FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT CELEBRATION AT BANDEL SHRINE

 

 

Popular Devotion VS Sentimental Pietism

         Hundreds of families irrespective of creed, caste and colour, fulfilled their pilgrim-promises to Our Lady of Happy Voyage at Bandel Basilica, a Shrine dedicated to the Queen of the Holy Rosary, to pray that their families encounter a similar rediscovery of our Lord who encounters his Mother, on his way to the Calvary. Devout faithful flocked in the Church for the morning Masses in Hindi, Bengali and English, with the observance of First Sunday of Lent (26^th Feb 2023), listening to the Lenten Message of the Pope during the homily.  Some families waited three years to come here to pray to God through the intercession of Mary.

        On this first Sunday of Lent, many families visit this shrine, especially for the ‘community expression’ (religiosity) of the Way of the Cross, with the memorable event of Jesus meeting his Mother while carrying the Cross to Calvary – an emotional meeting of the devotees with the suffering Son, Jesus. Such devotional religiosity revealed a ‘spirituality of the senses’, as part of ‘bhakti’, practices and popular piety.  However much of its moment of meeting missed out this year, this ritualistic practice has many personal and family-related expectations tied to it, which they believe to be realized by the grace of Jesus through Mary.  This Annual observance of the meeting of Jesus with his Mother at the annual Lenten Way of the Cross held at 2 p.m., started many years ago, is a special moment of grace for many. The atmosphere with such devotional-ritual practices, under the supervision of nearly 150 volunteers from the local parish, popularized the people’s ‘pilgrimage’ to Bandel. Many such annual pilgrimages were made by the devoted families in the subsequent years with lots of faith and devotion.

       Besides, many devotees believe that the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Bandel at this sacred location motivates them to come to this religious shrine to thank her for health-healing and intercessions. The pilgrimage by all sort of people is more than a devotional moment. People from all walks of life stood in the hot afternoon sun and felt one with Jesus making his way to Calvary, ready to walk the extra mile along with the rest of the pilgrims, listening to the short Marian reflections given by Fr. Moloy D'Costa of Kolkata Archdiocese and Fr Sebastian SJ, in Bengali and English alternatively, and praying. These pilgrims return with graces, blessings, peace and fulfilment, with the assurance that God, through the intercession of Mary, is going to take care of them all.  

       The “pilgrim families” coming mostly from the various surrounding parishes — many of them from Basanti, Khari, Morapai, Canning, etc. of Baruipur diocese,— thank God through Mary for shaping them as Christian families. Certainly, they go back, promising to imitate the Holy Family, in being families on pilgrimage along with neighbours and companions on the way. They come with a reason and purpose with a social centering. Literally, they run to touch Jesus (statue) for healing of self or their children. They’re not just a random group of families, wandering around in the campus and inside the Church. Though, some of their social behaviours expressed, do not often fit the expectations from a pilgrim people! Noisy movement, distracted devotions, smartphone-photo/video mania, are just a few of the major distractions that can strain families from being fulfilled through such pilgrimage. Nevertheless, coming together of parents, children and relatives, effect positively their relationship with each other and influence even their understanding of faith in God through simple devotional practices. The pilgrimage made as a family often makes them feel that life and relationships fall short of God’s expectation. People go back with the ideal worth working for, and struggling towards a life of peace and prosperity. Sometimes reconciliation and healing do happen here. Persons change, circumstances improve, and they work their way through difficult times with prayer through Mary.

        The Portuguese Church established in 1599 by the Augustinian monks has been under the care of the Salesians of Don Bosco since 1928. Today there are more than 4,000 Catholics in the parish with two communities of Salesians and four women religious congregations catering to the education of some 5,000 students both with English and Bengali medium education.

         An afterthought: As rational and irrational creatures we express our beliefs, going beyond the basics to meet personal need!  Faithful tries to ‘transmit’ faith through intercessions.  As tools they can only help experience religious expressions. Faith is a personal adherence and witness to the person of Jesus - a pure worship with the hope of no reward. What is needed most is being with God, and not chasing after some ‘miracles’.

       Within a belief system, we tend to speak in emotive sentimental terms. Contrary to popular devotions as expressed on this First Sunday of Lent here at Bandel, hyper-emotional “popular pietism” (sentimental) of many can become superstitious practices. Faith cannot be ‘transmitted’, but witnessed. Some of the religious expressions are designed to disguise psychological and physical realities. Such shadowed expressions are promoted at the cost of conscience. It reduces Catholic faith and morals to pious sentimentalities.

       Using two central Christian faith-events, – the Cross and Resurrection – it is easy to manipulate human emotions. An emotional “faith” expressed out of sentimental pietism, can be extremely dangerous. It affects one’s moral and religious growth. Sacrificial love on the Cross and the joy of resurrection are a balance of devotional and intellectual life by witnessing to Jesus Christ who died on the Cross and rose.  Unbridled human emotion, without critical questioning, begins to drive the faithful away from the creation – the real world. God does not want that people trample upon God’s truth in the name of ritual worship! Besides, detached from context, culture and reason, the sentimental faith-expressions becomes ill-educated, arrogant, and vicious. Certainly, we were reminded by the announcer of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the natural and earthquake calamities in Syria and Turkey, the fight between Israel and Palestine, the persecution of the minorities, etc.   God says, ‘learn to do good, be just, redress the wrong and defend the poor’ (cf. Is 1:10-17). Jesus speaks straight, “whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me” (Mt 10:38).

      There are Christians by conviction, devout Christians and Christians by instinct, wherein religion, culture, customs, rituals and identity are all rolled into one. A Christian priest with the clerical dress donned, a Catholic nun in her garb, a Marian Shrine with lots of rituals, rites, folklore and other external devotional practices keep people’s passions festering. They are a part of “collective memory” of Christian belief system. Besides, the ingrained social and cultural customs of the community sustain the traditional sensibilities of people of the place. Till date, as human beings, we fail when we are not ready to eat, drink, worship and pray through popular devotions with one who is religiously different from us and one who is in need. The convivial moments through a devotional practices especially in this public Marian pilgrim centre, as on First Sunday of Lent, are occasions of building up the harmony needed to live in unity. 

 

 

Bandel Walk Pilgrimage: in Search of Sacramentals or Sacraments!

 

The Marian shrine of Bandel Basilica has attracted thousands of pilgrims who flocked in on Sunday, 15^th January 2023 from 8.30 a.m. onwards. The pilgrims progressed in their ‘march’, reaching the Shrine of the Holy Rosary on foot, tired and torn with blisters, solely in search of grace. Thousands of pilgrims including men-women, young people and children started their walk from different starting points in Nadia, Hooghly, Howrah, Kolkata, 24 Paraganas, many  walking over 40 km distance bare foot as penance, promise and pilgrimage, while thanking God through Mary for favours received. Many lay leaders accompanied the pilgrims from their respective parishes. Clergy and the nuns were absent from such walk except one priest. The walking pilgrimage of its 67^th year, usually held on second Sunday of January, has been a traditional practice for many people from these neighbouring districts, organized by the Catholic Association of Bengal. Additionally, pilgrims from Kalyani Parish (Nadia) completed their 25^th Walk Pilgrimage this year. Bandel Walk was interrupted for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Peoples’ expeditions into popular devotions, preferring sacramental to sacraments, brought together thousands of pilgrims to the mantle of Our Lady of Happy Voyage. Those from South 24 Paraganas, Kolkata and Howrah began their walk after attending the usual early Mass at Happy Voyage Church, Howrah. The pilgrims carrying the cross walked down the Grand Trunk Road towards Bally bridge where they were joined by other pilgrims, walking through old colonial townships of Serampore, Chandernagore, Chinsurah along Hooghly river, before they reached the Basilica by 6.25 p.m.

The attraction towards Our Lady of Bandel, sends spirit-filled grace to many young and old to take up the ‘radical challenge’ to walk the way exploring individual and group devotions, with prayers and songs carrying with them candles, flowers and incense. With the decline of the elderly joining in the walk, the young generations have taken up the challenging tradition of old. They all come in search of the Mother who awaits eagerly her children. The statue of Our Lady of Happy Voyage eventually ‘lifts’ them up to her (many kneeling their way up the stairs!) for blessings and graces from above. Unlike other pilgrimages this one includes a well dedicated community effort with voluntary services from respective parishes with their banners, to ‘walk the faith’ as a ‘family’ under Mary’s mantle.

It emphasizes each one’s quest to express concretely his/her devotion. While many ‘walks’ to pay homage to Mary, saints and martyrs, are managed by Church authorities, this one is one of the laity, and by the laity. On arrival, right from 11 a.m., few Priests from Bandel Basilica blessed the pilgrims at the Church gate and received the pilgrims’ Cross late in the evening, and placed it before the main altar, before the Eucharistic celebration for the weary pilgrims. It was an appalling scene to see how the faithful struggled, stretched and rushed to touch the Cross for blessings! It proved a sacramental devotion, noisy though! Precisely observing so, the Prior in his homily expressed his ‘worry’ whether Catholic faith depended on sacramental (“rushing to touch the Cross” or on Sacraments (“approaching the Confessional”). While speaking of Mary’s trusted flight with the child Jesus to unknown Egypt, he questioned: “How many of us today would have the courage to manifest our faith in this manner…. With the faith that the Blessed Mother had?”

Often, the ‘adventurous’ open-minded fellow ‘pilgrims’ in their maiden efforts venture into the sacred spheres of their lives either invited or challenged by friends and relatives, or by mere chance. For some youth it meant a challenging adventure. Sitting tired in the Church for the Eucharistic celebration after a long walk, a young lady expressed: “I made this stomach-blowing walk from Bally (Howrah), in order to grow a bit strong in spirit, body and mind.” As the regular pilgrims moved through the pews of their past annual walk memories, their perseverance had a ‘prize’ to offer – grace from God.  As another young pilgrim while limping after a long leg-shivering walk, remarked, “I made this long walk to show my love for Mother Mary who has looked upon my family.” 

Thousands of pilgrims including followers of other faiths attended the annual Walk Pilgrimage to Bandel Basilica this year. Three priests concelebrated Mass and two others heard confessions. These pilgrims sought to separate themselves from the everyday concerns of the world, and spent time in the presence of God. On their return home, nourished by grace, they wish to live their faith better. The over-422 years old Bandel Shrine distinctively contributes to the spiritual growth of the ‘pilgrims’, whose ruminations will certainly sanctity their deep desire for that which is mysteriously Supreme. Built in 1599 by the Portuguese who set up their colony in Hooghly in the 16^th century, the Bandel Church holds the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Happy Voyage, which has become the ‘faith-focus’ for these pilgrims of Bengal and beyond.