hail holy queen mother of mercy - ccp |...

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“ R E G I S T E R E D I N T H E D E PA RT M E N T O F P O S T S O F S R I L A N K A ” U N D E R N O . Q D / 1 9 / N E W S / 2 0 1 5

Sunday, december 13, 2015 Vol 146 No 49 20 Pages rs: 25.00 registered as a newspaper

THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY OF SRI LANKAOUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

December 12

Hail Holy Queen Mother of Mercy St. Thomas aqui-nas says: “in order that the body of christ might be shown to be a real body, He was born of a woman; but in order that

His Godhead might be made clear He was born of a virgin.” This is the mani-festation of the Father’s mercy through the son

born of her. Mercy is a wellspring of joy, serenity and peace. Our salvation depends on it. Mercy: The word reveals the very mystery

of the Most Holy Trinity. Mercy: The ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us. Mercy: The fundamental law that dwells in the heart of ev-

ery person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life. Mercy: The bridge that connects God and man.

in keeping with the proclamation made by the Holy Father, Francis, the archbishop of colombo, His eminence Malcolm cardinal ranjith, declared the Jubilee year of Mercy on Tuesday, December 8, on the Feast of the immaculate conception, during the Solemn Holy Mass at St. Lucia's cathedral, Kotahena

Holy Door opened at St. Lucia’s Cathedral

Sri Lanka’s oldest Sinhala newspaper, Gnanartha Pradeepaya as well as the colombo catho-lic Press where it is published will celebrate the 150th Jubilee on January 11, 2016 at the archbishop’s House auditorium, borella. Having added historical value to the newspa-per as well as to the publishing industry this organi-sation can be truly regarded as the ancestral home of publications. Since June 7, 1866 when the Gnanartha Pradeepaya first saw the light of day it has met and overcome numerous challenges and management

changes to continue to be published without a break until now. as part of the 150th Jubilee celebrations several workshops were conducted covering news reporting, pho-tography, modern electronic media, short film production and specialised writing, thereby providing publications-related training to many persons in this field. We in the Messenger, the sister paper of the Gnanartha Pradeepaya congratulate our founding pub-lication and thank it for the valuable support it has and continues to give us.

Sri Lanka’s ancestral home of publications

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Sri Lanka’s ancestral home of publications

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Pope Francis launched his year-long push for a global catholic church of mercy and forgiveness, starting the Jubi-lee year focused on the subject by open-ing the Holy Door at St. Peter’s basilica last Tuesday, December 8, the Feast of the immaculate conception. The Holy Father also called for a church that al-ways puts mercy before judgment. in a Solemn Holy Mass attended by tens of thousands in a chilly St. Pe-ter’s Square and marked by an unusually

high security presence, the Pontiff also praised the work of the Second Vatican council and said the newly-opened Jubi-lee “compels us not to neglect the spirit which emerged” from that event. “This extraordinary Holy year is itself a gift of grace,” Pope Francis said during the homily. “To enter through the Holy Door means to rediscover the deep-ness of the mercy of the Father who wel-comes all and goes out to meet everyone personally.”

Pope Francis opens St. Peter's Holy Door to

launch Jubilee Year of Mercy

Pix: T. Sunil Fernando and Roshan Pradeep

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Pix.: (L) His eminence makes the Declaration.of the year of Mercy.

(r) His eminence makes a confession before opening the Holy Door.

(below) His eminence opens the Door of Mercy.

Messenger December 13, 2015 Messenger December 13, December 13, December 13, December 13, 2

Gnanaratha Pradeepaya

1866 - 2016

150th Jubilee ofSt. Sebastian's Shrine, Kandana

St. Sebastian's Shrine, Kandana will celebrate its 150th Jubilee in the year 2018. in preparation for the cel-ebrations the administrator rev. Fr. bertram ranjith has commenced the necessary organizational activities. The Jubilee committee has organised a X'Mas Fair 2015 to be held on December 12th and 13th at thechurch premises under the guidance and direction of rev.Fr.Shanthikumar Welivita - episcopal Vicar Ja-ela region, to boost the building Fund which will assist to construct new toilet facilities for the convenience of pilgrims, new accommodation for the Sacristan, accom-modation for visiting priests and a new car park. Wellwishers are cordially invited to visit the christmas Fair and purchase their requirements of christmas goodies and religious artefacts including christian Movie DVD's with Sinhala sub-titles. There will also be Games stalls, ready made clothes, sessions of christmas carols, Magic shows, etc.

The sixth annual General Meeting and get together of catholic Grad-uates’ Society of universi-ty of Sri Jayewardenepura was held recently at the

rainbow beach resort, negombo with the par-ticipation of their family members. The occasion was graced by the mem-bers of advisory panel

rev. Fr. Dushantha Perera (OSb) and rev. Fr. Mark Fernando (TOr), univer-sity chaplain rev. Fr. Jude chrysantha Fernando. Holy Mass was followed

by the aGM where a new committee for the coming year was elected.

[email protected]

AGM of Catholic Graduates Society, Sri Jayewardenepura

Oblates visit Kuchaveli resulting from a visit to several districts in the Kuchaveli area in august 2015, few members of the Oblate Missions embarked on a livelihood project for the upliftment and sustainability of the poor people in these villages. cooperating with rev. Fr. Jesu ramesh OMi, they coordinated and organised the dried cowdung (or-ganic) which were broken into powder and packeted into 1 kilo packs. These packets are now sent to colom-bo for sale among nurseries and home garden lovers. Members of the Oblate Missions based at Fati-ma church, Maradana are presently selling these pack-ets at a nominal chrge of rs. 100/- a pack. To place your orders you can contact the fol-lowing numbers. 071-4263114/0718331238

CATHOLIC PRESS WEBSITE

www.colomboarchdiocesan catholicpress.com

email: [email protected]

Nattandiya Parish Pilgrimage

The annual elders' pilgrimage of the nattandiya Parish was held for the 13th time visiting the St. Joseph Vaz Shrine at Galgamuwa. rev. Fr. Pradeep roshantha celebrated Holy Mass during which the problems and difficulties of the faithful were offered to St. Joseph Vaz for his interces-sion. Thereafter rev. Fr. roshantha conducted a Healing service. Sriyangani Felicia

Contd. from Pg. 1

Pope Francis .... at the end of the Holy Mass, Pope Francis opened the basilica's Holy Door. He said that by passing through it, catholics should take on the role of the Good Samaritan. The Jubilee year of Mercy, which will continue from December 8, 2015 through november 20, the day celebrated next year as the feast of christ the King. Pope emeritus benedict XVi, attended Tues-day's event. It is the first time the Holy Door has been opened since the Great Jubilee in the year 2000 called for by St John Paul ii. it has been bricked up since then. a holy door is a door normally designated in special churches - like the four Papal basilicas in rome - to be opened only during Jubilee years as a sign of the possibility of re-entering into God’s grace.

Dayave Doratuwa on Verbum TV

a special TV program with the focus on the Ju-bilee year of Mercy “Daham charika” featuring several european places of worship will be telecast on Verbum TV on Saturday December 12 at 9.30pm. There will be a repeat telecast at 11.30am on Sunday December 13. a second stage of the program will be telecast on Verbum TV through “Daham charika” at 9.30pm on Saturday December 19 with a repeat telecast at 11.30am on Sunday December 20.

Lord Jesus christ,you have taught us to be merciful like the

heavenly Father,and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.

Show us your face and we will be saved.your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from

being enslaved by money;the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness

only in created things;made Peter weep after his betrayal,

and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words

that you spoke to the Samaritan woman:“if you knew the gift of God!”

you are the visible face of the invisible Father,of the God who manifests his power above

all by forgiveness and mercy:let the church be your visible face in the world,

its Lord risen and glorified.you willed that your ministers would also be

clothed in weaknessin order that they may feel compassion for those in

ignorance and error:let everyone who approaches them feel sought after,

loved, and forgiven by God.Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us

with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace

from the Lord,and your church, with renewed enthusiasm, may

bring good news to the poor,proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed,

and restore sight to the blind. We ask this through the intercession of Mary,

Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign with the Father and the

Holy Spirit forever and ever.Amen.

Prayer for Year of Mercy

A Leading Education Institute is looking to �ill the below

positions and seek potential candidates

ACADEMIC COUNSELOR The ideal candidate should posses a bSc degree and / a diploma in counseling/phycology. He/she should have at least 10 years experience in a similar capacity; excellent communication and in-terpersonal skills will be a must. candidate should be below the age of 40 years.

ASSISTANT REGISTRAR– SCHOOL OF ENGINEERINGThe ideal candidate must posses a degree in engineering, prefer-ably in civil, electronic, electrical or telecommunication, with a sound track record of over 15 years experience. exposure in the administration function will be an added advantage.

applicants should preferably be below 55 years. However, appli-cations from retired persons will also be accepted.

ASSISTANT REGISTRAR – SCHOOL OF ENGLISH The ideal candidate should possess a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university with over 15 years experience in an edu-cational institute handling administration functions. Should be below the age of 50 years however preference will also be given to retired person such as zonal directors etc. Should possess excel-lent communication and interpersonal skills

TECHNICIANS The ideal candidate should possess a diploma/ certificate in multi media/hardware with hands on experience on multi media, sound systems and computers, be below the age of 35 years.

ELECTRICIAN Possess a Diploma /Certificate in Electrical/Electronics and have 1 – 2 years experience be below the age of 28 years with a positive attitude towards work.

PLUMBER Possess a Diploma /Certificate in plumbing and have 1 – 2 years experience be below the age of 28 years with a positive attitude towards work.

FACILITY MANAGEMENT COORDINATORThe candidate must possess a Diploma in either electrical/elec-tronics with at least and have 1 -2 years experience in a similar job role and will assist the operations of the facility to function smoothly. Should be below the age of 25 years

Those interested please forward their CVs with two non related referees to [email protected]

and clearly indicate the post on the subject line

(Q15N6496)

His Grace Archbishop Emeritus Most Rev. Dr.

Nicholas Marcus FernandoDecember 6

Patronal Feast

His Grace Archbishop Emeritus Most Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis

December 12Prayer-�illed Wishes

Ad Multos Annos Vivat!

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Holy Door...in the presence of a large gathering of bishops, priests, the religious and lay representatives. His Eminence read the official declaration of the Jubilee year and opened the Holy Door in the cathedral. in keeping with the year of Mercy an Hour of Adoration and Reflection was held for Priests of the archdiocese of colombo on Thursday December 10 at St. Joseph's college, Maradana with opportunity for confession.

3 December 13, 2015 Messenger

December 13, 2015

Email:[email protected]:colomboarchdiocesancatholicpress.com

Telephone: 011 2695984

Editorial

Since February 1869

Blessed are the merciful On Tuesday, December 8 we celebrated the Feast of the immaculate conception of Our blessed Mother, Mary.Adding historical significance to this feast was the launch-ing of the extraordinary Jubilee year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis - connecting with the Holy Father’s encyc-lical on climate change on the environment, the theme of the make or break summit of world leaders in Paris. in the bull of indiction Pope Francis points out that Jesus christ is the face of the Father’s mercy, words that might well sum up the mystery of the christian Faith. Our blessed Mother, the living ark of the Living covenant is therefore the Mother of Mercy. as we say in the beautiful prayer, “Hail Holy Queen Mother of Mercy.” in this extraordinary Jubilee year of Mercy the greatest devotion we could give to Our blessed Mother is to be like her. She was constantly prayerful meditating deeply on the Holy Scriptures, seeking and doing God’s will, what-ever the cost of discipleship. even when the baby Jesus was born in a bethlehem cattle shed, even when the Holy Fam-ily had to flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s sword and even at the foot of the cross, our blessed Mother had trusting faith and abiding hope that the Father could take any calamity and turn it into a blessing. Pope Francis in his proclamation says Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus of nazareth, reaching its culmination in Him. The Father, “rich in mercy” (eph. 2:4), after having revealed His name to Moses as “a God merci-ful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (ex 34:6), has never ceased to show, in various ways throughout history, His divine nature. in the “fullness of time” (Gal 4:4), when everything had been arranged according to His plan of salvation, He sent His only Son into the world, born of the Virgin Mary, to reveal His love for us in a definitive way. Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father (cf. Jn 14:9). Jesus of nazareth, by His words, His actions and His entire person reveals the Mercy of God. The Pope has called on all people to constantly contemplate on the mystery of mercy. it is a wellspring of joy, serenity and peace. Our salvation depends on it. Mercy; the word reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Mercy; the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us. Mercy; the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life. Mercy; the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness. December 8, the liturgical feast day recalls God’s action from the very beginning of the history of mankind. On the Solemnity of the immaculate conception Pope Fran-cis had the joy of opening the Holy Door - the Door of Mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instills hope. On Sunday December 13, the Holy Door of the ca-thedral of rome, the basilica of Saint John Lateran – will be opened. in the following weeks, the Holy Doors of the other Papal basilicas will be opened. The Pope has asked every local church, at the cathedral – the mother church of the faithful in any particular area – or, alternatively, at the co-cathedral or another church of special significance, that a Door of Mercy be opened for the duration of the Holy year. at the discretion of the local church, a similar door may be opened at any shrine frequented by large groups of pilgrims, since visits to these holy sites are so often grace-filled moments, as people discover a path to conversion. every, Particular church, therefore, will be directly involved in living out this Holy year as an extraordinary moment of grace and spiritual renewal. Thus the Jubilee will be cel-ebrated both in rome and in the Particular churches as a visible sign of the church’s universal communion. in the beatitudes Jesus christ has told us, “blessed are the merciful, for mercy they will find.” He has also told us that God is not so pleased with our animal sacrifices or other rituals, but wants us to be merciful. As we are filled with God’s steadfast love and mercy that never come to an end may we become channels of mercy so that where there is war we will bring peace, where there is hatred we will bring love and where there is doubt, deep faith in God’s mercy.

The French authorities and italian political and media circles tried to dissuade Pope Francis from going

ahead with his visit to the central afri-can republic-car. Here is how security worked and successfully so. Once the aeroplane took off, the commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie, Domenico Giani, breathed a sigh of relief and did not hide his satisfaction in his com-ments to the journalists who accompanied the Pope on his african voyage. everything went swimmingly in the end. not only was Pope Francis able to visit the mosque in the ‘KM5’ neighbourhood - where clashes and killings were witnessed just a few days ago – central african republic’s Muslims gave him the warmest of welcomes. The French government had warned the Secretariat of State some time ago of the impossi-bility of guaranteeing the Pope’s safety in car. The soldiers who form part of the ‘Sangaris’ peace mis-sion operating in the country, were apparently not going to be involved. and so it was. Operations on the ground were coordinated by the Vatican Gen-darmerie. never before during a Papal Visit had they been deployed on such a scale or equipped to the extent that they were. Vatican police worked together with soldiers from “MinuSca,” the un stabilisation mission in car and the blue Helmets, hailing mostly from african countries, notably Sen-egal, and led by a Muslim general. The Gendarmer-ie was accompanied by american un soldiers. no external contractors were recruited. The skies over bangui were monitored by un helicopters that had a Vatican Gendarme on board at all times. “There were no moments of tension, nor were there any real threats or dangers during the trip.” So in light of the situation on the ground, which Giani himself had verified just a few days be-fore the Pope’s arrival, the scaremongering and the repeated warnings sent out about attacks poten-tially taking place during the Pope’s stay in bangui were seem unfounded. Of course, the situation in the central african republic's capital bangui, is in-credibly delicate and unstable, despite the efforts of the transition government which has a mandate to lead the country towards peaceful elections. but there seem to have been hidden interests behind the pressure placed on bergoglio not to step foot in car. naturally, there were concerns about the safety of the Pope and the faithful but there may also have been an attempt to prevent the spotlight

from shining on the tragic situation of this forgot-ten country – one of the richest in the world in terms of natural resources but one of the poorest in terms of its population’s living conditions. These natural resources are being exploited and as al-ways, there are big interests at stake. Passing through the streets of bangui, the Pope realised how much the people had longed for his presence more than his words. The tears shed by the interim President catherine Samba-Panza, her moving speech, but even more so, the welcome the Pope received from the people, were clear indi-cators as to the importance of his visit and why the “Messenger of Peace” refused to cancel it. car needed to come into the spotlight, it needed words of peace and reconciliation and it was necessary to show that christians and Muslims can live alongside one another. The atmosphere of recent days resembled that of a city’s streets when a war has come to an end. Let us hope this is in-deed the case and this is why Pope Francis wanted bangui to be the “spiritual capital of the world” and its Holy Door to be opened early for the Jubilee.

Security challenge posed by Pope’s riskiest voyage yet

has been overcome

"CAR needed...words of peace and

reconciliation... it was necessary to show that Christians and Muslims can live alongside one

another"



1866 - 2016Church in the Modern WorldIN BRIEF

Ratzinger Library opens

The Library biblioteca romana Joseph ratz-inger – benedetto XVi – dedicated to the life and the thought of the Pope emeritus as a scholar and a Pontiff - was opened recently at the Pontifical Teutonic College. The library is a collection of more than 1000 books in 36 languages provided by Pope emeritus benedict XVi, by the Libreria editrice Vaticana, by the Vatican Foundation and by the Papst benedikt XVi in-stitute of regensburg. before becoming Pope, cardinal Joseph ratz-inger celebrated Holy Mass every week at the college, which serves the German-speaking community and is located on the Vatican grounds.

Church rushes to help �lood-hit Chennai

caritas is rushing to aid people in chennai, where rains and floodwaters have marooned most of the southern indian city, killing hundreds and displac-ing millions. Two days of heavy through recently brought double the normal rainfall the Tamil nadu State capital normally receives during its entire two-month rainy season. This led to the immediate overflowing of res-ervoirs and the city's adyar river, submerging homes, roads, rail lines and the airport and cutting off most of the city's 6.5 million people from the rest of india.

Rising violence against children reported in Indonesia

The role of the family is crucial in protecting children from violence, since most violence directed at children starts in the home, said a top official for the indonesian catholic bishops' Family commission."We are surprised to see that a large number of cases of violence against children occur within the family. People, who should be educators and protectors of children, change into cruel predators," Holy Family Father, Hibertus Hartana, the commission's secretary, said during a December 3 Seminar, in Jakarta. The seminar, titled, "The role of Women and Family in Preventing Violence against children," was organized by the bishops' Secretariat of Gender and Women empowerment.

Missionary spirit means giving witness

Missionary spirit is manifested by preaching love, humanity and faith through one's witness and not through proselytism, Pope Francis says. Faith in Jesus Christ is shared first through "witness then with words," the Holy Father said in his recent weekly general audience. The Pope dedicated his audience to reflecting on his trip to africa which took place from on novem-ber 25-30 when he visited Kenya, uganda and the cen-tral african republic.

The Gospel of John on eBay a piece of an ancient papyrus thought to be part of the Gospel of John was listed on ebay for only $99. On learning this, Geofrey Smith, a scholar of early christianity at the university of Texas, immediately contacted the seller, before the precious papyrus dis-appeared into a private collection. Smith dates the papyrus between 250 aD and 350 aD. The fragment contains six lines of the Gospel of John on one side and an unidentified Christian text on the other. encased in glass it accidentally fell out of a stack of letters according to the seller. Scholars highlight the importance of the dis-covery due to the fact that the fragment in question seems to have been part of an unused scroll rather than a codex, states L’Osservatore Romano.

Seventy years since the Korean Penin-sula was split in half, a sizeable and authoritative delegation representing the South Korean catholic Church has, for the first time, crossed the border and the demilitarised zone via china and is cur-rently touring Pyongyang and other north Korean territories, as part of an official visit that is laden with implications, not just ecclesiastical ones. The 17-member delegation includes 4 bishops – among them, archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong, President of the South Korean bish-ops’ conference – priests

and representatives of the church committees for the reconciliation of the Korean people, present in all dioceses. benedictine abbot, blasio Park Hyun-dong, the current superior of the monastic establish-ment which was initially based in north Korea, will also form part of the del-egation. The South Korean delegation also intends to reintroduce the proposal of priests being sent from the South, to provide pas-toral care to the faithful of the north, or at least to celebrate mass in the des-ignated catholic place of worship which the regime had built in the 1980’s.

This official visit by the South Korean cath-olic delegation is especial-ly significant in light of the ever greater role the South

Korean church plans to play in the context of na-tional reconciliation and a possible reunification of the two Koreas.

S. Korea Catholic Church on mission to N. Korea

Pope Francis has been named Person of the year by uK-based animal welfare charity PeTa. according to PeTa, Pope Francis was chosen for asking the world’s 1.2 billion catho-lics and other citizens of the world to respect the environment and treat animals with kindness. in his encyclical, Laudato Si’, which was re-leased earlier this year, Pope Francis wrote: “ev-ery act of cruelty towards any creature is ‘contrary to human dignity’… We are not God. We must force-fully reject the notion that

our being created in God’s image and giv-en dominion over the Earth justifies abso-lute domination over other creatures”. PeTa man-aging director ingrid newkirk said that during 2015 the Pon-tiff spread the mes-sage of kindness to all, regardless of their religion or species. “With more than a billion catho-lics worldwide, Pope Francis’ animal-friendly teachings have a massive audience,” she added.

Morrissey, brian May, Tony benn, and ricky Gervais have all previous-

ly been named PeTa Per-son of the year.

Pope Francis named PETA Person of the Year

irish pro-life advocates have said the recent northern ireland court decision against abortion restrictions wrongly ignored the lives of the unborn in the name of fighting human rights violations. “i’m deeply dis-appointed by the decision of the High court,” Michael Kelly, editor of the Dub-lin-based newspaper The

irish catholic, told eWTn news. “i believe the High court to be profoundly wrong in side-stepping the inescapable fact that abortion ends the life of an innocent child.” Kelly rejected claims that change in the law would be limited to certain circumstances. “international ex-perience shows that there is no such thing as limited

abortion: Once the princi-ple is conceded that it can ever be justified to target the innocent unborn child in the womb for death, wider access to abortion is inevitable.” Justice Mark Horne of northern ire-land’s High court ruled that the lack of exceptions in northern ireland abor-tion law violates women’s

rights under article eight of the european conven-tion on Human rights. He said exceptions should be made in cases of fatal fetal abnormality at any time during pregnancy, and also in cases of pregnan-cy as the result of sexual crime up until the time when the unborn baby can live independently of his or her mother.

A lamb sits around the neck of Pope Francis as he visits a Nativity scene last year

Protect unborn lives, don't end them: Northern Ireland abortion ruling criticized

Despite protests from thousands of Spaniards opposed to the desecration of the eucharist, the Pamplona city council has failed to pass a proposal to remove a sacri-legious art exhibit from a publicly funded exhibition hall. The exhibit involved the theft of more than 240 consecrated Hosts from Holy Mass. artist abel azcona stole the Hosts by pretend-ing to receive Holy communion at Holy Mass and then placed the Hosts on the ground to form the

word “pederasty” in Spanish. “The council has insisted the author remove his work, but the council itself is not going to do it,” Polonia castellanos, spokeswoman for the christian Lawyers associa-tion, told eWTn news.This was the second time the city council has asked azcona to remove his exhibit, but they have received no response from him so far. Photos of the theft of the Hosts and their placement on the ground are shown in Pamplona’s

publicly funded conde rodezno ex-hibition hall. The Hosts were laid out on display until a private citizen removed them. The christian Lawyers', Association had filed suit against the artist for violating Spanish laws related to religious freedom and re-spect for religious sentiments. The group said its lawsuit could be ex-panded to include beloki. More than 100,000 people have signed an internet petition against the blasphemous exhibit.

Spain's Catholics protest blasphemous art exhibit



1866 - 2016 Health relatedIssues in Sri LankaBy Dr. Maxie FernandopulleBy Dr. Maxie Fernandopulle

HEALTH CARE ETHICS

ethics is a moral principle that governs a person’s behaviour. a situation where we decide which action of ours is good or bad. Some of the newer health care ethical issues are:

Cloning: it is a process where there is a cre-ation of a person which is an exact genetic copy of another. It has the identical D.N.A. which is the final component in a cell. The best example is identical twins where you cannot differentiate between the two. This process of cloning takes place in embryo twinning. It can be artificial or natural. The natural process takes place in the ovarian tube when the fer-tilized ovum divides into two embryos. It is artificial when this division is artificially induced in the labo-ratory and the twins are replaced in the womb. Cloning due to body cell transfer : in this situation it is carried out in a non reproductive body cell. The nucleus of a body cell ‘a’ other than the rest of the cell contents are transferred to cell ‘b. The orig-inal nucleus of the cell “b’ is removed but the other cell contents are left behind. now the cell ‘b’ will be-have like cell ‘A’. And the final product and the organs of person “b’ is like person ‘a’. cloning can be used for reproductive and treatment purposes. in the former a new person is formed. The latter process is used for treatment purposes. cloning is against teachings of the church except when a body cell is used for clon-ing for treatment purposes. Stem cell issue: Stem cell is a basic cell which when exposed to relevant growth factors will produce a particular type of tissue needed. The stem cell can be obtained from a body cell or a reproduc-tive cell from spare embryos left over in the produc-tion of a test tube baby. The newly formed tissue can be used for the treatment of burns or skin grafting. nerve tissue grown can be used for nerve or spinal cord injuries. Muscle tissue can be of use in replace-ment of muscular degenerative diseases. Stem cells originating from body cells like the bone marrow cell are currently encouraged and are acceptable to the teachings of the church. but the use of spare embryo cells is against the teaching of the church. Gene Therapy: in this technique genes are used for treatment or prevention of disease. a bad gene that causes a disease can be replaced by a good gene. you can deactivate a malfunctioning gene to fight a disease. We must differentiate between treat-ment of a disease and the desire to manipulate abili-ties or traits. There are some questions that need to be answered. What is normal? What is a disability? What is a disorder? Who decides and what criteria are used to decide has got to be addressed. can dis-abilities be considered diseases and should the for-mer be cured. Will these recur and if so the needs of the future generation is going to be a difficult is-sue. again gene therapy is against the teaching of the church. The above procedures are exorbitantly expensive.

E mail: [email protected]

Anthropocentrism (man-cen-tredness) with its concomi-tant dualism of body / spirit

has given human beings power over the natural environment which, in turn, is seen as raw material to be used by human beings for their own purposes. “anthropocentrism is the most deadly sin of our age. it is ar-rogance and self-inflation whereby humans set themselves up as mas-ters of creation and proceed to lord it over other species, over nature, and inadvertently over God too. it is the compulsive masculine urge that seeks to divide and conquer everything it encounters, vividly and barbarously expressed in oft-quoted words of Francis bacon,”We must keep torturing nature ‘til she reveals her last secrets to us” (DirmuidO’Murchu in his book, Pov-erty, Celibacy and Obedience, p 75) ideas expressed by Francis bacon, rene Descartes and issac newton began to influence the mentality of the people of the 20th century. They provided the intellectual justifica-tion to manipulate and conquer na-ture. bacon said that human knowl-edge is power, power to control the natural environment. Descartes told the intellectuals of europe to stop thinking about theological and philosophical questions and to con-centrate on mastering nature. at present, the individual and consumer culture that has been let loose by the neo-capitalist ide-ology bent on profit, supported by social media, is injuring and damag-ing the biosphere in such a way that its regenerative capacity is taxed

and this results also in the dimin-ishment of life on earth of all future generations of human beings and other creatures.

Teaching of the Catholic Church in a document issued by Pope St. John Paul ii, on January 1,1990 for the World Day of Peace, the Pope attempted to alert the world to the extensive damage that was being wreacked on the planet and especially on vulnerable eco-systems, like rainforests, coral reefs and the oceans. The Pope was ada-mant that christians had an obliga-tion to care, not just for other hu-man beings but for the earth itself and that such a responsibility is an essential part of their faith. He returned to the topic with greater urgency and alarm during a general audience on January 17, 2001. On that occasion he stated that “man, especially in our time, has with-out hesitation devastated wooden plains and valleys, polluted waters, disfigured the earth’s habitat, made the air unbreathable, disturbed the hydrogeological and atmospheric spheres and turned the luxuriant areas into deserts and undertaken forms of unrestrained industrializa-tion, humiliating the flower garden of the universe to use the image of Dante alighieri.” in his historic Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si’ on the care for our common home – the earth – published on June 18, 2015, Pope Francis says that christians have misinterpreted Sacred Scripture and now we must forcefully reject

the notion that our being created in God’s image and given domin-ion over the earth justifies abso-lute dominion over other creatures. each year sees the disappearance of thousands of planet and animal species which our children will never see, because they have been lost forever. Technocratic domina-tion leads to the destruction of na-ture and the exploitation of people and by itself the market cannot guarantee integral human develop-ment and social inclusion. Speaking of the need for ecological education and spirituality, he says that a great cultural spiritual and educational challenge stands before us and it will demand that we set out on the path of renewal. He goes on to re-peat what Pope benedict XV1 in his message for the 2010 World Day of Peace had said, namely, “The issue of environmental degradation chal-lenges us to examine our lifestyle.” Pope Francis is striving to promote a new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with nature. He makes a strong assertion that “obsession with a consumerist lifestyle, above all when few people are capable of maintaining it, can only lead to vio-lence and mutual destruction.” To promote concern and care for nature and resist ecologi-cal crisis, the catholic church can adopt a programme of ecological education and ecological cateche-sis in the schools and parishes. We need an ecological conversion to save mother earth.Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Fernando OMI

CALLED TO CARE AND NOT TO INJURE MOTHER EARTH(“The earth which sustains humanity must not be injured. It must not

be destroyed” (Hildegarde of Bingen).

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is my great hope that, during the course of this extraordinary

Jubilee of Mercy, all the baptized may experience the joy of belonging to the church and rediscover that the christian voca-tion, just like every par-ticular vocation, is born from within the People of God and is a gift of divine mercy. The church is the House of Mercy and it is the soil where vocations take root, mature and bear fruit. For this reason, on the occasion of the 53rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations, i invite all of you to reflect upon the apostolic community and to give thanks for the role of the community in each

person’s vocational jour-ney. in the bull of indic-tion for the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, i recalled the words of the venera-ble Saint bede, describing the call of Saint Matthew: “Miserando atque eligen-do” (Misericordiae Vultus, 8). The Lord’s merciful action forgives our sins and opens us to the new life which takes shape in the call to discipleship and mission. each voca-tion in the church has its origin in the compassion-ate gaze of Jesus. conver-sion and vocation are two sides of the same coin and continually remain inter-connected throughout the whole of the missionary disciple’s life. On this day dedi-cated to prayer for voca-tions, i urge all the faithful

to assume their respon-sibility for the care and discernment of vocations. When the apostles sought someone to take the place of Judas iscariot, Saint Pe-ter brought together one hundred and twenty of the brethren (cf. acts 1:15); and in order to choose seven deacons, a group of disciples was gathered (cf. 6:2). Saint Paul gave Titus specific criteria for the selection of presby-ters (cf. Titus 1:5-9). Still today, the christian com-munity is always present in the discernment of vo-cations, in their formation and in their perseverance (cf. Apost. Ex. evangelii Gaudium, 107).

Vocations are born with-in the Church: From the moment a vocation begins to be-

come evident, it is neces-sary to have an adequate sense of the church. no one is called exclusively for a particular region, or for a group or for an eccle-sial movement, but rather for the church and for the world. “a sure sign of the authenticity of a charism is its ecclesial character, its ability to be integrated harmoniously into the life of God’s holy and faithful people for the good of all” (ibid., 130). in responding to God’s call, young peo-ple see their own eccle-sial horizon expand; they are able to consider vari-ous charisms and to un-dertake a more objective discernment. in this way, the community becomes the home and the family where vocations are born. candidates gratefully Contd. on Pg. 14

Pope Francis' Message for 53rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations

On April 17, 2016, the fourth Sunday of Easter, the Church will celebrate the 53rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations. This year's theme is: "The Church, Mother of Vocations."

We give below excerpts from the Pope’s message:

Immaculateblessed among women

immaculate.uplifted from her lowly birth

Mother of christ and Mother of menchosen virgin, Mother blestSubmitting to God's behest.

accepting the role, though confused in thoughtbowing to the will of God.

assumed into heaven in glory and praiseas Mother of God to this position raised

Hail the Virgin Mother thrice immaculate!Jeannette Cabraal



1866 - 2016THE CONTEMPLATIVE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF BORDEAUX

Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka

Year of the Consecrated Life - 2015Conference of Major Religious Superiors of Sri Lanka (CMRS)

39

On november 22 we celebrated the feast of St. cecilia who is known as the patron saint of sa-cred music. The year of her birth is unknown, but it is believed she died in 230 a.D., a virgin and martyr. She was born in rome to a rich and dis-tinguished family. both parents were pagan. However St. cecilia from her childhood had been brought up a christian. it is not clear what means the Holy Spirit used to win her to this celestial doctrine. it is known from infancy she was initiated in the mysteries of chris-tianity by someone who was very close to her. She was simple and modest and was always conscious of God's presence.

St. Cecilia Patroness of Sacred Music

She, at a very ear-ly age vowed to remain a virgin. in spite of this she was given in marriage to a young nobleman named Valerian. On the wedding night St. cecilia was suc-cessful in persuading the new groom to respect her

vow of virginity. She was also able to convert him to the faith. His brother Tiburtius was also con-verted by cecilia. The early christian persecu-tors called upon them to renounce their religion. When they refused they were beheaded. St. ceci-lia was accused of bury-ing their bodies and was also convicted of loving the poor and of adoring a crucified God. She was confined in the bathroom of her own house and was to be suffocated in a hot vapour bath. However she remained uninjured. an angry pagan Gover-nor summoned an execu-tioner who inflicted three wounds in her neck but failed to sever her head. St. cecilia lived for three days.

The association of The Holy Family of bor-deaux was founded by Venerable Pierre Bienv-enu NOAILLES, a French priest of the diocese of bordeaux, France. He was born in 1793, at the height of the French revolution; he was ordained a priest in 1819 after three years of formation in the Semi-nary of St.Sulpice in Paris. He was actively involved in the process of re-christianization of the members of the church after the terrible upheaval caused by the French revolution. as a seminarian, he contemplated constant-ly the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as “the gentle image” of the One God in Three Persons. GOD ALONE was the sole aim of their life. While still in the seminary under the inspiration of the blessed Virgin Mary, he felt called to found a Family open to all the dis-ciples of the Gospel whatever was their walk of life- lay, religious, priestly. He invited all the members of this Family to be animated by the same Spirit lived by Jesus, Mary and Joseph loving, seeking, and desiring only God alone in all things. as a young curate of 26 years, with the ap-proval of the blessing of the archbishop of bordeaux, he began to realize this project. Today the Holy Family comprises five vocations: Apostolic Sisters, Contem-plative Sisters, consecrated Seculars, Lay associates and Priest associates. The contemplative Sisters The contempla-tive group of the association was founded in 1859 as “the last shoot of the tree of the Holy family” as “the indispensable complement” of the work of Fr. noailles. at present, contemplative communities are present in France, Spain, argentina and Sri Lanka. in 1975 the first contemplative community was established in Sri Lanka. in 1976, another community was founded in Manipay, Jaffna. However, due to the war situation, in 1992, the sisters of Manipay joined with those of na-gada to form one single community. constitutive ele-ments of our life: What constitutes our life, as all contemplative life in the church is, the search for God alone, in silence of solitude, in continual prayer and joyful penance. as

Holy Family contemplatives, we live these elements in a way specific to us, coloured by our spirituality and charism. nazareth is the humble school to which our Founder invites us to go often in spirit to learn from Jesus, Mary and Joseph how to live a life hidden in God, through recollection and prayer, a life of immolation by the practice of obedience for the salvation of our neigh-bour. it is here that we drew inspiration for our every-day life; that we discover the simplicity and beauty of daily life with its most ordinary, common-place reali-ties. Our ministry in the church is to continue the prayerful attitude of Jesus turned towards the Father in adoration and praise, in thanksgiving and intercession. Personal prayer, celebration of the liturgy of the Hours, nocturnal prayer, eucharistic celebration and eucha-ristic adoration are visible expressions of the interior reality of an attitude of continual prayer. Lectio Divina is a continuous call to conversion of heart, a call to let ourselves be fashioned unto the likeness of Jesus. Silence and solitude form the climate of our life. enclosure is a means of maintaining us in an at-titude of prayerful recollection. We do not have the “papal Enclosure” but a “constitutional enclosure,” according to which we go out only where there is a real need. Nazareth, the Home of perfect communion, is also our inspiration in living our CHARISM OF COM-MUNION. For us contemplatives, life in community is of vital importance in living our vocation. and in ful-filling our mission of bearing witness to the Church as FAMILY. community is a place where we let our hearts be evangelized by the Word of God addressed to us through one another, calling us to live relationships characterized by gentleness and humility, simplicity and joy, compassion and mutual forgiveness. Our life together as Tamil, Sinhala and indian sisters of different age groups, is a sign and witness that “Communion is possible!” Work: “pray often, without ceasing, that is to say make your work a continual prayer.” (P.b.noaills) Work is an integral part of our life. Work, by the effort it demands and the constraints it imposes, is a place of human solidarity. The main remunerative work of our community is making of liturgical vestments. Hospitality: Our community welcomes with simplicity and discretion those who seek the Lord in

silence and solitude. Hospitality goes beyond the wel-come offered to those who come to spend a period of time in prayer and recollection among us. Hospitality is also to offer space and time in our life to our brothers and sisters who come burdened with difficulties and problems. Many requests for prayer are addressed to us almost daily. being part of the local church, we carry its needs and desires in a particular way in our prayer of intercession. We try to get adequate and objective in-formation in order to remain attentive and sensitive to the local and universal church and the world, remem-bering that ours is a life before God for the world in a ministry of prayer. The preface of the rule of the Holy Family con-templatives is from isaiah 35: “The desert will exult; the solitude will rejoice and flower like the Lily….Joy and gladness will go with them and sorrow and lament will be no longer in their hearts.” in these words we find a challenging invitation to a joyful, fruitful, con-templative life.

Sr. Lorenza PONNAWILAcontemplative Sisters

nagoda, Kandana.

This saint was martyred at Syracuse in Sicily, and her feast is listed in the Jerome Martyrology (sixth century). a Greek inscription found at Syra-cuse in 1894 testifies to the devotion to the saint by the end of the fourth or the be-ginning of the fifth century. a church was built above her tomb and dedicated to St. agatha in the seven-teenth century. it is likely that Pope Gregory the Great inserted her name in the roman canon of the Mass. There are also two mon-asteries — one in Syracuse and another near rome — that are named Santa Lucia, as well as two churches in rome that bear her name. The account of her martyrdom dates from the fifth or sixth century and it states that while Lucy was on a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. agatha, patroness of catania, italy, the saint appeared to her and promised her that the Lord would bless the city of Syracuse as He had catania because of the virginal love of Lucy. Lucy then convinced her mother to give to the poor the mon-ey that had been set aside for her dowry. This so in-furiated her fiance that he had her brought before the judges so that she could be subjected to the violation of her body. This was impossible, however, because her body became so heavy that it was immovable. Lucy was then subjected to torture and although she suffered a deep gash in her throat, she continued to pray and to give testimony to christ. She died after receiving Viati-cum. Her relics are venerated in Venice, and she is the patroness of those who suffer afflictions of the eyes. MeSSaGe anD reLeVance as with cecilia, agnes and agatha, St. Lucy gives witness to both virginity and martyrdom. Since the third century virgins have been honoured in third place in the liturgy, after the apostles and martyrs. When the persecutions ended, consecrated virginity represented a high degree of sanctity. Martyrdom gives witness to the herosim of one's faith and the power of God which conquers through the cross of christ, but assaults against consecrated virginity are also attacks against the faith. From Saints of the Roman Calendar

according to her last wish Pope urban transformed her house into a church. She was laid to rest in the catacomb of St. callistus by Pope urban who bap-tized her husband and her brother-in-law. in the year 822 a.D. Pope Pasqual 1 miraculously found the location of the body dur-ing the restoration of the church. He then trans-ferred the remains to a more honourable place in her cathedral. an eminent priest and scholar says that St. ceci-lia teaches us to rejoice in every sacrifice as a pledge of our love of christ and to welcome sufferings and death as hastening our union with Him.

Maurice Nanayakkara

ST. LUCY December 13



1866 - 2016 St. Nicholas’ Church Bopitiya celebrates 125 years

by: Kishani S. Fernando

i visited St. nicholas’ church in bopitiya last Friday. i turned off the

canal road that ran parallel to the Hamilton canal somewhere after uswetakeiyawa. From there, strings of red flags led me to the church which was located snugly in the village of bopitiya. i entered the church from its rear and it made sense when told, that in the early days access to the church was from the Hamilton

Canal by raft or boat. The first little cadjan chapel was built here in 1836. a statue of St. nicholas was gifted to the chapel in the following year. it seems the church had drawn pilgrims from its early times and soon enough in 1840 the church was built in brick and a stone cross was installed on the banks of the Hamilton canal as a sign post to the church. The foundation stone of the present church was laid in 1890 and it was blessed and opened to the public on December 8,1917. The church

manne Mohottige Don Juse more than 100 years back as a vow for the cure of a critically ill child (according to the church Souvenir publication). appearing to her in a dream the Saint has instructed her to collect a fist of rice from each of the homes in the village and prepare an almsgiving to be offered at the novena to St. nicho-las every Thursday. The child was miraculously cured and Justina continued to be instrumental in preparing the almsgiving to pilgrims annually which tradition is observed to date on the day of the baara nuwanaya. it was the same Justina whom the locals lovingly refer to as "Sudu amma" who also began the tradition of the blessed thread. This year to celebrate the 125th feast the church was renovated and refurbished. The baths com-plex to which water is pumped from the baara linda was relocated to a separate site. The baths have been

in the winter of 1531, Our Lady appeared to an aztec indian named Juan Diego on his way to Holy Mass. She left a marvelous portrait of herself on the mantle of Juan Diego. This miraculous image showing a native woman has proved to be ageless and is kept in the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the americas in Mexico. The mantle/ tilma of Juan Diego has been the subject of much modern research. The tilma, woven out of coarse cactus fibre, should have disintegrated after 20 years, but although nearly 500 years have passed the tilma is still in perfect condi-tion. no paint was used and chemical analysis has not been able to identify the colour imprint. additionally, studies have revealed that the stars on Mary's mantle match exactly what a Mexican would have seen in the sky in December of 1531. The church celebrates the feast of St. Juan Diego on December 9 and Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12. Wolfendhal - a catholic name in disguise.

Our Lady of Guadalupe in Sri Lanka Did you know that among the early churches built by the Portuguese in colombo was a church dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe? church historian rev. Father S.G. Perera S.J. records: ‘on a hill-top called boralugoda, was built the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe’. He ex-plains how the name Guadalupe changed to Wolfend-hal. ‘The name Guadalupe was generally pronounced by the people without the first inconvenient guttural, and became adilippu, which is the name still used in Sinhalese for the present church. The Dutch imagined that the name represented “agoa-de lupe which they imagined to mean the “marsh of wolves” and translated thus “Wolvendhal” or “ dale of the wolves." Wolvendhal is still the name of that quarter, a curious survival of a catholic name in disguise’. Thus it was that during the Dutch period this original Portuguese church was replaced by a Prot-estant church known commonly as the Wolfendhal Church – a fine cruciform building in Doric style bear-ing the date annO 1749 and the united Dutch east in-dia company or VOc emblem over its gabled entrance.

Trincomalee’s Guadalupe Today the only church dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Sri Lanka is found in Trincomalee. it is a beautiful church flanked by two modest towers, situ-ated with its rear to the indian Ocean. a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe is found high up on the façade of the church which is painted with a black and white design. a large portrait of the miraculous picture is positioned over the sculpture of the Last Supper including the tab-ernacle. a statue of St. Juan Diego is found on the left of the sanctuary. The church was built in 1956 and was declared a shrine in 2006.

continued to grow with the addition of the belfry, the two side wings, por-tico etc. The sanctuary was refurbished recently being replaced with an ornamental wooden altar table, lectern, altar piece and tabernacle. St. nicholas is the patron saint of chil-dren and here at bopitiya there are various tradi-tional devotions focusing on children. Many are the stories told regard-ing childless couples who are gifted with babies

after having sought the intercession of the Saint and sick children who have regained a new lease of life after vows being made to the Saint. young couples and parents make vows here and to fulfill the vows they come back and keep coming back every year.

There are many local customs and traditions coming down the generations still practiced by the catholic community at bopitiya. The baara linda or the 'well of vows', baara nool or blessed thread, lama vendesiya or the auction of children and giving of dhana or almsgiv-ings to the pilgrims are some to mention. The baara nu-vanaya which is the 7th novena before the annual feast day is a special occasion to show gratitude and devo-tion to the Saint. The baara nuwanaya was begun by Justina rodrigo Weerasinghe Gunawardena and Jaya-


VaTican ciTy - Pope Francis has lit a candle to symbolise hope for migrants at the same moment a christ-mas tree was illuminated in front of St. Francis’ basilica in assisi. The Pope called himself Fran-cis at his 2013 election to honour the

assisi saint and to stress the saint’s dedication to the poor. Last Sunday evening at the Vatican, Pope Francis lit an oil candle to symbolically repre-sent lighting the tall tree in assisi. at the foot of the tree is a wooden fishing boat used by north african migrants

to sail to Lampedusa, Sicily, in 2014. refugees were invited to attend the assisi tree ceremony. in a video hookup, the pope told the migrants their hearts may be pained but their heads are “high in the hope of the Lord.”

Pope lights candle of hope for migrants at same time Christmas

tree is lit near Assisi Church

Pope Francis is seen on a giant screen as he sits at the Vatican while he symbolically lightens a Christmas tree that was set in front of the Basilica of St. Francis, in Assisi, Italy, on Sunday December 6.

The Vatican’s tree is already up in St Peter’s Square. The tree has been installed early to make sure it is ready for the year of Mercy, along-side the nativity scene. Vatican landscapers pre-

pared the tree and the nativity scene for December 8, the Feast of the im-maculate conception. The 82-foot spruce fir comes from Germany’s bavaria region and a large piece had to be cut off so it could

be transported. The decorations this year include painted ceramic orna-ments made by children receiving oncological care in a number of ital-ian hospitals. The tree will be lit up on the evening of Friday, December 18.

The Christmas tree is positioned in St Peter’s Square

Vatican Christmas tree unveiled early for Year of Mercy

An 82ft Bavarian �ir tree is already in place ready to mark the beginning of the Holy Year

Seeduwa is an an-cient Sinhala village of his-torical sand sociological sig-nificance. Just as ‘Sihigiriya’ became ‘Sigiriya’, ‘Sihi Duwa’ became ‘Seeduwa’. nestled in this an-cient village is the church of the immaculate Virgin Mary. However, this church is not the first Church in Seeduwa. between 1571 aD and 1651 aD, there was a church of the Holy Trinity at Seeduwa. Since then the present church in Seeduwa is the oldest church. at the back of the church there is a section called “Mog-oppuwa” where it is writ-ten “This church was build due to the endeavours of Mr. bota-lage camel Fernando Jayasekara, Velvidane President Muhuppu aD 29.08.1890.” This confirms the date the church was built. Mr. camel Fernando Jayasekera not only built the church but also donted a portion of his land for its premises. after that Dr. Pandit bota-lage Juwan Fernando, President annavi - Sri Lanka’s most distin-guished ayurvedic luminary and reputed oriental scholar-donated the land where the present portion called “Small male church” has been built. Subsequently Mrs. botalage

rosalin Fernando donated the land which stretches from the “Small male church” portion up to baseline road. Five acres of land was do-nated by Pandit amarasinghege Francis Silva - reputed Headmaster and scholar - to rev. Fr. r. Mahe (who was in charge of the parish) who left Seeduwa Mission on april 20, 1951. The old mission House and Kitchen were built there. in this way the Seeduwa church was enlarged and improved. Deeds and Plans pertaining to the church from Honourable botalage camel Fernando Jayasekara’s time to Headmaster Mr. amarasinghege Francis Silva’s time are filed in case

no. 71382 of the Magistrate’s court, negombo. These documents are in-valuable material to “any researcher probing the history of this church. a christian church and its belfry are inseparable parts. Mr. botalage Pedum Fernando Jayaseka-ra Mudalali alias “Pei Mudalali” saw this deficiency. He did the erection to the belfry tower and donated it. This was enlarged and improved upon by the late Dr. Wewalage Vincent Fer-nando the two bells donated by the late “Pei Mudalali” and Dr. Fernando are ringing together in the same bel-fry as it to commemorate these two Honourable Pious Donors. Prof. Risiman Amarasinghe

Centenary celebrations of the Church of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Seeduwa

The Sanctuary and altar at St. anthony's Shrine at Li-yanagemulla were renovated much to the delight of the devo-tees. under the direction of rev. Fr. ruban Leslie some stain glasses were also fixed giving the church a serene look.

Strong and steady, composed in mind Gentle and wise, generous and kind

Dignified, perceptive, mild and accessible Bishop Justin B.G. is more, and flexible

Marching steadily towards his vision Searching apt devices to achieve his mission

coaching willing teams to play in unison casting aside the virus of ignoble division

an inspiring patron of arts and Sports a philosopher-sage of physique and aesthetics

a warm admirer of football’s choreography a hearty enthusiast of dance’s therapy

Renovated Shrine of St. Anthony’s Liyanagemulla

A Tribute to the New Bishop of JaffnaHarnessing all talents is his strength

Honouring lay people at length Women’s crucial role is in consideration “adJesum per Mariam “ its declaration

at home with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount updating the minus-plus nutrinos’ amount bridging Myth, Faith, Science and reason

bishop Justin b. G. is a man for-any season!

Rev.Fr.N.M.Saveri(Maria Xavier) Centre for Performing Arts

( Thirumarai Kalamanram, Ranga kalokendroyo)

Five years ago a young Slovakian artist set out to create a statue that would offer hope and healing to post-abortive women suf-

fering from pain and regret – and the project would touch hearts around the world. The statue portrays a suffering mother in imitation stone. She is grieving with her face buried in her hands. She is ap-proached by her aborted baby, depicted in a young child’s trans-parent form. The child reaches up to touch the woman’s head in a tender gesture of forgiveness and healing. Sculptor Martin Hudacek, the statue’s creator, has seen its impact.

With a child’s touch, sculpture seeks to comfort those who mourn abortion

St. Mary's church, bambalapitiya will celebrate the feast of the immaculate con-ception on December 13, with the Festive High Mass at 8.30 a.m. This will be followed by the procession honouring Our Lady of Livramento (Deliverance). The statue of Our Lady of Livramen-to has an important historical link with St. Mary's bambalapitiya. The chapel of nossa Senhora do Livramento, was built around the mid 16th century at narapeti (now narahenpitiya) in the area where the pres-ent Jawatta cemetery is situated. This was during the time of the Portuguese.

This chapel became very popular but was destroyed during the Dutch period. How-ever, the faithful catholics of bambalapitiya escaped with the statue of Our Lady of De-liverance. The statue was later found in a well ,close to the chapel in narahenpita. This chapel was the nucleus of St. Mary’s church and was therefore an impor-tant stage in setting up of the new parish of bambalapitiya, thirty years later. The statue is kept in a special niche on the left wall immediately outside the sanc-tuary at St. Mary’s church, bambalapitiya.

Our Lady of Livramento (Deliverance)

According to the latest figures put out by the World Health Organization there are about

a billion people with physical dis-abilities in the world. Out of these about 190 million people experi-ence severe disabilities. because of the increase in life span of the popu-lation of Sri Lanka we have more el-derly people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension which lead to strokes and neuro-logical disabilities such as Parkin-son’s disease. in addition to this the thirty years of civil war also took its toll in making people physically and mentally disabled. The united nations conven-tion on the rights of persons with Disabilities in its latest report says that governments and people are now more aware about the rights of people with disabilities. They have noticed a paradigm shift in the ap-proaches to assist disabled persons. in the Western countries we can see more wheelchair access to hospitals, social service organizations, banks and schools. even their public trans-port vehicles have ramps and access to wheelchair-bound people. Though the laws of Sri Lan-ka have promised equal access and equality for all citizens of this coun-try, including the physically and men-tally disabled, we have a long way to go in accepting our citizens with disabilities. We have seen an ump-teen number of times that there are many hospitals, government offices and banks without any wheelchair access. There are hardly any toilets with wheelchair access. There are no buses or trains with special access to physically-disabled persons. it is encouraging to see the present Minister of Health Dr. ra-jitha Senaratne come out with plans to develop the state health sector starting from 2016. During a visit

to the rheumatology and rehabili-tation Hospital in ragama, where many of the injured Sri Lankan se-curity forces personnel are treated and rehabilitated, he said in the year 2025, 25% of the people in Sri Lanka will be senior citizens and they will develop diseases like stroke, paraly-sis, fractures and other debilitating conditions. The Health Ministry is planning to develop more rehabili-tation hospitals across the country to provide them with proper treat-ment facilities and resources. a few days ago we attended a performance given by a school for differently-abled children. it was fascinating to see what these chil-dren who are mentally and physi-cally handicapped could be made to achieve with the guidance and direc-tion of a dedicated team of teachers. Their performance proved that such children could contribute to the so-ciety if some enlightened people have the courage to train them and employ them according to their ca-pacities and capabilities. The aim of the un convention on the rights of persons with disabilities is to make governments and private sector aware of the necessity of removing environmental barriers that prevent these people from inclusion as part of society. How do you react if you are told that you could be listed as

a disabled person because of a road traffic accident, natural disaster, being a victim of shooting, war or civil conflict or an addiction to alco-hol or to illicit substances? One of my close friends who was the main bread-winner of the family became a paraplegic instantly due to a mo-tor vehicle accident. His status of an able person was converted to a disabled person in an instant. a few years ago during a bomb blast in co-lombo several people became com-pletely blind by the shattered glass particles that entered their eyes. How many people have been made wheelchair bound or crippled due to bullet wounds or crippling illnesses such as a stroke? How many people have lost their vision because of dia-betes or glaucoma? Sri Lanka has legislation against discrimination of people on account of any disabilities. but these laws have to be properly im-plemented. at least we should make the general public aware that there are people with disabilities in our country and they should not be mar-ginalized. as we saw we could be in the list of disabled people due to ill-ness or old age. The disabled should have access to mainstream systems and services intended for the gen-eral public. These include access to education, health care, employment, transport and other services.

Access to Disabled

BiTS &PiECES

By Ariel



1866 - 2016

Jubilee

A P P R E C I A T I O N

The Standard chartered Oldies mourn the passing away of a dis-tinctive member of their flock-the erstwhile Rex cooray, one of the last batches of "unionised Staff" belonging to the Standard chartered

A signi�icant sign of humility The weather is extremely cold, there is a chilly blowing, across the meadow and who walks into the cave, the Most blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph., in a few moments one could hear the cry of a baby. Sheep slowly tracking in. The sound of heavenly music, her-alding the birth of Jesus christ, two thousand years ago. That was the first Christmas. catholics and christians throughout the world celebrate this great feast. Christmas is filled with full of golden memories. During this season of goodwill and cheer, let us not forgot the poor, the lame and the sick, the deaf and dumb and the blind. The refugees and those who have been discarded by their loved ones. Just a smile, a word or two, would go a long way, to brighten up their lives. Old clothes to those who have hardly anyting to wear, would be a great act of charity. The birth of Jesus Christ is a significant sign of humility. Let us all walk in his footsteps to make this world a better place to live in.

J.T. Mirando

Dual Jubilee Celebration

rev. Fr. Mark Fernando T.O.r. celebrated 50 years of religious commitment and 25 years of Priesthood re-cently. a Thanksgiving eucharist was celebrated at the church of Our Lady of Good Voyage at Duwa-negombo to mark the event. Pic: shows rev. Fr. Mark, being con-ducted by rev. Fathers and well wishers for the Festive Mass.

D. Anselm Fernando

JesusWho will stand for you?Jesus, if you will ask Him to.He is standing with His arms open wideIf you will but just step to His side.He will make your life as good as newHe will make a bet-ter you.The world will always stand in fearThey do not know He is so dear.If they would but take the chanceThey would fi nd He is worth more than just a glance.He will always be there for youHe once fell to the dust.he carried the crossHe hung on the tree.He made a way for you and me.If we will but take holdWe will fi nd we need not gold.If we follow Him alwaysWe will fi nd better days.Life will still have toil and strifeHowever, with Jesus you will have eternal life.

Maureen de Zilwa

Fr. alexis Dassanayake answered his “Masters call” and bade farewell to us on December 4th 2014, at the age of 83. Popularly known as Fr. Dassa, he hailed from a devout catholic family in Dankotuwa. His par-ents were Don David Dassanayake and Matilda rodrigo. He had his primary education at St. Mary’s college, chilaw and secondary education at Joseph Vaz college, Wennappuwa, where he imbibed a great devo-tion to Fr. Joseph Vaz, which stood him in good stead throughout his life. His priestly ministry commenced in the Dio-cese of chilaw. Firstly as an assistant Parish Priest in Puttalam and later as Parish Priest in the parishes of bolawatte and Katuneriya, after which he was Dean and Parish Priest of Wennappuwa. besides, he also served as Director of St. Peter’s Home and the Press in chilaw. Fr. was appointed as the national Director of catechetics in 1981, where he laboured tirelessly and won the hearts of all there, who came in “contact” with him in the field of Cathechetics. in 1989 he was appointed to the teaching staff of the national Seminary in ampitiya as a Professor cum Formator, being in charge of cathechetics. by far, his greatest contribution to the local “church” was his stewardship as the Vice Postulator for the case of canonisation of Ven. Fr. Joseph Vaz. He succeeded the late Fr. Theodore Peries in 1993. For 21 long years he steered the destinies of the national Joseph Vaz Secretariat; firstly in the Beatification pro-cess which bore fruit in January 1995 culminating in

branch of the ceylon bank employees union. rex cooray hailed from the Parish of Kalutara, Holy cross church, one of whose younger brothers is a Priest of the archdiocese of colombo, will long be re-membered as a fearless leader, who took up the reins of the President of the Standard chartered bank, co-lombo branch union, amidst so many of his comrades defecting on being dejected in the aftermath of a 54 day strike (rescue operation) in this regard, he proved his mettle as he safe-guarded the branch union in the wake of manipulated promotions done so as to break the unity and solidar-ity of its members by the bank. rex cooray was a member of the bank's crick-et Team. His father who lived up to the age of 93, a churchchillian age, pre-deceased him being the oldest pensioner at the time. May the turf lie gently on his soul.

Merril De Cruz

Rev. Fr. Alex Dassanayakethe canonisation twenty years later. The Holy See an-nounced the canonization in mid 2014, which surely was the moment of “crowning glory” for Fr. alex. He had quite often repeated that God should “spare” him to witness this canonization. yes, he did live to receive this “good news “for which he had been “toiling” for many, many years. but alas, just 40 days prior to the canonisation ceremony at the Galle Face Green, Fr. alex was “called” by his creator to “Greater heights”, that of witnessing the canonization ceremony from above, in the company of St. Joseph Vaz and all the Saints. With the passing of the years his health began to tell on him as he suffered from cardiac problems and this demanded more “rest” on his part which was not to his liking. His last years were spent in retirement at the Lansigama Home for the elders in Katuneriya where he passed away peacefully. Though Fr alex is no more, his “spirit” continues to live in the hearts of all those who had known him in the years gone by. Goodbye dear Fr. alex, till we meet on the oth-er side of the shore. Do pray for us, as we too will not fail you in our prayers. Till then it’s aDiOS from all of us who loved you and miss you now.

Roggy Coreanational Joseph Vaz Secretariat

Deacon neil Prasanna Sanjeeva Fernandopulle, Son of Mr. Milton Fernandopulle and Mrs. Lily Theresa Fernando of ethgala, Katana, will be ordained a priest by His Lordship rt. rev. Dr. raymond Wickramasinghe, the bishop of Galle, on Saturday 19th December 2015, at 10.00 a.m. at the Shrine of Mary Help of christians at Don bosco Technical centre, negombo. He is the third in the family of four with two elder sisters and a younger brother. He had his primary education at the roman catholic School at ethgala. He Joined the Don bosco Minor Seminary and pursued his higher studies at Joseph Vaz college Wennappuwa and St. Xaviers’ college, Marawila. He entered the novitiate at Don bosco Kota-deniyawa and studied Humanity and Philosophy at

“chintanaloka,” Salesian Studentate of Philosophy. He joined the Sacred Heart Theologate at Shillong, north india and successfully completed his Theological stud-ies. He was ordained a Deacon by His Grace Dominic Jala sdb in 2014. He exercised his Diaconal ministry at Mount carmel church, Palliyawatte and St. Sebastian's church, nochchiyagama. His Motto is “ For me to live is christ.” During this Jubilee year of Mercy, we pray that through the Maternal guidance of our blessed Mother, Mary Help of christians, he may be a “sign and bearer of God’s Love and Mercy to the needy youth” in realizing the dream of Don bosco.

Rev.Fr. Bernard Fernando sdb

Gift of a new Priest to the Salesians of Don Bosco

"Professor Ma-nique Gunesekera, chair Professor of the Depart-ment of english, Kelaniya university passed away in the united States of america, after a brief ill-ness," read the obituary in last week's Sunday Times. For many of us who knew this 'Familian' of bubbly nature, this was indeed devastating news and many questions pass through our minds. Why is God so possessive of His

Manique Gunesekera ... "You are unforgetable"

Rex Cooray - will be long remembered

creatures who one could undoubtedly class in the category of "The Good?" Why does He have to snatch them to His 'man-

sion' so soon? Sadly, that was what happened to Manique. an Old Girl of Holy Family convent, bambalapitiya where she was also one time Head Girl, Manique did her alma mater proud. She was a popular figure at HFc, even before she be-came Head Girl. She was loved by all - teachers and students-both. Kind and considerate, helpful and loving, Manique was the best Head Girl the school could ever have. So sim-ple; hardly exhibiting that Head Girl badge that set her apart from other Familians. She was just one among us. There was no bridge. Her spontane-ous nature bridged that gap that generally exists between Head Girl and other students. Manique even noticed the lesser mortals in the lower grades. She would always have that friendly smile or would want to know whether we got ourselves into some mischief.

Our class just loved her and i remember some of us seeking her out with some mundane problems like class pun-ishments, etc. There were times when we sought her help in lessons if we did not understand the explanation given by the teachers. While trying to help us out she would give us that important piece of advice: "if you were at-tentive in class you would have understood." Manique is no more but she was an ex-ample to all Familians. Someone who was intel-ligent, educated but who also possessed loads of simplicity. Manique is the sis-ter of Sirohmi Gunesekera, who writes the column "a cross the Way" to the Mes-senger. Goodbye Ma-nique. you are unforget-table. "On the road through life you meet many people but only a few have a profound effect on you." MS.


xGnanartha Pradeepaya

1866 - 2016

Jubilee

“Oh dear, i forgot to switch off the radio,”said Melanie. “How come?” asked Harin. “it’s all because i was listening to my mother’s grumbling. She was going on and on and i was upset!” replied Melanie. “Have you noticed that we always have someone to blame if anything happens? We are always looking for scapegoats. It’s so easy to find someone who is the cause if anything goes wrong,” chimed in rani. “i know. it’s like the way we blame politi-cians for everything. We forget that it was we who elected them into power,” commented Harin. “So what is the alternative? Should we take the blame upon ourselves? Maybe we are at fault,” said rani. “after all, Jesus took the blame for all our sins and suffered and died on the cross. He was the Sinless One but shouldered the burden of the cross and suffered and died. yet, before He died, He said “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” and forgave His enemies,” said rani. “So maybe we too should stop looking around for someone to blame and just accept that we are capable of human weakness.”said Harin, adding, “isn’t it part of the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.?" “It’s difficult for we have spent a lifetime blaming other people and other things, even na-ture. We forget that God the creator is all powerful and can bring Good out of evil!” Said rani. “Let us then decide today to stop blam-ing others and to accept our own faults,”concluded Melanie.

By Sirohmi Gunesekera

Blame

Family

Let us forgive one another

ivan and Gabriel were good neighbours and close friends for years. One day their wives had a bitter fight over a chicken egg. ivan and Gabriel took the sides of their wives and the quarrel became stronger. in no time ivan and Gabriel became bit-ter enemies. There were bitter exchanges of words and even fist fights. It be-came a police case and the matter reached the court.

Gabriel was sen-tenced to some months in the jail. When he came out he was so bit-ter that he set fire to ivan's house. ivan very clearly saw Gabriel run-

ning away after setting fire to his house. He pur-sued him but he could not catch him. See how two good families that were close friends became bit-ter enemies in the name of an egg! The father of ivan, who was witnessing the fall of the both fami-lies, one day called him and told him, "ivan, don't tell anybody who set fire to our house. if you hide

one man's sin, God will forgive you your two sins." ivan accepted his father's advice. He said nothing against Gabriel who had set his house on fire. No-body knew how the house caught. fire. Gabriel knew that ivan had seen him setting fire to the house. When he found that ivan was not saying anything against him or complain-ing, he felt remorse. Ga-briel came to ivan apolo-gized to him and once again they became close friends. Of course this little story has its base in Leo Tolstoy's famous sto-ry 'Don't Play with �ire.' "if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father

will also forgive you" (Mt 6:14). Let us relinquish our habit of finding fault with others and talking ill of them. There are many people amongst us also who do bad things just be-cause they are jealous of others. There are people who continue bickering and quarrelling for petty things. Jesus called Judas, the traitor who betrayed him, 'Friend'. When Peter returned to Jesus with a repentant heart after having denied Him three times, Jesus elevated Him to be the Head of the church. Let us follow the model of the love of Jesus who tells His Father that He had forgiven all those who persecuted, torment-

ed and crucified Him. My Dear Friends, let us forgive one another. Let us love one another. Let us also try to live in divine purity. Let us extir-pate all kinds of cruelties, deceptions, jealousies and falsehoods. Let us respect

one another and work in fraternal cooperation. Let us try to find joy in the welfare and prosperity of others. Let us also pray for their welfare.

Courtesy: Vachanolsayam

What can I give Him,Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherdI would bring a lamb,

If I were a wise manI would do my part,

Yet what I can I give Him,Give my heart.

The house was one buzz of activity. The whirr of the polisher, the swish of the brushes, the scrubbing, the scouring, the noise, the animation. Mr Perera sat up in his old wooden bed, feebly ma-noeuvred his feet to the floor, stood up unsteadi-ly, toddled along to the window and opened it. a stream of sunlight shone in, almost dazzling him. He looked at the table for

his morning cup of tea but the cup stood stubbornly in its inverted position on the saucer. He peered at his quaint time-piece, a relict of better days when its piercing ring dutifully reminded him of his call to duty. He stared at it and it stared back imperturb-ably pointing its hands to 9 o' clock. He usually awoke early and lay in bed star-ing at the ceiling while in-

cidents in his life seemed to be passing across it like a frieze. by seven his cup of morning tea would be on his table. He needed it. it refreshed him. Today at nine it hadn't arrived. He dragged himself unsteadi-ly to the door and called out to his daughter. The servant girl popped her head through the window and said "nona wants to know what you are shout-ing about. She is busy and so are we." "but my cup of tea? you've forgotten about it!" exclaimed the old man. in popped the daughter, flushed with exertion and exaspera-tion. "What's the meaning of this father? Don't you know what day it is? can't you wait a little. it wasn't our fault you weren't up at seven. The servants are busy. i'll send your tea in when they are free." The old man toddled back and stretched himself in his easy chair. He felt faint without that morning cup of tea. at 10 O' clock his daughter brought in his breakfast. "i didn't send in your bed tea. Here you can have your breakfast and tea at once. and don"t hollar for any of us. We're busy. Fred's friends, you know who,

are coming tonight to usher in christmas" "but" faltered the old man, "Don't you usher in christmas at the mid-night service? isn't that our practice?" "Oh! We can go tomorrow. There are plenty of Masses in vari-ous churches. His friends don"t get a chance of get-ting together often. by the way father, you just keep to your room. Don't come out on any pretence. you are so feeble now and you will go around touching everything and messing around. Please keep to your room. your meals will come when we are ready. Don't disturb us." Mr Perera kept to his room. The noises around were, to say the least, irritating. He lay in his easy chair and took up a book, dozing off from time to time. by evening he was bored stiff. How he longed to get a glimpse of the Drawing room this 24th night. a lit up crib in one corner, "christmas tree Oh! christmas tree!" in the other; the lacy, gauzy curtains adding an ethereal look, the cosy christmas atmosphere that he so loved - remi-niscent of the past. but

Contd. on Pg. 14

This Comes to PassBy Jeannette Cabraal


Young World xGnanartha Pradeepaya

1866 - 2016

Jubilee

Awarding of Certi�icates for Best Academic Performance

york international School, Wattala awarded certificates to students for their best academic perfor-mance for the year 2014. Picture shows rev. Fr. chalana Kalanga Vice rector of Don bosco Orphanage uswetakeiyawa pre-senting a certificate to a student.

N. P.

York International students present Christmas Carols

christmas carols presented by the students of york international school Wattala was held at the school hall recently.

Nimal Perera

First Holy Communion at Thalgasagara

Seven children from Thalgasagara in the Parish of nattandiya received First Holy communion recently. Picture shows the children with the Parish Priest, rev. Fr. upali churchil and assistant rev. Fr. Sujan nishanka

Shriyangani Felicia

St. Joseph's Pre-school Christmas event

St. Joseph's Pre-school nattandiya held its christmas programme recently organised by the Sis-ters of Providence. The children are seen in picture pre perform-ing a colourful dance item.

Shriyangani Felicia

First Holy Communion at Madulsima

Twelve children from the Parish of St. Paul the Hermit, Madulsima, in the Diocese of badulla received First Holy communion recently

Christmas Concert at St. Bernadette's Pre School

St. bernadette's Preschool in Diyalagoda held its christmas concert at St. Sebastian's Parish Hall. rev. Fr. Dilan Perera, Director St. Vincent's Home Mag-gona was the chief Guest. D. Anselm Fernando

The "english Day" of St. Michael's early childhood Development centre was held recently with rev. Fr. Linton Joseph, Parish Priest of St. Mary's church Tudella, as chief Guest. Bonnie Galhena

EnglishDayat

St. Michael's

St. Joseph’s College, Negombo Overall Tennis Champions

at the recently concluded all island inter School Tennis championship organised by the Sri Lanka Tennis association (SLTa) colombo, St Jo-seph’s college, negombo walked off with all hon-ours by winning the Most coveted Overall champi-onship and being adjudged the Most Outstanding Girls School. The victory is of sterling worth to St Joseph’s college, negombo as the college is just 10 years old. in the inter School Girls' Tennis Tourna-ment organised by SLTa in the year 2015, the col-lege shone in all the events. under 8 Girls and under 10 Girls teams became 2nd runners up while under 7 Girls team was placed 3rd runner up. Thus the overall performance secured the overall championship.

13 December 13, 2015 Messenger = december 13, 2015 Messenger


1866 - 2016

Jubilee

Compiled by Noel JayamanneContact us on: 071 8004580E-mail: [email protected]

English with Fun and Entertainment Dear Readers,

Our 100th lesson consists of literature related to Pope Francis’ views on christmas 2015, the advent wreath prayer and information about St. nikolaos the legendary Santa claus.

read the activities suggested and do them for language improvement.

Batch 7 of the Certificate Course in English Medium Teacher Development conducted by the archdiocesan education commission will commence in January 2016. contact Sharmalee course coordinator (011 2699129) for further details.

your comments are greatly appreciated.

The information sources referred to are Wikipedia articles and sources from the inter-net and they are duly acknowledged and credited with much appreciation. God bless you!

NJ

Christmas festivities ‘a charade’ with world at war: pope

Pope Francis is pictured during his weekly general audi-ence in St. Peter’s Square on November 18, 2015 at Vati-can (AFP photo/Andreas Solaro)

Vatican city (aFP) - christmas festivities will seem empty in a world which has chosen "war and hate", Pope Francis said Thursday.

"christmas is approaching: there will be lights, parties, christmas trees and nativity scenes ... it's all a charade. The world continues to go to war. The world has not cho-sen a peaceful path," he said in a sermon.

"There are wars today everywhere, and hate," he said after the worst terror attack in French history, the bombing of a russian airliner, a double suicide bombing in Leba-non, and a series of other deadly strikes.

"We should ask for the grace to weep for this world, which does not recognize the path to peace. To weep for those who live for war and have the cynicism to deny it," the argentine pontiff said, adding: "God weeps, Jesus weeps". The sermon threw a shadow over the start of the festive season at the Vatican, where a giant christmas tree was unveiled.

The 25-metre (82-foot) high pine hails from former pope benedict XVi's homeland, the German state of bavaria.

The tree, which will be decorated in time for the start of the Vatican's Holy year on December 8, will be festooned with ornaments made by children from cancer wards in hospitals across italy.

This year's nativity scene will be made up of 24 life-size figures, sculpted from wood and hand-painted.

in a nod to Pope Francis's humble style, alongside the figures from the story of Je-sus's birth will be sculptures of ordinary people, including a man supporting an el-derly person in need.

Activity1 Study meanings of the words given and read the text.

festivities -revelries, celebrations, merriments empty -unfilled, bare, vacant, blank, void war - conflict, combat, warfare, battle, fighting hate - hatred, abhorrence, disgust, animosity charade -pretense, farce, sham, fake, travesty sermon - homily, discourse, talk, address series -sequence, succession, chain, run recognize -know, identify, distinguish,diagnose cynicism - pessimism, sarcasm, distrust, scorn unveiled - revealed, exposed, divulged, showed festooned -garlanded, wreathed, draped, sculpted - carved, shaped, formed, chiseled nod - permission, signal, signed, okay, gesture

Activity 2- Read the text and answer the questions(i) What did Pope Francis say on Thursday?(ii) in the second paragraph what did he say in a sermon?(iii) What are the acts of terror mentioned in the third paragraph?(iv) Why should we ask for the grace to weep for this world?(v) When will the Vatican’s Holy year start?

Activity 3- Read the text and �ind a word similar in meaning to the words given below-

(a)birth – (b) nonviolent – (c) lethal- (d) previous – ( e) unassuming –

Advent Wreath Prayer for the Second Week of AdventStir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Thine only-begotten Son, that through His coming we may be worthy to serve Thee with purified minds. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. amen.

nikolaos was born in asia Minor at the Graeco-roman city of Myra in about aD 300. He was a pious young man. He was one of the youngest to ever become a priest, and his de-votion and piety were renowned. in a time when extra daughters might be sold into slav-ery if the family couldn't afford a dowry for them, nikolaos stepped forward, providing funds to destitute women and men, some-times to assist in their marriages, other times to just relieve their crippling poverty. Some tales have him throwing bags of gold down the chimney, a precursor of the modern San-ta's travel down the chimney. The Santa claus familiar to us today bears little resemblance to the original Saint nicho-las -- a man who lived 1,700 years ago in Myra, a city in modern-day Turkey.Serving as a bishop in the early christian church, his generosity was well-known His generosity was born of an understand-ing of the potential pain of those he chose to

help - nikolaos was persecuted and imprisoned for his faith, so his compassion for the potential loss of freedom for those he helped was a very real and personal one. The historical figure, Saint Nicholas, was a bishop of Myra. Several stories exist about nikolaos, but the most prevalent features nicholas giving gold or money to poor children. One story tells of nicholas giving money to three poor daughters who were destined to live in poverty without a dowry. Some attribute the hanging of stockings on christmas to nikolaos because another story tells of nikolaos putting money in poor children’s socks. after nikolaos' death, he was made a saint, patron of sailors and children, butchers and bakers, and judges, to name just a few. Many Greek beaches and har-bors still have shrines to him. Part of the saint-making process requires attested mir-acles, and he accumulated plenty. While those miracles don't list traveling around the world in a single night, dropping gifts everywhere, once miracles can be managed, why should anything be impossible?

Activity – 4 Read the text and underline the correct answer(i) nikolaos was born in the country/city/town) of Myra.(ii) He was (unkind/pious/wicked).(iii)He provided ( houses/ lands/funds) for destitute women and men(iv) St. nikolaos served as a (politician/doctor/bishop) of the early christian church.(v)Santa claus of today bears resemblance to ( St. nikolaos/ St. Michael/ St. Peter)

Activity 2- answers (i). He said on Thursday that christmas festivities would seem empty in a world which had chosen "war and hate", (ii) He said that the world had not chosen a peaceful path, in his sermon.(iii) They are, the worst attack in French History, the bombing of a russian airliner, a double suicide bombing in Lebanon, and a series of other deadly strikes.(iv) We should ask for the grace to weep for this world because it does not recognize the path to peace.(v) The Vatican's Holy year will start on December 8.

Activity 3-(a)birth – nativity (b) nonviolent –peaceful (c) lethal-deadly (d) previous –former ( e) unassuming – humble

Activity 4 (i) city (ii)pious (iii) funds (iv) bishop (v) St. nikolaos

Advent Wreath

14 december 13, 2015MessengerYouth

orders were orders! Who'd care for an old man's idio-syncracies. There was revelry in the air. The smell of cooking pervaded the house, a miscellany of aromatic flavours. There were sporadic bursts of crackers. Sky rockets whizzed through the air against the midnight blue sky. Mr. Perera sat there in his pyjamas relegated to the limbo of his room. He heard the guests arriving. The raucous laughter, the hail-fellow-well-met thumps on the back. a smile quivered at the corners of his lips. These were once upon a time his own pupils at his and their alma Mater. His own son-in-law was a pupil of his and so were these chaps whose loud guffaws brought a remi-

niscent smile and lit up his face in the darkness. He at-tempted to recognize a voice or two. That deep bass voice was unmistakably neil. That high-pitched tone should be elmo and that chirpy voice should belong to that inimitable bully, Gune as he was called. They did not know he was here perhaps. He reclined with the memories rushing in. He heard footsteps, chuckles, loud guffaws approaching and in trooped his one time pupils. They had just by an inadvertent remark heard he was in. His daughter her face livid looked on. They crowded at the door awaiting his permission to enter. One, a law-yer, the other a high ranking naval officer, another the chairman of a prestigious company, an up and coming businessman and a planter and his own son-in-law a high-ranker in the army and he, their now senile men-tor, sans everything. "Sir!" they all echoed "can you recognize us ?"

"by your voices" he returned. and seated around him on his bed they forgot the revelry they had come for, as memories came gushing in on every side. They kept their old master company till it was twelve. at 12 they wished him singing "He's a jolly good fellow." The daughter came in to invite them for her well-planned dinner and exotic drinks. They pre-ferred to dish out and sit with their master and en-joy the dinner with him. The daughter had no option but to invite the father to the dinner table and so he got the opportunity to experience the snug, cosy, at-mosphere of the christmas Drawing room. Out of re-spect for their old master they refrained from drinks as he was a teetotaller. it was a totally unexpected christmas and a re-warding one for the old master. The soft music in the background played on "This comes to pass when a child is born."

Sir alec Guinness is one of the most recogniz-able actors of the 20th century. While he appeared in lots of films over the years and won many awards, he is best known as having played Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. What many people do not know about him, though, is that at the age of 42 he converted to catholi-

cism – in part because of a miracle. Guinness, was born in 1914 in London to a broken family. He never knew his father and grew up in poverty. Though he was confirmed in the Anglican faith at 16, he was unsure of what he really believed about religion. Over the next few years he bounced around Presbyterianism, atheism, Marxism, buddhism, and even attended a few Quaker meetings. Like a good englishman of the early 20th century, though, he had no interest in catholicism. While rehearsing for the play Hamlet, an an-glican priest approached him and explained that he was blessing himself wrong and showed him the cor-rect way. Something about the encounter had a spiri-tual impact on him, and he regained some interest in anglicanism. He was drawn further into the anglican faith in the turmoil of World War ii, but it was not until 1954 when he was 40 years old that he had another experi-ence that would open him to considering catholicism.He was in France working on the film Father Brown, based on G. K. Chesterton’s well known fictional crime-solving priest. He was playing the title role and so was dressed up as a catholic priest. While walking down the street in priestly attire, a local child spotted him and mistook him to be a genuine catholic priest. The child

ran up, grabbed his hand trustingly and walked with him down the road. The trust and affection the child had for cath-olic priests had a deep impact on him and made him start to seriously consider catholicism. He later ex-plained: “Continuing my walk, I reflected that a Church that could inspire such confidence in a child, making priests, even when unknown, so easily approachable, could not be as scheming or as creepy as so often made out. i began to shake off my long-taught, long-absorbed prejudices.” Soon after, his son Matthew contracted polio and appeared to be close to death. Desperate and seek-ing divine help, Guinness started dropping by a local catholic church to pray. He made a deal with God: if God healed Mat-thew, he would allow his son to become catholic if he wanted. against all expectations, his son recovered. So Guinness and his wife enrolled him in a Jesuit school. a few years later, Guinness, his wife and his son all con-verted to catholicism. Guinness remained a faithful catholic the rest of his life until he died in 2000.

Catholic News Agency


1866 - 2016

Jubilee

The miracle that led the star of 'Star Wars' to convert to Catholicism

Contd. from Pg. 11

This Comes

contemplate this mediation of the community as an es-sential element for their future. They learn to know and to love their brothers and sisters who pursue paths dif-ferent from their own; and these bonds strengthen in everyone the communion which they share. Vocations grow within the Church: in the course of formation, candidates for various vocations need to grow in their knowledge of the ecclesial com-munity, overcoming the limited perspectives that we all have at the beginning. To that end, it is helpful to un-dertake some apostolic experience together with other members of the community, for example in the com-pany of a good catechist, to communicate the christian message; together with a religious community, to expe-rience the evangelisation of the peripheries sharing in the life of the cloister, to discover the treasure of con-templation; in contact with missionaries, to know more closely the mission ad gentes; and in the company of diocesan priests, to deepen one’s experience of pastoral life in the parish and in the diocese. For those who are already in formation, the ecclesial community always remains the fundamental formational environment, to-wards which one should feel a sense of gratitude. Vocations are sustained by the Church: after definitive commitment, our vocational journey within the church does not come to an end, but it continues in our willingness to serve, our perseverance and our on-going formation. The one who has consecrated his life to the Lord is willing to serve the church wherever it

has need. The mission of Paul and barnabas is a good example of this readiness to serve the church. Sent on mission by the Holy Spirit and by the community of antioch (cf. acts 13, 1-4), they returned to that same community and described what the Lord had worked through them (cf. 14: 27). Missionaries are accompa-nied and sustained by the christian community, which always remains a vital point of reference, just as a vis-ible homeland offers security to all who are on pilgrim-age towards eternal life. We ask the Lord to grant to all those who are on a vocational journey a deep sense of belonging to the church; and that the Holy Spirit may strengthen among Pastors and all of the faithful, a deeper sense of communion, discern-ment and spiritual fatherhood and motherhood. Father of mercy, who gave your Son for our sal-vation and who strengthens us always with the gifts of your Spirit, grant us Christian communities which are alive, fervent and joyous, which are fonts of fraternal life, and which nurture in the young the desire to consecrate themselves to you and to the work of evangelisation. Sus-tain these communities in their commitment to offer ap-propriate vocational catechesis and ways of proceeding towards each one’s particular consecration. Grant the wisdom needed for vocational discernment, so that in all things the greatness of your merciful love may shine forth. May Mary, Mother and guide of Jesus, intercede for each Christian community, so that, made fruitful by the Holy Spirit, it may be a source of true vocations for the service of the holy People of God.

From the Vatican, 29 November 2015 First Sunday of Advent

Contd. from Pg. 5

Pope Francis'....Echoes of Eden

Creation's first gardenThe Garden of eden.

exuding beauty, plenty, innocence.an idyllic setting.

an intruding demon in serpent formDangling an apple, tempts, attracts;cause destruction and banishment

a paradise lost!

a garden plotThrice lush foliage

resplendent blossoms of multitudinous hues.a crimson rose, many-petalled, dew-embedded

Tempting, attracting,yet there lurks 'neath it

a hissing serpent's venomous fangs.

childhood's garden of innocence.carefree, joyous, fragrance diffusing;

Steals in the 'adult' serpent.Trustful innocence

Falls prey to serpentine wilesbanished from the garden of innocence

Traumatized!

Jeannette Cabraal

15 13, decenber 2015 Messenger


1866 - 2016

Jubilee

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor. (Is. 61:1)

“… but one mightier than I is coming”

(Luke 3,10-18)

This Sunday too we continue with the figure of John, the herald of Jesus the Messiah. People living under the roman rule have been expecting a liberator from God. especially the faithful and devout Jews like Simeon (2,25: “… righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of israel”) and anna (2,38: “… all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem”) have been waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem and the restoration of God’s reign in israel: This messianic expectation starts sprouting, as they see John, “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (3,3). but John turns the attention of the people to the one mightier than him – the one who is coming – the one whose thongs of sandals he is not worthy to loosen. He even makes a contrast between what he does – the water baptism – and what the Messiah will do – the Baptism of spirit and fire.

What is this Baptism of spirit and �ire?

i. Spirit and fire destroy, refine and purify. “Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (3,9). The repentant are thus cleansed; the unrepentant are destroyed. The repentant are thus immersed in the cleansing power of God; the unrepentant are immersed in the destroying power of God. John would understand the Baptism of spirit and fire in this way.

ii. The Spirit was poured out upon the Early Church like fire at Pentecost, “Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them” (acts 2,3). The early Church would understand the Baptism of spirit and fire in this way after her Pentecostal experience. When the Messiah comes, what will He do? He will judge people. John explains the judgement in farming language. a farmer in threshing floor throws the threshed wheat into the air with a winnowing fan, a forklike shovel. The kernels fall to the ground, while the light chaff is blown off by the wind. The kernels are gathered into the barn; the chaff is gathered but burnt up. Thus the Messiah will discriminate the good and the bad – just like a farmer separates wheat and chaff. Thus the repentant and the unrepentant are eventually judged. Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist when the nazis arrested him and sent him to a concentration camp. in his book, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’, he describes some of the sufferings that Jews endured in those camps. One was the pain of waiting – waiting to learn the fate of loved ones, waiting to learn one’s own fate, waiting to be rescued. Today we, christians all over the world, are a people of waiting. We await the coming of our Messiah, the one anointed by God to redeem us from all our pains. We are not plagued by the pain of waiting. We rather enjoy the joy of waiting. We are (or in the process of becoming) the wheat, which will be stored into His barn. How can we become the wheat gathered into the barn of the Messiah? Let us turn back to John. John was engaged in three types of preaching: eschatological, ethical and messianic. He preached about the coming wrath: “He said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “you brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” (3,7) – the eschatological preaching. He also announced to the crowds the coming of the Messiah: “but one mightier than i is coming” (3,16) – the messianic preaching. John did not simply urge the crowds to reform. but he offered them certain standards for reforming their social conduct. it is this ethical preaching that we listen to in his address to three groups of people – crowds, tax collectors and soldiers. They all came to him with the basic question, “What then should we do?” (3,10.12.14). Hence his ethical preaching follows.i. To the crowds: “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. and whoever has food should do likewise.”

ii. To the tax collectors: “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”

iii. To the soldiers: “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” Let us acknowledge this ethical preaching of John as the good news preached to us today. We are then the wheat gathered into the barn of the Messiah who will come again.

Rev. Fr. Don Anton Saman Hettiarachchi

THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT

LITURGICAL CALENDAR YEAR C

13th Dec. - 20th Dec.2015

Sun: THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT Zeph.3:14-18a; Phil 4:4-7; Lk.3:10-18Mon: Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest & Doctor Num.24:2-7,15-17a; Mt. 21:23-27Tue: Zeph.3:1-2,9-13: Mt. 21:28-32Wed: Is. 45:6b-8, 18,21b-25 Lk. 7: 19-23Thu: Gen.49:1-2,8-10; Mt. 1:1-17Fri: International Migrants Day Jer.23:5-8; Mt.1:18-24Sat: Jdg.13:2-7,24,25 Lk.1:5-25Sun: FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT Mic.5:1-4a; Hebr.10:5-10; Lk.1:39-45

Response: Lord, hear us almighty Father, look with pity on the many persons throughout our land, who are undergoing tremendous hardships due to the prevailing heavy rains. Give them the necessary graces to offer all to you in the sure hope of receiving your merciful glance. We pray to the Lord.Response: Lord, hear us almighty Father, we ask your guidance for our students who, after many months of preparation are now sitting for the O'Level examinations. May the Holy Spirit help them to move away from all distractions and fully concentrate on the examination. We pray to the Lord.Response: Lord, hear us almighty Father, we intercede for the sick and the dying and those in hospital beds with terminal illnesses. May the blood of your son Jesus, wash them and may they have the grace of a miraculous cure. We pray to the Lord.Response: Lord, hear us almighty Father, give your people the grace to prepare their internal abodes to welcome your Son. May all enjoy a true conversion and like the prodigal son be deemed fit to be clothed in royalty. We pray to the Lord.Response: Lord, hear us

First Reading. Zeph. 3: 14- 18 Having warned the israelites the proph-et tries to see the salvation in a joyful manner. Therefore he gives courage and hope to the isra-elites. They are to live in joy and rejoicing.

Second Reading. Phil. 4: 4-7 This invites us to rejoice in the Lord for it saw salvation at hand. it also reminds us to pray and let us know the Lord what our expecta-tions are so that our minds and hearts will be in christ.

Gospel. Lk. 3: 10- 18 as John the baptist wins the hearts of the people they begin to question him about what they should do to gain the kingdom of God. They have to follow the teaching and live a true christian life. but he is not the one they are ex-pecting and he is not the Messiah.

Re�lection. Today’s readings invite us to rejoice for the kingdom of God is at hand. For us it is a mat-ter of preparing ourselves to meet the Lord. We can rejoice and be joyful for salvation is ours but it is a matter of whether we are interested in sustaining it in our lives. if we are to sustain it in our lives then we have to live and lead a good christian life. The Lord will bring us out of any life situation but only if we let it be known by prayer and supplication. To the people who were living in slavery without hope the prophet announces the hope of salvation. Looking at the Salvation to come upon them the prophet wanted judgment from us. indeed this is a reason for us to rejoice and be happy. The Second reading reminds us about the salvation that is in our hands and tells the people not to stay quiet but through prayer let the Lord know what we need. The Lord in his goodness will answer our prayers and suppli-cations. and this is the reason why we should rejoice and be glad for the Lord is good and He answers our needs and grants us salvation. and it is great and a joy to be saved by the grace of God. but this salvation that we have got in hand is to be sustained by us lest we lose it. in the Gospel, John the baptist suggests us different ways to sustain this salvation in our lives and that is by way of sacrifice and witness. For this reason he reminds his followers to be charitable, just, truthful, faithful and to be content. but for those who cannot keep to this he reminds that there is the Lord who is more important and power-

ful and could save you. Therefore let us all, the sin-ful and the good alike turn to the Lord for His mercy and love. and re-joice for God is love and forgiving.

Aid Story a king once noticed that the roads in and near one of his towns were very poorly kept. There were humps and holes everywhere. rid-ing and walking were uncomfortable and dif-ficult. The townsfolk seemed to care not at all about this disgraceful condition. The king decided to cure their indiffer-ence and laziness. One night he ordered a giant stone rolled over one of the worst holes in the road, right where traffic was heavy. With the morning came a cart. The driver grumbled and growled, but would not get out to remove the stone. another came, and the scene was repeat-ed. Others came, but not one would put himself out to remove the rock. Finally one fellow, seeing all the distur-bance and confusion of carts and horses and all the complaining, had a sensible thought: “i better move that stone, so traffic can move smoothly.” He got out of the wagon, and began to push the stone. it was heavy, and he had to use all his strength, but at last he rolled it to the side of the road. He took a look at the hole, there was a bag. curious, he picked it up. it was heavy. He opened it and found a good sum of money left there by the king, as a reward for the man who would move the stone. Those who remove ob-stacles from the highway of the king of kings will be ever more richly rewarded.

Aid Story 2 a king had a son who had gone away from his father, a journey of over hundred days. His friend said to him. “return to your father.”He said, “i cannot.” Then his father sent a message to him, “return as far as you can, and i will come to you the rest of the way. So God says, “return to me and i will re-turn to you.”

Rev. Fr. Ciswan De Croos

hail holy queen mother of mercy - ccp |...

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