Memories of my grand uncle Msgr R F C Mascarenhas
My earlier memory is of my first communion day (I was six years) when my grand uncle Mgr Raymond came over to our home in the evening and gave me a rosary which he took out of his pocket.
Each year on his birthday we were told to wish him on our way to school. We usually went together with my two sisters, my uncle the late Fr Stanley and perhaps my late aunt Alice. This was at his cottage in the Bethany campus. He always struck us as being very holy and detached. He received us kindly and sent us away with his blessing.
Other memories which are indelible in my mind are his soothing visit when my grandfather Dr Simon Mascarenhas was on his death bed. His prayer and his words of comfort left the whole family peaceful. He conduced the funeral service of my grand father and of my grand uncle Basil Mascarenhas, his younger brother who lived in my grandparent’s house. He blessed the nuptials of my sister Cynthia, preacher the homily which I am sure she will always treasure.
His visits to the family house ‘Lee Dale’ on special occasions were considered to be special. I remember the lunch in the family house after the twin jubilee celebrations. There were also Christmas days when many of the family were together and he would be invited to lunch. We always thought these were special occasions because he had an aura of holiness and with his long flowing beard we felt he added dignity and holiness to the occasion. He would sit on the left side of my grandfather, and my grandmother would be to the right. He always had a sense of humour and would add something amusing to what he would say to us children. His prayer and his blessings added to the spiritual atmosphere and he showed great consideration to my grandfather who was his elder brother my grandmother who was his sister-in-law.
My clearest memories are of more recent years between 1948 and 1960 when we worked in the Catholic Youth Movement. Fr Agostino Agnoletto SJ who was our director had great confidence in him. He requested him to compose an anthem for the CYM which he did. During those years I have met him several times in Bethany Cottage to ask his advice and his ideas on our work.
In 1957 I was appointed a delegate to the Second World Congress of the Lay Apostolate in Rome. I went for his blessing before I left. On my return after five months I visited him and he with his constant sense of humour said “What would your great grandmother have said to all this roaming about!”
Thereafter I joined the Daughters of the Heart of Mary and spent some time at our Mother House in Paris. When he passed away on 23rd December 1960 I was at Roshni Nilaya. My superior Margurite Petraz and I attended the funeral. My family members were all there.
From our childhood days we had always admired his holiness of life, his detachment from family and other earthly things while at the same time ready to reach out in times of pain and distress. Whatever he uttered was always with a depth of meaning and spiritual value so that listening to him was always a source of edification for us. At the same time his sense of humour would not leave him and when he joked or said something in lighter vein it was always without a sting. I recall the beautiful speech he made on the occasion of his twin jubilee which was celebrated by the Catholic Association of South Kanara in the Catholic Club, Mangalore. He said, “No man is a hero to his own valet and least of all to himself.” This was a humble acknowledgement of his own shortcomings.
The spiritual dimension of his life came out in his family visits, not through sermons but little allusions to confidence in God, the power of prayer and the intercession of Mother Mary. Thus whatever his weaknesses might have been, his sanctity of life and heroic virtues especially the withdrawing of his booklet in obedience to ecclesiastical authority adds to his virtue.
In our visits to him he would never speak of his problems or difficulties. He manifested his love for the poor and his total acceptance of them. He encouraged us to find solace in prayer and in our Blessed Mother in all our difficulties and problems. Whenever we left him after a brief visit or whenever he visited us, there was a sense of peace and satisfaction and a desire to remain close to God.
We knew from the elders of our family that he had to undergo a lot of suffering especially in founding the Bethany Congregation and keeping it going and growing. He undertook many ventures with much courage and confidence in God. In our family circles we were asked to pray for his ventures and all the elders in the family had such faith in what God would do through him.
Dr Olinda Pereira
Fond memories
I have fond memories of the Bethany Convent Chapel at Bendore because I received my first Holy Communion at this place and Msgr. Mascarenhas gave me the First Holy Communion more than seventy years ago. Those were the simple but happy days to remember. Those were the humble days where we were just happy and satisfied with all that we had, and God was kind and merciful to us.
I still remember the Bethany nuns gave us a nice breakfast after the First Holy Communion. It was simple bread and butter with a small banana, but it was a great treat, and the Bethany nuns were kind and generous to us.
All those kind blessings that we cherished from the time we received the First Holy Communion are still within us, and we are grateful for all that God has given us.
-Max Rasquinha,, Mangalore - Houston/Dallas, Texas, U.S.A
