Sunday November 3, 2019 Vol 150 No 43 20 Pages Rs: 50.00 ... · - Cardinal Ranjith - C atholic...

Sunday November 3, 2019 Vol 150 No 43 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

Indeed, before you the whole universe is as a grain from a balance, or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. (Wisdom 11:22)

Attending Sunday Mass and mere observance of God’s commandments will not make one a good Catholic said His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal

Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo adding ‘living a life faith-ful to God and making Him the centre of one’s life is what is required to be a good Catholic.’

His Eminence was making these remarks during his homily as the Chief Celebrant at the Annual Feast of St. Jude’s Shrine, Indigolla, Gampaha on Sunday 27 instant.

His Eminence went on adding “God breathed life into man. As humans we cannot fathom how precious our

life is. God has a amazing plan for each and everyone of us, which we cannot comprehend. But it is our duty to understand God’s plan and live our life according to that plan.”

Very Rev. Fr. Sam Quintus Perera, Episcopal Vicar, Missionary Region, Rev. Fr. Felix Shantha of Holy Cross Church, Gampaha and many other clergy attended the Festive High Mass.

Blessing and ceremonial opening of the new Sun-day school building by His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith took place after the Holy Mass.

The Vespers- evening prayer was presided over by

by T. Sunil Fernando and Roshan Pradeep

Broader Vision of Life Based on Christian Values aim of Education

- Cardinal Ranjith - -

Catholic Schools operating with-in Archdiocese

of Colombo provide not only sound and balanced education, but also ensure that the children are mold-ed well to bear with them good character that they could be proud of and they are inculcated with reli-gious values and are

His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith is seen escorted to the New Auditorium by Rev. Sister Mary Renuka Silva, Principal. ➢ CONTD ON PG. 15

The Historical Madhu Shrine, has been declared a Sacred Area - Pooja Bhoomi by the Government Gazette and the casket containing the Sannasa the State declaration

of the Sacred Area was handed over to His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Fidelis Lionel Emmanuel Fernando, Bishop of Mannar, by His Excellency President Maithripala Sirisena at a ceremony held at the President's House, Colombo recently. Picture shows Presi-dent Sirisena handing over the Sannasa enclosed casket to the Bishop of Mannar in the presence the clergy and State of�icials.

Madhu Shrine declared Sacred Area

Leaders of the country themselves should commit and vigorously pursue to eradicate religious extremism and racism while ensur-

ing peaceful coexistence among all ethnic and reli-gious groups in the country, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL) stated.

Issuing a statement on the upcoming Presiden-tial Election, the CBCSL said the ‘The President of the country should rise above party politics.”

The statement signed by fourteen (14) bishops, representing the twelve (12) Dioceses of the coun-try have urged all Catholics and citizens to ‘exer-cise their sacred and democratic right to cast their vote’ at the forthcoming election.

The full stament is given below:

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka wishes to draw the attention of the citizens of

the country to discern wisely and courageously on the choice of the Presidential Candidate who should be a person of integrity to work in close collabora-tion with all to safeguard the freedom and rights of the people, uphold the democratic principles and work for the sustainable development of the coun-try.

We expect the future President and the Gov-ernment to formulate National policies regarding: Religious Freedom, National Security, Health, Edu-cation, Economy and Responsible Management of Natural Resources meant to serve succeeding gen-erations, to ensure

Messenger Writers' Forum

The Meeting of the Messenger Writers' Forum scheduled for November 9th has been postponed inde�initely due to the

upcoming presidential election.

President Should Rise Above Party Politics - CBCSL

Take Steps to Eradicate Racism and Religious Extremism

NEWS DESK by

➢ CONTD ON PG. 15

Rev. Sister El-sie Rodrigo FMM as-

sumed of�ice as the New Provincial Su-perior of the Sisters of Franciscan Mis-sionaries of Mary in Sri Lanka on October 31, 2019.

Rev. Sister Elsie entered the Insti-tute of the Francis-can Missionaries of Mary in January 1986 and took her First Vows in 1988 and her Final Vows in 1994. She had served as a Mis-sionary in several parts of the country

prior to assuming duties as a Provin-cial Councillor, and the Treasurer.

She also had contributed her ser-vices as the local su-perior in a number Sister communities spread throughout the country.

New Provincial Superior of FMM

Rev. Sr. Elsie Rodrigo FMM

The Annual Feast of St. Jude’s Shrine, Indigolla

Serving the unfortunate for 38 years

Marcsri needs your support

Marcsri Homes Kalutara a well known cen-

tre that provides shel-ter and security for the unfortunate marks 38 years of service in Janu-ary 2020.

Marcsri Homes are maintaining nine houses

for the young and old, the feeble, the bedridden, the terminally ill and

➢ CONTD ON PG. 15

Attending Sunday Mass does not make one a good Catholic

➢ CONTD ON PG. 15

His Eminence with Rev. Sister Francine Muthugala RGS, Provincial Superior

2 The Messenger November 3, 2019

But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook the sins of men that they may repent. (Wisdom 11:23)

The Church News in Lens

Sunday School Children belonging to St. Mary's Parish, Maggona received First Holy Communion recently. They are seen with Rev. Fr. Lanka Deshapriya, TOR, Rev.

Bro. Dhanushka along with Rev. Sister Nawodani posing for a group photo-graph after the Holy Mass.

(Pic by Anselm Fernando)

NoticeRetreat from 11th - 15th November at Tewatta.Begins Monday at 7-30 am and will conlude on Friday after Lunch.

1. Rt. Rev. Dr. J.D. Anthony Jayakody2. Rev. Fr. Samantha Kurera3. Rev. Fr. Shelton Dias4. Rev. Fr. Anura Sylvester Perera 5. Rev. Fr. Ignatius Varnakulasingham6. Rev. Fr. Lakpriya Kumara Nonis7. Rev. Fr. Prasanna Rohan8. Rev. Fr. Hemantha Udayakumara Perera9. Rev. Fr. Kamal Nishantha Fernando10. Rev. Fr. Noel Sampath Perera11. Rev. Fr. Dilran Peiris12. Rev. Fr. Priya Jayamanne13. Rev. Fr. Srilal Fonseka14. Rev. Fr.Terrence Fernando15. Rev. Fr. Ruwan Deshapriya16. Rev. Fr. Kithsiri Thrimanne17. Rev. Fr. Ivan Gladwin Pietersz18. Rev. Fr. Bodiyabaduge Terrence Fernando19. Rev. Fr. Chaminda Laknath Cooray20. Rev. Fr. Shamira Nirosh Cooray21. Rev. Fr. Anthony Fernandopulle22. Rev. Fr. Clement Rozairo23. Rev. Fr. Terrence Kithsiri Perera24. Rev. Fr. Sharman Fernando 25. Rev. Fr. Dilan Perera 26. Rev. Fr. Mahesh Chrishantha Fernando 27. Rev. Fr. Sujeeva Athukorala28. Rev. Fr. Calixtus Fernando 29. Rev. Fr. B. A. Shiran 30. Rev. Fr. Tusitha Gayan Solangaarachchi 31. Rev. Fr. Niranjan Perera 32. Rev. Fr. Sampath Fernando 33. Rev. Fr. Sisira Priyasantha 34. Rev. Fr. Amila Peiris 35. Rev. Fr. Claude Matines Wanasinghe36 Rev. Fr. Anthony Laksman 37. Rev. Fr. Reginald Saparamadu38. Msgr. Robinson Wijesinghe39. Rev. Fr. Kamal Fernando40. Rev. Fr. Joseph Lakshman Tony Pinto

VERY. REV. FR. J. PATRICK PERERAEpiscopal Vicar Holy Trinity Centre for

Priestly on going Formation

St Nicholas' International College Co-lombo was adjudged all island win-ners of the Intermediate Choir Com-petition in the mixed voice category at the Sri Lankan Festival of Music, Drama and Speech.

The all island competition was or-ganized for the 22nd time by the Brit-ish and International Federation on September 11, 2019.

Miss. Megan Bartholomeusz (14 yrs), clinched the gold medal as All Is-land Winner for popular songs (Eng-

St. Nicholas' International Winners of All Island Festival of Music

lish) in the solo category. The college bagged 3 gold medals, 12 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. The

students were trained by Miss. Komuthu Perera, Ravindu Yapa and Jude Keith under the guidance of Rev. Fr. Anthony Fernandopulle, Director.

(Text by Ms. Ludowyke - Picture by Eroll Johnson)

PERALIKARA PORU PIYA the latest book by Maxi-mus Roy Perera on Rev. Fr. Ernest Poruthota, was released recently at a ceremony held at the Catholic Media Centre, Colombo. The author is seen handing over the �irst copy of the book to Fr. Poruthota, in the presence of His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Maxwell Silva, Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo and Rev. Dr. Jay-alath Balagalla of the Dominican Order.

Pic by Roshan Pradeep

The First Copy of PERALIKARA PORU PIYA to Fr. Ernest

All Souls Day Holy Masses at Madampitiya and Borella CemeteriesHis Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo will of�iciate at the All Souls Day Holy Mass at Madampitiya cemetery, immediately after the recita-tion of the Holy Rosary at 3.00 pm. On this day devotees will recall to mind especially the victims of Easter Sun-day tragedy.

His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Maxwell Silva, Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo will be the celebrant of the All Souls Day Holy Mass at the Borella cemetery at 4.00 pm im-mediately after the recitation of the Holy Rosary.

The information based on the evidence collected via investigations at the Archdiocesan level has been completed and are included in the Dossier, as requested by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to consider, the worthiness of the candidate the Servant of God Thomas Benjamin Cardinal Cooray, in this instant, to be elevated to the Status of Blessed and to Sainthood. But what is immediately required at this stage is performances of miracles through the intercession of the Servant of God. “We call upon all Catholics to offer their prayers to achieve this goal”, said His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo. His Eminence made this request while delivering His sermon at the 31st Commemorative Holy Mass offered by him as the Chief Celebrant at St.

Mary’s Church, Negombo. The Archbishop called

upon every Catholic to ‘pray without ceasing’ seeking the blessing of God for the Servant of God to perform miracles necessary for the declaration of the status of Blessed and subsequently to be elevated to the Sainthood of the Universal Church, with performance of more miracles with the passage of time, through his intercession.

Miracles do happen in our everyday life. Things like getting employment, in an unexpected time and circumstances; or settling family quarrels and issues day in and day out in family lives. Explaining the type of miracles the Congregation for the Causes of Saints requires, His Eminence stressed on the importance of Miracles such as convincingly extraordinary cures which are inexplicable in medical

terms and the inability to perform such cures by Medical expertise, but are compelled to confess that such and such are unexplainable.

“If you experience such cures yourselves or hear of such cures, through the intercession of the Servant of God, you are kindly requested to inform the Church, the local ordinary, to take immediate steps based on such reliable information to be transmitted to the relevant church authorities”, the Eminence said.

Part of the Commemo-ration day activities in-cluded the opening of Ex-hibition pertaining to the Commemoration of the Servant of God by His Emi-nence and awarding chil-dren competitors ajudged best, at the Art Competi-tion organized by the Com-memorative Committee.

The Commemorative

Oration was delivered by His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Devsritha Valence Mendis, Bishop of Chilaw, at the St Mary’s Church Conference Hall, Negombo.

Among the distin-guished invitees present to grace occasion includ-ed Most Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis, Archbishop Emer-itus along with Their Lordships Rt. Rev. Drs. J. D. Anthony Jayakody, and Maxwell Silva, Auxiliary Bishops of Colombo. The Commemoration day Holy Mass, the Memorial Oration and the Meeting organized by the 'Thomas Cardinal Cooray Memo-rial Committee’ under the guidance of Rev. Fr. Kings-ley Ivan, the Parish Priest of Grand Street, Negombo was also well attended by a large gathering of Priests, Religious and the laity, representing several dioceses.

Pray for Successful Move : Road to Sainthood of the Servant of God - Cardinal Ranjith

First Holy Communion at St. Mary's Parish, Maggona


what is the truth”. As He always did Jesus believed that action was more powerful than words. So the next day at Golgotha the Lord Jesus showed Pilate and the world what the truth was when He gave himself totally, His Body and Blood to others. This was to show how much God loves us. In other words even if we betray, desert or deny Him, even if we whip Him and strip Him and crucify Him like a criminal of criminals, the Lord still loves us because God is love.

As St. John says in one of his letters, “Where there is God, there is love and where there is love there is God.”

As we sing in that beautiful hymn, “Hail Redeemer King Divine, Priest and Lamb the throne is Thine; King Whose reign shall never cease, Prince of everlasting peace; Angels Saints and Nations sing, praise be Jesus Christ our King; Lord of life earth sky and sea—King of Love on Calvary." That is the call to all Christians. We are called by the Lord to be priests, prophets and kings—like the King of Love on Calvary. We are called to be feet washing kings, give servant leadership and even be the slaves of others through the virtues of faith, hope, love, peace, joy, divine mercy, compassion and forgiveness. May we be anointed with this amazing grace on this Feast of Christ the King.

The feet washing King

The Catholic Church on November 24th celebrates the Feast of Christ the King. As He did in most important areas ranging from religious rights to economics and social issues, the Lord Jesus turned things upside down. So He did with His role of Kingship.

He was a feet-washing King and a servant leader. At the Last Supper, He even washed the feet of His Apostles. During His time and that era slavery was legal and a slave was compelled to do anything for his master, except wash his master’s feet. But the Lord Jesus did even what a slave was not forced to do and washed the feet of His chosen twelve, the Apostles. The Gospels tell us that when St. Peter in shock refused to allow the Lord to wash his feet because he knew that even a slave was not required to do so, the Lord told him, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." (John 13:8)

The Lord Jesus is a King ready to give anything to anyone, as we saw on the Cross at Golgotha and He does so even now in the Holy Eucharist where He gives us His Body and Blood.

In the historic encounter with Roman Governor

EDITORIALEmail:[email protected]

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

November 3, 2019

SINCE FEBRUARY 1869

For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. (Wisdom 11:24)

Don't trust too muchDon't love too muchDon't hope too much

Because that too muchcan hurt you so much.

Pontius Pilate to whom the religious leaders brought Him because only the Governor could order cruci�ixion, we see another dimension of the Kingship of the Lord Jesus. “Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman Governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges do you bring against this man?”

“If He were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.” Pilate said, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him by your own law.” “But we have no right to crucify anyone,” they objected. This took place to ful�il what Jesus had said about the kind of death He was going to die. Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about Me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What is it You have done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would �ight to prevent My arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now My kingdom is from another place.” “You are a King, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a King. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. (John 18: 28-38) The Lord Jesus did not reply. Most Catholic Bible

scholars believe the Lord would have silently told the Governor: “wait until tomorrow and I will show you

Theme: Church, in the Midst of Persecution

The Church’s Victory against PersecutionBy Rev. Fr. Sheron Fernando

Astonishment, perturbation and anger were the initial reactions which were expressed by the Catholics who encountered the events of the

Easter Attack few months ago. This series of terrifying events indeed were a great shock to the Catholic com-munity not only in Sri Lanka, but also to the Universal Catholic Church. For us who are Catholics in Sri Lanka, this became the most recent and one of the most terri-fying events of persecution against our faith. Neverthe-less, in the macrocosmic view of the Universal Catholic Church this is yet another sorrowful encounter of the reality which has been existing since the Pentecostal event in the Upper Room.

A recent research conducted by a leading Catholic charity organization stressed that over the last two years, persecution of Christians around the world has risen dramatically. This research conducted by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) reveals that in the past two years acts of violence and intimidation recorded glob-ally against the Christians have intensi�ied in 17 out 39 countries under investigation. The report of the re-search has gone far even to underscore a few Northern African and Middle Eastern countries in which the sur-vival of the Christians would mean immeasurable and great sacri�ices beyond one’s imagination. In conclu-sion, ACN places Christians in today’s world as the most persecuted group worldwide because of their faith.

This might provoke one to ask, “Isn’t Christ the Victor? (Revelation 5:13) Isn’t he the conqueror of all that is evil? (Revelation 12:10) Isn’t he the victorious Son who reigns at the right hand of the Father? (Mark 16:19) If so, why would God allow Christ’s followers to be persecuted, tormented and victimized?” This indeed is a legitimate question that has probed the hearts and minds of many followers of Christ in today’s world. If

the Holy Bible promises us that we are conquerors with the Son, His Body in action in the world, why then, is the Church met with rejection and torment? Why is such great degree of persecution? What is the cause for this? Is it the lack of our faith? Is it an empty promise? Is it a lack of our view of the world in light of our faith?

The answer to these questions calls for a shift, deeper and integral comprehension of our faith and the words of Jesus Christ. The Bible rightly teaches that Christ is the Victor and that He is the conqueror of all evil who reigns at the right hand of God in the Heavenly Sanctuary.

“Now have salvation and power come, and the king-dom of our God and the authority of his Anointed. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony... Therefore, rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them.” (Revelation 12:10-12)

Yet we cannot haste to the conclusion that this re-ality has fully been realized in the created world. The realization and sovereignty of the reign of the Son has already taken place, but the full realization of this event in the created world is yet to unfold in its fullest sense. In other words, this will be ful�illed only at the Second Coming of Our Good Lord. Thus, the victory already won by the Lord is still in its progress reaching to its telos of its ful�illment in the world.

Lord Jesus taught His disciples this very message in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10) The Univer-sal, Holy, Catholic Church will never be alienated from persecution. This is a clear fact even after the slightest glance into the long history of the Holy Catholic Church. Persecutions upon the Church have varied in their in-tensity, duration and its severity, but they were never

absent, and they will always be present in her life. As Jesus Christ’s innocent, physical body suffered while He dwelt on earth, most severely in the Paschal Mystery, His Mystical Body will continue to suffer, here and now. Till the end of time, therefore, persecution upon the Church will prevail. Since our Lord Himself has prophesied per-secution that befalls upon His followers and the Church, we neither need not be unduly amazed by it nor allow our hearts to be discouraged by the events occurring around the world or in the midst of our nation.

Our Good Lord’s counsel for those in the face of persecutions is as usual: it is counterintuitive. In other words, it follows His own example and teaching. Our God Lord never did instruct the apostles to give in to complaining, retaliation, or vengeance. He neither en-couraged passivity and mere tolerance of all the tor-ments and persecutions. He, instead, shows the way of “laying down our lives” acknowledging that He Himself suffered unjust torments and af�lictions. While looking forward to the already achieved but not fully realized nature of our victory, the Lord invites all of us to offer all the pains, sorrows and agony of these persecutions unto Him. Listen to the voice of our ancestors who have had this faith in a reality that is yet to fully unfold, the voice of the countless martyrs and saints of the Church.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes �ixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before Him He endured the cross, de-spising its shame, and has taken His seat at the right of the throne of God. Consider how He endured such op-position from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews12:1-3)


Church in the Modern World

And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? (Wisdom 11:25)

Liturgical Calendar Year C

3rd November - 10th November 2019

Sun: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Wis. 11: 22-12:2; 2 Thes. 1: 11 - 2: 2; Lk. 19: 1-10Mon: Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop Rom. 11: 29-36; Lk. 14: 12-14Tue: Rom. 12: 5-16a; Lk. 14: 15-24Wed: Rom. 13: 8-10; Lk. 14: 25-33Thu: Rom. 14: 7-12; Lk. 15: 1-10Fri: Rom. 15: 14-21; Lk. 16: 1-8Sat: Feast of The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica Ez. 47: 1-2, 8-9, 12; or 1 Cor. 3: 9b-11, 16-17;Jn. 2: 13-22Sun: 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)

Following the approval of the Final Document on Satur-day, Pope Francis closes the work of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, and tells them “we are all winners when we carry out the Church’s pastoral work together.”

Pope Francis began his address to the Synod fathers and participants by summarizing the four dimensions discussed at the Synod: cultural, ecological, social, and pastoral.

Beginning with the cultural dimension, the Pope said he was particularly pleased with the discussions regarding inculturation, evaluating and respecting cul-tures. Inculturation is a tradition of the Church, he said, recalling that the issue was addressed at the Puebla Conference 40 years ago.

Pope Francis then referred to the ecological dimen-sion of the Synod’s deliberations. He paid tribute to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, saying he was one of the �irst to stimulate awareness of this issue. The inspiration to write the Encyclical, Laudato Si’, followed, said the Pope, and now ecological awareness is making headway.

Pope Francis went on to stress the importance of the Amazon, calling it a symbol. The future is at stake there, he said. “We have seen how many young people are demonstrating in favour of the Amazon,” said the Pope. Young people are aware of the ecological dangers ahead, not only in the Amazon but also in the Congo and in other places, like his own home in Argentina.

Pope Francis then addressed the social dimension examined at the Synod of Bishops. He noted how ex-ploitation “does not just harm creation, but people.” The people of the Amazon have had to face brutal ex-ploitation at every level, as well as the “destruction of

their cultural identity,” he said. This includes human traf�icking. When he was at Puerto Maldonado, in Peru, he noticed a sign at the airport alerting people against human traf-�icking, an indication of just how diffuse this reality is.

Turning to the pastoral dimension, the Pope con�irmed that the proclamation of the Gospel is necessary and urgent, saying this dimension is the most important of the four. He added that the Gospel needs to be “un-derstood, absorbed and assimilated by these cultures.” Priests, lay people, men and wom-en religious, and permanent deacons can all contribute to strengthening the proclamation of the Gospel, said the Pope. Greater creativ-ity needs to be applied with regard to new ministries, he continued. This includes studying the role of women and permanent deacons in the early Church. The Pope said he intends to pursue setting up a new commission together with the Congregation for the Evangelization of People, Propaganda �ide, for that purpose.

Pope Francis went on to note that, during the Synod, some things emerged that need reform. “The Church always needs reform,” he said. Starting with priestly formation, the Pope con�irmed this is the responsibil-ity of episcopal conferences and called for greater zeal among young religious. Their vocations are solid, but they need to be formed with apostolic zeal so they can go out to the peripheries.

Pope Francis said it would be a good idea for Vatican diplomats in training to spend one or two years in some challenging area of the world, at the service of a bishop

in a mission territory. Another good reform, he said, would be to redistribute priests within a country.

It is often said there are many priests from the Ama-zon ministering in the United States and Europe. Others go somewhere to study and end up staying there. One bishop from Italy told him there are priests who will not go to mountain villages unless they are paid. Pope Fran-cis called this a scandal and said we need to be zealous in bringing about a reform in these countries.

The Pope then spoke of the section in the document that deals with the role of women. He said the section was a bit short. “I would just like to underline this: we still have not realized what women mean in the Church.” We are only thinking about it from a functional point of view, said the Pope. “The role of women in the Church goes far beyond mere functionality,” he said.

(Vatican News)

Pope Francis: Amazon Synod involves everyone

Pope Francis addresses the Synod of Bishops at the closing session

As the 12 November dead-line for the formation of the Reconstituted Transi-tional Government of Na-tional Unity (R-TGoNU) approaches, South Su-dan’s Bishops have called for the new government to be formed.

The Bishops are call-ing upon South Sudan’s politicians to put an end to a deadly con�lict that has caused much suffering.

“Let our leaders re-member the love and humility of our Holy Fa-ther Pope Francis when he kissed their feet. Is his unprecedented gesture to be wasted?” the Bishops ask in their recent pasto-ral statement.

The Bishops caution that the formation of a new Government of Na-tional Unity (GNU) will not be a panacea for all

the country’s problems.“We hope that a new

transitional government will be formed soon, but we stress that the for-mation of a government is not an end in itself. A new government will only have legitimacy if it resolves the con�lict and provides peace, justice, security, basic services and good governance for the people. We are par-ticularly concerned about the failure to agree on the number and boundaries of the states, which is al-ready causing con�lict in some areas, and on the failure to create a new, integrated, uni�ied, well-trained, disciplined, pro-fessional army,” say the Bishops.

The Bishops have criti-cised South Sudan’s politi-cians for concentrating too

much on power-sharing. “Focus on ending the suf-fering of the people of South Sudan,” the Bishops insist.

They further urge the government and opposi-tion leaders to address the root causes of the con�licts, which affect or-dinary South Sudanese. These include issues of governance, violence, poverty, lack of essen-tial services, corruption, national identity, and con�lict within and be-tween communities over resources, land, pasture, water and cattle. The Bishops say they will only support the formation of the transitional govern-ment if it meets the essen-tial preconditions and is genuinely inclusive. They want non-signatories to the peace agreement not to be left out.

(Vatican Media)

South Sudan Bishops: Pope Francis’ gesture urging peace should not be in vain

Pope Francis with South Sudanese leaders in the Vatican (April 2019)

Pope Francis appeals for respect for the dignity and freedom of all people in Leba-non, as the country remains crippled by over 10 days of nationwide protests against the ruling political class.

“I send a special thought to the dear Lebanese peo-ple, in particular to young people, who in recent days have made their cry heard in the face of challenges and the social, moral, and economic problems of the country.”

Pope Francis made that remark following the prayer of the Angelus on Sunday.

He also urged everyone in Lebanon “to seek the right solutions along the path of dialogue.”

“I pray to the Virgin Mary, Queen of Lebanon, so that – with the support of the international communi-ty – that country may con-tinue to be a place of peace-ful coexistence and respect for the dignity and freedom of every person”.

The Pope said a resolu-tion to the crisis in Lebanon would be “for the bene�it of the entire Middle East Region, which suffers so much.”

Mass protests have brought Lebanon to a standstill for over 10 days, with various estimates put-ting the number of protest-ers at 20% of the country’s 5 million citizens.

Pope appeals for Lebanon amid widespread protests

They accuse the politi-cal class of corruption and mismanagement of state �inances, which are push-ing the country toward economic collapse.

Police scuf�le daily with demonstrators, as army

troops seek to unblock roads across the country.

Tensions have been building for decades in Lebanon, but it was a gov-ernment proposal to tax calls made via WhatsApp that set the country ablaze.

Lebanese protesters wave national �lags in al-Nour Square in Tripoli, last week


By Very Rev. Fr. Ciswan De Croos

First Reading: Wisdom 11:22-12:2

The author of the Book of Wisdom in a prayerful manner appreciates God’s kindness and mercy towards the world especially towards mankind. God out of His love forgives the sins of men for He created them and loves them.

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2

St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians who were living in idol; thinking that the second coming of the Lord was at hand. He wants them to live a life worthy of the Lord and to ful�ill every good resolve and every work of faith through God’s power.

Gospel: Luke 19:1-10Zacchaeus the tax collector

while on the journey meets Jesus and the Lord expresses His desire to visit him in his house. The visit, results in Zacchaeus’ turning away from his sinfulness and he vows to pay back fourfold, and even share half of his belongings with the poor. Thus the Lord saves Zacchaeus.

Re�lectionToday’s Readings show God’s

care and concern towards His creation, especially towards man. We too are called to imitate Him by showing our love and concern towards our fellow human beings. We ought to be an example to them and do our best to save them from their sinful lives. We must not condemn them because of their sinfulness but rather convert them and win them over to God. For, God loves all but specially the sinners so that they may turn away from their sins.

In the First Reading the creation is compared to a speck that tips the scale and to a drop of dew that falls upon the ground. But the Lord loves the world. God loves everything and does not hate any that has been made. He, overlooks man’s sins so that he may repent. It is made clear when it says “therefore thou does correct little by little those who transgress and does remind and warn them of the things wherein they sin, that they may be freed from wickedness and place their trust in thee, O Lord.” The Reading says that if God hated anything He would not have created it nor would He have endured it. Therefore His love surpasses all differences.

Today’s Gospel refers to Zaccchaeus, a tax collector, a rich man but a sinner. The Lord tells him. “I must stay at your house today.” The people began to say, “He has gone into be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood his ground and

said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my belongings I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone or anything, I restore it fourfold,” and Jesus said to him. “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Thus Jesus showed His love care and concern even towards a sinner. It is they who need our love most. Therefore we must not condemn them. This love is not for the sake of friendship of companionship or for a favour but for conversion. Many of us would opt to assist those who have fallen socially and economically but only a few opt to assist those who have fallen spiritually, from where every social ill begins. Therefore let us imitate the Lord by way of showing our love, care and concern to all mankind especially to the sinner so that they may be converted.

As the Second Reading says let us be worthy of God’s call and ful�ill every good resolve and work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glori�ied in us according to the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore let us not stay idle till the second coming of Christ in glory but rather try our best to establish the kingdom of God on earth here and now. This could be done only by turning the sinful from their sinfulness. Let us do it. Let us begin it today and now.

Aid Story 1Those who have read the

popular children’s story of little Lord Fauntleroy have seen the power of hopeful love. You will recall how the little lad goes to stay with the grandfather, one of the most sel�ish, the meanest, the most unkind person who ever lived. But the boy believed in him. Repeatedly he expressed his love and faith and hope in his grandfather by saying. “Oh grandfather, how they must love you; you are so generous, you are so kind, so considerate to every one you meet.” These words from his 14 year old grandson worked in the old man to such an extent that he gradually grew to be unsel�ish, kind and generous.

Aid Story 2The prison chaplain visited

the prison one day and found a young boy in prison for theft and murder. The priest with love and concern spoke to the boy hugging him. My dear son you are such a nice young boy why did you do this? What pushed you to this? The boy said, Father if anybody had spoken to me with this much of love and concern before, I would have never fallen to this state or done this.

Saying: Forgive ; Not 7 X 7 but 70 X 7.

Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

But you spare all things, because they are yours, O Lord and lover of souls. (Wisdom 11:26)

Most Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis

Archbishop Emeritus

The British gained control of the Maritime Provinces of Sri Lanka in 1796. Soon after, in 1806, they restored religious freedom to the Catholics. In 1815, by signing the Kandyan Convention they gained control of the whole Island, and brought the whole country under a single administration.

During this early period of British rule, the government entrusted education to the Angli-can clergy, and paid the salaries of the teach-ers and also paid them further subsidies. “Thus education became largely a function of Protes-tant Christianity.” (Historical Gleanings – W. L. A. Don Peter – Pg 200)

This naturally created a lot of discontent among the Catholics (who were the largest group of Christians in Sri Lanka at the time), and other religious denominations. Several protests were made by the Catholic representa-tives. To meet this discontent a Central School Commission was set up in 1841, with Catholic representatives for the �irst time. The Catholics thereby succeeded in gaining a degree of �inan-cial help for the schools but this bene�it was yet denied to the Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims.

At this stage the Catholics primarily, led a campaign to rectify this imbalance. The strong criticism of government policy and the demand for equal rights for all religions was led by Rev. Fr. Christopher Bonjean (later Bishop of Jaffna and subsequently �irst Archbishop of Colom-bo). In 1865 to meet this criticism, the Legisla-tive Council appointed a sub-committee. This committee was to report on education in the Island. Fr. Christopher Bonjean was among the consulted and he submitted a comprehensive report advocating a school system which per-mitted each religious denomination to open and conduct schools for its children, with �i-nancial aid from the State.

On the recommendation of this sub-com-mittee, the government abolished the Central School Commission, and in its place established in 1869 the Department of Public Instruction,

which today exists as the Department of Education. (Histori-cal Gleanings – W.L.A. Don Peter – Pg 200). The Department of Education celebrated its Centenary in 1969, under the leadership of Education Minister I. M. R. A. Iriyagolla.

Catholics, as well as the other religious denominations, thus gained the opportuni-ty to engage in educa-tion. Despite various hindrances encountered at the beginning, it was the persistent effort of Fr. Bonjean and colleagues that won “Free Edu-cation” for us at the time. This facility helped all religious denominations to enter the �ield of education and open schools for their chil-dren. St. Benedict’s College, St. Joseph’s Col-lege, (Colombo), Maris Stella, (Negombo) and similar Catholic schools as well as Ananda, Na-landa (Colombo), Zahira College (Colombo and Gampola), Hindu College (Jaffna) and similar schools of other denominations became pos-sible as a result of this agitation.

The new system known as the “Denomina-tional Schools” system or “Grant-in-Aid” sys-tem and also the “Assisted Schools” system, paved the way for every religious denomina-tion to open schools even in the remote vil-lages, and provide school education for every child of their religion.

Accordingly, while the State established its own schools, we saw the development of “As-sisted Schools” springing up in a parallel effort. This provided the facility for almost all our children to have at least a basic literacy, and education for children was made compulsory by the State.

EDUCATION DURING THE BRITISH PERIODImitate the Lord in Loving

Those rejected - For God loves all

Rev. Fr. Christopher Silva

When we make an appointment to see our doctor, we do not discuss our neighbour's condition or relatives.

If we did, we would waste the doctors time and ours. We would depart without �inding a solution to our problem. This is precisely what happens in the parable from our Lord. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector arrived at the temple to pray. The Pharisee does not present himself as humbly as he should to God. Instead, he prays, 'I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous, like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here'. Is it any wonder, to hear that the Pharisee did not return home justi�ied. We might think that the Pharisee had the correct attitude, he fasted twice a week. The Jewish Law or Torah decreed fasting only once a year on Yom Kippur ( Day of Atonement), as the years went by the Jewish piety added more fasting. These additional fasts were not for repentance for sin. They were to ask God for a favour or protection from calamities. They even fasted to prevent having bad dreams or to understand how to interpret dreams. The Pharisee's fasting was not repentance.

The tax collector, however, prays seeking God for his mercy. Even in his body language, he displays repentance: He did not raise his eyes to heaven, instead, he beat his breast, pleading God for mercy, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner'. Unlike the Pharisee, he did not conceal who he

really was nor did he put a mask to hide from God. He came before God as he was and God met him. He was lifted up and went home justi�ied.

When we go to the doctor, we discuss our symptoms, not our neighbours. If we did the doctor would not be able to treat us of our symptoms. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector received what they deserved. The Pharisee in his prayer complained about others and did not go home receiving God's mercy and peace in his heart. The Tax Collector is living the �irst Beatitude, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.' The tax collector was poor in spirit and he was like the other tax collectors, Zacchaeus, who met our Lord with humility and is saved.

In Scripture we see God coming to those who know their need of Him. Our First Reading reminds us that God does not have any favourites, but hears the cry of the oppressed, 'The man who with his whole heart serves God will be accepted, his petitions will carry to the clouds. The humble man's prayer pierces the clouds until it arrives he is inconsolable'. St. Paul shows that he is poor in spirit before God. 'My life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good �ight to the end; I have run the race to the �inish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now in the crown of righteousness reserved for me,' Paul continues, 'But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all pagans to hear; and so I was rescued from the lion's mouth'.

Contd. on Pg. 15

Be humble to receive God's mercy


31st Sunday in Ordinary Time – Gospel Meditation (Luke 19:1-10) – Year CRev. Fr. Nilindra Gunesekera

Consistency Between Faith and Life

For your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them,.... (Wisdom 12:1-2)

Today’s Gospel narrates of the story of Zacchaeus. It shows Jesus’ initiative in reaching out in mercy to seek out and save the lost. In strong contrast

the crowd wrongfully murmurs about Jesus’ association with Tax Collectors and sinners. Is this not our experi-ence even today, because regular church-goers protest any outreach to believers whose communion with the Church is less than perfect, and even �lawed? There-fore, we must form a new generation of missionaries of mercy, and you have a crucial role to play as parents; but �irst you yourselves must become missionaries of mercy.

In the Gospel, Zacchaeus re�lects generosity and knows his duty to make restitution for wrongs that he has committed. He is honest and truthful in accepting his past mistakes, and bold enough to publicly pledge to make amends. Zacchaeus is willing to give back four-fold for what he has defrauded. Therefore, Jesus accepts Zacchaeus the public sinner, as a full son of Abraham, and reassures him that he has been saved. Zacchaeus becomes an example of a rich person who is received into the Kingdom of God. We begin our meditation.

I am in Galilee. I am with Jesus, following Him along the way. We have been journeying with Jesus for some time now, and our �inal destination is Jerusalem. At the moment we are close to Jericho and are in sight of the city. People are gathered at the entrance to the city and when they see Jesus they surge forward towards Him. From amongst the crowd, I see a short man darting forth like a rocket. He runs like a hare, leaving the ad-vancing crowds well behind. Then, suddenly, he veers away into the countryside and I lose sight of him. I am puzzled by his curious act.

As we pass the spot at which the man disappeared, Jesus stops and looks at a Sycamore tree a few feet away

to His right. Now the crowd has also gathered around Jesus.

Jesus shouts, ‘Zacchaeus, come down, for today I must remain in your house’. To my utter consternation a man scuttles down the tree. It is the same short indi-vidual whom I saw disappearing into the countryside. He has climbed this tree in order to get a better view of Jesus. I smile amused at the man’s antics and say to my Jewish friend Moshe who is standing beside me, ‘Now that is a very innovative man’. Moshe is equally sur-prised and says to me, ‘Zacchaeus is the Chief Tax Col-lector in Jericho. It is he who bid for and organized the collection of taxes. He is a very important and wealthy person. His wealth is related to his job because he takes a commission from the labour of his underlings. It is very unusual for such a man to climb any tree’. I say to Moshe, ‘Perhaps it is ironic that he had to climb a tree because he could not see Jesus because of the crowd’. Moshe asks me, ‘What do you mean?’ I reply, ‘When he takes a cut from the work of his underlings, he deprives them of part of their income and at the same time drives up the rate of taxation. Naturally, it is his unfairness to people that prevents him from seeing and meeting Je-sus, and not just his short physical stature’. Moshe com-mends me saying, ‘Good point’.

With much dif�iculty, Zacchaeus comes down from the tree. Many people laugh as he struggles to untangle himself from its branches. Finally, Zacchaeus approach-es Jesus and joyfully greets him, saying ‘Master I will do anything you ask!’. Jesus says ‘Zacchaeus, I must stay in your house’.

Immediately, the crowd gasps in unison. People begin to protest angrily. A voice complains, ‘Rabbi, this man is a sinner. Do not enter his house’. Another says, ‘He is unjust in his dealings and levies very high rates

of taxation in excess of the normal amount and then he siphons off the surplus into his own coffers’.

Zacchaeus turns and faces the crowd and then waves his hands across his head saying, ‘Not anymore. Not anymore. I am ready to change. Let the Rabbi come to my house. I am ready to become a better man, a good man’. The crowd roars back, ‘No you won’t. You are try-ing to hoodwink us’. Zacchaeus stands his ground and says to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, that I have cheated others, is pub-lic knowledge. But today, I shall also make public my desire for repentance for your sake. What I do now, I do for you’. And then, turning to the crowd again, he says, ‘Now hear this. Half of the goods of whatever I have defrauded, I shall give to the poor. To everyone whom I have defrauded, I shall give back four-fold beginning right now. So, let all who have been injured by me come to my home, and I will offer restitution in the presence of the Rabbi, in order to demonstrate my loyalty and devotion to him’. Jesus replies, ‘Well done Zacchaeus. Today, salvation has come to you, and you have shown yourself to be a son of Abraham’. And then Jesus says to the crowd, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I have come to seek and to save the lost’.

Suddenly, Jesus turns to me and asks, ‘My friend, can you make restitution like Zacchaeus and welcome me into your home? I say to the Lord, ‘Master, I too am sin-ful and unworthy to receive you into my life. But I will respond like Zacchaeus, by �irst undoing the wrongs I have done, and then start walking close to thee. Per-haps, there may be wrongs that cannot be undone; if so, I will apologize to the aggrieved person and give alms’.

Unitary Christian lifeA Christian’s entire life should be a manifestation of

faith. Every corner of one’s life should be illuminated by faith. “The just man lives by faith” (Hebrews 2:4) and in the Letter to the Galatians we read: “Faith works through charity” (Galatians 5:6), otherwise, without works, faith is dead (cf. James 2:20-26).

Describing the reality of Christian life, St. Paul says it consists of “One Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephe-sians 4:5).” The lives of Christ’s followers are and have to be one life, unique and unitary. This is “an essential condition for those who are trying to sanctify them-selves in the midst of the ordinary situations of their work and of their family and social relationships".

We must live Christian coherence for “there is no clash, no opposition, between serving God and serving men, between the exercise of our civic rights and duties and our religious ones, between the effort to build up and improve the earthly city, and the conviction that we are passing through this world on the way to our heav-enly homeland (Friends of God, 165).”

It is important to surmount the perennial tempta-tion to separate our relationship with God from our be-haviour at work, at home, and in society. The Second Vatican Council highlighted this erroneous tendency in the Constitution Gaudium et Spes (n. 43) and warned us against living a kind of double life, a dichotomy be-tween life of faith and real life.

Through the ful�illment of the daily duties of a Chris-tian, the different aspects of spiritual, family, social and professional life can and ought to be oriented to the love of God. This is called unity of life. When this unity of life is missing, and one makes concessions to conduct not compatible with the faith, then one’s faith necessar-ily is weakened and is in danger of being lost.

Seeking the glory of GodBeing of the world is the reality for ordinary Chris-

tians: occupied with the normal things people do, such as everyday work, social, sports, business, academic or professional involvements, the day-to-day events of family life, etc. Christians whose occupation is ordi-nary work and whose everyday life goes on in the same

framework as everyone else must discover the divine meaning of the setting in which he �inds himself.

Does ordinary everyday life have a divine meaning? Yes, it does. Like that of the Jesus, Mary and Joseph in their humble house in Nazareth, a Christian’s life has a divine dimension. In the commonplace situations of life, God wants us to love Him and serve Him, striving to transform them into a means of encounter with Him.

Pope Francis teaches in his most recent Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, that all of us have a divine calling. A vocation is God’s plan for each one of us by virtue of our spiritual rebirth in baptism. No one was born by chance, without any clear purpose in life. We have been born in order to ful�ill our speci�ic role in this world. God is calling us, inserted as we are in the most diverse secular occupations.

But one thing is to be called by God and quite another to be aware of that calling. All the baptized are called to seek the fullness of Christian life: personal holiness. He expects a response to his call —an answer that has to be given through all the ordinary things that went to make up our lives and would continue to make up our lives.

Like all creatures in the universe, our life is meant to give glory to God; He is our ultimate end. God is our one and only purpose. If we take that word in its deep-est meaning then we realize that all our actions should be directed to Him. Indeed, “if life didn’t have as its aim to give glory to God, it would be detestable—even more, loathsome (The Way, 783).” Thus, we must aspire to give “all” the glory to God. With our will aided by grace, we “squeeze” out each one of our actions, so that nothing remains in them that smacks of human pride, of self-complacency (cf. The Way, 784).

Raw material for holinessThe awareness of our Christian calling opens for us a

supernatural panorama. The lay faithful should not be content with a mediocre, languid holiness conformed to his situation, but rather, he should aim at the highest goal of heroic holiness.

You have the obligation to sanctify yourself. Yes, even you. Who thinks this is the exclusive concern of priests and religious? To everyone, without exception,

our Lord said: “Be perfect, as my heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48; The Way, 291).

The Christian laity who works in secular occupa-tions, who lives in what has come to be called the world of the “profane,” he also should feel urged by God, called to the perfection of charity. This world can be divinized if we strive to transform everything we do into a means of loving God and neighbour in and through the inci-dents of everyday life.

One must, then, be faithful to one’s Christian call-ing and to one’s professional calling. Our Lord has given each of us certain qualities, aptitudes and speci�ic inter-ests; through the various events of your life He etched your personality, and you came to see a certain area of activity as the one that suited you best. That human calling is part and parcel of our Christian vocation.

We are not talking of a mere juxtaposition of two loyalties —to God and to the world. No. Human voca-tion and divine vocation are interwoven to the extent that they form one single thing in a “unity of life.” In other words, work and all that goes with it are not sim-ply the sphere in which the ordinary Christian lives and sancti�ies himself but a means and way to —indeed it is the very material of— that holiness.

We must love the world, because it is in the world that we meet God: God shows Himself, He reveals Him-self to us in the happenings and events of the world. Good and evil are mixed in human history, and therefore the Christian should be a man of discernment. But this discernment should never bring him to deny the good-ness of God’s works. On the contrary, it should bring him to recognize the hand of God working through all human actions, even those which betray our fallen na-ture.

We could make a good motto for the Christian life out of these words of St Paul: “All things are yours; and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:22-23), and so carry out the plans of that God whose will it is to save the world (cf. Conversations with Msgr. Escrivá de Balaguer, 70).


Small man with a big problem

......... and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord! (Wisdom 12:2)

“What are you doing perched on a tree, little Bird?” “I was just thinking of Zacchaeus”“Who’s that?”“A tree climber”“What ?...A tree climber?”“Rather a tax collector I would say”“I don’t know what you are talking about…who is Zacchaeus?”“A man who lived during the time of Jesus…when I sit on this tree, looking at the passers by I am reminded of him.”“What’s so important about him?”“You know…he was very short in stature, and he was a chief tax collector. Normally tax collectors were considered as bad people. They were said to be sinners. And people apparently didn’t like them… However, Zacchaeus was a successful business-man. He had become very rich because he cheat-ed people by collecting more taxes than they owed and keeping it for himself. Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus and the amaz-ing things He was doing and saying. When he heard that Jesus was coming to his town, Jerico, he really wanted to see Him. But when he came to see Him there was a huge crowd gathered around Jesus and since Zacchaeus was short , he could not see Him. So, he sprinted down the street and scurried up a tree, trying to catch a glimpse of Jesus. When Je-sus was passing by, He saw Zacchaeus on the tree and came near the tree where Zacchaeus was.‘Zacchaeus, come down; for I must stay at your house today."said Jesus. “So what did Zacchaeus do?”“He was really surprised and overjoyed. He came down at once and welcomed Jesus to his house.. But he was very embarrassed because he knew that he had cheated people and when he and Jesus arrived at his house, he confessed and said that he was sorry for what he had done. He said to Jesus, "I am going to give half of all that I own, to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."The people could not believe that Jesus would go to the home of a man like Zacchaeus!But Jesus forgave him and he became a new man totally.“But what is the relevance of this story for to-day?”“Today also we observe there are many people who cannot ‘see’ Jesus. But if they really want to see Jesus and invite Him, Jesus will surely come and transform him into a new man. Jesus said that He came to seek and to save the lost. So I wish I could �ly around and tell about Zac-chaeus… so that many will become new beauti-ful people...People may be short in stature…they may be short of money… short of many things..but if they desire to see Jesus, surely He will come to his house and stay with him…How fortunate are such people!”“Come! climb down Little Bird! ...let’s go and tell people that however bad they are, they can change like Zacchaeus…!”

Michael Angelo Fernando

[email protected]

Easter Sunday terror attack focused the attention on the Catholic community in Sri Lanka. Major-ity of the victims, dead and injured were from

Katuwapitiya, Negombo. Response and reaction of the Catholic community and the Church hierarchy in con-taining the situation to maintain peace and harmony is entrenched in the mindset of all peace loving people. It is history now. It has sent a message to those concerned in igniting terrorism both nationally and internation-ally that Catholics are not guinea pigs.

History of Negombo dates prior to king Devanampiyatissa`s time. Maritime trade and seafaring activities had existed in the olden days. Manthota (Man-thai/Mannar), Kalpitiya, Negombo, Gintupitiya (Colom-bo), Beruwala and Galle in the western seaboard had played a pivotal role in boatbuilding, seafaring, warfare, Import export trade with Arabs and Indian traders. Chi-nese Silk route had links to Negombo. It was a trading post for local produce. Cinnamon, copra, spice, rice and minerals produced inland were brought to Negombo for export. Salt; dry �ish, lime and other commodities were taken inland.

Negombo developed into a prominent trading post with the advent of Portuguese in�luence. There were warehouses in distinct places, such as Copra junc-tion, Lunukada junction, Udayar-thoppu etc. King`s delegates were stationed in Negombo for monitoring activities and for tax collection. Among them, Prince Tammita, during the Kotte period was a prominent �ig-ure. His dwelling had been in Thillanduwa. With Dutch in�luence and opening of Hamilton canal, activity in Ne-gombo expanded further. The Fort built by the Portu-guese and later acquired by the Dutch is an indelible landmark. Late King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe in captiv-

ity was taken to Colombo via Negombo. In the late nineteenth century Negombo developed

into a major town with Catholic dominance. Dutch Bur-ghers and Bharatha community intermingled with locals to make a strong Catholic enclave. It was called “Little Rome”. It was elevated to a Municipal council in 1948. Almost 80% of households were Catholic. Since 1978, with the development of the FTZ in Katunayaka and rapid commercialization of Negombo and its suburbs, ethnic and religious parameters changed. However with the Easter Sunday terrorist attack in Katuwapitiya, Ne-gombo came to limelight once again as “Little Rome.”

Roads and places of interest in Negombo were named with historical signi�icance. Dutch Fort, Cus-tom House Road, Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe Road, Dhiya Hondha Ela, Udayarthoppu Road, Tammita Road, Kun-danwila Road, Greens Road, Malwatta Road, Hamilton Canal, Saunders Road, etc were prominent among them.. With Roman Catholic predominance, many roads carry names of Catholic Saints`. Several new roads and play-grounds were named after city fathers or philanthro-pists who contributed to city development, for example Rajapaksa Park. Tragically some names are getting erased due to political intervention.

Kundanwila Road was renamed as Rukmani Devi Mawatha. As a pioneer in the �ilm industry she brought fame to Negombo. Rajapaksa Park which was a gift to the people of Negombo was commercialized with vested interests. It should regain its due status to serve the general public. Dr. Hector Fernando and Denzil Fer-nando; two principled Catholic politicians, who repre-sented Negombo electorate in parliament are totally ignored.

Tammita Road and continuation Udayarthoppu Road had been renamed contd on Pg 15

Negombo’s Heritage left to Rot?.

It is Time We Catholics Open Our Eyes for the Well-being of Mother Lanka

Dear Editor,

I wish to refer to an article published in the Gnanartha Pradeepaya weekly newspaper October 27, 2019 writ-ten by Thilan Peiris of Negombo to the editor under the heading ldosk,a NS;sldj ;ufoaYmd,k jdishg yrjd.ekSu, which means using the Cardinal fear factor to one’s po-litical gain.

Having read that article I thought it is appropriate I should summarize the content of the said article for the bene�it of the English readers of your newspaper as I feel the content is very relevant to the Catholics of our country at this juncture.

It refers to how our very own Catholics have for-gotten the atrocious Easter attacks which killed over 200 people including children and injuring many more faithful Catholics who were devotedly in church on that Easter morning just 6 months ago. We would all agree that the role our Cardinal played at that moment made us all feel proud to be Catholics in this beautiful island of ours, where the entire nation including Buddhists, Hindus and other religious minorities all praising how if not for our Cardinal, today’s Sri Lanka would be a country in utter chaos with no less than a civil inter religious war bringing the entire country down to its knees. There were calls for His Eminence Malcolm Car-dinal Ranjith to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and even to the extent several calls for him to come forward as a presidential candidate at the forth coming presidential elections.

The article goes on to remind ourselves how short an average Sri Lankan’s memory is when it comes to mat-ters of this nature. Today our very own Catholics have once again divided into colours and are at each other’s throats arguing on behalf of one’s party as if they are political slaves. The very same people who wanted our Cardinal to be the president of our country is now using him as a political tool to either attack or take advantage to justify one’s political means.

I remember His Eminence during the time where people were calling for him to come forward as a presi-dential candidate quickly ensured that this line of dis-cussion is not taken forward and issued a statement

as he �irmly believes the role of clergy should not be mixed with the role of governing a country. So much so I remember he even publicly appealed to the Buddhist clergy also to step away from active politics and focus more on enriching the nation with religious values.

At a time where he has categorically stated that he will not meet any presidential candidate even for a cor-dial discussion, this should be appreciated by all Catho-lics which is another sign that he does not want to be involved in partisan politics.

However, he is very correctly insisting that those involved in the Easter attacks be brought to justice so that the Catholic community in this country be free to practice its faith.

It is very evident that several individuals who have had accusations levelled against them for having inter-actions with the suicide bombers have not been inves-tigated thoroughly and as a Catholic, I feel vulnerable letting these individuals continue freely in public life even to the extent of standing with certain presidential candidates supporting their candidacy.

Should not our Catholics be thinking that who re-ally funded these young suicide bombers? Where did the money come from? What is their master plan? What could be their next move? Are we still at risk? Rather than dividing ourselves on lines of colour and arguing about one’s presidential candidate.

I am thankful in the midst of all this negative com-ments towards the Cardinal especially on social media that His Eminence is staying strong on the path of se-curing the future safety of the Catholic masses of this country. I join in prayer together with all the recently elevated saints of Katuwapitiya, Kochchikade and Bat-ticaloa, to give strength to His Eminence to ignore these opportunistic minority of our group and to stay the course in making sure to protect the Catholics who love him dearly.

I would appreciate if you could publish the above letter which I believe is important for our Catholic community to open our eyes and work together, pray together, for the well-being of our community and our nation, Mother Lanka.

Petronela Roberts


He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector.... (Luke 19: 1-2)

His Eminence Malcolm Car-dinal Ranjith has appointed a Special Committee for the Relief work of the fami-lies affected by the Easter Sunday Tragedy under the guidance of the two Auxilia-ry Bishops. Given below are the names of the Committee Members :1. Rt. Rev. Dr. Maxwell Silva2. Rt. Rev. Dr. J. D. Anthony Jayakody3. Very Rev. Fr. Jude Samantha Fernando4. Rev. Fr. Freely Muthukudaarchchi5. Rev. Fr. Gihan Ridley Perera 6. Rev. Fr. Claude Nonis7. Rev. Fr. Prasad Harshana8. Rev. Fr. Lawrence Ramanayake9. Mr. Marius Madurawela

As we complete 6 months of the tragic bomb attack – the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka has done their very best in order to uplift the lives of the people who were affected by this trag-edy. After an assessment of individual families we have identi�ied their needs and

PSYCHO-SOCIAL AND PASTORAL SUPPORTIVE PROGRAMME FOR THE FAMILIES AFFECTED BY THE EASTER SUNDAY TRAGEDY

Every Tuesday, the Counsellors are available at St. Anthony’s Shrine to cater to the needs of the faithful.

Social AspectThe earlier two aspects

catered to the unseen needs of the people. It was very challenging to cater to the inner needs of the people – the unseen desires and fears of the people.

The social aspect of this programme caters to the visible (seen) needs of the people and has been divid-ed into 5 areas.1. Medical needs of the people2. Livelihood3. Income generation4. Education of the children of the affected families.5. Legal and Housing Issues

This aspect was led by Fr. Lawrence Ramanayake and the Seth Sarana Team.

There were 391 per-sons among 275 families wounded, 10 critically in-jured and large sums of money has been spent on

medical issues of the af-fected people. Expenses for them are in the millions and is still in process.

Livelihood – as a result of this tragedy the bread-winners of the families were affected. The critical-ly injured people lost their jobs as they were unable to attend work, or were hos-pitalized and were paid no salary for those months,

gramme the Faith Anima-tion Team with the co-ordination of Seth Sarana arranged a pilgrimage to Madhu with all those who were affected by the Trag-edy – 600 persons in num-ber. The main aim of the programme was to visit The Church of Martyrs at Thottaweli, Mannar where 600 faithful sacri�iced their lives for the sake of their Faith in Jesus our Lord – 475 years ago. It was called the “Visitation of our Relatives” at Thottaweli.

At present the Faith Ani-mation Team continues to do their best to bring back the faith of the affected families and support them to �ind answers for their burning issues in the Pres-ence of the Lord

Trauma CounsellingWith the leadership

of Rev. Fr. Claude Nonis, a team of Professional Coun-sellors and Doctors were given this huge task – the responsibility of counsel-ling and inner healing the

categorized them into 3 different aspects.A. Spiritual AspectB. Trauma Counselling AspectC. Social Aspect

With the guidance of His Eminence 3 teams were appointed to cater to the needs of the families.

Spiritual AspectUnder the leadership of

Rev. Fr. Prasad Harshana and the Faith Animation Team of the Archdiocese of Colombo – an action plan was designed in order to enlighten and relieve the affected families of the fear they face in their lives.

In the context of grave sadness Priests with Nuns and religious visited the families and celebrated mass at their homes and cared for their spiritual needs. They conducted spiritual programmes at Zonal level at Katuwa-pitiya and convinced some groups to join the Madhu Pilgrimage.

As a climax of that pro-

people whose lives were damaged mentally, by vis-iting houses and identify-ing the actual members who were traumatized and needed counselling in order to get their lives back to normal. They have done an immeasurable job by working day and night sacri�icing their own time. There were more than 80 quali�ied counsellors and doctors who accompa-nied these families, apart from doing so, they even conducted programmes at zonal levels for the whole Parish at Katuwapitiya and different levels for children, youth, adults and parents. By opening a special centre call “Emmaus” (Life Heal-ing Centre) at Katuwapitiya they still continue to serve and counsel the people in need of their services. They conduct a special ra-dio programme daily for one hour by using Seth FM in order to broadcast and empower inner healing to the affected people for 3 months.

in short their income was halted, this is where we catered for them. An evalu-ation of the conditions of these families had to be done to support them for day-to-day living by provid-ing grants.

Income GenerationAmong the 399 families

that were affected we have

identi�ied 64 from Katuwa-pitiya and 46 families from Kochchikade who need di-rect support for Income. The reason being either loss of the breadwinner, critically injured or perma-nently injured and Loss of both parents.

EducationWith the guidance of

His Eminence a team was appointed to look into the whereabouts of all children whose families were af-fected and a decision was made to support and pro-vide scholarships to all 325 students. According to the decision that was made the launch of the scholar-ship programme will take place on the December

1, 2019, and all children in the Katuwapitiya and Kochchikade areas will be included under this schol-arship programme.

Legal and Housing Issues

We are supporting all families who are living in rented houses. In order to �ind houses for them,

we have purchased land in Katuwapitiya for 25 fami-lies in agreement with the Housing Authorities to build houses for them. For Fami-lies in Kochchikade living in rented houses, as there is no way to �ind land we plan to arrange housing in con-dominium/�lats in agree-ment with the government. This is in progress and will be �inalized soon.

Given below is the �inan-cial support summary of the affected families. All mon-ies donated to the Cardi-nal’s Fund has been spent to uplift the lives of the people who are affected.

** This sum of money has been distributed to the families according to their medical needs and other is-sues as stated below.

Distribution of cash donations to the affected families at Katuwapitiya

Given below is the �inancial support summary of the affected families. All monies donated to the Cardinal’s Fund has been spent to uplift the lives of the people who are affected.

Purchase of Land at Katuwapitiya for the families who live in rented houses 53,000,000.00 No of Scholarships - 325 (from affected families) 102,000,000.00 Total Expenditure for Trauma Counselling Aspect 3,568,500.00 Total Expenditure for Spiritual and Pastoral Aspect 4,829,688.82 Social Aspect (Distribution of cash grants for Medical bills for 399 families ** 131,546,325.49 Other Expenses (Travelling, stationery, refreshments) 1,231,478.21 296,175,992.52 Funds reserved for emergency medical issues and other incidental expenses 25,000,000.00Total amount in Cardinal’s Fund at present 411,705,000.00

We have registered each family affected both in Kochchikade and Katuwapitiya and given them a code number in order to identify them – Kochchikade goes as KO – 01 to 119 and Katuwapitiya as KA 01 to 280. This way the dignity and respect of the families are kept and personal information is also kept con�idential. If there is any requirement for personal information they could contact us with the intention.

Please note that you should avoid comparing the grants given to each family as we have catered according to their medical, livelihood and income generation needs. This is not a grant that should be distributed equally.

Rev. Fr. Lawrence RamanayakeDirector – Seth Sarana Caritas Colombo

Distribution of cash donations to the affected families at Kochchikade


He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector.... (Luke 19: 1-2)

His Eminence Malcolm Car-dinal Ranjith has appointed a Special Committee for the Relief work of the fami-lies affected by the Easter Sunday Tragedy under the guidance of the two Auxilia-ry Bishops. Given below are the names of the Committee Members :1. Rt. Rev. Dr. Maxwell Silva2. Rt. Rev. Dr. J. D. Anthony Jayakody3. Very Rev. Fr. Jude Samantha Fernando4. Rev. Fr. Freely Muthukudaarchchi5. Rev. Fr. Gihan Ridley Perera 6. Rev. Fr. Claude Nonis7. Rev. Fr. Prasad Harshana8. Rev. Fr. Lawrence Ramanayake9. Mr. Marius Madurawela

As we complete 6 months of the tragic bomb attack – the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka has done their very best in order to uplift the lives of the people who were affected by this trag-edy. After an assessment of individual families we have identi�ied their needs and

PSYCHO-SOCIAL AND PASTORAL SUPPORTIVE PROGRAMME FOR THE FAMILIES AFFECTED BY THE EASTER SUNDAY TRAGEDY

Every Tuesday, the Counsellors are available at St. Anthony’s Shrine to cater to the needs of the faithful.

Social AspectThe earlier two aspects

catered to the unseen needs of the people. It was very challenging to cater to the inner needs of the people – the unseen desires and fears of the people.

The social aspect of this programme caters to the visible (seen) needs of the people and has been divid-ed into 5 areas.1. Medical needs of the people2. Livelihood3. Income generation4. Education of the children of the affected families.5. Legal and Housing Issues

This aspect was led by Fr. Lawrence Ramanayake and the Seth Sarana Team.

There were 391 per-sons among 275 families wounded, 10 critically in-jured and large sums of money has been spent on

medical issues of the af-fected people. Expenses for them are in the millions and is still in process.

Livelihood – as a result of this tragedy the bread-winners of the families were affected. The critical-ly injured people lost their jobs as they were unable to attend work, or were hos-pitalized and were paid no salary for those months,

gramme the Faith Anima-tion Team with the co-ordination of Seth Sarana arranged a pilgrimage to Madhu with all those who were affected by the Trag-edy – 600 persons in num-ber. The main aim of the programme was to visit The Church of Martyrs at Thottaweli, Mannar where 600 faithful sacri�iced their lives for the sake of their Faith in Jesus our Lord – 475 years ago. It was called the “Visitation of our Relatives” at Thottaweli.

At present the Faith Ani-mation Team continues to do their best to bring back the faith of the affected families and support them to �ind answers for their burning issues in the Pres-ence of the Lord

Trauma CounsellingWith the leadership

of Rev. Fr. Claude Nonis, a team of Professional Coun-sellors and Doctors were given this huge task – the responsibility of counsel-ling and inner healing the

categorized them into 3 different aspects.A. Spiritual AspectB. Trauma Counselling AspectC. Social Aspect

With the guidance of His Eminence 3 teams were appointed to cater to the needs of the families.

Spiritual AspectUnder the leadership of

Rev. Fr. Prasad Harshana and the Faith Animation Team of the Archdiocese of Colombo – an action plan was designed in order to enlighten and relieve the affected families of the fear they face in their lives.

In the context of grave sadness Priests with Nuns and religious visited the families and celebrated mass at their homes and cared for their spiritual needs. They conducted spiritual programmes at Zonal level at Katuwa-pitiya and convinced some groups to join the Madhu Pilgrimage.

As a climax of that pro-

people whose lives were damaged mentally, by vis-iting houses and identify-ing the actual members who were traumatized and needed counselling in order to get their lives back to normal. They have done an immeasurable job by working day and night sacri�icing their own time. There were more than 80 quali�ied counsellors and doctors who accompa-nied these families, apart from doing so, they even conducted programmes at zonal levels for the whole Parish at Katuwapitiya and different levels for children, youth, adults and parents. By opening a special centre call “Emmaus” (Life Heal-ing Centre) at Katuwapitiya they still continue to serve and counsel the people in need of their services. They conduct a special ra-dio programme daily for one hour by using Seth FM in order to broadcast and empower inner healing to the affected people for 3 months.

in short their income was halted, this is where we catered for them. An evalu-ation of the conditions of these families had to be done to support them for day-to-day living by provid-ing grants.

Income GenerationAmong the 399 families

that were affected we have

identi�ied 64 from Katuwa-pitiya and 46 families from Kochchikade who need di-rect support for Income. The reason being either loss of the breadwinner, critically injured or perma-nently injured and Loss of both parents.

EducationWith the guidance of

His Eminence a team was appointed to look into the whereabouts of all children whose families were af-fected and a decision was made to support and pro-vide scholarships to all 325 students. According to the decision that was made the launch of the scholar-ship programme will take place on the December

1, 2019, and all children in the Katuwapitiya and Kochchikade areas will be included under this schol-arship programme.

Legal and Housing Issues

We are supporting all families who are living in rented houses. In order to �ind houses for them,

we have purchased land in Katuwapitiya for 25 fami-lies in agreement with the Housing Authorities to build houses for them. For Fami-lies in Kochchikade living in rented houses, as there is no way to �ind land we plan to arrange housing in con-dominium/�lats in agree-ment with the government. This is in progress and will be �inalized soon.

Given below is the �inan-cial support summary of the affected families. All mon-ies donated to the Cardi-nal’s Fund has been spent to uplift the lives of the people who are affected.

** This sum of money has been distributed to the families according to their medical needs and other is-sues as stated below.

Distribution of cash donations to the affected families at Katuwapitiya

Given below is the �inancial support summary of the affected families. All monies donated to the Cardinal’s Fund has been spent to uplift the lives of the people who are affected.

Purchase of Land at Katuwapitiya for the families who live in rented houses 53,000,000.00 No of Scholarships - 325 (from affected families) 102,000,000.00 Total Expenditure for Trauma Counselling Aspect 3,568,500.00 Total Expenditure for Spiritual and Pastoral Aspect 4,829,688.82 Social Aspect (Distribution of cash grants for Medical bills for 399 families ** 131,546,325.49 Other Expenses (Travelling, stationery, refreshments) 1,231,478.21 296,175,992.52 Funds reserved for emergency medical issues and other incidental expenses 25,000,000.00Total amount in Cardinal’s Fund at present 411,705,000.00

We have registered each family affected both in Kochchikade and Katuwapitiya and given them a code number in order to identify them – Kochchikade goes as KO – 01 to 119 and Katuwapitiya as KA 01 to 280. This way the dignity and respect of the families are kept and personal information is also kept con�idential. If there is any requirement for personal information they could contact us with the intention.

Please note that you should avoid comparing the grants given to each family as we have catered according to their medical, livelihood and income generation needs. This is not a grant that should be distributed equally.

Rev. Fr. Lawrence RamanayakeDirector – Seth Sarana Caritas Colombo

Distribution of cash donations to the affected families at Kochchikade


........ and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd,.... (Luke 19:2-3)

Kids & Youth

All Souls DayThe All Souls Day is a holy day set aside for hon-

ouring the dead. According to Catholic belief, the soul of a person who dies can go to one of three

places. The �irst is heaven, where a person who dies in a state of perfect grace and communion with God goes. The second is hell, where those who die in a state of mortal sin are naturally condemned by their choice. The intermediate option is purgatory, which is thought to be where most people, free of mortal sin, but still in a state of lesser (venial) sin, must go.

Purgatory is necessary so that souls can be cleansed and perfected before they enter into heaven. Consistent with these teachings and traditions, Catholics believe that through the prayers of the faithful on Earth, the dead are cleansed of their sins so they may enter into heaven.

The importance of All Souls Day was made clear by Pope Benedict XV (1914-22) when he granted all priests the privilege of celebrating three Masses on All Souls Day: one for the faithful departed; one for the priest's intentions; and one for the intentions of the Holy Father. On only a handful of other very important feast days are priests allowed to celebrate more than

two Masses.While All Souls Day is now paired with All Saints

Day (November 1), which celebrates all of the faithful who are in Heaven, it originally was celebrated in the Easter season, around Pentecost Sunday (and still is in the Eastern Catholic Churches). By the tenth century, the celebration had been moved to October; and some-time between 998 and 1030, St. Odilo of Cluny decreed that it should be celebrated on November 2 in all of the monasteries of his Benedictine congregation. Over the next two centuries, other Benedictines and the Carthu-sians began to celebrate it in their monasteries as well, and soon the commemoration of all the Holy Souls in Purgatory spread to the entire Church.

Offering Our Efforts on Behalf of the Holy SoulsOn All Souls Day, we not only remember the dead,

but we apply our efforts, through prayer, almsgiving,

and the Mass, to their release from Purgatory. There are two plenary indulgences attached to All Souls Day, one for visiting a church and another for visiting a cemetery. While the actions are performed by the living, the mer-its of the indulgences are applicable only to the souls in Purgatory. Since a plenary indulgence removes all of the temporal punishment for sin, which is the reason why souls are in Purgatory in the �irst place, applying a plenary indulgence to one of the Holy Souls in Purga-tory means that the Holy Soul is released from Purga-tory and enters Heaven.

Praying for the dead is a Christian obligation. In the modern world, when many have come to doubt the Church's teaching on Purgatory, the need for such prayers has only increased. The Church devotes the month of November to prayer for the Holy Souls in Pur-gatory, and participation in the Mass of All Souls Day is a good way to begin the month.

by Nileesha Fernando

Anger is the stron-gest kind of pas-sion. It can progress

into an exchange of words and actions that you will regret with all your heart, after the damage has been done. However, it does not have to develop into something offensive.

The world that we live in, allows us to have ev-erything at our �ingertips. It has made people act im-patiently and impatience leads to anger. For an ex-ample if we get caught to traf�ic on the road, we toot the horn to show our frustration. Is it required to showcase our anger in that moment?

We need to keep in mind that anger is an emotion that displeases God, because when we are angry, we hurt Him and

His children. Satan preys on the vulnerable, the angered, and adds a “D”; representing the devil, leading it to “Danger”. An-ger can lead to many un-forgivable sins and even make the tongue work faster than the mind.

Think how Jesus car-ried the pain that we in-�licted; our sins, guilt and bore the cross, suffered and died for us. We placed Him on the cross and His response was “Father, for-give them for they do not know what they do.”

The only way to over-come anger is by forgiving,

and we all know how dif�i-cult it is to do so. As Catho-lics we have the Holy Spirit as the anger management counsellor. Make a quality decision and implore God to grant you with the grace to forgive.

Yes, life is dif�icult; it is not always smiles and sunshine and we are pow-erless in certain circum-stances. So turn to God, and a lot of dangerous acts could be avoided.

Decide to forgive and love the person who has sinned against you. When you forgive, you set a pris-oner free: yourself.

If you kick a stone in anger, you will only hurt your foot! October 19 was a memorable day

for me. On that day, 220 boys re-ceived First Holy Communion at

St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 10. I was one of the lucky boys who received Jesus on this special day. Our rector, Rev. Fr. Ranjith Andradi was the chief celebrant of the mass. Father Andradi said we were little saints; and he told us we should be very happy to have Jesus in our heart. I remember waiting impatiently to receive Jesus on that day. Receiving communion took quite a while, as many children were receiving with their parents. When I re-ceived, I felt very excited that Jesus come into my heart!

After the ceremony we all gathered in the Sports Complex for a of�icial pho-tograph. I am glad I got to share this memory with all my friends. After the photograph, we enjoyed refreshments or-ganized by the school and also received a

special gift from our Principal, Rev. Fr. Sharm Dassanayake. The gift was a Good News Bible and I loved the gift.

My teacher, Ms. Nimali suggested that we could bring cake for the non-Catholic boys who helped make this wonderful ceremony possible. My school always encourages us to help each other and share our special moments with fellow students. I wish I could share this joy with the children of every religion around Sri Lanka.

Shanish Fernando, Class 4s5 - St. Joseph’s College,

Colombo 10.

My First Holy Communion at St. Joseph’s College

Essay Competition – Theme : “Sharing the Good News of Jesus” Age group : 6-10 years ( 700-800 words) 11-14 years (1000 words) 15-18 years (1500 words)

Art Competition Theme : “Importance of Religious Harmony in Sri Lanka”Age group : 6-10 years, 11-14 years and 15-18 years

Rules and regulations:• Three winners will be selected from each age group.• Remember to include Name, Age group, Grade and Name of the School with the submission.• All entries should be certified by a Teacher-in-Charge. • Deadline for entries, by email or post, is November 25, 2019.• Postal - “150TH ANNIVERSARY COMPETITIONS”

150th Anniversary of The Catholic Messenger

Essay & Art

Competition

EditorMessenger

Colombo Catholic Press,No. 2, Gnanartha Pradeepaya Mawatha,

Colombo 8. Email - [email protected]


Health relatedIssues in Sri Lanka

By Dr. Maxie FernandopulleEmail: [email protected]

.............. for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,...... (Luke 19:3-4)

CANCER OF THE MOUTHCancer of the mouth (oral cancer) is the com-

monest cancer in males, breast cancer being the commonest in females. Three persons die daily

in Sri Lanka due to oral cancer. Mouth cancer can occur in lips, gums, tongue, cheek, �loor of the mouth (under the tongue) or the roof of the mouth. The frequency of cancers in males are that highest in the mouth making up to 15.8% of all cancers. This is followed by cancer of the oesophagus (gullet) which is 7.6%, cancer in the rectum and colon (large intestine) contributing 6.8% and prostate cancer accounting for 6.5% of all cancers in males.

There are some well established risk factors when exposed to betel quid has a higher chance of developing oral cancer. The main contributory factors are tobacco, betel chewing and alcohol. The tobacco can be in the form of cigarettes, cigars or pipes or the popular beedi. In the very popular betel quid the areca-nut, and the betel leaf is considered more carcinogenic than the to-bacco. The longer one keeps the quid inside the mouth the higher is the risk. Heavy consumption of alcohol is also considered a high risk factor. Excess exposure to sun is also another a risk factor. Persons whose immu-nity is diminished are at a higher risk. There is an asso-

ciation with hu-man papilloma virus infection. 10% of men and 3.6% of women have oral human papilloma virus infection, most common in old age. Human Papilloma Virus can infect the mouth and the throat and cause oral cancer.

Early manifestations of oral cancer are non healing sores in the mouth and lips. Persistent white or red patches in the mouth are pre cancerous manifestations. Loose teeth, persistent ear ache, feeling of numbness inside the mouth, unexplained bleeding in the mouth are other early signs. Cancer of the mouth can be pres-ent with a persistent hoarse voice or dif�iculty in swal-lowing. Finally a growth inside the mouth is a very sig-ni�icant �inding of oral cancer.

If you are worried or has a suspicion you can feel yourself the inside of your mouth. The �loor and the side of the mouth can be felt with the thumb outside and your index �inger inside the mouth. Feel carefully

all round for something different or a solid feeling. The roof of the mouth can be felt with neck bent backwards and the thumb inside the mouth. If you �ind anything suspicious or if any of the earlier mentioned �indings are noticed, do not delay. Go to your doctor. He is like-ly to refer you to an E.N.T. Surgeon or Maxillo Facial Surgeon. The surgeon will remove a small piece from the suspicious area and send it to a specialist (his-topathologist). He will take sections, stain it and look under a microscope. If there are cancer cells he will be able to con�irm the diagnosis.

If not diagnosed and treated early the cancer will spread to the glands under your jaw and the neck. These glands will be hard when you feel them.

If diagnosed early before it has spread and is very localized 90% cure rate can be expected. If the diagno-sis is delayed and it has spread the outcome is poor.

Can cancer in the mouth be prevented? Yes. Stop consuming or inhaling tobacco and its products. Stop chewing betel quid. Try to minimise exposure to severe sunlight. Try to use shade covers. Drink alcohol in mod-erate amounts. Get your teeth examined by the dentist regularly.

Church stands for Right to LifeAnother “Christian country” in Europe has legal-

ized abortion. The legislation took effect on 21 October in Northern Ireland. 93% of the popu-

lation of this country is Christian and the largest de-nomination of these Christians is Roman Catholic. In many countries the abortion law has been amended to allow abortion in case of rape, incest and predicted birth of abnormal babies. This is true in many Western countries in the world. Even in South Asia abortion laws have been changed to help rape and incest victims and in case of potential birth of abnormal babies. All SAARC countries have liberalized abortion laws except Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

The countries where abortion is legalized treat con-genital abnormalities as an enormous burden on the welfare system and on the smooth �low of family life. The premise on which they base their arguments is the mere convenience of the pregnant mother: Women should be granted freedom to terminate their pregnan-cy especially in case of unwanted or forced pregnancies and fetal abnormalities. They take it for granted that the unborn child has no rights. Child in the womb is part of the mother and she has the right either to allow the child to grow or use measures to stop or to termi-nate that growing process. This is the pro-choice stance of the abortion law.

But the Catholic Church always takes a “Pro-Life” stance. The Catholic Church has always advocated the belief that human life is a gift from God and no person, even the mother or any medical person has the right to interfere with this life. The Catholic Church takes this anti-abortion stand on behalf of the innocent, defense-less baby in the womb. The “pro-choice” agencies and part of the medical community are not bothered about respecting the right of an innocent child to live and to grow in the womb till they complete the gestation pe-riod. They are taking the growing baby as an append-age of the mother and not a separate person who has the right to live.

Right to LifeBased on the same premise, “right to life”, the Church

will never condone euthanasia. Patients who suffer from terminal cancer, such as pancreatic cancer or severe and continuous excruciating pain, cannot seek medical help to terminate their lives prematurely, be-cause from the moment of conception to the moment of death, life belongs to the Creator. Humans have no right to interfere with life. Some countries in the world have legalized assisted suicide or disrupting the process of life with a lethal injection or gradually restricting es-

sential nutrition and hydration. Our society has many other means of helping the vic-

tims of rape and incest, other than resorting to abortion. Mother Theresa of Calcutta has pointed out that there are millions of childless parents who long to adopt ba-bies. She and many other religious congregations have started homes where mothers can go through their pregnancy under secrecy and con�identiality and give over these children for adoption and foster care. Such mothers will be able to live normal lives without any guilt of infanticide or murdering their own “�lesh and blood.” They will also be assured that their babies will be looked after by suitable and loving foster parents.

The Catholic Church looks with pity and compas-sion on the victims of rape and incest. The Church has provided places of safety and con�identiality for such victims where they will be counselled and looked after. But the Church has always been opposed to abortion and regards it as infanticide, killing of an innocent and defenseless unborn human being. It condones sponta-neous abortion or “miscarriage”. It is an unpreventable natural abortion. The Church also permits therapeutic abortion, which is meant to safeguard the life of the mother. But the Catholic Church will never go back on her stand on abortion. She will always regard it as kill-ing of an innocent and defenseless infant.

Pope Francis in his Apostolic Ex-hortation “Evangelii Gaudium” says: “Among the vulner-able for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are children, the most defenseless and innocent among us. Nowadays ef-forts are made to deny them of their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleas-es, taking their lives, passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this…Every violation of the personal dignity of the human being cries out in vengeance to God and is an offence against the Creator of the individual.”

Idam

“I have tickets for a concert this week. The only thing is that I have no way of coming back home after the show.” said Ayesha.“You can call a cab and say a prayer that you will reach home safely. Anyway, you must also trust your Guardian Angel to help you” said John.“Do you believe in angels?” asked Ayesha.“You can call it faith in God. He provides someone to watch over me. Anyway, I am not alone as I be-lieve that God is with me always” said John.“You must also accept that whatever you wish, you must always submit to the Will of God!”chimed in Priyani.“That’s not so easy. I often want my own way and cannot accept if God’s Will is different. Maybe I am praying for the wrong things” said Ayesha.“Perhaps. Why don’t you stop asking for things and just let go and go with the �low? Then you will �ind that your Guardian Angel is guiding you. Just ask for strength for the day! That is easier than getting big things you cannot cope with” said Priyani.“You are right. I often have big plans and am disap-pointed if they don’t work out. I guess I have taken on too many responsibilities. I must ask God to show me the way to handle my life.”said Ayesha.“You don’t have to say long prayers. Just talk to God and He will help you from moment to mo-ment” concluded Priyani.

by Sirohmi Gunesekera

Angel

Pope Francis


............. who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, ......... (Luke 19:4-5)

All souls Day November 2

by Rev. Fr. Athanasius Samarasinghe

There was a bus that was bumping along a rug-ged village road. In one seat there was an old man seated holding a bunch of fresh �lowers,

and next to him in the seat there was a young girl who was admiringly looking at those beautiful fresh �low-ers. Her admiring gaze came upon those �lowers again and again.

When the time came for the old man to get off the bus, he got up and instinctively pushed that bouquet of fresh �lowers into the lap of the young girl. As he gave that bouquet to that young girl he said "I see that you love these �lowers a lot, I think my wife would love you to have these �lowers. I will tell her that I had given this bouquet to you." She joyfully accepted those �lowers. When the bus stopped, that old man got off the bus and entered the little cemetery where his wife was buried.

We celebrate the feast of all Souls on November 2. It is a day when we remember all the dead people and pray for them. The Church comprises of three sets of people - The Church Triumphant in heaven, the Church Militant on earth, and the Church Suffering in purga-tory. Due to the mystery of the Communion of Saints we have a mysterious link with the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering.

The Church Triumphant in heaven enjoys the vision of God and we can pray to those saints asking for their intercession and even receive the help of their prayers. They do not need our prayers because they already en-joy the vision of God. The Church Suffering in purgatory is in the process of puri�ication. These souls have died in the Grace of God, but they are not perfectly puri�ied from their sins. In purgatory the last vestiges of their sins are being puri�ied. Being in the State of Grace these

souls in purgatory can pray for us, but they cannot pray for themselves. Therefore, we need to solicit God's mer-cy for them.

1) The old Testament Testi�ies to the Existence of the purgatory.

Judas Maccabees sent 2000 drachmas of silver to the temple of Jerusalem to provide for sin offering. He offered this sacri�ice for those Jewish soldiers who were slain in the battle because of their sin of idolatry. He made atonement for the dead so that they might be delivered from their sins. (2 Maccabees 12: 43,45).

2) The New Testament hints at Purgatory:When Jesus said that the sin against the Holy Spirit

will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:32). Again Jesus hinted at the exis-tence of the purgatory when He said "come to terms with your accuser while you are on the way to the court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you you will never get out until you have paid the last penny" (Matthew 5:26).

3) The Fathers of the Church believe in the Purgatory.

The faith and the practice of the early Church proved that the early Christians believed in the prayers for the dead. Tertulian, the oldest among the Latin Christian writers in the 2nd century, wrote "we make yearly of-ferings or sacri�ices for the dead, and for the feasts of the martyrs. A widow prays for the soul of her deceased husband and begs repose for him, and his company in the �irst resurrection and offers sacri�ices on the anni-versary days of his death.

St. John Chrysostom considered it an important ob-ligation of a priest to pray for the dead. He said "The priest is the intercessor to God for the sins both of the living and the dead". Again he said "It is not in vain that in the divine mysteries we remember the dead, appear-ing on their behalf praying to the Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world, that comfort may thence be derived upon them. He who stands at the altar cries not out in vain. Let us pray for them who have slept in Christ. Let us not fail to succor the departed, for the common expiation of the world is offered"

St. Augustine personally prayed to God "You purify me in this life and render me such that I may not stand in need of that purging �ire."

4) Reason recommends the Belief in the Purgatory:At the point of death, there are some who are

extremely good and they may go to heaven; others may be extremely wicked and they may even refuse to repent for offending God. Such souls are condemned to the eternal �ire of hell. But most of us are neither very good to enter heaven im-mediately after our death, nor so wicked to deserve hell. Such souls die in God's grace and friendship, are not perfectly pure. They need to be puri�ied before they enter into the presence of God. The state of puri�ication is called purgatory.

5. The Church Teaches about the Purgatory;

From the earliest days the Church had believed in the prayer for the dead. It had always encouraged us not to hesitate of pray for the dead. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches "All who die in God's grace and friendship but still imperfectly puri�ied, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo puri�ication, so as to achieve the holiness nec-essary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this �inal puri�ication of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned."

In the �inal analysis this day is a Day of Hope for the entire Church, focussing as it does on the fullness of the Paschal mystery, enveloping every believer in its redemptive embrace.

The Council of Trent of�icially declared that the souls in purgatory bene�it from and therefore need the prayers and works of charity of all believers as help to send souls from purgatory to heaven from hope to ful-�ilment.

A plenary indulgence is attached to visiting the cemetery for 8 days from November 2, more than ev-erything else, the most consoling point is that souls in purgatory are remebered daily or weekly in the Holy Masses said by each priest.

To Ponder:-"And so we must die with Him (Christ) in order to live with Him. Indeed we have a Healer, so let us make use of His remedy. Our remedy is Christ's grace and the body of death means our physical nature" St. Ambrose on the death of his brother Satyrus.

Contd. from last week Christianity in Sri Lanka ... · The battle between the armies of King Dhatusena

and of his son Prince Kasyapa took place at the place called Siripura which was at the site of the present-day Malasne Devale at Galkatiyagama near Hiripitiya in the Kurunegala district. When King Dhatusena rea-lised that the majority of his soldiers had been killed, he cut off his head with his own hand and died on the battle �ield - (Pg. 42).

· The Elders of the Mahavihara had an unabatable ha-tred towards King Kasyapa because he embraced the Mahayana doctrine preached by the Samghasthavira of the Abhayagiri Vihara. This was the main reason why they referred to him as a patricide even though he did not kill his father - (Pgs 74 - 76).

· After the death of his father, King Kasyapa continued the building of the Palace on the Sigiri rock on a much grander scale than it was originally conceived - (Pgs 57 - 67).

· The reign of King Kasyapa brought honour to the Sin-hala kingdom. Prosperity which came in the wake of his economic and trade policies made the great ma-jority of people content with his rule - (Pgs 73 & 87).

· During the reign of King Kasyapa, Prince Moggallana �led to Suvarnnnapura (on the western coast of the Island of Sumatra), then to Malayapura, and �inally

back to Suvarannapura. He did not try to wage war against King Kasyapa as he knew that it was not pos-sible to capture the kingdom by force - (Pgs 79 to 83).

· King Kasyapa reigned for 18 years, from 477 AD to 495 AD - (Pgs 56 & 72). He died suddenly while spending the night with his senior queen on the sum-mit of the Sigiri rock. His death was the result of a conspiracy hatched to enable Prince Moggallana to ascend the throne - (Pgs 83 & 84).

· Prince Moggallana was baptized a Christian by the MagaBrahmana (Junior) who had befriended him during his exile in Suvarnnapura and got him to prom-ise that he would become a Christian if King Kasyapa is killed. It appears that the MagaBrahmana had not enlightened Prince Moggallana of the basic tenets of Christianity and that he agreed to become a Christian because the MagaBrahmana had warned him that a greater calamity would befall him if he does not ful�il the promise he had made - (Pgs 83, 85, 89).

· After his ascension to the throne, King Moggallana was excommunicated from the Christian religion because of his extremely cruel deeds - (Pg. 106). Thereafter, he re-embraced Buddhism twice - (Pgs 94, 107, 108). However, towards the end of his life he embraced Christianity for the third time and died in that faith - (Pg. 115) in the seventeenth year of his reign - i.e. in 512 AD - (Pg. 108).

· King Moggallana was succeeded by his son, Kumara-dasa. He reigned for four years as a Christian and then embraced Buddhism. He died in the ninth year of his reign He was succeeded by his son, Kristusena (also referred to as Kittisena) who was able to reign only for seven months before being killed - (Pg. 108).

The main purpose of this article is to highlight the existence of Christianity in Sri Lanka in the 5th and 6th centuries (AD) by presenting some of the �indings of Prof. Senarat Paranavitana, the intellectual giant who left an indelible mark in the annals of Sri Lanka’s histo-ry in recent times and was also hailed for his observa-tions regarding the background to the Buddhist beliefs on the worship of Sri Pada (Sacred Peak).

Up to now, scienti�ic excavations have been mainly done in the Western side of the Sigiri rock. Scienti�ic excavations in the Northern side will no doubt shed more light on the Shrine dedicated to Jesus Christ (“Ab-hiseka – Jina”) and the Christian Monastery (see 5, 6 & 7 above) mentioned in “THE STORY OF SIGIRI”. One hopes that this work would be undertaken soon for the sake of posterity.

The Catholic Weekly of Sri Lanka, “The Messenger” of the 01st& 08th May 2011 carried a very informative and interesting article by Archbishop Emeritus Most Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis on “THE CROSS OF ANURAD-HAPURA”. Did this CROSS �ind its way to Anuradhapura via Sigiri? The inference is best left to the reader!


.............. “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. (Luke 19:5-6)

Above all, has our routine participation in liturgy and tradition extended in the direction of the profound and divine truths that they symbolize, calling us to repent, change and accept Christ? Do our places of worship empathetically welcome the ‘sinner’, standing at the back, pounding his chest? Or are we all crowding the front pews by pushing that sinner out of the church doors? Have our clergy been eager and attentive recipients of such sinners to the fold of our Shephard going in search of the lost sheep as the Good Shephard did? Or have they too, been engaged in the physical masonry and carpentry of church building as St Francis once did, but later recti�ied? Or are they more concerned about the praise and acclaim of the world, that they have given second thought to standing up for their �lock? We should not be hasty to conclude that the destruction that befell our churches on 21st of April this year was due to the wrath of God, as has been in the case of the Temple of Jerusalem. It would be placing ourselves in the position of the Almighty, in the �irst place, and a disrespect to those hundreds of devotees who lost their lives in the holy abode of their God. Yet at the same time, the fact remains that our puny minds will never comprehend the mysterious ways in which God

The book on ‘Martyrs of Mannar’ is an Anthropological, Historical and Sociological research. The

Martyrdom of the aboriginals of early Catholics in the Island of Mannar was the �irst witnessing historic Martyrdom in the Sri Lankan Catholic Church history. I hope that this research will be given the clear clari�ication to each and every one who is willing to understand the witnessing life of the beginners of early Catholicism in Mannar.

The year 2017 was the Year of Saint Joseph Vaz in Jaffna diocese and the 475th year of the Martyrs of Mannar, /efforts were made to do a publication containing work and times of ‘St. Joseph Vaz in Mannar with added information and new statistics. I have received the blessings and words of encouragement from the former Bishop of Mannar, Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, Rt. Rev. Dr. Kingsly Swampillai, the former Apostolic Administrator of Mannar diocese and present Bishop of Mannar, Rt. Rev. Dr. Emmanual Fernando.

Many of the investigators have imposed lot of statistics about Mannar Martyrs. Rev. Fr. Gnnapragasar has speci�ied in his book of ‘Jaalpana vaibavaVimarisanam’.” that Ilam Singam, the Commander from Jaffna, died as Martyr with the people of Paravars and the people of Kadaiyar (1928: 115-117.)

Rev. Fr. J. D. Ganaathicam, a Jesuit priest stated in the book on ‘St. Francis Xavier’ that the Parathar and the Kariyaar settled down in Mannar Island by the Jaffna King were responsible in sending the messengers to St. Francis Xavier to baptise them and then they have died as Martyrs (1964: 4-5). K. Veluppillai in his book of ‘Jaalpana Gaumuthi’ mentioned that the people of Paravar and Kadaiyar followed the new Catholicism and died as Martyrs.(1918: 46-47). Charles A Hoole in his Doctoral Thesis in 1993 include information to say that ‘Indeed for the period 1536 – 1544, a large number of people of the Karaiyar caste associated

with the pearl �isheries were converted to Christianity.’

C.D. Veluppillai in the book on ‘The Mission of American History’ points out that the Paravar and the Kadaiyar, followed the tradition of the Christianity and died as Martyrs.(1927:22-23). Muthaliyar Rrajanayagam in the book on ‘The History of Jaffna’ speaks of St. Francis Xavier sending a Parathavar priest with his namesake to baptise to the people namely Kadayar of Mannar and he died with them.(1918: 91-92) Muththurasa Kaviraayar (reprinted by: Kula.Sabanaathar) in the book ‘Jaalpana VaibavaMaalai’ mentioned that the Parathava priest preached to the Kadaiyar and converted them as Catholics.(1937 : 59) The Jaffna University former Professor of History Sittampalam in his book ‘Jaalpana Raatchiyam’, that Urasingam or Ilansingam, the political representative of the Ariyasakkarawathi in Mannar was killed over political issue (1992: 9).

St. Francis Xavier in his letter states that the ‘Karayaar’ died as Martyrs. Rev Fr. Hentric Hentricus, the �irst Parish Priest of Mannar island from the Jesuits’ Congregation and very �luent in Tamil language, reaf�irmed the ‘Karayar’ died

as Martyrs. Schurhammer says that there were Periya Karaiyaar Paddanam, Sriya Karayaar Paddanam in Mannar and the Karayaar people who were living in those cities had died as Martyrs.

After analysing the statements of the evaluators, Ilam Singam, Saanta Crus, and more than 600 people of Mannar (Paravar,Karayaar, Kadayar,) con�irmed, they died as Martyrs in the Island of Mannar.

Introduction In order to get clear understanding of the long debated problem regarding the true history of Martyrs, I did research and put forward the historical truths of Martyrs of Mannar. I have divided this research into four chapters to understand this true history clearly.

In the �irst chapter I have involved in the history of Sociological study on the evaluation of the indigenous people of Mannar and Maathoddam. It is true that the histories of Catholicism in Sri Lanka have started spreading in the period of Portuguese. I have tried to elaborate the early settlements of the people of Mannar and Mathoddam before the arrival of Portuguese with the help of the evidence of many historical books.

This is very important to understand the history of Mannar Martyrs clearly through the sociological and historical view of the people of Maathoddam and Mannar. If we understand the real circumstance of manifestation of a place, we have to know the history of the ancestors who lived in the early period.

In the second chapter, I would like to elaborate the political situation, when the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka. And further I would like to say about the faithful of the Mannar who had invited Saint Francis Xavier who was preaching the Catechism in India. I would like to describe the Preacher sent by St. Francis Xavier. And also I like to elaborate the newly baptized Catholic people who were beheaded by Jaffna King Sangilian. He was so furious after hearing the people of the Island of Mannar who had been converted as Catholics. The witnessing event has been exposed in such a way. I have elaborated about the arrival of St. Francis Xavier and prevention of the disease of cholera in Mannar and encouraged to all the people to live in Catholic faith.

In the third chapter I have concerned about the King who was the cause of Mannar massacre. And How many died as Martyrs? When and where this historical event took place? And Who died as Martyrs?

In the fourth chapter, it has elucidated in the view of theology. The people of Mannar had true faith in Jesus Christ, dedicated themselves and died by shedding blood as Catholic Martyrs.

The reason of entire evaluation or study is to rise up the Martyrs who were converted by the preacher in the Island of Mannar sent by Saint Francis Xavier to the Sainthood. Those who handed over and con�irmed their lives for the Catholicism to become Holy Saints.

By Rev. Fr. N.G. Arulpragasam

MARTYRS OF MANNAR

works among his people, loving, chiding, disciplining, punishing, but eventually saving them. God sees beyond the immediate and the ‘here and now only’ that we do. We would know His Will once we transcend the time- space constraints of physicality i.e. in our heavenly solace we �ind in Him, one day. God moves in mysterious ways Yet to be there, we need to change our ways, repent, die to our old selves of complacence, self- righteousness, ego centrism, pride and prejudices about our own worth. We have to acknowledge that we too, are sinners of the worst kind; that our sins too, are as dark and stinky as those of who carry out acts of massacre against people of God. Forgiving them is no magnanimous act on our behalf, as we have been forgiven by God, in the �irst place and He expects us to do the same. The outside world may accredit us for our magnanimity in not seeking revenge and forgiving those who wronged us; but we know better! We know how indebted we are to our Lord who gave his �lesh and blood on the cross to procure atonement for our dark, gruesome, stinking, sinful deeds. We are in debt. One act of barbarism does not absolve us from our ugly sins; there is no collective salvation merely because we were in a given place at a given time where a horrendous sin of mass murder took place. A huge explosion of C4 or iron pellets cannot do the act of ablution that the blood of Jesus does; that too only when we repent and go to Him in sack clothes and ashes. Only faith in the redemptive work of Christ through forgiveness of our sins does!

Isn’t it now our ... turn...(Contd from last week)

14 November 3, 2019The Messenger

When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” (Luke 19:7)

Christ the King’ Parish Church at Koiyathottam was the venue where Sisters of the Holy Cross, Menzingen celebrated the 175 years of origin of the Order with a Thanksgiving Holy Mass recently. The Jubilee Holy Mass was celebrated by His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin Bernard Gnanpragasam, Bishop of Jaffna together with a number of priests of the diocese and from many religious orders serving in the diocese. The members of the Holy Cross Campus consisting of Holy Cross Convent, Holy Cross

Health Centre, Holy Cross School of Health Sciences, together with parishioners, religious, friends, well wishers, nursing staff, trainees along with people from all walks of life, joined the celebrations to recall the humble beginning with gratitude Sisters of Holy Cross thus celebrated and rejoiced over a ‘humble beginning' initiated by three young women in their early twenties, taking their �irst vows on October 14, 1844 as religious sisters and on the very

Celebration of thanksgiving for 175 years

next day, commenced their ministry of teaching in a little village, Menzingen in Switzerland. Thvery insigni�icant beginning became so vibrant that it reached our shores and took root in yet another small island Kayts. It tells us that small is grace-�illed, valuable, effective, and transmittable. The 175th year anniversary is of signi�icance as the Holy Cross has proven to be the leading educational institution in Europe, South America and south

A P P R E C I AT I O N

I am penning an appreciation of someone whom I love and

looked upto after the demise, is a dif�icult task because every word I write about him re�lects the legacies who left us on the 23rd September 2019. Rev. Fr. Jesuthasan lived an impeccable life which will be hard to act and follow. His pride and joy were nothing but forming future priests. One could fully appreciate how crucial and central was his in�luence on the lives of everyone who knew him, creates a vacuum.

by giving a road map to many students, who were under him in the Oblate Juniorate. It is not an exaggeration that his rectorship was a great success. He formed the future priests by enhancing them in wholistic training. Fr. Jesu had a sixth sense to identify the individual uniqueness. He explored each one's hidden talents and abilities. He developed soft skills in the juniorists to be more skillful, effective and innovative to create a bench mark in their lives. Having identi�ied his wish and leadership the

juniorists performed well in the Shakespearean; social plays and won prizes during their annual seminary day, Christmas day and cultural pagents in the seminary. Fr. Jesu was able to executive his duties well, because he over looked his own leisure, pleasure and interests by being available to us at any time. His teaching, preaching, often proved the mind of Our Saviour and Lord Jesus."I have come to give you lifeLife in all its fullness" (John 10:10) Fr. Jesu was an avid

reader, eloquent preacher, ardent writer, ef�icient teacher, innovative formator and above all a humble and simple holy priest of God. It was a great honour to stroll down memory lane to recall my �irst Mass celebration sometime back. He preached a memorable homily about religious life and priesthood, the challenges in the society at large. It was very much appreciated by many present we all need to emulate the life Fr. Jesu led. Finally, Fr. Jesu's roaring voice will never be

heard again. But one can console everyone by saying that "Fr. Jesus, we will be with you until we join the dearly departed, someday, somehow somewhere in the Heavenly Kingdom." The fullness of new life after death, when God's love overcomes even the separation of body and Spirit caused by death. What a great gift! "How much more when Christ, who has done so much for us, invites us to share with him, the labours of the day, so, as to share fully in His Resurrection - New Life"Rev. Fr. Jude Angelo, OMI

Memories of a Mentor Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Jesuthasan, OMI

First Holy Communion at St. John Dal Bastone Church - Thalangama

The students of St. John Dal Bastone Sunday school, Pelawatte, received �irst Holy Communion recently. Photographed here along with the 22 students are Fr. Patrick Sujeewa Perera OFM, (Chief Celebrant) Rev. Frs. Anthony Fernandopulle (Parish Priest), Ravin Darshana (Assistant Parish Priest) and teachers who prepared the students for the sacrament.

Pic. by Errol Johnson

Feast of Corpus Christi atSt. Lawrence's Church,Wellawatta

The parishioners of St. Lawrence's Church, Wellawatta celebrated the Corpus Christi feast this year with much grandeur. During the past years the feast was con�ined to the church premises only. But this year with the blessings of the Lord and guidance provided by the Parish Priests, parishioners were able to make the event a colourful celebration. A tri-lingual adoration began at a beautiful repository adorned with fresh �lowers erected at the St. Lawrence's Convent by Rev. Sisters and the staff. The procession started from the convent premises vended through Galle Road to the St. Lawrence's Church after the lapse of eight years. Rev. Fr. William Evans, Rector, St. Aloysius' Minor Seminary celebrated the Holy Eucharist with Rev. Frs. Clement Rozairo, Parish Priest and Ravindra Peiris, Assistant Parish Priest. (S.B.David) This is my Story and my love letter to Lord

Jesus. I Love you more than myself for sure.You are my One and only God almighty Whom I Trust most. You are iny Loving father, You are my Loving Brother You are my loving relation You are my loving close neighbour You are loving Best friend as well.You are my heart and blood my Lord You are my brain and wisdom my Lord. You are my Eyes and vision my LordYou are my Ears, I can hear your voice well my LordYou are my life body and soul my lord.Yo my sun, moon and everything else.Without you there is no life in me.I need you every second in my life. I need you every minute in my life. I need you every hour in my life. I need you every day in my life.Come, Come, Come my dear Lord Jesus. and live in my heart, which is wide open to you only, until my last breath. This is my daily prayer to my lover, Lord Jesus Christ.Ever loving,Joe Nelson

Love letter to my dear Jesus

Africa. In Asia somehow the need for healthcare was so great, and in the vision of the founder ‘to recognize in the needs of the time the Will of God’, the Holy Cross Sisters came to be known as Nursing Sisters and along with care they provide Nursing Education as well. After the Holy Mass all of them participated in a sumptuous ‘Jaffna Breakfast’ at the School of Health Sciences.

Rev. Sr. Victorine James HC

the handicapped irrespective of age, race, caste or creed.

The centre started with the acts of kindness and generosity of Mrs. Rita Perera following the demise of her husband Marcus Perera in 1982 with the guidance of late Rev. Fr. Julian Tissera, Parish Priest of Kalmulla.

The pricesless service offered by Marcsri Homes recalls to mind the parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel and are compelled to tread the path shown by Jesus in serving those neglected by families and the larger society.

Marcsri Homes need your generous assistance to continue their good work. Contact them for more de-tails on 034 2223363

15 November 3, 2019 Messenger

But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor. (Luke 19:8)

Contd. from Pg. 7Negombo’s Heritage...

after a businessman where his residence is situated. He was an alien who settled down in Negombo in the recent past. A strong bond with a powerful local poli-tician changed guidelines and norms in renaming this road. Due to fear psychosis, objections were not raised. This is not only an irregularity; it is a gross injustice. The whole procedure of naming public places roads etc had been overlooked. Authorities should consider renaming this road as Tammita Road for heritage reasons. In the Vision and Mission statement displayed in Negombo Municipal Council emphasis is laid on history. If so, why is this big anomaly?

More attention should be paid to preserving antiqui-ties and maintaining artifacts of historical signi�icance, such as Dutch Fort, Hamilton canal, colonial buildings and clock tower at the entrance to the Fort. Beautiful Dutch residences close to the Fort area are degenerating due to lack of attention and negligence. Hamilton canal from Palangathurai to Maha-oya is left to rot. It should be rehabilitated. This will offer the countryside beauti-ful waterways and wetlands linked to Maha- oya as a tourist attraction like Madhuganga in Balapitiya. To ex-ploit these places to attract tourists is also important.

People of Negombo appreciate heritage values. Some are of national interest. To protect and safeguard the heritage is the sole responsibility of city fathers notably the Municipal Council and civil societies. Catholic Com-munity lead by Catholic clergy too has a responsibility. Present Municipal administration should address and rectify these issues.

Contd. from Pg. 1President Should Rise... sustainable development of the country. We earnestly appeal to all future political leaders to guarantee justice for all citizens who are equal before the law irrespective of their status or positions.

Corruption has been the root cause for the setbacks in the development of the country resulting in suffering and poverty of many a people. Therefore, it is incum-bent upon the future President and leaders to take dras-tic measures to eradicate corruption at all levels.

The Church teaches that all citizens should be mind-ful of the right and also the duty to use their vote freely to further the common good. Accordingly the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka, exhort all Catholics and citizens to exercise their sacred and democratic right to cast their vote at the forthcoming election.

In the run up to the elections we observe unhealthy trends of violation of election laws. We therefore appeal to the Presidential Candidates, their supporters, the so-cial media and all authorities responsible in conducting the elections to strictly adhere to the Election Laws and ensure a free and fair election to safeguard the sover-eignty of the people in view of this election.

It is our prayerful wish that the Elected President and the government will lead our country and its peo-ple to true progress.

Contd. from Pg. 1Broader Vision of Life...

taught to have a broader vision of life.This was stated by His Eminence Malcolm Car-

dinal Ranjith, the Achbishop of Colombo addressing those present to celebrate the 150 anniversary of the Good Shepherd Convent, Kotahena, Colombo.

His Eminence blessed and declared opened the newly built Auditorium of the Convent as a part of the jubilee celebrations.

Cardinal Ranjith said: “ we prepare children attend-ing our schools and colleges not only to get through ex-aminations they sit for, bringing credit to our schools and colleges, but we teach them to love their own lives, enjoy life to the best of their abilities and teach them the religious values and lay the foundation to move on to the great tomorrow, the future enrich with con�i-dence on their own self and abilities thus prepare them to face future life”.

Among those present to mark the celebrations in-cluded Rev. Fr. Ivan Perera, the Director Catholic Schools of the Rev. Sister Francine Muthugala RGS Provincial Su-perior of the Good Shephard religious onter along with Rev. Sisters of the Oder, priest religious and well wish-ers.

The Jubilee was Corganised by the Tutorial Staff of the Convent led by Rev. Sister Mary Renuka Silva, Principal.

Contd. from Pg. 1Marcsri needs...

The Lord is telling us we have nothing to fear in approaching Him as we are. Indeed it is the correct way to approach God, if not we block God from our life. Next time we pray, let us admit to our nothingness and our total dependence on God just as St. Paul did. In admitting that we have nothing, that is when we are ready to receive His grace. More humble we are, we open ourselves into receiving God's Grace. With such an attitude we can receive our Lord's forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is a beautiful way of meeting our Lord and going home peaceful, just as the tax collector. Let us not be like the Pharisee, but humble like the tax collector. We should endeavour to use the sacrament to go home peaceful again like the tax collector.

Sin is glamorized on TV but sin is sin and it needs to be repented of. The glamorization of sin on TV and in the media closes the door to God. Instead, the Lord waits to �ill us with His grace, forgiveness and love, if only we come before Him like, the tax collector, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' It is the reason why we begin each Mass pleading His mercy, and before Holy Communion we say, '" Lord I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.'

The Lord is waiting to �ill us with His Grace, forgiveness, and love if only we come before Him like the repentant tax collector, ' God, be merciful to me, a sinner.'

Contd. from Pg. 5Be humble......

A new Priest Member to Franciscans Friars Minor The Order of Fri-

ars Minor (Francis-cans OFM) Sri Lanka, is blessed with another priestly friar K. Pat-rick Sujeewa Perera ordained to the priest-hood by His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Nobert An-dradi OMI, Bishop of Anuradhapura,on Octo-ber 12, 2019 at St. John Dal Bastone Church, Thalangama South.

Fr. Sujeewa, the third son of Anthony Perera and M.P. Seelawathi hailing from the parish dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, Kala Oya, completed his philosophical studies at Our Lady of the Angels' Seminary, Manila and continued his priestly studies at the National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka, Kandy.

At the completion of the sacerdotal studies and re-ligious formation, Prior Sujeewa Perera OFM was or-dained a deacon by His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Maxwell Silva, the Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo, on February 22, 2019 at Our Lady of the Angels' Friary chapel, Thal-angama South.

The newly ordained priest will continue serving the Franciscan Foundation as a member of the Foundation Council and Director in charge of Vocations. He will also get involved in different ministries of the local church. We wish him God’s blessings.

The Annual Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Pana-dura was held on a grand scale recently. The concel-ebrated High Mass was offered by Rev. Fr. Lalith Felix, Dean Moratuwa Deanery assisted by Rev. Fr. Sanjeewa Perera, Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Nalin Kumara, Assistant Parish Priest and Rev. Fr. Lester Wijesooriya.

Picture shows Ven. Wathupitiya Panngnasekara Thero, Chief Incumbent of Gallgoda Vihara present at the celebration. Chinthaka De Mel

Annual Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Panadura

Annual Feast of Holy Rosary Church, Welikanna, Waga

The Annual Feast of Holy Rosary Church, Welikanna, Waga was celebrated recently with Rev. Fr. Clement Sanjeewa Senanayake offering the Festive Holy Mass as the Chief Celebrant with Rev. Frs. Tyron Ajith, Parish Priest and Gihan Peiris, Assistant Parish Priest. Picture shows the statue of the Our Lady of Holy Rosary taken in procession around the Church.

Sarath Athukorala

‘Messenger’ the Catholic paper in every

Catholic home

Contd. from Pg. 1Attending Sunday Mass... His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Maxwell Silva, Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo.

The Annual Feast was organized by Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Jude Sharmon Fernando and was attended by a large number of devotees from around the country.

November 3, 2019 Messenger XVII

....... and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” (Luke 19:8)

November 2nd brings the commemoration of all Souls by the

Catholic faithful around the world. Death brings about the disintegration of our physical life on earth and cause sadness to everybody. The Holy Bible mentions it as lives last enemy. (1 Corinthians 15:16) says; The last enemy to be defeated will be death. Yet for many others redeemed in Jesus Christ death signals the start of a new and glorious mode of living. During all souls day we remember and recollect our dear departed loved ones and are united to them in prayer as we believe in the immortal words of Christ in the Gospel on All Souls Day; Jesus says; 'I am the resurrection and the life. Any person who lives in union with me will never die but will live for ever." To recollect those dead is to bring them back to life in our hearts and minds. They rise to life in us. We should not be afraid of death as it make us afraid of living. We should be mindful of while we live one each day. We should live with greater care and responsibility. Awareness of death can give life immediacy and depth. There is one great exception to the grief of all graveyards with their silent message of death. The shocking news from the graveyard where Jesus was buried. The news is that death has been defeated and

the door to eternal life has been opened by his nail pierced hands (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Death is common to all. (Hebrew 9:27) says: The intelligent person faces up to the face of death and makes provision for this �inal episode of his earthly life. When a Christian dies he just begins to live. It should be obvious why we pray for the dead. When a person expires that person is asked to make a choice for love. If that person is loved by others then it is easier for that person to choose love. The person standing before Jesus at heavens gate is thus being encouraged to choose love. Not only by Jesus's own eternal love but also by the love which we share through our prayers. We in effect are praying a person in to heaven. All Souls defy death to an eventual salvation. When Jesus stood before the tomb of Lazarus who had been dead and buried for four days and commanded him to come out Jesus must have made a great impression as the dead man came out of the tomb in his grave clothes. Hence this must have been the greatest miracle of Jesus by which he proved beyond all doubt that Jesus was the resurrection and the life and that he would raise to life on the last day anyone who believed in him. So we can die in peace because we are certain that Jesus will raise us to life on the last day just as He raised Lazarus from the dead.

The foundations of heaven and hell are laid in this life-some of the implications which Christ used in order to explain the Kingdom of Heaven involved the notion of gradual growth towards a state of �inal maturity. To visit the graves of the dear departed could be done on November 2nd and we should pray for them specially. The great tribute we can offer them is the hearing of a holy mass on behalf of them so that they will see the face of God and be with him. When the faithful die their remains are put on the ground but their souls go to be with their Lord. (2 Cor inthians5-8). When Jesus returns their bodies will be resurrected and reunited with their souls and they will always be with the Lord in heaven (1 Thes 4:17). Death is not a dead end but a turning in the road. Throughout our dif�icult lives we are persuaded to turn from sel�ishness to love. That is the intention of life. We are not here on earth to be happy as many would tell us today. We are here to love. As we mature and learn the lessons of life we should give more of ourselves to God and others. Thus when life expires we should have grown so much throughout our lives that when we come before God in our �inal judgement we will be �illed with love and choose Gods love for all eternity. On All souls Day we remember our departed brothers and sisters and

bring them back to life in our hearts and minds because we love them. We believe that the dead relatives are very much alive in Christ who is the resurrection and the life. On All Souls Day we do not mourn the dead but we should thank and praise God for the gift that they have been to us during their life on earth. We should rejoice that the dead are alive in Christ who is the resurrection and the life. Most vital is not the getting out from the tomb of death on the last day but our rising now from a life of death in sin to a life lived for God and others. In death we should not let our grief be all consuming, because life goes on. The best way to honour the deceased is to serve the God they love. We honour the righteous dead by serving the living God. The end of life is similar to the end of a day. Life is a long journey. Ultimately we are exhausted. We yearn for the end of our labours, and the sufferings to be over. Beyond is the night of death. Praise the Lord, a new morning is coming. A wonderful life lies ahead for the weary Christian mendicant. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord for ever. (Corinthians5-8) The end of the Catholic life is the beginning of a far better one nearer to the same Lord who created all.

Miran Perera

The month of November heralds the need of our Prayer not only for our dear departed but for all

the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Special emphasis must be placed for the countless number of souls lingering in Purgatory with no one to pray for them here on earth. "It is a Holy and Wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they maybe freed from their sons" (2 Maccabees. 12:46). It is said that praying for the abandoned Souls yields a beautiful reward. They will never fail us with their prayers when it comes to our turn in Purgatory. St. Alphonsus Liguori says", these souls though they cannot help themselves, can obtain for us numerous graces, astounding favours and deliver us from evil, sickness and dangers of every kind." Thus we on earth seldom realise the advocates we have in the form of the Holy Souls. On reaching the "Beati�ic Vision", they will pray for all their benefactors with so great a favour, so intense and so constant, so much so, that God can refuse them nothing. St. Gertrude the Great in one vision with the Lord was told that He longs for someone to ask him to release souls from Purgatory just as a king who imprisons a friend for justice's sake, hopes that someone will beg, for clemency for this friend. Jesus ended the vision thus. "I accept with the highest pleasure, that which is offered to Me for the poor souls as I long to have them near Me, having paid so great a price, I am induced to free a soul from Purgatory as often as you move your tongue in uttering a word of Prayer". Besides Prayer, we can offer acts of Charity in the form of Almsgiving and sacri�ices for those souls languishing in Purgatory. Purgatory has often been misconstrued as a "place" of Punishment. This is not so. Instead, it is a "place" of Puri�ication in order to enjoy the "Beati�ic Vision" with God. Our human weakness have tainted our souls and in such a condition we are unworthy to enjoy heavenly bliss. Hence, the need for puri�ication, like gold in a furnace to be rid of impurities. The Sacred Scriptures give us a wealth of information on the departed souls and how we could assist them in their hour of need.1. "Have pity on me, have pity on me, oh you my friends

for the hand of God has touched me." Job 19:212. "In the eyes of the unwise they seemed to die, but

they are at peace." Wisdom 3:3.

All Souls defy death to aneventual salvation

3. "When our earthly tent is folded up, there is a House built by God, hot made by human hands." 2 Corinthians 5:1

4. "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain" Phil ippians1:21

5. "Death is swallowed up in Victory. Oh death where is your sting" 1 Corinthians 15:55

6. "Wherever keeps my word will never see death." John 8:51

7. "After a day or two he will bring us back to life, on the third day he will raise us to live in his presence". Hosea 6:2

8. "I shall rise from the earth on the last day and be clothed again in my skin and in my �lesh - I shall see my God." Job 19:25-27

9. "He who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies, through his spirit living in you." Romans 8:11

10. "Those of our people who have died, will live again, Their bodies will come back to life,

All those sleeping in their graves, Will wake up and sing for joy" Isaiah 26:1911. "I am the Resurrection and the life, whoever believes

in me will live, even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die" John 11:26-26

12. "In truth I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny" Matthew 5:26

The Holy Souls in PurgatoryThe month of November, which is dedicated to the departed souls, also dedicated to us those who are living, so as to make us more clear about the meaning of life and of our human existence. 'The communion of saints' is a fact that we believe. There is no other grace-�illed time than this, to enliven what we believe. The relationships we had in this world never end after death. Rather they grow deeper and stronger. Even though, mortal body is buried in the ground, the immortal soul, which gave the life in the body, gets separated from it and is capable of creating a closer relationship with us; the living beings. Therefore, we must never forget them. The genuine love will never end, for love is stronger than death. When a bagger supplicates for an aid, extending his/her hands towards us, it is obvious that, both our heart and wallet get opened. If not so, it is a very rare case. Both those who are well- known to us and millions of those who are not known are eagerly waiting for our support with a compassionate heart, our holy Church is inviting' us, so as to be mediators for their supplications. The month of November puts us in our mind automatically a place called cemetery. It is the place of burial and remains must visit place before death carries us over there. However, the cemetery must not only remind us about the death but also of the Resurrection. It is a foundation of our hope. Jesus says 'unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it would remain a single grain; and if it dies, it would yield much fruits.'. Trusting in the life giving Words of the Lord, let us march ahead with unwavering hope, adding life to the years.

Dhaham Sihila

MONTH OF NOVEMBER

13. I will raise them to life on the last day.." John 6:40.

14. "God will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death and no more mourning. The world of the past is gone" Revelation 21:4

Roggy Corera

Death begins New Life

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