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evangelize China in the late 16th century and who isvery dear to Pope Francis.

For a Jesuit like Bergoglio, the irst duty of anevangelist is to respect and adopt t he local culture andlanguage, not impose from the outside. In Sri Lankaand in the Philippines, Pope Francis, who only speaksSpanish and Italian, made efforts to express himself inEnglish, the most common language in both countries.At times, he asked the crowd permission to use Spanish- which was then translated into English - to speakfrom the heart and communicate more openly with theassembled crowds.

Contd on Pg. 3

THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY OF SRI LANKA

“ R E GI 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 RNO. QD / 1 9 / N E W S / 2 0 1 5

Sunday, February 1, 2015 Vol 146 No 05 20 Pages Rs: 25.00 Registered as a newspaper

Celebrating

Years of Independence

67

Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions for FebruaUniversal: Prisoners That prisoners, especially the young, may be able to rebuild lives of dignity

For Evangelization: Separated Spouse That married people who are separated may nd welcome and support in theChristian community.

Why Pope Francis is so focus

“At an inter-religious meeting in Colombo, he wore Hindu clothing that was offered to him.”

ROME -- Pope Francis lew back on January 19,from the Philippines, ending a week-long trip toAsia that he had started in Sri Lanka. Last August,

he travelled to Korea. He has not yet been to Africa, toNorth America nor back to his native Argentina and hehas barely been to Europe outside Italy (except a one-day journey in Albania and four hours in Strasbourg).But he has chosen to visit the Far East twice in less thansix months. The of icial reason is that his predecessor did“not have time” to go to Asia. Invitations were pending.Jorge Bergoglio found t ime immediately.

There may be some personal reasons for this.When still a young Jesuit, he dreamt of becoming amissionary in Japan but his lung problem was consideredtoo high a risk to allow him to leave Argentina. Now thathe is over 78, he is willing to travel more than 14 hoursfrom Manila - despite a tropical storm - to reach theformer typhoon-devastated town of Tacloban and, in SriLanka, to make a two hour helicopter ride all the way toa Tamil zone severely hurt by the civil war, then ly backanother two hours that same day. Why is Francis expending so much effort to visita country like Sri Lanka where Catholics represent only6 percent of the population? Why did he invest so muchtime and energy in the Philippines where his Churchalready enjoys an overwhelming position, where 85

percent of the hundred million inhabitants are Catholics?“Asia is the future of the Church,” Pope Francis

said to the young Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal LuisAntonio Tagle, while receiving wild cheers from thecrowd all along the streets.

On the very last day of his journey in thePhilippines, he celebrated Holy Mass in front of 6 to 7million people, setting a record in the history of PapalMass rallies. He extolled Filipinos to evangelize Asia astheir mission in life. Jesuits have a special approach when it comesto evangelization in Asia. They have a long experiencegoing back to Matteo Ricci - a Jesuit who tried to

“Following Francis” is a monthly blog onthe latest happenings of Pope Francis. It isprepared exclusively for The World Post bySébastien Maillard, Vatican Correspondentfor La Croix , Rome.

St. Benedict’s College, Colombo celebrates 150 years thisyear. The College run by the De La Salle Community, was

inaugurated in 1865. It is one of the oldest Catholic PrivateInstitution in the country. “A Benedictine Walk” will be held onSaturday, February 7 to mark the event.

Benedictine’s Walk to Mark 150 Years Minister of Public Peace, Disaster Managementand Christian Affairs, John Amaratunga assumed

duties of the Christian Affairs Ministry at the Auditoriumof Archbishop’s House, Colombo last Monday morning.Here, the Archbishop of Colombo His EminenceMalcolm Cardinal Ranjith, wishes Mr. Amaratunga afterassuming duties. Mrs. Hyacinth Amaratunga is also inthe picture.

Nimal Perera

Minister of Christian Affairs assumes duties

Holy Mass atBasilica of Our

Lady of Lanka onSunday, February8, at 7.30 a.m.,presided by HisLordship Rt. Rev.Dr. EmmanuelFernando,Auxiliary Bishopof Colombo.

FeastofOurLadyofLanka

The centurion priest, Rev. Fr. Vito Perniola S.J. was rewarded for his work asa historian and writer when he met the Holy Father, Pope Francis on his visitto Sri Lanka. The Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal

Ranjith is also seen, showing his appreciation for the invaluable contributionmade by Fr. Perniola to the Church in Sri Lanka. (Pic by: Clifford Murray)

Stalwart Sri Lankan Church Historian andWriter, meets the Holy Father

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2 The Messenger February 1, 2015

Release of'Uduvap Mihira'

The release of the magazine 'Uduvap Mihira'was held at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Ja-ela. Picture show Rev. Fr. Sagara Hettia rachchi,Editor, Gnanartha Pradeepaya who was the Chief Guestlighting the oil lamp at the commencement of the cer -emony. The irst copy of the magazine which is pub -lished annually was presented to Fr. Sagara.

H.A. Caldera

Archbishop of Co -lombo His Eminence Car-dinal Malcolm Ranjith, wasthe Chief Celebrant at theConcelebrated EucharisticService held at the com -mencement of the 10th

year tsunami remembranceevent organised by CaritasSri Lanka SEDEC recently.

The inaugurationceremony took place at theBMICH and the conferencesessions were conductedin the SEDEC Auditoriumfor two days. Caritas del -egates from four tsunami

affected countries - India,Indonesia, Thailand andSri Lanka - participated in

this program along withseveral funding Partnersfrom the Caritas Interna -tional Confederation. Speaking aboutthe charitable works oforganizations like Caritas,

His Eminence MalcolmCardinal Ranjith in hishomily said that they are

to be motivated by love;love of the Lord and love ofall those whom we meet."This love of God whichoverwhelms us has to becomplemented with a loveof our neighbour or rather

has to make us reach outto all the others." Anislie Joseph

True charity is profoundly divine andprofoundly human: His Eminence

Thirty six students wereawarded with the National Voca-tional Quali ications (NVQ) Level4 Certi icates in Civil Engineeringand 86 students who have success-fully completed the computer basedDynEd English training programme

were awarded certi icates by theHon. Niroshan Perera, Minister ofYouth affairs recently, at the Prem -ises of Don Bosco Civil EngineeringInstitute, Metiyagane. Rev. Fr. Dixon,the Vice Superior of the SalesianVice Province of Sri Lanka graced

the occasion in the presence of theSalesian Community of Metiya -gane.

The new Web Site of DonBosco Civil Engineering InstituteMetiyagane was declared open bythe Minister.

Certi icate Awarding Ceremony at Don Bosco CivilEngineering Institute Metiyagane

Feast of the Immaculate

Conception at Maggona

The annual Feast of the Immaculate Concep -tion, Maggona was celebrated last month. The chief cel -ebrant at the Festive Mass was Rev. Fr. Freddie ShanthiKumar.

D.A.F.

170th Feast of St. Sebastian'sChurch, Diyalagoda

The 170th Annual Feast of St. Sebastian'sChurch, Diyalagoda was held recently. The Chief Cel -ebrant at the Festive Mass was Rev. Fr. Thusith PradeepFernando, Parish Priest Balagala.

D. Anselm Fernando

Catholic MP to join Jesuit Refugee Service

Liberal Democrat MP andformer Education Minister SarahTeather is to join the Jesuit RefugeeService (JRS) as an advocacy advis -er, the JRS has announced. Teather, a Roman Catho-lic who has clashed with her partyover issues including same-sexmarriage, has said that she will leaveParliament at the next election after 12 years as MP forBrent Central. In her new role at JRS, she will focus on educa -tion for refugee children in the Middle East and SouthSudan.

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EWTN - Pope Francis ded-icated his homily at Masslast Tuesday to the themeof obeying God’s will, say -ing a Christian shouldhave a heart like Mary,who was open and obedi-ent to all that God askedof her. “Do I pray thatthe Lord gives me the de -sire to do His will, or do Ilook for compromises be -cause I’m afraid of God’swill?” the Pope askedthe attendees at the HolyMass, held in the Chapelof the Vatican’s Saint Mar -tha guesthouse. The Pontiff en -couraged those presentto pray in order “to knowGod’s will for me and my

life, concerning a decision

that I must take; the way inwhich we handle things …there are so many things.” First, he said,there is the need to prayto know God’s will, thento pray for the desire todo it, and inally when wehave these things, we pray“for the third time, to fol -low it. To carry out thatwill, which is not my own,it is His will. And all this isnot easy.” Pope Franciscentered his homily onthe day’s First Readingfrom St. Paul’s letter tothe Hebrews, in which theapostle af irms that rath -er than seeking burnt of -ferings and sacri ices, Goddesires an obedient heart.

Adam and Eve’s

act of disobedience toGod in the Garden ofEden “brought evil to thewhole of humanity,” thePope noted, saying theirprimary sin was that ofnot doing God’s will. There is no otherpath to heaven than obe-dience, he said, explainingthat “it begins with Jesusin Heaven, in his desire toobey the Father. But hereon earth it begins withOur Lady.” When Marytold the Angel Gabriel,“Let it be done to me ac -cording to your word,”she allowed God’s will tobe carried out throughher and with her ‘Yes’ toGod “our Lord began hisjourney amongst us.”

However, follow -

ing God’s will is “not easy,”the Pontiff observed, not -ing how even Christ faced

temptations in the des-ert before beginning Hispublic ministry, as well

as in the Garden of Olivesbefore His passion anddeath.

Pope Francis asks, “Do you discern God'swill before making a decision?”

EWTN - As Pope Francistweeted on January 27 toobserve the 70th anniver-sary of the liberation ofAuschwitz, it is worth re-membering Blessed Odo-ardo Focherini, who dieda martyr to rescue Jewsfrom Nazi persecution. Last Tuesday markedthe anniverary of the1945 liberation by Soviettroops of the death campwhere some 1.1 millionpeople – the vast majority

of them Jews – were put todeath by the Nazis. “Auschwitz criesout with the pain of im -mense suffering andpleads for a future of re -spect, peace and encoun-ter among peoples,” PopeFrancis tweeted. When he wasarrested over his inolve-ment in the salvation of100 Jews from a similarfate, Blessed Focheriniwas 37, had been married

14 years and had sevenchildren. Most of his chil -dren have only a vaguememory of their father.On March 11, 1944, theday of his arrest, his eldestdaughter Olga was 13. Born in Carpi in1907, Blessed Focheriniworked with L'OsservatoreRomano and was Manag-ing Director of the Catho -lic newspaper L'Avvenire d'Italia.

Blessed Odoardo Focherini, the father ofseven who saved 100 Jewish lives

Contd. from Pg. 1

Why Pope... Overall, he did everything he could in ordernot to behave as a European - which he is not. At an in-ter-religious meeting in Colombo, he wore Hindu cloth-ing that was offered to him. He later entered a BuddhistTemple. The Holy Masses he headed used all of the locallanguages.

Pope Francis understands it is essential in Asia

for the Roman Catholic Church not to look too, well, Ro -man; not to be associated with a form of Westernizationof the culture; not to be Eurocentric anymore.

This is why he prefers Asians, such as the Fili -pinos, to evangelize other areas of the continent andhost training for other Asians rather than leave thesetasks to outsiders from the West. He is also opening up the central governmentof the Church to the whole of Asia and the Paci ic, nam -ing cardinals from countries of this region for the very

irst time, such as Myanmar or the Tonga Islands.

Whether Catholics stand as a minority, as al-most everywhere in Asia, or whether they representthe vast majority, as in the Philippines, the Pope wantsthem to go out where they can contribute to the har-mony of society. He wants them out building bridgesbetween the Sinhalese and Tamil communities, as inSri Lanka. He w ant them out helping the street childrenor typhoon survivors, as in the Philippines, where hewarned the local clergy and bishops against the "dangerof materialism and staying in their comfort zones." TheChurch must not grow by proselytization, but by attrac-

tion, he often says. But making two journeys in a row throughoutthe whole continent (from Korea to the Philippines andSri Lanka), Pope Francis also means to display that hisChurch deserves a place in Asia, even if only 3 percent ofthe total population of the whole region is known to beChristian.

He nonetheless wants Catholics to play a posi-tive role as active, good-willing participants in the localsociety without threatening political powers. Above all, this is an important message forChina, which always remains on his mind. The Pontiffhas carefully avoided meeting with the Dalai Lama, whowas in Rome last December. China, which runs its ownso-called "patriotic Church" for declared Catholics, re -mains a black hole in the Holy See's diplomatic ties.

But, as the Pope clearly understands, the futureof the Catholic Church in Asia cannot omit China, whereChristians (including Protestants) are estimated to beas many as 100 million people. Some predict that, by2030, China could even become the irst Christian coun -try in the world. That potential future is not lost on this Popewho is looking beyond the West and the European his-tory of Catholicism to ful ill St. Peter's mission and buildthe Church.

THESE DAYS ARE

NOT LIKE OUR TIMES.BRIDES WEAR

THEIR HONEYMOON

DRESS TO THEWEDDING MASS

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Seeking God in silence followingthe example of St. Scholastica

Feast of St. Scholastica 10thof February

Benedictines remember St.

Scholastica as she was being conse -crated as the mother of BenedictineNuns. More than that her life is amodel of a discipleship of showingus how to translate the word andactions of Christ into our daily lives.St. Scholastica's life and virtue caninspire us to a deeper message thatis more than simply history or bi-ography. Her example issues a callchallenging us to become virtuous,to live in faith and love. St. Benedictand his twin sister St. Scholasticawere born into a wealthy family inNursia. St. Benedict establisheda monastery in Montecassino inRome. As well he inaugurated an-other monasterial way of life for theNuns under the leadership of hisown sister St. Scholastica. St. Scholastica dedicatedherself to God from her youth. Shewas strong, holy and prayerful. Sheis shown to be willing to assess situ-ations in new ways and take risks.According to tradition every yearSt. Benedict and St. Scholasticaused to meet outside the monasteryfor holy conversation and prayer.Once when they met each other atthe latter part of the day St. Scho -lastica requested of her brother tostay with her and continue to speakof God, but St. Benedict rejected herrequest saying that he couldn't stay

out of the monastery at that time.That day the weather was very

clear. St. Scholastica re -peated the request fromGod directly insteadof her brother. A iercethunder and lightningoccurred immediately inresponse to her prayer.Now St. Benedict wasannoyed but St. Scho -lastica told him "I askedyou but you were un-willing to listen to me, Iasked my Lord and myGod, He answered me."Then they remained thewhole night speaking ofheavenly things togeth-er. St. Scholastica washeard by God becauseof her affection towardsHim. On the followingday St. Benedict saw the

pure soul of her sistergoing up to heaven inthe form of a dove. We are thesisters who follow thepath of St. Scholastica,meeting God Almighty by prayerin silence. As St. Scholastica lovedsolitude we too live the prayerfulsolidarity of life in cloister. Peoplewho need divine help come andrequest for prayers. We are alwaysinterceding for the needs of thepriests and religious. For our ownliving we make candles, vestmentsand things needed for irst HolyCommunion. There are lay peoplewho join our Benedictine way oflife, we call them 'Oblates.' They re -

cite yama Yaduma and they come todo the "Holy Hour" with us. We allpray together for the needs of thepeople. We live in a simple way aswe try to glor ify the Lord seekingHim as Mary of Bethany chose thebetter part opposing her sister Mar-tha. Our cloistered monastorial lifemeans to live in the world and beingwith God to bring the world to God.

Benedictine SistersNainamadama

"The Holy Shroud - Why we Believe"Some Highlights of the Shroud Book

By Fr. Louis - Marie Navaratne, O.S.B (Available in Catholic Bookshops, Claretian Bookshops &The Ceylon Bible Society Bookshop)

* Complete texts and commentaries of Talks/Messages on the Holy Shroud by all the recent Popes-Including Pope Francis, (pages 17-26; Appendix 2,3,4:pages 625 - 641, Pages 765-775)* The transfer of ownership of The Holy Shroudto the Pope in 1983. Presently Pope Francis is the legalowner (Pages 563 - 567)* Supportive evidence of the Gospel Truth of theChurch's Faith in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ fromthe dead, (pages 94 - 147)* Scienti ic evidence pointing to the presence of-Mary, the Mother of Jesus (and the holy women) at theburial of Christ, (pages 251 - 260)* Compelling article by Barrie Schwortz, (sci -enti ic photographer and author of the website www.shroud.com): "The Shroud of Turin changed my Life"(pages 618 - 624)* Credible, though still hypothetical, evidence onthe truth of the Holy Shroud being also the Table Clothof the Last Supper (the intimate connection betweenShroud, The Last Supper, The Altar Cloth and the Cor -poral) (pages 148 - 190)* The Holy Shroud as the original source of Devo -

tion to the Holy Face of Jesus; and the Face images ofChrist (pages 40-66; 80-93; 406-412 )* How the Shroud and its image can be used forEvangelization & Ecumenism (pages 191 -212)Recommendations / Messages fromArchbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith (Colombo)Bishop Joseph Vianney Fernando (imprimatur) (Kandy)Bishop Cletus Perera, O.S.B. (Ratnapura)Abbot General Michael Kelly, O.S.B. (Nihil Obstat) (Rome)Con. Prior: Fr. Shamindra Jayawardene, O.S.B. (Kandy)Con. Prior: Fr. Michael Green, O.S.B. (Oxford USA)Superior: Fr. Bernard Schinn, O.S.B. (New Jersey, USA)Late Fr. Leonard Ranasinghe, O.S.B.

Preface by - John Jackson, Ph.D (Physicist)Rebecca Jackson, MBA (Textile Expert)(Shroud Scientists and Directors, Turin Shroud CenterColorado - U.S.A.)

This book is also useful reading for pilgrimagesto Turin this year. Where The Original Shroud will bedisplayed from 19 April- 24 June 2015.Rev. F r. Louis - Marie can be contacted at:Holy Face Monastery1697, Route 3 - Clifton, NJ 07012 - USAEmail: Imnavausa @ gmail.comMobile: 1-9739555343

unders tand “the evil we are capable of, and have evenbeen a part of” and “experience true remorse and truerepentance.” It is only when this happens, he said, that“we can receive the grace to approach one another intrue contrition, offering and seeking true forgiveness.” If the Holy Father was humble enough to go insearch of the suffering and the abandoned (as done byBishops of the Conference some moons ago) now it is ourturn to make a genuine soul-searching in concrete termsby moving out from the ghettos of the South and theNorth “to come home to God” to meet a fellow brotherand a sister from the North and the South. We owe it toGod, to the Church and to the nation.

Political Winds of ChangeThis National Day celebration is organised by

a new government under a new Executive President.Though the writer is least quali ied to make expertpolitical comments, being a citizen of a country givesus a sense of belonging to and a feeling for it. So let

Looking at the national life from the point ofview of religion alone, we see how religious extremistswere given a free hand to disseminate disharmony andantipathy towards other religions. Where angels fearedto tread, these sinister elements were displaying gym-nastics. The country watched aghast! True national re-ligious leaders were not consulted or simply ignoredor even opposed on rebuilding the nation, healing thewounds of war and reconciling the fractured communi -ties. A political leadership may win some religious menfor their needs and keep them as yes-men for some time.But the real religious power lies in the hearts of the peo -ple, in the churches, temples, kovils and mosques. It isa power of faith in the divine and the supernatural. SriLankans are still a believing and a religious people and

they do not generally mix religion and politics. That iswhat even amazed the visiting Pope. He said answeringto a question by a journalist on his visit to a Buddhisttemple, “Yesterday I saw something I never thoughtthat I’d see…at the Shrine of the Madonna. I t wasn’t justCatholics they weren’t even the majority. There wereBuddhists, Muslims, Hindus. They all go there to prayand they say they receive graces. There’s something inthe people there that unites them…… it makes us un-derstand the sense of inter-religiosity that is lived inSri Lanka” A visiting religious leader like Pope Fran -cis, who feels the pulse of the ordinary people and thesmell of a nation, could see through within 48 hours,the secret that really keeps Sri Lanka together; whathe saw, some political leaders failed to see even aftermany years of governing the people. It is true that his -tory is written and enacted by human beings but fora believer there is an inspiration and a power that isdivine, that can undo what is evil and con irm what istrue, good and beautiful in history.

Towards an Unknown Future:To be Servant Leaders After the gigantic gale of grace we receivedfrom 13-15 January 2015, lets move forward deter -mined to rebuild our nation again. Independence Dayshould have a meaning to all Sri Lankans. If our lead -ers could emulate the example of Pope Francis in hissimplicity and servant leadership then the people will

rally round them to work hard and build a strong anda developed nation. In our young people we have thetalent, innovation and vision; in adults we have com-mitment, experience and tradition; we only need thegenuine leaders who would put the country and its peo-ple irst in order to tap these resources for the greatergood of the country. As Vatican II Document “Church inthe Modern World” taught, “It follows also that political

authority, both in the community and in the representa-tive bodies of the state, must always be exercised withinthe limits of the moral order and directed toward thecommon good—with a dynamic concept of that good—according to the juridical order legitimately establishedor due to be estabslished. When authority is so exer -cised, citizens are bound in conscience to obey.” (No.74)One may suggest as a good Independence Day resolu -tion that Sri Lankans choose g enuine leaders who re-spect moral order and diversity in the nation, when theopportunities open in the future.

To be a Re-awakened Church As Catholics, invigorated by the spirit of SaintJoseph Vaz let us continue to commit ourselves to con-tribute to nation building, promote religious harmony,and actively become bridges that unite the nation. Letus thank God for Pope Francis who reiterated to us theurgent need to search for the truth, work for healingand reconciling our people divided on ethnic, religiousand political lines. Let us rally round Our Lady of Lankato whom His Holiness once again entrusted our Nationsaying, “Today we thank her for protecting the people ofSri Lanka from so many dangers, past and present. Marynever forgot her children on this resplendent island. Justas she never left the side of her Son on the Cross, so shenever left the side of her suffering Sri Lankan children.”

Contd. from Pg. 4

In the light of .....

us sincerely accept the fact, that the democratic tradi -tions, values and customs that were inherited at andnurtured after Independence from the British, werebeing eroded, dramatically and systematically. Over theyears, Executive Presidency became more and more au -thoritarian, divisive and self-centred and less and lessdemocratic, uniting and benevolent. This fact I believeall can agree.

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A father’s blessingstrengthens thehouses of the chil-

dren, but a mother’s curseuproots their foundations(Si 3:9). These days wecommonly see in manyfamilies that childrenget educated and thenthey go abroad and workthere, earning money andliving there. We also seeparents who are worriedabout the precarious na-ture of their children’sjobs, their inadequatesalary, and their maritalproblems. When I talkedto 70 year old Mr. Tommyand his wife Lissy, I hap-pened to think about aproblem that is often ig-nored, or not taken seri-ously, by most people. Mr. Tommy and

his wife Lissy are quiteunhappy and unenthu-siastic today. The reasonfor their sorrow is neitherpoverty, nor lack of chil-dren, nor they being edu-cated properly, nor lackof employment for them,nor the delay in theirmarriage. God gave themtwo healthy and diligentchildren. The daughterbecame a nurse; got mar-ried and currently she isin the UK with her hus-band. The boy chose thecomputer ield. He got ajob, got married and isliving with his wife in theGulf.

When the children leave the nest ...

Initially theyused to come every yearduring the annual vaca-tion. But when they hadchildren, their comingwas reduced to once intwo years or even threeyears. They have theirreasons for that, whichinclude problems in thework places, educationof their children and suchother things. Since Tom-my has a hearing problem,the telephone won’t help.In reality, the parents arelonely now. They want

to see their children andgrandchildren. They feel

quite envious when theysee their peers taking andbringing their grandchil-dren to school or walkingand playing with them.In the past they werebusy with their children’seducation, search for jobsand work related to theirmarriage. Now they feelthey have nothing to do.For whom, why, shouldthey live? There is a hol-

low, empty feeling!

The Empty Nest When I heard theexperience of this old cou-ple I was reminded of thephenomenon called EmptyNest Syndrome by psychi-atrists. In western coun-tries adult children do notstay with their parents.Empty Nest Syndrome isthe feeling of loneliness,emptiness and despairwhich parents feel whentheir grown up childrengo away from their nest,

from their home. Sincethis is normal in westerncountries, parents theremake themselves men-tally ready to face such asituation. So, most par-

ents get reconciled to thisinevitable truth. But inIndia the situation is quitedifferent. Here the centre-point of the parents’ life ischildren. For the sunsetdays of their life, mostparents in India dreamof a life which they canspend in the company oftheir loving children andgrandchildren, partakingin their joys and sorrows,

triumphs and tragedies.That is what they want - alife surrounded by theirbeloved ones. Parentshere do not think of astyle of life without theirchildren and grandchil-dren, unlike in the westwhere they spend theirold age indulging in theirhobbies or doing thingsof their choice. Thereforethe absence of childrenand grandchildren at thesunset days of their lifecauses loneliness, empti-ness and sorrow.

Attitudes that haveto be changed

How to bringsome joy and enthusiasmto the lives of the people

who are in the same pre-dicament like that of Tom-my and Lissy? Can we saythat the children who areworking abroad shouldreturn home to make thelife of their parents hap-py? Is it practical? There is no otherway except a change inthe attitude of the peoplewhen circumstances oflife change. It would be

better for parents not todream of spending theirold age with their chil-dren and grandchildrenpartaking in their joysand sorrows. They shouldprepare themselves in ad-vance with certain plansso that they can spendtheir old age meaningful-ly, creatively and happily.Here are some practicalsuggestions put forwardby Psychologists. 1. Learn to makeuse of the modern com-munication facilitiesso that you can keep intouch with your childrenand grand children wholive far away. There arerevolutionary changes inmodern communication

systems. You can talk toyour dear ones seeingthem. Don’t think thatyou are too old to usethese modern facilities.If you try a bit, you toocan become an expert intheir use. They are user-friendly and they are nothard to operate. 2. Establishmore cordial relationswith relatives, friendsand neighbours. Partakein their affairs, joys andsorrows, with greater in-tensity and commitment.Instead of spending allthe time at home, go outand take part in publicactivities, or visit familieswhere you are welcome.This will reduce yourloneliness and boredom. 3. There shouldbe a schedule which willhelp you to spend yourtime meaningfully. Thereshould be regular prayers.Household chores likescooking, cleaning, kitchen,gardening, taking care ofthe domestic animals etc.should keep you busy forquite some time. Physicalexercises, watching TV,visiting the sick etc, couldbe included in your dailyschedule. Avoid the situ-ation where you feel thereis nothing to be done. 4. Take up someleadership roles. Therewill de initely be oppor-tunities to contributeyour efforts in varioussocial and spiritual ser-vices. Make use of yourtime, energy and talentsfor the bene it of the soci-ety, for doing good to oth-ers. It is good to acceptsome responsibility anddo your best to carry itout. No person is meantsolely for his/her familyand children. Each per-son should realize thatGod wants each of us tobe of use to others, evenoutside our immediatefamilies. We should beguided with such a mis-sion of benevolence.(Courtesy: “Vachanolsavam”)

New So the Pope has come and gone, leaving be-hind memories of a scramble to Galle Face Green forthe Holy Mass and Blessing. We also have a new Saintwhom we can ask to intercede on our behalf. “It is also a new year and we have a new Gov-ernment. What do you think?” said Marie. “Well, we can hope for new things in the NewYear. It is already the end of January and the begin-ning of February. Are you going to celebrate Valen-tine’s Day which falls on the fourteenth?”asked John. “Well, I don’t have a lover but I entrust ev-erything to God’s loving care. I know He looks afterme and I can spare a thought on Valentine’s Day forsomeone who needs a kind word or a hug,” repliedMarie. “Yes, we should not limit Valentine’s Day justfor lovers. Every single one of us has known whatlove is if only for a short while. It may have been thecuddle of a mother when you were small or the kissof a classmate while in school. Or it may have beenthe protective arm of a neighbour when you were

crossing the road!”commented John. “I think that we should celebrate love everyday of the year and not con ine ourselves to Valen-tine’s Day! But there is no harm in giving a call andsaying “Happy Valentine’s Day” to someone you knowwho is in an Elders’ Home. Or if you can afford it, buysome chocolates and distribute them to orphans oreven your neighbour’s little ones,”said Marie. “Let’s have a new thought today,” concludedJohn.

By Sirohmi Gunasekera

In reality, the parents are lonely now. They want to seetheir children and grandchildren.

Mr. Mervyn AbeynayakePresident.Tel : 0115652918,

0716929643, 0771174606

Mr. Ashley MendisSecretaryTel : 0777799466

136th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ASSOCIATIONOF THE TENTH MARCH MADHU LENTEN FESTIVAL

The above feast will be celebrated at the “Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu”

by the parishioners of St. James Church, Mutwaland their associates on Tuesday 10th of March 2015.

Novenas commence on 6th March 2015.Pilgrims who wish to reserve their houses,

Please write to administrator, Madhu Shrine, Madhu.before the 15th of February. T. Phone :- 0232280001 / 0233230248

Festive High Mass at 6.15 a.m.Please Contact :

Train Services are availabe fromColombo Fort to Madawachchiya-to Madhu Road. Further detailscontact Railway Inquiries.No. 0112434215, 0112421281

(N5912)

The

MESSENGERfor EVERY

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8/9/2019 01.02.2015 Messenger.pdf



Compiled by: Kishani S. Fernando

The Church of Our Lady of the Gate of Heavenin Telheiras, Lisbon, Portugal also known asthe Black Prince’s Chapel goes down in history

as the one and only building erected in Portugal by amember of a Sri Lankan royal family.

It is a fascinating Church with an even more

fascinating history says Archt. Sagara Jayasinghe who�irst visited the site while on a tour in Portugal. He also

A Church built by a Sinhala Prince

came across many chronicles and documentations onthe political and religious affairs between Portugal andSri Lanka. He says that the visit compelled him to un-dertake a study on the Church. Subsequently in 2014as a bene�iciary of the scholarship programme, SagaraJayasinghe was able to engage in a research study aboutthe history and architectural signi�icance of the Churchwhich resulted in his book: The Black Prince’s Chapel.

The Church was built by Dom Joao, knownas the Black Prince (identi�ied in Portuguese texts asO Principe Negro) who was the last male heir of theold Kandyan dynasty in Sri Lanka. Dom Joao’s ances-try can be traced back to the fall of the Kotte kingdomand the emergence of the Kandyan kingdom. He was

the son of Yamasinha Bandara who was placed on thethrone of the Kandyan kingdom in 1592 by the Portu-guese. After Yamasinha’s sudden death his 12 year-oldson Dom Joao, was proclaimed as the king. But due topolitical instability in the region, he was forced to leavethe kingdom and seek protection from the Portuguesein Colombo. He was entrusted to the care of the Por-tuguese Franciscan missionaries. Subsequently, DomJoao was sent to Goa, where he lived for �ifteen years,

later he was ordained as sub deacon priest, was calledto Lisbon and �inally settled down at Telheiras. Around1625 he built this Church and a Convent in apprecia-tion of what the Franciscans had done for him.

Jayasinghe writes that one of the objectives ofhis book is to trace Dom Joao’s ancestry and throughwhich reveal the political and religio-cultural back-ground of ancient Sri Lanka and Portugal. The biogra-phy of Dom Joao is unique as it traces the political andcultural back ground of a bygone era. The book describeslife in ancient Sri Lanka and Portugal, records the terms

of trade in the East, thearrival in the island of theFranciscans missionar-ies and their missionarywork with evidence gath-ered from historical refer-

ences. Another objec-tive of the book is to con-sider architecture as a liv-ing record and a positive

contribution ofour transnationalidentity that hadspread over fourhundred yearsthrough the exis -tence of the Church

of Our Lady of theGate of Heaven, Tel-heiras. By studyingthe evolvement ofarchitecture sinceits inception onecan trace the sociocultural history andthe interpretationsof religious art and

architecture as wellas the interpreta-tions made by anon-European ina foreign land far away from his native Kingdom fromthe religious base of Christianity.

The book further highlights a historicallyunique situation in relation to the political and religio-cultural affairs of Sri Lanka and Portugal during theoverseas expansions of 16th and 17th centuries.

It is interesting to note that this chapter in ourchurch history has been very brie�ly if at all mentionedby historians like Don Peter, S.G. Perera and Paul Peiris.This then is the �irst comprehensive record we have ofthe life and times of Dom Joao.

It is also the �irst time a formal document in -cluding a set of architecturally measured drawings

have been made on the architectural style of the Churchbuilt by Dom Joao. The book is available at Vijitha Yapa Publications.

About the author The author Sagara Jayasinghe is a practicingarchitect and senior lecturer attached to the Facultyof Architecture at the University of Moratuwa. He hasalso served the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA)in diverse capacities. As an Associate Member of SLIAhe has served SLIA as a member of its Board of Archi-tectural Publications (BAP, 2008-to date), Editor of the“Vasthu” journal (2008-2012) and Chairman of theBAP’s Graphics Committee (2012-to date). Architect Jayasinghe’s mind set is amply evi-denced by the multifaceted nature of his creative en-terprise. His authorship of two signi�icant works onthe art and architecture of Sri Lanka’s ecclesiasticalheritage notwithstanding, Sagara has won several de-sign awards of excellence at the SLIA’s Annual Sessions.These include the “Dulux Colour Award” (2006) for thecreative use of colour in architecture and the presti-gious “Young Architect of the Year Award” (2008). Heis also a proli�ic writer who has won the SLIA’s annualaward for Architectural Publications in 2008 and 2013respectively, whilst contributing regularly to both for-eign and local journals on architecture.

Evolution of Sri Lanka’s National FlagIt is time to hoist the National �lag to mark Sri

Lanka’s 67th Independence Day. The National Flag of Sri Lanka has been de-signed to represent the country and her people and isa rallying device that integrates the minority races withthe majority race.

The Flag we see today has a long history. It is theforerunner of the Lion Flag which was the civil standardof the last king of Sri Lanka, Sri Wickrama Rajasingha.This �lag was taken down on the signing of the KandyanConvention in 1815, proclaiming King George III as Kingof Ceylon. Thereon the Lion Flag was replaced with theUnion Flag. The Lion Flag was taken to England and keptat the Royal Hospital Chelsea and with time was forgot-ten by the Sri Lankan public. This �lag depicted a yellowlion holding a sword in the right hand, facing the hoist,on a dark red background, with a yellow border, withfour pinnacles of a Buddhist dagaba in the four corners. Then, as the independence movement in Sri

Lanka gained strength in the early 20th century, E. W.Perera of Kotte, a Christian and a prominent �igure of theindependence movement discovered the original LionFlag kept at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea and broughtit back to Ceylon. Thereafter with the help of D. R. Wi-jewardene, owner of the Sinhala newspaper ‘Dinamina’a picture of it was published in a special edition of theDinamina newspaper to mark 100 years since the endof Sri Lankan independence - awakening in the peoplea yearning for a National Flag representing their cultureand land.

Thus on the 4th of February 1948 at the �irst Independence Dayceremony the �irst Prime Minister of Independent Ceylon Hon. D.S. Sena -nayake, hoisted the Lion Flag. This �lag was the same design as the originalLion Flag taken down in 1815 and brought back from Chelsea.

Thereon the Hon. D.S.Senanayake, appointed a committee to ad-vice the government on a design and formulation of a new national �lag,following a lengthy debate about the national �lag, in Parliament on 16thJanuary 1948. The members of the Advisory Committeewere Mr. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike (Chairman), Sir John Ko-talawela, Mr. J.R. Jayewardene, Mr. T.B. Jayah, Dr. L.A. Ra-japakse, Mr. G.G. Ponnambalam, Senator S. Nadesan, andDr. Senarath Paranavithana (Secretary). As a proposal ofthis committee the Lion Flag was amended by adding twovertical stripes of green and orange of equal size to de-pict the other communities - Tamil, Muslim, Burger, Ma-lay or other. The �lag was illustrated by S.P.Charles underthe direction of J.D.A. Perera, head of Government Art andDesign College. This �lag was hoisted for the �irst time ona �lag post which was situated in front of the Parliament

Building on 31 March 1951. In 1972, when Sri Lanka became a Republic Gov -ernment the National Flag was also amended includingfour Bo-leaves instead of the four pinnacles in the fourcorners of the deep red/maroon or crimson rectangle. TheNational Flag was thereon incorporated in Section 6 Sec-ond Schedule of the Constitution of the Democratic Social-ist Republic of Sri Lanka of September 09 1978. The �lagwas also registered at the Sri Lanka Standard Institutionunder SLS 693 on 7th May 1985.

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Journeying towards the Fifth Centenary of thebirth of St. Teresa of Jesus (of Avila) - 28th March 2015

The Carmelite Order, world-wide is preparing for the ifthcentenary of the birth of St.Teresa of Jesus, who is the

foundress of the Discalced Carmelites.She corresponded to the graces show -ered on her by Our Lord, to ful ill thisHerculean task, and was faithful to thecharism, she received from Him, andwhich was unfolded to her in stages.

In God's Company Always! "Come aside to a lonely place"said Jesus to his apostles. Some feel thecall to devote themselves totally to beingwith Jesus in His prayer to the Father. Anew apostolate opens out to them andprayer becomes an attractive and pow-erful means of serving the Church andall human-kind. This experience became real inthe life of St. Teresa. Having lived the lifeof a Carmelite, for about twenty years,she wanted to live in greater silenceto search for the precious pearl calledprayer, for friendship with the Lord.With a determined determination, St. Te -resa, returned to the pure and profoundexperience of God, for she understoodthat without prayer, Carmel is nothing. At the command of Our Lord,she founded the irst monastery of theDiscalced Carmelites, in Avila, Spain in1562. The life in Carmel is one ofprayer and recollection. The Divine Of ice is the Church'sof icial prayer and the sisters recite it atintervals during the day. This is our obli-gation and privilege. In our two hours ofpersonal prayer, each sister communeswith the Lord, in the way the Spirit leadsher. Spiritual Reading too plays avital role in the life of a Carmelite, as itassists her in her life of prayer. The HolyScriptures, the writings of St. Teresa, St.John of the Cross, St. Therese of the ChildJesus, the 'philosopher Saint' - St. TeresaBenedicta, the biography of the youth -ful Saint - St. Teresa of the Andes, and ahost of other Carmelite Saints providea rich spiritual legacy for the 'thirsty'

Carmelite. Needless to say, the writingsof the Fathers of the Church, and Saintsof the Universal Church, also enrich herlife. Other spiritual activities includesermons and retreats and talks on cas-settes. St. Teresa wanted her daughtersto live an enclosed life, where they could"live alone with God alone," - in intimatefriendship with Him and thus obtaingraces for the Church and for the world.It is with the help of the Extern Sisters,that the enclosure is safeguarded. Theyare the "Guardian Angels" of the enclo -sure. They are members of the samefamily and strive to cultivate the Carmel -

ite spirit of silence and recollection.

As one Family It was with Divine inspirationand far-reaching foresight that St. Teresawished that the contemplative life of si -lence and solitude of the Discalced Nunsgoes hand-in-hand with a sisterly way oflife. All the sisters participate in the re -

cital of the Divine Of ice, and take theirmeals and recreate together. Their prac-tical love for the community and mutualcollaboration helps them to ful ill thepurpose for which God has brought themtogether - to live a life of prayer. St. Teresa wanted every sisterto be a sister to the other. She wrote: "Allmust be friends, all must love one an -other, all must be cherished and all musthelp one another." She wanted a joyfulatmosphere to prevail in Carmel, an at-mosphere that accords with the "sisterlystyle of life and recreation that we havein common." "Can one recreate inside thecloister?" St. Teresa gives the assurancethat the Lord will give some the grace toprovide recreation for the others. Herwords have proved true not only in the15 monasteries, she established, but inthe 890 monasteries, existing today, in98 countries. All the sisters share in the do-mestic chores of the house - sweeping,cleaning, washing and cooking. Thereis work in the sewing rooms too, for wesew our own clothes. The sisters usetheir God-given talents to the full, and areadept at embroidery, painting, knittingetc. when time permits. There are someassignments, like cooking, for which thesisters take turns. St. Teresa asked thesisters to remember that the Lord walks"among the pots and pans!" Therefore,we see the sisters, not only praying to-gether, but sharing their life, their ener -gies and their talents and when it is es-sential, prayerfully and lovingly workingtogether as a team. Jesus came into our midst, seek-ing our love. In our community life, weshow our love for Jesus, by accepting ev -ery "call" from the Lord. So, everythingthe sisters do, becomes an act of love:the recital of the Divine Of ice, water -ing the garden, washing the altar-linen,sweeping the cell of an elderly sister, andcountless things to be done here andthere, including the excited preparationfor a feast day! All this is offered to God,

Who accepts and blesses it, sancti ies itand pours this rich grace into a worlddesperately in need of it. But we should also state that itis primarily in community life that thesacri icial element of our life emerges -the sacri ices imposed by always work -ing and living daily in the same commu-nity and in the same surroundings, and

by persevering in idelity to the monas -tic activities. Is it possible to live like this?Yes, when true sisterly love prevails, forit helps them to carry out one another'sburdens, with determination, humilityand a sense of humour! The Carmelite nun is aware thatit is the grace and power of the Lord, thatenables her to keep unbroken faith withthe Lord, remembering that she belongsto the Lord and to His Mystical Body,the Church. He has called her to Carmel,He upholds her and gives her His joy,strength and peace!

Apostolic out-reach! When news reached St. Teresa,that the Lutherans and others weredestroying Churches and treating theBlessed Sacrament with disrespect, shewept over it. She thought, if the Lord hadmany enemies, then, her sisters and shewould be His friends. They will be faith -ful to Jesus and to the Church. With thisintention irmly grounded in her mindand heart, she formed the College ofChrist, centred on love for the Lord, andentered into the apostolic life, prayingfor the Holy Father, preachers and theo -logians, who defend the faith, for priestsand for all mankind. St. Teresa had an unexpectedvisitor one day (when she was in the

irst Discalced Monastery) - it was Pa -dre Maldanado, who was returning fromthe Indies. He told her that many soulswere being lost there, because there wasno one to preach to them. This fact dis -tressed her greatly. She wept before theLord, and besought Him to remedy thesituation. Jesus consoled her by saying,"Wait a little daughter, you will see greatthings." A few months later, there was an -other unexpected visitor - it was the Fa -ther General of the Carmelites. St. Teresawrote in the Book of Foundations: "TheGenerals always resided in Rome andnone ever came to Spain." He was verypleased with the prayerful, austere andsimple life of the sisters, and requested

her to found more monasteries of Dis -calced Carmelites. Thus God's promiseto her was ful illed - the 'great things' be -ing the convents she founded in Spain forthe glory of God and for the salvation ofsouls. We perceive St. Teresa's love forsouls. Though we don't leave the enclo -sure, like St. Teresa, we are missionaries

at heart, longing for souls to be savedby our prayer and sacri ice. Our love forJesus and for our sisters, leads us to thelove of souls that have to be saved. Ourlife is one of purely supernatural valuesand of faith, the irm belief put into dailypractice that all the little things whichmake up our life, are of real apostolicvalue, for every Carmelite is a mission -ary at heart. Our mission in Carmel is prayer.St. Teresa wanted the Carmelite Con -vents to be strongholds of prayer, wherethe sisters will ight the battles of theChurch, with spiritual weapons, namelyprayer and sacri ice. Speaking of sacri ices, St. Ther -ese of the Child Jesus, a faithful daughterof St. Teresa, wrote that she will scat -ter lowers, before the throne of God, asshe was aware of her inability to preachthe Gospel or shed her blood for Christ.These lowers, were the sacri ices shemade. Now, she is not only the Patron-ess of the Missions, but also a Doctor ofthe Church! St. Teresa, on her death-bedwas glad to declare: "I die a daughter ofthe Church." Another daughter of hers,Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, who diedof a painful illness in 1906, at the age of26 wrote, "I wish to spend my substance,drop by drop for the Church." Do you wish to give all to Jesus- your life, your energy, your service,within the walls of the convent, or as anextern sister? Then please contact: Rev.Mother Prioress, Corpus Christi Carmel,41 Farm Rd., Colombo 15.

Corpus Christ Carmel

Is calling for you

Why do you tarry?

The time is nigh!

Souls are waiting

For your prayer.

Why not lend a hand?

The harvest is great!

Labourers we have few

And we need good ones.

May love for GOD ALONE,

Urge you to join us.

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

Religious Congregsations in Sri Lanka 1

A knight in Spanishkingdom of Castile,

Ignatius of Loyola wasfrom a Basque noblefamily. During the battlebetween French andSpaniards in Pamplona, Igna-tius sustained severe wounds.The French soldiers, seeing thevalor and how gallantly Igna-tius fought, decided to sparehis life. While Ignatius was re-cuperating, he only was giventhe 'lives of saints' and 'life ofChrist' as reading material. Anincredible metanoia occurredin his life that in turn led himto found the Society of Jesus,popularly known as Jesuit or-der, to ight for the Church mili-tant under the banner of the

Cross. It is remarkable how God

is able to transform a persongiven to mundane attachmentsand seeking worldly fame andsuccess to be a God-intoxicatedman. Ignatius, following hisconversion, made “the greaterglory of God” the supreme normof every action and prayer. Thisindicates the transfer of his al-legiance from an earthly king tothe Eternal King, pledging hisunreserved and unstinted per-sonal love to the Person of Jesusand an unquenchable desire tobe counted as His close com-panion. It is no exaggeration

that even to this day, adhering

to the Spiritual Exercises, Jesu-its all over the world pray “toknow Christ more clearly, tolove him more dearly and to fol-low him more closely.”

Ignatius greatly desiredto share with others his God-experience. He wanted to teachpeople an easily adaptable wayof discerning the promptings ofthe Spirit. Ignatius would havealways wanted his companionsto be soldiers of Christ, ightingand defending the Church underthe banner of the Cross; to bewilling to march even to hell for

a heavenly cause. Jesuits jour-

neying the hems of geographi-cal boundaries for the greaterglory of God would often pauseto ask;What have I done for Christ?What am I doing for Christ?What will I do for Christ? Fr. Jerome Nadal, SJ, thepersonal delegate of St. Ignatius,who has spoken extensively ofthe Jesuit practice, once said, “Itis a special grace of the wholeSociety of Jesus to be contem-plative not only in moments ofseclusion but also in the midstof action, thus ‘Finding God in

all things’.

Following onthe footsteps of St.Ignatius, every Je-suit at some point,has been moved byChrist's call: ‘Come!

Follow me’. Therefore, as com-panions of Jesus, though deeplysinful, they are committed tomake Jesus known in any givenmilieu they are sent to serve. Je-suits, spread around the world,gracefully acknowledge thatas friends in the Lord, they arecalled to become, in increasingmeasure, men for and with oth-ers to ignite the world with love.Their deepest quest as compan-ions of Jesus is to know and fol-low Him, bearing the cross so as

to e xperience the resurrection.

Richard Boyle

As you nearthe vehicle en-trance to theNational Basil-

ica of Our Lady of Lankaat Tewatte you pass thebreathtaking approach tothe holy building for thoseon foot. This approachconsists of a series of ex-tensively wide lights ofsteps descending then as-cending into the distance,encroached upon by largeswathes of woodland. Atthe farthest end of thesteps the Basilica stands,partly obscured by foliage.Yet it can be suf icientlyobserved to realise thatits curious architecturalelements are unfamiliarin Roman Catholicism. Having descend-ed the shallow steps andbegun to appreciate thesylvan surroundings, youascend and reach two

statues lanking the steps;the former Archbishopof Colombo, Jean-MarieMasson, and his succes-sor, Archbishop (laterCardinal) Thomas Cooray,both responsible for theexistence of the Basilica.It all began when a shrine(a chapel) to Our Ladyof Lourdes (the appari-tion of Mary Immaculateat Lourdes, France) waserected in 1911 and agrotto built in 1917. Then,in the 1930s, the chapelwas enlarged to a churchbecause Tewatte, as it wasknown, became a popularplace of pilgrimage for theCatholics of the ColomboArchdiocese, although itshortly became multi-de-nominational, with Bud-dhists and Hindus from allparts of the island makingdevotion to Our Lady ofLanka.

After the out-break of the Second WorldWar, Archbishop Massonmade a vow that if thenCeylon was protectedfrom major con lict, hewould build a Votive Ba-silica under the title OurLady of Lanka. As it hap-pened, Ceylon was in-deed spared the worst. In1946, a delighted Arch-bishop Masson obtainedapproval from Pope PiusXII for the constructionof a basilica in honour ofOur Lady of Lanka. Unfortunately,Archbishop Masson diedthe following year, andhis successor, ArchbishopThomas Cooray, took onthe responsibility of en-suring his predecessor'svision was realised. Thiswas advanced when, in1948, Pope Pius XII es-tablished Mary Immacu-late, to be known as Our

Lady of Lanka, as theprincipal patroness of theisland. The next vital stepwas the acquisition of anadjacent rubber estateon which to build the Ba-silica and provide ample

surrounding land to plantimportant Sri Lankan treespecies such as the Na -the national tree - Kohom-ba and Kabook to provideshade for pilgrims and anatmosphere of serenityand sanctity. The laying of thecornerstone took placeon February 4, 1950, butthe structure was notcompleted until 1974, ayear after Pope Paul VI en-dowed Tewatte with thetitle of Minor Basilica. OnFebruary 6, 1974, the con-secration of the Basilicaand crowning of the statueof Our Lady of Lanka tookplace. Since then what istermed the National Ba-silica of Our Lady of Lankahas become an increas-ing magnet for pilgrims,especially for the Feast ofOur Lady of Lanka in Feb-ruary, Children's Day inMarch, and the Feast and

Blessing of the Sick in Au-gust. Indeed the volume ofdevotees who wished tostay for several days ne-cessitated a camping areato be established, and laterbungalows were built. As you climb the

last steps the eclectic na-ture of the architecturebecomes visible: it takesits inspiration from Asianculture and religiousbuildings, a marvellousmulti-denominationalsymbol designed by Fr.Heras and appreciatedby Buddhist and Hindudevotees. The front viewconsists of six pillars thatrepresent the country'sdioceses during the Sec-ond World War. Above,set against circular glasspieced in an intriguingspider's web design, is across bearing the igure ofChrist in bronze sculptedby the Sri Lankan artist,

Leila Peiris. The circularglass and the cross arethemselves set in an earlystupa design reminiscentof the entrance to certainBuddhist caves at Ajanta,India. On either side, twintowers rise, tapering to-wards the top wheregolden cupola-like bellenclosures are mounted,not unlike certain Hindugopuram designs. Before you ven-ture inside, it's wise to tourthe exterior of the Basilicato understand the contextof the interior. The irstaspect noticed is that it iscruciform in shape with acentral dome, atop which

Our Lady Of Lanka: The National Basilica, Te

One of the wondrous aspects of Sri Lanka's spiritual nature isthe extraordinary multi-denominational pilgrimages that are

made, from climbing a mountain, Sri Pada, to encountering the

jungle at Kataragama. These are ancient pilgrimages, but thereis one of modern origin, whose destination is not a far- lungplace, but just outside Colombo and just as worthy. This article

is taken from the Sri Lankan Serendib magazine

Pilgrims view of the approach to the National Basilica (Photography: Waruna Gomis)

Society of Jesus - SJ

The Holy of Holies and the apse (above) with the life-size statue of Our Lady ofLanka (Pic: Waruna Gomis) Contd. on Pg. 10

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SECTION 11 (193)The Seven Sacraments of the Church:

All sacraments are an encounter with Christ,

who is himself the original sacrament. There areSacraments of Initiation ( Baptism,Con irmationand Holy Eucharist). Sacraments of Healing(Reconciliation and Anointing)and Sacramentsof service; mission (Matrimony and Holy Or-ders).Baptism joins us with Christ, through Anoint-ing, Christ heals, consoles.Marriage – Christ promises his love. Holy Or-ders – priests have the privilege of forgiving.Reconciliation – reconciles us with Christ.

Chapter one (1)The Sacraments of Initiation:The Sacrament of Baptism (194-202)

Baptism could be basically known as the wayout of the kingdom of death into life, thus it isthe gate way to the Kingdom of God. Throughbaptism one becomes a member of the Church,baptism unites us with Christ, it forgives usfrom the power of original and all personalsins.

The administration of the Sacrament:• Classical form is the threefold immer-sion of the candidate in the water.

• Water is poured three times over thehead of the candidate while words of the minis -ter are uttered; “…, I baptize you in the name of

the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.Water symbolizes cleansing and new life; newlife in Christ. The ceremony also includes thesigns of anointing (OC/SC), the white garmentand the paschal candle.

Anyone who is not yet baptized can be baptized.Faith is directly involved in the administration.Faith must be publicly professed at the momentof baptism. The Church has practiced InfantBaptism. Baptism is a grace, an undeserved giftof God who accepts us unconditionally. InfantBaptism presupposes that the parents will raisethe baptized child in the faith.

Usually, a bishop/ a priest / a deaconcan administer the Sacrament. At the dangerof death any Christian can baptize by pouringwater over the head of the recipient pronounc-ing the baptismal formula “I baptize you in thename of the Father, and of the Son and of theHoly Spirit” even a non-Christian can adminis-ter, he or she should have the intention of do-ing what the Church does when she baptizes.Baptism is the only way to God and Salvation,yet it is to be noted that Christ died for all man-kind. Therefore all who have had no opportu-nity to learn about Christ and faith, but seeksGod sincerely and live in accordance with one’sconscience inds salvation (baptism of desire).

God has made salvation dependent on the sac-raments, yet God is not dependent on His Sac-raments. “ I have called you by name, you are mine”(Is.43/1). In this way, it is always itting to have aname of a saint since a saint is an intimate friendof God.

(To be contd)

Compiled byFr. Indra Ratnasiri Fernando, Parish Priest, Nittambuwa

YouthCatechism for the We are a gratefulpeople. Eighty years ago,the people of Wennap-puwa built a school in hon-our of Father Joseph Vazwho had laboured hard tosave and strengthen ourfaith running great risksand facing severe hazards,often in disguise. Joseph Vaz Col-lege of Wennapuwa wasdeclared open on Septem-ber 3, 1934. The Collegewill now be re-named as“St. Joseph Vaz College.”

Golden Jubilee of PriestlyOrdination

Mr. and Mrs. S.B. David of the Parish of Wellawatte cel-ebrte their 50th anniversary on February 6. We wishthem many more years of happy wedded life and God’sblessings. Mr. David is also a correspondent to the ‘Mes-senger’ and our sister paper ‘Gnana Oli’.

50th Anniversary Wishes

Rev. Deacon Niro-shan Jayakody hails fromthe Hiripitiya parish in theDiocese of Kurunegala. Heis the son of Mr. RomulasJayakody and Mrs. PatriciaMallawarachchi and wasborn on November, 14,1984. He is an Old Boy ofMa-eliya Maha Vidyalayaand St. Anne’s College Ku-runegla.

Rev. Bro. Meth-thasinghe ArachchigeSanjaya Pradeep Appu-hamy hails from the Du-nakadeniya Parish in theDiocese of Kurunegala. Heis the son of Mr. Nelson Ap-puhamy and Mrs. MargaretFernando and was bornon October 3, 1984. He isan Old Boy of R.C. SchoolDunakadeniya and Dam-missara National School in

Rev. Fr. PeterFernando celebrated 50years of priesthod on De-cember 21, 2014. He wasordained in 1964. Fr. Peter served

in the parishes ofMarawila, Nainamadama,Waikkala, Katupotha, Am-bakadawila and Nikawer-atiya before going abroad.He also functioned asDirector of the VithanikaTechnical Training Centre. A Thanksgiving Mass was held on January 5 atSacred Heart Church, Hettipola.

Welcome St. Joseph Vaz And 50 yearslater, the people of theDalugama Parish, inKelaniya, led by their Par-ish Priest Rev. Fr. LawrencePerera, built a church atMakola in the Parish, inhonour of Blessed JosephVaz. The property for thechurch was purchased byFr. Lawrence, on Septem-ber 2, 1992 in the face ofstiff resistence from non-Christian Clergy and laityof the area, who took thematter to the courts The

verdict was in favour of thechurch. The Church ofBlessed Joseph Vaz wasblessed and declared opento the faithful on Decem-ber 11, 1994. The BlessedJoseph Vaz Church at Ma-kola, now in the Sapugas-kanda Parish, will soon be“St. Joseph Vaz Church.” Not many CatholicChurches in the world arededicated to non-Saints. But

Father Joseph Vaz and Pa-dre Pio were exceptions. Wein Sri Lanka devoutly choseFr. Joseph Vaz as our ownApostle long ago. He willnow be our Patron Saint.There will soon be manymany male children bearingthe name Joseph Vaz. Let us all welcomeSt. Joseph Vaz into ourhomes because he is ourown Apostle and the Pa-tron Saint of our country.

Alfred PereraKelaniya

Ordination to Priesthood Ordained to the Diaconate

Bro. Niroshan jayakody entered St. Joseph VazMinor Seminary, Millawa in June 2003 and the DahamSevana Seminary, Kalutara in 2006. The following yearhe entered the National Seminary in Kandy for his sem-inary formation. He was Ordained a deacon on October19, 2014. As a Deacon he served at the Katupotha Par-ish. He will be ordained to priesthood by His LordshipRt. Rev. Dr. Harold Anthony Fernando at St. Anne’s Ca-thedral, Kurunegala on Saturday, February 7.

Nattandiya. He entered Joseph Vaz Minor Seminary, Mill-awa in 2003 and the Daham Sevana Seminary, Kalutara in2005. He entered the National Seminary, Kandy in 2006and completed his major seminary formation in 2013. Hewill be ordained to the Diaconate by His Lordship Rt. Rev.Dr. Harold Anthony Fernando at St. Anne’s Cathedral, Ku-runegala on Saturday, February 7.

We wish them both God’s blessings.

Rev. DeaconNiroshan Jayakody Rev. Bro. Meththasinghe

Arachchige

Rev. Fr. Peter Fernando

is an imposing cross of theEastern Oriental Churchfeaturing three horizontalbars, and adjoining semi-circular roofs of the Basil-ica’s extensions - surpris-ingly made of aluminum,and painted a tranquilblue. The granite walls ofthe Basilica are punctuatedby large wooden doorwayswith ornate Indian archi-traves above. In betweenare 45 artistic faux bronzereliefs by Dr. Sarath Chan-drajeewa depicting the his-tory of Christianity in SriLanka, which, besides be-ing educational, enrich theappearance of the Basilica.Its worth seeing them insequence. When you enterthe Basilica your gaze willbe drawn upwards to thesky-blue, cloud- leckedapse,the backdrop for a life-

Our Lady of ...size statue of Our Lady ofLanka. Archbishop Cooraydecided that the ideal rep-resentation was the statueof Our Lady of Fatima fromPortugal, which toured theisland in 1950. However,Our Lady of Lanka wouldhave the infant Jesus inher arms and they wouldbe pointing to each other,meaning “to Jesus throughMary”. Furthermore, inJesus’ outstretched otherhand there would be a rosa-ry, later a golden one giftedby Pope Paul VI. Two statues ofOur Lady of Lanka basedon such a design, one life-sized for the apse, the othersmaller, were carved byJose Thedim of Fatima, whohad also carved Our Lady ofFatima. The smaller statue,which was taken to Rome tobe blessed by Pope Pius XII,

is enshrined on a pedestaland worshipped by all. The Altar con-sists of an imposing blockof undressed white stone.Magni icent is the cruci ixdesigned by Rev. Fr. Priyan-tha Silva on the occasion ofthe visit of Pope John II in1995. Note the altar rail-ings. Cardinal Cooray want-ed to include many speciesof the country’s trees, thusthe railings present aston-ishing variations of brownand black - teak, mahogany,iron-wood, jak, white andred sandalwood and manyothers. The Holy of Holiescontains a tabernacle thatis a perfect replica of theArk of the Covenant, withmeasurements taken fromthe Bible. The design of thetwo angels on either side isalso based on Biblical de-scription. Above hangs anivory cross. Don’t forget todescend into the beautiful-

ly refurbished Blessed Sac-rament Chapel, situated inthe crypt where CardinalCooray is buried. When you haveabsorbed what the Basilicahas to offer, a visit to thenearby grotto is essential.It is not unlike the one atLourdes, indeed it wasmeant to be a replica, cre-ated during the Basilica’sconstruction as the gran-ite rock was quarried tomake into building blocksand completed in 1959.Once the grotto was com-pleted, the ceremonies ofthe Blessing of the Sick andChildren’s Day began to beheld there. Finally, recom-mended is a visit to theMuseum, which is Kandyanin design, complete withmoonstone, which containsimmensely valuable collec-tions, from traditional carved

igures to Cardinal Cooray’svestments.

L e t t e r

Contd from Pg. 9

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11 The Messenger February 1, 201515 February 1, 2015Children / Youth The Messenger

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, forrevealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children.(Mt/11:25)

LITURGICAL CALENDAR YEAR B1st Feb. - 8th Feb. 2015

Sun: FOURTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Deut.18:15-20;1 Cor.7:32-35; Mk.1:21-28Mon: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Mal.3:1-4 or Heb.2:14-18; Lk.2;22-40(or 22-32) Tue: Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop & Martyrand St. Ansgar, Bishop Heb.12:1-4; Mk.5:21-43Wed: Feast of Our Lady of LankaIs. 43:1-5; Acts.1:12-13,2:1-2,4-8,11;

Mt. 2:1,2,7-12 Thu: Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr Heb.12:18,19,21-24; Mk. 6:7-13Fri: Memorial of Ss. Paul Miki and

Companions Martyrs Heb.13:1-8; Mk. 6:14-29Sat: Heb. 13:15-17, 20,21; Mk. 6:30-34Sun: FIFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIMEJob. 7:1-4,6,7; 1 Cor. 9:16-19, 22,23;

Mk. 1:29-39

First Reading:Deut. 18: 15-20 The Prophet of God givesto the Isr aelites the message aboutthe new prophet who will be sentby God. These prophets have to bealways faithful to the Lord.

Second Reading:1Cor. 7: 32-35 St. Paul wants the Corin-thian community to give undividedattention to the Lord. While theunmarried give full attention; themarried too while they ful ill theirmarital duties should give theirundivided attention to the Lord.

Gospel: Mk. 1: 21-28 Jesus' power and author-ity that was seen at His teaching isproved by the possessed when theyproclaim that Jesus is the Holy oneof God.

Re lection: The Lord wants full atten-tion and a total commitment fromall His faithful, so that they too likeHim would be full of authority andpower. He does not want anybodyto drift away from Him but to beattached to Him. He wants thosewho have other commitments tobe faithful to their calls and life'sresponsibilities but also, He wantstheir undivided attention. In the First Reading theLord through the prophet promisesthe Israelites now turned faithful;a prophet. He promises to give himall power and the words to be pro-

claimed. He vows to hold answer-able all those who do not listen tothe prophet. He proclaims death tothose prophets who proclaim theirown messages instead of His andalso to those who speak on behalfof other gods. In the Second Reading

St. Paul taking the unmarried asan example tells the married tooto give undivided attention to theLord while they remain faithful totheir marital duties. In the Gospelit is quite evident that Jesus is theHoly one of God with the proclama-tion of the one who is possessed.

But it was seen very clearly by thefollowers when Jesus proclaimedthe Good News. For, he did it withfull power and authority. It shows very clearly thatthe Lord wants us to be full ofpower and authority as His follow-ers. He wants us to be dedicatedand give our total attention to Himand Him alone. For this reason weshould not be sel ish or serving anyother gods, or the world.

Aid Story 1 One day a young womanfull of arrogant thoughts was walk-ing in her well-furnished living

room, after having denied her handto several young men. Looking withsmug complacency at the naturalgifts the Creator had freely givenher, she mused, “I will give myheart only to a king or a prince.”She then glanced at a cruci ix onthe wall and read these words; “Je-

sus of Nazareth, king of the Jews,”God touched her heart, she gave upher inery and promised to have nohusband other than her crownedKing with thorns. And thereby shebecame an ardent spreader of theGood News of the Lord.

Aid Story 2 Jesus and Satan were hav-ing an ongoing argument aboutwho was better at the moderncomputer. It went on and God said“that’s it!” and set up a test that willrun up to two hours. God was thejudge. So Satan and Jesus sat downand typed away. Jesus workedheavenly ef icient and Satan wasfaster than hell. Ten minutes beforetheir time the electricity went off.Finally the electricity came back.Satan started searching fanati-cally, screaming, “It’s gone! It’sall GONE!” I lost everything whenthe power went out!” MeanwhileJesus quietly started printing outall his iles. “Wait” Satan screamed.“That’s not fair! He cheated! Howcome he has all his work and I don’thave any?” God just shrugged andsaid, “JESUS SAVES.”

Rev. Fr. Ciswan De Croos

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

Response: Lord, hear our prayer.

For the priests and ministers of the Churchthat they may practise in their own lives the valuesthey preach to others. We pray to the Lord.Response: Lord, hear our prayer.

For all who hold public of�ice that their deedsmay match their words and their promises.We pray to the Lord.Response: Lord, hear our prayer.

Words can lift people up to heaven or plungethem down to hell: Let us pray for the victims of bro-ken promises, especially for deserted wives and hus-bands. We pray to the Lord.Response: Lord, hear our prayer.

Where words are as false and meaninglessas smoke without �ire let us pray that we may alwaysspeak with sincerity to one another.We pray to the Lord.Response: Lord, hear our prayer.

1. Today’s Gospel narrates Je-sus’ ministry on a Sabbath inthe synagogue of Capernaum.There He teaches (ministry ofthe Word) and drives out anunclean spirit (ministry of ex-orcism). Let us now treat thesetwo facets of the ministry of Je-sus separately.

2. First, we ind Jesus involvedhappily in the ministry of theWord. What does He teach? It isnot speci ied. How does Jesus teach?He teaches with authority. Proph-ets speak with authority receivedand so they use the words, “Thussays the Lord” or “The word ofthe Lord came to me saying …”

Rabbis and scribes would sup-port what they teach appealingto earlier authorities, as ‘Rabbi Xsaid in the name of Rabbi Y.’ Nei-ther prophets nor scribes have adirect access to God. But when Jesus speaks,God speaks. He is authority in-carnate. Hence He speaks insuch a way which none has done

before. Deuteronomy 18,15:18predicted a prophet like Mo-ses: “A prophet like me will theLORD, your God, raise up for youfrom among your own kinsmen;to him you shall listen.” Now thisprophecy is ful illed in Jesus theGreat Prophet and Messiah.

What is the effect of Je-sus’ teaching? Listeners are as-tonished and alarmed. He makesan absolute claim on them. Heearns reputation all over.

3. Jesus’ Word, found in the Gos-pels, is so powerful and ef ica-cious. It accomplishes what itsigni ies since the unclean spiritcame out of the man at the com-mand of Jesus. His Word can

free and transform us today.Hence we need to give it our un-divided attention.

4. Second, Jesus encounters anunclean spirit – a power whichresists God’s holiness. The lat-ter interrogates the former,“What to us and to thee?’ Thisis a Hebrew expression of hos-

tility and denial of common in-terest. The latter also addressesthe former as “Jesus of Nazareth… the Holy One of God.” This re-

lects the notion that use of theprecise name of an opposingspirit would guarantee masteryover him. So the unclean spirittries to ward off Jesus’ powerwhich can destroy it. But Hesilences its cry and drives it offthe man.

5. Why does Jesus silence theunclean spirit as “Quiet!”? Whydoes He hide His true identityrevealed by devil? Why is thisMessianic Secret? Jews havebeen expecting a political Mes-siah. If Jesus publicly claims He

is the Messiah, they might havewrong expectations of Him.

6. How is this Messianic Secretsigni icant to the Christians ofMark the Evangelist? The Marcan communityis a persecuted community. It isessential that this communityof disciples understand the true

nature of the Messiahship oftheir Master. According to Mark,Jesus is the Messiah, who suffersand dies and then enters glory.Therefore the way of the cross isthe way to glory. There is no oth-er way. Indeed, it is on the crossthat Jesus is publicly proclaimedtrue Messiah in Mark, “When thecenturion who stood facing Himsaw how He breathed his last hesaid, “Truly this man was the Sonof God!” (15,39). Miracles like the cureof a demoniac may give a falsenotion of the Messiahship, ifwrongly understood, it may givea wrong notion of glory withoutthe cross. Then the persecutedMarcan Christians, without ac-

cepting the persecution as a wayto glory, may look for miracles toget out of suffering and may lookfor glory without suffering.

7. The days of Jesus – the irstcentury AD – is marked with thepresence of Jewish exorcists asevident in Matt 12,27 and Antiq-uities of the Jews (8,2.5 # 42-49)

by a Jewish historian, FlaviusJosephus. Some miracle work-ers are in the business to makemoney from those who are gull-ible. They also use long and com-plicated rituals of exorcism. But Jesus is never ac-cused of pro iting from thepower to heal. He is never somesort of magician or money-seek-ing wonder worker. He utters asimple command, sometimesaccompanied by a touch.

What does then Jesusmean by His exorcisms? Jesussees His exorcisms as signs ofliberation and hope. They de-stroy the evil power that causessickness, death and natural di-sasters and make people expe-

rience the saving power of Godin their lives.

8. Today we must continue whatJesus began. What is one way Iam working to complete the waragainst evil that Jesus began?

Rev. Fr. Don Anton SamanHettiarachchi

“What is this? A new teaching with authorityHe commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him”

(Mark 1,21-28)

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12 The Messenger February 1, 201515XVII February 1, 2015Children / Youth The Messenger

Without any hesitationany Sri Lankan can acclaim now,the tremendous success of therecently concluded Papal visit.Indeed, our loving nation wasgiven a chance to experience arare and blessed opportunityin experiencing the love of ourbeloved Holy Father, in the bestof ways. This article will drawout a few points the Holy Fatheraccomplished in his visit to SriLanka.

Unity within the state and theChurch. The moment His Holi-ness set foot on Sri Lanka theHead of S tate, H is Excellencythe President, the Prime Minis-ter, and a few other governmentministers were present to wel-come him. After this warm wel-come His Holiness had a state

encounter with Mr. Sirisena, thenewly elected President. Thematters discussed between thetwo parties certainly strength-ened the bond between theChurch and Local state. This en-counter surely will be the begin-

ning of a journey towards unityand co-operation, increasing thequality of faith of the faithful.In the past few decades manylocals were victims of unstablepolitical principals, which grewhatred instead of love amongthem. But, that dark era hasreached its inal limits. Further-more this Papal visit will eraseall faults and mistakes in thepast, and help the locals to livein peace and most importantlyabiding in love, travelling in thepath towards holiness.

Inter- religious unity. We, always and every-where hear and witness thecruel and brutal torturing andsevere persecutions of fanaticextremists. So many innocentsouls lose their lives due to theignorance of religious extrem-

ists. Though such crimes donot occur in our nation, duringthe recent times, so many werevictims of mental torture andincorrect criticism due to mis-understanding. Not just one,but basically all four main faiths

in this nation are guilty for suchoffences some way or the other,

but not as whole or common ac-ceptance by the religious heads.The few who violate their owndoctrine by persecuting otherreligions, never are to be con-sidered human. Nonetheless, this Papalencounter with various religiousheads in the country, enabledthem to discuss their viewsand helped them to understandeach other very well. No mat-ter whether Christian, Buddhistor even an atheist, what reallymatters is that we understandall races and religions, and by

accepting the principle of uni-versal brotherhood, peace andcharity, ful illing them by satis-fying our spiritual doctrine forthe common bene it, is reallywhat we should accomplish. Asstated this bonding of all faiths

surely will enhance all people inthis country to work and live as

one, promoting peace and loveevery day of our lives. The saints we need is from our own nation. We, until this year hadno saints in the local Church. St.Joseph Vaz our apostle thoughbeing a native Indian, was ba-sically our own patron. Yet, alocal church with more thana ive hundred years history,just having one saint is quiteinadequate. His Holiness PopeFrancis emphasizes on the callof a church towards universalholiness and saintly mission so

many times, yet most of us ne-glect his heavenly message.

We as a stable churchwith a massive community cer-tainly need many more saints.Yes, the canonization processmay be tough but yet practising

what Pope Francis, St. JosephVaz and all saints, but most of

all Jesus Christ himself did in hisministry simultaneously makeus living saints every commu-nity wants. If we learn to abidein love, taking the Holy Father’smessage of peace during hisvisit as a guideline we too canbe true saints and be witnessesof Christ. Let us pray harder andharder for this simple interces-sion to be ful illed.“We must restore hope to young people, help the old,be open to the future, and spread love. Be poor amongthe poor. We need to includethe excluded and preach peace,” Pope Francis

Avishka Mario Senewiratne St. Joseph’s College,

Colombo 10.

He Came, He Saw and Conquered Our Hearts

The annual Sunday SchoolTeachers' Oli Vila was held in Batti-caloa recently, presided over by HisLordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Ponniah Joseph,Bishop of Batticaloa. There were vari-ous events contributed by differentparishes. In his message the Bishop

Oli Vila Sunday School Teachers

encouraged and showed his appreciationfor the wonderful work that the teachers arerendering towards the children.

Courtesy: Ut Unum Sint

Golden Jubilee Celebration of Rev. Fr. L. K.Mariathasan at Akkaraipattu

Golden Jubilee celebrationof Rev. Fr. L. K.. Mariathasantook place recently. The Ju-bilee Mass was organized

by the Parish Priest, Sistersand the parishioners. Thiswas followed by an Agapeat the Convent. In the eve-ning the Parish Oli Vila washeld and children were giv-en various prizes for theirannual perfomance. Thiswas followed by a culturalprogram.

Courtesy: Ut Unum Sint

A little girl was walking with her father along a country road,The night was clear and the child was enthralled

by the splendour of the sky, all lit up with stars. After momentsof re ection she suddenly looked up to her father and said:

"Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful,how wonderful the right side must be!" Anon

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13 The Messenger February 1, 2015XIII February 1, 2015Children / Youth The Messenger

All of us grow physically. We grow a little big-ger daily. We do many things to grow physically. Webreathe fresh air, eat and drink properly, exercise, restand have social contact. By all these we grow. Similarlywe take care of our body by cleaning it, applying oint-ments of various kinds. We do all these things to main-tain a pinch of dust which lasts maximum 120 years.

But have we realized that we are more than just a bodyand that our spirit will last for eternity? It is our Heavenly Father's will for us to growspiritually and become more and more like Jesus. Butgrowing in Christ is not something that we can do onour own. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. Our job is toco-operate with the Holy Spirit and make sure that weare taking care of our spirit even as we take care of ourbody. To grow physically we need to breathe andtake in fresh air. Similarly to grow spiritually we needto pray as frequently as we breathe. If we stop breath-ing we will die physically. If we stop praying we willdie spiritually because prayer is our life line with God.Prayer is simply communicating with God. And remem-ber to offer God every part of your life; Whatever you

do, do it all for the glory of the Lord. What a privilege tocarry everything to God in prayer! But I must not run onhere, or my pen would never stop! The next fact is nourishment. As we need foodto nourish our physical body, we need the Holy Eucha-rist and the word to nourish our spiritual body. TheHoly Eucharist is the real food and the real drink. (John6:55) and the best spiritual nourishment one can everhave. When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, Henourishes us and strengthens us making us grow more

and more like Him. But we must surrender ourselves toHim.

Man does not live by bread alone, but...... by everyword that proceed from the mouth of the Lord."(Deuteronomy 8:3) That means no one can grow stronger in Christ,

without feeding on the Word daily. It is the food for oursoul. The next is exercise. We exercise to keep ourbody mechanism it. In the same way, if we really wantto grow in Christ we have to put into practice the thingsthat we learnt from the Word. We grow most while we are asleep. Likewisewhen we rest in God though on the outside it looks likenothing is happening, our relationship with God is actu-ally growing. Resting in God means that you surrenderyour life to Him, believe and trust in Him. Make sure to ind time to be alone with Goddaily. Just sit quietly in His presence without doing any-thing, just loving Him and being loved by Him. As we need good hygiene to grow properly, re-pentance and confession is essential to keep our spiri-tual life clean and healthy. We do this by admitting oursins, surrendering it to God and repenting from ourheart. Then, the Blood of Jesus washes away our sinsand makes us pure again, (1 Jn 1:7) - (as pure as snow.) But if we let the germs of anger, jealousy, sadness re-main in our spirit, we will be spiritually sick. We need fellowship to grow both physicallyand spiritually. The fellowship with other Christianswill make us grow spiritually. You need to pray and to beprayed for by others. Encourage, support, and strength-

en each other in the same way. No one can see his ownfruits. Therefore fellowship with others is essential.

In conclusion, spiritual growth is not instantand automatic. We will grow spiritually only if we wantto grow, decide to grow, make an effort to grow and per-sist in growing. The reason that we are not mature inthe Lord is that we just don't see the need to grow. Growth involves making mistakes too. Everychild learns to walk only after falling many times. Sodon't get discouraged when you fall. The importantthing is that we get up when we fall, keep on trying andmoving forward. The fault is not that we try and fail butwe fail to try. Remember how far you have come notjust how far you have to go. Let's consider every ierytrial as an opportunity to grow and rejoice. Praise theLord!!!

Deven Atheesh St. Joseph's Seminary, Kandy.

Growing in Christ

St. Benedict’s College, Colombocelebrates 150 years of its proud exis-tence and service, in year 2015. The Col-lege which is run by the De La Salle Broth-er’s community which was inaugurated inyear 1865, is one of the oldest and leadingCatholic Private Institutions in Sri Lanka.

Plans are a foot to celebrate thishistorical land mark of excellence throughvarious activities. The most important andmomentous event will be the ‘BenedictineWalk’ where the entire Benedictine Fra-ternity will take to the streets on the Feb-

ruary 7, 2015, walking in and around thehome of the college, Kotahena in a grandparade. This colourful parade will com-prise of fun and entertaining activitiesand is expected to attract and be attendedby a gathering of close to 7500 people.The walk will be followed by a MusicalExtravaganza and a Grand Carnival heldat the College Grounds which will be ledby the country’s leading Musical Bands

as Marians, Doctor and Voice.Print. Therewill be plenty of other activities lined up,as well. It is indeed a great pleasure forthe Walk Committee to invite and warm-ly welcome all the Reverend Fathers,Brothers, Old boys/Batches and all Pastteachers attached to the Benedictine Fra-ternity to join in this Historical event. For further inquiries and par-ticipation con irmation please contact:

• Mr. Randolph Perera (Co-Chairman -

Benedictine Walk) Mob: 0777787187• Mr. Gratien Fernando ( Co-ordinator– Benedictine Walk) Mob: 0777368969

• Mr. Alston Rayen ( Secretary - Bene-dictine Walk) Mob: 0775578971

• Mr. Harold Leon ( Batches Co-ordinator – Benedictine Walk) Mob:0777348049

Benedictine Walk Ode to the Pontiff Shepherd of the lock dispersed throughout the worldThy visit to this Asian land - the orient pearl

We hail! With prayerful obeisance, the Papal banner unfurlArise faithful of Lanka; greet Christ's representative on earth.

With one voice we acclaim the privilege on us bestowedBlessed messenger of peace the shepherd to his foldWith reverence, loyalty and love we greet thee and enfoldWithin our land's hospitality, its traditions of old.

This land of God's abundance, this land so richly blessedThis Land devoid of strife on its peaceful quest.Missionary of peace in thy magnanimous zeal and zest For peace; chose our resplendent isle;

chose to be our guest

A sharer in our hour of hope and peaceThy prayers and blessings

Holy Father for unity repleteAnd so from North and South

from East andWest the faithful throng

We thank thee for the honour -a joyous welcome.

By: Jeannette Chabraal

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XIX February 1, 2015Children / Youth The Messenger

English with Fun and Entertainment

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

Dear Readers,

In our 60th lesson we learnt a poem about courage, cohesive links and vo-cabulary items.

In this lesson you will learn a few inspirational quotes, two poems and asimple text on praying.

Comments made by our readers are very encouraging. Thanks for your ef-forts to make ‘English with Fun and Entertainment’ an interactive process.

God Bless You!

NJ

Activitie 1: Read the inspirational quotes, learn the delicate shades of wordsand answer the questions?What we are is God's gift to us.What we become is our gift to God."(Louis Nizer )

Q (a).What’s God’s gift to us?

Q (b).What’s our gift to God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. Psalm 18:32

Q3. What does God arm you with?Words with delicate shades of meaninggift – talent / skill /genius become - develop/ convert/turn intoarms - equips / supports / ropes strength - forte /strong /suit makes –shapes/creates /builds perfect -faultless/ lawless/impeccable

Activity 2: Read the two poems, recite them well and answer the two ques-tions given? These lines of Poetry will inspire you, encourage you, and usethem for re lection and meditation. You may also share the verses withothers.

Who Shall We Help Today Poet: John McLeod, © 1982

Who shall we help today, my friends, Who shall we help today? A poor-man passing in the road A word to ease his way? (comfort) A kindly thought, a friendly deed A smile so freely given? These are the treasures all may give These are the keys to heaven!

Who shall we help today, my friends, Who shall we help today? A sad soul in distress perhaps? (anguish) Kneel with that soul and pray;

Show him the love our Father showed In the way His Son was given: These are the gifts all have to give,

These are the keys to heaven!

Who shall we help today, my friends, Who shall we help today? The lame, the sick, all those in need? So much that one can say And do to help another's pain In love's compassion given, (sympathy) Yours is the gift of giving, friend, Yours are the keys to heaven

Activity 3: Read the intellectual quotes and experience a sense ofexcitement (i) An expenditure of words without income of ideas will lead to intellectual

bankruptcy.Ravi Zacha

(ii) Do not try to approach God with your thinking mind. It may only stimulate yourintellectual ideas, activities, and beliefs. Try to approach God with your crying heart.It will awaken your soulful, spiritual consciousness. Sri Chinm

(iii) Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death. Albert Einstein

(iv)Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mereintellectual play. Immanuel Kant

(v)My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother.I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education Ireceived from her. George Washington

Ref : /h t tp : / /www.bra inyquo te . com/quo tes /keywords / in t e l l ec tua l .

html#yuFBKekbKKWqe4Gk.99

Vocabulary – Study, the delicate shades of meaningFaith – con idence, trust, conviction, reliance, believes, assurance, devotionBlessed – holy, sacred, sancti ied, hallowed, consecrated, revered, sacrosanct Forgiving – merciful, pardoning, lenient, forbearing, magnanimous, sympatheticForgiveness- clemency ,mercy, pity, compassion, understanding, tolerance Attitude – boldness, brashness, arrogance, insolence, de iance , approach, outlook Gratitude – thankfulness, appreciation, gratefulness, acknowledgement Whine – complaint, moan, cry drone hum, wail,Whimper – sob, cry, whine, snivel, gripe, grumble

Activity 4 - Read the prayer and answer the questions incomplete answers

Faith means trusting in advance

Dear Lord, I thank you for this day, I thank you for mybeing able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because you are a forgiving God and an understandingGod. You have done so much for me and you keep onblessing me.Q 1 Why do you thank the Lord?

Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said orthought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for your forgiveness . Please keep mesafe from all danger and harm.Q 2 Why does the speaker ask for forgiveness?

Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude . Let me makethe best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from you.Q3 How does the writer want to start the day?

Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things. Let me not whine and whimperover things I have no control over. And give me the best response when I'm pushedbeyond my limits.Q4 The speaker does not want to whine or whimper over certain things. What arethey?

I know that when I can't pray, you listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do yourwill. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that Imay help the weak... Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement forothers.Q5 Why does the speaker ask Lord to bless him continuously?

I pray for those that are lost and can't ind their way. I pray for those that are mis-judged and misunderstood I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and everyfamily member in their households, I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes; thatthey are out of debt and all their needs are met. I pray that every eye that reads thisknows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battleis in your hands for you to ight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts ofevery eye that sees it in Jesus' name. Amen!Q 6 Whom does the speaker pray for?

Answers – Activity 1 – (a) God’s gift to us is what we are.

(b) Our gift to God is what we become.

Activity 2 –(i) A word, a kindly thought and a smile are the keys to the heaven.

(ii) The joy of living.

Activity 41- I thank God because he has done so much for me and he keeps on blessing me.2. The speaker asks for forgiveness for whatever he has done, said or thought thatwas not pleasing to God.3. The speaker wants to start the day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.4. The speaker does not want to whine or whimper over the things he has no control.5.The speaker asks the Lord to bless him that he may be a blessing to others.6.The speaker prays for all his/her sisters and brothers and for each and every familymember in their households,

Nearer In Service Poet: John McLeod

Write these few wordsAnd then put down the pen,Brie ly, I hope, before I writeagain,(concisely)Surely to ind in days that are to beNearer in service my dear Lord to Thee!

Look to the light And in your searching friend,Know that His love will guide tojourney's end,Open your eyes there is so much to seeNearer in service, my dear Lord to Thee!

Into each heartLet joy of living spring, (fountain)And with a gentle word some kind-ness bring,

Yours is the gift of giving, choicequite free,Nearer in service, my dear Lord toThee!

Who Shall we help today? Poem 1Q(i) What are the keys toheaven?

Nearer in Service –Poem 2

Q (ii)What is spring in everyheart?

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XX February 1, 2015Children / Youth The Messenger

Who should be a Christian Everybody likes Jesus Christ. Only the deviland those who deny virtues can hate Jesus. Many peo-ple want to imitate Christ. Those who want to follow Je-sus and those who believe that they are following Jesusshould have a proper awareness, a conviction, aboutthe life and the objective they aim to attain. Man has lifeat two levels - the life of the body God made from theearth, and the life of the soul that has to last forever. Most of us work hard to nurture the life of thebody which is mortal and destructible. However hardwe might try, whatever precautions we might take, oneday, sooner or later, we will lose our bodily life. The factof the matter is that we hardly do anything for the life ofour soul which is immortal and eternal. If we spend ourentire life endeavouring to sustain our bodily life thatwill be certainly lost one day we will de initely proveourselves fools of the number one order! Who should follow Jesus? It is those who havethe thirst to acquire eternal life rather than work forthe bodily life that should follow Him. "If any want tobecome my followers, let them deny themselves and takeup their cross and follow me" (Mt. 16:24). Those whowant to follow Jesus, aiming eternal life, should acceptthe pain of giving up their mortal bodies and their mo-mentary pleasures, and carry the cross of suffering. Butunfortunately as we spend our time and energy in try-ing to protect our bodily life and make our circumstanc-es conducive to a commutable and lavish style, we areunconsciously losing our life of the soul, to which weshould have given greater attention. That is why Jesustaught us: "Do not work for the food that perishes, but forthe food that endures for eternal life." (Jn6:27).

After working hard for so long, have we gainedanything that will be needed to ensure a life that willendure for eternity? "What will it pro�it them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?" (Mt 16:26). We should realise that if we do not gain any-thing to ensure our eternal life, all our efforts will besimply futile "Those who want to save their life for mysake will �ind it" (Mt 16:25). Instead of working hard forour mundane life, we should seek and strive for eternallife. Christian life aims at eternal life, life in Heaven.Only those who aim for this eternity will be entitled tobe called Christians. The Father makes it very clear asto who can attain eternal life. "All who see the Son andbelieve in him may have eternal life; and I will raise themup on the last day" (Jn 6:40). For man to attain eternal life, the way and truthrevealed by Heaven is Jesus, only Jesus. God becameman, dwelt amongst us and taught us how to nurturethe life of the soul and to make us keen on attainingthe kingdom of God. To be a real Christian one has tolook beyond the bounds of this mortal world, its glitter,glamour and glitz and should thirst for t he salvation ofhis soul and work hard and in right earnest to attain it.The way for that consists of prayers, fasting and othervirtuous acts. "I am the bread of life" (Jn 6:48). If thephysical hunger is satis ied by worldly bread, the hun-ger of the soul is satis ied by the heavenly bread. Jesussaid, "Those who eat my �lesh drink my blood have eter-nal life" (Jn 6:54). It is made possible only through theHoly Eucharist. Who should become good Christians? Those

who desire the salvation of the soul. The Christian wayis prepared for those who want the growth of their soulsto enable them to attain eternal life. The life and teach-ings of Jesus are appropriate for the soul's salvation. Hewounded himself and shared his lesh and blood withus so that we too become heirs to heaven.

Courtesy : Vachanolsavam

Values and Moral Responsibility Moral awareness is critical to living a fully inte-grated Christian life. Every action is the result of an in-tention, and intentions are formed by core values. Moralawareness involves allowing our core values to be formed,informed and transformed by sound doctrine and teach-ing. When we are able to maintain our core values in spiteof the situation, we realise that our actions become inte-grated and we exhibit a life of integrity. Thus, all the vari-ous aspects of our lives serve as a witness to the Gospel,and the Gospel in turn sheds light on every aspect of ourlife. True moral awareness involves constantly seek-ing to understand all that the Church teaches. This re-quires us to read, study, understand and apply moralteachings of the Church to every aspect of our life. Justbecause the Church says something doesn't mean it im-mediately impacts a person's core belief system. It isn'tuntil one fully understands and accepts why a teachingis true and learns to apply it that they start to attain a

rightly formed moral conscience - they become what theybelieve. A morally aware person strives to have a rightlyformed consciense and defers to this conscience whenfaced with complex moral situations. One situation may

require the discernment of several different moral issues;therefore we need to be aware of what the church teachesin each area of moral teaching to better address the chal-lenge at hand in the best possible way. A morally aware person begins to have a fullyintegrated life where aspects of their life works together,towards a common goal - to do what is right, good, holy,and true. In other words, they act in accord with the willof God. And, once these core values are established in con-junction with a rightly formed moral conscience, they canbegin to apply these values to any situation they encoun-ter. They will know what the right thing to do is. It is fair to say that being morally aware is a con-stant process. We need to have a keen sense of moralawareness and constantly increase our knowledge assituations arise. Tomorrow will present new moral ques-tions, but if we keep informing and forming our moralawareness, and keep studying and listening to the Church,we can meet the challenges of tomorrow with integrity

of heart. It is never easy, but as morally aware Catholicsliving fully integrated lives, we can begin to transform theworld into members of the kingdom of God.

Courtesy : Vachanolsavam

The Catholic popula-tion of the world is on the up,with igures released by theVatican in December showingthat numbers have increased inall ive continents, the VaticanChurch Book of Statistics for2012 reveals. Vatican Radio reportedthat it puts the total numberof Catholics in the world at1,228,621,000 as of 31 Decem-ber 2012, which represents a15 million increase on 2011. The Americas and Af-rica registered the biggest in-

creases followed by Asia, Eu-rope and Oceania. However, while numer-ically Catholics may have madesome headway, their percentageof world population dropped by0.01 per cent from 17.49 percent in the previous year. The total number ofpriests in the world increasedby 895 to 414,313, but Europeonce again registered the larg-est downturn in numbers forthe second year in succession,showing a drop of 1,375, fol-lowed by the Americas which

lost 90 and Oceania 80. However, Africa andAsia showed an increase of1,076 and 1,364 respectively. There was an overalldecrease in the number of wom-en religious worldwide, whosenumbers dropped by 10,677 to702,529. Once again Africa andAsia showed increases, whilstEurope and the Americasshowed the biggest decrease. The hardest hit groupwas lay missionaries. Theirnumbers slumped by 19,234 to

362,488. In the education sector,the Catholic Church runs 71,188kindergartens, 95,246 primaryschools and 43,783 secondaryschools, while the number ofcharity and healthcare centresin the world run by the Churchstands at 115,352. However, 2014 was atough year for Church workers.Fides reported that 26 pastoralworkers were killed during theyear, compared with 23 in 2013. Tracey McClure report-ed for Fides that it has broadened

the scope of its annual report onpriests and religious who diedviolent deaths to include Churchlay personnel as well. The report from theCongregation for the Evangeli-sation of Peoples reveals that 17priests, one brother, six sisters,a seminarian and one lay personwere killed in 2014—mostlyduring robberies characterisedby brutality and ferociousness,which Fides says indicates theystem from intolerance and eco-nomic and cultural poverty.

Courtesy: Sunday Examiner

Catholic numbers up but percentage down

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M AT R I M O N I A L

Bride

Academically and professionally qual-i ied, well mannered partner is soughtby Sinhala Catholic parents living inCanada for their pretty, slim daugh-ter 32 years, 5’ 7” she is a graduatefrom a Canadian university and wellemployed with Government ofCanada. Please reply with familydetails. Preferably from Canada. E-mail:a b i s s e t 2 0 @ g m a i l . c o mTelephone 0718241479.No. N5700, C/o,Colombo Catholic Press, Colombo 8.

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01.02.2015 Messenger.pdf