Pidi Offerings

For generations, the devotees in Nediasala have been maintaining the firm conviction that ´Nediala amma´ would never refuse a boon to a devotee who calls out her name. The incident that amma turned raw paddy into ´PIDI´ (rice balls in porridge) instantaneously at a devotee daughter-in-law´s imploring lends credence to the PIDI offerings on Saturdays. The weekly throng in the church yard is an indication of the unstinted faith that the devotees bestow upon the patron saint´s magnificent benevolence. On Saturdays the church atmosphere is reverberated with devotional songs of ´amma´, holy mass, rosary recitation, novena, gospel acclamation, healing service, procession and the distribution of blessed PIDI. These functions are sponsored and spearheaded by each family-circle unit of the faithful. During these ceremonies offerings in the form of agricultural produce, replicas in silver and gold, coronals and chains flood the church podium. It had been and still is a practice of the faithful to offer a part of their earnings, agricultural products and other sources of income to amma. The ´Ettu Nombu´(eight-day devotional week) which culminates on 8th September, the birthday of amma is annually celebrated with great devotion and solemnity.