Birthday and Patronal Feast...Nov 10, 2019 · social media, that His Eminence has made state- ......

Sunday November 10, 2019 Vol 150 No 44 20 Pages Rs: 50.00 Registered as a newspaper

The CaTholiC weekly of sri lanka“ R e g i S t e R e d i N t h e d e Pa Rt m e N t o f P o S t S o f S R i L a N k a” u N d e R N o. Q d / 4 8 / N e w S / 2 0 1 9

It also happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king,... (2 Maccabees 7:1)

We Catholics do not fear chal-lenges which

come our way through sor-rows, sufferings and death. Christ, our Redeemer over-came death. We His follow-ers strongly believe that death has no sting. And death could be defeated.

We His Followers Should Live like Resurrected People

by T. Sunil Fernando and Roshan Pradeep

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Requiem Mass for deceased Catholic Lawyers will be held on THURSDAY (November 14, 2019) at 6.00

PM, at the Sacred Heart Chapel of the Archbishop’s House, Borella.

The practice of remembering deceased members of the legal fraternity had been in place for the last five years. This event gives expression to what we believe in, the ‘Communion of Saints’. Praying for the souls in purgatory is a very meritorious act. We call upon the lawyers and their families to

In Memoriam: Deceased Catholic Lawyers

We have been informed that a photograph showing His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. J. D. Anthony Jayakody, Auxiliary Bishop of

Colombo at a function, together with a presidential candidate is now being distributed by a certain propaganda wing of the said Presidential candidate. We wish to inform the public that the said photograph has no relevance in any way to the present political campaign. It is a photograph taken some-time ago

It has been brought to my notice that subsequent to the homily delivered by His Eminence, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, at the Annual Feast of St. Jude's Shrine, Indigolla, a post has been circulated in the social media, that His Eminence has made state-ments in favour of a certain Presidential candidate and political party during His Homily.

I , as the Administrator of St. Jude's Shrine, Indigolla, together with the Episcopal Vicar of the Missionary Region and all the priests who were present at the Holy Mass wish to state that there is no truth whatsoever in the

of His Eminence

Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith

15th November

Ad Multos Annos!

Birthday and Patronal Feast

Fear keeps on haunting no sooner people hear the word death. The people get disturbed when they have to think about death with mixed feelings of

sorrow and sadness. But Catholics who believe in Jesus Christ who concurred death assured us eternal life. The death is the gateway to enter life everlasting. Hence death should bring happiness to our minds rather than bring sorrowfulness.

Death Gateway to Eternal life - Bishop Maxwell His Emi-

n e n c e M a l c o l m

Cardinal Ranjith visited the Mad-ampitiya Catholic burial grounds to pray over the graves of His be-loved parents buried in that cemetery. His Em-inence is seen at the gravesyard.

Rev. Fr. Eymard Dalpadadu OMI has been appointed the New Editor of the Bhakthi Prabodhanaya, a centenary long monthly Publication of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Congregation, Colombo Province. Fr. Dalpadadu a past pupil of St. Mary’s

New Editor Bhakthi Prabodhanaya

Vote according to your conscience and preference

We condemn the publicity campaign carried out by various vested interest groups tar-nishing the image and good name of His Emi-

nence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colom-bo as well as some Bishops and Catholic Churches.

We vehemently disapprove wide spread rumours that His Eminence has pledged his support to various candidates or certain political parties.

The stance taken by the Archbishop of Colombo is clear to all, that he is not attached to any political party or support any candidate.

His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has re-quested the Catholic community to cast their vote ac-cording to their conscience and preference.

Rev. Fr. Camillus Fernando Editor

➢ ConTd on Pg. 15

➢ ConTd on Pg. 15

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His Eminence to Catholic community

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Cardinal Ranjith: Christ Defeated Death

Auxiliary Bishop's photo has no relevance to election campaign

Rev. Fr. Eymard

➢ ConTd on Pg. 15

Cardinal's homily at Indigolla misinterpreted

Colombo Catholic Press is open on coming Poya Day for Business

2 The Messenger November 10, 2019

... to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law. One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said... (2 Maccabees 7: 1-2)

The Church News in Lens

His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo accompanied by His Excellency Most Rev. Dr. Pierre Nguyên Van Tot, Apostolic Nuncio in Sri Lanka recently declared open the First Convent of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family and the Convent Chapel at a ceremony held at Madampella,

Katana. A distinguished gathering of priests, religious and laity were present at the opening ceremony on the invitation of Rev. Fr. Clarence Dilran Peiris Parish Priest, Madampella and Rev. Sister Luz Maris Bultrago TC, Superior of the Convent. Picture shows Rev. Sister Luz welcoming both His Eminence and His Excellency

on their arrival in the presence of Very Rev. Fr. Placi-dus de Silva. The other pictures show an enthusiastic crowd of people despite the rain awaiting the arrival of the Distinguished Guests to open the new Convent.

(H.A. Caldera)

His Eminence opens the First Convent of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters

De Mazenod College, Kandana won the Herman Loos Championship for 2019 at the Competition held at Rantembe re-cently. The winning team received the Trophy from Mr. Udaya R. Seneviratne,

Secretary to the President. Here the winning team pose for a photograph.

dMC Correspondence

De Mazenod College wins Herman Loos Championship 2019

The Annual Prize Giving of Good Shep-herd's Convent, Panadura, was held recently at the School auditorium. The Chef Guest of the event was Rev. Fr. An-ton Grasian (O.M.I). This was organized under the guidance of the Principal and

the Head of the Primary section.Rev. Sr. Mary Freeda De Silva, Con-

vent Superior, Pandura, Deputy Principal, Teachers and students were also present in the occasion.

Pic. Chintaka de Mel

Good Shepherd's Convent, Panadura, Annual Prize Giving

In view of the "Year of youth" , a three day resi-dential workshop of school prefects was held at "Subodhi" Institute of Integral Education in Sep-tember as a result of the efforts of Rev. Fr. Victor Silva, Director of "Subo-dhi" Institute. The goal of the programme was to build up a strong Young Christian Leadership.

This workshop was attended by 50 prefects from seven leading Cath-olic schools and the lec-tures were conducted by priests, teachers and some members of the " Subodhi Youth Club" which con-sisted of so many valuable ideas of such lecturers and also with discussions and many activities, were the contents of the pro-gramme. The lectures were carried out based on various topics such as "I am a leader" , "Who is a leader?" , "What are the responsibilities and val-ues of a leader?" and also " What is Christian Lead-ership?" It had been dis-

cussed at the workshop on how to conduct them-selves as young men and women, as an exemplary leader, in a way which is useful to one's family, school and country, in a meaningful manner and also it had been explained to pursue studies with a purpose and the sacrifices which have to be made to-wards achieving that Goal.

The participants were given a training on how to do their day to day ac-tivities on time and alone, by working according to a time table. This workshop contributed and served immensely towards the purposes of how to deal with others with under-standing and to build up a strong, harmonious, qual-ity relationship and fra-ternity among students of other Catholic schools.

This workshop gave an opportunity for youth to bring out their hidden talents through a concert and live performances and to find answers for

questions that obsessed their minds, in order to make their minds clear and sound.

It was a novel experi-ence for those school pre-fects to enjoy and taste the tranquility and beauty of the beautiful "Subodhi" Institute premises, the cool breeze coming from the Bolgoda Lake and also the fragrance of flowers that come with the wind from among the trees.

We would like to ex-press our heartfelt thanks to School principals and teachers who made it pos-sible for those prefects to participate in this special worthy cause and it will no doubt be that this work-shop of Leadership would help immensely to make and bring about a big good change in the lives of those participants and to produce so many strong Christian Leaders to our country and the Nation.

nirosha Priyangani

"Subodhi" Institute carries out a workshop for prefects of several schools

1. Very Rev. Fr. Ciswan De Croos2. Rev. Fr. Lester Cassius 3. Rev. Fr. Sunil Kumara Peiris 4. Rev. Fr. Nishantha Rodrigo5. Rev. Fr. Anton Gehan Gunathilake 6. Rev. Fr. Ernest De Mel7. Rev. Fr. Sarath Nimal 8. Rev. Fr. Prasad Niranjan 9. Rev. Fr. Prasad Indika Perera 10. Rev. Fr. A.D. Sajith Aruna11. Rev. Fr. Thusitha Prasad 12. Rev. Fr. Nalin Kumar 13. Rev. Fr. Harsha Dinesh Rajakaruna 14. Rev. Fr. Roshan Prasad 15. Rev. Fr. Rohan De Soyza 16. Rev. Fr. Shantha Sagara Hettiarachchi 17. Rev. Fr. Ronnie Wickramasinghe18. Rev. Fr. Kalana Inshara Peiris19. Rev. Fr. Sumith Rohan 20. Rev. Fr. Kennedy Perera21. Rev. Fr. Roshan Chaminda22. Rev. Fr. Ranjith Terry Fernando23. Rev. Fr. Rasika Evans Cooray24. Rev. Fr. Roshan Priyadarshana25. Rev. Fr. Gregory Jayantha Fernando26. Rev. Fr. H.D. Jude Tennyson 27. Rev. Fr. Malintha C. Chandrasiri28. Rev. Fr. Chanaka P. Welikadaarachchi29. Rev. Fr. Dinesh Prashan Appuhamy30. Rev. Fr. Feddie Shanthi31. Rev. Fr. Felix Shantha32. Rev. Fr. Chrishman Perera33. Rev. Fr. Gihan Priyashantha Peiris

34. Rev. Fr. Samidu J. Pathum 35. Rev. Fr. Bertram Ranjith36. Rev. Fr. Lalith Perera37. Rev. Fr. Rohitha Rodrigo38. Rev. Fr. Noel Stephan Nonis39. Rev. Fr. Geethaly Annesly40. Rev. Fr. Clement Sunjeewa41. Rev. Fr. Freely Mutukudaarachchi42. Rev. Fr. George Fancis Fonseka 43. Rev. Fr. Nishan Wilathgamuwa44. Rev. Fr. Samantha Fernandopulle45. Rev. Fr. Don Amila Wickrama46. Rev. Fr. Jayashantha Sovis47. Rev. Fr. Gemunu Dias 48. Rev. Fr. Sheron Chandana Dias 49. Rev. Fr. Lalith Felix50. Rev. Fr. Claude Nishantha Nonis 51. Rev. Fr. Bertram Fernando 52. Rev. Fr. Anton P. Ranjith53. Rev. Fr. K. Marius Fernando54. Rev. Fr. Darrel Coonghe55. Rev. Fr. Jude Bernard Fernando 56. Rev. Fr. Malcolm Perera57. Rev. Fr. Shihan Indika Perera58. Rev. Fr. Indra Ratnasiri Fernando59. Rev. Fr. Achintha Rexie Silva Pulle60. Rev. Fr. Morris Namal61. Rev. Fr. Sharm Dassanayake62. Rev. Fr. R.M.A.J. Sriyantha Rathnasekera63. Rev. Fr. Dinesh Keerthisinghe 64. Rev. Fr. Shanthi Kumara Weliwita

Rev. Fr. Patrick Perera - director.

NoticeAnnual Retreat - 2019 at Tewatta. - 18th - 22nd NovemberBegins at 7.30 am Monday and will conclude on Friday after lunch.


The big schools that came up under the new ar-rangement were largely English schools and they were fee-levying. With the Free Education

scheme of Education Minister C.W.W. Kannangara, al-most all, except a few became “free schools.” With the later introduction of Swabasha as the medium of in-struction, these so-called higher grade schools and col-leges too became just like the other parochial schools, but with better facilities and higher standards. Thus, today all these schools provide free education in the native languages. And this is what Archbishop Bonjean campaigned for with the British administrators. I now wonder as to who is the Father of Free Education in Sri Lanka.

The Christian community deserves merit for the in-troduction of the present system of schools in Sri Lan-ka. Even, more than often emphasized, the western format of this school system was by far vastly innova-tive in approach. It is true that the pirivenas were our ancient centres of learning. However, they were largely institutes of religious instruction and language schools. The schools in the West, though initiated by Christian religious bodies, gradually turned out to be institutes of secular learning and turned totally towards the secular sciences, with little of religion.

The system initiated by the Christian missionaries in Sri Lanka was a happy blend of the two elements – reli-gion and science. We had both the sacred and the secular running parallel in education. In that sense our schools blend the sacred and secular sciences without throw-

ing out religion, valued by both our Christian tradition and the pirivena system. Unfortunately, some secular-ized groups are trying to change this system today. We should be wide awake to resist this move strongly.

It is much to the credit of the Christian community that schools have come up even in most remote villages in the country. At the time of the unfortunate Takeover of Schools in 1960, the Catholic Church alone had some 750 schools and colleges in the Island. And it is as a re-sult of this support from the various religious denomi-nations that Sri Lanka today stands second only to Ja-pan and the Philippines in literacy in Asia.

Sadly, many forget and remains forgotten, the contri-bution of the Christian community towards the educa-tion and formation of Buddhist and Hindu leaders, both religious and political. To mention just a few, the great Buddhist revivalist Anagarika Dharmapala is a product of Christian College, Kotte. The Buddhist leader Valis-inghe Harischandra is a product of St. Mary’s College, Negombo and the Ven. Narada Thero is a product of St. Benedict’s College, Colombo.

Sir Lalitha Rajapakse, Sir Edwin Wijeyaratne, the fa-ther of former Diyawadana Nilame Nissanka Wijeyarat-ne, and Hon Bernard Jayasuriya, father of Hon. Gamini Jayasuriya, were products of St. Joseph’s College, Co-lombo. We also have a set of leading statesmen in this country who owe their education to Christian schools. Among them are Hon. D. S. Senanayake – the Father of our nation, Hon. Dudley Senanayake our second Prime

Minister and Hon. S.W.R.D Bandaranaike the fourth Prime Minister – who all hailed from St. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavania. Hon. Sirimavo Bandaranai-ke – world’s first woman Prime Minister, and Her Excellency Chandrika Ban-daranaike Kumaratunga are products of St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo 07.

Sir Oliver Goonetilake our first Sri Lankan Gover-nor General and the great scholar statesman Sir D. B. Jayatilake were products of Wesley College, Colombo. His Excellency William Gopollawa our second Governor General, Dr. Nissanka Wijeyaratne and former Minister and novelist T. B. Ilangaratne were products of St. An-thony’s College, Kandy. His Excellency President Ranas-inghe Premadasa was a product of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo. Hon. G. G. Ponnambalam, Hon. H. J. Hurulle and Hon. K. B. Ratnayake were products of St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna.

The above list is only a cross-section. Even their names inspire us to greatness. How gloriously they adorned the leadership of our country. We could be proud of them. Do we have men of such calibre today?

Links between wars and environmental

degradationPope Francis is continuing his prophetic mission to bring Christian denominations and other religions together to work effectively in tackling what he sees as the world's major crises – poverty, global warming or climate change, nuclear disarmament and the peaceful conflict resolution through dialogue instead of resorting to war or violence because he believes this is a vital part of our spirituality and the forces on the other side are powerful multibillion mafias which are like the devil’s brigade.

The Pope believes that if we are not concerned and do not get involved actively in these battles, our spirituality is limited if not distorted because it is based on selfishness and self-centredness.

On November 6, the United Nation marked the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. In a statement, the UN says though people have often counted war casualties in terms of dead and wounded troops and civilians, destroyed cities and livelihoods, the environment has often remained the unpublicized victim of war.

Water wells have been polluted, crops torched, forests cut down, soils poisoned, and animals killed to gain military advantage. Furthermore, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found that during the past 60 years, at least 40 percent of all internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources, whether high-value resources such as timber, diamonds, gold and oil, or scarce resources such as fertile land and water. Conflicts involving natural resources have also been found to be twice as likely to recur.

According to the UN, the world body attaches great importance to ensuring that action on the environment is part of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace building strategies -- because there can be no sustainable peace if the natural resources that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems are destroyed.

On May 27, 2016, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a resolution which recognized the role of healthy ecosystems and sustainably

EditorialEmail:[email protected]

Website:colomboarchdiocesancatholicpress.com Telephone: 011 2695984 Fax: 2692586 / 2670100

November 10, 2019

SINCE FEBRUARY 1869

...... “What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.” (2 Maccabees 7:2)

Never stop learningbecause life never

stops teaching

managed resources in reducing the risk of armed conflict, and reaffirmed its strong commitment to the full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals listed in General Assembly resolution 70/1, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

The UN says land access, use, and ownership are central concerns for post-conflict peace building. Land and its governance are often root causes of conflict; land issues played a major role in all but three of the more than thirty intrastate conflicts that occurred between 1990 and 2009.

Violent conflict can severely impact land, complicating post-conflict peace-building efforts: environmental degradation can result from conflict; the widespread use of landmines can make land unusable while significant changes in land use can be brought on by population displacements.

In Sri Lanka and in most post-conflict countries, ownership rights and equitable access to land are important prerequisites to peace building and recovery, especially in areas where livelihoods are primarily based upon agriculture and livestock production, and where identity-based attachments to land can run deep. Moreover, since property ownership can be used as collateral for loans and financing, land ownership takes on greater significance, making competition and confrontation for land in post-conflict scenarios highly likely.

The UN says reforming land tenure policies and practices, rebuilding land administration systems, and resettling refugees, internally displaced people and ex-combatants are typically among the main land-related priorities immediately following conflict. In the long run, land will be central to the primary peace-building tasks of assuring livelihoods, spurring economic development, and attracting investment. A comprehensive and systematic approach to land grievances and conflicts can contribute to the broader peace-building objectives of economic growth, poverty reduction, rule of law, and good governance.

Land raises complex issues, even when societies are at peace. Following conflict, its administration is often even more fragmented and chaotic. The fragility of post-conflict peace and the politically contentious nature of land could discourage policymakers from addressing much-needed land reforms, but delays in action often result in tensions, land grabbing, and a black market for land. Competition between land institutions and legal systems, poor coordination among development partners, and a lack of accurate and timely land-related information can all contribute to a confusing and fluid institutional environment. Efforts to kick start economic growth through the granting of agricultural, forestry, and mining concessions to the private sector often spark conflict with smallholder land users. Tensions can also emerge among and within communities over perceived

Most Rev. dr. oswald gomis

Archbishop Emeritus

EDUCATION MAKES FURTHER PROGRESS

unfairness in the restitution or redistribution of land, undermining the peace-building process. Finally, domestic and international capacities, financial resources, and expertise to address land challenges may be limited.

To respond to these and other challenges, eight important aspects of land management must be addressed in the post-conflict context: legal ambiguity; legal pluralism; land disputes; rights of return, restitution, and compensation; recovery and rehabilitation of productive land; land policy reform; capacity building; and land allocation. This policy brief examines these aspects and the challenges they present, and it provides recommendations on how each of these issues can be addressed and how land management can further the peace-building objectives, the UN says.

In Sri Lanka, even before the 30-year war brought about large scale exploitation of the environment, there had been moves to bring about a more equitable distribution of land. In the 1970s, the Sirimavo Bandaranaike government introduced revolutionary reforms with laws to impose a ceiling on land ownership and the ownership of houses.

Ministers Hector Kobbbekaduwa and Peter Keuneman played a leading role in this but within the government itself, capitalist forces sabotaged the reforms. Significantly, these forces were led by a man nicknamed Satan. Now after the colossal or incalculable devastation of the war, moves are under way to provide plots of lands and decent houses to all people as a first step toward restoring their dignity as human beings or, in Christian terms, as children of God because He loves people of all, races, religions and social status.

To reach this goal, we need a vision which is inspiringly outlined by one of India’s greatest philosophers Rabindranath Tagore. He says: “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, where knowledge is free, where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls, where words come out from the depth of truth, where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection, where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way, into the dreary desert sand of dead habit, where the mind is led forward by thee, into ever-widening thought and action, into that haven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”


Church in the Modern World

At the point of death he said; “you accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life,..... (2 Maccabees 7:9)

Liturgical Calendar Year C

10th November - 17th November 2019

Sun: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Mac. 7: 1-2, 9-14; 2 Th. 2: 16 - 3: 5; Lk. 20: 27-38 (or 27, 34-38)Mon: Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop Wis. 1: 1-7; Lk. 17: 1-6Tue: Memorial of St. Josephat, Bishop and Martyr Wis. 2: 23 - 3: 9; Lk. 17: 7-10Wed: Wis. 6: 1-11; Lk. 17: 11-19Thu: Wis. 7: 22 - 8: 1; Lk. 17: 20-25Fri: Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor Wis. 13: 1-9; Lk. 17: 26-37Sat: Memorials of St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Gertrude, Virgin Wis. 18: 14-16, 19: 6-9; Lk. 18: 1-8Sun: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Mal. 3: 19-20a; 2 Th. 3: 7-12; Lk. 21: 5-19

The Catholic Church must follow Jesus’ command to preach the Gospel to every person, otherwise it will not fulfill its mission of bearing witness to Christ, Pope Francis said.

In an excerpt of a new book-length interview pub-lished on November 4 by Fides, news agency of the Con-gregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Pope said the phrase he uses - “a church on the move” - is not meant to be a “fashionable expression” but a summary of the Church’s mission.

“The Church is either on the move or she is not (the) Church. Either she evangelizes or she is not (the) Church. If the Church is not on the move, she decays, she becomes something else,” he said.

The book, titled Without Him, We Can Do Nothing: a Conversation About Being Missionaries in Today’s World, will be released in Italian bookstores on November 5. It was written by Gianni Valente, a journalist for Fides.

Reflecting on evangelization, the Pope said that to evangelize means to deliver Christ’s teachings “in sim-ple and precise words like the apostles did” without the need to “invent persuasive discourses.”

“The proclamation of the Gospel can even be whis-pered, but it always passes through the overwhelming power of the scandal of the cross. And it has always followed the path indicated in the letter of the apostle Peter, which consists in simply ‘providing reasons’ of

one’s hope to others, a hope that remains a scandal and foolishness in the eyes of the world,” he said.

True missionaries, he said, act as “facilitators and not as controllers of the faith.”

Pope Francis said that Christianity “does not em-brace only one cultural model.” Citing St. John Paul II, he said that while the Church remains true to itself in proclaiming the Gospel and preserving its traditions, “Christianity will also reflect the different faces of the cultures and peoples in which it is received and takes root.”

While some cultures are closely linked to the proc-lamation of the Gospel and the development of Chris-tian thought, he added, Christians must keep in the mind that the divine revelation “is not identified with a particular culture.”

“When meeting new cultures, or cultures that have not accepted the Christian proclamation, we must not try to impose a determined cultural form,” Pope Francis said. “Today, in missionary work as well, it is even more important not to carry heavy baggage.” CRUX

If Church does not evangelize, it will decay, Pope says

Pope Francis meets indigenous people from the Amazoni-an region during the second week of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon at the Vatican in October.

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Thailand from 20 to 23 November, after which he proceeds to Ja-pan, 23 to 26 November, before returning to Rome.

This will be the second visit of a Pontiff to Thai-land in over 35 years, af-ter that of Pope Saint John Paul II in 1984. The motto of the Journey, "Christ’s Disciples, Missionary Dis-ciples", recalls the 350th anniversary of the estab-lishment of the Apostolic Vicariate of Siam, created in 1669, that formally marked the beginning of the Church in the country.

Catholics form a tiny minority of some 0.5% of Thailand’s over 68 million population, over 90% of which is Buddhist. Mus-lims form a little over 4% and Christians to-gether make up only 1 %. Through the past 350 years, the Church has grown into 11 dioceses with about 390,000 Cath-

olics. Father Raffaele San-

donà, a “fidei donum” priest from Italy’s Padua Diocese, has been work-ing in Thailand for 10 years. Speaking to Vati-can Radio, the priest who serves the Chae Hom mis-sion said that the Pope’s visit will serve to confirm the faith of the Catholics of the land and will pro-mote interreligious dia-logue with the Buddhist world.

Coming after 35 years after Pope John Paul II's visit, Fr. Sandonà said, there is “great expecta-tion and joy” for the visit of Pope Francis who is a “reference point of the Church’s unity”. This is why it is an important event for the country’s tiny Catholic community.

The priest pointed out that there is no formal re-lationship between Chris-tians and the country’s Buddhist majority. How-

ever, interactions with Buddhists take place in daily life and evokes a “serene and peaceful coexis-tence” between the tiny Christian com-munity and the ma-jority Buddhists. At times, he said, there is also some construc-tive collaboration on joint projects.

Speaking about the papal visit, Fr. Sandonà said, it is important because, besides his meetings and events, Pope Francis will also offer some of his characteristic gestures that have marked his pontificate. In a coun-try where people spoke little about the Pope, the Vatican and Catholic Church, there is now more interest in them because of the “gestures” of Pope Francis, such as humility and peace.

Thus the papal visit

will be a “good step for-ward” in terms of inter-religious dialogue and in providing an impetus to the Thai Church in its “witness to peace and love”.

In this regard, Fr. Son-donà pointed out, the an-them composed for the papal visit speaks about love as a bridge to others.

-VATICAn nEWS-

Great joy and expectation in Thailand for Pope’s visit

Logo of the Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis to Thailand

Catholic leaders in the Philippines have appealed to church-goers to donate gifts for the poor when they attend Mass, especially during the observance of World Day of the Poor November 17.

U c a n e w s . o r g reported that Arch-bishop Rolando Tirona, head of the social action arm of the Philippine bish-ops’ conference, said the sharing of gifts “is a small ges-ture to restore hope for the poor.”

In a letter to dioceses across the country, the prelate called for the hold-ing of various events to aid the needy “so that no one feels deprived of solidarity.”

“In solidarity with Pope Francis’ intentions for the poor … I humbly ask your dioceses’ participation in this special event consistent to our vision of being a church of the poor,” wrote Archbishop Tirona.

¬CATHoLIC nEWS SERVICE –

Bishops ask Filipinos to bring gifts for poor to Mass

Children receive free meals Janu-ary 4, 2013, in front of a Catho-lic church in Manila, Philippines. Catholic leaders in the Philippines have appealed to churchgoers to bring gifts for the poor when they attend Mass, especially during the observance of World Day of the Poor November 17, 2019.

“New Frontiers for University Leaders: The Future of Health and the University Ecosystem”. This is the theme of a forum being held in Rome, dedicated to the topics and challenges currently driving university transfor-mation.

Pope Francis outlined some of those challenges in his discourse. They include preparing new generations to become qualified professionals, but also “proponents of the common good, creative and responsible leaders in social and civil life, with a proper vision of the person and the world”, he said.

Universities today “need to consider what contribu-tion they can and must make to the integral health of

the person and to an inclusive ecology”, said the Pope.Catholic universities, in particular, need to become

places “where solutions for civil and cultural progress for individual persons and for humanity, marked by solidarity, are pursued with perseverance and profes-sionalism”, he said.

Pope Francis concluded with a quote from Cardinal John Henry Newman, patron of the Federation of Cath-olic Universities. The Church, wrote Newman, “fears no knowledge, but she purifies all; she represses no ele-ment of our nature, but cultivates the whole”.

-VATICAn nEWS -

Pope to Catholic Universities: Educate students to social, relational responsibility

MesseNger e-MaiLccpmessenger @yahoo.com Telephone: 2695984, 2678106


The year 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Catholic Biblical Federa-tion and the year 2020 marks the 1600th an-niversary of the death of Saint Jerome, the great translator of the Bible.

The happy coincidence of these two an-niversaries inspired the Executive Committee of the CBF to encourage the CBF members to mark 2020 as a “Year of the Word of God” from the First Sunday of Advent (December 1, 2019) until the feast of Saint Jerome (September 30, 2020).

The Christian faith is not a “religion of the book”: Christianity is the “religion of the word of God”, not of “a written and mute word, but of the incarnate and living Word” (Verbum Do-mini N0 7)

History : The origins of the Catholic Biblical Federation

The CBF was created to carry out the rec-ommendations of the Second Vatican Council concerning the Bible, particularly with respect to the Dei Verbum, where it is said that "easy access to Sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful" (Dei Verbum, 22).

The idea of such an organization for promot-ing the Catholic biblical apostolate was already proposed in 1950 by the Austrian liturgist and biblical scholar Pius Parsch. In October 1964, during the third session of the Second Vatican Council, a request for an organization of this kind was again made by Bishop Smiljan Čekada of Skopje.

The idea was then brought to realization by Cardinal Augustin Bea, President of the Secre-tariat for (Promoting) Christian Unity (called so from June 1960 - June 1988, meanwhile called Pontifical Council for Promoting Chris-tian Unity)

During 1967, Fr. Walter Abbott, sj, Direc-tor of the Office for Common Bible Work, a department of the Secretariat for (Promoting) Christian Unity, travelled round the world on a fact-finding tour concerning the implementa-tion of the Council's Constitution Dei Verbum and in particular the need for and chances of "Common Bible Work" in line with the Coun-cil's cautious go-ahead for interconfessional collaboration in "Bible work". He initiated a series of contacts with Catholic biblicists, pro-fessors of the Biblical Institute in Rome and with the German Catholic Biblical Association (Katholisches Bibelwerk) in Germany. In 1968 Cardinal Bea then called a meeting of delegates from various countries to assess the situation concerning local problems regarding the bib-lical apostolate. They decided to establish an International Catholic Federation for the Bib-lical Apostolate which would coordinate and develop existing biblical pastoral activities and thus help the local churches in the implementa-tion of the Council’s directives concerning Sa-cred Scripture in the life of the Church. They set up a Steering Committee to draft a Constitution for this "world federation" which met at Boxtel, Netherlands in April, 1968.

Finally, by initiative of Cardinal Willebrands, President of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, on 16th April 1969, when Pope Paul VI addressed the members of the consti-tutive assembly of the Federation, the Federa-tion was founded. First called “World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate”, its name was simplified to “Catholic Biblical Federation” in 1990.

Till today the CBF remains affiliated with the now called “Pontifical Council for Promot-ing Christian Unity“ and it is the institution for the biblical pastoral ministry within the Catho-lic Church.

Our Misssion : God's Word for the WorldThe Catholic Biblical Federation was cre-

ated to carry out the recommendations of the II

Vatican Council concerning the Bible. The Fed-eration’s aim is to be of service to the Bishops in the fulfill-ment of their responsibility to proclaim the Word of God to all the faithful.

The primary task of the Catholic Biblical Federation resides in the effort to translate the biblical message into the personal and com-munal contexts of human beings lives.Thereby promotes a way of reading Sacred Scripture un-covering the life-giving message of God’s Word, countering the danger of a fundamentalistic misinterpretation.

With its commitment to the Gospel, the Catholic Biblical Federation is aware that in the third millennium, Christian values premise for universal human rights need to be strength-ened and rediscovered as a foundation for com-munal living. The Christian value system is the basis of a responsible intercultural and interre-ligious dialogue.

According to its constitution (Art. 9) the Federation seeks to:

· Promote and develop the Biblical Pasto-ral Ministry in such a way as to allow the Word of God as present in Sacred Scripture to become a dynamic source of inspiration for all areas of the life and mission of the Church in today’s world, following the lines set forth in the Sec-ond Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation “Dei Verbum” and in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Verbum Domi-ni”, as well as in the documents of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, and in collaboration with the Bishops and the Bishops’ Conferences.

The Catholic Biblical FederationThe Catholic Biblical Federation (CBF) is a

Catholic world fellowship of international and local organizations committed to the biblical-pastoral ministry created to carry out the rec-ommendations of the II Vatican Council con-cerning the Bible.

Upon the initiative of Cardinal Bea and with the explicit support of Pope Paul VI, the “World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate” was founded in 1969 by Cardinal Willebrands, then President of the “Secretariat for Promot-ing Christian Unity”. It was entrusted with the implementation of Dei Verbum, chapter 6 on “Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church”.

The Federation’s aim is to be of service to the Bishops in the fulfillment of their respon-sibility to proclaim the Word of God to all the faithful. Any Catholic organization engaged in the biblical-pastoral ministry and enjoying ec-clesiastical recognition is eligible for member-ship.

The Federation relates to the Holy See through the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Today, the CBF is represented in 126 countries by 344 members.

Fifty (50) years at the Service of the Word of God

The Catholic Biblical Federation was found-ed in April 1969 with the encouragement of Pope Paul VI for the implementation of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution Dei Ver-bum and in particular of its chapter on the Holy Scripture in the Life of the Church.

The CBF members’ rich experience in Bible sharing and in the development of translations and materials within the various world cul-tures over the years provides a real treasure that can benefit the Biblical pastoral ministry of all Catholic organizations and associations devoted to the important ecclesial mission.

To be Continued next week

By Very Rev. Fr. Ciswan de Croos

First Reading: 2 Maccabees 7:1,2,9-14

A mother and her seven children are arrested and are tortured. The mother encouraged her children to remain faithful to God, and the children willingly offered their lives for their faith.

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5

St. Paul prays for the converts that their faith may be safeguarded and that the Lord who called him would continue to shower His blessings upon them so that they would continue to serve Him.

Gospel: Luke 20:27, 34-38The Sadducees who did

not accept the resurrection questioned Jesus about the seven brothers who got married to the same woman after the death of their brothers. “To whom does the wife belong after the resurrection?” They asked. They do not realize that the state of the life-after is completely different from the present one. For, they do not die any more.

ReflectionToday’s Readings endeavour

to prepare us for the life after. This life is much more valuable than the present one on earth. But this has to be won by sweat and blood. It is unlike the life here on earth. It is much more different and is worth dying for it. St. Paul in the Second Reading prays and begs God to shower this grace as coming down from heaven. He prays for the converts and in turn requests them to pray for him, in order that he will be strong enough to fight the evil one. For, it is the evil one that can destroy the relationship between God and man. Once this relationship is destroyed there is no way of attaining eternal life. Therefore constant prayer is needed if one were to remain faithful to God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ His Son. Therefore let us pray that the Lord will save us from the evil one and give us eternal life where every tear will be wiped away and death will not have power.

But this eternal life cannot be had free; we have to sweat and labour for it. In other words we have to get it the hard way. At times we will have to be totally dedicated and even offer our lives for it.

In the First Reading we see the mother of the Maccabee

brothers asking them to offer their lives to gain eternal life. The Maccabees were asked to eat flesh of swine which was then forbidden by their religious law. They preferred to offer up their lives rather, than become unfaithful to God, thus securing a place in heaven. The cost of faith here was death. Anything is worth as long as it gives us eternal life. Therefore let us too seek eternal life rather than pleasure on earth. Let us do it the hard way.

The life hereafter is quite different from the life here on earth. We do like to live our earthly lives. But the fruits of the life after death are great and are much more valuable. People here on earth get married and give in marriage but in heaven it is quite different as in heaven people neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they do not die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God. Being Sons of the resurrection and as our God is a living God. Living with Him is much more valuable than living on earth with our dear and loved ones. That is the reason why we ought to live a life worthy of the Lord, so that we will be able one day to live in the presence of God as that life is eternal. Let us do it by living a life faithful and a witnessing one.

Aid Story 1.Two Christian women brought

before a Roman prefect were or-dered to renounce their faith and worship the gods. They coura-geously refused and the prefect had a brazier lighted before the gods and said to them, “either you burn incense before our god or you will be burned in this fire.” The two martyrs replied without a moment’s hesitation. “We do not fear this fire which will soon go out, but we do fear hell’s that will never be extinguished, and so as not to end up there we de-test your idols and worship Jesus Christ.” Both women suffered martyrdom in the year 258.

Aid Story 2An old man, an accomplished

artist, was applying the finishing touches to a bronze sculpture. He kept filling and polishing every scraping, little surface of his masterpiece. “When will it be done?” asked an observer. “Never,” came the reply. ‘I just keep working and working until they come and take it away.”

SAyING Catholic Church is built upon the lives of Martyrs. Not upon Breakers of Rules or Lovers of Mammon.

Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

... but the king of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying.” (2 Maccabees 7:9)

year of the Word of GodNeeded prayer to be faithful

to God - OUR Father


32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Gospel Meditation (Luke 20:27-38) – year CRev. Fr. nilindra gunesekera

Religion, Agnosticism and Scientism

After him the third suffered their cruel sport. He put out his tongue at once when told to do so,... (2 Maccabees 7:10)

Natural knowledge of GodWe know from the Book of Wisdom (13:1-9) that it

is possible to know about God without His having to re-veal Himself in a supernatural way. We call this natural knowledge of God. However, led astray by the beauty and power and greatness of created things, pagans took these things for gods. They should have known that all these perfections came from their Author, for “from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corre-sponding perception of their Creator” (Wisdom 13:5).

This knowledge of God, which we term “natural”, is not something easy to attain; but it can be attained and it is the best form of preparation for accepting super-naturally revealed truths, and for disposing us to hon-our and worship our Creator.

Using reason alone, man is capable of knowing that God exists. He is capable of knowing the perfections of God insofar as they are reflected in creatures. Without the help of a special revelation, however, man would not be able to discover what God's intimate life is; he would not be able to know who God is and what He is in Himself. These are truths that man can come to know only with the help of a revelation from God.

Supernatural ReligionSupernatural Revelation assures man of easily at-

tained, certain knowledge of divine mysteries; it also includes some truths —such as the existence of God which unaided human reason can discover (cf. Romans 1:20). Moreover, Revelation confirms the certainty which natural knowledge gives: “The heavens are tell-ing the glory of God”, the Psalmist exclaims, “and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” (Psalms 19:2).

Is man capable of receiving such a revelation that would lead him to know truths about God that human reason alone cannot discover? Absolutely. The fact that man knows natural religious truths means that he is open to discovering more about God's infinite nature.

“Our Holy Mother, the Church,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 33), “holds and teaches that God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of reason. Without this capacity, man would not be able to welcome God’s revelation. Man has this capacity because he is created in the ‘image of God’ (Genesis 1:27).”

Besides, the natural religious truths man can discov-

er using his reason prepare and dispose him to accept that supernatural revelation through an Act of Faith by making him see that no contradiction exists between faith and reason.

God has in fact made such a Revelation about His intimate life and about man's calling to share in this in-timate life. The religion born of this revelation is rightly called a supernatural religion. When we say that the Catholic Religion is Supernatural, we do so because it is fruit, not of the efforts of reason to discover truths about God and morality, but of God's initiative to com-municate these truths to us. In order to ensure that men arrive at the knowledge of all the truths needed for their salvation, God Himself has spoken to man.

Christianity, explains John Paul II, “has its starting point in the Incarnation of the Word. Here, it is not sim-ply a case of man seeking God, but of God who comes in Person to speak to man of Himself and to show him the path by which He may be reached. This is what is pro-claimed in the Prologue of John’s Gospel: ‘No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known’ (John 1:18)” (Apost. Letter to Prepare for the Jubilee 2000, 6)

These truths include, not only the natural religious truths we referred to earlier, but also supernatural re-ligious truths—truths which reason alone would never have been able to discover on its own because they be-long to an order beyond nature, the supernatural order (e.g., the truth of the Blessed Trinity). Supernatural truths are truths which reason will always be able to understand more deeply but never fully comprehend. God has revealed these truths to us in order to enable us to reach our last end, which is also supernatural.

Because the Catholic Faith is the fruit of God's ini-tiative to save man and reveal him to the truths neces-sary for his salvation, it affords us all we need to reach heaven: the truths we have to believe in about God, the moral norms we must live by, and the sacraments or channels of divine grace that God has given us to strengthen and nourish our spiritual life. All these com-prise the Creed, the Ten Commandments and the Sacra-ments. These will be the subject matter of our study on the Catholic Faith. Agnosticism and Scientism Since the basis of man's openness to God is his intellect or reason, it is important to distinguish clearly

the object of the intellect from that of the senses. The intellect knows the truth: and the truth is an intelligible reality which goes beyond what the senses can perceive (e.g. colour, smell, texture, etc.). If the ability of reason to transcend the sensible order is denied, the real basis of man's openness to God is undermined. This is what agnosticism does.

The error of Agnosticism lies in denying the ability of human intellect to know realities that transcend the sensible order. According to this view, human reason should limit itself to investigating the data furnished by the senses, establishing their interrelationships and detecting the observable patterns among them.

If taken as a starting point, agnosticism eventually leads to this erroneous conclusion: only things that can be subject to experimental verification constitute a val-id field for application of reason. This theory is some-times designated by the term scientism since it limits the scope of reason to the knowledge furnished by the sciences.

For scientism —and likewise for agnosticism from which scientism flows— God and Religion would be out-side the domain of reason. Reason can say nothing about whether God exists, or about whether there is such a thing as a spiritual soul, or freedom and eternal values. The result of this is either the practical elimination of God and religion (which would be seen as the fruit of ignorance and superstition), or if not, the relegation of religion to the realm of feeling and sentiment.

Agnosticism therefore, leads to the two misconcep-tions regarding the basis of religion which we discussed above. The root error of agnosticism and scientism lies in its failure to recognize the ability of reason to grasp the intelligible aspect of reality. It is no wonder that where agnosticism and sci-entism thrive, materialism easily becomes widespread. Once the real basis for man's openness to God is de-nied, man descends to the disorderly pursuit of mate-rial things since material things are what the senses can touch and see. Man becomes blind to the true good he must pursue as his last end. The end result of all this is that man himself becomes dehumanized since the mere accumulation of material goods cannot make him happy. It is only in knowing God, loving Him, and serv-ing Him that he will be fulfilling the purpose for which he was made.

Today’s Gospel narrates of the controversy be-tween Jesus and the Sadducees about the resur-rection. We begin our meditation.

We are now in Jerusalem, and some Sadducees, those who say that there is no resurrection, come to Jesus and ask, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the wife and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and died without children; and the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no chil-dren and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife’. And Jesus replies, ‘You have described a levirate marriage according to the Mishnaic tractate – the Yebamot, a law designed to per-petuate the name of a man who dies childless (Deuter-onomy 25:5). Yet, your motive is to show that there is no resurrection, is it not?’ They are silent. Jesus says to them, ‘Let me deal with your question at length. To be-gin with, your question has many suppositions behind it. Firstly, it assumes that the afterlife is very much like this life. That is why you ask ˋWhose wife will she be?ˊ. It shows that you view the afterlife as a continuation of the civil status of people. Your question presumes that even in the afterlife married people will remain husband and wife as they were on earth. This in itself is a fallacy. Secondly, you also presume that the mar-riage relationship in the afterlife will be monogamous as in this life. Thirdly, the absurdity of the woman’s di-lemma is designed to illustrate the futility of a resur-rection hope. To put it bluntly, all three suppositions

are wrong. The afterlife cannot be compared with this life. Now, if your suppositions are wrong, how can your conclusions be correct? If your suppositions about the afterlife are erroneous, so too are your teachings about the afterlife’.

The Sadducees are livid with rage. They shout back, ‘If you claim to be the Incarnate Son of God, and if you are born into a family here on earth, how is it that the reverse is not possible? How is it that people who are married to each other cannot be husband and wife in the afterlife? Tell us why not?’

So, Jesus explains to them, ‘The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are ac-counted worthy to attain to that age and to the resur-rection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. After the resurrection, relationships change because then everyone is in the immediate presence of the Omnipotent Father whose children we all are. Then we are no longer husbands and wives because firstly, we are children of the same Heavenly Father and secondly, God’s will and dominion claims ownership on us all. Unlike here on earth, social and civic laws and customs cannot bind a wife to her hus-band or vice a versa because God’s will is predominant in the heavenly realm.

The Sadducees are implacably hostile towards Jesus. One of them demands, ‘Then tell us, what hap-pens to those who are damned and not blessed in the afterlife?’ Jesus answers patiently, ‘You agree that only some will be accounted worthy of that age. Now, the very notion that only some will be accounted worthy of

that age shows that some will be excluded from bless-ing in the afterlife. So, the very notion of blessing in the afterlife bespeaks of a transformation of being. More importantly, marrying and getting married are not part of that future existence which you call the afterlife. In the resurrection, there is no longer any death, and therefore, marriage is no longer present or necessary. Hence, your question about spouses is irrelevant’.

The Sadducees retort, ‘The Torah does not refer to a resurrection’. Jesus replies, ‘You Sadducees have the highest regard for the Torah. Hence, I shall quote from it citing the Book of Exodus. Moses showed that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush (Exo-dus 3:2-6), when he calls the Lord, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is not God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him. Further, in the Book of Daniel 12:2, the prophet says, ̀Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. ́ The God of promise and cove-nant is the God of the living, and if the Patriarchs are dead, then the God of promise cannot be their God. My point being that the Patriarchs are neither dead nor are God’s promises to them. For, if God’s promises to the Patriarchs are to be fulfilled, and if God is still their God, they must be alive. This confirms the resurrection of the dead. You who need a change of heart, must pray in the words of the prophet, ‘Take away this heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh’ (Ezekiel 36:26)’.


Marriages in heaven?

... and bravely held out his hands, as he spoke these noble words: “It was from heaven that I received these;... (2 Maccabees 7:10-11)

“Do you believe in aliens, Little Bird?”“Aliens? What do they look like?”“They are creatures of diverse shapes and sizes… Haven’t you seen them in pictures? …Some are in-nocent looking, big- eyed, thin-bodied creatures…some are big- headed, thin- legged tall creatures.”“What language do they speak?”“That I do not know...but they may have a lan-guage..”

“These are all imaginary things, my friend ...No-body has seen an alien. They reside only in the fanciful imagination of humans.” “You mean .. imagination is bad or wrong?”“No…not as long as it leads you to find facts!.. Ein-stein said, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’…”“What does that mean?”“Knowledge is a collection of proved facts. Today’s knowledge was yesterday’s imagination. Imagina-tion, powered by scientific search will help you to establish the truth. Then it becomes a fact.” “You mean we should not believe in anything like the aliens?”“There’s a vast difference between just imagining things and believing in something that has a scien-tific path…”“I don’t understand, Little Bird”“We can believe in anything without solid proof. That is equivalent to stupidity. For example we can believe there is a harbour in Nuwara-eliya. Also we can believe there is a harbour in Colombo. If you believed in ‘Nuwara-eliya harbour’ without verify-ing facts, you would be an idiot.”“But faith and science are worlds apart”“No...blind belief can make a fool of yourself, but wise and scientific thinking and search will lead you to find the truth. And that fact, that ‘truth’, shall make you free.”“But Little Bird, most of the things connected with religion are not proved…they are mere beliefs. Life after death is a good example…By the way…Do you believe in after life, Little Bird?”“Yes”“How do you know? Don’t you think that it is just a pie-in-the-sky hope?”“No…I don’t believe without proof. I believe be-cause Jesus said so..”“That means you trust Jesus so much that what-ever He says is true for you?”“Exactly. You hit the point!” “What did Jesus say about after life?”

During Jesus’ time, there were two kinds of peo-ple, namely the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees believed in Resurrection. The Sadducees did not.Sadducees asked cunning questions about this matter trying to trap Jesus and ridicule Him. But their harmful intentions were thwarted by the an-swers Jesus gave.According to Jesus, in the risen life we are placed in a totally new situation. It’s not an extension of the present life. Nobody will die any more. No procre-ation and hence no need for marriage. It is a new existence participating in God's eternity. You don’t have to imagine things.. You just believe in Jesus. Trust Him with all your heart.. Simply rely on His word….Not after your death, but even here on this planet while you are walking as a human being, you will be taken to a beautiful world unawares..

Michael Angelo Fernando

[email protected]

First and foremost let us congratulate our valiant, young T 20 squad and especially the selectors for the outstanding success by winning the recent T

20 series as real Lions with flying colours.Similarly, if our voters too, select the most suitable

comparatively young statesman with all the leadership qualities and of extraordinary personality, in the forth-coming Presidential election, we can expect peace and harmony once again in Sri Lanka.

In fact, the choice of a "Good Samaritan" should be done very carefully, because many of our old politicians without a backbone, do not serve our fellow humans with the "Word of God;" instead seek after only material things that glitters.

Well, "Old is Gold," but if the "Selfish old" politicians have an irresistable lust for "gold" and well-being of

their kith and kin only, instead of thinking as states-man who think our neighbour is each and every citizen without exception and without expecting reward and serve the populace as a real servant; thus fulfilling all the responsibilities entrusted to him by the voters with humility and wisdom. Hence, let us hope and pray for a valiant "Young blood", who will become humble, like a child, with mild manners but a strict disciplinarian with a strong backbone, to be the greatest statesman of Sri Lanka.

Ivor Hapuarachchi

Voters, follow the selection of valiant T 20

"Young-blood"

Adios to our Jumbos

The long drawn conflict between Man and El-ephant now seems to have reached the final stages. Personally, I would label this as a "Hun-

gry Elephants Vs. Man" conflict. Up to mid - October this year, a total of 297 Elephants have been killed. They are being destroyed at an alarming rate and the irony of this is, that no one seems to be worried over this. The Wild Life officers appear dormant while the so called Elephant Conservationists are only ever ready to issue statements as an when an Elephant tragedy occurs.

The crux of this problem is that heards of hungry elephants are invading the adjacent villages to appease their hunger. Rifles, fire crackers, Electric Fences and "Hakkapattas" are not the answer. It is man who has encroached on age-old elephant habitats and not vice - versa. If a tangible solution to this problem is to be effected, age old habitats have to be handed back to our elephants and man gracefully requested to withdraw from them.

The Sri Lankan Railway appears to be the chief of-fender in the wanton destruction of our Jumbos. When-ever tragedy strikes on the Rail Tracks, they come out with their "stock" answer, that the Train cannot be brought to an abrupt halt without endangering the lives

of over a thousand passengers. If so, why cannot the "Railway," impose strict speed limits in Elephant prone areas and Engine Drivers who violate same should be severely, "dealt" with, even to the extent of dismissal and loss of pension?

Finally as stated above, many wild life enthusiasts, who now seem to be dormant are the very persons, shouting their throats hoarse at the existence of St. Anthony's Church in Pallenkandhal (Wilpattu Border) where during the past 324 years to be exact, NOT A SINGLE ELEPHANT has been wantonly killed If their clamour is reasonable, then they should immediately clamour for the "removal" of the Rail Track, near Weli-kande, which is supposed to run through an "Elephant Corridor," where in the last few months, elephants have been killed, wounded and maimed on two different oc-casions, at the identical "spot" (Elephant Corridor).

Let us wish the Lankan Jumbo the "very best" in his long drawn struggle for survival against wicked man and let not posterity point an accusing finger at our gross negligence in safeguarding and protecting this, our National Treasure cum Cultural Symbol.

Roggy Corera

Passing thoughts on the passing of time'In the "midst of life we are in death.' This is brought

home to us when those known to us closely, pass away. Death is the only certainty in life.

Today there is the category of the aging population. A good percentage of the population is in this aging process and we continually hear of someone or other of this generation passing away. Undoubtedly they have lived their life; lived to a ripe old age, well past the Bibli-cal span of three score and ten and there should be no regrets. Nevertheless death inevitably leaves a heart-ache. Long-forgotten memories are awakened - Nos-talgic bitter - sweet memories. Bitter over the pain of parting and sweet for the fragrant, lingering memories left behind. Like the haunting strains that linger in the heart and mind long after the music is over - thankful for that music. We are never really parted so long as memories remain.

Some of us encounter each other or one another, sea-sonally, periodically, after a lapse of time and on such memorable occasions the profound topic of death, in-variably creeps into conversation, as all are necessarily in the departure lounge awaiting the great flight. Very often the parting words are 'See you again God willing." On one such occasion in the not too distant past a part-ing remark directed at me was "I wonder if and when

we will meet again." I was reminded of the bard and quoted. "If we should meet again we shall but smile; if not this parting was well made" and it did after all turn out to be portentours. I am thankful however that quite unwittingly I made the parting in anticipation.

How come we do not appreciate or at least show any recognition, sometimes even to the point of ignoring when people are alive but haunted by memories when they are dead. This is the way of the world. The rush and fret and the fever of life leave us no time for such compliments or so we think.

"What is this life if full of careWe have no time to stand and stare."Little cherished incidents suddenly crop up from

somewhere in the sub-conscious; they surface only then when people are dead. This leaves much food for thought and digestion.

So this is inevitable transience of life. But through it all permeates the promise of the Lord. "I am the Res-urrection and the life" and the words of Donne echo "Death where is thy sting? Death where is thy victory?" for the Lord has promised eternal life in the Portals of the Lord for those who believe in Him.

Jeannette Cabraal

First of all let me convey my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and heartfelt sympathies to all who have to live with their physical injuries

and mental trauma. As an individual I have been offer-ing prayers and Holy Masses for their intention daily.

I have not lost any of my loved ones, other than some of my friend’s family members. Hence the sentiments expressed by me should not be considered as irrespon-sible and reckless.

My understanding of the tragedy is – that it is the WILL of God. Simply because we Catholics do pray the Lord’s prayer daily – morning & evening – repeating “

Thy Kingdom come; Thy Will be Done on earth as it is in Heaven” If we are to recite the prayer faithfully with its true meaning let us accept as it happens.

We believers, when some positive things happen in our life individually or as a community we give thanks and praise to God the Father and profess that His will has prevailed. If so why only when we face some nega-tive happenings we do not accept it as the will of God.

In the recent past - In Oct 2018 in Indonesia Air flight Boeing crashes into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff killing all 181 passengers and 8 crew. The probe attrib-uted to the Contd on Pg 15

The Tragedy - WILL of God?


Rev. Fr. Eranga Laksritha de Silva

Jesus said to him (Thomas), "I am the way and the truth and the life" (John 14/6). Jesus Christ our LORD made this statement in response to the

question raised by Thomas the apostle: "Master, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" (John 14/5). To have life and to live, we need to know the way, and to know the way, we need to know what truth is. St Thomas wanted to know the way of life, and the LORD said that it could be found only in Him and Him alone.

Again, in the 8th chapter of the same Gospel, we find Jesus telling those Jews who believed in Him, "If you remain in my word, you will truely be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8/32). In both these cases, the Lord Jesus was talking about "Truth," and thus it is very impor-tant to know what this truth is. In fact this very ques-tion was raised in the Gospel itself, this time by Pi-late: "Pilate said to Him (Jesus), 'What is truth?'" (John 18/38).

St John Paul the Great, in his encyclical Veritatis Splendor (the Splendor of the Truth), highlights the connection between the truth and the human free-dom. He backs up his teaching with the above men-tioned statement of the LORD in John 8: 'The truth will make you free.' As Pope states, the people today have a particularly strong sense of freedom. In this compli-cated world, many of us, if not all of us are sometimes in a dilemma, in search of 'the truth' among 'different truths' which prevail around us. Individualism have started to play a major role in the hearts of the peo-ple, and they seem to appreciate it as it sounds very comfortable. This individualism leads to 'Relativism.'

Relativism is the understanding that there is no abso-lute truth, only the truths that a particular individual person or a particular culture happen to accept. For example, even when it comes to a moral issue in a par-ticular country, there can be different opinions and they can still be equally valid. But the responsibility of the Christians is to follow the life of Jesus; to accept the difficult way. Let us be courageous with the words of our LORD: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruc-tion, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few finds it" (Matthew 7/13-14).

In the light of the teachings found in the above mentioned encyclical of St John Paul the Great, one can say that this situation brings more tension day after day, paving a way to create a battle between one's con-science and the universal truth. With the inclination of the individualism, the modern man would rather pre-fer to follow what the society accepts as the truth. This would bring a temporal 'freedom' but not permanent. After all, one's conscience would lead to follow the truth - what brings happiness and freedom according to the LORD: "They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them on the day when, according to my gos-pel, God will judge people's hidden works through Christ Jesus" (Romans 2/15 & 16).

St. Paul, in the same letter, reminds of the wrath of God against wickedness of men through which they suppress what is truth: "The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness" (Romans 1/18).

Having these thoughts in our minds, let us now get into the question proper: 'What is Truth?' (John 18/38). This question was raised by Pilate when Jesus was brought before him. This is regarded as the most dramatic account of the trial of Jesus in the New Tes-tament by many Sacred Scripture scholars and com-mentators. These scholars in fact invite the readers to read the whole passage as one to get the real meaning of what was going on there.

Some suggest that Pilate was asking the question with a sense of humor and sarcasm, while some others suggest that there was anger in that question. No mat-ter what was going in the mind of Pilate, it needs to be emphasized that this is the same question we ask our-selves very often, ask others regularly, and even God when we pray. We all are in a dire need of knowing the truth. In fact, we all have a right to know the truth. But the question remains unanswered sometimes for there is no proper guidance to find the truth.

Pope Francis, speaking to the participants of the General Chapter of the Oblates of St. Joseph (a re-ligious institute of priests and brothers founded in 1878, and whose apostolate is mainly to work with the youth and the poor) last year, emphasized the threat of the relativism in the modern society. Pope made this speech in the Vatican and further said, "We live in times of rampant relativism that undermines the edi-fice of faith at its base and strips the very idea of Chris-tian fidelity of its meaning." It was not the first time the Holy Father raised his voice against this modern threat. Even as a bishop, He continued to stand against the incidents where the truth had been hidden under the carpet. Soon after he was elected as the Pontiff, in fact on the tenth day of his papacy, Pope Francis said that the moral relativism had threatened peace.

Now let us turn to our country. It has been six months already since we - the Catholics of Sri Lanka and even the Universal Church – have been shocked with the Easter Terror attack in Sri Lanka. The tragic incident has brought endless tears to the eyes of thou-sands, and the lives of many have changed overnight completely. But the truth seems to be hidden. It seems like there is no place to the voice of truth. It is inten-tionally hidden by many individuals, groups and even the responsible authorities. Jesus said that the truth would make us free, but by keeping the responsible people free in the society, truth is been hidden and the real freedom of the innocent victims has been stolen.

When His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith stood up for justice, many responsible authorities - both political and social - neglected listening to him. They just ignored the situation to let it be forgotten by the majority. Sadly, with the upcoming Presidential election, now the people are again rallying around the politicians as if nothing has happened in our country.

After all, let us remember the Word of God as it is written in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not re-turn to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accom-plish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands” (Isa-iah 55/11-12). Having accepted these Words, let us search the truth. One day the truth will triumph, and that truth will make all of us free.

What is Truth? (John 18/38) Social thinking of MissionRev. Fr. J. Patrick Perera

Holy Father Pope Francis, has asked us to revive the Church Missionary awareness and

commitment as we commemorate the centenary of the Apostolic Let-ter Maximum Illud of Pope Benedict XV (30th November 1991). Holy Fa-ther while dedicating this month as "World Missionary Month" has given a theme to every Christian "You are Baptized and sent". He says our filial relationship with God is not some-thing private, but always relation to the Church, through our com-munion with God, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

When we read the texts in the Bible and recent official Church documents on Mission there is a Social concern, in this great missiological com-mand.

"Go therefore, and make dis-ciples from all nations. Baptize them..... and teach them to fulfil all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28/19).

For many centuries mission was understood primarily as the expansion of the Church, mostly by verbal proclamation of the Gospel leading to Baptism.

Even today some think of the mission on these terms, for them social, cultural, temporal, earthly realities are outside the scope of evangelization. However, during past - recent years there has been a massive shift from this to a more ho-listic understanding of mission with social, total human existence.

Let us try to examine some offi-cial Catholic documents in this re-gard. We may mention that some of the following documents which have contributed to change the under-standing.

Quadragesimo Anno (1931), Mat-er et Magistra (1961), Pacem in Ter-ris (1963), Gaudium et Spes (1963), Populorum Progressio (1967), Oc-togesima Adveniens (1971), Evan-gelii Nuntiandi (1975), Laborem Ex-ercens (1981), Redemptoris Missio (1990), Evangellii Gaudium (2013), Documents of the Pontifical Commis-sion for Justice and Peace.

So some of these documents spoke about the structural and social sins and the need for the structural transformations. These theologies forced the Church to look at its mis-sion from the point of view of the downtrodden masses. Though at the beginning there were some negative reactions but recent Popes have sup-ported and spoken openly on this trend in theology. Even in Asian and South American, African Bishops Conferences have spoken openly on this new aspect of evangelization. Large official documents have ac-cepted the importance of working for Justice and Peace. Catholic Bishops' Conference in

Sri LankaThe changes taking place glob-

ally in the Catholic Church had its ef-fects on CBCS, had issued many na-tional documents on various social issues. The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conference (FABC)

One of the major emphases of the FABC was in recent times, has been option of the poor becoming of the Church of the poor.

Today, many theologians have moved from the old understanding

to a more holistic approach to evan-gelization - to genuine concern for the human in its totality.

Then as a new awareness was building up after Vatican II, Chris-tians began to realize that the old missionary approach geared to the planting of the Church was not suf-ficient. In Sri Lanka recent Political approaches were challenged by the Church, for an example the recent bomb attack on Catholic Church; the Church is demanding to do justice and to bring those murderers to the courts of Justice. There are so many fields and areas, which we have got to raise our voice, where there are many injustices are happening. So it is part of evangelization. The new evangelization speaks on develop-ment of the whole person. The Holy Father speaks on "Evangelii Nuntian-di" to work for justice and peace is a part of the mission of the Church; it is part of evangelization.

Even when we meditate over the missionary command in Matthew 28/18 and Mark 16/15, we have to interpret them more openly, that is more than a water baptism need to know, teaching some doctrines. The saving truths. that people need to know are much larger than few dog-mas. It is also good to re-read the Holy Bible with new understanding of the mission-point of view of the poor and oppressed.

New Concept of the MissionThe new authors of the missiolo-

gy says "mission is not to be ecclesial centered, but kingdom centered."

One of the basic principals be-hind the new approach is the unity, the unity of plan of God: the unity of source and goal. (Mission Trends Today - Joseph Mattam)

Formerly 'go out' meant geo-graphical locomotion, transfer to foreign land, but today theologians pointout, mission area is not a geo-graphical matter but areas of human life that are still not sufficiently trans-formed by the values of the Kingdom; our politics, social relations, trade relations, economic structures which leave the majority in poverty and

misery. The mission land is the world, humankind, human life, every area of the life and relationships, structures processes, value systems at work in the world which are not divinely or-dained, foreign to the teachings of Je-sus, not wholly formed by love, not totally fraternal.

Be light and salt, leaven and fra-grance (Matthew 5/13, 14, 2 Corin-thians 2/14-16) Matthew's invita-tion to be light, salt and leaven are as much mission commands. Evange-lizing mission therefore transcends proclamation and become witness through life and work.

Development is not merely a question of abolishing hunger and reducing poverty. It is more than es-cape from misery disease and igno-rance. It is a question of every one can live a fully human life.

Mission is LoveLove is the distinctive mark of

the disciples of Jesus (John 13/34-35). It is its constitution factor. Love defines mission (John 13/34 - 35, 15/9-17) Love is central, on it hangs everything (Matthew 22: 40). Mis-sion consists in persuading people to love God and neighbour. One of the emphasis of mission as social con-cern is liberation of people form all sort of slavish activities. Therefore when we speak of the mission of the Church, there is bigger scope which we have to consider not simply giv-ing the sacraments and preaching in the Church, but more to think of how to become, salt light and leaven in the world.

Carl Joshua de Zoysa Siri-wardhana

Sharing her story firsthand, one of the few survivors of the

bombings, Yasawaradana, a mother and wife who un-fortunately lost her entire family, told her story first-hand to those present at the Memorial Service gather-ing : Her story began to ring with melancholy, concluded with the heartfelt message. ‘I am moving on, for the Lord. He is my strength and what happened to me has not worn away my faith in Him, but is reason for me to more openly express my trust in the Lord.’

She said this at the end of the Memo-rial Service held to commemorate the vic-tims’ passing at St. Anthony’s Church, Mount

Lavinia, recently marking the six months in the wake of the horrendous Easter Sunday attacks that unfolded in late April, this year.

The Memorial Service was followed by Holy Mass. Immediately after the Holy Mass, the English and Sinhala choirs,

alongside Choral Spectrum coor-dinated together conveying global respects and con-dolences expressed adopting the form of hymns. An added hour dedicated to hymns brought out the diverse emo-tions faced by the families of these vic-tims, by the hymns

coherently leading from sorrow to appeasing the soul with a sense of peace. The attendees were finally welcomed to light lamps to pay their last respects prior to leaving. The me-morial, subsequently had a compelling and emotional outcome on both those passively and actively partaking in it.

Special thanks were conveyed to the Par-ish Priest, Rev. Fr. Anton Saman Hettiarach-chi, the English church choir led by Shenal Fernando, the Sinhala church choir directed by Sumudhu Obeysekara, Choral Spectrum and Petite Chorale by Haasinee Halpe An-dree, musicians: Sebastian Benjerot on the cello, Anoma Fernando on the viola, accom-panied by Kisholi Mathiaparanam, B.R. Ama-vin Mendis who captured timeless images of the remembrance and all those who made this memorial possible.

I am Moving on, for the Lord….He is My StrengthA survivor of April Bomb attack

.. for the sake of his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again.” (2 Maccabees 7:11)

In 1926, Pope Pius XI decided the Church needed a special day on which to pray

for missionaries, and to renew her com-mitment to the missions. The World cel-ebrated the day as a sign of support and solidarity for missions and missionaries across the globe.

A noun, a verb and an adjectiveIn his homily during Mass for World

Mission Day, Pope Francis reflected on three words taken from the readings of the “a noun, a verb and an adjective”. The noun he selected was “the mountain”. It appears in the first reading from Isaiah, and again in the Gospel, “when Jesus, after His Res-urrection, tells His disciples to meet Him on the mount of Galilee”. It seems that “the mountain is God’s favourite place for en-countering humanity”.

The Pope recalled other mountains in the Scriptures: Mount Sinai and Mount Car-mel, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, His trans-figuration on Mount Tabor, His crucifixion on Mount Calvary, and His ascension into heav-en from the Mount of Olives. “The mountain is also the place where Jesus spent several hours in prayer to unite heaven and earth”, said the Pope, “and to unite us, His brothers and sisters, with the Father”.

The noun: “mountain”The mountain tells us we are called

“to draw near to God and to others, in si-lence and in prayer, avoiding the rumours and gossip that diminish us”. We see things in a different perspective from the moun-tain.. “The mountain unites God and our brothers and sisters in a single embrace of prayer”. It draws us up and away from tran-sient things, and summons us to rediscover what is essential and lasting: God and our

brothers and sisters”.“Mission begins on the mountain”, affirmed Pope Francis.The verb: “to go up”

We were not born to remain on the ground, said the Pope, “we were born to reach the heights and there to meet God and our brothers and sisters”. This means we have “to go up”, “to resist the force of gravity caused by our self-centredness”. Going up takes effort, he added, “but it is the only way to get a better view of every-thing”, as any mountain-climber knows.

The adjective: “all”“The mountain reminds us of what

matters”, said Pope Francis. The verb “to go up tells us how to get there”. But there is a third, even more important, word: the adjective “all”.

“All” reappears constantly in this Sun-day’s readings: Isaiah speaks of “all peo-ples”, which is repeated in the Psalm; God desires “all to be saved”, writes Saint Paul; “Go and make disciples of all nations”, says Jesus in the Gospel. “The Lord knows we are always using the words ‘my’ and ‘our’”, explained Pope Francis, but He uses the word “all”: because “no one is excluded from His heart; because everyone is a pre-cious treasure, and the meaning of life is found only in giving this treasure to oth-ers”. This is our mission, said the Pope: “to go up the mountain to pray for everyone and to come down from the mountain to be a gift to all”.

“The Christian is always on the move”, always “outward-bound”, said the Pope. “Everyone expects things from others, but the Christian goes to others”, he said. “Those who bear witness to Jesus go out to all”, he added, “not just to their own ac-quaintances or their little group”.

Vatican news

Reflect on Meaning of Our Mission- Pope


Born: July 7, 1859, in RomeDied: February 23, 1911

Life: Giuseppina Van-nini (born Giuditta Van-nini) was born to Angelo Vannini and Annunziata Papi. Her parents both died within a few years of each other, leaving Giu-ditta and her siblings or-phans when she was just seven years old. Giuditta was separated from her siblings and sent to an or-phanage run by Vincient

Sisters. At the age of 28, Giuditta felt called to reli-gious life and entered the novitiate of the Daughters of Charity in Siena. Due to poor health, Giuditta was unable to continue in the novitiate and was asked to leave. Still hoping to pursue religious life, Giu-ditta did not give up on her call from God. A few years later, in 1891, she

met Father Luigi Tezza. Eventually, with his help, she founded the order

of the Daughters of Saint Camillus, taking Giusep-pina as her religious name. The mission of the order was to care for the sick. On December 8, 1895, she was made the Superior General of the order. Today, the order 800 sisters working in 22 countries.

Born: April 26, 1876Died: June 8, 1926

Life: Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan was an Indian mystic who cared for the poor, the sick, and lepers. Born as Thresia Mankidiyan in Kerala, India, her par-ents named her after St. Teresa of Avila. From a young age, Thresia had a deep and profound love

for God. In 1904, Thresia had a vision in which the Blessed Virgin Mary told her to add Mariam to her name. From that point for-ward, she referred to her-self as Mariam Thresia. In 1909, at the age of 33, Mariam Thresia re-ceived the stigmata. The Stigmata is marks, pains,

or wounds in locations that match the locations of the wounds of Christ (hands, wrists, feet, side). In 1913, Mariam Thresia founded the Congrega-tion of the Holy Family. Here, she and three com-panions devoted their lives to prayer, penance, and service to poor fami-lies.

Born: May 26, 1914Died: March 13, 1992Life: Sister Dulce Lopes Pontes was born in 1914 in Salvador de Bahia as Maria Rita. At the age of 13, Maria felt called to serve the poorest of the poor. After high school,

she joined the Mission-ary Sisters of the Im-maculate Conception of the Mother of God. Once she made her vows, Ma-ria took on the religious name Sister Dulce. Com-pelled to care for the poor and vulnerable, Sister Dulce founded the Charitable Works Foun-dation of Sister Dulce in 1959. In 1988 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in recogni-tion of her selfless work.

Even the king and his attendants marvelled at the young man’s courage, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing. (2 Maccabees 7:12)

Kids & Youth

Five New Saints for Our Church

By Fiona Basile “Shhh…God is in the silence. Can you hear him? He is speaking to your heart. Are you listening? I love you, he says.”

This book is designed to show children that we are all loved by God and were created

with the spark of God’s love in our hearts.

It will help both young and old to realize that silence itself can be a form of prayer when we quiet our minds and listen to God in our hearts. “So rest, little one…and know that God is al-

ways in your heart.Author Fiona Basile is a writer

and photographer based in Mel-bourne, Australia. Alice Mount’s appealing pictures of boys, girls, and babies, along with various animals, are a great complement to the story. Parents, teachers,

and anyone else entrusted with the spiritual formation of young children will find that the book can help to create the space to listen to the voice of God as it gently guides us and speaks to us. It would make a great bed-time read.

Messenger Book Club

Shhh...God Is in the Silence - A Story for All Ages

Have you heard? The Church has five new Saints.On October 13, 2019, in St. Peter’s Square, at a Mass with over 50,000 attendees, Pope Francis declared Sister Dulce Lopes Pontes, Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan, Cardinal John Henry Newman, Margurite Bays, and Giuseppina Vannini saints.

Before we learn more about these amazing servants of God, let us recap a few things about sainthood:

1. YOU ARE CALLED TO BE A SAINT. Truly. Really. Do not forget it.

2. Anyone who is in Heaven is a saint.3. Not everyone who is a saint is a canonized “capital

‘S’” Saint.4. There are countless of holy men and women who are

saints, whose lives we will never know about until we [God-willing] reach heaven. We celebrate the lives of these saints every year on November, 1 – All Saints Day (a holy day of obligation).

5. The process of becoming a canonized saint is long and rigorous…

Local Bishop Investigates: The individual’s local bish-op investigates his/her life (reading anything they have written, talking to witnesses or writings by witnesses, etc.). If the bishop thinks the individual is a valid can-didate for sainthood, he submits his appeal to the Vati-can’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Congregation for the Causes of Saints Decision: The council can decide to either accept or reject the bish-ops’ proposal. If they accept, they open up their own

investigation into the life of this person.

Venerable: if the Congregation for the Causes of Saints decides the person lived a “heroically virtuous life” the individual is given the title “Venerable.”

Blessed: In order for a person to become “Blessed,” they must have a miracle occur through their interces-sion. Typically, these miracles are miracles of healing. There is a check-list of factors for the miracle to count as ‘valid.’

Saint: If a second, valid, miracle occurs the person can be declared a Saint.

Anyways, on to the important part – who are these new saints?

Sister Dulce Lopes Pontes Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan

Born: February 21, 1801Died: August 11, 1890Life: John Henry Newman was born in the city of London on February 21, 1801, to John Newman and Jemima Fourdrinie. From a young age, he hungered for truth. This desire would ultimately lead to his conversion to Catholicism. Raised an Anglican, Newman be-came an Anglican priest

at the age of 27, as well as a professor at Oxford. In 1845, at the age of 44, Newman converted to Catholicism. He studied theology in Rome for several years before be-ing ordained a Catholic priest in 1847. Pope Leo XII appointed Newman as Cardinal in 1879. In-terestingly, Newman had neer been a bishop (typically one must be a bishop before becoming a cardinal). Today, New-man is chiefly remem-bered for his theological contributions, including an incredible defense of Catholic education. He is also remembered for be-ing instrumental in the foundation of the Catho-lic University of Ireland in Dublin.

Cardinal John Henry Newman

Giuseppina Vannini, Founder of the Daughters of Saint Camillus

Born: September 8, 1815Died: June 27, 1879Life: Marguerite Bays was born in Switzerland to Pierre-Antoine Bays and Josephine Morel. Though we often hear about Saints who were religious sisters/broth-

ers/priests, Marguerite Bays was a lay woman (an ‘ordinary’ member of the Catholic Church) for her entire life. She grew up to be a seamstress. Never marrying, Marguerite de-voted her life to God by serving her church com-munity (teaching young children the faith) and by working with the sick and the poor. Attending daily Mass, maintain-ing a strong devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as well as the Eucharist, were all ele-ments of Marguerite’s

deep prayer life. Rooted in the Gospel, she was called to care profoundly for her family. Like many of us, her family was not perfect – her brother was imprisoned, her sister returned to Marguerite’s home after her marriage failed, and Marguerite raised her nephew who was born out of wed-lock. These things did not prevent Marguerite for loving her siblings. At the age of 35, she de-veloped intestinal cancer. Through the intercession of Our Lady, Marguerite

prayed that she might be cured and instead expe-rienced the sufferings of Christ in a profound way. On December 8, 1854, the day Pope Pius IX pro-claimed the Immaculate Conception dogma, she was miraculously cured. However, every Friday she experienced some time of suffering related to the Passion. Eventual-ly, she developed stigma-ta on her hands, feet, and chest. On Friday, June 27, 1879, at 3pm, Marguerite Bays died.

Margurite Bays


Drug dependence is an adaptive state that devel-ops from repeated drug administration which results in unpleasant state on withdrawal or

cessation of the drug. The dependent becomes toler-ant. That is more is needed to get the desired effect or to avoid unpleasant withdrawal effects. They feel they have to use it to do certain things or feel a certain way. Changes in the body takes place. If stopped unpleasant symptoms manifests. It can be life threatening. They feel sad and get angry. Withdrawal symptoms are in-crease in the heart rate and blood pressure, sweating and tremors, confusion, fits and visual hallucinations. When dependent they behave in an unexpected way. This can be very difficult to the family and society.

Along with alcohol and tobacco drugs are fast be-coming a serious menace in the society in Sri Lanka just as much as it is an international problem. Even though drugs may not have as much financial implications to the family, large sums of money are exchanging hands nationally and more so internationally on sale of drugs. The present and the past political leaders too are show-ing an interest in controlling the drug menace. There are serious ill effects on the physical and psychological systems in the individuals who are afflicted by drugs.

There is no single cause for drug misuse. Three fac-tors appear in a similar way to alcohol problems. The predisposing causes are

* The availability of drugs. * A vulnerable personality. * Social pressures particularly from peers.Sadly, the use of drugs is increasing amongst the

youth. There are 300,000 youths who are addicted to drugs in our country. The total number of drug users arrested in 2017 is 81,156. There is a 2% increase from 2016 to 2017. The highest number of dependent drug users are in the Colombo district making up to 38% fol-lowed by Gampaha district contributing 18%, followed by Kurunegala 6% and Galle 3%. The highest usage of psychotrophic substances was from the Galle district. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the consumption of dependent drugs have increased noticeably in the Jaff-na district in the recent past. Psychotrophic substances or drugs are capable of affecting the mind, emotion, and behaviour. Any illicit drugs like cocaine belong to this group. An example of a common legal drug in this group is lorazepam or the brand product known as ATI-VAN.

The commonest abused drug substance is Cannabis which accounts for 63% of the abused substances, fol-lowed by a contribution of 36% from Heroin. This is followed by Cocaine and Hashish in very much smaller quantities. Cannabis (GANJA)is a tall leafy illegal plant grown in Sri Lanka, the extract of which is smoked or consumed. It has a psychoactive effect.

Heroin is an opioid drug extracted from morphine . It is obtained from the seed pod of opium poppy plant.

It is taken as an injection, smoked or inhaled. It is not grown in Sri Lanka. Cocaine is a powerfully addic-tive stimulant drug from coco plant in South America. Hashish and Marijuhana are from the Cannabis plants. They are smoked or taken as a drink or food called edibles. They are popularly referred to as pot, weed, mary jones. It is available for sale in Sri Lanka. Some of these are used in late night parties in clubs, hotels and organized home parties. There are other popular terms used to indicate these dependent drugs. APPLE is used for the drug TRAMADOL (morphine like drug). POT BROWNIE for Cannabis, MOLLY (MDMA_ ecstasy). ICE is another word used by school boys for an addic-tive substance.

These substances have many ill effects on the per-son taking them. They include loss of appetite, violent behaviour, hallucinations, increase of heart rate and blood pressure, sense of detachment from stress, lack of concentration, respiratory depression, impaired per-formance, confusion and less life satisfaction. They can interfere with the development of the brain of the child. They can cause death.

LEGAL DRUGS CAUSING DEPENDENCEPsychotrophic drugs used in behavioural disorders

and Methyl Amphetamine a nerve stimulant drug can be addictive. Some people get addicted to Dexmetho-rphan in cough syrups, because of which the sale of cough syrups are limited to state pharmacies only.

Tranqulizers: Drugs used by children and adoles-cents include ARTAINE, DIAZEPAM, and Morphine. The street name for drug TRIFLUIPERAZINE is MILLA SOYA. It is not uncommon to see these drug sellers outside the leading schools in the city of Colombo. Drugs caus-ing dependence include barbiturates, a popular brand is LUMINAL and benzodiazepines an example of which

is diazepam a popular brand of which is VALIUM. De-pendence on the latter is common and may be due to the drug been prescribed and not discontinued. Dis-continuing treatment may cause withdrawal symptoms and therefore should be supervised and gradual.

Amphetamines and related substances. These have temporary stimulant and euphoriant effects that are followed by fatigue and depression, with the latter sometimes prolonged for weeks. Psychological rather than true physical dependence occurs. In addition to manic (overactive and excited) like presentation, am-phetamines can produce picture like schizophrenia (a psychiatric disease).

Ecstacy is a amphetamine brand available in night clubs in our country. It is used as ‘dance drug’. It has a short duration of action. Repeated usage can cause brain damage. Deaths have been reported from very high fever (hyperpyrexia) and dehydration. Sudden liver and kidney failure can occur.

REMEMBER THE NEXT VICTIM MAy BE yOUR CHILD

Health relatedIssues in Sri Lanka

By dr. Maxie FernandopulleEmail: [email protected]

After he had died, they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way. When he was near death, he said,... (2 Maccabees 7: 13-14)

Some aspects of drug abuse and dependence

“I always think that I am going to fall. I think I learned it from my mother who also lived on the brink. I call it Brinkmanship though not in the usual sense. Just spending my time on the edge of a precipice thinking!” said Pushpa.“It is better to let go and trust in God. He will watch over you from moment to moment. I think that we humans must stop worrying. From the moment you get up in the morning you must thank God for a New Day and leave everything in God’s hands. The Holy Spirit is also there to help you especially when you are troubled” commented Vikum.“I am so used to thinking of what might go wrong that I just cannot stop the habit. I guess it is the negative thinking that takes over”said Pushpa.“All of us are used to thinking bad thoughts and even expressing what might happen. If only we can train our minds and hearts to think positively it would be good” chimed in David.“I know. As Christians we should learn to trust in God for we believe that we are the Children of God. Then we should live for the day and be content. It is when we are dissatisfied that we start thinking of a fall” commented David.“Let us then stop grumbling and being fearful. Many of us go through life in fear. Like my mother who lived on the brink, we should not be afraid. When we start to be afraid, we should offer it up to God and ask for the strength to cope” said Pushpa.“Start praying instead of being afraid” concluded David.

by sirohmi gunesekera

Brink

Idam

Letter to Governor Horton

This letter written by the Vicar Gen-eral of Ceylon, Fa-

ther Francis Xavier to the newly-appointed British Governor Robert Wil-liam Horton is a very im-portant document which speaks about the state of the Catholic Church at the turn of the 19th century.

Robert Horton served as the Governor of Ceylon from 1831 to 1837 and was the sixth British Governor appointed to supervise the affairs of colonial Ceylon.

The letter is dated January 13, 1832 and it touched on the yeoman

service rendered by St. Joseph Vaz to the Catho-lics of Ceylon during the Dutch persecution.

The letter says, “When the Portuguese lost the command of the island and the Dutch took over, all the priests who were in the island were com-pelled to quit. The Catho-lics of the island were de-prived of their pastors for forty years and as a conse-quence a large number of them became pagans...”

According to the document St. Joseph Vaz reached Ceylon on foot in 1687. “This zealous mis-sionary of Jesus Christ …began to work in the ser-

vice of Christianity in this country with such fervour that in five years He suc-ceeded in not only reduc-ing the number of lost sheep but also converting many pagans.”

During a courtesy call to the newly-appointed Governor, the Catho-lic missionaries were asked by the new Gover-nor to inform him about the state of the Catholic Church in Ceylon at that time. He was interested in five points regarding the state of the Church. The Governor wanted to know “from whom the missionaries receive their authority, powers and ju-

risdiction; what sort of education they have, how many clergy are working in the island, what is the sum of their income and expenses and the number of the Catholics and the churches that they have.” The Catholic missionaries at that time had to gather this information and give a detailed account of the then Church in Ceylon.

The Catholic mission-aries of the island were under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Cochin in Kerala, India, from the time of Pope Clement XI. The authority was grant-ed for the Congregation of Contd on Pg 15


“It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the god-given hope of being restored to life by him:... (2 Maccabees 7:14)

St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor (440-461)

by Rev. Fr. Athanasius Samarasinghe

There are three "greats" in the Church. The first

one is St. Leo the Great about whom we are go-ing to consider in this Ar-ticle. The other two being Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century and Pope Nicholas the Great in the 9th century.

St. Leo the Great ranks among the most illustri-ous Supreme Pontiffs that ever sat on the throne of St. Peter. We know very little of his life except that he was a Tuskan. He was a deacon at Rome under Popes Celestine I and Six-tus III. As a deacon he be-came so famous as to have had correspondence with St. Cyril of Alexandria.

In 440 Leo was del-

egated to Gaul on an im-portant peace mission. At this time Pope Sixtus died. A deputation went from Rome to Gaul to inform Leo about his unanimous election as Pope. His pe-riod of papacy lasted 21 years. The following are his great achievements for which he deserves the title "The Great".

1) We have some 96 of his sermons, stressing the virtues of almsgiving, fasting and prayer.

2) There is great clarity in all of his dogmatic ex-positions, particularly regarding the dogma of the Incarnation.

3) When the Manichaens

were spreading their heresy, Leo called a Council of the clergy and the heretical books were burnt.

4) Leo tackled success-fully the heresy of Pris-cillianism. It was be-ing spread especially in Spain. It combined astrology and fatalism with Manichaenism.

5) Twice he nullified the acts of the saintly Hilary the Bishop of Arles say-ing "nothing should be done in Gaul contrary to the ancient usage without the authority of the Bishop of Rome." Thereby the Roman primacy was given of-ficial recognition. The saying (Roma locuta est causa finita) (Rome has spoken the matter is settled), stems from his days.

6) There was much more serious and sensitive problems that had to be tackled. This, Leo did with extraordinary sa-gacity. In 448 Abbot Eu-tyches' of Constantino-

ple complained to Leo about the revival of Ne-storianism at Antioch, Flavian the Patriarch of Constantinople excom-municated the Abbot. No official notification was sent to Rome. Leo wrote to Flavian try-ing to know the other side. Flavian sent a let-ter explaining Eutyches' heritical stand of deny-ing the human nature of Christ, the opposite of Nestorianism.

Two years later Martian succeeded Theodosius as emperor. A greater Council was held at Chalcedon in Asia Minor. At least 600 bishops were present. Leo sent 3 delegates. Flavian was dead. But his memory was vindi-cated. Dioscorus was convicted for virtually excommunicating the Pope. He himself was excommunicated and deposed. Leo in that supressed letter had concisely defined the Catholic doctrine of the Incarnation. At once the Council Fathers raised their voice jubilantly

"Peter has spoken by the mouth of Leo."

7) Another biggest chal-lenge Leo as Pope faced was when Atila the king of the Huns who was called "the scourge of God" invaded Italy. After a siege of three years he sacked and burned Aquleia. Then he proceeded to Rome. It is here Leo's ability came to the fore. Leo went to meet Atila. With God given eloquence he persuaded Atila to turn back. The Hun was per-suaded. It was in 452. His servants asked him the reason for his meek-ness. His reply was that he had been alarmed by a figure dressed like a priest by the side of Leo. This figure was wield-ing a sword and acted as if he would kill him if he advanced further. So Atila retracted.

When Leo re-turned to Rome, there was huge ovation. It was short lived. The vandal Genseric entered Rome. Once again Leo's elo-quence and the author-

ity of his holy life made the vandal withdraw. During the twenty one years of his pontificate Leo won the veneration of the rich, and the poor, emperors and barbar-ians, clergy and laity. He was the Great: Leo died in the year 461.

To Ponder:-"In baptism the sign of the cross makes kings, of all who who are reborn in Christ. The anointing of the Holy Spirit conse-crates them priests. So apart from the particular obligations of our minis-try any Christian who has the gifts of rational and spiritual understanding knows he is a member of a kingly race and sharer in the priestly office. " St. Leo the Great"

Are Natural Disasters Really Acts Of God?Are natural disasters caused by

God? A big question props up seeking an answer, to quench

the thirst to know the truth. When di-sasters occur like the Tsunami Sri Lanka experienced fifteen years ago we say in a manner of speaking, attribute such occurance as an act of God. But is it re-ally so? If we look around the planetary system, the coordination of the organs of the human body it is apparent that there should have been a designer for all this systems. Let us look at the scientific ex-planation of the Tsunami which is caused by eartquakes.The ocean floor consists of around 12 plates which are called tec-tonic plates which usually rub against each other. If however subduction occurs for some reason one plate may override the other, and this plate sucks, so to say and accumulate energy due to pressure. This accumulation of pressure if released after many years, will cause what may be referred to as a large tidal wave as big as 100 km which is the Tsunami.

Reseachers now try to figure-out whether the man made disturbances of the ocean floor system by way of Glob-al Warming and pollution, could be the contributory factors for the cause of Tsu-nami and earthquakes. Is God, a God of Destruction or a God of Love ?

It has been established with a fair degree of certainty that the rise in sea

levels is due to Global Warming as there has been a significant rise in sea level in the last three decades, (30 years) com-pared to the same period in the past.

Let us now go to the Biblical history.

In the Old Testament the major flood encountered was the deluge. And at the end of the deluge what did God tell Noah (Genesis 9: 11-17) which is reproduced below.

“I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow ap-pears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all liv-ing creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

17 So God said to Noah, “This is the

sign of the covenant I have established be-tween me and all life on the earth.”

When the Old Testament is studied in great detail, it can be established that God kept His promise.

However natural disasters happen in today’s world, and we experience Tsunamis, Floods, Typhoons, forest fires

and the like which kill and severely affect humanity.

The point that we should seriously consider is, how the actions of man contribute, in his efforts effectively and slowly in destroying the environment.

Anton Abeyesekera


Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to him,... (Luke 20:27)

by Bro. Sumeth Sumeda Fernando C.Ss.R

Ma r c S r i H o m e s , Kalamulla,

Kalutara begun in the year 1983 January 29th by late Mrs. Rita Perera, after the demise her husband to provide shelter for those rejected and neglected by the families and larger society had the blessings and guidance of late Rev.Fr. Julian Tissera, the then Parish Priest of Karamulla, Kalutara, enters 37th year in January 2020.Marcsri Saranaseva Home provide the destitute, to the handicapped, Abandoned-children and youth in nine houses now operating within the Archdiocese. Inmates are provided food, clothing, accommodation, medicines and transportation. The organization work hard to find necessary funds to ensure continued provisions needed for life saving. Other expenses include bills on rentals, medicines and transportation. The inmates in those respective homes solely depend on the God’s providence and they are sustained through donations, alms giving, volunteer workers.It all began after the untimely death of her loving husband Marcus Perera in the year 1982. The Gospel passage make reference to what would Jesus Christ sitting on the throne on the day of Last Judgment, would announce how He was treated in the sick, in the lonely, and in those suffered hunger and nakedness and inviting those treated them well to sit in the Right Hand of the Throne and others are condemned to eternal fire. Whatever you do to the lesast of my brother you do it unto me.Mrs. Perera reading through this passage was fascinated and looked for an opportunity to put into practice the desire burning within her heart and she visited the nearby hospital. She found a person just discharged. He was in two minds and confused; not knowing where to go and for whom to look for assistance. She approached the man, the destitute in his old age. Like the Good Samaritan we read in the Gospel, she took him home ensured that he has nothing to worry that he has the shelter he was looking for and relief he was looking for is found.

This act of mercy spread like wildfire and those people who had no where to go began coming looking for some shelter. She never turned them back, and that was the beginning of the blessed cluster which has now spread within the Archdiocese of Colombo.

Fr. Julian extended the required assistance to carry the good work begun by Mrs. Rita Perera. He also got the youth and other groupings within the Parish moving to extend all assistance necessary and to expand the house, add facilities needed to make the lives of the inmates. He got several other houses opened for the destitute extending the Marc Sri Home Spirit and he was their Chaplain until his last days.With the demise of the Founderess and the First Chaplain (Mrs. Prita Perera and Rev. Fr. Julien Tissera respectively), the Marc Sri Homes are run under the supervision of Sethsarana Institute of the Archdiocese. Rev. Fr. Prasanna Christopher was appointed the administrator of the Marc Sri Homes with well over 260 inmates of different age level in nine homes.The MarcSri Home - Saranaseva Nivahana at Katukurunda, Kalutara, provide shelter to 63 disabled children and adults; at the Cardinal Cooray Memorial Home 19 disabled youth and at Marco Home shelter is given to 26, disabled young girls. St. Theresa’s Home provide shelter to 22 disabled young girls. The Mama Papa Home gives protection to 25 disabled children and 42 elderly homeless have found shelter at St. Mary’s Home. While St. Albert’s Home provide shelter to 22 elders; disabled girls numbering 30 are inmates of St. Martin’s Home and St.Anne’s Home gives shelter to 19 elders. St. Theresa’s Home opened on October 1st, 190 moves smoothly under the supervision of Miss Shanthi.

Donations are what keep Marcsri homes alive. Whatever the donations they receive feed the inmates, provide them shelter, medicines and the other needs. Whatever the donations they receive will make a difference in their lives. The inmates of these homes always seek for love and caring from others. Whoever visits these homes, they welcome them with a big smile in their faces and joy in their hearts. If you’re fond of spending time with those who are need

of love. Marcsri homes doors are open to you. You can share your laughter, joy and happiness with them. A moment from our lives would worth a lifetime for them. Also you can be an informer and spread the word among your business colleagues, your community, and friends. Sponsoring an inmate is a more personal connection. Whether your inmate is a child or a teen or an adult, you can be a part of their success, happiness and survival.

If you are willing to contribute your time for them you are always welcome to be a part of this family. The gift of you is the best gift of all.This year the Archdiocese will celebrare of Colombo the feast of Christ the King as the “MarcSri Day”, on Sunday November 24th and on this day, with humility MarcSri Homes will go about creating awareness the Homes about they run which give life and protection to those rejected and care-less by society and their immediate families. They will also seek donations from the generous hearts to continue their service to least of their brothers of human family in taking care and providing better facilities to the inmates. As you remember your dearly departed, and if you intend making a donation in remembrance of your dearly departed, you are welcome to think helping “Marcsri Homes”.Apart from the donation in cash and kind we also seek your precious time to spend some hours at our homes helping the inmates. Human resources is a big problem we are faced with as volunteers backward in coming forward to serve ‘least of their brothers’. Consider becoming partners of this service to human family. That is the best gift you can give to these inmates. Dial us if you are willing or want to know more about us. Dial Our Number 034 2223363 and our email; marcsrihomes@ gmail.com and Face Book : Marcsri Sarana Sewa Nivahana.

MarcSri Homes passes 36th MILE POST

Annual Feast of St. Mary's Church, Katukurunda

The Annual Feast of St. Mary's Church, Katukurunda, Moratuwa was held on a grandscale reently. Holy Mass was presided by Rev. Frs. S. George Danister Tissera, Dean of Theology, The National Seminary of Ampitiya assisted by Rev. Fr. Nilantha Ediriwickrama, new Parish Priest of Katukurunda. Ven. Badigama Paduma thero, Chief Incumbent of Sunandopananda temple with Rev. Frs. Ananda Weerakoon and Chamila Creshantha also joined the occasion.

(Text and pix by Chinthaka de Mel)

Inmates of MarcSri

Annual Handicraft Exhibition at St. Mary's Montessory, Waga

The Annual Handicraft Exhibition

of St. Mary's Montessory,

Walikanna, Waga held recently

for two days at the montessory premises. Here Rev. Fr. gihan Priyashantha

Peiris who participated as the Chief guest

enjoying a lighter moment with Children after

declared opening the exhibition.

(Sriyani gamage)

14 November 10, 2019the Messenger

WJesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming of age ... (Luke 20: 34-35)

Saturday before last, the Colombo South Deanery held Cardijn’s Day remembering the contribution Joseph Cardinal Cardijn made to the younger

generation. We started with the Holy Mass after which we had breakfast. After breakfast both girls and boys gathered in the Sr. Flora Hall of St. Peter’s college and five Former YCS Members shared their experiences in the YCS, emphasizing the need to be close to Christ especially by being in touch with the Word of God and Sacraments. A presentation on the life of Cardijn was screened to introduce the life and works of Cardijn who was responsible for the initiation of YCS. There were games organized for team-building and the members really enjoyed the day.

During the Mass Rev. Fr. Chrispin Leo emphasized the need to bring about a change in their own lives and the spirituality of YCS which is achieved by reflection on the Bible, participation in Eucharistic celebrations and

Sacraments should bring about the Personal Change or the Revolution by practising “ See, Judge and Act or Review of Life” bearing witness in other words as human beings. It is said that what is fully human is fully divine.

The meeting of Former YCS members can be an opportunity for present YCS members to experience some ‘Role-models’ in a society where the Younger generation is deprived of good examples or role-models to emulate. As an Asian YCS Chaplain I have met Past YCS members in some Asian Countries and they all expressed their gratefulness to YCS Training and formation as it had helped them to be what they are today. Our speakers on that day shared the same views. Thus they orchestrated what YCS has been In Sri Lanka and has done for them. We are happy to say that the Past YCS Members have come together to form a YCS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION in which Fr.Chrispin, Fr.Leo Perera and Fr.Noel Dias help them as Spiritual Directors. Past YCS members are welcome to be part of this community,

YCS is more important today as the Younger generation is immersed in societies that are dehumanizing. The media environments where young minds are being constantly bombarded by values and ideas that are contrary to religious values and accepted moral norms lead them on wrong paths. We see how young people are led astray and how they become victims and culprits of immoral and sexual aberrations trying to experience what they see in media. Thus traditional and religious values and attitudes are fast disappearing making room for temporary and instant fun and pleasure. The Church whose future depends on the younger generation should empower by challenging the Youth with the YCS Review of life and train and form them to question reality and live as human beings. The parents and adults should be sensitive to these trends in society and they should protest against media that corrupt the minds of the younger generation. When I met Indian and Sri Lankan Past YCS members they too echoed what YCS Hong Kong said. One Sri Lankan High Level Administrator said that YCS has helped them to go through life amidst many difficulties. Another said that their Marital life was saved because of the YCS Methodology which helped to understand each other and look at our problems realistically. The Indian Past YCS and YCW Members have seen the importance of the Cardinal Cardijn’s YCS Review of Life, or the Methodology that they have started an International Organization to promote it. All those who have gone through YCS know what it means to have had the experience of YCS.

Today many psychologists and behaviourists speak about the need to be proactive and not reactive. They have realized that many youth react to situations spontaneously without any reflection or realization of the consequences their actions could have. The YCS Mentor and YCW Founder, Joseph Cardijn has seen and experienced this phenomenon many years ago and introduced to the world this tool of humanization

of people so that they will see, judge and act as human beings. Seeing does not mean seeing superficially but seeing profoundly and critically, reflecting on all aspects of a situation or a problem and then judging and evaluating the data thus collected in the light of Christian and human values so that, that may be the launching pad for a meaningful action. It is important to make this methodology a habit or a way of life. Thus YCS is not just a methodology but a way of life.

Let us lend a hand to promote YCS and help the Younger generation to live a life of quality and meaning by acting as mature human beings in this dehumanizing society. What better way is there to help the younger generation than this. Let parents show the same interest they show for tuition classes so that their children may be educated to be human beings and lead successful lives as Christians and Citizens of our Country. Let me share with you what a Harvard Survey proved with regard to success in life. They found that the success in life depends 85% on right attitudes and values and only 15% on knowledge. May the Church realize the importance of YCS as a powerful tool in the evangelization of students and youth. Students and Youth today look for an active spirituality which goes with their culture and freedom. YCS try to meet these needs by grouping them and creating a forum for them to express themselves and their ideas in their peer group in the presence of an Animator who would accompany and help them with his or her reflection to inculcate Gospel and human values in them in the light of his or her faith experience. It becomes an active spirituality as the whole discussion ends up by challenging them to some action in their day to day life. Taking into consideration our human nature we make it a point to question at the following meeting whether they remembered the promise that they made at the last meeting and encourage them to be responsible and keep promises. We also ask them to maintain a diary where they can write what happens at the meetings and any ideas that they get during the week. This is a good practice for their success in life as Sean Covey says in his book, “ Seven steps for Successful Teenagers”. We as adults hope and pray for the success of our younger generation. Let us introduce them to this YCS tool of

success and persuade them to go through its training so that they may be successful Christians and Citizens of our country. As Church leaders let us lend a hand so as to popularize YCS among our students assuring thus a future cohort of Christian Leaders.May I conclude by reminding ourselves as adults that in our younger days we had certain social and cultural deterrents so as to lead us on the right path. I can remember that whenever we misbehaved in the church, we were given knocks on our heads by adults and if we misbehave on the road or elsewhere our parents are informed by the community. This is because the villagers or the parishioners considered us as their adopted children. Besides the teachers in school those days looked not into our studies but also to our discipline. Today a teacher cannot hit because the students will go to complain at the

police station against the teacher and parents too react against the teachers. So teachers today are not bothered about the formation of students but to consider them as a means to earn a living. This does not mean that there are not good teachers who consider their teaching as a vocation and a noble profession. But the majority have failed and their involvement in strikes and business has brought their regard and respect to a low ebb. This situation is caused by the competitive and consumerist social environment and the deterioration of religious and positive values and attitudes. The cyber and technological developments in communication also greatly contribute to the change of paradigm and perceptions of today’s youth and adults. These affect the relationships among peoples and families. With all these communication developments ironically people have become lonely and introvert creating a vacuum in their relationships in the family and peer groups. Thus you see an attitude of individualism and selfishness bringing about intolerance and frustration in their lives. Some end up creating their own world through drugs and others succumb to their fate with no one to help them. This reality should be in our minds as we try to evangelize the youth. The challenge faced by the YCS Chaplains, Animators and students is no easy task but joined together with Jesus with whom we could do everything and Our Blessed Mother who is ever ready to help us, we can be victorious.Rev. Fr. Chrispin Leo Deanery Chaplain and Former Asian YCS Chaplain

YCS: A TOOL FOR MEANINGFUL LIVING

Youth on stage

A Youth Seminar

15 November 10, 2019 Messenger

... and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die... (Luke 29: 35-36)

Contd. from Pg. 7Spiritual Halth...

Contd. from Pg. 11Letter to... Oratorians of Philip Neri in India, to send missionaries to Ceylon for 145 years. St. Joseph Vaz and his followers belong to the same Congregation. When this letter was written to Governor Horton in 1832, 14 priests from the Congregation were serving in the island.

According to a statistical addendum to this letter there were 313 churches in the whole island. Only 25 of these could accommodate about 1,000 people. Church-es numbering about 79 were so small they could con-tain less than 100 people during a service. There were also about 63 schools affiliated to these churches under the guidance of these missionaries.

The author also estimated that there were only 61,774 church-going Catholics out of a total population of about 185,000 Catholics. This may be mainly because of the lack of facilities and inadequacy of the number of priests.

Fr. Francis Xavier, the Vicar General of then Ceylon wrote this letter from St. Lucia’s Church in Kotahena, Colombo. He described the type of churches the Catho-lics were worshipping in, at that time. “I must however note here each of the missionaries has, in the districts assigned to him many chapels that carry the name of churches but which are for the most part rather small, covered with straw and ola leaves by reason of the pov-erty of the population, and without any convenience for the residence of the missionary. In spite of the incon-veniences that meet them, the missionaries visit these chapels once or twice a year for instruction of the Chris-tians and to administer the sacraments.”

Fr. Xavier in answering the question about the educa-tion of the missionaries had stated that the clergy were educated in the seminaries in Goa. They were taught Latin, Philosophy, Dogmatic and Moral theology. “After an examination, the missionaries are approved by the graduates of our Congregation as well as by His Excel-lency Msgr. the Archbishop, the Primate of Goa. Then they are selected by an assembly of our Congregation.“

Regarding finances Fr. Xavier had stated that the Catholic Church has no fixed income and they were de-pendent on the donations of the faithful and could be abundant in times of prosperity and small during times of scarcity. He had stated further that their annual in-come could vary from 600 sterling pounds to 100 per year depending on fertile and lean years. “Our revenue is small and we are obliged to live with greatest econo-my and in poverty,” he had stated in his response.

According to the letter written in the year 1832 there were no indigenous bishops or priests in Ceylon. The Catholic Church with its 14 priests was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Cochin in India. All the 14 missionaries, belonged to the Oratorian Congregation were trained in seminaries in Goa and ordained by the Primate of Goa.

After a strenuous process of selection they were sent to Ceylon as missionaries. Their income was variable and meager depending on the donations of the faithful who faced fertile as well as lean years. The missionaries lived lives of poverty and want.

n.B. The quotation of the letter written by Fr.

Francis Xavier to governor Horton was taken from the “Ceylon Historical Journal” of July 1953.

fatigue-ness of the Pilot/ Non recruitment of additional Pilots based on the Management decision due to finan-cial constraints the company faced. Hence if you analyze there will be string of people who were responsible for the accident. I accept that everyone should be identi-fied for their negligence of their duty and be punished accordingly.

Similarly 21/4 tragedy probe has identified the responsible officials to date. The moral responsibil-ity has been casted upon the President & the Prime Minister.

While we should not hold responsible the entire Muslim community for the incident. Let us not jump into conclusion that the Muslim Political leaders are guilty until it is proved without any doubt. At this hour of political decision making let not our choice be biased and blurred by 21/4 misfortune. Let us recognize the fact that the government has set a precedent by probing its own failures and making strictures on its own Presi-dent, Prime minister and senior state Officials.

In the name of Christian spirit let us forgive the people whose negligence led to tragic deaths serious injuries and pray for a Statesman be elected as the New President on November 16, 2019

Ranjith Anthick

Contd. from Pg. 1We His Followers Should...

Contd. from Pg. 1In Memoriam: Deceased...

Contd. from Pg. 1Death Gateway to...

Contd. from Pg. 1New Editor...

Contd. from Pg. 1Cardinal's homily at... statement released in the social media, by someone who wants to create undue commotion among the citi-zens of Sri Lanka. I categorically confirm that the hom-ily of His Eminence was purely based on Sacred Scrip-ture and Christian Spirituality and not on any political candidate or party or on any candidate for Presidency.

Hence let us live as believers of the resurrected life, said His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ran-jith, Archbishop of Colombo.

His Eminence made those remarks in delivering His homily, officiating as the Chief Celebrant of the All Souls' Day Service at Sellakanda Cemetery at Katuwa-pitiya, Negombo.

The slain bodies of victims of the Easter Sunday bru-tal killing due to the bomb explosion are buried at the Sellakanda Cemetery.

“I am here today, to officiate at the ‘All Souls' Day’ service, specifically to be with you and to remind you, that I will continue to be with you, share your pain, sor-rows and troubles.”

His Eminence went onto say that on this special day dedicated to pray for all the departed souls, the pain and suffering of those who lost their loved ones, due to the unfortunate Easter Sunday tragedy, words were insufficient to describe the pain, sorrow and mental agony borne by the loved ones of those gone to their Eternal Rest.

“God may have called each and everyone who had sacrificed their lives on that fateful day to be with Him. Our belief is strong to think that those killed on Easter Sunday are now in heaven. One day we will join them in heaven,” His Eminence added.

Rev. Fr. Manjula Niroshan Fernando, Parish Priest of St. Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya, Rev. Fr. Sarath Nimal Abeysiriwardena of Dalupotha Parish and Rev. Fr. Amila Maduranga, Assistant Parish Priest, Rev. Bro. Mahima Gunawardena were also present at the service. A large number of parishioners participated at the All Souls’ Day, service.

His Eminence accompanied by the priests blessed the New Cemetery at David Watta, Katuwapitiya and one other burial site of the bomb victims of St. Sebas-tian’s Church, Katuwapitiya.

College, Negombo was ordained a Priest by the late Most Rev. Dr. Frank Marcus Fernando, Bishop Emeritus of Chilaw on August 27, 1994, after six years of priestly studies from the year 1988. Fr. Eymard has been serving as a hospital chaplain, vocation Director, and was a Member of the Nazareth Preaching band and one time Superior of Nazareth OMI community and had served as the Bursar of Dev Arana, Polwatte, Minuwangoda, prior to being appointed to the new post.

We Wish Him god’s Blessings in His new Post to proclaim the Word of god.

Contd. from Pg. 1Auxiliary Bishop's photo...

at a different function which has no relevance at all and is being used for political propaganda without due permission from the Auxiliary Bishop.

participate in the Holy Mass.Names of deceased Catholic lawyers to be commem-

orated at the Holy Mass can be emailed to [email protected] on or before 11 of November 2019.

Contributions for offertory will be shared with de-serving children and elders during the Christmas Sea-son. Contact Fr. Noel Dias for further information.

His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Maxwell Silva, Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo made those observations deliver-ing his Sermon on the commemoration of all the faith-ful departed, All Souls' Day at the Madampitiya Public cemetery, Colombo.

Officiating as the Chief Celebrant of the Holy Mass, His Lordship admonished the devotees present at the graveyard to share joy and happiness as Catholics over the departed souls as Christ has overcome death by de-feating it and has risen from the dead. A day will come to us all, to defeat death and rise again from the death joining Jesus Christ who saved us all from the eternal damnation and lead us to the Eternal Life through His Death and Resurrection. Remember all who are bap-tized in His name are sharers, and are part and parcel of His victory over death, His Lordship added.

His Lordship also blessed the graveyard where the victims of Easter Sunday bomb blast were buried by visiting each grave and blessed all of them at the end of the Eucharistic celebration.

The All Souls' Day religious ceremony was organized by Rev. Fr. Sheron Dias, Administrator of the Catholic cemeteries. Rev. Fr. Kithsiri Thirimanna, Administrator St. Lucia’s Cathedral, Kotahena, along with Very Rev. Fr. Manokumaran Nagarathnam of Chekku Street Parish and Rev. Fr. Prasad Harshana of the Faith Animation Team joined in the religious services.

Jesus the Risen

Redeemer

Triumphantly rose from the darkness evilTo show us your Divine RedemptionGlorious resurrection strengthened bondChristianity bloomed into reality eternal

Our Redeemer of past, present and futureAll now acclaim His Divinity supremeYou are Lord and God of all humansBowing down on bended knees we adore thee

Never would thou fail the sinner repentantAlways our refuge and help in our griefIndebted we are for this sacrificial giftHuman frailty we still remain unresponsive

Rajpan V. A. navaratne

He will Lead me - I know - Where He wishes me to go

My life's work is God's work and not mine,To be done in God's fashion and God's time,So there is no need to fret,If my work should be upset,I can start the work all over in God's own timeI shall run at God's pace and not mine,I shall work to God's rhythm and God's time.So there is no need to fear,If the end is drawing near,For an end is God's beginning in God's time,Nothing to prove, nothing to justify,No need to show what I am worthShow me His love and I am satisfied,To be on God's time on earth,My days are in God's hand and not mineWith my life in His keeping all the timeHe will lead me, I know, where He wishes me to goIf I only walk in God's pace and God's time.

R. S. Jesuthasan

Requiem Mass at St. Benedict's, College

The Annual Requiem Mass for the repose of the souls of the Past Members of the Old Boys Union of St. Benedict's College will be on Thursday, November 14 at 5.00 p.m. at the College Auditorium. Rev. Fr. Rohitha Rodrigo, Rec-tor St. Peter's College will preside over the Eucharistic celebrations. The memorial service has been organised by by the OBA of St. Benedict's College Colombo.

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