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When Jesus decided that the time had come for Him to institute the sacrament of the Eucharist, He chose two of his followers
to proceed ahead of Him to Jerusalem with a clear mandate to locate the room where He would eat the Passover meal with his
Apostles and to “make ready” that room for the meal (Luke 22:12). That He chose Simon Peter, and John, the beloved,
to carry out this preparation, is an indication of the importance He placed on the arrangements to be made in the “Sanctuary”.
For, indeed, the Upper Room was to become the first Sanctuary where “bread would be broken and the wine poured out for
the remission of sins”.
The dressing of the Altar and the adornment of the Sanctuary around the Altar, therefore, are not just trivial tasks. Rather,
they are significant expressions of a conscious acknowledgements of the infinite merit of the action that will take place
within its precincts every time the Eucharist is celebrated there. Here is where the Sacrifice of Calvary is re-presented
over and over again and where the Paschal Mystery unfolds in awesome reality for our salvation.
Is it, then, not an honor to be among those who are entrusted to ensure that the Sanctuary is adequately beautified and
tastefully decorated for such an event? Our Parish has been well served in this Apostolate down the years. When the Convent
was located adjacent to the Church, it was the good Sisters who carried out these duties including the mending and laundering
of the Altar linen and Priest’s vestments. Later, Ms. Nora Mendonca did it almost single handedly for many years with
the co-operation of the Sacristans and Church attendants. Presently, the Parish is blessed with a team of 20 ladies who have
retired from professional life and have made a PACT with each other and the Parish Priests to carry out these duties as an
offering to the Parish. On account of this PACT, they call themselves the PARISH ALTAR CARING TEAM! With a healthy pride in
their artistic skills and a cheerful disposition, they go about the job with smiling faces and a song in their hearts! They
really enjoy what they do and because they know how important it is to give of their best, they keep getting better and better
at it! Their motto – “NOTHING BUT THE BEST IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD’S SANCTUARY”.
Our team functions on Saturdays , Tuesdays and Thursdays, in the mornings, and we work in groups of 3 or 4, depending
what needs to be done, in rotation. Accordingly, each lady is usually called upon to attend only once or twice a month. Now.
Many hands make light work – so, if you are willing to make the time to help out when needed, have a talent for floral
arrangements or sowing or embroidery or even the ability to supervise cleaning out of cobwebs and the like, do meet us in
the Sacristy any Saturday morning after 9:30 am, to get to know more about how you can help.
P.A.C.T.
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