Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Celebrating the Holy Eucharist Sunday at Hanga Abbey

Villagers of Hanga, Monks, and students, celebrated the Sunday mass of the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord with great pomp. The feast made it even more pompous because there were more than 200 children receiving their first communion at the parish, a perfect occasion for children to receive the first communion!

The abbey and the parish church were well decorated. Streets through which procession with the Eucharist passed were decorated too. The procession began at the parish church ending at the abbey church. Midway on the procession route, about a kilometer, an outside alter had been erected and adoration was held there for about half an hour before proceeding to the destination at the abbey church.

People in groups, of women, men, students, monks, youths  were sing all the way during the procession. Abbot Thadei Mhaga, OSB, was carryin the monstrance with the Holy Eucharist assisted by the pastor of Hanga parish, Fr. Eliah Chale.

See below some photos of the procession.




Below: the children of the first communion in the procession





1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the story and the pictures, which bring back memories of my days as a student at Hanga Junior Seminary, 1963-66. These pictures remind me of one day in particular. We had gone through many days without rain, and the earth was parched, and the crops in the monastery and seminary farms were beginning to wilt. The heat was unbearable, and there was no sign of a rain cloud anywhere in the sky.

    The monks called upon all of us to join in prayer for rain. We got together, and as I remember, we held a procession, very much like in the pictures above, and prayed for rain. Lo and behold, that very evening, we saw clouds form in the sky, which got darker and darker, and the rain fell. It is an occurrence, a miracle, that has remained permanently etched in my mind.

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