By Mrs Maria Goretti Fonseca for BIS Mumbai

On the morning of July 5, 2026, 30-odd members of the Parish Pastoral Council and some other Cells and Associations boarded the bus cheerily to set out for an Orientation Programme organized by the Parish of Our Lady of Dolours, Wadala West, to reach the St Dominic Savio High School Auditorium at Andheri East. We prayed the Holy Rosary as we journeyed.

A warm welcome awaited us as we entered in the form of hot ‘chai’ and sandwiches. As we settled around tables arranged around the hall, Fr Francisco Pereira, the Rector and Manager began by passing around Biblical verses to be memorized and share with first one other person and later with others as well, till we were sure to have learnt at least two of the verses by heart. Fr Pereira narrated an incident that made him realize how important it was to give the Bible a prominent place in our homes. It was when he visited a Muslim home and saw the place of prominence accorded to the Quran.

Sheets depicting the Parable of the Good Samaritan were then passed out, helping us to focus on the key phrase: Who is my neighbour? And the Samaritan’s response, how does it align with our own in dealing with others in our Parish in particular, and the world at large. The two denarii paid by the Samaritan translates into the two Commandments given by Our Lord: Love of God and love of neighbour. We are called to follow three steps like the Good Samaritan: a) See; b) Stop; c) Touch.

Focus on the Strenna given to the Salesian family: Do Whatever He Tells You.

A break then followed, after which an exercise was given to us to find where we were in life? We had to share where we thought we were according to the diagram of figures climbing a tree, how we were to stop being complacent or lazy or cut others out. We were also told how to move from the known to the unknown.

A sumptuous lunch awaited us, followed by another session with a power-point bullet display. This consisted of discussions on what made the PPC an important body of the Parish: The PPC obviously represented the Parishioners, hence there had to be a good rapport with the Community they represented. They had to set a good example of involvement and performance in all church activities, further the Parish mission and vision, communicate effectively and disseminate pertinent information, be deeply prayerful and work under the direction of the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Finally, a call was given to evaluate our overall performance.

The day’s sessions ended with tea and snacks. A visit to the Home for the Aged in the neighborhood was conducted, and we returned home full of joy and anticipation to work for the good of all.