by Mark Shanbor Thyrniang

On August 11, 2024, the community of Divyadaan under the leadership of the Marian group organized a Marian Nite. The sole purpose of this event was to honour our Blessed Mother and express our love and affection for her motherly interventions. Most of the community members were present for the event. However, a few brothers and fathers were sick and absent from the community and thus were not able to participate in the programme. 

The Marian Nite commenced at 8:30 pm, with a solemn entry of the different Marian Groups to the hall where the event was held. It was followed by an opening prayer led by the Masters of Ceremony.

After the prayer, there was an introductory talk by Father Joaquim in which he explained the powerful intervention of Our Lady in the lives of two Salesians which paved the way for the Marian Nite. Both the Salesians were against each other as they were soldiers in their respective countries. They were at the point of killing each other but through the intervention of the Blessed Mother, they worked for the common purpose of serving the poor and abandoned youth. 

Thereafter, the Marian group animated the brothers with a variety of activities such as a Marian quiz, animated games, claps, yells, action songs, enactment of various apparitions of Our Lady, and many more wonderful activities that increased the community’s devotion to Our Blessed Virgin. The Rapid-fire round brought in a lot of excitement among the participants and their respective groups. The entire community in four groups participated wholeheartedly and enthusiastically throughout the programme. 

Following on, the Marian Anthem was sung and then the moment that everyone was waiting for arrived i.e., the announcement of the winner of the Marian Month. After much waiting it was Our Lady of Guadalupe group who carried the title of being champions of the Marian Month 2024. At the end Fr. Jacob encouraged all the brothers to grow in devotion to our Blessed Mother, reminding them of the hardships that they have to go through.

The programme ended with a token of appreciation by Fr. Jacob to all the participants and particularly to the organizing team, under the leadership of Brother Mark Fernandes the captain of the Marian Group. The community were provided with a delightful snack marking the end of an eventful night.