ARTICLE: HUMBLE BEGINNINGS -- AUGUST 15, 2000

[Pdesousa3@cs.com]

Subj:    CGN's HUMBLE BEGINNING
Date:   08/15/2000 12:10:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From:   Paddydes@aol.com
Sender: owner-cgn@goacom.com
To: cgn@goacom.com

Dear CGN Founding Members:

Please join me with a short prayer, in the silence of your hearts, to Our 
Blessed Virgin on this Feast of the Assumption, August 15, in whose honor 
this List is dedicated. The second evening prayer antiphon from today's 
breviary says it all:

        Through Eve the gates of heaven were closed to all mankind; 
        through the Virgin Mother they were opened wide again, Alleluia.

We believe that we have in Our Lady, a great mediatrix with Jesus Christ. Let 
us all, through the intercession of Blessed Virgin Mary seek to try and forge 
a spirit of camaraderie, fellowship and goodwill amongst us.  With genuine 
empathy and sincere support, we can effectively network through Cyberspace 
for the common good of each other. It is our cherished goal to enter those 
gates opened wide by the Virgin Mother. If CGN can make a bit of difference, 
it is up to all of us to pitch in.

Just as the Church is Universal, so too are we Goans, in my humble opinion, 
true sons of the soil, but dispersed in every nook and corner of the globe. 
You, the thirty-five founding members (including five spouses), are dispersed 
in different continents, countries and hemispheres. Please, at your 
convenience, tell us something about yourselves and share your ideas about 
making Catholic Goan Network (CGN) a truly cohesive and an effectively 
nurturing group. Even a very brief introduction is appreciated and will go a 
long way towards achieving this goal.

When the option was provided in mid-July for starting separate Goa-related 
mailing lists, I seized the opportunity to seek approval for a Catholic 
group.  The idea had been mulling in my mind since early 1999 because of 
Catholic bashing from a minuscule but vociferous minority. Although 
computer-illiterate, I suggested CGN, and after overcoming minor obstacles, 
through the Grace of God, it is now operational. Invitations for you to join 
me went out only a week ago, August 8, and through the Grace of God it has 
now become a reality. We are making our debut on August 15, the Feast of the 
Assumption.

We are proud first as Catholics and then as Goans to share that common bond, 
Amchi Bhas (our Konkani language) and other familiar traditions.  Through 
immigration and cross-culturalization, some of us are not as adept as we'd 
like to, in our rich mother-tongue. But we revel in Konkani songs and feel 
ever so nostalgic of that rich heritage. Through your contributions we can 
keep alive and relive those grand days of ages past, which seem to become 
obscure as we have traversed oceans apart from our homeland.

Can we rally together and unite, as true brothers and sisters in Christ, in 
supporting Our Holy Father and the Church's teachings and keep any human 
frustrations thereof within ourselves as an act of perfect charity? Let's try 
and avoid criticizing the established dogmas and Church's teachings on 
various matters. We can all contribute to the Canonization process of our 
Goan saints by working steadfastly through established channels and praying 
that they soon be raised to the Altar of God. In short, let us all be 
positive and united as faithful members of our RC Church.

As an aside, when I worked for the American Embassy in Karachi and later 
moved to Pakistan's new capital, Islamabad, we continued the office tradition 
by observing the Feast of the Assumption as our patronal feast and having an 
office party on August 15. Pakistanis conjectured that we were celebrating 
Indian Independence Day, and it required a lot of explaining. And how 
wonderful it is to now be launching CGN on this august day, and auspicious 
Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 2000, of the Millennium Year.
                       (30+5 spouses))
Now, my dear CO-founding members, the ball is in everyone's court.  Let each 
one of us pick it up and set it rolling to yet loftier heights for the 
betterment of our Catholic Goan comrades primarily in Goa and wherever we 
are, and for the Greater Glory of God. 

Thanks for listening and bearing with me. Now, I'd like to hear from each one 
of you :-)

Your brother in Christ:

Patrick P. de Sousa
Maryland, USA



PS: I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge Mervyn's help of Goacom.com in setting up this list; Silicon Valley's Marlon Menezes, who launched the first Goan website, Goa Web (now Goacom) for his support; and Viviana Coelho of the A-Team for her positive attitude. Frederick Noronha also helped a lot in his own way, and EJS for keeping an open mind. And, finally, to each of you CO-founding members, thanks and a big GOD BLESS for jumping on the bandwagon. Let Him guide our destiny!