queue and I just walked in. Took my time visiting the altar, put some money in the offerings box and sat down. The service was not to start till 6am and I start meditating, Vipassana style...
St Michael's Church, Mahim, is an interesting church. Built in about 1530, the Church came into prominence in the 1950s. From then on, it has served as a sort of Tirupati (if I can be permitted the comparison) where you ask for what you are looking for, and, if you are sincere in your prayers, you get it. There are stories about miracles...you can read them on the internet. You will see devotess crawling on their knees from the entrance to the altar, a distance of about five hundred feet with floral garlands in their hands. Interestingly, floral garlands are offered by devotees, a la Hindu temples. Also, there is an interesting practice of offering wax images of what you desire. (In Tirupati some devotees offer silver figurines...if you have a problem with your foot, you offer a silver figurine of a foot)
You cannot order these experiences, they just come to you...
As I hailed a taxi to go home the priest's very brief homily kept ringing in my ears, '...the birthday of Christ is a day, the birth of Christ is what happens in your heart...'
St. Michael's Church, Mahim. The church was built first time around in the 1530s. The present building was constructed in 1973.
A few years ago, in her constant but somewhat unsuccessful attempts to introduce some best practices in the house, bharya priyaa, aka wife, decided that every Wednesday we (all four family members, self, children and herself who came under suzerainity) would all do the Novena prayers offered at the Mahim church. We, as a family, have been doing this, and, have done the Novena at unlikely locations like Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's. When we get together as a family and visit a church, we say the Novena. I suspect we would do so if we were all to visit the Guruvayoor temple together. I guess Sri Krishna would be OK with that for didn't he say somewhere that whatever was offered in prayer was acceptable, a leaf, water or good intentions.
For some time now I have been including friends and relatives of ours who have serious illnesses in the prayer. I am not looking for a result. Have just been thinking of them as we do the Novena on Wednesdays.
I have been wanting to visit the Mahim church for several years now. However, on previous visits to Bombay in the last few years, something or the other has come up. This time I realised I was going to be in Bombay on a Wednesday, the day on which devotees throng the church, and, I was a bit hesitant about making it through those crowds. Add to it the fact that today is Christmas.
I checked the website (thank God for the internet) and found that the first service is at 6.00am...now, I get up with the milk train and 6am is well into mid day for me. Add to it that many of the faith would have been celebrating the new King's arrival well into the night yesterday, and, may not be in a condition to drag themselves to the Church at 6am, however much their mothers may want them to do so. So, I got into a taxi at 5am and headed off to the Mahim church. There are new roads around Mahim creek that are somewhat scary at that time of the day, and, I did say an additional prayer to Our Lady as my taxi took me that way.
Entrance to Mahim Church at 5.15 am on Christmas Day
I was not wrong. The entrance was wide open, no queue and I just walked in. Took my time visiting the altar, put some money in the offerings box and sat down. The service was not to start till 6am and I start meditating, Vipassana style...
St Michael's Church, Mahim, is an interesting church. Built in about 1530, the Church came into prominence in the 1950s. From then on, it has served as a sort of Tirupati (if I can be permitted the comparison) where you ask for what you are looking for, and, if you are sincere in your prayers, you get it. There are stories about miracles...you can read them on the internet. You will see devotess crawling on their knees from the entrance to the altar, a distance of about five hundred feet with floral garlands in their hands. Interestingly, floral garlands are offered by devotees, a la Hindu temples. Also, there is an interesting practice of offering wax images of what you desire. (In Tirupati some devotees offer silver figurines...if you have a problem with your foot, you offer a silver figurine of a foot)
Wax images for being offered at the Mahim Church.
As I took a picture of the stall where wax images were being offered I saw several images of little children. Presumably they were offered by couples praying for children ... needless to add there were more male baby figurines than female ones, in keeping with local culture. And interestingly, there was a small wax figurine of a building marked Office...my curiosity was piqued and I asked the stall keeper what that was for...'somebody looking for job, sir...' he replied. If you look closely at the picture above you will see the Office figurine at left hand top,
The service started on the dot at 6am...very un Indian, must be some leftover colonial influence. From the moment the choir started singing Joy to the World, it was a spiritual treat. The priest (I suspect his name was Father Simon) was middle aged and led the Mass with tremendous dignity. Every hymn chosen was exquisitely rendered and the service ended with '...a babe is born in Bethlehem..' As I came out, tears were streaming down my eyes at the intensity of the experience.
You cannot order these experiences, they just come to you...
Early morning service at Mahim Church, Christmas Day 2013
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