His Eminence visits Apeksha Children's Ward Assures ...colomboarchdiocesancatholicpress.com ›...

Sunday January 12, 2020 Vol 151 No 02 20 Pages Rs: 50.00 Registered as a newspaper

THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY OF SRI LANKA“ 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 / 7 4 / N E W S / 2 0 2 0

Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased,...... (Isaiah 42:1)

Feast of St. Joseph Vaz, the Apostle of Sri Lanka falls

on the 16th January. Details of the celebra-tion was discussed at length during the meet-ing of the National Sec-retariat of St. Joseph Vaz presided over by His

The Apostle of Sri Lanka Feast of St. Joseph Vaz,

on January 16

What the Country and all the religions need today, are honest and committed leaders who are concerned about the people. If

they are true to their word, to themselves and are

true leaders, they should give their entire-self, for the cause of the people they represent. They should love people, be very simple and humble in their ways. They should be well-nourished with good hu-man qualities of the highest value said His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith,

Country needs leaders committed to the cause of people

Cursillo Convention 2020

The 53rd Annual Convention of the Sri-Lanka Cursillo Movement will be held on Sunday, January 26th from7.30 am onwards at St. Pe-

ter’s College Colombo- 4 (Eucharistic Celebration at 8.30 am )

The theme chosen for re�lection this year is “Called - Chosen - Sent to proclaim Christ is alive”

His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Vianney Fernando, Bishop of Kandy and Episcopal Patron of the Cur-sillo Movement will be the Chief Guest.

All Cursillistas (those who have followed the three days in full) are cordially invited. Entrance Coupon could be collected from the area coordina-tor of your Parish.

The Area Coordinators are kindly requested to inform the Cursillo Members in your Parishes.

Rev. Fr. Tony MartynChaplain of the Cursillo Movement on Sri Lanka

by T. Sunil Fernando

➢ CONTD ON PG. 15

➢ CONTD ON PG. 15

His Eminence visits Apeksha Children's Ward

His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo visited the Children's Ward at the

APEKSHA Hospital, Maharagama with the dawn of the New Year to bless and give gifts to small kids receiving treatment as inmates at the hospital.

Addressing parents, children and all those present on the occasion His Eminence said that, He wished all of them quick recov-ery from all ailments through the merits of the religions we all adhere.

Cardinal Ranjith went onto say that, the Archdiocese has taken the initiative to

Assures residential facilities to those come from far

Do not treat the Di-ploma in Theol-ogy you obtained

today as a mere certi�i-cate, but make it a way

forward to lead other peo-ple to God. This was said by

Help People Reach God Through Your Theological Knowledge

– Bishop Wickremesinghe

His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Raymond Wickremesinghe, Bishop of Galle Dio-cese. awarding a Diploma Certi�icate to one of the recipients, in the pres-ence of Rev. Fr. Sharon Dias, Director Dewa Dharma Nikethanaya.

by Roshan Pradeep

The First Chapel d e d i -

cated in honour of the Virgin Mary, Undoer of the Knots at DDN Halpathota was ceremonially opened for reli-gious services on December 16

His Eminence with children at the Hospital along with Dr. Wasantha Dissanayake, Hospital Director and the staff

➢ CONTD ON PG. 15

First Chapel of Virgin Mary, Undoer of Knots at DDN Halpathota

➢ CONTD ON PG. 15

➢ CONTD ON PG. 15

Shamal Priyasan of De Mezenod College, Kandana emerged second in the island in Physical Science Stream obtaining A

passes in all three subjects. Meanwhile 389 students were eligible

to enter into various universities from De Mazenod College. (MMU)

Shamal Priyasan is Island's 2nd in

Physical Science

2 The Messenger January 12, 2020

.......Upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, (Isaiah 42:1)

The Church News in Lens

A special Prayer Service was held in-voking Blessings on the country and its people amidst a at large gathering at St. Joseph's Church, Pamunugama. At the conclusion of the Prayer Service the miraculous statue of St. Joseph carried by Rev. Fr. Shantha Sag-ara Hettiarachchi was taken in procession.(Benjamin Kirihetti)

Diyagala Boys Town Co-Founder laid to Rest

Rev. Bro. Benjamin Philip of De Salle Brothers' Congregation, Co-Founder of the Diyagala Boys Town, was called to Eternal Rest in the Lord, on 03.01.2020. After the Requiem Mass, offered by Rev. Fr. Mahendra Gunatilleke, National Director, Caritas followed by the performance of Religious Rites at the Chapel at Ragama, Diyagala Boys Town premises in the presence of a large gathering of priests, religious and laymen, his mortal remains were laid to rest on Sunday, January 5th, 2020. The picture shows participants at the funeral service. (Pic by H.A. Caldera)

Children of the St. Sebastian Kekulu Lama Samajaya" were the recipients of School uniforms and books, donated by St. Sebastian's Church, Alen Egoda, Pamunugama. Money necessary to purchase clothes and books were collected from the sale of Tickets marking the International Anti Tobacco day under the leadership of Grama Seva Niladari Chandana Perera, of Samurdhimula Samithiya of 164th Grama Seva Division. Picture shows students receiving the gifts at the ceremony. (Benjamin Kirihetti)

Welcoming the New Year 2020 the Mid Night Holy Mass was offered at St. Mary's Cathedral, Puliyantivu, Batti-caloa. The concelebrated Mass was offered by His Lord-ship Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Ponniah, Bishop of Batticaloa, together with Rev. Fr. C. V. Annathas, Parish Priest and Rev. Fr. Jude Quintus, Assistant Parish Priest. Sivam Packiyanathan

We cannot let anyone destroy Sri Lankan heri-tage and its culture based on Buddhist philoso-phy. This country, rich with Buddhist values, is the pride of each and every citizen of Sri Lanka, said His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo.

His Eminence was making these remarks at the ceremony held at Maha Bodhi Temple re-cently to mark the 70th birthday of Ven. Bana-gala Upatissa Thera, President of the Maha Bo-dhi Society.

During his speech the Archbishop of Co-lombo recalled that when Pope Francis visited Sri Lanka a few years ago, Ven. Banagala Up-

atissa Thera was at the Katunayaka Airport to welcome him. He had also arranged a special exhibition of Sacred Relics at the Maha Bodhi Temple for the Holy Father.

“His gestures made it evident to the world that religious harmony and cohabitation exists in this island nation. We are forever grateful to Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thera. We wish him good health and long life to continue with his religious work,” His Eminence added.

Rev. Fr. Deninton Subasinghe, Secretary Ad-ministration of the Archdiocese of Colombo, members of the Maha Sangha and Buddhist devotees were also present at the event.

T. Sunil Fernando

We cannot allow anyone to destroy Sri Lankan culture and heritage – His Eminence

At the Annual Christmas celebrations, a group of children came on stage singing Carols to entertain the audience gathered at St. Joseph Vaz Avenue, Palliyawatte, Hendala, Wattala. (Pic. Stanislaus)

Yatiyanthota Children belonging to Good Shepherd Zone Sing Carols (Pic by Edward Kumaragama)

Christmas Celebrations

Annual Holy Mass for Catholic Immigrants who lives in Parma Diocese, Italy, was held at the Cathedral of Parma on January 6, 2020. Most Reverend Enrico Solmi, the Bishop of Parma celebrated the Holy Mass at which, many groups from various communities including Sri Lanka participated.

During the Mass, prayers and hymns were sung in

Mass for the Solemnity of Epiphany in Parma, Italy

different languages by the congregation representing dif-ferent Nationalities. Our Sri Lankan Catholic Community was lead by Rev. Fr. Prageeth Dishan, Chaplain of Modena.

At the conclusion of the Mass the Rev. Bishop was en-tertained with a dance by a group of little children from Sri Lanka. Thereafter food and drinks were served at the get together. Chamara Sri

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Prayer Service for the Nation at Pamunugama

New Year Midnight Holy Mass at Puliyantivu, Batticaloa


EDITORIALEmail:[email protected]

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January 12, 2020

SINCE FEBRUARY 1869

Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. (Isaiah 42:2)

Let them judge youLet them misunderstand you

Let them gossip about youTheir opinion are not

your problem.You stay kind, committed to

love and free in your authenticity.

Just keep doing like you do.

HONG KONG (SE): The annual Walk for Vo-cations was held this year at the Holy Spirit Seminary in Aberdeen on December 26. The event was an opportunity for people to come together and ask God to “send out workers into his vineyard,” in the words from the Bible (Matthew 9:38). In fact, more than 300 people joined the simpli�ied version of the event, tak-ing part in adoration, confessions and Mass.

I say simpli�ied version because of the fact that the organisers opted for a small-scale event within the seminary walls rather than choosing the usual agenda that consists of walking around some streets of Hong Kong, to �inish with Mass inside the seminary.

Taking into account the current situation of the city, the question was whether to cancel the event altogether or to go for a much small-er and simpler type of prayer gathering. The latter was selected, thanks to the active participation of those in charge.

The Eucharistic procession, led by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, with the help of priests and a dea-con, was an intense spiritual exercise that reminded the people that Christ is the centre of all vocations. Our vocations start and culminate in Him who is present in our midst in the Holy Sacrament.

Walking around the seminary, participants were of-fered the chance to meditate deeply on vocations and (re)discover the beauty of Christ’s calling, especially when one is con�ident that he who calls will never for-sake his followers.

The adoration followed and with the help of Touch, a youth group that promotes adoration, the atmosphere made it possible for people to get in “touch” with God in

a very special way; the kind of intimacy with God that was encouraged at the beginning of the event.

Priests and religious sisters were posted around the venue to hear confessions or to talk with those who wanted to. It goes without saying that rediscovering the beauty of God’s love through the Sacrament of Recon-ciliation is always deep in meaning.

The end of an activity marks the beginning of anoth-er, as it is common knowledge. Mass took place immedi-ately after the adoration, with John Cardinal Tong Hon as the main celebrant. Bishop Ha delivered the homily in which he invited people to pray for vocations.

He stressed that praying for vocations is not to be seen simply as “looking for people to work” (a religious vocation is not a job, to make things clear) but asking for the grace of the Lord to send out people �illed with the Holy Spirit to work into His vineyard.

What the world needs is a Holy Spirit �illed priest, sister, deacon, the kind that serve with love and imitate the Master in their way of doing and thinking.

And being at the Holy Spirit Sem-inary was a chance for the Bishop to explain who and what the Holy Spir-it is and does in our lives when our hearts are entirely directed towards Him. A giant painting on the wall of the seminary explained it better as well. That is why the Bishop invited the faithful to spend some time after the Mass to meditate on the meaning of the painting.

Before the end of the Mass, Car-dinal Tong blessed a team of what I can call “ambassadors of prayer for

vocations,” tasking them with the mission to pray and promote vocations wherever they �ind themselves, a mission they accepted with hearts full of love, ready to serve.

We all recited the prayer for vocations before the �i-nal blessing and the traditional Ite Missa est, sending us out to serve and to continue to pray for vocations, never hesitating when we feel God’s calling to the religious or priestly life.

As we know it, vocation is such a vast and multidi-mensional matter, but December 26 was about speci�ic vocations, those about religious and priestly life.

Let us pray and at the same time accompany those who feel the call to this particular way of life. It was the Bishop’s wish as well. To say it clearly, it was a beautiful day. Courtesy Sunday Examiner

Walk for vocations: a call for more prayer and workers in the vineyard

300 people gathered for the Walk for Vocations at the Holy Spirit Seminary in Aberdeen on December 26

Seek �irst the Kingdom of God

On Sunday, January 12, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ— highly important event though it does not draw as much attention as Good Friday or Easter, Christmas or the Pentecost Sunday.

John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan and hundreds of people were coming to him for this Baptism of repentance. The Lord Jesus also went to him and John the Baptist was shocked because he knew the Lord was the Messiah.

John in answer to them all said: “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and �ire. (Luke 3:16).

When Lord Jesus stepped into the River Jordan the heavens were open and the voice of God the Father was heard saying: “This is My beloved Son, I am well pleased with Him. The Gospel also tells us that the Lord was baptized in the Spirit with the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove (Matthew 3:17).

Luke Reports that Jesus departed from the River Jordan after the event: ”Filled with Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tested by the evil one.

In the �irst temptation, the devil told Jesus “if you are the Son of God turn these stones to bread.” Since this was just after the Lord’s Jordan experience; the devil was testing: “If you are the Son of God…?”

But the Lord Jesus resisted that temptation He

told the evil one: that Scripture says: “human beings live not on bread alone”.

There is a vital lesson for us here;. especially if we are in a position of authority in the church, workplace, the family or any other area. We need to use that authority not to dominate and use or abuse people for our personal gain or glory but to serve them honestly and humbly for the common good of all and to do God’s will.

In the Beatitudes the Lord Jesus tells us : “Blessed are the purest of heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

Catholic Bible scholars say the pure of hearts are those who discern and do God’s will in good times or bad. Such people will get insights and revelations from God in various situations.

In the second temptation also, the devil told Jesus if you are the Son of God leap from the top of the temple and the angels will save you. Here too, the devil was testing the Lord’s experience as Son of God and also quoting Scripture. We need to be aware that the devil often quotes Scripture, his idea in telling Jesus to jump from the temple dorm was for the Lord to gain prestige and popularity. This is another danger we need to be aware of especially in spiritual life. We need to avoid the temptation to seek prestige and popularity and always give glory to God. That is why the Lord Jesus said, “let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing. (Matthew 6:3)

In the third temptation, the devil tells a lie. He claims that all the earth’s wealth and resources belong to him and he will give them to Jesus if the Lord bows down and worship the devil. But the Lord Jesus, said, “Begone Satan” (Matthew 4:10) and the devil left Him. But the Gospel writer says the temptations did not end there but continued up to the time of the cruci�ixion.

Jesus began His Mission to do the Father’s will, till the very end when on the Cross He said: “It is �inished”. (John 19:30)

As He began His Mission the Lord Jesus depended totally on God the Father. That is why He said, “seek �irst the Kingdom of God and all your needs will be provided.” (Matthew 6:33)

The world’s great leaders who had all the wealth and resources could not do what Lord Jesus did, because what these leaders like Napoleon and others did was transient and impermanent. Their glory faded away but the glory of the Lord lasts forever. Even today, like the shepherds and wise men of the Christmas story, at least two billion people worship Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

On this Feast of the Baptism of Jesus we also need to be aware of the main temptation of the devil and seek the power of the Holy Spirit to resist them. As the devil will test our faith that we are the sons or daughters of God and our lasting inheritance is His eternal kingdom. The devil will also tempt us to seek popularity and prestige. He will also tempt us to seek wealth and resources through ungodly or fraudulent means.

Eventually we need to ask ourselves some questions about wealth and possessions. Do they give us security or success? Power or prestige in life? To a certain extent the answer is ‘yes’ to that extent we are distanced away from God and we need to repent in order that we will cooperate with God, in building His kingdom by loving one another as He loves us, with a love that is unending, unfailing, ever forgiving, compassionate and unmerited.


Church in the Modern World

A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, (Isaiah 42:3)

Liturgical Calendar Year A

12th January - 19th January 2020

Sun: Feast of The Baptism of the Lord Is. 42: 1-4, 6-7; Acts. 10: 34-38; Mt. 3: 13-17Mon: Memoiral of St. Hilary, Bishop & Doctor 1 Sam. 1: 1-8; Mk. 1: 14-20Tue: 1 Sam. 1: 9-20; Mk. 1: 21b-28Wed: 1 Sam. 3:1-10, 19-20; Mk. 1: 29-39 Thu: Solemnity of St. Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Sri Lanka Is. 52: 7-10; Acts. 20: 17-18, 28-32, 36; Mk. 16: 15-20Fri: Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot 1 Sam. 8: 4-7, 10-22a; Mk. 2: 1-12Sat: 1 Sam. 9: 1-4, 17-19, 10: 1a; Mk. 2: 13-17Sun: Second Sunday of Ordinary Time Holy Childhood Sunday Is. 49: 3, 5-6; 1 Cor. 1: 1-3; Jn. 1: 29-34

VATICAN NEWS : ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened,’ is the theme of the 28th World Day of the Sick, which will be marked on 11 February, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

In his message for the day, Pope Francis encourages all healthcare professionals, workers and volunteers to follow the human warmth and personalized approach of Christ, the Good Samaritan.

The mercy and comforting presence of Jesus, he says, embraces people in their entirety, regardless of their condition, discarding no one, but rather inviting everyone to share in His life and to experience His ten-der love.

The Pope explains that Jesus does so because He Himself became frail, endured human suffering and received comfort from His Father. Only those who per-sonally experience suffering, the Pope argues, are able to comfort others.

The Pope notes that sometimes human warmth is lacking in our approach to those suffering incurable and chronic diseases, psychological diseases, situations calling for rehabilitation or palliative care, numerous forms of disability, children's or geriatric diseases…

"What is needed is a personalized approach to the sick, not just of curing but also of caring, in view of an inte-gral human healing."

In addition to therapy and support, he says, they ex-pect care and attention - "In a word, love". "At the side of every sick person, there is also a family, which itself suffers and is in need of support and comfort."

Those who are sick, the Pope says, attract the eyes

and heart of Jesus. "Christ did not give us prescriptions, but through His passion, death and resurrection He frees us from the grip of evil." In this regard, he says, "The Church desires to become more and more the "inn" of the Good Samaritan who is Christ, that is, a home where you can encounter His grace, which �inds expression in closeness, acceptance and relief."

The Holy Father acknowledges the key role that healthcare workers, such as physicians, nurses, medical and administrative professionals, assistants and volun-teers play in caring for the sick. As men and women with their own frailties and illnesses, these healthcare workers show how true it is that "once Christ's comfort and rest is received, we are called in turn to become rest and comfort for our brothers and sisters".

In serving the ill, Pope Francis urges healthcare pro-fessionals that "the noun 'person' takes priority over the adjective 'sick'. He urges them to "always strive to promote the dignity and life of each person, and reject any compromise in the direction of euthanasia, assisted suicide or suppression of life, even in the case of termi-nal illness."

Pope's message for World Day of the Sick

Pope Francis greets the sick during his visit to Chile in 2019.

VATICAN NEWS: “War brings only death and destruction.” Pope Fran-cis spoke those words of warning on Sunday, following the Angelus prayer.

Without referring to any speci�ic countries, the Pope said there is a “terri-ble air of tension” in many parts of the world.

“I call upon all par-ties to fan the �lame of dialogue and self-control, and to banish the shadow of enmity,” he said.

The Pope then invited everyone to pray in si-lence for a moment for this intention.

Pope Francis’ appeal comes on the heels of heightened tensions be-tween the United States and Iran, after a US air-strike killed a top Iranian general in Iraq.

General Qassem Solei-

mani was the commander of the Quds Force, the wing of the Islamic Revo-lutionary Guard Corps responsible for military activities outside Iran.

His death on Friday in Baghdad raised the threat of direct confrontation be-tween the US and Iran.

The Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Cardinal Louis Rafaël Sako, on Saturday expressed the Iraqi people’s shock at the

event.“It is deplorable that

our country should be transformed into a place where scores are settled, rather than being a sov-ereign nation, capable of protecting its own land, its own wealth, its own citizens.”

He also called on all nations to exercise mod-eration, act reasonably, and sit down to seek un-derstanding.

Pope appeals for self-control amid heightened threat of warAmid an escalating crisis between the United States and Iran, Pope

Francis urges nations to exercise self-control and dialogue.

Crowds surround the cof�in of General Soleimani in the Iranian city of Ahvaz

CATHOLIC LEADER: THE Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference has launched a national Church response to deal with the unprecedented scale of the bush�ire crisis.

“The efforts of �ire�ight-ers have been heroic. The resilience of the communi-ties affected has been ex-traordinary,” ACBC presi-dent Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane said.

“This has been Aus-tralia at its best … but we need more than words. Ex-pressions of solidarity are important, but they are not enough.”

The bishops have an-nounced a �ive-pronged response to include:

A national network connecting people affect-ed by the bush�ires with people who can help with tasks such as preparing meals, clearing properties, rebuilding communities, as well as pastoral and counselling support.

Collaboration with key national agencies like Catholic Health Australia, Catholic Social Services Australia, the National Catholic Education Com-mission and the St Vincent de Paul Society to ensure as effective a response as possible from the wider Catholic community.

Co-operating with Catholic Religious Austra-lia and religious institutes and their ministries.

Parishes across the country taking up a special collection at Masses on the Australia Day weekend, with all funds to be do-nated to Vinnies’ bush�ire appeal.

The distribution of special prayers and other resources for use in par-ishes, families and other

Church launches national bush�ire response as Austra-lia is engulfed in ‘unprecedented calamity’

Catholic communities.As well as donations at

Masses on Australia Day weekend, people are en-couraged to support the immediate response and the ongoing work of Vin-nies by donating online.

“Our experts on the ground – from agencies like Vinnies, CatholicCare and Centacare, in parishes and other Catholic com-munities, including Catho-lic hospitals and aged-care providers – know this will be a long-term process to help people and whole towns rebuild,” Archbish-op Coleridge said.

“With broad and deep roots across the nation, the Church stands ready to walk alongside people throughout their journey of recovery.

“Facing this exceptional crisis, we renew our call for insistent prayer for those stricken by drought and �ire, for those who have lost their lives in the �ires and their families, for rain to quench the parched land and extinguish the �ires, and for urgent action to care for our common home in order to prevent such ca-lamities in the future.

VATICAN NEWS: The Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus, will be pub-licly displayed again on the occasion of the Taizé Community’s next annual meeting of Europe’s youth in Turin, Italy, in Decem-ber 2020.

The announcement of the extraordinary display of the revered cloth was made by Archbishop Ce-sare Nosiglia of Turin at Wroclaw, Poland, where this year’s annual meeting of Europe’s young people, known as the “Pilgrimage

of Trust on Earth”, is cur-rently taking place.

The Taizé Community has chosen the northern Italian city of Turin as the venue of its next meeting of Europe’s young people, scheduled from Decem-ber 28, 2020, to January 1, 2021.

There is no of�icial teaching or dogma on the authenticity of the Shroud, which is housed in the Ca-thedral of Turin. Next year will be the �ifth time that the shroud will be on pub-lic display since 2000. The last time it was on display

was from April 19 to June 24, 2015, in the cathedral of Turin. Visiting the city, June 21-22, Pope Francis prayed silently for sev-eral minutes before the Shroud without any com-ment. However, at the end of the Mass in the square that followed, he regarded the Shroud as an icon of Christ’s love.

“The Shroud,” he said, “attracts people to the face and tortured body of Jesus and, at the same time, urges us on toward every person who is suf-fering and unjustly perse-

Extraordinary public display of Turin Shroud in 2020


First Reading: Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7The Reading describes the

qualities which the Lord who is to come, will possess. The priests, kings and the prophets of that time were given the spirit of the Lord. Therefore the Lord too will possess these qualities as priest, prophet and king.

Second Reading: Acts.10: 34-38God is open to all nations. The

importance of preaching the Good News to all nations is stressed in this Reading. This is considered our baptismal vocation.

Gospel: Matthew 3: 13-17The incident of the Baptism of

our Lord by John in the river Jordan is presented to us. John feels that it should happen the other way about; but Jesus request him to go ahead with the Baptism. A voice from heaven says; “Thou art my beloved son; with Thee I am well pleased.”

Re�lectionToday we celebrate the Feast of

the Baptism of our Lord. This Feast invites all of us to look into our own baptism. Unfortunately for many of us baptism has become just another ceremony. Many of us do not know what really happens to us in baptism. All we know is that the original sin carried into our lives from our birth and all other sins committed up to the time of baptism are forgiven. Apart from these we are confronted with a threefold mission or vocation. In other words we are called to be Priests, Prophets and Kings. (Servants.)

The main function of a priest is to worship. The priests are to offer sacri�ices to the Lord. Therefore in baptism we as priests are called to worship and offer sacri�ice to the Lord. Through the Eucharist, through our personal and community prayers, novenas…etc., we are to worship the Lord. For that matter we are to offer our whole life as a sacri�ice to the Lord. For this reason our lives should be unblemished and spotless.

The main duty of a prophet is to proclaim the Good News. He is to proclaim the message of the Lord no matter how dif�icult it is, whether it is to a king or to the people. Whether it, be acceptable or not to the listeners. If it is the message of the Lord, the prophet is bound to preach it. Therefore whenever it comes to the proclamation of the message of the Lord whether by word or deed we exercise the prophetic role of our baptism.

Then comes the kingship of our Baptism. Some do not call this kingship; because their only image of kingship is that he reigns. They prefer to call this role as that of a servant, what is expected from our baptismal role is service to the community. It calls for

responsible living. While we live in this world we come across lots of responsibilities which we have to ful�ill. As followers of Christ we have to ful�ill these responsibilities in a Christian manner. Therefore by our very baptism we are bound to ful�ill all our duties towards the community.

Hence it is quite clear that, In baptism we are called to be priests, prophets and kings (servants) but in this threefold mission or vocation some will be called to be priests some to be prophets and some others to be kings each depending on God’s call and His own personal talents.

Aid Story 1St. Genest was a pagan comic.

To please Emperor Diocletian, one day in the theater he performed a parody of Christian baptism. He pretended to be ill. “I feel very sick my dear, I am dying. I want to die as a Christian,” the audience roared with laughter. Then one dressed like a priest and another like an exorcist entered.

“Why did you call us?” They asked. He replied. “To receive Jesus Christ’s grace through you so that being reborn in Holy baptism I may be puri�ied from all my sins. Then God will receive me into His paradise as a deserter of you gods.” This he said miraculously transformed by God’s grace. He was baptized and taken in front of the emperor before whom Genest made a pathetic speech. “I used to hate the very name Christian and everything that depicted its mysteries, but when I was baptized some angels, who came down from heaven, read all my sins in a book which they submerged in baptismal water and pages came out in snow white. Believe in Jesus Christ who is true God.” He was beaten, his side torn and burned with iron claws and burning axes, and amidst all these torments he exclaimed; “There is no other king than Jesus Christ whom all should worship; though you would kill me a thousand times, you can never dislodge from my mouth and heart.”

Aid Story 2

After the christening of his baby brother in church, little Johnny cried all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him what was wrong and �inally, the boy sobbed. “That priest said that he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I want to stay with you guys!”

SAYING. Baptism is a Sacramental Vocation to be the Lord’s Priest, Prophet and King. Not a bath to be a slave of one who pretends to be a priest prophet and a king.

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Until he establishes justice on earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. (Isaiah 42:4)

By Very Rev. Fr. Ciswan De Croos

"Our Lady, Undoer of Knots" is the name of both a Marian devotion and a Baroque paint-ing, which represents that devotion, which was a result of an incident that happened in a family.

1) Incident in the family in GermanyWolfgang Lang enmantel (1586-1637)

was on the verge of separation from his wife Sophia Rentz (1590-1649) and there-fore sought help from Father Jacob Rem, the Jesuit priest in Ingolstadt. Consequently on September 28th, 1615 in a solemn ritual act, Father Rem prayed to the Blessed Vir-gin Mary and said, “In this religious act, I raise the bonds of matrimony, to untie all knots and smoothen them,” elevating the wedding ribbon and untying the knots one by one. While smoothing the ribbon out, the white ribbon attained such an intense brightness, that not even the palette of any painter could have reproduced it. (Accord-ing to the custom that prevailed in Germany at that time, during the wedding ceremony, a ribbon was placed by the maid of honour, to represent an invisible union of the bride and the groom for the rest of their life. Their arms were tied together with the ribbon.)

Immediately peace was restored be-tween the husband and the wife, and the separation did not happen. In order to keep this extraordinary event, in memory, their grandson Hieronymus Ambrosius Langen-mantel a canon of the Monastery of Saint Peter in Augsburg, got a painting done, to depict this event.

In this painting of “Our Lady, Undoer of Knots”, Mary is depicted as suspended be-tween heaven and earth, resplendent with light. The Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove is above her head, reminding us that she be-came mother of God and full of grace by vir-tue of the third person of the Holy Trinity.

She is dressed resplendently in crimson and a deep blue mantle, representing her glory as queen of the universe. A crown of twelve stars adorning her head signi�ies her queenship of the Apostles, her feet crush the head of the serpent, indicating her victory over satan. She is surrounded by angels, sig-nifying her position as Queen of the Angels and Queen of Heaven. In her hands is a knot-ted white ribbon which she serenely unty-ing. Assisting her at the task, are two angels : one presents the knots of our lives to her, while the other angel presents the ribbon, freed from knots, to us.

Mary’s faith unties the knot of sin. This painting at a later date, became popularly known as the painting of “Our Lady, Undoer of Knots.”

2) What are these Knots?These are the problems and struggles we

face, for which we do not see any solution- knots of discord in our family, lack of un-derstanding between parents and children, disrespect, violence, the knots of deep hurts between husband and wife, the absence of peace and joy at home.

There are also the knots of anguish and despair of separated couples, the dissolution of the family, the knots of a drug addict son or daughter, sick or separated from home or God, knots of alcoholism, the practice of abortion, depression, unemployment, fear, solitudes, all the knots of our life that suf-focate the soul, beat us down, and betray the heart’s joy and separate us from God.

3) The devotion to “Our Lady. Undoer of Knots”

In the 18th century, this devotion was localized in Germany. The devotion was augmented during the Chernobyl Nuclear Power disaster (1986) when victims saught

help through the intercession of Mary, Un-doer of Knots. The �irst chapel to be named Mary, Undoer of Knots, was constructed in 1989 in Styria, Austria.

Since 1996, the devotion has been spreading in South America, thanks to the booklet, “Mary, Undoer of Knots” novena published with ecclesiastical permission.

A copy of the icon was made by a famous artist and placed in the church of San Jose del Talar in Buenos Aires in Brazil since 8th December 1996. On the 8th of each month, thousands of people make the pilgrimage to this church.

4) The theology of the devotion to “Our Lady, Undoer of Knots”

The practice of devotion to “Our Lady, Undoer of Knots” originated with events that led to the painting of the image. But the theology of the devotion actually goes back to the 2nd century. The concept of Mary untying knots is derived from a work by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, “Adversus haereses” (Against Haresies). In book 111, chapter 22, he presents a parallel between Eve and Mary, describing how “the knot of Eve’s dis-obedience” was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For, what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith.

5) When faced with “knots” in our life, what we should do.

In such circumstances what we ought to do is to place ourselves under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God (Luke 1:35,43), our heavenly mother (John 19:27) and our intercessor (John 2:1-10) Through prayer and meditation, we will be able to see, how those knots were “made”, and the reason why they were made.

The basis for this process, is the daily relationship we maintain with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is our loving heavenly mother, and we her earthly children.

6) Pope Francis and the devotion to “Our Lady Undoer of Knots”

This Catholic devotion has grown, since Rev. Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio S.J. (who would later become Pope Francis, after a tenure as Archbishop of Buenos Aires), brought a postcard of the painting to Argen-tina. in the 1980s', after seeing the original, while studying in Germany. Rev. Fr. Jorge Bergoglio had this image of Mary engraved on a chalice he presented to Pope Benedict XVI. Another chalice bearing her image. was presented to Pope Francis on behalf of the Argentine people. Knowing about Pope Francis’ special devotion for this image, the South Korean Ambassador in Vatican, in 2018, Baek Man Lee, presented him with a Korean painting of our Lady Undoer of Knots.

Contd. on Pg. 15

OUR LADY, UNDOER OF KNOTS


Baptism of Our Lord – Gospel Meditation (Matthew 3:13-17) – Year ARev. Fr. Nilindra Gunesekera

God Came to Dwell Among Us

I, the Lord, have called you for the victory of justice,... (Isaiah 42:6)

We begin our meditation. These are the years Jesus spends hidden away in Nazareth (Mat-thew 2:19-23). During this time, dramatic

events begin to unfold in Judea. John the Baptist has begun preaching a baptism of repentance claiming that the ˋMightier Oneˊ who was to come would baptize with the Holy Spirit and �ire. This baptism of the Holy Spirit and �ire dispensed by the ˋMightier Oneˊ heralds the dawn of salvation. His offer of the Holy Spirit will purge the people, and therefore, divide them. The ‘Com-ing One’ offers one baptism, which has two effects, de-termined solely by the response to the baptism offered. The two effects of this baptism of the Spirit and �ire are portrayed by the picture of sifting grain at harvest time – salvation and damnation which are the direct con-sequences of judgment. The winnowing fork sifts the wheat. The heavier usable grain falls on to the thresh-ing �loor but the chaff is blown away and will be tossed into the �ire’.

The atmosphere is charged with expectation. John the Baptist announces that the Kingdom of heaven is close at hand. He speaks of divine judgement that is awaited on the great and terrible Day of the Lord. John says, ‘The axe is laid at the root of every barren tree in Israel’. This is the backdrop in which Jesus comes from Galilee to John at the Jordan.

Instantly, John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as the ˋMightier Oneˊ who is to come. Spontaneously, John

wishes to surrender to the baptism of Jesus; for he yearns for the Kingdom. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’. But Jesus answers him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to ful�ill all righteous-ness.’ Then John consents. Someone behind him prods Jesus saying, ‘Hurry up and stop making such a fuss. You are delaying us all’. John rebukes the man saying, ‘Your impatience exposes your insincerity’ Then point-ing to Jesus he says, ‘This is the ˋMightier Oneˊ who is to come. Unlike you, He Jesus prefers that He should be baptized by me for the sake of ful�illing all righteous-ness (Matthew 3:15). For unlike you, He knows that the unique character of my baptism is moral purity and conversion in the sense of being turned towards God, totally. Your impatience exposes your lack of conversion and counterfeit righteousness. Genuine righteousness consists in the correspondence of one’s thoughts with one’s words and deeds. By His baptism, the ˋMightier Oneˊ publicly manifests His preparedness for mission’. Therefore, having signaled His intent by His baptismal immersion, just as Jesus comes up from the water, and as if on cue, the heavenly Father responds. Suddenly the heavens are opened to Jesus and he sees the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven says, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." John the Baptist says, ‘Did you also see what I just saw? The heavens opened

and the Spirit of God descended and alighted on Him like a dove’. Then pointing to Jesus, John says further, ‘He, the ˋMightier Oneˊ is the Son of God, the new Isaac �igure and God’s servant. The three images for open communication – the opening of the heavens, the dove like descent of the Spirit and the heavenly voice – serve to identify ˋMightier Oneˊ as God’s own Son. He will be sacri�iced like Isaac, and be the centre of God’s work of justi�ication of humanity. We will all be reconciled to God in Him. For through Him God is pleased to recon-cile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross. He will reconcile in His body of �lesh by His death, in order to present us, holy and blameless and irreproachable be-fore the heavenly Father’. The man who has just prod-ded Jesus, and spoken rudely to Him, now turns red in embarrassment. John does not relent, but says to the man in a thundering voice, ‘Show me fruits of repen-tance as rapidly as you jostled for my baptism of con-version. You prodded the ˋMightier Oneˊ with your �in-ger because you were so very impatient to receive my baptism, is it not? So then, with equal or greater rapid-ity and earnestness show me fruits of your repentance!’ The man shouts back at John, ‘We have Abraham as our father, and Moses is our prophet. We do not need the bedraggled likes of you’. John says to him, ‘Repent be-fore it is too late’.

God made man“For God so loved the world that he gave his only

Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).”

We have been contemplating the Child Jesus in the crib during the last few days. He is the Redeemer of the world and of every one in it. He has come in the �irst place to give us eternal life as something to be looked forward to in this life and to be fully possessed after death. He has become man to call sinners (cf. Luke 5:32), to save what was lost (cf. Luke 19:10), and to make divine life known to all men (cf. Mark 10:45).

The Servant of God, Msgr. Fulton Sheen said, “what men call the Incarnation is but the union of two natures, the Divine and the human in a single Person Who gov-erns both. This is not dif�icult to understand; for what is man but a sample, at an immeasurably lower level, of a union of two totally different substances, one material and the other immaterial, one the body, the other the soul, under the regency of a single human personality? What is more remote from one another than powers and capacities of �lesh and spirit?

“Antecedent to their unity, how dif�icult it would be ever to conceive of a moment when body and soul would be united in a single personality. That they are so united is an experience clear to every mortal. And yet it is an experience at which man does not marvel because of its familiarity.”

God, Who brings together body and soul into one human personality, notwithstanding their difference of nature, could surely bring about the union of a hu-man body and a human soul with His Divinity under the control of His Eternal Person. And this He did. This is what we express when we pray the Angelus: “And the Word was made �lesh, And came to dwell among us (John 1:14).” Fullness of time

“When the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman” (Galatians 4:4). The greatest proof of His love for us, God had His only Son become man to save us from our sins. In this way Jesus merited for us the dignity of becoming children of God. His arrival signaled the fullness of time.

St. Paul puts it quite literally that Jesus was born of a woman. Jesus did not come to earth as a spirit. He truly became man, like one of us. He received His human na-ture from Our Lady’s immaculate womb. This is why Fr. Luis de Granada has pointed out: “It is reasonable to consider, �irst and foremost, the purity and sanctity of the Woman whom God chose ‘ab aeterno’ (from eter-nity) to give form to His humanity.

“When God decided to create the �irst man he �irst took care to create a �itting environment for him; which was the Garden of Eden. It makes sense, then, that when God made ready to send his Son, the Christ, he likewise prepared for him a worthy environment; namely, the body and soul of the Blessed Virgin (Fr. Luis de Grana-da, Life of Jesus Christ, I).”

Consequently, break and continuity ensued. There was continuity with the fallen race of man through the manhood taken from Mary; there is discontinuity through the fact that the Person of Christ is the pre-existent Logos (Divine Word). Christ thus literally be-comes the second Adam, the Man through whom the human race starts all over.

Jesus’ kenosisIn Christian theology, this self-emptying of the di-

vine nature, at least in part, by Christ in the Incarna-tion is termed kenosis. It is hard for a human being to understand the humility that was involved in the Word becoming �lesh. It is a profound mystery. We can under-stand it up to a certain point but we can never compre-hend it.

“Imagine, if it were possible,” says Bishop Sheen, “a human person divesting himself of his body, and then sending his soul into the body of a serpent. A double humiliation would follow: �irst, accepting the limita-tions of a serpentine organism, knowing all the while his mind was superior, and that fangs could not ade-quately articulate thoughts no serpent ever possessed.

“The second humiliation would be to be forced as a result of this “emptying of self” to live in the compan-ionship of serpents. But all this is nothing compared to the emptying of God, by which He took on the form of man and accepted the limitations of humanity, such as

hunger and persecution; not trivial either was it for the Wisdom of God to condemn Himself to association with poor �ishermen who knew so little.”

This humiliation which began in Nazareth when He was conceived in the blessed womb of Virgin Mary at the Annunciation was only the �irst of many to coun-teract the pride of man, from Bethlehem until the �inal humiliation of the bloody tortures of the Passion and His ignominious death on the Cross.

“If there were no Cross, there would have been no crib; if there had been no nails, there would have been no straw. But He could not teach the lesson of the Cross as payment for sin; He had to take it. God the Father did not spare His Son, so much did He love mankind. That was the secret wrapped in the swaddling bands (F. Sheen, Life of Christ.)”

It must borne in mind, moreover, that in Jesus, the Person which assumed human nature was not created, as is the case of all other persons. His Person was the pre-existent Word or Logos, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. His human nature, on the other hand, was derived from the miraculous conception by Mary, in which the Divine overshadowing of the Spirit and the human ‘Fiat’ (be it done) or the consent of a woman, were most beautifully blended. This is the beginning of a new humanity out of the material of the fallen race.

When the Word became �lesh, it did not mean that any change took place in the Divine Word. The Word of God proceeding forth did not leave the Father’s side. What happened was not so much the conversion of the Godhead into �lesh, as the taking of a manhood into God.

Why all these ‘troubles’ on God’s part? Because God so loved the world and mankind. He loves us to point of madness that He assumed human nature, dwelt among us, redeemed us and made us sharers in His divine na-ture. The divine became man so that man may be made divine. May we appreciate this gift and resolve to grow in our devotion to the Most Holy Humanity of Christ.


...... I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you.... (Isaiah 42:6)

‘SAMATA SARANA’ – A shelter for the poor and the needy,

the young and the old – help to all

Have you heard of ‘Samata Sarana’? Well it is amazing, although this organisation has been in existence for over three decades, I came to

know about this only last month. November being ded-icated to the dearly departed, I was looking for a de-serving place, to give a donation in memory of all my departed loved ones. In this regard, I was looking for a place which is really dedicated to the poor and the needy, and a place where I have not contributed before. I spoke to a few friends and surprisingly when I went for the Sunday mass the priest announced about ‘Sa-mata Sarana’ which is an ideal place to be considered for donations in memory of our dearly departed. Well I thought this information was timely and ideally suited my desires.

‘Samata Sarana’ established on October 1, 1988 was the brain child of late Rev. Sr. Bernie Silva, the founder and late Rev. Fr. Joe de Mel, the co-founder. According to ‘Samata Sarana’, these two personalities ‘transformed the dream to reality’. Located at 531, Aluthmawatha Road, Mutwal, Colombo 15, it currently functions under the leadership of Executive Director Rev. Fr. Leo Perera

When you look at the building from the road, it does not look impressive at all, but when you walk in, it is way beyond your expectations. It is a spacious �ive storied building serving 200 school children, 40 el-ders (males & females) and 14 kids. Samata Sarana provides free education up to grade 5 to 200 girls and boys. These 200 kids get a complete package, from school books, to bags, to shoes and uniforms, to breakfast, lunch & tea and in addition to this, they are picked up in the morning and all dropped in the evenings at central points, in the organi-sation bus. All these services are provided free of charge, not a penny do the parents of the chil-dren nor the elders contribute. The creche which has about 14 kids from the ages of about 2 – 3 are taken care of by matrons at ‘Samata Sarana’ until the parents pick them up in the evening. The working mothers drop their kids before they set off to work and the kids get their breakfast, lunch and tea and cared for with much love and affection. The 40 elders who are bene�iciaries of the day care Centre too are provided with free ac-commodation and meals. They have leisure time facili-ties and occupational therapy. 18 other elders who are now house-bound are provided with regular packs of dry rations.

The most noteworthy policy of this institution is to help the poor and the needy irrespective of nation-ality, race or religion. Their motto is ‘Samata Sarana – Help to all’ which means they reach out to all in need.

Their objective is to enhance the quality of life of those living in slums and shanties of Colombo North. The multi faceted services of ‘Samata Sarana’ looks at cov-ering all basic human needs and as they quite rightly state, their services are from ‘Womb’ to ‘Tomb’. Samata Sarana is an approved charitable organization and in December 2007 this was registered under the Ministry of Social Welfare as a voluntary social service, non gov-ernmental organization.

The on-going activities could be summarized as Day care creche for babies between the ages of 2-3, Mon-tessori and Primary school, skills training programme – to empower young girls with vocational skills to gen-erate income, Computer literacy programme for chil-dren according to school curriculum, Day care for el-ders – taking care of helpless elders from the slums and streets by providing nutrition, health, recreation and

assist with funeral expenses, Shelter for the homeless, caring for the terminally ill and �inding sponsors for needy families. These could be categorized as the main activities. In addition to this, they conduct awareness pro-grammes for expectant mothers, Children’s rights & child abuse, feeding the needy and many more, too numerous to mention.

I had the privilege of meeting with the Ex-ecutive Director Rev. Fr. Leo Perera and getting an insight into the workings of ‘Samata Sarana’. I was taken around and was able to witness the actual happenings of that day, the school in progress, the elders and the crèche. When I asked Rev. Fr. Leo Perera what their daily ex-

penses would be, his answer was Rs.95,000/- per day. More than 400 people are provided breakfast and lunch every week day and the daily expenses for food alone works out to about Rs. 50,000/-. He said no one in need was ever sent away empty handed so far. I was shocked and was wondering how they manage. When I posed this question to Rev. Fr. Leo Perera he said, we survive with the generosity and goodwill of people like you

and the divine Father above. I was so happy that at least at this stage I got to know

about this devoted voluntary organization offering yeo-man service to the poor and the needy. Personally, I was so touched by the services they provide with much ded-ication and commitment. It is an organization which is worth helping, as they do not restrict their services to a particular nationality, race or religion. They cater to Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Buddhists, Hindus and Christians without any prejudice or dis-crimination. If you are interested in getting further de-tails you could get in touch with the Executive Director Rev. Fr. Leo Perera on 0774535867/ 0112526860/ 25245483/4, e-mail [email protected]. [Contribu-tions can also be made to Ac. No. 1238896001, Com-mercial Bank Mutwal Branch]

by Puvi Domingopillai

Executive Director Rev. Fr. Leo Perera

Rev. Sr. Bernie Silva, the founder and late Rev. Fr. Joe de Mel, the co-founder

Can God be happy about you?

“Have you ever been praised by your parents, Little Bird..”“Why not? many times… why?”‘Because I think it is important to be appreciated by parents. When they say they are happy about you, you get a special kind of joy and strength to go ahead….”“Quite true..Parents are proud if you are good and successful…but sad and disappointed if you ruin your life …”“Yes, I think we all have the responsibility of mak-ing our parents proud of us.”“Certainly..!. Being a good person and becoming a successful person is the greatest gift you can give your parents….”“In fact how can we become good people, Little Bird? ..Can you give me some hints?”“Yes, very brie�ly I’ll tell you. .. I think the best ex-ample is Jesus…His Heavenly Father said He was well pleased with Jesus…Do you remember?”“Yes, I remember… at the Baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan the voice from heaven said …‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased’.Actually Little Bird, why do you think that God was pleased with Jesus?”“Good question…See ..when Jesus was thirty, Jesus had not done a single miracle or even preached a single sermon! So, obviously it was not because of His ministry, but because of the type of life He had lived for thirty years. He was humble, innocent, sympathetic, obedient, generous and helpful. He never sought popularity… Our external accomplishments may impress world-ly people, but God is impressed only by our char-acter.Being a good person doesn’t depend on religion, race or skin colour or culture. It depends on how good your heart is, and how well you treat others.Being a good person does not mean you have to put up with other people’s crap. Don’t be led by other people’s opinions. Never regret or stop be-ing a good person, even to the wrong people. Your behaviour says everything about you, and their be-haviour says enough about them.Always treat people the same way that you want to be treated.A good person can make another person good; goodness will elicit goodness in the society. Some-times you will have to say ‘no’ to certain things. But you can do it in a polite af�irmative way without hurting. Be generous. ‘Give and you will receive’ is a prom-ise of God. Jesus gave His whole life…!Whether you are rich or poor, what matters is the way you continue to live… What you are is God’s gift to you. What you become is your gift to God. If God is happy about you then it’s a bonus from God…One day one woman looking at Jesus said, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you.’ What a tribute for a mother! So, Like a blossoming �lower, make your personal-ity emanate the fragrance of the beautiful strong qualities that Jesus maintained in His life.. You’ll surely be a tribute to your parents and God!

Michael Angelo Fernando

[email protected]


...... as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, (Isaiah 42:6)

Holy Childhood Sunday 19th January 2020 "Be a Missionary to become a Saint"

At the dawn of a New Year I

really appreciate all the activities carried out by you as a Holy Childhood Child in order to proclaim the Good News of God for the development of the Holy Childhood Society of Sri Lanka.

I wish you all the best in the New Year 2020 and I expect that you all be the light and salt to the society by being armed with the love of God. I need to inform you that from the year 2020 the Holy Childhood Sunday will be celebrated on the second Sunday of the year. Accordingly the Holy Childhood Sunday will be celebrated on 19th January, 2020.

“Be a missionary to become a Saint”. If you become a missionary you will become a Saint. The Mission and holiness cannot be separated. I present to you this fact in the New Year with immense love.

We have to be holy before we make others holy. We must be advised before we advice others. We have to be light emitting lamps. If we are to direct others to God we must be close to God. (St. Gregory Nasiances).

It must be reminded that each one of you have been called to lead a saintly life all through your life since the day you received baptism. Likewise it is necessary to become a missionary if you are to become a saint. The exemplary life style of the saint of the soil – St. Joseph Vaz provides us the way to us to become a missionary in order to become a saint.

It was since his childhood age that St. Joseph Vaz set foot to become a Saint. It is especially revealed that there have been two secrets of his life. The love he had for Jesus of the Blessed Sacrament and the dedication he had for Mother Mary through the Rosary. Therefore, if we are to love Jesus of the Blessed Sacrament we too have to follow St. Joseph Vaz. You have to re�lect this example by your life to the children of the Holy Childhood Society. Also you have to love our Mother Mary out of measure. The main and only way to love Mother Mary is the Rosary. Therefore, the Rosary must be made our life’s weapon.

We need strength to talk about faith and belief. But, we always grapple with sins. Therefore, a Missionary

must be a Saint. Inwardness and prayer got to be made closer to our life. Life is a great gift we received from God. Through the gift of life, the life style of a Catholic or a good missionary is to being gifted to the world.

In the Church’s missionary process many incidents are re�lected. The �irst incident is planting. Second incident is childhood. The missionary process does not stop there. In order to continue and carry forward what was started and to proclaim the Good News out of the Church as mentioned in Ad Gentes Divinitu enhances the life qualities of a missionary.

A child who is involved in the missionary call by baptism is involuntarily a Missionary. Yet, he or she grows with age and understands good from bad within their own heart’s consciousness makes them to be true Missionaries. Accordingly, “to become a Saint �irstly we must become a Missionary”. It is a process of enhancing unity among communities within the proclamation of religion by protecting the oneness of the Church in order to proclaim the faith of salvation of the Church.

Truthfully, the proclamation of the Good News is proclaiming the mystery of Jesus. A true Missionary should speak bravely. “They were all �illed with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God’s message with boldness”. (Acts 4 : 31). A true Missionary does not falter or be ashamed. He or she should tread in the foot paths of the teacher gently and humbly. If necessary they must be ready even to shed blood in the name of Jesus while acting with suffering. At times of disaster and dif�iculty they have to re�lect through their lives that they are servants of God who are able to request for strength and power from the Lord. A Missionary must be mindfully updated, daily.

The call has got to be strengthened on and on. They have to be advised that life is a missionary service and that whoever engages in this service need to proclaim the Good News by active participation. Especially an active missionary service is expected. The Holy Childhood children are assigned the responsibility of the missionary process. What should be done is to be actively involved in, the act in conjunction with the Holy Church.

I wish for God’s blessings that many Saints maybe born in the New Year with the brave missionary journey.

Rev. Fr. Basil Rohan Fernando

Message of the National Director, Ponti�ical Mission Societies, Sri Lanka

on HOLY CHILDHOOD SUNDAY 2020

Contributions to Holy Childhood Sunday for the year 2019

Diocese Collection

Anuradhapura 106,000.00 Badulla 128,845.00Batticaloa 140,565.00Chilaw 751,950.00Colombo 3,081,550.00Galle 140,000.00Jaffna 381,095.00Kandy 542,550.00Kurunegala 444,710.00Mannar 413,705.00Ratnapura 224,940.00Trincomalee 225,370.00

Total 6,581,280.00

!Rev.Fr. Basil Rohan Fernando

National Director Pontifical Mission Societies,

No.19, Balcombe Place, Colombo-8 Tel/Fax: 011 -2685673

E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.pontificalmission.lk

Facebook: Pontifical Mission Societies-Sri Lanka.

Founded in Nancy, France in 1843 by Bishop Charles de Forbin, to awaken in every Catholic child a strong sense of commitment to Jesus Christ and a zeal for the spread of the Good News everywhere by deepening their faith,

living it faithfully and sharing their resources joyfully, bringing together all children in worldwide fraternity.

The Ponti�ical Society of Missionary Childhood

Message for the Holy Childhood Sunday 2020

God has chosen you and me to love; to show mercy and for-

giveness to those around us. You are chosen for a purpose, Yes, this year's theme for the Holy Child-hood Sunday brings our attention and focus to remind us of our call to be a missionary to become a saint. once a person experiences just how loving and merciful God has been, the obligation is to reach out to others with that same love and mercy. Sometimes we think that the canonized Saints we have in the Church were superhuman who just excelled at everything, No, they are the people who went on struggling daily with their weaknesses.

How can we be missionary disciples in today’s context and the social challenges. The love of God can be shared with everyone around us in our own little ways as children of God without any barriers of race, creed and age. The children today have ample opportunities to share God’s love in their families, in the schools, in their neighbourhoods and wherever they are called to witness to Christ. When we think of the Saints it is their 'yes’ to God that made them holy and saintly. As the children of the Holy Childhood Society it is your 'yes' to God in your daily encounters which Jesus make you holy and missionary children of God. As the children of Holy Childhood Society you can be missionary saints in your own little way when you fall in love with Jesus and the world will radically change by our 'yes' to Jesus.

If our children can always look to the heavens, hands clasped in prayer amidst all the distractions around such as tution classes, cell phones, television and many more other temptations, they can be a missionary saint in today’s world. It is in the daily deci-sion to love Jesus, to choose to say YES to His will,

Will you say yes to Jesus? We are all called to be saints, moving wherever the Holy Spirit

leads us; without measuring the cost to ourselves – just like Jesus showed us. Because the world must know that we love the Fa-ther. The calling to be a missionary saint is unique. It is a calling from God to a speci�ic individual for an exceptional purpose. St. Paul reminds us that unless one is sent, no preaching of truth will take place. Thus a missionary is not merely representing himself or his own ideas to the world, but that of someone else who is greater and the authority comes from God Himself. May we be God-centered missionaries like St.Teresa of Culcutta who had a strong relationship with God and her commitment to those she served—the poorest of the poor. Let this Holy Childhood Sunday be the day of setting the foundation for our children to be little missionaries and to become saints. May our children bring love of Jesus Christ and desire to use their skills, gifts, and passions to bring joy to a loveless world.

Rev. Fr. Bede De SilvaDiocesan Director

Director of PMS - Diocese of Galle

Catholic News Agency The crisis facing the Catholic Church today has arisen from an attempt – even by some within the Church – to align with the culture and abandon the teachings of the faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller has said.

“The crisis in the Church is man-made and has arisen because we have cozily adapted ourselves to the spirit of a life without God,” the Cardinal told thousands of Catholics gathered in Phoenix for the 2020 Student Leadership Summit hosted by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).

“The poison paralyzing the Church is the opinion that we should adapt to the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age, and not the spirit of God, that we should relativize God’s commandments and reinterpret the doctrine of the revealed faith,” he said.

He cautioned that even a number of people in the Church are “longing” for a kind of Catholicism without dogmas, without sacraments, and without an infallible magisterium.

Müller, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, celebrated Mass on January 1 for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. In his homily, he re�lected on the human desire to embrace substitute grati�ications when God is set aside.

“But the one who believes needs no ideology,” he said. “The one who hopes will not reach for drugs. The one who loves is not after the lust of this world, which passes along with the world. The one who loves God and his neighbour, �inds happiness in the sacri�ice of self-giving.”

“We will be happy and free when in the spirit of

love we embrace the form of life to which God has called each one of us personally: in the sacrament of marriage, in celibate priesthood, or in religious life according to the three evangelical counsels of poverty, obedience and chastity for the sake of the kingdom of heaven,” he continued.

Müller stressed that thanksgiving is a key part of the Christian life. At the start of the new year, he encouraged Catholics to voice gratitude for all of creation, for sending Christ into the world as our saviour, for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Catholic Church, the gift of family, and all the other blessings that can be easily taken for granted.

“As Christians, we have a musical awareness of life: In our hearts resounds the song of thanksgiving of being redeemed. Its melody is love, and its harmony is joy in God,” he said.

Rather than placing hope in fate, he said, the Christian recognizes that suffering is inevitable, but can still �ind joy in Christ, who also suffered and opened for us the door to eternal life.

In these challenging times, however, scandals in the Church and a crisis among traditionally Christian societies in the West have led many to anxiously wonder whether the rock on which Christ built His Church is crumbling, Cardinal said.

“For some, the Catholic Church is lagging behind by 200 years compared to where the world is today. Is there any truth to this accusation?”

Calls for modernization demand that the Church reject what it holds to be true, for the sake of building a “new religion of world unity,” Müller warned.

“In order to be admitted to this meta-religion, the only price the Church would have to pay is giving up her truth claim. No big deal, it seems, as the relativism dominant in our world anyway rejects the idea that we could actually know the truth, and presents itself as guarantor of peace between all world views and world religions.”

The post-Christian society welcomes these efforts to reconstruct the Church “as a convenient civil religion,” the Cardinal said.

The antidote to secularization within the Church is a life of faith, lived in the enduring truth of Christ, Müller told those present.

God, who is eternal, cannot be changed by the whims of society, he stressed.

“In the concrete human being Jesus of Nazareth, God’s universal truth is concretely present here and now – in historical time and space,” Müller said. “Jesus Christ is not the representation of some supratemporal truth: He is ‘the way, the truth and the life’ in person.”

Cardinal Müller: Church crisis comes from abandoning God, adapting to culture

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller

Association of the Holy Childhood founded in the year 1843 by Charles de Forbin- Janson, Bishop of Nancy, France dedicated to foster awareness among children about the Missionary Nature of

the Church and a way to help missionaries working in China. It is also meant to make the children aware of the needs of children in poor coun-tries. “ Children Helping Children”. was their motto.

The Association main focus was children as children know and un-derstand children best, wherever they are. In 1843 he called upon the children of France to help save the children of China and invited them to become Missionary Children, helping to spread the Good News. He asked them to say a Hail Mary every day and give a small coin every month to help feed the Chinese children.

This is one of the four Ponti�ical Mission Societies involved in fund raising to assist Missions and is also known as The Ponti�ical Associa-tion of the Holy Childhood or the Missionary Childhood Association. It is claimed that on the advice of Pauline Marie Jaricot, founder of the Soci-ety for the Propagation of Faith Bishop of Nancy established a Children’s Charity with a view to provide assistance to children in foreign lands.

The Association had the blessings it was recommended to the Church communities. In a brief issued on July 18,1856 by Pope Pius IX, the Asso-ciation was raised to the canonical institution. This came under the pur-view of Cardinal Protector and all Bishops were requested to introduce the Association in their respective diocese.

Pope Leo XIII in His Encyclical Letter “ Sancta Dei Civitas” of December 3, 1890, gave the blessings once more to the Association and recommended the Bishops World Over to introduce it in their respective Dioceses. In the year 1922 the Association received the of�icial title “Ponti�ical”, work and central administration was transferred from France to Rome. Now, there are more than 120 National Of�ices run across the globe.

Funds raised through schools are directed towards self-help pro-grammes involving the building of schools, the provision of health and nutrition programmes and medications, school fees, and teaching and learning resources. Children in communities, orphanages, homes for the disabled, refugees, and those living on the streets are assisted by the gen-erosity of children who wish to make the love of Jesus know everywhere.

The organization encourage children world over to pray, to share and at the same time extend support both for the spiritual and physical well-being of children, through prayer and pastoral care. The contributions made by children are put to good use by carrying educational, medical and welfare projects among the poorest of the poor in the world

(Intenet)

A Brief Note on the Association of the Holy Childhood

A former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth received into Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church Capable to Defend Faith

Gavin Ashenden, a former Bishop of the Christian Episcopal Church and a former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II, was received into the Catholic Church in Shrewsbury Cathedral on December 22, 2019.

The Bishop said he had reached the conclusion that only the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches “have the capacity to defend the faith” from the in�luence of secularism.

A December 17 statement from the Diocese of Shrewsbury said Ashenden’s Anglican Orders will be suspended and he will become a lay Catholic theologian.

The former Bishop said in his own statement, “The claims and expression of the Catholic faith are the most profound and potent expression of apostolic and patristic belief” and that he now accepted the Primacy of the Pope.

Ashenden said he was grateful to Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury, and the Catholics of his diocese for the opportunity to “be reconciled to the Church that gave birth to my earlier (Anglican) tradition.”

“I am especially grateful for the example and the prayers of St. John Henry Newman,” he said.

“He did his best to remain a faithful Anglican and renew his mother Church with the vigour and integrity of the Catholic tradition,” he said. “Now, as then, however, his experience informs ours that the Church of England is inclined to

be rooted in a secularized culture rather than the integrity and insight of Biblical, Apostolic and Patristic values.”

Bishop Davies said it was “very humbling to be able to receive a Bishop of the Anglican tradition into full communion in the year of Canonization of St. John Henry Newman.”

He said, “I am conscious of the witness which Gavin Ashenden has given in the public square to the historic faith and values on which our society has been built. I pray that this witness will continue to be an encouragement to many.”

Ashenden was a well-known �igure in the Church of England and served as a chaplain to the Queen from 2008 to 2017. (CNS)

Former Anglican Bishop, Gavin Ashenden


To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from con�inement,.... (Isaiah 42:7)

Kids & YouthHelping the parish stay

relevant to today’s youth

SJDB Youth Association, Thalangama

The Youth Association of St. John Dal Bastone Church, Thalangama is one of the most dynamic youth orga-nizations in the Kotte Deanery. The thirty-member association provides opportunities for the youth in and beyond the parish to have a life altering encounter with Jesus Christ.

SJDB Youth Association was rebranded in 2012 and since they have been contributing immensely in parish ac-tivities. Marking another remarkable year, in 2019 they carried out a number of remarkable projects. The Nidahas Trophy Cricket encounter at the BCC level and Carol and Crib Competition were organized in a bid to strengthen unity among the parish family as well as recognize their various talents.

For the �irst time in the parish history, a successful blood donation campaign was organized by the Youth in September last year. Numerous activities were carried out to assist and support Easter attack victims. To uplift the spirituality among the parish community a ‘Praise and Worship’ programme was organized by Rev. Fr. Kalana Pieris. The Youth also held Daily rosary prayers at cottage level throughout the month of Rosary. They also carried out a number of charity programmes during the last year.

The �inal project organized for year 2019 by the SJDB Youth was the Parish Family Day. Improving the serenity and solidarity amongst the parish family and sharing the joy of Christmas were the main reasons behind organiz-ing the Annual Family Day. Held for the �ifth consecutive year, over 150 families and others participated in the Family Day. A number of fun games, competitions for families, adults and children along with entertainment made the event a memorable one for the entire parish.

St. Joseph Vaz

Apostle of Sri Lanka

St. Joseph Vaz was born in Goa, India, on April 21, 1651. He studied at the Jesuit College of St. Paul and the Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, where

he took up philosophy and theology.Vaz was ordained a priest in 1676. He then joined

the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in 1684, and founded the Oratory of the Holy Cross of Miracles in Goa, which was available for frontier missionary work.

Concerned about the plight of Catholics in Sri Lanka, then Father Vaz volunteered to go to the island coun-try.

However, church leaders in Goa refused, saying that it would be a great risk for him, due to the prohibition of Catholic priests by Dutch Calvinists there. Fr. Vaz was assigned instead to the Kanara Mission in southwest India.

After that stint, Fr. Vaz left Goa and travelled on foot, reaching Jaffna by boat on the northern coast of Sri Lan-ka in 1687.

Often disguised as a coolie (a labourer or porter), a beggar or a baker, Vaz ministered to the Catholics hid-ing in Jaffna and nearby towns. He also learned to speak Sinhala and Tamil.

He then journeyed through the jungle toward the Kingdom of Kandy, independent from Dutch rule. How-ever, he was falsely arrested as a Portuguese spy and imprisoned by Buddhist King Vimaladharma Suriya II in 1691.

Fr. Vaz eventually earned the King's favour through exemplary behaviour. Notably, in 1693, Vaz worked a "miracle of rain" during a severe drought in the King-dom of Kandy. This led to the King releasing him from imprisonment. Vaz was then allowed to carry out his ministry, under the King's protection.

More Oratorian priests from Goa joined Vaz in spreading the Catholic faith not only in the Kingdom but also in some Dutch-controlled areas in Sri Lanka.

Vaz mostly tended to the poor and oppressed. He later braved a small pox epidemic in the Kingdom, look-ing after the sick and burying the dead.

News of his work in Sri Lanka later reached the Vati-can, where then Pope Clement XI gave his blessing to Vaz and the Oratorian missionaries.

Vaz died in peace in Kandy at the age of 59 on Janu-ary 16, 1711, after 2 decades of missionary work in Sri Lanka.Highlights from the Family Day 2019


Health relatedIssues in Sri Lanka

By Dr. Maxie FernandopulleEmail: [email protected]

....and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness. (Isaiah 42:7)

STEM CELL TREATMENT / TRANSPLANTATION

A stem cell is a cell with the unique ability to de-velop into any specialized cell type when the proper conditions, environment and the stimu-

lation for such change is provided. It is an undifferenti-ated cell in a multicellular organism like a human being which is capable of giving rise to inde�initely more cells of the same type and from which certain other kinds of cells of any special type arise by differentiation. The stem cell has no speci�ic role to play but can become almost any cell type that is required. They can be made into special cells like nerve, muscle and skin cell. These can be made use of to replace cells or tissues that have been damaged due to injury, diseases or degeneration. This principle is made use of to replace tissues and or-gans. Injury to the spinal cord can be corrected to a fair extent by replacing with nerve cells produced by the stem cells. Similarly chronic incurable skin diseases or extensive scar formation following burns or degenerat-ed muscles tissues which causes paralysis or weakness of a part of the body can be lessened or corrected by replacing the diseased muscles with stem cells which have been changed to normal muscle tissues or skin tissue as the case be.

Origin of stem cells. They can originate from two main sources. It can be from adult body cells from the bone marrow or the liver and from embryos. They can also be collected from the umbilical cord of the new-born baby. The cells from the spare embryos from the fertilized ova during the process of in vitro fertilization or production of test tube babies that are not necessary for introduction into the womb of the mother are made use of to obtain the stem cells. Remember there are over 100 fertilized embryos inside the test tube in in vitro fertilization but only 2 or 3 are introduced to help the mother to achieve a pregnancy. The rest are pre-served, donated, discarded or made use of to collect the stem cell. It is important for us Catholics to remember that in vitro fertilization or test tube baby procedure to achieve a pregnancy is against the teachings of the Church. Also obtaining stem cell from the embryos too is against the teachings of the Church.

Stem cell treatment also known as regenerative medicine promotes the repair response of diseased, nonfunctional, or injured tissue using stem cells or their derivatives. The next step is organ transplanta-

tion. Many organs in our body are transplanted. Bone marrow and kidney transplantation is commonly car-ried out procedure in our country. Less frequently oth-er organs too are transplanted in Sri Lanka.

A bone marrow transplant is a medical procedure performed to replace bone marrow that has been dam-aged or destroyed by disease, infection, or chemother-apy. This procedure involves transplanting blood stem cells, which travel to the bone marrow where they pro-duce new blood cells and promote growth of new mar-row.

Stem cell transplantation involves eliminating an in-dividual’s blood and immune system by chemotherapy or radiotherapy and replacing it with stem cells from another individual or with previously harvested por-tion of the individual’s own blood stem cells.

There are certain diseases where stem cell trans-plantation is carried out and total cure can be expect-ed. The awful inherited blood diseases called Thalas-saemia which has affected few thousands of children in North Central province, Kurunegala, Badulla areas can be totally cured by bone marrow transplantation. Otherwise they need continuous and complicated daily drug treatment and frequent blood transfusions. Many of them used to die in their childhood which has been reduced at great expense to the state. Our health deliv-ery system has not still reached the stage where bone marrow transplants are available to these unfortunate children.

Other known diseases where stem cell transplan-tation is indicated include, different types of leukae-mias, other malignant diseases of blood and the bone marrow, cancers of lymph glands, diseases caused by changes in the human immunological system.

Complications of bone marrow transplantation. The early ones that are manifested within 100 days include common infections with many types of microorgan-isms which range from bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The patient may get a haemorrhage. There could be a reaction between the graft and the host. There could be graft failure when the patient will end up with very decreased number of cells produced by the bone mar-row which are red blood cells, white blood cells and the platelets. Chest infections and haemorrhagic urinary infections are possible. Some of these complications

may also manifest late after 100 days. Additional late complications include, cataracts, infertilities and sec-ondarily another malignancy.

Stem cells and derived products offer great promise for new medical treatments. The other side of the coin is that there are said to be illegal and potentially harm-ful practices based on stem cell therapy that is been carried out specially in the U.S. which can be poten-tially harmful and illegal. Dishonest and unscruplous stem cell clinics are sprouting. They claim cures for situations where there is no well proven medical ben-e�it. The U.S. food and drug administrative authorities are concerned about this. Fortunately it has not still reached SrI Lanka.

Stem cells obtained from adult bone marrow, liver or the umbilical cord are permitted to be used accord-ing to the teachings of the Church for stem cell treat-ment and transplant.

Missionary Childhood Association

Tin Shui Wai initiated a pious association for the children of the parish to inculcate in them the spirit of evangelization.

It was set up on the Feast day of St. Teresa of Child Jesus, the Patron Saint of the Missions.

Sister Sophia Rani PIME, the pastoral sister who was in Jerome's parish realized that many children are deprived of their childhood naivety because their days are rigid and tightly scheduled with attending schools, tuitions and numerous co-curricular and extra-curricu-lar activities. The children also become the �irst victims of undesirable family situations where arguments and break up are common.

Seeing their plights, Sister Rani wanted to be of help by building up their faith in God and help them �ind meaning and hope in life. The desire to initiate a pious association for children was nurtured for two years, but she waited for the appropriate time. She is convinced that on their path of following Jesus in their own little ways, the children would identify the real worth of be-ing a child of God.

When Pope Francis declared October 2019 to be an Extraordinary Missionary Month with the theme Baptized and sent, she realized that it was the oppor-tune time to begin a Missionary Childhood Association (MCA) in the parish. She raised the matter of setting up

an MCA in the pastoral team and obtained the support of Father Simon Li Chi-yeun, the Parish Priest.

The MCA was founded by Bishop Charles Forbin-Janson in 1843. Originally Bishop Forbin-Janson ap-pealed to the children of France to reach out and help the children of the missions in the North America and China. He asked them to say a Hail Mary every day and give a small coin every month to help feed the

Contd on Pg 15

The MissionaryChildhood

Association in St. Jerome's

Parish,Tin Shui Wai.

Responding positively to the call of Pope Francis to celebrate Extra Ordinary Missionary Month, last year St. Jerome's Parish

“I still feel it is a New Year although it is the middle of January. Perhaps it is because it is twenty twenty and a new decade. This is also a Leap Year with February having a 29th day” said Harith.“I think that it is important for us to keep the novelty for as long as we can. For instance, my daughter has started an affair with a colleague and I hope that they will be happy” said Uma.“Yes, relationships are important. More im-portant than a mother and daughter friendship or father and son link, we must try our best to enrich connections with others” commented Harith.“New links are refreshing but we must also try our best to make the old relationships work. We must not take for granted that a mother loves a child or a father a son. I also know of friends who have fallen out sometimes over a small matter. It is easy to keep a grudge and sometimes resentment can last for years. This can even happen within a family. A lawyer once told me that the Sri Lankan Statute Books are full of cases between family members” chimed in Imran.“That means that the Extended Family System we pride ourselves on doesn’t always work. So we might be fond of a Grandpa but resentful of an Aunt. I also know of a fond Uncle who is not liked by the nephew and niece” said Uma.“Then let us think of improving our relations with family and friends and reach out to others in this New Decade” said Harith“And let us pray to improve our links with ev-eryone” summed up Imran.

by Sirohmi Gunesekera

Novel


Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him (Matthew 3:13)

St. Joseph Vaz, the Apostle of Sri Lanka (1651-1711)

by Rev. Fr. Athanasius Samarasinghe

St. Joseph Vaz born at Benanlim Goa on 21st April 1651, was the last child of Christopher Vaz and Maria de Mirauda family. The twin - traits that

one witnessed in this youth were deep, solid piety com-bined with a charity towards the voiceless. He received his higher education at the St. Paul College run by the Jesuits Fathers.

After his secular studies he opted for the priest-hood and entered ‘St. Thomas Aquinas' Seminary. He was just 25 years in age when he was ordained a priest in the year1676. It was indeed a tumaltous time, the Dutch had wrenched the grip over Mangalore and other fortresses from the Portuguese.

The Dutch had targeted the Franciscan and Jesuit Missionaries and as a result they had to quit the region. Joseph Vaz came to the Konkani region to be more than a support to the maligned and persecuted church.

But the issue of exercise of jurisdiction between the Propaganda and Padroado raised its ugly head, damp-ening Vaz's Spirit.

But Joseph followed a via media policy and avoid-ed all controversy and attrition. He laboured for three years in this situation. Then he retraced his steps back to Goa in 1684.

Now he began to hear how the Catholics, particu-larly the new converts were being persecuted by the Dutch in Sri Lanka. Schools and churches were being con�iscated. Priests had been chased from their min-istries. Anyone giving shelter to any Catholic with dire consequences and converts were being lured to be-come Buddhists.

Vaz who had already been toying with the idea of coming to the rescue of Sri Lankan Catholics, felt this urge now more than ever before. He was convinced that if only a team of missionaries were to go, it would

be worth the trouble. For this sake he joined an indig-enous religious institute. Eventually he became the or-ganizer! It came to be known as the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Once the Congregation entered the Sri Lankan shores and took roots, it served for well-over a century and a half.

Vaz made it a point to enter Sri Lanka in complete disguise and in fact like a coolie slave, with a loin cloth around his waist. The story of how he entered a Dutch ship while the Dutch were always on the look-out to ar-rest any Catholic priest, and how he managed to get en-try into one of their ships and reached one of the very ports they had forti�ied to prevent entry to Papists, is a rare feat. Of course Providence guided each and ev-ery step of Vaz. It was a Herculean task to establish his priestly identity only to the Catholics. It was a whirl-wind expedition for Vaz in disguise, from one end of the island to the other, and in the process building chapels, forming able Catholics and administering sacraments.

To compound Vaz's cup of woes, the country ex-perienced a terrible drought. In the 1696 there was a long continued drought in Kandy. As rain was neces-sary for cultivation of rice, the men, the crops and the cattle suffered severely. At this time a long continued drought harassed the people of Sri Lanka. Every day the sky became more and more copper coloured, the earth burnt by the rays of the sun, the seed perished, a severe famine threatened the Kingdom. The rice harvest, the principal and staple food of the people was in danger of being completely perished.

The King was very much distressed, worried and so asked the highest religious leaders and monks of his Kingdom to perform their ceremonies to call down the rains but to no avail. The people prayed for it and had recourse to various superstitious ceremonies but in vain.

The king then through his courtiers and Christians who served in the palace sent for Fr. Joseph Vaz, as he af�irmed that his was the true God; whose law he had to teach others; that he should pray to Him and implore his favour to save so many lives, which were now in danger of perishing, for want of water.

Fr. Joseph Vaz had to pray to his God and obtain rain for the Kingdom. Fr. Joseph Vaz who by his sufferings, morti�ication and resignation to God's will would have gained the power of sure intercession before God, re-plied that he "would pray with greater fervour in obedi-ence to the royal command" and asked the King to "re-main �irm in faith and if it would serve Divine Glory the land would abound with water since all the elements obey His Divine commands as the Creater of heaven and earth."

Then he went to the main square opposite the Royal Palace where he had an altar erected and set a Cruci�ix above it. There he knelt in fervent prayer begging God, to glorify His Name by sending down rain. Before he had �inished his prayer, the heavens opened and rain

fell in abundance, but not a drop fell on him and the altar and the large Cruci�ix built by him. The people were standing all-round and the King and the Queen sitting looking at him. It brought so abundant rains in torrents that Fr. Joseph Vaz won the sympathy of the King, liberty for himself and permission to get more Priests from Goa, beside a good number of converts to the Catholic fold.

A little later a calamitous epidemic of plague and pox was taking a heavy toll of people, decimating the populace. The King ran for life to a safer place. Vaz, however stood like a sentinel unfazed ! He fed the peo-ple, treated the sick and nursed them, buried the dead and did not abandon them.

Providentially, after the storm there was calm, even the Buddhist King showed him great reverence. He al-lowed the building of Churches and chapels. He even wanted a church near the palace, "So that he might en-joy the company of the Fathers." Now it was King's turn to defend the Catholic Missionaries against the Dutch. Fresh recruits of priests from Goa became a reality. When Bishopric was offered as a reward to his immea-surable services, Vaz was humble enough to reject it.

In 1710, he fell sick as he was going to attend a sick-call at Kottiyar. He had a serious fall. He made his last confession and was anointed. He begged to be placed on the �low out of humility, considering himself unwor-thy to die lying in a bed. With a lighted candle in one hand and the Cruci�ix in the other, Vaz serenely gazed towards heaven, and uttering the name of Jesus, he ren-dered his soul to his creator and Lord!

He was beati�ied on January 21st, 1995 by Pope John Paul II(now Saint)we were fortunate enough to have Fr. Joseph Vaz Canonized by His Holiness Pope Francis, on January 14th, 2015 at the Gall Face Green, Colombo.

Today if the church in Sri Lanka could be compared to a huge banyan true, surely the credit goes to St. Joseph Vaz. The 17th Century Sri Lanka witnessed a spate of skirmishs, between the Portuguese and the Dutch who vied with each other for Colonial suprem-acy. While the Portuguese did support the Church, the Dutch did everything in their power to hinder its growth. St. Joseph Vaz appeared on the scene in such a situation of turmoil. Thus we were fortunate enough to have an Apostle for Sri Lanka. Let us be convinced that it was due to his painstaking efforts that we continue to be the faithful Catholic in Sri Lanka today. To ponder;-"Who am I to intercede for you? I am nothing and can do nothing on my own. I always consulted the Senior Fathers and therefore I could do what I did”; St. Joseph Vaz to his confreres before his death.

LIFE IS THE GREATER ENTERPRISE - POPE FRANCIS “You can have �laws, be anxious, and even be angry, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can stop it from going bust. Many appreciate you, admire you and love you. Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relation-ships without disappointments. To be happy is to �ind strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord. It is not only to enjoy the smile but also to re�lect on the sadness. It is not only to celebrate the successes but to learn lessons from the failures. It is not only to feel happy with the applause but to be happy in anonymity. Being happy is not a fa-tality of destiny, but an achievement for those who can travel within themselves. To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny's author.

It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to �ind an oasis in the depths of our soul. It is to thank God for every

morning, for the miracle of life. Being happy is not be-ing afraid of your own feelings. It's to be able to talk about you. It is having the courage to hear a "no". It is con�idence in the face of criticism, even when unjusti-�ied. It is to kiss your children, pamper your parents, to live poetic moments with friends, even when they hurt us.

To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in

each of us, free, joyful and simple. It is to have the ma-turity to be able to say: "I made mistakes". It is to have the courage to say "I am sorry". It is to have the sensi-tivity to say, "I need you". It is to have the ability to say "I love you".

May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness ... That in spring may it be a lover of joy. In winter a lover of wisdom. And when you make a mis-take, start all over again. Only then will you be in love with life. You will �ind that to be happy is not to have a perfect life.

But use the tears to irrigate tolerance. Use your losses to train patience. Use your mistakes to sculptor serenity. Use pain to plaster pleasure. Use obstacles to open windows of intelligence. Never give up. Never give up on people who love you. Never give up on hap-piness, for life is an incredible show.” ( From the Homily of Pope Francis On Sunday, January 5th, 2020 ).

13 The Messenger January 12, 2020 13 January 12, 2020 Messenger

John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?”

O Most Sweet JesusO Most Sweet Jesus, we cast ourselves upon our knees. In Thy sight with the most fervent desire of our heart we beseech Thee that Thou would impress, upon heart and Soul, Faith, Hope, and Charity, with true repentance of our sins, and a �irm amendment, never, to of-fend you any more Through Thy Love and Mercy obtain everlast-ing salvation and be redeemed from eternal �lames of damna-tion. O Loving, and Forgiving Lord, we trust in you, that our most sincere, and humble appeal, touch your Aching Heart to grant our sincere ap-peal, of Justice, of Divine Salvation, and Redemption, be your Most Holy Wish and Will. This is Our earnest and humble Prayer O Lord, my God, now and forever.

Francis Irugalbandara

Our friends accept us as we are, they encourage us to change for the better. Our Lord came among sinners, but He in order to save us all. He healed the blind and gave them sight; He gave hope to the poor; he strengthened the lame; The Lord is still a friend to each one of us. Since we are blinded by sel�ishness and ignorance, and He offers us light through the teachings of the Church; we are poor in generosity and virtue, and He �ills us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit; We are lame, unable to pray as we should, to love as we should, and He heals us and strengthens us by feeding us with bread from heaven, He nour-ishes us with his very self in the Eucharist. He encourages us to grow since He loves us far too much to leave us as we are. Lord, I thank you, for the example given by John the Baptist and your disciples. They had doubts a they did not understand your plans, so they came to you for answers. We too

My father is CELESTINE JAYASINGHE, known well as D.C. JAYASINGHE celebrated his 88th birthday being born on January 8, 1932 at Nayakakanda, Hendala. After his primary education at the Boys’ school, Nayakakanda. At the age of 12 years he entered St. Aloysius Seminary, Borella. With him on the same day three other village lads also entered the Seminary. One was Marcus from Munnakkara, one Raymond from Kalaeliya, the other was Anthony from Uswetakeiyawa. In the middle of the year entered Costa from Boralessa. In a short while entered Kingsley from Jaffna. Later they were joined by Elmo from Galle.Out of this bunch of seven four served as Bishops. They are Archbishop Emeritus Nicholas Marcus Fernando, Raymond Peiris, Kingsley Swampillai and Elmo Perera, and the other two are priests. They are H D. Anthony and Aba Costa. Thus from this bunch of the seven one untimely got loosened from the calyx and fell on to the ground, but fortunately it didn’t become a prey to the greedy vultures.From the age of 14 years my father began his journalistic work. At his age of 14 itself he wrote and published his �irst Sinhala book on St. Maria Goretti. He has up to now written and published 12 books in Sinhala. In

father. In 2018 when C.T. Fernando was honoured by the ITN my father was also honoured for his this “Ane dingak innako” was also adjudged the best.The two Sinhala stage dramas named “Udara Sinhalaya” of 1965 and “Atharamang” of 1967 with relevant songs were written, directed and produced by my father and became very popular in Hendala; so much so people called for a second show. At the request of the Colombo Catholic Press my father worked as the sub-editor of the “Messenger” for almost �ive years. My father is a founder member of “Hendala Susitha Wadana Samuthiya” an approved charity incorporated by an Act of Parliament Number 19 of 1968. He was its �irst Secretary for �ive consecutive years; several years its Vice President. For his dedicated service to this Samithiya for the last 50 years he was presented with a Golden Souvenir at the 50th Jubilee. Even the above name for the Samithiya was also given by my father. He was also a member of the �irst Peace Council of Hendala; sworn Juror of the High Courts in the Western Province, and all Island Justice of the Peace, and a holder of Grade one Special Post grants by the Ministry of Education.

Neomi Jayasinghe

My Father reaches cellestial 88

Jesus Lord a Friend to All

the year 1956 he joined St. Joseph’s College, Colombo as a teacher, where he has a 40 years service reord. For 10 years he was the Principal of the Middle School and another 10 years the Principal of the Upper School.At his retirement his colleague-Bishops called him to the Bishops’ Conference Hall at Balcombe Place and �ixed him as the �irst Administrative Secretary of the Catholic National Commission for the Laity. With the Presidents-bishop of the C.N.C.L. he participated at several Laity Conferences local as well as foreign. In the year 1994 with President Bishop Kingsley Swamipillai he attended the �irst All-Asia Laity Congress in South Korea and brought to Sri Lanka the Asian Integral Pastoral Approach called “ASIPA” METHODOLOGY, which is the concept of Small Christian Community. With the Bishops he introduced this ASIPA Methodology in all the dioceses. This “ASIPA” is in its Silver Jubilee Year today in Sri Lanka.For the past 65 years he wrote lyrics in Sinhala to Sri Lanka’s maestros like C.T. Fernando, Christopher Paul, Malathi Fraceed, Christy de Mel, Nalin Perera and Jagath Wickramasinghe. Today the very popular song “Ane dingak innako- oya detha poddak dennko” sung by maestro C.T. Fernando is my father’s composition. Christopher Paul’s “Pembariya ran kumudu male” is also composed by my

want to do the same. I have had doubts and dif�icul-ties, but you have been faithful. No matter what I want to be close to you, so I ask Lord to guide my steps. Each time I try to evaluate my life by my stan-dards I falter, and it’s only when I realize that I have to evaluate my life by your standards that I �ind the answers. Since you are truth itself. I ask you, Lord, to cleanse my mind from false and sel�ish ideas. Open my eyes to see myself and those around me as you do. Thank you, Lord, for your innumerable gifts and for watching over me. I shouldn’t worry instead I need to seek your will for me. Teach me, Lord, to trust you and give the courage to be gener-ous with others as you have been with me. Jesus, I Trust In You. Amen

Rev. Fr. Christopher Silva

If you were one of the three kings, what would you pack in your coffer to give to the baby Jesus? The question might sound utterly fanciful, but it really isn’t. Each Epiphany, when we hear about the visit from the three Wise Men from afar, bearing royalty-worthy gifts, we are, in our own time and place, embarking on a journey of our own, into a new year that will land us back at the manger, welcoming the Christ Child anew after 12 months have passed. Of course, we could arrive at Epiphany 2021 just ready to hear a good story and nothing more. But, with some advance present planning, we might be able to bring one or more wonderful gifts of our own. So … How will we spend the new year so we do not arrive empty-handed when we again greet Jesus in the manger? With the Wise Men as guides, we might �ind some gift ideas or, at least, some starter questions. One of the “Wise Men” in Jesus’ time put gold into his coffer -- a glittering, valuable commodity, but it didn’t start out that way. Rather, the gold presented to Christ started out as a yellow metal embedded in a harder, coarser rock that had to be pounded and pulverized to yield its treasure. Then, the �ine �lakes of gold were re�ined, melted for days at high heat. Finally, at the end of the process, gold could be shaped and achieve its greatest value. What process could be started now that would result in a personal gift good as gold? One forged in effort, perseverance and deliberate care? In the ancient world, frankincense was often more valued than gold, with medicinal properties and other cherished uses. It had to be obtained from even far-ther off, from India and elsewhere, collected as it oozed from incisions made in trees of the genus Boswellia, then stored carefully and transported over long distances. What gift for Jesus could be found farther a�ield than the “usual” ones we rely on each year? What new activities, service or sacri�ice could expand the horizons of local giving and charity?

At the sacrament of baptism, we are reminded that Je-sus was anointed as priest,

Epiphany of the Lord

Follow that starprophet and king. In the gospel reading today we are told that the Three Magi presented gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold is like a gift for a king. It was the custom that no one approach a king without a gift. And gold, the king of met-als, is the gift �it for a king of the people. Jesus was born to be king. But he was to reign, not by force, but by love; and he was to rule over peo-ple’s hearts, not from a throne, but from a cross. Our response is to surrender our lives to him. Frankincense is the gift for a priest. It was in the temple worship and sacri�ices that the sweet perfume of frankincense was used. The function of a priest is to open the way to God for all people. The Latin word is pontifex, a bridge-builder. The priest is the one who builds bridges between the people and God. This is what Jesus did. He opened the way to the pres-ence of God; he made it possible for people to enter into the very presence of God. Myrrh is the gift for one who is to die. It was used to embalm the bodies. Je-sus came into the world to die, to live for all people and, in the end, to die for them. He came to give his life and his death for us. The gifts of the Three Wise Men offered at the cradle of the Christ foretold

that he was to be the true king, the per-fect high priest and, in the end, the su-preme saviour of all people. The central point of this feast is not the Three Wise Men, nor the gifts they bore, but the Epiphany, the manifes-tation of God’s glory in our world. It also helps us focus on God’s loving generosity. God is not just the God of the Jews, but is the God of the world, of all nations and peoples. The Wise Men used their under-standing of astrology to learn that a king was to be born. The star they followed was to help them discover the place. On reaching Jerusalem they needed the scribal wisdom of Israel to locate the one whose birth the star announced. The human gifts and learning of these Gentiles, together with natural wisdom and biblical prophecy, played an essential role in leading them to the sav-iour.

Best gift ever

(Contd on Pg. XX)

The mystery of the Epiphany is well known to us in our day and age, but it isn’t something that we just look to as being in the past. Jesus lives in us today if we have faith, hope and love. It is our task to make this star shine within us and to share this great news with others in our lives.(Courtesy: Sunday Examiner)

The third traveler’s gift of myrrh was aimed for use at the more dif�icult aspects of life, those that are neither easy to face nor understand. A resin like frankincense, myrrh also came from gashes made in far-off trees, hardened, then carried by mer-chants to the Temple in Jerusalem and other places for use in worship and funerals, its scent blending with others to evoke mourning and remembrance.

Archbishop of Colombo. His Eminence gave expressions to those thoughts in delivering His homily at the Holy Mass He of�iciated at the Negombo, Sea Street Church dedicat-ed to Saint Sebastian following the opening ceremony of the newly installed Blessed Sacrament Altar. The church building also had undergone renovation with

the setting up of the new altar of the Blessed Sacra-ment within the Sanctury.

His Eminence in his sermon noted with regret the fact that some of the present-day leaders think only of themselves and look for ways and means to acquire power and wealth for their own bene�it and not to serve the people though they shout from their roof-tops to say, they are for the people, they represent.

The construction of the Blessed Sacrament Al-

tar was carried out on the supervision of the Rev. Fr. Sujeewa Athukorale, Parish Priest. The consecration and the blessing ceremony of the New Altar were at-tended by Very Rev. Fr. Ciswan De Croos, Episcopal Vicar, Negombo Region, Rev. Fr. Gyom Nonis, Dean of Negombo Deanery along with Rev. Frs. Prasanna Dilruk and Sebastian Sudharshan, Assistant Parish Priests and a large number devotees of the area.

15 January 12, 2020 Messenger

Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold.... (Matthew 3:16)

Contd. from Pg. 11Missionary Childhood Association... children in the missions. The motto was “children help-ing children.”

The French children took up this great work and from then on the work of missionary children has spread across the world. Today it is in 140 countries and helps make Jesus known to children all over the world. St. Jerome’s Church is possibly the �irst parish in Hong Kong to initiate MCA. Most of the input materi-als are in English. Sister Rani with the help of four pa-rishioners, Florence Yeung, Cecilia Ko, May Cheung and John Wu, got them translated into Chinese.

“God who inspired me also inspired them for this mission,” she explained. They worked for eight months to establish MCA in St. Jerome’s Church. Sister Rani has no doubt that God willed this as well so they could ex-perience his guidance all along.

After several months of preparation, St. Jerome’s MCA ran the �irst formative gathering with parents and members on September 28. On October 1, this Associa-tion was of�icially set up. At the moment, there are 20

members of �ive to 14 years old. They choose St. Thérèse of Lisieux, one of the patron saints of missionaries to be their patron saint whose feast day falls on October 1 as well. By choosing the saint as their patron saint, they wish to learn her little ways to be little missionaries.

To mark the opening of the MCA, the parish orga-nized a prayer service, followed by a tea party. After a Mass celebrated by Father Li, missionaries came to share their stories. Divine Word Missionary Father Anthonius Reynolds Balubun and Father Nicolas De Francqueville of Paris Foreign Mission Society shared their missionary experiences. Father Paul Kam Po-wai, former chairperson of the Diocesan Youth Commission sent a video clip from Cambodia to encourage the teen-agers. Sister Carmela Pameipime and Cecilia Ho Wai-man, a lay missionary, also shared their missionary insights.

Deacon Alex Kwok, missionary sisters from other religious orders and many parishioners extended their participation and support for the new missionary en-deavour in the parish. St. Jerome’s MCA.

Courtesy: Sunday Examiner

Contd. from Pg. 1Country needs leaders...

Contd. from Pg. 1Feast of St. Joseph Vaz,... Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Vianney Fernando, Bishop of Kandy. The Feast is a Solomnity in Sri Lanka. Diocesan coordinators presented the celebra-

tion of the feast in their respective dioceses. The feast will be celebrated in all the churches and schools and institutions in the Island. Most of the churches will be celebrating the feast on Sunday, 19th January. His Lordship introduced a statue of the saint which was qualitative to be used in the churches. His

Lordship also instructed to publish a booklet with the liturgical norms in three languages. The booklet will be sent to all the parish priests. It is compiled and distributed by Rev. Fr. Anthony Fernandopulle, Secretary of the Secre-tariat, Those who need extra copies can contact him.

(see page 12)

His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Raymond Wickremesinghe, Bishop of Galle.

Presiding as the Chief Guest at the 37th Diploma Award ceremony organized by the Saint Joseph Vaz Deva Dharma Nikethanaya, Borella, Colombo, af�iliated to the Urbanian University Rome, His Lordship told the recipients of the Awards, the laity of today, were a priv-ileged lot, for they have the opportunity of studying Theology which was limited to both major seminarians preparing for the Priesthood and the Religious, a few decades ago.

At the Diploma Award ceremony 27 students who were successful at the Examination conducted by the Deva Dharma Nikethanya received their diploma cer-ti�icates from His Lordship.

The Keynote Address at the recently held awards ceremony was delivered by Miss Sajitha Lakmali, Se-nior Lecturer attached to the Department of Media at the University of Colombo.

The Diploma Certi�icate awarding ceremony was

organized by the Nikethanaya Of�ice on the directives of Rev. Fr. Sheron Dias, Director of the Deva Dharma Nikethanaya and recipients of certi�icates included stu-dents from all branches of the Deva Dharma Nikethana-ya operating in the country.

Contd. from Pg. 1Assures residential,... construct a building to provide shelter and facilities to those who come from far away places to Maharagama for treatment.

His Eminence was received on His arrival to the Hospital premises by Dr. Wasantha Dissanayake, Direc-tor, Apeksha Hospital and the staff.

Contd. from Pg. 1First Chapel of Virgin,... in the presence of priests and religious serving in the Galle Diocese. The pictures show His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Raymond Wickremesinghe, Bishop of Galle of�iciat-ing at the opening ceremony and the participants.

Contd. from Pg. 1Help People Reach God...

The Holy Childhood Asso-ciation (Tamil) of St. Mary’s Church, Nayakakanda won the �irst place at the Carol Competition conducted by the Colombo Archdiocese for the 4th year. The Tamil community is very grateful to Rev. Fr. Ranjan Silva, their Parish Priest for his support in guiding and encouraging them in their church related activities. The Picture shows the winners with Rev. Fr. Ranjan Silva, Parish Priest and His Assistant Rev. Fr. Gihan Nilukshan.

(pic by S.T.G. John)

Pope Francis’ Prayer to Mary Undoer of KnotsHoly Mary, full of God’s presence during the day of

your life, you accepted with full humility the Father’s will, and the devil was never capable of tying you up with his confusion. Once with your Son you interceded for our dif�iculties, and full of kindness and patience, you gave us example of how to untie the knots in our life. By remaining forever Our Mother, you put in order and make more clear the ties that link us to the Lord.

Holy Mother, Mother of God and our Mother, to you who untie with a motherly heart the knots of our life, we pray to you to receive in your hands (the name of the person), and to free him/her of the knots and confusion with which our enemy attacks.

Through your grace, your intercession and your ex-ample deliver us from all evil, Our Lady, and untie the knots that prevent us from being united with God, so that we, free from sin and error, may �ind Him in all things, may have our hearts placed in Him, and may serve Him always in our brothers and sisters. Amen.

Address: Ranjit Abeysekera, 47A, Subuthipura Road, Battaramulla. To obtain a brochure containing a 9 day novena, please send a Rs.151- stamped 9”x 4’ self addressed envelope to the above address. Contact: 071-2854924

Contd. from Pg. 5Our Lady...

Holy Childhood Association (Tamil) St. Mary’s Church, Nayakakanda

The Recipients of Diploma in Theology with His Lordship, the Director of the Nikethanaya and the Staff

His Eminence visits Apeksha Children's Ward Assures ...colomboarchdiocesancatholicpress.com ›...

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