Vesak is a festival of great religious significance to the Buddhist worldwide. As Vesak is celebrated this year we wish to offer our greetings and best wishes to

the Buddhist brethren in our country. It is fitting that this year the 14th United Nations’ Day of Vesak Celebration is held in Sri Lanka which is the predominant Theravada Buddhist country in the world and where four World Religions are present. Vesak is a festival of peace and light. May this Vesak bring peace among all people. Let the spiritual lustre of Vesak permeate to all adherents of Buddhism and solidarity among all people. We wish all our Buddhist brethren the fullest blessings of Vesak.

✠ Rt. Rev. Dr. J. Winston S. Fernando, SSS ✠ Rt. Rev. Dr. D. Valence Mendis President, Secretary General, Catholic Bishops’ Conference Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka

“ R E G I S T E R E D I N T H E D E PA RT M E N T O F P O S T S O F S R I L A N K A” U N D E R N O. Q D / 1 2 8 / N E W S / 2 0 1 7

Sunday, May 7, 2017 Vol 148 No 17 20 Pages Rs: 30.00 Registered as a newspaper

THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY OF SRI LANKA

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VATICAN RADIO - In a com-mon declaration, signed by

Pope Francis and Coptic Pope Tawadros II, Catholics and Copts declare for the first time that they will recognise each other’s Sacrament of Baptism. The joint statement was made public follow-ing a meeting of the Catholic

and Coptic leaders in Cairo on Friday April 29. It comes forty-four years after Pope Paul VI first met the previ-ous Coptic Pope Shenouda III in May 1973. That encounter marked a milestone in rela-tions, following centuries of separation, and it led to the setting up of a Commission for

theological dialogue with the whole family of Oriental Or-thodox Churches. In the new common declaration, Pope Francis and Coptic Pope Tawadros recall the progress made since then and call for a deepening of their shared roots in faith through common prayer. In particular,

the statement calls for a com-mon translation of the Lord’s Prayer and a common date for the celebration of Easter. Catholics and Copts, it says, can witness together to the shared values of human life, the sacredness of mar-riage and the family, and re-spect for creation.

Rev. Fr. Paul Caspersz s.j. passed away on April 27, at

the Jesuit Priests’ Retiring Centre, in Negombo. Fr. Caspersz entered the Society of Jesus in 1942 and was ordained a priest in 1952. Hailing from Colombo, he is an Old Boy of St. Benedict’s College, Colombo and St. Joseph’s College, Colombo. He read politics and

economics at the University of Oxford and was a teacher and principal of St. Aloysius College, Galle from 1958-1971. In 1972, he co-founded the Satyodaya Centre for Social Research and Encounter in Kandy, together with the then Bishop of Badulla, His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Leo Nanayakkara. He was also founder of the Move-ment for Inter-Racial Justice and Equality (MIRJE) in 1979.

“Be the Shepherd for my sheep”

May 7

VOCATION SUNDAY

ARCHDIOCESE SACERDOTAL ORDINATION

Fifteen deacons of the Archdiocese of Colombo received their priestly ordination from the Arch-bishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardi-

nal Ranjith on Saturday April 29, at St. Lucia’s Cathedral, Kotahena. Addressing the newly ordained priests His Emi-nence reminded them that their Call to the Priesthood was from God through His unconditional love and mercy;

and so they have been chosen not because of any special talent or abilities they possess. “God chooses the weak things of the world to confound the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27). His Eminence who was quoting the Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum Ordinis said, “The divine task that they are called by the Holy Spirit to fulfill surpasses all human wisdom and human ability.” Therefore the true servant of the Lord who un-

derstands his own weaknesses will serve the Lord in hu-mility in obedience to the Divine Will. By this humility and by willing responsible obedience, priests conform themselves to Christ. They make their own the senti-ments of Jesus Christ who “emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant,” becoming obedient even to death (Presbyterorum Ordinis #15).

Catholic Bishops’ Conference wishes our Buddhist brethren the Spiritual lustre of Vesak and solidarity

Catholics and Copts recognise shared baptism

✠ President, Secretary General, President, Secretary General,

Fr. Paul Caspersz rests in the peace of the Lord

Pg.2Contd on

Pope Francis and Coptic Pope Tawadros II

By T. Sunil Fernando and Roshan Pradeep

2 The Messenger May 7, 2017

Very Rev. Fr. Jude Samantha K. Fernando Procurator GeneralRev. Fr. Denninton Subasinghe Secretary - Administration NEWLY ORDAINED PRIESTS - [Assistant Parish Priests] 1. Rev.Fr.K. Mariyas Christian Peiris Kandawala2. Rev.Fr.Joseph Suraj Fernando Wattala3. Rev.Fr.P. A. Chrishnaka Dilan Perera Kalamulla4. Rev.Fr.L. Don Sanjeewa Appuhamy Katuwapitiya5. Rev.Fr.B. Asanka Malan Mendis Wattala6. Rev.Fr.Don Rajitha Liyanage Kotte7. Rev.Fr.W. Suraj Gayashan Peiris Nagoda8. Rev.Fr. W. Dilusha Chamara Perera St. Anthony’s, Kochchikade9. Rev.Fr. J. M. D. Buddhika Dananjaya Jayamanne Wellawatte10. Rev.Fr.Anthony Nishan Poobalarayan Sea-Street, Negombo11. Rev.Fr.P. A. D. Vikum Anton Kumara Kelaniya12. Rev.Fr.P. A. Don Janaka Jayamal Faith Animation Team13. Rev.Fr.W. Emmanuel Jipson Fernando Faith Animation Team14. Rev.Fr.S. T. Nimesh Chrishan De Silva Faith Animation Team15. Rev.Fr.S. N. Anura Pradeep Dias Centre for Vocational Discernment, Madampe ASSISTANT PARISH PRIESTS 1. Rev. Fr. Wasantha Prasanna Fernando Kandana2. Rev. Fr. Dinush Gayan Winston Pannipitiya3. Rev. Fr. Roshan Chaminda Fernando Grand Street4. Rev. Fr. Lalith Chrishantha Tissera Nayakakanda5. Rev. Fr. Chanaka Prabath Welikadarachchi Pitipana6. Rev. Fr. Samindu Pathum Kotugoda7. Rev. Fr. Ajith Appuhamy Pallansena8. Rev. Fr. Sachitha Kelum Jayalath Pamunugama9. Rev. Fr. Anton Dinesh Priyasad All Saints’ Church, Borella10. Rev. Fr. Nalin Kumara Fernando Batagama11. Rev. Fr. Chamil Sameera Bopitiya12. Rev. Fr. Manoj Kumar Fernando Grandpass13. Rev. Fr. Prasan Dilantha Fernando Moratuwa14. Rev. Fr. Asanka Jude TOR Panadura15. Rev. Fr. Dinesh Appuhamy Kimbulapitiya16. Rev. Fr. Ravindra Kumar Peiris Slave Island PARISH PRIESTS 1. Very Rev Fr Anthony Fernandopulle Talangama & St. Nicholas School2. Rev. Fr. Merl Shanthi Perera Liyanagemulla 3. Rev. Fr. Shanthikumar Welivita Katunayake4. Rev. Fr. Leo Camillus Hettiarachchi Seeduwa5. Rev. Fr. Rohan de Alwis Pannipitiya6. Rev. Fr. Freddie Shanthikumar Kotte7. Rev. Fr. Ruben Leslie Silva Enderamulla8. Rev. Fr. Terrence Bodiyabaduge Bolawalana9. Rev. Fr. Anton Eumal Perera Periyamulla & “Electro” Lab10. Rev. Fr. Chaminda Roshan Fernando Maththumagala11. Rev. Fr. Sujeewa Athukorale Sea Street, Negombo12. Rev. Fr. Gyom Nonis St. Peter’s, Negombo & Kurusa Yagaya13. Rev. Fr. Sanjeewa Mendis Wattala14. Rev. Fr. Anton Premalal Kelaniya15. Rev. Fr. Kirul Jayanath Silva Hapugoda16. Rev. Fr. Ernest De Mel Mabole, Wattala17. Rev. Fr. Jude Suraj Fonseka St. John’s, Mutwal18. Rev. Fr. Prasanna Rohan Miriswatte19. Rev. Fr. Ishan Prameena Sapugaskanda20. Rev. Fr. Nilantha Heshan Fernando Waga21. Rev. Fr. Geethaly Annesley Nagoda (Kalutara)22. Rev. Fr. Deshan Lasantha Perera Maggona23. Rev. Fr. Ignatius Warnakulasingham Dematagoda & English Catechetics24. Rev. Fr. Reginald Lucien OMI Maligawatte25. Rev. Fr. Indra Ratnasiri Kalamulla26. Rev. Fr. Ruwan Reid Andiammbalama27. Rev. Fr. Jude Suresh Ranga Tarala28. Rev. Fr. Gayan Prasantha Perera Wadduwa29. Rev. Fr. Mahesh Chrishantha Fernando Beruwala30. Rev. Fr. Nuwan Buddika Horana31. Rev. Fr. Malin Samudrika Fernando Thibbotugoda

NEW APPOINTMENTS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF COLOMBO

DIOCESAN DIRECTORS / COORDINATORS OF APOSTOLATES 1. Very Rev.Fr. J.D.Anthony Director - Faith Animation Team2. Rev. Fr. Ciswan De Croos Director: DDN Negombo 3. Rev. Fr. Lawrence Ramanayake Director: Seth Sarana4. Rev. Fr. Indrajith Perera Director: Centre for Vocational Discernment, Madampe5. Rev. Fr. Krushan Kumar Perera Diocesan Director - PMS6. Rev. Fr. Gihan Ridley Perera Administrator/Archdiocesan Lands and Deeds7. Rev. Fr. Anton Saman Hettiarachchi Biblical Apostolate & Editor: Catholic Messenger 8. Rev. Fr. Basil Wickramasinghe Renewal of Parish Structures & BCC Coordinator9. Rev. Fr. Joseph Indika Liturgy Coordinator Res: ABH10. Rev. Fr. Nirmal Malaka Silva YCS Cordinator Res:Pamunuwila11. Rev. Fr. Julian Patrick Perera Counselling Res: KCYMA-Kotahena12. Rev. Fr. Clement Sanjeewa Senanayake Staff: Archdiocesan Estates13. Rev. Fr. Jude Chrishman Fernando Staff: Archdiocesan Estates14. Rev. Fr. Malintha Thiwantha Kaluarachchi Faith Animation Team15. Rev. Fr. Prasanna Christopher Subodhi Institute COLLEGES AND INSTITUTIONS 1. Rev. Fr. S. A. D. Chrishantha Kumar Director- St Joseph’s Branch School, Negombo2. Rev. Fr. B. Anselm Shiran Director - St. Nicholas’ Intel. School. Negombo3. Rev. Fr. Ruwan Deshapriya Staff Member - St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 104. Rev. Fr. Treesan Silva Staff Member- Holy Cross College, Kalutara5. Rev. Fr. Sriyantha Rathnasekara Staff Member- St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa6. Rev. Fr. Chrishan Jayashantha Anandan Staff Member- Holy Cross College, Kalutara7. Rev. Fr. Samith Rangana Fernando Staff Member- St. Peter’s College, Colombo8. Rev. Fr. Anthony Lakshman Staff Member- St.Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa9. Rev. Fr. Roshan Janaka Fernando Coordinator of Spiritual Activities- St. Peter’s College, Colombo10. Rev. Fr. Shashika Manoj Rodrigo Coordinator of Spiritual Activities- St. Joseph’s College, Maradana11. Rev. Fr. Malintha Chathuranga Chandrasiri Staff: BCI, Bolawalana 12. Rev. Fr. Pradeep Kumar Niroshan Fernando National Institute of Education 13. Rev. Fr. Maximus Rodrigopulle Spiritual Director - St.Aloysius’ Minor Seminary 14. Rev. Fr. Prasad Suranga Fernando Staff Member - St. Aloysius’ Minor Seminary15. Rev. Fr. Maurice Namal Perera Staff Member- National Seminary16. Rev. Fr. Jude Asitha Hettiarachchi Staff Member Daham Sevana, Kalutara ARCHDIOCESAN CHAPLAINS 1. Rev. Fr. Basil Wickramasinghe Chaplain to Elderly Priests. 2. Rev. Fr. Jude Tennyson Chaplain to the Sick RESIDENT PRIESTS 1. Rev. Fr. Joseph Benedict Fernando Res: St. Lucia’s Cathedral, Kotahena2. Rev. Fr. Augustine Fernandopulle Res: Bambukuliya (Thoppuwa)3. Rev. Fr. Terrence Fernando Res: Adikkandiya (Welihena)4. Rev. Fr. Leon Babapulle OMI Res: Grand Street, Negombo PRIESTS GOING ABROAD(Studies/ Chaplancy/Sabatical) 1. Rev. Fr. Tyronne Perera Germany2. Rev. Fr. Jude Anthony Algama Sabbatical3. Rev. Fr. Sampath Thushara Italy4. Rev. Fr. Suranga Niroshan Fonseka Bovolone, Italy

Rev. Fr. Jude Samantha Fernando 3rd May 2017

Contd. from Pg. 1

Archdiocese Sacerdotal... His Eminence said, “All priests, in union with bishops, so share in one and the same priesthood and ministry of Christ that the very unity of their con-secration and mission requires their hi-erarchical communion with the order of bishops” (PO #7).

Speaking on the union of priests with their bishops, His Eminence said that all us in the Archdiocese should feed the sheep and make them strong in their faith as it is the responsibility en-trusted to us by our Lord. Hence, you should perform this task with determi-nation and in union with your bishop and priest brethren as one family. To

perform this task obedience should be the most important thing within us. We should take this example of Christ who emptied Himself and per-form our priestly duties. His Eminence advised the young priests to embrace obedience with love and to be in prayer always so that “not my will but Your will be done.”

His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, has made the following appointments on 29th April 2017, to be effective from 15th May 2017

Contd. from Pg. 1

Fr. Paul Caspersz ...

Fr. Caspersz is known for his concern for the marginalized estate sector and strived to protect and promote the rights of the tea plantation worker. His mortal remains were laid to rest at the Jesuit Burial Grounds, Lewella, Kandy.

3 The Messenger May 7, 2017

Email:ccpmessenger@yahoo.comWebsite:colomboarchdiocesancatholicpress.com

Telephone: 011 2695984Fax: 2692586 / 2670100

May 7, 2017

Editorial

Press Freedom Day - the vision of a just society 'The media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive so-cieties' - the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, May 3, is the heart of the teaching of Jesus Christ and also Pope Francis’ mission for the Church and the world. Pope Francis who visited Egypt on April 28 and 29 in a courageously prophetic mission to restore the relationship between Muslims and Christians has often declared that world poverty alleviation, the battle against climate change, the peaceful resolution of con-flicts through dialogue and religious unity and action to reach this vision should be the main priorities for the Church and the world. We are happy that the World Press Freedom Day theme also pro-motes this mission through its focus on peaceful, just and inclusive societies - which means a major effort to bridge the gap between the rich and the oppressed people. In the Holy Bible especially in the book of Exodus and in the life of Jesus Christ, God makes a preferential option for the op-pressed people. Jesus Christ and the prophets have pointed out that where there is true worship of God there will also be social justice. Therefore one of the media’s main roles also is to make a preferential option for the oppressed or marginalised people and be there voice. In short the free media need to be essentially the voice of the oppressed people. In a statement to mark the World Press Freedom Day, the United Nations says that to move towards the vision of peaceful, just and inclusive societies, the media needs to have professional journalists who have critical minds for these critical times. This is a significant theme which journalists need to reflect upon and act. This is important in Sri Lanka also because especially after January 8, 2015 with the restoration of media freedom, we have also seen many instances of the misuse or abuse of such freedom. According to the UN, media freedom and access to infor-mation feed into the wider development objective of empowering people. Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social and political process that helps people gain control over their own lives. Ac-cording to the Bible this is also the work of God who through Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit empowers people to act and speak as St. Pe-ter did before the powerful Jewish Supreme Court, as recorded in last Sunday’s First Reading from the Book of Acts. The World Press Freedom Day also calls for the people to have access to accurate, fair and unbiased information, represent-ing a plurality of opinions and the means to actively communicate vertically and horizontally, thereby participating in the active life of the community. The UN says this engine is driven by the fuel of informa-tion and therefore access to information is critical. Freedom of information laws, which permit access to public information are essential, but so are the means by which information is made avail-able, be it through information and communication technology or the simple sharing of documents. In Sri Lanka this year an Independence Day gift was the Right to Information Law, widely seen as one of the best in Asia. Playing a major role in implementing Sri Lanka’s RTI Law and most analyst are confident that the RTI Commission members will act with courage and dedication in ensuring that elected leaders act transparently and are accountable to the people. We hope this will lead to an era where those wanting to do business will not come into politics but go elsewhere. We hope and pray that those who come into politics, at central or local government levels will be sincere servants of the people and come to give to the country instead of trying to grab. If they fail to do this they should be ex-posed by the free media and brought to justice. The UN points out that Information can change the way we see the world around us, our place in it and how to adjust our lives to maximize the benefits available through our local resourc-es. Fact-driven decision-making can significantly alter our politi-cal, social and economic perspectives. Therefore, open and plural-istic media are, perhaps, most precious when they simply provide the mirror for society to see itself. These moments of reflection are instrumental in defining community objectives, making course corrections when society or its leaders have lost touch with each other or gone astray. We hope that journalists in Sri Lanka and elsewhere will come to the awareness of the sacred vocation they are called to and the professionals or creative role they should play in bringing about peaceful, just and inclusive societies - in other words King-dom of God.

The Pontifical Coun-cil for Interreligious Dialogue has issued

a message on the occasion of the Buddhist feast of Vesak on the theme ‘Chris-tians and Buddhists: Walk-ing Together on the Path of Nonviolence’. The Message signed by Council Presi-dent, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Council Sec-retary, Fr Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ em-phasizes the urgent need to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence as both these values were promoted by Jesus Christ and the Bud-dha..The full text of the message: Dear Buddhist Friends, In the name of the Pontifical Coun-cil for Interreligious Dialogue, we extend our warmest greetings and prayerful good wishes on the occasion of Vesak. May this feast bring joy and peace to all of you, to your families, communities and nations. We wish to reflect this year on the ur-gent need to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence. Religion is increasingly at the fore in our world today, though at times in opposing ways. While many religious believers are com-mitted to promoting peace, there are those who exploit religion to justify their acts of violence and hatred. We see healing and reconciliation offered to victims of violence, but also attempts to erase every trace and memory of the “other” there is the emergence of global religious co-operation, but also politicization of religion; and, there is an awareness of endemic poverty and world hunger, yet the deplorable arms race continues. This situation requires a call to non-violence, a rejection of violence in all its forms. Jesus Christ and the Buddha were pro-moters of nonviolence as well as peacemakers. As Pope Francis writes, “Jesus himself lived in violent times. Yet, He taught that the true battlefield, where violence and peace meet, is the human heart: for ‘it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come” (Mk. 7:21). (2017 Message for the World Day of Peace, Non-Violence: A Style of Politics for Peace, no. 3). He further emphasises that “Jesus marked out the path of nonviolence. He walked that path to the very end, to the cross, whereby he became our peace and put an end to hostil-ity (cf. Eph 2:14-16)” (ibid.). Accordingly, “to be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence” (ibid.). Dear friends, your founder, the Bud-dha also heralded a message of nonviolence and peace. He encouraged all to “Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth” (Dhammapada, no. XVII, 3). He taught further that “Victory begets enmity; the defeated dwell in pain. Happily the peaceful live, discarding both victory and de-

feat” (ibid. XV, 5). Therefore, he noted that the self-conquest is greater than the conquest of others: “Though one may conquer a thousand times a thousand men in battle, yet he indeed is the noblest victor who conquers himself” (ibid, VIII, 4). In spite of these noble teachings, many of our societies grapple with the impact of past and present wounds caused by violence and conflicts. This phenomenon includes domes-tic violence, as well as economic, social, cul-tural and psychological violence, and violence against the environment, our common home. Sadly, violence begets other social evils, and so “the choice of nonviolence as a style of life is increasingly demanded in the exercise of re-sponsibility at every level…” (Address of His Holiness Pope Francis on the Occasion of the Presentation of the Letters of Credence, De-cember 15, 2016). Though we recognize the uniqueness of our two religions, to which we remain com-mitted, we agree that violence comes forth from the human heart and that personal evils lead to structural evils. We are therefore called to a common enterprise: to study the causes of violence: to teach our respective followers to combat evil within their hearts; to liber-ate both victims and perpetrators of violence from evil; to bring evil to light and challenge those who foment violence; to form the hearts and minds of all, especially of children, to love and live in peace with everyone and with the environment; to teach that there is no peace without justice, and no true justice without forgiveness; to invite all to work together in preventing conflicts and rebuilding broken so-cieties; to urge the media to avoid and counter hate speech, and biased and provocative re-porting; to encourage educational reforms to prevent the distortion and misinterpretation of history and of scriptural texts; and to pray for world peace while walking together on the path of nonviolence. Dear friends, may we actively dedicate ourselves to promoting within our families, and social, political, civil and religious institutions a new style of living where violence is rejected and the human person is respected. It is in this spirit that we wish you once again a peaceful and joyful feast of Vesak!

Vatican CityCardinal Jean-Louis Taura

President

Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJSecretary

Vatican Message for the for Vesak 2017

4 The Messenger May 7, 2017

Military helicopters flew overhead and police fanned out in force as Pope Francis celebrated an open-air Holy Mass for Egypt’s tiny Catholic com-munity, on the final day of a visit aimed at comfort-ing Christians following a series of attacks by Islam-ic militants. Despite the secu-rity concerns, Pope Fran-cis zoomed around the Cairo sports stadium in an open-topped golf cart be-fore the start of Mass. The crowd cheered him wildly, waving Egyptian and Holy See flags and swaying to hymns sung by church choirs. The defence min-istry’s stadium has a ca-pacity of 25,000, but only about 15,000 people at-tended — a reflection that Catholics represent less than 1 percent of Egypt’s 92 million people. In his homily, Pope Francis urged them to be good and merciful to their fellow Egyptians, saying “the only fanati-cism believers can have is that of charity!”

“Any other fanati-cism does not come from God and is not pleasing to him!” he said. Yesterday, Pope Francis demanded that Muslim leaders renounce religious fanaticism that leads to violence. Francis made the appeal during a landmark visit to Cairo’s Al-Azhar, the revered, 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Islam learning that trains clerics and scholars from around the world. Security was ex-ceptionally tight around the stadium and in the upscale neighborhood where the Pope spent the night, with uniformed and plain-clothed police stationed every meter (yard) or so along his mo-torcade route. Police used metal detectors to check vehicles for explosives and armed guards stood watch, some on rooftops, their faces covered. But Pope Francis decided to forego the bul-let-proof “popemobile” that his predecessors used on foreign trips and

drove through Cairo in a simple Fiat, his window rolled down. “He is a messen-ger of peace, he is really a messenger of peace,” said Amgad Eskandr before the Mass got under way at the stadium. “All his words talk about peace, call for peace, push for peace which is great.” His gestures sent a defiant message to the extremist Islamic State group, whose local affili-ate in Egypt has vowed to target Egypt’s Christians to punish them for their support of President Ab-del-Fattah el-Sissi. Already, attacks against Christians in northern Sinai, the epi-center of the insurgency, have forced hundreds of families to flee the region, seeking refuge elsewhere in Egypt. Recent attacks on churches — one in Cairo in December and twin Palm Sunday at-tacks in cities north of the Egyptian capital — have claimed at least 75 lives and injured scores.

The attacks led to heightened security at churches nationwide and the declaration by el-Sissi of a state of emergency. Pope Francis strongly backed the gov-ernment’s crackdown on the extremists Friday, say-ing Egypt was uniquely placed to bring peace to the region and “vanquish all violence and terrorism.” He also paid tribute to the victims of a December bombing at central Cairo’s St. Peter’s Church, which is located in close proximity to the St. Mark’s Cathedral, the

seat of the Coptic Ortho-dox Church. Blood on one of the church walls re-mains along with pictures of the victims in remem-brance of the attack. What is at stake in Egypt, home to one of the world’s oldest Chris-tian communities, is to prevent a repeat of what happened in Iraq in the years that followed the 2003 ouster of dictator Saddam Hussein, when militants of al-Qaida – the IS forerunner in Iraq – sys-tematically targeted the country’s ancient Chris-tian minority and forced

many to flee. Pope Tawadros II, the spiritual leader of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christians, is a close el-Sis-si ally who has tirelessly advocated Muslim-Chris-tian harmony. “Egyptians are united in pain and in joy,” he told Pope Francis on Friday. The two leaders signed a document under which the Copts will rec-ognise Catholic baptisms as valid. After Mass on Saturday, Francis meets with Catholic priests and seminarians before re-turning to Rome.

Pope celebrates Mass for 15,000 Catholics in Cairo Decries religious fanatism

VATICAN RADIO - Pope Francis on Saturday told Egypt’s priests, religious and seminarians to be sowers of hope, builders of bridges and agents of dialogue, despite the many difficulties they face. The Pope’s words came during his final en-counter, a prayer service at the seminary in Cairo at the end of his two day visit to the North African na-tion. Pope Francis began by thanking and encourag-ing the leaders of this tiny Catholic community for their daily witness “amid many challenges and often few consolations”. The Catholic Cop-tic Church, the largest of seven different rites, counts less than 200.000 members, or less than half a percent of the popu-lation. The Pope said de-spite the many negative and despairing voices, priests and religious there are called to be a positive force within society.

Resist temptations Pope Francis then urged the Catholic leaders to resist the many temp-tations they encounter, beginning with the desire to be led, rather than to lead the Church. A pastor,

he said, is creative and al-ways “share the caress of consolation, even when he is brokenhearted.” The Pope also warned against the temp-tation of complain, to gos-sip, to compare oneself to others and to harden one’s heart, presuming to be served, rather than to serve others. The temptation toindividualism As a well-known Egyptian saying goes: “Me, and after me, the flood!” This is the temptation of selfish people: along the way, they lose sight of the goal and, rather than think of others, they are un-ashamed to think only of themselves, or even worse, to justify themselves. The Church is the community of the faithful,

the Body of Christ, where the salvation of one mem-ber is linked to the holi-ness of all (cf. 1 Cor 12:12-27; Lumen Gentium, 7.) An individualist is a cause of scandal and of conflict.

Cop tic Catholic identity Your identity as sons and daughters of the Church is to be Copts – rooted in your noble and ancient origins – and to be Catho-lics – part of the one and universal Church: like a tree that, the more deeply rooted it is in the earth, the higher it reaches to the heavens! The more we are rooted in Christ, the more we are alive and fruit-ful! Only in this way can we preserve the wonder and the passion of our first encounter with God, and experience renewed excite-

ment and gratitude in our life with God and in our mission. The quality of our consecration depends on the quality of our spiritual life. Egypt has en-riched the Church through the inestimable value of monastic life. I urge you, therefore, to draw upon to the example of Saint Paul the Hermit, Saint Anthony, the holy Desert Fathers and the countless monks and nuns who by their lives and example opened the gates of heaven to so many of our brothers and sisters. You too can be salt and light and thus an occasion of salvation for yourselves and for all oth-ers, believers and non-be-lievers alike and especial-ly for those who are poor, those in need, the aban-doned and discarded.

Pope to Egypt's priests and religious: Be sowers of hope and dialogue

Pope Francis meets priests and seminarians at Al-Maadi Seminary in Cairo

Pope joins celebrations for "Catholic Action" 150th anniversary

VATICAN RADIO - Pope Francis on Sunday joined mem-bers of the Italian lay Catholic group “Azione Cattolica Italiana” as they celebrated 150 years since their foun-dation. They were gathered in St. Peter's Square with balloons and banners for a special audience with the Pope and for the recitation of the Regina Caeli prayer.Catholic Action was the name of many groups, especial-ly active during the 19th century that aimed to encour-age a Catholic influence on society in countries that fell under anti-clerical regimes. Italy’s “Azione Cattolica” is probably the most active Catholic Action group still around today. It was founded in 1867 by Mario Fani and Giovanni Acquad-erni with the name “Italian Catholic Youth Society”. Speaking to the some 70,000 members of the group present in St. Peter’s Square for the occasion, the Pope said it is vital to walk looking ahead (and not be-hind) and to be missionary disciples that reach out to the peripheries. The Pope said the Church is grateful for the contribution made to society by “Azione Cattolica” with its passion for the world and for the Church. He encour-aged all members to be open to the world and not to look back complacently at a glorious history, but to go out into the world bearing the Lord’s testimony of joy and of hope. The Pope recalled some well-known members of the group like Giuseppe Toniolo, Armida Barelli, Pier-giorgio Frassati, Antonietta Meo, Teresio Olivelli, Vitto-rio Bachelet, and urged those present to live up to their examples. He told them to always be at the service of the dioceses and the parishes to which they belong and to channel all initiatives towards evangelization, “not self-conservation”. “Just as your predecessors did 150 years ago, feel the responsibility within you to sow the good seed of the Gospel in your lives and in the world, through the service of charity and political commitment” he said. And with a heartfelt call, especially to the youth of “Azione Cattolica”, the Pope said: “go, reach all the periph-eries! Be Church with the strength of the Holy Spirit.”

Vatican Radio

5 The Messenger May 7, 2017

Of the 3.1 million new born deaths in the world in 2010, 25% to 50%

occurred in the first 24 hours of life. With better modern perina-tal care (One week before and one week after the delivery of a baby), these deaths and diseas-es in the baby can be reduced. The major causes of death and disease (mortality and morbid-ity) are in low birth weight ba-bies - infections, asphyxia (lack of oxygen) and major birth de-fects. The last one is difficult and expensive. A classic example of it is in babies born with heart defects. There are 3000 such babies born every year in Sri Lanka. Many of them die due to lack of facilities to correct them. Efforts are now been made to find an answer like the multi storied building project that was started last week. The cost of it is going to be 2 billion ru-pees. The project is called the “LITTLE HEART PROJECT.” His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has made a very sig-nificant financial contribution towards this project, which in-cluded the money collected at the Children’s Day few weeks ago at Tewatte. This project will go a long way towards the re-duction of new born deaths. The care of the new born begins even before a wom-an conceives a baby. Pre maritial and preconceptional counseling has been discussed in this col-umn. Care during pregnancy was featured in this column in the last two weeks.

Infection Infection can be con-trolled if by following simple cleanliness and adopting hy-gienic techniques. Proper hand washing by those handling the baby, both the hospital staff and mother and family member touching the baby goes a long way towards reduction of infec-tion. Visitors who come to see the baby should be minimized.

Once baby is taken home per-haps the mother, the father and only one or two others should touch the baby. Elder siblings should be prevented from kiss-ing the baby as it often happens. Nobody who has even a mild infection should visit the baby. The baby should not be taken out of its room even to church or baptism. Take him when there is no crowd in the church. The baby should not be taken marketing. Warmth Lack of warmth is for-tunately not a problem in our part of the country except in the hill country. But artificial cold is a common issue even in the hot city of Colombo. Our delivery rooms are air conditioned. The temperature is kept very low for the convenience and com-fort of the staff. Air conditioners should be adjusted to the baby’s needs. The warmest and the safest place for the baby is to lie next to the mother. It is called “Kangaroo Care” named after the way the kangaroo mum car-ries her little one. Lack of oxygen at birth has serious sequale, often ending up with brain damage of the baby which is often irreversible. This often can be foretold by careful history taking and examination by an experienced health care worker, especially in “at risk” pregnancies. Lack of oxygen is called Hypoxia. There are three very important "H" s that a new born baby can be affected with and have serious sequale. The three are Hypoxia, Hypothermia (lack of warmth) and Hypogly-caemia (low blood sugar). Hypothermia becomes a problem in cold climates like Nuwara Eliya or artificially cre-ated by making the delivery rooms extremely cold for the comfort of the staff which has serious ill effects on the baby. Low blood sugar is the cause of fits in a baby leading to irrevers-ible brain damage. This is pre-

vented by early breast feeding. In fact the second Activity that bay should have is putting him on to the mother’s breast to lick the nipple. That will send a mes-sage to the brain of the mother to produce a hormone that will stimulate milk production. The first activity that baby should experience even before the navel cord is tied is to give the baby to the mother to fondle, kiss and keep the baby against her heart. This should be followed by handing the baby to the father to per-form the same activity. This is the initiation of close bonding between this baby and the par-ents. This bonding should be further developed as the baby grows, which unfortunately is lacking in many families causing breakdown of the much needed loving relationship between the parents and the children. The third ‘H” is hypo-glycaemia or low blood sugar. Persistent low blood sugar can have very deleterious ef-fect even in an adult. It is much more in the new born baby where the delicate brain cells will suffer irreparable per-manent damage ending as an individual who is mentally re-tarded. A baby should be put onto the mother’s breast within minutes of birth. There may not be appreciable quantity of milk or the mother feeling the flow of milk. The initial outflow from the breast is a semisolid yellow-ish material called colostrum. This is very valuable for the baby. It not only contains very good nutritious material but also special agents like inter-feron which fights against any germs that may enter the ba-by’s body. A young mother es-pecially after her first baby will feel very depressed that she is not producing enough milk for her offspring. The breasts may feel empty. That is normal. Milk will soon form. The best stimu-lus for production of milk is the baby licking the nipple and the dark area round the nipples.

Breast feeding Breast feeding should be explained to the would be mother during her ante natal period. The helpless mother will yearn for some artificial milk or even some water for the crying baby. When the baby’s stomach gets filled with water or artificial milk the baby will stop sucking the breast and milk will not be produced. Feed the baby whenever he cries and looks for milk. It is usually a minute or two to begin with, but within a week a baby should suck about 10 minutes in each breast. The baby should suck not the nipple but the blackish area surrounding the nipple where the milk is stored. The baby’s mouth should be full of the breast or else he will swal-low air. There should be a space between baby’s nostrils and the breast so the baby can breathe with ease. A properly fed baby should pass urine at least four time per day. In an uncommon situ-ation it may become necessary to check the blood sugar of the baby and correct steps taken by a paediatricianm.Other ad-vantages of breast feeding are it produces antibodies to fight bacteria and viruses. The breast fed baby has a less chance of de-

veloping asthma and allergies. There is less chance of baby getting chest infections. It con-tains the ideal nutritional mix of vitamins, fats, proteins and carbohydrates. These children are known to have higher I.Q. scores. There is proper weight gain compared to formula milk fed babies. There is lesser chance of developing diabetes, obesity and some cancers. Most commonly used drugs by the mother are rela-tively safe for breast fed babies. The doses received via milk are generally small and much less than the known safe doses of the same drug given directly to new born babies. Drugs con-traindicated during breast feed-ing include anti cancer drugs, lithium, oral retinoids, amaio-darone and gold salts. It is im-portant that the mother should breast feed the baby 2 hours be-fore taking a drug. If it is essen-tial; to take some alcohol take it two hours before the next feed of the baby. Smoking includ-ing passive smoking has been associated with sudden infant death syndrome. High maternal intake of caffeine, found in tea is associated with irritability and poor sleep in the baby.

Immediate care of the new born baby

Health relatedIssues in Sri LankaBy Dr. Maxie Fernandopulle

Email:maxiefernandopulle@gmail.com

Drinking 32 ounces of energy drink is associated with potentially harm-

ful changes in blood pressure and heart function that are beyond those seen with caffeine alone, according to a new study. There are more than 500 energy drink products on the market and their in-creased popularity is matched by a sig-nificant rise in energy drink-associat-ed emergency department visits and deaths. Manufacturers and fans of these products claim they are as safe as caf-feine, but there is little evidence to sup-port that claim. Caffeine in doses up to 400 mg (about five cups of coffee) is generally recognised as safe by the Food and Drug Administration. While energy drinks usu-ally contain caffeine, little is known about the safety of some of their other ingredi-ents the study team writes in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

To see what effects these other components have, researchers compared physical changes in a group of 18 healthy men and women after consuming a com-mercially available energy drink and af-ter drinking another concoction with the same amount of caffeine but none of the other ingredients. Besides 320 mg of caffeine - the amount in about four cups of coffee - the energy drink contained 4 ounces of sug-ar, several B vitamins and a proprietary "energy blend" of taurine and other in-gredients that are often found drinks like Monster Energy, Red Bull and 5-Hour Energy. Sachin A. Shah of David Grant Medical Center on Travis Air Force Base and University of the Pacific in Stockton, California and colleagues measured the participants' blood pressure and used an electrocardiogram (often called an ECG

or EKG) to measure heart electrical ac-tivity for 24 hours after the subjects con-sumed the drinks. An ECG change known as QTc prolongation and sometimes associated with life-threatening irregularities in the heartbeat was seen after drinking the en-ergy drink, but not after drinking the caf-feine beverage, the study team reports. Several drugs have been withdrawn from the market just for causing ECG changes of a similar magnitude, the authors note. Blood pressure increased by close to 5 points after drinking the energy drink, but by just under 1 point after drinking the caffeine beverage. Blood pressure also re-mained elevated six hours later. These changes are by no means worrisome for healthy individuals, the re-searchers say, but patients with certain heart conditions might need to exercise caution consuming energy drinks.

Courtesy: NBC News

Take it slow on Energy Drinks

6 The Messenger May 7, 2017

MLIVING FAITHRev. Fr. Daniel Icatlo

MODERN IDOLATRYThe ‘Golden Calf’Man cannot live without faith. Either he believes in the true God or he will invent his Golden Calf and take it for a god. The book of Exodus narrates how the Chosen Peo-ple abandoned their God and fell to idolatry. The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacri�icing to it and crying out, ‘This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ “I see how stiff-necked this people is, ” continued the Lord to Moses. Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation” (Ex. 32:7-11). This is an incredible story. God had rescued the Is-raelites from their slavery in Egypt. God had worked great miracles to save the Israelites. He had brought plagues upon the Egyptians. He had opened the waters of the Red Sea to al-low the Israelites to escape. He had provided a cloud to guide the Israelites by day, and a tow-er of fire to guide them by night. He had provided manna - bread from heaven - to feed them. You would think that, when God had taken such good care of them, that they would trust Him. Having received God’s help in the past, they could expect God’s help in the future. But that is not how it worked. When Moses did not return from Mount Sinai for for-ty days, the people got restless. Perhaps Moses was dead. Per-haps God had abandoned them. They persuaded Aaron

to make a Golden Calf, and they “rose up in revel” - that is how the author of Exodus describes it - they “rose up in revel.” Can you imagine what that meant! They had a good, old-fashioned orgy! Moses had been gone forty days and the Israelites fell apart. They just fell apart. The story would seem unbelievable, except that it is so familiar. We too seldom give thought to what God did for us yesterday. We just want to tell him what we need today. It is all too easy, when we read the story of the Golden Calf, to wonder how anyone could be so foolish, and to doubt that this story has anything to do with us. After all, we would never worship a statue. How could anyone worship a statue? Some people worship statues, but not us. We are too sophisti-cated to worship an idol. Or are we? Do we wor-ship idols?

Modern idols There is a modern idolatry that might be more of a problem than we might think. Theodore Parker, said: “To know whom you worship, let me see you in your shop, let me hear you in your trade, let me know how you got your money, how you kept it, and how you spent it.” That is an acid test, isn’t it! Wouldn’t it be interesting to go through our cancelled checks

and Master card bills to see whom we really worship? What would they tell us? What do we really care about? (Richard Niell Donovan, Spit and Sealing Wax). But modern idolatry has to do with more than mon-ey. Ellen Goodman is a column-ist for Newsweek and the Wash-ington Post. She says: The old taboos were religious. “Ours are medical. Our ancestors talked about risks to the soul, and we talk about risks to our bodies. They kept faith with tradition; we put faith in “the best scien-tific evidence.” Note that Ellen Good-man was not a preacher. I don’t even know that she is a Christian. But she tells us that our focus on our health is “religious in its in-tensity.” What she means is that health has become a new idola-try in many countries today. Is not that true! “The old taboos were religious. Ours are medical.” We used to think that God could save us. Now we hope that our doctors can save us. We used to hope for heaven; now we hope for health. Of course, some idola-tries are more clearly idola-trous. In the book, “The Chris-tian’s Attitude Toward World Religion,” the author Ajith Fernando says one who trusts in Christ alone will completely give up idols (and) horoscopes. Horoscopes! What’s wrong with

horoscopes? Tw e n t y- f ive years ago, astrol-ogy became popular in America. People started thinking about the sign un-der which they were born. People started reading horoscopes to see how their day would go. Today, people use crystals as religious objects.

As I drive around town, I see signs for palm-readers and tar-ot cards. Is there anything wrong with those things? There is! It is the same thing that was wrong with the Golden Calf in the book of Exodus. Astrology, signs, horo-scopes, crystals, and tarot cards are simply modern versions of the Golden Calf: Cheap substi-tutes for God. Astrology tells us that the stars control our des-tiny. The Bible tells us that God controls our destiny (ibid.). We might think of voo-doo and astrology and horo-scopes and crystals as harmless diversions. That is certainly how the Israelites thought of the Gold-en Calf, a harmless diversion. But God didn’t think it harmless. He punished the Israelites for the Golden Calf. We should not im-agine that he will take our horo-scopes less seriously.

Cheap substitutes for God When we make too much of things, we will make too little of God. When we let “things” push God from the center of our hearts, the results are bound to disappoint us. Today, men and peo-ples also fall to idolatry. They do not adore molten calves, but other things: money, sensual pleasures, irresponsible free-dom, unlimited power, etc. Ul-timately, the point is that they

abandon the real God and his commandments. Digging deeper into modern idolatry, we will find the “ego” worship lurking be-neath the unbridled search for comfort, pleasures, money, etc. The bottom line is a choice be-tween one’s Ego or God. When the misfortune of preferring the Ego over God befalls a per-son, spiritual blindness follows in its wake. The subject falls into a state of denial. He or she will not admit that egotism has gotten hold of his or her heart. Self-justification ensues. Fi-nally, the worship of self ends up camouflaging itself under various disguises: concern for health (body worship), wellbe-ing of family (contraception and abortion), freedom of choice (same sex unions), quality of life (consumerism), art and leisure (pornography), search for hap-piness (divorce and adultery) and what not. Aside from being an offense to God, all these are actually forms of self-destruc-tion. Going back to Moses, we see him interceding for his people. His heart was close to Yahweh, thus he was able to obtain par-don and calm the anger of God: “So the Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people” (Ex. 32:14). Thanks to the exempla-ry lives and the prayers of many holy people today, God does not discharge his wrath on man-kind. Do we try to increase the number of these saints? Are we struggling hard so we too could be numbered among those whom God listens to when they pray because of their holiness of life? Are we aware that our Christian baptism obliges us to seek sanctity proper to our state of life, whether we be lay persons, religious or clerics?

Everything passes – except God’s love for us VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has said that Christian hope, rather than coming from the empty promises of other human beings, is rooted in Christ’s promise to never leave us and to stay by our side until the end of time. “How long, by comparison, will God’s care for mankind last?” the Pope asked April 26. “The Gospel’s answer leaves no doubt: until the end of the world!” “The heavens will pass away, the earth will pass away, human hope will be erased, but the Word of God is greater than everything and will not pass away.” “There will be no day of our life where we will cease to be a concern for the heart of God,” he said, add-ing that “God will certainly provide for all our needs, he will not abandon us in times of trial and darkness.” Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims during his weekly general audience on April 26, continuing his cat-echesis on the theme of hope. In his speech, he stressed that for Christians, hope is not a vague feeling, or the same thing as the “changing sentiment” of those who want to change the world using only their own willpower. “Christian hope, in fact, finds its root not in the attraction of the future, but in the security of what God has promised us and made in Jesus Christ,” he said. “Be-

cause of this promise, we can follow the Lord without fear, he said, explaining that “if the beginning of every vocation is a ‘follow me’ by which he assures us he will always remain before us, then why fear? With this prom-ise, Christians can walk everywhere.” Even in those places of the world filled with wounds or bad circumstances, we can be assured of Christ’s presence, he said. As Psalm 23:4 says: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” “It is exactly where the darkness spreads that we need to keep lighting a light,” he said.

Pope Francis noted how in St. Matthew’s Gos-pel, the evangelist recalls the prophetic announcement which is also found in the Book of Isaiah: “To him will be given the name of Emmanuel, which means God with us.” This verse, along with the promise at the end of the Gospel, “I am with you every day until the end of the world,” together communicate the mystery of God’s identity – which he is “God with us,” the Pope said. “Our existence is a pilgrimage, a journey,” but on this journey, we are never alone, he said. “Above all, the Christian does not ever feel abandoned, because Je-sus promises to not wait until the end of our long jour-ney, but to accompany us in each of our days.” However, Pope Francis warned that if we rely on our own strength in this journey, we will be discour-aged and disappointed, “because the world often proves resistant to the laws of love.” This, he said, is why “the holy faithful people of God are people standing and walking in hope. And wherever they go, they know that God’s love has pre-ceded him: There is no part of the world that escapes the victory of the Risen Christ, the victory of love.”

Vatican Radio

7 The Messenger May 7, 2017

by: Kishani S. Fernando

May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The entire month falls within the liturgical season of Easter, which is represented by the liturgical colour white — the colour of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence. Pic: St. Mary’s Church, Bambalapitiya.

St. John before the Latin GateA tradition mentioned by St. Jerome, which goes back to the second century, conveys the following incident. In the year 95, John appeared before the tribunal of pagan Rome. He was convicted of having propagated, in a vast province of the Empire, the worship of a Jew who had been crucified under Pontius Pilate. He was considered a superstitious and rebellious old man and it was 0time to rid of his presence. He was, therefore, sentenced to an ignominious and cruel death. A huge cauldron of boiling oil was prepared in front of the Latin Gate. The sentence ordered that the preacher of Christ be plunged into this bath. John’s heart leapt with joy. After cruelly scourging him, the execution-ers seized the old man, and threw him into the cauldron. But, lo! the boiling liquid lost all its heat; the Apostle felt no scalding. On the contrary, when they took him out again he felt all the vigour of his youthful years restored to him. The praetor’s cruelty was foiled, and John, a mar-tyr in desire, was to be left to the Church for some few years longer. An imperial decree banished him to the rug-ged Isle of Patmos, where God revealed to him the future of the Church even to the end of time. A church dedicated in honour of St. John was built near the Latin Gate and still stands at the spot referred to by the tradition.

The picture of The Good Shepherd is famous. It can be comforting. It tries to show the love and the gentleness of our Lord. Our fathers in

faith, who were facing oppression, painted and carved on the walls of the catacombs the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd. They painted Jesus as a young man in farmer’s clothes with a lamb over his shoulders. They painted him as a shepherd who puts himself between the prey and the predator and who pays a price to de-fend his flock from the enemy. In the earliest Christian art, there are no por-traits of Jesus, except symbolically, as the Good Shep-herd and other symbols. The Good Shepherd as an im-age of Jesus persisted until about 500 AD. These can be seen on tombstones in the catacombs as inscrip-tions, as frescos, Sarcophagus, mosaics and statues. The pictures produced below include 1) A Statue of the Good Shepherd, Third century, marble, from the Catacomb of Domitilla, Rome, now at the Vatican, Museo Pio Cristiano. 2) A tablet with an in-scription dedicated by parents of a deceased 7 year old girl, Apuleia Crysopolis; which shows a the Good Shepherd from the Catacomb of St. Callisto, Rome. 3)

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

The Mary month

4) Christ as the Good Shepherd found as a fresco in the Crypts of Lucina, ceiling of the Cubiculum of the Good Shepherd, catacomb of Callixtus in Rome (mid-third century). 5) Good Shepherd with two sheep in para-dise, fresco Catacomb of Priscilla, third century. 6) Detail of the central shep-herd from the Sarcopha-gus of the Good Shepherd, Catacomb of Praetextatus, Rome, 390s AD. 7) Mosaic of The Good Shepherd. In-terior of the 5th century mausoleum, Mausoleo di Galla Placidia. Ravenna, Italy. The Mausoleum is one of eight early Chris-tian monuments in Ra-venna which constitute a UNESCO World Heritage. .

A gravestone for Moses and his wife (Rome, 3rd century A.D.), Pio Cristiano Museum, Vatican.

8 The Messenger May 7, 2017

Message from the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference

of Sri Lanka

CALLED AND CHOSENPriestly and Religious vocations are a gift from God to renew and sanctify the world through the ministry of the Church. Vo-cations are a result of prayer since the Lord Himself says: “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest” (Lk 10:2). Our prayer on Vocation Sunday is that young people may hear the call of the Lord “Follow me” and respond gener-ously and joyfully like His disciples who left their nets, boats, customs house and their father’s house. Men are called to priestly ministry while both women and men are called to consecrated life by the Lord. Jesus says that “Many are called but few are chosen” (Mt. 22:16). A voca-tion has both the divine and the ecclesial dimensions; Divine, because the call comes from God, ecclesial, because the Church first of all discerns whether God had indeed called the candidate or there are other motives, pressures from within or without that prompts the candidate to seek admission to a Seminary or a Religious Order. Secondly the Church helps form and prepare the candidates through multi-dimensional stages of formation for mission through the ministry of the Church. The utterance “Many are called but few are chosen” is well understood in the context of the parable of the Wedding feast prepared by a King (Mt. 22:1-14). Garments were given to the invited guests for his son’s wedding banquet. In the rabbinic parable the garments stand for the preparation and preparedness that was necessary to enter the hall and sit at the table. Similarly all those are called to the priesthood and con-secrated life have to be prepared and formed by the Church. Those who are called have to prove themselves prepared, formed and suitable in order to be chosen by the Church to car-ry out the mission of Christ with zeal and commitment. Those who are chosen have to labour hard under diffi-cult conditions with limited resources as the Lord has instruct-ed when he sent out the twelve (Lk 9: 1-6) and the seventy-two disciples (Lk 10:1-12). Both the harvest and the glory of the workings of the Holy Spirit belong to the Lord as it is in His name and by His power the mission is carried out by the chosen missionary-disciples who certainly have the joy of having their names written in heaven (Lk 10:17-20). Candidates called by God are admitted to Minor Semi-naries in their respective dioceses and sent to the Propaedeu-tic Seminary, “Daham Sevana,” Kalutara and then to the Major Seminaries of National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka, Ampitiya or to St. Francis Xavier’s Seminary, Jaffna for priestly studies in disciplines of Philosophy and Theology. The Seminary forma-tors appointed by the Bishops discern and recommend the suit-able candidates to their respective Bishops who make the final decision for their Ordination to Priesthood. In the case of candidates for consecrated life their Ma-jor Religious Superiors discern their suitability for Religious life as they go through their formation in stages according to the Charism and mission of the Religious Orders to live the evan-gelical vows for the mission of the Church. The Church in Sri Lanka needs missionary minded priests who emulate the example of St. Joseph Vaz whose faith in God and love of people knew no bounds. Let us pray to the Lord of the harvest individually, as families and Catholic Com-munities to send us Shepherds after His own heart.

Rt. Rev. Dr. J. Winston S. Fernando, S.S.S.President of the CBCSL and Chairman of the Catholic

National Commission for Seminaries Priests and Religious

Priests & Religious,sacrifice their lives

to look after their flocks.They are

God's chosenin every age.

Hands were laid on them,their hands were

anointed & consecratedas Religious

Prayfor Vocations to Priesthood

andReligious life!

Encourageyour sons and daughters

to give their lives for the Gospel!

Supportthe Formation Houses

Spiritually and materially!

Message from the Rector of the National Seminary

The Master of the harvest, who calls and sends work-ers to work in his field (cf Mt 9:38), has promised with eternal faithfulness: “I will give you shepherds after my own heart” (Jer 3:15). On this divine faithfulness which is always alive and operative in the Church, rests the hope of receiving abundant and holy vocations to the priesthood. “I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed” (Jer 23:4). God promises the Church shepherds “after his own heart”. God’s heart has revealed itself to us fully in the heart of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. Jesus Christ, “the great shepherd of the sheep” (Heb 13:20), entrusted to his Apostles and their successors the ministry of shepherding God’s flock (cf Jn 21:15; 1Pt 5:2). The Priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus. Our priesthood is indeed a mystery because its origin, evolution and its fullest realization is in God’s hands only. Those called are just unworthy instruments, He uses for a mission known only to Him. It is God’s project in which they are a part. In its most profound dimension, a vocation to priesthood and religious life is a great mystery and it is solely a gift that infinitely surpasses man. Our Lord Himself has bequeathed this supreme gift to the Church and willed that the exercise of His Priesthood should remain in the world through the Church without an intermission till the end of times. Therefore, without priests the Church cannot live her mission which is at the very heart of her exis-tence and she is unable to adhere to the command of Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19) and “Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk 22:19), - to announce the Gospel and to renew daily the sacrifice of the Body and the Blood of our Lord. On Vocation Sunday which is celebrated worldwide, the Church prays and solicits young people to be generous in responding positively to the voice of God. All those who are called, are invited to par-ticipate in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ and dedicate themselves to the responsibility of shepherding God’s people by ordination or consecration. It is really not they who will fulfill the mission entrusted but God’s power, His mighty hand. They should be filled with an unshakable trust and hope that they are rooted not in their own strength but in the unconditional faithful-ness of God who calls. While with a deep sense of gratitude we thank God for the gift of many priestly and religious voca-tions, on this special day let us pray and support the cause of their formation and encourage many more young men and women respond to the call of God and take up willingly the challenge to dedicate their lives. In this year of St Joseph Vaz, our beloved Apostle, may his tremendous holiness and unparalleled missionary zeal be an unmatched beacon of inspiration to many more young men and women of today! May the Lord of the harvest continue to bless our motherland with “good shepherds after His own heart”!

Rev. Fr. Expeditus JayakodyRector of the National Seminary, Amptiiya, Kandy

Priests are your friends. They Baptize you, prepare you for the First Holy Communion and Confirmation; reconcile you with God; bless your Marriage; anoint you for Healing and one day will preside at your last rites. In God's name, Priest is the one who walks with you, showing you the way to heaven, from the cradle to the grave. Priesthood and Re-ligious life are sacred. Priests and Religious are your sons and daughters. Pray for them too, Priests and Religious and

Seminarians pray for you too.

Like in all Formation Houses, under the "Friends of the National Seminary Programme," prayers are offered for the intentions of the faithful. You are welcome to send your intentions for special

prayers.

Contact: Fr. Rector, National Seminary, Ampitiya Email: nsakandy@sltnet.lk Web:www.nationalseminarysrilanka.org

9 The Messenger May 7, 2017

By Francis Madiwela

Rev. Fr. Prakash Fernando who is reading for his Doctorate in Psy-chology in California, USA, has published an 80-page booklet that will help cou-ples about to get married as well as husbands, wives and parents to learn about the implications of mar-riage and family life. This type of book is a boon for couples, as well as pre-senters of Pre-Cana and Post-Cana seminars who are interested in a manual that summarizes, espe-cially the psychological dimension of marriage. Fr. Prakash quotes early psycholo-gists such as Sigmund Freud that the child should be loved and cared for as early as the pre-na-tal stages when he/she is developing in the womb of the mother. The words and music that the devel-oping foetus hears and the healthy interactions with care givers during the foetal growth have an impact in forming the personality of the child. Freudian psychologists talk specially about the importance of the love of the primary care giver, the mother, during the early developmental stages of the infant. Within the first five years the basic

personality of the child is already developed. If the child does not get the love and the caring of the mother he/she is unable to love their partner dur-ing their marital relation-ship later in their life. It is Murray Bo-wens who spoke about the essential early fusion of an infant with the pri-mary care giver and the family. Gradually he/she should achieve high levels of differentiation so that they will be able to func-tion independently in so-ciety. This is the natural way of attaining maturity in the human community. Fr. Prakash also summarizes the Triangular Theory of love in the sec-ond chapter of his booklet. In English the word Love is a word that is very much misused. In Greek there are three words for Love. The word filia denotes the attention or love of a mother towards a child and vice versa. It also can be attributed to the love of a friend towards a friend. The word agape has a dif-ferent connotation of love. It is a sharing or give and take of affection among a community of humans, e.g. we can share a meal with others whom we know intimately. Eros is the word used for conjugal love which could end up in

sexual union. But we use the word love to denote all these connotations. It was Robert Sternberg who defined love in terms of three com-ponents; commitment, passion and intimacy. Ac-cording to him certain “loves” do not have all these three components. E.g. Romantic Love has passion and intimacy but not commitment. Fatuous love has passion and com-mitment. But there is no intimacy. Sternberg says that consummate love has all these three components of passion, intimacy and commitment. Sternberg as well as Fr. Prakash want marital couples to evolve to this level of consum-mate love at some stage of their marital relationship. Fr. Prakash also quotes Garry Chapman who proposed the “Five Love Languages”. He says if we can find the love lan-guage of our partner it is going to be easier for us to love her/him. Chapman categorizes the Five Love Languages as: words of affirmation, quality time, gift-giving, acts of service and physical touch. The author has attached a list of questions to find out the love language of your partner. E.g. If your wife’s love language is acts of service then the husband

should help her in the household chores as wash-ing dishes after meals, taking garbage out of the house, or by helping her to clean the house. Dr. Shei-la Sharpe talks about the five stages of mar-riage. All couples start their mar-riage with the Romantic stage. If you are not romantically in-volved two peo-ple are not going to get married with the idea of living together for life. The second stage is the stage of disillusionment. The psychologist Carl Jung talks about people wearing masks (Persona) to hide one’s true self. When you live together for a few months or a few years, as young couples do, the masks fall off. Then your true self (shadow) becomes exposed. This is the stage of disillusion-ment. The couple then wonders why they got en-tangled with this particu-lar person that he/she got married to. P s y c h o l o g i s t s say that it is at this disil-lusionment stage that the partners think about

separation or divorce. Some authors categorize the third stage as misery. The couple finds that the life together is miserable. If the partners seek help from elders, counselors or psychotherapists at this stage they can go to the stages of modulation, dif-ferentiation and mature love. It is encouraging to find that help is avail-able within the Catholic Church for such couples. Fr. Prakash also discusses the styles and patterns of marital rela-tionship. In this section the author talks about half marriage, attaching and detaching marriage, p s e u d o - re l a t i o n s h i p , therapeutic relationship, etc. In this section he deals with the necessity

of commitment, bonding, reciprocity, compliment-ing and mutual accep-tance and help. In the preface to the book, His Lordship, Rt. Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Fer-nando, Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo says that this book is only dealing with the psychological aspect of marriage. There are so many other dimensions of marriage. In the present two day Pre-Cana format, besides psychological, the presenters deal with phys-ical, social and Biblical perspectives of marriage. Human beings also have a spiritual dimension. As Fr. Prakash says in the last chapter of his book if married couples have faith and hope in the Primor-dial Giver of Love, even if everything fails, still their marriage can end up in success. God puts into the mouth of His prophet Isaiah: “Can a woman for-get her nursing child and show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you” (Isa-iah 49: 15). (This book has been translated into Sinhala and Tamil)

BiTS &PiECES

By Ariel

Book Review

Preparation for Marriage with Love

Prayer asking for troubles and difficultiesO Lord, give me troubles, trials and tribulations. I know, no one has ever asked for troubles from you before. You may ask, “Why my child, everyone wants happiness, not troubles?” Exactly, Lord, let me explain. You put us on this earth only for a short life span. You expect us to use this earthly life as a stepping stone to merit our eternal life, the heavenly bliss forever. This heavenly bliss does not come to us on a platter. We have to earn it. To claim it, I ask you, O Lord, these favours. Give me poverty, so that, like Lazarus, at the end of my earthly tether, I can be in the company of Abra-ham in heaven. Grant me suffering. Like the fire that pu-rifies the gold, it purifies the soul. Expose me to challenges, obstacles, setbacks, disappointments, betrayals and difficult times. Test me to my limits, until I see the darkest days in my life, abandoned by everyone. I will then see the light at the end of the tunnel, like the prodigal son who returned to his fa-ther after coming back to his senses. O Lord, in prosperity, man, as he is short sighted, does not see you, does not need you, does not even remember you. He thinks he is king, he is the hero, he is the mastermind and he can manage on his own. In adversity, man comes to you plead-ing, weeping and appealing to you for help, falling on his knees. Man needs you when he is down and out, when he is up to the neck in deep trouble. So give me adversity so that I will always remain close to you. I will earn prosperity in my after life, like the poor beggar, Lazarus, who almost had nothing in his life, except the crumbs of bread that fell from the rich man’s table. Amen.

Ananda Perera

On May 1st the Church remembers Saint Joseph the worker, a day marked across the globe as Inter-national Labour Day.Pope Francis’ thoughts in these days go especially towards young people as expressed in his May 1st tweet: “May Saint Joseph give young people the ability to dream, to take risks for big tasks, the things that God dreams for us,” many of whom are faced with unprecedented high rates of unemploy-ment and socio-financial difficulties. And in a message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences that in these days is holding its Plenary Assembly in the Vatican (28 April-2 May), the Pope recalls the “hard battles” of workers during the 19th and 20th centuries which took place “in the name of solidarity and rights.” He says these battles “are far from over” pointing to the “social ex-clusion and marginaliza-tion of millions of men and women today.”

“Today, solidar-ity is not sufficient, it is necessary to increase the parameters of the tradi-tional concept of justice,” he said. In the current liberal and individualis-tic vision of the world, he continues, almost every-thing has become a “trade commodity”; in a “state-centric” vision everything is accomplished out of “duty.” These are two vi-sions, the Pope says, that have not and will not solve the grave problems of economy and work. In his message

the Pope says it is “nec-essary to attempt new paths that are inspired by Christ’s message.” He says the key word is fraternity and he highlights the content of Pope Pius XI’s social en-cyclical issued in 1931: “Quadragesimo Anno,” which he says, decries the egoism which is at the basis of injustice and is the opposite of frater-nity. He points out that it also foresaw the affirma-tion of a “global economic dictatorship” that Pius XI called the “international imperialism of money”.

The solution, Pope Francis says, is a fraternal society in which work “be-fore being conceived as a right, is recognized as a ca-pacity and an inalienable need of each person”. Only in a fraternal society, he says, can work be “just”, meaning that not only will it assure an equitable remuneration, but it will correspond to the vocation of the person and therefore be able to contribute to the develop-ment of his or her capaci-ties and talents.

Fraternity can generate a just society with dignity for all

Pope Francis receives workers and their families in audience

10 The Messenger May 7, 2017

Rev. Sr. Charmaine Mendis who brightened the lives of deaf children of Sri Lanka for over 5 dec-ades left for her eternal rest on 5th April 2017.

She passed away while chatting with her com-rade nuns at the convent. She belonged to the Congrega-tion of Sisters of Perpetual Succor at Periyamulla, Nego-mbo, and she was on the staff of St Jospeh’s Deaf School for the 53rd year when she died. Rehabilitation of deaf children in Sri Lanka is the prime task of the Sisters of Perpetual Succour to which Sr. Charmaine thoroughly adhered. She qualified in the field of deafness specializing in the education of the deaf and audiology at the universities of Dublin and Salford in Ireland and Victoria University of Manchester, in, the United Kingdom. She returned, to Sri Lanka after graduation in 1964. The Education Dept sought her as-sistance in the training programmes of the Government Teacher Training College at Maharagama and the Na-tional Institute of Education. She was the Audiometri-cian in the National Council for the Deaf for many years. She represented Sri Lanka at several international con-ferences on deafness held in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China and Australia. She brought much honour to Sri Lanka by her participation in these conferences.

Ragama School for the Deaf She was attached to the staff of St. Joseph’s School for the Deaf, Ragama, for many years where she was the Principal from 1973 to 1976. Out of the 21 deaf schools in Sri Lanka St Joseph’s, Ragama, takes the pride of place in all Government examinations - GCE O/L and A/L. Many children obtain A and B passes and some are selected to the university. She advocated Total Commu-nication, a mixture of verbal and sign language more than mere signs.

Sri Lanka Association of Parents of Deaf Children The Association of Parents of Deaf Children ini-tiated by Sr Charmaine in 1971 and continuing todate renders yeoman service in the field of deafness not only to deaf children and their parents, but also to teachers of the deaf, public institutes and the general public. A

spate of programmes on Awareness of Deafness, which was very popular, was conducted in 7 Dis-tricts mainly to young parents of deaf children. The Association launches talent building projects for deaf schoolchildren in Art, Dance, Drama and Sports every year and the children profit immense-ly by these. This year the All-Island Deaf Schools’

Art competition was held in March and the Dance Com-petition will be held on 27th May 2017. The winners will receive trophies and other awards from a Chief Guest at an Awards Ceremony to be held at the D S Jayasinghe Hall in Dehiwala. At the request of the Association Sr. Charmaine has conducted 9 special training programmes for Teach-ers of the Deaf and about 200 teachers who completed the programme have been given special consideration by the Deaf Unit of the Special Education Department. All. 16 facilitators of her training programme were uni-versity lecturers and professors and nearly all partici-pants have commented that the course was superior to the course conducted by the Govt Teacher Training Col-lege. As Course Director, Sr Charmaine took a lot of pain to maintain its standards. Deaf youth’s interests are looked after by the Association with regard to vocational training and em-ployment. The youth are directed to the German Tech-nical College or similar places of training and they are found employment by those institutes.

Officers without proper qualifications Sr. Charmaine’s constant complaint was that there weren’t sufficiently qualified officers in the Min-istry and Dept of Education for deaf education matters. Therefore it was very difficult to convince the authori-

The Voice of the Voicelessties of the needs of deaf children. There was not a single qualified officer in both these sections, the ones avail-able being qualified in visually-handicapped or mental-ly-retarded areas, Sr. Charmaine was always opposed to the calling of tenders for hearing aids and distributing them among deaf children regardless of audiograms. An audiogram shows the accurate hearing loss a deaf child has and accordingly a suitable hearing aid should be customised for the child by an audiometrician. Sr Charmaine regretted this faulty move of the Depart-ment of Social Services as the deaf children did not reap sufficient benefit from the hearing aids. She also plead-ed with the Govt to exempt the tax component on the ear-mould material and hearing aid batteries imported from abroad.

Audiology Laboratory Her own audiology laboratory was maintained by Sr Charmaine and she tested the hearing of numer-ous children and produced correct audiograms. This was a great help to the poor deaf children’s parents as she only charged a nominal fee for the tests. From morning till evening she was grappling with deaf chil-dren’s problems, meeting parents for consultation and never got tired of this service. As parents of deaf chil-dren are comparatively poor she launched a plan to mitigate their financial strains. Sr Charmaine born to a wealthy family got the help of relatives and friends both local and abroad, and with her own personal resources started assisting over a hundred families for their chil-dren’s hearing requirements. She used her free time to attend to this laborious task of letter-writing, deposit-ing money in each one’s account and keeping a record of all transactions in addition to attending to her own personal healthcare and preparing for the next day’s lessons going to bed as late as 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. daily. Her sacrifice was so great that she considered deaf children’s solace as the primary need in her agenda.

B R M Rodrigo, President, Sri Lanka Association of Parents of Deaf Children

Ways and methods to reduce the garbage problem

The following ways and methods, if introduced, could reduce to a great extent the garbage problem which has affected our country in a considerable manner:

1) Plastic garbage bins to be provided to each of the households, free of charge, the exception may be those who live in flats and others who may not have sufficient garden space to keep a bin. These could be used to dispose the kitchen waste, dry leaves, grass etc. from the garden. The compost obtained from the bins could be used as manure for home gardening. The cost of the bins could be easily set off against the savings which would accrue, on the reduced quantity of garbage dis-posed to trucks and transported, with the dispos-al to the garbage bins. People to be educated in this regard through print and electronic media.

2) Reducing the use of polythene bags in grocery shops by reverting to the methods/materials used in packing groceries, prior to the introduc-tion of polythene, as far as practically possible. People could use bags made of material other than polythene to carry their provisions. Using glass bottles, which are hygienically more suit-able and could be reused, instead of plastic. Thus reducing the garbage quantity of polythene and plastic, to be disposed to trucks, which also caus-es an immense environmental problem by block-ing of drains, spreading diseases etc.

3) The polythene/plastic collected by trucks to be recycled as far as possible. More recycling plants to be established with the availability of funds. As a result, the quantity to be dumped would be minimal.

These simple methods, if introduced, will def-initely help in a great way in easing the huge garbage problem faced by our country at present. Action taken to reduce the quantity of garbage dumped would be much better than facing the consequenc-es of environmental pollution and also loss of life and prop-erty. It will be similar to “prevention is better than cure.”

Ranjith Fernando Moratuwa

Apostolic Blessings by Pope Francis Pope Francis has cordially imparted his blessings and congratulations to Bandula Nonis, a lay parishion-er from the Rawatawatta Parish, Moratuwa for his commitment in his press apostolate in translating ecclesiastical news for the Sinhala print media. His translations of Vatican news have appeared in the Catho-lic Press and in the Lankadeepa. He also translated the speech delivered by His Holiness Pope Francis to the World Youth Forum in South Korea, into Sinhala for the local print media. He is a member of the Catholic Writers’ Asso-ciation and works as Translator to Sunday Times news-paper.

To Father Paul Casperz with love

As an infant I sat on his knee,And he told wonderful stories to me.If I had a grandpa, I’d call him so,When he lived that is, but alas, no more.

He lived for the poor, the hungry, despairing,Endlessly, tirelessly, for them always caring.In church his sermons were listened to by all,In the streets ever heeding the needing man’s call.

A Saint in earnest in heart and in mind,His soul over flowing with good deeds and kind,His soul belonged to God from the time he was born,And the Good Lord claimed it one glorious morn.

When his flesh and bones have long turned to dust,When his Jesuit cross has long turned to rust,May the Good Lord accept him we fervently pray,To paradise, where he’ll forever stay.

Devmini Fernando Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya

Rev Sr Charmaine Mendis

Bandula Nonis

11 The Messenger May 7, 2017

St. Ignatius of Laconi

Girl's come and help us! Boy's come and help us!

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD My dear young Builders In today’s First Reading, St Peter speaks to the crowds about Jesus and they believe in him. They ask, how they can be saved. Then Peter answers that they must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus. In the Second Reading, St. Peter again in his letter says that, we must be patient when we are punished for doing our duty. Jesus although he was suffering placed his total trust in God. And took all our sins onto his body so that we may die to sin and be saved. Jesus is the guardian of our souls. In the Gospel Jesus talks about the sheep and the shepherd. How the sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd and how they trust in him. My dear children, Jesus our Lord is the shepherd of our souls who loves us and cares for us. He took our sins to himself and died, just so that we will have eternal life. Let us take a moment of silence within this day and meditate on the shepherdly love of Christ. We are nothing in the sight of God, yet He loves us. Jesus cares for us. How much do we trust in his love? How many times have we complained in times of suffering? How deep is our faith in Jesus our shepherd? We celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Fatima this Saturday. The three children to whom Our Lady appeared were ordinary children who were humble and dependent. They were dependent on God. As we remind ourselves how important it is to be humble in the sight of God, let us surrender our weaknesses to Him and pray that our faith in Jesus our good shepherd will be deepened more and more. Aunty Gerro

“Here I am Lord - Send me”Is 6: 8

Prayer to know my vocationI glorify you, God in all that I do.In mind, body, and spirit,I give you my best.

Help me to follow your willno matter the call:Sister, brother, or priest,I promise my all.

If you call me to marriageI promise to loveand to teach my own childrento seek grace from above

Glory be to the Father,and to the Sonand to the Holy Spiritas it was in the beginning,is now and ever shall beWorld without end. Amen. A relationship with God is the best relationship you can have.

Ignatius was born at La-coni, Sardinia in Italy. He

was the son of a poor farm-er with seven children and Ignatius grew up working in the fields. When he was about seventeen, he be-came very ill and Ignatius promised God he would become a Franciscan if he got cured. But when the illness left him, his father convinced him to wait. Two years later, Ignatius was almost killed when he lost control of his horse. But suddenly, the horse stopped and trotted on quietly. Ignatius was certain, then, that God had saved his life. He made up his mind to follow his reli-gious calling and became a Franciscan friar at once. Brother Ignatius

Once again it was Sunday morning. Father was driving the family to

Church just like he had done for most of the Sunday’s in Julie’s 6 years of life (or at least for as long a Julie could remem-ber.) On this day, Julie scampered to the car and jumped in the back seat before anyone else was out of the house. Julie was excited because Sunday was a great day for her whole family, including her big brothers, Eric and James. This morning Julie was singing and humming in the back seat of the car where she sat between her brothers. Dad asked Julie, “My sweet Julie, why are you so happy today?” “Daddy, because we are going to Church. “Tell me about Church?” Dad asked further. “Church is the best because it is fun and Sun-day in my favourite day of the week,” said Julie with a giggle. “Why is that?” said Mother “Lots of reasons,” Julie blurted out with enjoy-ment. “Well, the people at church are really nice; plus, I love singing with the music; also, I like going to Bible classes and finally, I love going out to brunch with all the families when church is over.” “Well, that is nice but what about God? Isn’t Sunday special because it is the Lord’s Day?” asked her brother Eric. “Of course, Eric, Jesus is why we celebrate the Lord’s Day. When we go to church we get to see how much Jesus loves us. Plus all the fun we have and good stuff we eat are gifts from God” replied Julie with a

Feast Day: May 11

never had any important position in the Franciscan order. For fifteen years he worked in the weaving shed. Then, for forty years, he was part of the team who went from house to house asking for food and donations to support the friars. Ignatius visited families and received their gift. But the people soon realized that they received a gift in return. Brother Ignatius consoled the sick

and lonely and cheered the children of the street. He made peace between enemies, softened the hearts of people that had become hardened by sin and advised those in trou-ble. They began to wait for his visits. There were some difficult days, too. Once in a while, a door was slammed in his face, and often the weather was bad. Always, there were miles and miles to walk. But Ig-natius did his duty well. People noticed that Ignatius always skipped the house of a rich moneylender. This man never forgave a debt and made the poor pay back much more than they could afford. He felt bad because

Ignatius never visited his home to ask for donations and complained to Brother Ignatius’ superior. The superior knew nothing about the moneylender so he sent Ignatius to his home. Brother Ignatius obeyed without a word. He re-turned with a large sack of food. It was then that God worked a miracle. When the sack was emptied, blood dripped out. “This is the blood of the poor,” Ignatius ex-plained softly. “That is why I never ask for anything at that house.” The friars be-gan to pray that the mon-eylender would repent. Brother Ignatius died at the age of eighty, on May 11, 1781.

Julie Loves Going To Churchfrown as she poked her brother. Soon they arrived at Church. When they got into church Julie ran into the sacristy and found the pastor. She pulled Father’s vestments and said, “Fa-ther, I need to talk to you, our family has a problem.” “Yes, Julie?” the priest said as he bend down to talk face to face with Julie. “Father, you need to do a better job of explaining to the church why Sunday is the best day of the week and how Jesus loves us so much that he makes us hap-py.” Why is that my little friend?” asked the

priest. “I had to explain to my parents and my brothers all about Jesus and music and sharing meals with them on the way over here. They seemed confused and asked me lots of questions,” said Julie in a very concerned fashion. Is that right, Julie?” asked the priest. “So, if they have lots of questions, I think the rest of the people might have them too,” Julie contin-ued. Father laughed aloud and said, “Julie we are lucky to have great Catholics like you in our parish fam-ily. Later, Father shared Julie’s concern with the whole community during his homily. They all enjoyed the story. Julie winked at the cross and whispered to Je-sus under her breath. “I love you Jesus and I think I am getting the rest of my family to love you too.”

Laughteris God's

Blessing

I sat down with my three year old daughter who was playing at her doll-house. I asked her which doll I could be, she replied, “The one that does the dishes.”

Discovering Vocation does not mean scrambling towards something beyond my reach

- Thomas Merton

VOCATION SUNDAY

Find and circle the words boxed below

12 The Messenger May 7, 2017

Rev. Fr. Nilantha EdiriwickremaHead of the Department of Philosophy

National Seminary of Our Lady of LankaAmpitiya – Kandy

Jesus said to them, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes”? (Matthew 21:42).

Who would have thought that something thrown away can be made use of that it will become the most valuable thing? St. Paul says “God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world con-siders important” (1 Corinthians 1:28). Philiosophy of beauty God has this amazing ability of using refuse and waste to bring about beauty and value. We have limited our theological speculation about cratio ex-nihilo (Crea-tion out of Nothing) to be only a metaphysical process of creation of substance out of substantial nothingness. Equally important it is to broaden this sense of ‘nothing’ to incorporate into it many other connotations of ‘noth-ing’ in today’s sense—such as refuse, waste, trash and garbage! When “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and sub-due it. Rule over…” (Genesis 1:28) it is a calling that God gives to man to be a Creator in His own Image and Like-ness—a co-creator or a pro-creator and not a thrower, a disposer or a mere consumer. Christianity possesses a rich aesthetic sense; unlike in any other system of thought it has potential to offer a philosophy of beauty to a ‘Culture of Garbage’ or a ‘Throw-away Culture’—the by product of the modern capitalist socio-economic system. Garbage is not merely matter but a matter of Attitude, Justice and Morality. It is because Morality requires we rise above ourselves that an exercise in selfless attention becomes obligatory. For philosopher Emmanuel Kant Judgments of pure beauty, being selfless, initiate one into the moral point of view. “Beauty is a symbol of Morality” and “The enjoyment of nature is the mark of a good soul.” The shared enjoy-ment of a sunset or a beach shows there is harmony be-tween us all and the world, but the garbage culture of today is an aberration of this moral aesthetic sense. The Church The beauty of our planet from space forms a violent contrast to the scenes of human detritus across the globe. Vast landscapes are covered in tons of rub-bish. The wide river waters are now barely visible under a never-ending tide of plastic. Children play on Garbage Mountains; mothers wash in the sewage-filled supply. Each year, we now throw away billions of disposables, plastic bags and bottles, billions of tons of household

waste, toxic waste and e-waste. I do firmly think the junk we produce is a spiritual issue. Even though some-body hauls mine away to the garbage dump I can look at the end of the driveway and be reminded that I too am a conspicuous consumer. The Church must lead the way by encourag-ing its members to forego certain types of waste and cultivate positive habits of waste management and re-duction as part of its culture of worship. In following terms God describes worship that is pleasing to him: “Loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow”(Isaiah 58:6, 1:17) and further I would add to this “Recycle the Garbage!” Pope Francis rightly classifies Planet Earth—our common home among the new Anawim as he de-clares that “The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beauti-ful landscapes are now covered with rubbish.” (Laudato Si, 21) Theology of garbage Maybe we need to develop a Theology of gar-bage, asking what all the trash and waste says about the state of our souls. If today’s riches become tomorrow’s trash they can never be considered treasure in the true sense! In this light one cannot but recall the words of Je-sus: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where

thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). Frugality, thriftiness, moderation and temper-ance are not always quantitative matters of strategy, policy and economics, but mostly qualitative matters of virtue, faith and morality. Typically they are matters of spirituality, character and inner self than external so-cial factors. “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them” (Matthew 15:11), says Jesus. Garbage dumps piling up everywhere is a mir-ror of the inner self of the person and his/her hypocriti-cal social lifestyle, “You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27), says the Lord. Quite contrasting to all other animals we who call ourselves an intelligent spe-cies are producing more waste than any other living be-ing on Earth! What we falsely consider as treasure today is what causes this endless production of garbage for to-morrow! Most of what Man value isactually garbage in the order of nature! “Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (James 5:1-6) says the Apostle. Garbage is where human history and natural history converge. It is the product of the unholy trinity that leads to environmental destruction which is indif-ference, laziness and convenience born of abundance. In the aftermath of the Meethotamulla garbage dump disaster it is good if we can look at it not superficially blaming it on government inefficiency or mismanage-ment but self critically as to how much of garbage do I produce personally—which would make one share the responsibility of this disaster as citizens of this country. Garbage is a good source for a realistic social analysis. Look at garbage and you look at people and society! “Garbology” Garbage reveals the lifestyle of people and their beliefs! Our Country is predominantly religious, hence

God of the ‘Garbage dump’

(Contd on Pg. 15)

HONG KONG - Signs reading some-one’s rubbish can be another’s treasure abound outside street markets and ba-zaars, but a group of students from Hong Kong University has turned it into a life-saving exercise by recycling discarded soap to be used by the ultra-poor of The Philippines in the prevention of diseas-es resulting from bad hygiene in areas where soap is a luxury. The small remains of a cake of soap that gradually dissolves in the show-er can either become an extra burden on the rubbish disposal or as a programme running under the name of WASH (Wa-ter Sanitation & Hygiene) operated by various non-government organisations in The Philippines proclaims, it can go towards promoting sanitation, better health and even saving lives. Every year in Asia around 1.7 million children do not make it to their fifth birthday as a result of diseases like tuberculosis, pneumonia and other ail-ments caused by bad hygiene. In 2012, students at Hong Kong University joined the project under the auspices of soap Cycling and over 300 migrant workers have joined the initia-tive through the Domestic Workers Em-powerment Project. On World Tuberculosis Day, March 24, they gathered at the univer-sity to help process bits of soap into use-able cakes.

Using raw ma-terial mostly collected from 100 hotels in Hong Kong, China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, over 500 people have been involved in the project and Soap Cy-cle has in its short lifetime succeeded in reprocessing 4,000 kilogrammes for dis-tribution to children in the Philippines. In other words, almost two mil-lion cakes of soap have been saved from the landfill and reprocessed, enough to supply tens of thousands of children for a year with a life-saving resource. Since December 2015, the em-powerment project has been cooperat-ing with Soap Cycling to recruit 500 vol-unteers to reprocess used soap destined for their home country.

The leftover soap, which is nor-mally discarded in a landfill after mini-mal use, is sanitised, given a new shape and a second life by volunteers who then pass it into the hands of the ultra-poor. Michael Manio, from the Faculty of Medicine at Hong Kong University, who leads the project, said while Soap Cycling is able to tap an enthusiastic and hardworking pool of willing volunteers, this partnership with migrant workers in Hong Kong can also benefit them, as they can contribute their time off toward helping the most vulnerable in their home country. Manio explained that the soap reprocessed on March 24 will be given a second life in the temporary housing

camps of Malabon City in Manila, par-ticularly in the hands of families that lost their homes during a fire that raged through its lower income areas in Febru-ary this year. Manio said he is concerned about the poor sanitation, the lack of government services and the high flood risk in the city, as the conditions are ripe for a public health disaster. Being one of the most densely populated cities in The Philippines, Mal-abon City had a population of 365,525 as of 2015. Its rapid industrial devel-opment over the past 20 years has also seen thousands of informal settlements sprout up. The city is located in a lowly-ing area near Manila Bay, which makes it prone to frequent flooding, especially during high tides and heavy rains. Un-regulated development has narrowed the river and exacerbated the flood risk. On February 1 this year, a fire started at a water refilling station around 10.0 p.m. and ripped through the baran-gays of Catmon and Tonsuya, eventually displacing over 5,000 families. Much of the rubbish that goes into bins in Hong Kong could well be a life-saver to someone in a different cir-cumstance. It is a good lesson in sharing resources and a lesson well, worth your learning.

Courtesy: Sunday Examiner

Rubbish for one, a clean up for othersEvery year in Asia around 1.7 million children do not make it to their fifth birth-day as a result of diseases like tu b erc u los i s , pneumonia and other ailments caused by bad hygiene

13 The Messenger May 7, 2017

Christian faith and the dilemmas of atheists

do you know how wealthy you are?

Are you rich or poor?When this questions is asked, at once what comes to anyone’s mind is money.But should ‘riches’ mean only money?Sometimes riches do not have anything to do with money. Riches do not include money at all.How come?Yes. If we really take stock of all the wealth we have around right now for our free use, we are much more fortunate than multimillionaires who have enough money to buy islands.But, unfortunately most of us are blind to these riches we are surrounded with. And we have taken all this wealth for granted.There is a little story with a big message that can open our eyes to the wealth we have.One day, the father of a very wealthy family thought that he must let his rich son see how some people live in poverty. In fact what he wanted was to let the child feel that though they were very rich , they had to understand the plight of poor people and help them in some way. So he took his son on a trip to the rural area to show him how the poor peasant farmers live. They spent a couple of days and nights on a poor farmer’s cottage .The child enjoyed the change and was very happy about the experience. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”“It was great, Dad.”“Did you understand the difference between rich people and poor people?”“Oh yes,” said the son.“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?”, asked the father.The son answered:“I saw that we have one dog and they had four.We have only a swimming pool in the middle of our garden and they have lakes and rivers and streams of fresh water all around the village.We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars and the moon at night.Our patio extends to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.We have a small piece of land to live on with a small lawn around the house but they have green pastures and golden fields that go beyond our sight.We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.We buy our food at the super market, but they grow theirs in their home gardens and their food is always fresh and clean.We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”The boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added...“Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.”Beautiful story that can help us open our eyes to one façade of life we may have not even thought of !Nothing more is needed to be said. Just think about the nature, the abundance around us. It has nothing to do with money. It is not money, but how you see the world, how you deal with it, that determines your real wealth.

Michael Angelo Fernando

At a get together of college mates on the last Sun-day of April this year, one college mate observed that the Messenger is now highly readable and

recommended other friends to read it regularly. Every-one agreed except one who said that he is an atheist. Since he is a Catholic who studied at a Catholic school, the writer sought a clarification whether he is an agnostic or an atheist. Agnostic does not bother to find out whether there is God but an atheist does not believe there is God. In reply the atheist replied that religion is an invention of human mind and has no scientific basis. It was his view that man is yet another animal with a developed mind and with his developed mind he invented God to explain the phenomena around him in the physical world. He was a professional, trained in physics and being used to logi-cal thinking in mathematics there was a good reason for him to deny the existence of God. Existence of God does not need a logical explanation. The friend who persuaded others to read the Messenger was shaken with that an-swer and wanted the writer to respond to the opinion of the atheist. Given that the moment was a merry making event with loud music and some in high spirits, the writer agreed to discuss this issue in the Messenger for his ben-efit and wider readership provided the Messenger editor permits the writer to do so. Disbelief is not necessarily a quality of some-one who denies Jesus. Disciple Thomas who spent close to three years with Jesus had doubt about the resurrect-ed Jesus till he had the proof of the Risen Jesus (John 20:24). Even when other disciples were told that Jesus has risen by the two followers who encountered Jesus during the journey to Emmaus when Jesus appeared to them they thought they have seen a ghost (Luke 24:37). Nicodemus the Pharisee who was a scholar in Israel at the time (John 3:10) had a close relationship with Je-sus. In secret he met Jesus at night to clarify his doubts (John 3:2). He argued for Jesus at the Sanhedrin (John 7:50) and he was with Joseph of Arimethia to take the body of Jesus from the cross to place it in the tomb (John 19:39). Though, so close to Jesus it was difficult for him, despite his knowledge of Scriptures, to understand how a person born through a mother’s womb be born again through the Holy Spirit. So entertaining doubts about Jesus or the Father is not necessarily a sign that the per-son is anti religious. It is simply the person is lost in a sea of human logic.

The Spirit The Synoptic Gospels emphasize that the se-crets of the kingdom of heaven are exposed only to those who are not scholars but to the uneducated (Matthew 11:25-26, Luke 10:21-22) and, more clearly stated in 1 Corinthians1:26-28 by St. Paul. Only John’s Gospel goes on to explain the encounter with scholar Nicodemus had with Jesus but the message conveyed is the same that scholarly knowledge cannot bring redemptive path to a person which only baptism by the Holy Spirit alone can guarantee Nicodemus could not understand the way of the material world leave alone things in heaven (John3:12). To become aware of things in heaven a person need to be born by the Spirit after he is born into the physical world. Nicodemus could not understand how a person born into the physical world can be born again by the spirit (John 3:6). This dilemma of Nicodemus is a dilem-ma even to the modern day scholars who know about Jesus. It looks a perennial question which cannot be an-swered even with all knowledge of research on sacred literature and is only understood through the Holy Spir-it. In that background the atheist is not the only person who is lost in the logic of human thinking. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that the wind blows where it wishes and persons only hear the sound ( John 3:8). Jesus explains this as a phenomenon of the ma-terial world (John.3:12). The important point to note is that Jesus identifies the movement of the Spirit as a phe-nomenon of the material world and not as a phenomenon of the heaven. If the Spirit exists in the material world it is subject to comprehension of human mind though the way human mind comprehend it may not be the basis of known human sciences. The known human sciences are based on linear thinking. Linear means that phenomena in the world follow a sequential pattern where one phe-nomenon follows another in a single straight line. There is past, present and future that follow this linear trend. In this linear logic future cannot be in the past .But the wind does not blow on linear way. It blows in any direction it wishes and it can blow back in its own trajectory Then it can move forward and again move backwards or sideways. No one knows the trajec-tory of the wind which is a variable dependent of geo-physical fluctuations of temperature.

By P. V. D. Leo Samson

(Contd on Pg. 15)

Sheneli Dona is an 18-year-old student from Sydney

currently completing a dou-ble degree in Law and Global Studies. Her passion for hu-man rights stemmed from the upbringing in her native country Sri Lanka, whereby she witnessed firsthand the marginalization of women and young children. Fright-ening statistics of the abuse and even death that women and young children faced motivated her to take active steps to ensure they were treated with the respect and dignity they deserved. Sheneli was recognized for her work by becom-ing a GVN youth ambassador. Her status as a Youth Am-bassador allowed herself to be recognized by the United Nations. In 2015, Sheneli had the privilege to attend the United Nations Headquarters for the commemoration of youth action. During her visit in New York, Sheneli had the benefit to collaborate with Professor Joy Ogwu (former president of the Security Council and Ambassa-dor for Nigeria to the United Nations at the time), Vivian Onano (member of the civil society of the United Na-tions Women) and Roopesh Ramjit (United States Youth Ambassador). On return from her trip to New York Sheneli was invited to attend the conference commemorating the 70th anniversary of Australia’s relationship with the UN and was formally invited to the Governor General’s resi-dence in Canberra to attend a private reception. During

her visit Sheneli was privileged to have met distinguished members of the Australian government and society such as Bob Carr (former foreign affairs minister). Sheneli was invited by the United Nations As-sociation of Australia Peace Programme Director as a special guest to the International day of Peace mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. She had the privilege of being in-vited first to the releasing of doves to symbolize peace witnessed by The NSW Governor His Excellency Hon. David Hurley and Lady Hurley, Matthew Kronborg and Dr. Zeny Edwards (UNAA Executives). She is to visit Sri Lanka from 2nd to 9th of May 2017. She is delighted to visit her native island country and hopes to generate unity, leadership, confidence and knowledge on human rights, through this official visit. As she is followed by the specific agenda given by the Sri Lankan Government, she will also visit Don Bosco Provincial House - Dungalpitiya, “Bosco Sevana” – Uswe-takeiyawa, Good Shepherd Convent – Kotahena, Don Bosco Vocational Training Centre – Nochchiyagama and Don Bosco Civil Engineering Institute – Metiyagane.

For details contact:Rev. Fr. Felix Mellawarachchi – 0773578430

Sheneli DonaUN Youth Ambassador

Sheneli Dona

14 May 7, 2017the Messenger

1. It was the final of 2016 ICC World Twenty20. It was the last over. The West Indies needed 19 to win against England. Carlos Ricardo Brathwaite from Barbados was the batsman. Four successive stunning sixes were shot into the sky. The world was up in the DJ Bravo dance. The mighty West Indies made history again. They be-came champions in the cricket field! Off the field too, the West Indies became crowned champions! Their team manager Rawl Lewis took time out from the heavy celebrations that followed his team’s stunning triumph on Sunday night. He visit-ed the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. On the team’s behalf, he made a donation to Mother Teresa’s charity. Making a donation towards a charity couldn’t have been easy for the team, especially considering the financial constraints they were facing. A payment dispute had broken out with the board. Many players were unsure of their participation in the tournament. The Manager Lewis had to travel from Dubai to Kolkata just to arrange for uniforms for the players. But they did it. They made their donation to the Sisters.

2. Today is Vocations Sunday. It is the day we take a time out to pray and pay. It is the day we pray for priestly and religious vocations. It is also the day we make our gen-erous contribution toward these vocations, nurtured in two major seminaries in Kandy and Jaffna. It is the day we too become bravo champions.

3. Today’s Gospel treats the themes of Jesus the Gate and Jesus the Model Shepherd. Jesus is attacking in al-legorical language the Pharisees who have excommuni-cated the blind man cured by Him in John 9. The sheep (= the cured blind man) recognize Jesus, the true shep-herd, “He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him” (9,38); but they do not listen to or follow thieves, robbers and strangers (= Pharisees). Jesus is the model shepherd of the sheep. He enters through the gate of the sheepfold, the low stone wall open to the sky. He calls the sheep by name. They hear and recognize His voice. He drives them out of the sheepfold. Then He walks ahead of them and they fol-low Him. He grazes them in green pastures and leads them to safe waters. Jesus compares Himself to a gate as well. He is the gate for the shepherd to come to the sheep: “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came (before me) are thieves and robbers, but the

sheep did not listen to them.” He is also the gate for the sheep to move in and out: “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” Then Jesus expounds the reason of His coming. The thieves and robbers climb over the sheepfold and come to take life away from the sheep – “to steal and slaughter and destroy …” In stark contrast, Jesus the Good Shepherd enters through the gate; He comes to give His life to the sheep; He gives it in ‘perissos’ (Greek word for ‘excessive’ and ‘abundant’): “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

4. The sheep, the community of His followers that de-veloped into the primitive Christian community after His glorification, experienced how in abundance Jesus the Good Shepherd gave His life to the sheep. The sa-cred author of 1 Peter (Second Reading) describes it in Isaiah’s language of the Suffering Servant: “He com-mitted no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed him-self over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” On this model of Jesus’ patient suffering, the author explains now to the Christian slaves, the work-ing class of the commercial cities of the Roman Empire, the virtues that should prevail in their domestic rela-tions – namely, obedience, patience, non-violent reac-tion to unjust treatment and endurance of hardship. These exhortations culminate in Jesus, who is depicted as “the shepherd and guardian” of His flock implying His care, vigilance and love for them – just like God of Psalm 23 (Responsorial Psalm). The life flows thus in abundance!

5. The crucified Jesus is now Lord and Messiah. Hence about three thousand persons repent, get baptized in His name and receive both the forgiveness for sins as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: First Reading). The life continues to flow thus in abundance! 6. On this world day of prayer for vocations, we kneel before Jesus the Good Shepherd dwelling in the Eucha-rist and intercede for priestly and religious vocations. Today there is an increase of sheep in city and village alike. New mega cities, housing schemes, apartments, villas, groves, cottages and condominiums mushroom everywhere sheltering new Christian families. New

schools, hospitals and hostels emerge especially in cit-ies and towns. These new structures house our Chris-tians. They need priests and religious now in their new habitat. But do we have enough vocations to priestly and religious life? We do have vocations still, but it is not enough. Out of what we have, most of them emerge from villages and small towns. The city demands a lot in terms of pastoral activity, but it produces fewer vo-cations to priestly and religious life. At times, the semi-naries are full, but alas, these young boys leave just after their government exams. They (or their parents) have seen the seminary as a seat of school study. The various illusions, the world offers them, could jeopardize their vocation to priesthood. “All the members of the local Church must recognize an urgent need today to foster priestly voca-tions” stated the National Pastoral Convention 1995 (A New Dawn of Faith, ‘Priestly Formation’, 117). Hence we must pray today that more and more young men and women will hear the voice of Jesus and follow Him. These young vocations are fed by Jesus through our mesmeric magnanimity. Hence we must financially help the seminaries (seminarium = seed plot) where the seeds (seminarians) grow over the years into huge trees (priests) to feed and shelter one day the flock of Jesus (church). Then we are the bravo champs today.

By Rev. Fr. Don Anton Saman Hettiarachchi

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I

know my own sheep and my own know me.

First Reading. Acts. 2: 14, 36-41. On the day of Pentecost Peter began to preach the Good News. He preached about the resurrection and called on the Jews to repent and be baptized. And many were added to his fold that day.

Second Reading. 1Pet. 2: 20-25. Peter writes to remind the Christians regard-ing the suffering and pain that Jesus underwent to save mankind. This was to exhort them that they too should be humble in the face of life’s trials tribulations.

Gospel. Jn. 10: 1-10. In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks of the qualities of a true shepherd. He calls them by name and they too know Him. He leads them to the fullness of life. Next Jesus calls Himself the door of the sheep fold and that He is the only way to salvation.

Reflection. In this season of Easter Jesus wants us to see Him as the true Shepherd, the only one through whom one could gain salvation. Salvation, eternal life and en-trance to the kingdom could be had only through Him. Therefore we should place all our trust and hope in the Lord. We should adhere to His teachings and live His values in order to ensure this salvation. Other ways, and other entrances are not real. They will not only lead us astray and destroy us. These are spelt out very clearly in today’s Readings. In the First Reading Peter preaches the Good News to the first Christians on the day of the Pentecost telling them about the risen Lord. He is the one whom

they crucified who is now risen and is Lord and Christ. This message brought them to their senses and they repented and had themselves baptized. Thereby many were added to the fold that day. They surrendered themselves totally to the Lord and attached themselves to the one who would give them true salvation. In the Second Reading Peter sets Jesus as an example to the Jews who were living as slaves. They could now have hope and face life’s suffering and pain with deep faith. The Lord is an example for suffering and pain we should follow in Christ’s footsteps, speak-ing of Christ. Peter says “He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips, when he was reviled, he did not revile in turn; when he suffered he did not threaten; but he trusted Him who judges justly.” In the same manner we are to remain faithful to the Lord more when we un-dergo suffering and pain. The Gospel reminds us that the Lord is our only hope and support when it comes to true salvation. There may be others who show us the way but if they do not enter the sheepfold through the door they are thieves and robbers, But he who enters by the door is the true shepherd, for the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hears His voice and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. He goes before them and the sheep follow Him. Therefore we are to follow the true shep-herd if we are to reach the goal of salvation. Jesus alone is the true Shepherd; others who come are thieves and robbers. About them he says, “I am the door’ if any one enters through me, he will be saved, and he will go in and out and find pasture.” Therefore real and true salvation is from the Lord.

Aid Story 1.An American while travelling in Syria noticed three shepherds bringing their flock to the same brook at the same time. After the sheep had drunk their fill, one of the shepherds called out: “Men-ah, Men-ah.”(Follow me, follow me.) At once his own sheep left the large group and ran at his heels up the hillside. The second shepherd repeated the same words and his own sheep followed him. He did not even look back to see if they were coming or even to count them. To the remaining shepherd the tourist made the request: “loan me your cloak and turban and the shepherd crook. I want to see if they will follow me.” He put on the shepherd’s dress and called out, “Follow me, follow me.” in the Syrian language, but not one of the sheep moved an inch. They would not follow the voice of a stranger. The tourist asked: “Will your sheep never follow anybody but you?” With a smile the shepherd replied: “Oh, yes sometimes a sheep gets sick, and then it will follow anyone.” When, Christ called Himself the Good Shepherd. What an apt illustration He used. May we always hear and heed His voice.

Aid Story 2.Fr. Damian, the apostle of the lepers of Molokai was one day washing a particularly bad sore of a leper. The leper, genuinely distressed at the Father’s coming close to him so fearlessly, could not refrain from remarking to him; “Be careful father, you might easily catch the disease.” “My dear child.” answered the priest. “If the disease; robs my body. God will give me another.”

Rev. Fr. Ciswan De Croos

Fourth Sunday of Easter(World Day of Prayer for Vocations)

Sun: Fourth Sunday of Easter World day of Prayer for Vocations Acts.2:36-41; 1 Pt.2:20b-25; Jn.10:1-10Mon: Acts. 11:1-18; Jn. 10:1-10Tue: Acts.11:19-26; Jn.10:22-30Wed: Acts. 12:24-13:5a; Jn.12: 44-50Thu: Actw. 13:13-25; Jn. 13:16-20Fri: Memorials of Ss. Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs and St,. Pancras, Martyr Acts.13:26-33; Jn.14:1-6Sat: Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima Acts.13:44-52; Jn.14:7-14Sun: Fifth Sunday of Easter National Laity Sunday Acts.6:1-7; 1 Pt. 2:4-9; Jn. 14:1-12

Liturgical Calendar Year A 7th May- 14th May 2017

Jn. 10:14

“He calls his own sheep by name”(John 10,1-10)

15 May 7, 2017the Messenger

Contd. from Pg. 12

God of the ...we can question what kind of spirituality does the garbage heap reveals of the People who unceasingly contribute tocreate it—doesn’t it reveal what they truly worship? Can we make a connection between gar-bage, faith and God? If so it could be a revolutionary ‘Theology of Garbage.’Archaeology has been a boon to the understanding of the Bible by giving insights into the language and culture of the Biblical People. A sci-ence that has emerged today using basic archaeologi-cal principles is called "garbology." It is the study of the language, culture and behavior of the contemporary world by sifting through and analyzing smelly, pasty, moldy, wet trash. Garbologists have an advantage over the ar-chaeologists. They can interview the human trash pro-ducers. It is here that the study of garbage makes its best contribution regarding human behaviour. It is their intention to dig into our garbage to learn what it tells us about our attitudes toward natural resources and how it reflects what we believe about ourselves and about God. It will also suggest a revision of our understand-ing and treatment of garbage based on an understand-ing of the Christian faith. Garbage is something every-one produces. It is estimated that in the United States each person produces 3.5 pounds per day. It is a viable source of information regarding human behavior. In the garbage can or landfill we see evidence of our insatia-ble desire for convenience, our indifference to the other and personal laziness. Values that have been shaped by and emerged from such behaviour have led to the dis-ruption of the balance of the natural world. It glorified the use rather than the love of the natural world and ignored the necessity of biodiversity—the triumph of individual history over the natural. What might the excavations of a landfill tell us about our attitudes toward the environment? We live with abundance. We take and have more than we need. We confuse our wants and our needs. We have a com-pulsion to consume. Landfills show that when there is not a shortage of a commodity there is more waste, and that the greater the variety in a diet, the more the spoil-age. We impact our natural world with poisons to cre-ate a "perfect" piece of fruit and throw the produce in the dumpster behind the market place when it "spoils." We will pay the price for unblemished produce. We are heavily dependent upon technology. Today the immedi-ate global danger is not possible nuclear war, but actual industrial plundering. We are reluctant to acknowledge limits upon our system and we wear blinders to the population explosion. This becomes apparent when we begin to run out of space to put garbage. Advertising and packaging contribute to products in the landfill.

They indicate our obsession with health, sanitation and the safety of products. Tamper-proofing, quality and cleanliness are all "good" reasons for packaging. A cor-ollary to the above is what advertising and packaging tell us about the competition in the market place, the lack of trust in the human community and the absence of personal discipline with regard to the way things that belong to others are handled. Products have one-time use. Use and used Here is a "theology" that emerges from the gar-bage dump. Science exists for the benefit of technology, the welfare of the human species' medical needs and the fulfillment of the "good life." For the believer God is the paradigm of "good life" in whatever way that is derived for each individual. It is just within recent his-tory that science is being directed toward the care of the earth leading to a “good life” replacing God. In the earlier paradigm God is providential. Faith is grounded in the "goodness" of God—goodness as an intrinsic val-ue. The "good life" today might be defined as that which is healthy, sanitary, convenient, safe and cooperative. "Good" in this sense is an extrinsic, not an intrinsic val-ue. Francis Bacon one of the authors of the mod-ern spirit of science believed in man’s ability and right to manipulate the earth. There is sufficiency of resource and the technological skills to adapt the re-sources. This barbaric understanding of good steward-ship of the earth is expeditiously and rapidly moving natural resources to the trash heap. Theological Hope is grounded in an earth that can supply and technical skills that can discover and invent. Today comfort and convenience are words used in place of "salvation." The sacred is that which is unblemished and manicured. The profane is the unkempt which must be pushed aside. (This is what the garbage person collects.) A sa-cred space is a setting which is garbage free for commu-nion with God. The creative and redemptive processes are for the benefit of humans to compensate for the sin-fulness of the human species. Sin is inadequacy rather than rebellion against God and God's creation.Steward-ship is measured and motivated by the Gross National Product. God's creation is to be consumed. The use and value of non-human entities are determined by the use rather than the used. Theology in this background can be defined as a dialogue engaging the concrete world and the teachings of the faith—the intersecting of the divine, the human and the non-human. "Goodness" From a Christian theological point of view, what alternate understanding of the garbage dump can be perceived? What God creates is good. (Genesis 1 and 1 Timothy 4:4.) In the natural order, that which is dis-carded by one organism is useful for another organism.

Garbage must be seen as a part of the "goodness" of God's world. Convenience as the "good" must be chal-lenged. To think we can dispose of garbage and forever never need to be concerned with it is nonsense. As re-sponsible stewards we must be committed to managing garbage, both what we create and what others create. Jesus Christ is the reconciler of the world, restoring re-lationships. This is the intention of God. Garbage must be treated within God's recon-ciliation plan. It is done by recycling (returning to the natural cycles what we have used) and re-streaming (making second and third uses of the items humans produce that cannot be returned to the natural cycle) and we humans cannot be indifferent to anything we produce. What does it mean to love one's neighbour? It means to reduce the amount of garbage that is created and to consider others when seeking solutions to the disposal of garbage. For this, an attitudinal change is needed. Humans have treated garbage and where it is disposed of as the despised, the unwanted and it is con-trary to the spirituality that Humans must learn to live in community with all of creation. This requires effort, not ease. A look at a garbage dump can bring to mind three Bible stories. The first is the story of the rich man (Matthew 19:16-26). Here to obey Jesus would mean to do without conveniences. The second is the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Here the chasm between the two men was not poverty and wealth but the rich man's indifference. The third is the parable of the man who entrusts his property to three slaves before he goes on a journey (Matthew 25:14-30). Here the most repeated reason for putting things into the garbage is revealed—it is that one does not want to make an effort to do anything else with it—garbage is potential treasure for the toiling man! What do people see when they look in their garbage can? What does it reveal about what they really believe about God, the care of the earth and the values that are shaped by convenience, indifference and lazi-ness? It is time Christians make a greater effort to be congruent about what they believe, say and do. They can start with the garbage.

Contd. from Pg. 13

Christian faith... A person hears the sound of blowing but does not know the trajectory which depends on other vari-ables. This non linearity principle operates in the mate-rial world though a person used to linear thinking can-not comprehend it. This was the problem of Nicodemus who wanted to know how a person who is born to hu-man parents can be born again through the Spirit. So Je-sus explained to Nicodemus that in the material world there are non linear events and if Nicodemus cannot understand the phenomena of the material world how will he understand things in heaven (John.3:12). This is the reason why Jesus stressed that secrets of heaven are hidden from scholars who are linear thinkers. A scholar is trained to think linear and cannot understand anything different. The moment a scholar gets into this way of understanding nature that person cannot any longer appreciate that in the material world there are non linear events. Persons who are not trained for lin-ear thinking are known as non educated, but with their open minds can understand material phenomena with-out mental resistance from within. To understand the way of the Spirit, a person must shed his linear think-ing and be open. This is difficult for a mind trained in logic and mathematics. The atheist who confronted the writer was a professional qualified in physical sciences

and his predicament could be easily understood.

Photon The second principle relate to the way living persons look at material world. There is no specific form or shape of the material world. The material world is a unified whole. It is the human mind that creates the physical world of separate entities. It is only a human perception that creates the world of sense experience. The double slit experience conducted by Thomas Young in 1801 repeated since it was accepted by scientific com-munity confirms the duality of light and matter. A photon which is a component part of light ray is sent through two openings in a given plate and allowed to be reflected in a screen behind the plate. When a person is observing the process the photon goes through only one opening at a time because it is a single unit and recorded in the screen behind the plate with two openings separately. But when no human mind is watching the process the photon goes through both openings at the same time and recorded in the screen behind it as a wave. This is known to scientists as wave particle duality. The wave becomes a particle when human mind observes it. The very fact of human observa-tion converts the wave into a particle indicates that it is the human mind that made the change. Unless the human mind interacts in the process the duality is not exposed. This goes to indicate that the physical world is of dual nature and what humans perceive as matter

is created by human mind. Since the development of quantum physics scientists continue to grapple with this dualistic nature of the physical world. What Jesus tells Nicodemus is that unless a person is born of then Spirit, things in the physical world cannot be properly understood leave alone things in heaven.

Faith What is important to understand and appreci-ate is that human knowledge has limitations and can-not grasp physical reality as it exists but can only expe-rience things the way human mind is conditioned. That is why Jesus explained that scholars cannot understand the secrets of the world which will come to light at the end of time. So the atheist cannot be blamed for his ig-norance. He lacked Christian faith described in Hebrews 11:1 that unseen exists and there is assurance of things hoped for. The author of Hebrews then goes on to enu-merate things achieved by the patriarchs of the Old Tes-tament. Though there is no unanimity among biblical scholars about the authorship of the Letter to Hebrews, Fr. Henry Silva points out that it is a carefully writ-ten well organised document written using advanced Greek language (Henry Silva; Holy Bible study version; volume two; pp 156; Ceylon Bible Society 2009). Thus the answer to the atheist colleague is he is not alone in his own convictions about atheism, but with Christian faith it is easy to find answer to his dilemma.

SOURCES

William Rathje and Colleen Murphy, Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992). Paul Connet, Waste Management: As if the Future Mattered (St. Lawrence University, 1988). Thomas Berry, The Dream of the Earth (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 188). John E. Swanson,“Garbage Theology: Findings of a Garbologist/Theologian/Environmentalist”, URL-http://www.webofcreation.org/Manuals/ krause/swanson.html (Retrieved on 26th April, 2017).

We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty - Mother Teresa