Pope, the migrants and the homeless - Catholic Press

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Sunday, December 17, 2017 Vol 148 No 49 24 Pages Rs: 30.00 Registered as a newspaper

THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY OF SRI LANKA

“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me” (Isaiah 61,1)

December 27

St. John Apostle and Evangelist

Pg.15 Contd.

There will be no issue of the Messenger on Sunday, December 31.

Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendiBy T. Sunil Fernando and Roshan Pradeep

The Diaconate of the Archdiocese of Colombo took place last Saturday at the National Basilica of Our

Lady of Lanka in Tewatte, where 12 Brothers who passed out from the National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka at Ampitiya, Kandy were ordained deacons by

the Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. Addressing the new deacons on the role of a deacon, His Eminence said that a deacon should be strong in his faith and practise what he preaches. He should be righteous in the eyes of the Lord and be His servant.

His Eminence noted that to live a life of holiness is not easy. One has to steer away from all worldly bonds and attachments that bind and distract us from our chosen vocation. Hence, he told the priests-to-be, to be steadfast in their faith and live according to Gospel values.

1. His Lordship Bishop Emmanuel Fernando will be welcomed at the Causeway to Mannar Peninsula at 9.30 am and proceed to the Bridge by Motorcade.

2. At the Bridge, His Lordship will be welcomed at 10.00am and the Procession will proceed to St. Sebastian’s Cathedral, Mannar.

Guidelines to Archdiocesan Clergy

Alternative 1 • The Clergy are invited to stay at the Madhu Shrine on the 29th night, prior to leaving for Mannar. • Deans are advised to inform

Installation Ceremony of His Lordship Emmanuel Fernando as Bishop of

Mannar on Saturday, December 30, 2017the Deanery Fathers - both Archdiocesan and Religious, about this alternative and contact the Administrator directly (on Mobile: 071 493 0828) - for Dinner and Overnight stay.

Alternative 2 • Deans are also informed to organize their own Clergy and religious Priests to attend the Installation Ceremony in the morning and are expected to meet at Madhu Shrine at 7.00 am for Breakfast. • The Motorcade will leave for Mannar at 8.00 am

On Sunday, November 19 Pope Francis celebrated Holy Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica for the first World Day of the Poor, attended by some 6,000 needy, many of whom live in extreme poverty. Migrants and the homeless were among the altar servers and one of the lectors was a refugee from Syria. Following the Mass, some 1,500 of those present shared lunch with the Holy Father.

L’Osservatore Romano

Pope, the migrants and the homeless

Pg.2 Contd.New Grotto at St. Andrew Avellino’s ChurchHis Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Rev. Fr. Gregory Jayantha Fernando Dean of Ragama and Parish Priest Kadawata, Rev. Fr. Shantha Sagara Hettiarachchi, celebrate Holy Mass at the blessing and opening of the new grotto at the Church.

A world without God is incomplete

Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith last Sunday said that today man is trying to create a world without God, a man-made world where there is

Pg.15 Contd.no place for God. This world, he said is an incomplete world. His Eminence was delivering the homily as the

2 The Messenger December 17, 2017

The 131 Annual Feast of St. Nicho-las' Church, Mun-nakkara, Negombo was held on De-cember 10, 2017. Rev. Fr. Thusitha Gayan Solan-garachchi, Staff, Aquinas College of Higher Studies, Colombo was the

“He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted” (Isaiah 61,1)

Feast of st. Nicholas' Church, Munakkara, Negombo

World Elders' Day at Kirimatiyagara

A Flag Day to commem-orate the World Elders' Day organised by the Senior Citizen's Society of Kirimatiyagara was held recently. Picture shows a flag been issued to Rev. Fr. Prasad Perera, Parish Priest, Kirimatiyagara

To popularise Catholic books in the Archdio-cese of Colombo a book

festival organised by the Colombo Catholic Press together with the

Gnanartha Pradeepaya Writers' Forum was held at St. Sebastian's Church premises recently. The members of the Legion of Mary and the Lay Apostolate of the Parish assisted in the event. Picture shows Rev. Fr. Francis Jayakody, Parish Priest declaring open the sale.

Joe Sangapalaarachchi and Samindu

Sangapalaarachchi

"Catholic Book Fest" at Pamunugama Parish

A day dedicated to infants to coincide with the cel-ebrations of the Feast of St. Nicholas' Church, Bopiti-ya, Pamunugama, under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Gyom Nonis was held recently. Picture shows Rev. Fr. Nonis raising in ven-eration the statue of St.Nicholas.

Benjamin Kirihetty

Infant's Day at Bopitiya Parish

The 'English Day' of Don Bos-co, Childrens' School, affiliated to Don Bosco Technical Centre, Dungalpitiya was held recently. P i c t u re shows Rev. Fr.

'English Day' at Don Bosco school, Dungalpitiya

Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Patali Champika Ranawaka are seen cutting the first sod to commence the work to launch a new drain system at St. Aloysius Minor Seminary, Borella to prevent regular flooding at the seminary. Looking on is Rector of the Seminary, Rev. Fr. Freely Mutukudaarchchi.

New drain system for minor seminary

Chief Celebrant at the Festive Holy Mass. Two Priest-sons of the Parish together with Rev. Frs. Clement Rozairo, Parish Priest and Roshan Chaminda Fernando participated in the Eucharistic Service. Picture shows the Reverend Fathers lighting the traditional oil lamp prior to the commencement of the Holy Mass. Asika Priyadharshana

The New TOr ProvincialRev. Fr. W.W.A. Malaka Leonard Prasantha Fernando TOR, was elected Provincial of the Third Order Regular Franciscan Friars of the Vice Province of Our Lady of Lanka.

Rev. Fr. Roshan Wasantha, TOR,

Provincial Secretary

special Christmas Programme sri lanka Broadcasting Corporation

FM 97.4/97.620th December - Wednesday - 7.00 p.m. - Rev. Sr. Anjela Fernando21st December - Thursday - 5.30 p.m. - Rev. Sr. Anjela Fernando22nd December - Friday 7.00 p.m. - Rev. Sr. Anjela Fernando23rd December - Saturday 7.00 p.m. - Mr. Trevor Ludowyke24th December - Sunday 8.00 p.m. - Ms. Priyanthi Van Dort25th December - Monday 7.00 p.m. - Mr. Trevor Ludowyke25th December - Christmas Mass (Live) 8.30 a.m. at St. Theresa's Church, Thimbirigasyaya

Rev. Fr. Lal Pushpadheva Fernando OMIDirector

National Catholic Social Communication Centre

Book launch"The History of Saint Sebastian and Kandana" authored by Senior Attorney-at-Law Godfrey Cooray will be launched on December 27, 2017 at 5 pm at De Mazenod College "De La Salle Auditorium" Kandana. The Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and His Lordship, Chief Justice Priyasath Dep will grace the occasion. This book is a complete research on the Catholic History which was partly hidden due to the Dutch invasion. Mr. Cooray has clearly disclosed from the period of the Oratorian Mission, Portuguese, Dutch and British era.

Contd. from Pg. 1

Installation Ceremony...• The Deans are also expected to inform His Lordship Bishop Maxwell Silva, the exact number of Priests/Religious Priests to facilitate the arrangements for Breakfast • All members of Clergy/Diocesan/Religious will join the Motorcade to accompany Bishop Emmanuel from Madhu Shrine to Mannar.

Other Information 1. Deans are expected to organize, the Mode of Travel

for their Priests and to contact the Colleges for Transport in order to obtain their Buses/Vans etc.

2. Rectors and Directors of Catholic Institutions and Colleges are also advised to organize their Priests to join the Installation Ceremony and Motorcade from Madhu Shrine.

3. A Banner with the photograph of Bishop Emmanuel Fernando with a Congratulatory message for the new Bishop of Mannar to be organized.

4. The Catholic Flag to be flanked in cars, buses and vans, etc., to join the Motorcade.

5. Parish Priests are informed to contact Bishop Maxwell Silva for Numbers - to facilitate Lunch arrangements for Priests.

6. Religious will be contacted by Fr. Dilan Perera, SSS - President of CMRS and to make arrangements, accordingly.

7. Laity will be informed by Parish Priests to join the Installation in Mannar and to make their arrangements for Travel, etc. They will be served Lunch after the Installation.

8. Deans: a) To inform, once organized, His Lordship Bishop

mMaxwell Silva, Chairman of the Committee, i. Number of Priests - coming for Breakfast on

Saturday, 30th December 2017 at 7.00 am ii. Number of Religious Priests and Sisters (for Breakfast)b) Will be contacted officially regarding arrange-

ments for the Installation of His Lordship Bishop

Emmanuel Fernando, by: i. Very Rev. Fr. Anthony Fernandopulle and Very

Rev. Fr. Manokumar Nagaratnam to co-ordinate Colombo South, Colombo North and Colombo Centre, Moratuwa and Kotte.

ii. Very Rev. Fr. Bertram Ranjith to co-ordinate Wattala, Ja-ela, Kandana, Tudella, Negombo, Katana, Bolawalana.

iii. Very Rev. Fr. Sam Quintus to co-ordinate Kalutara, Gurubewila and Gampaha.

9. Rev. Fr. Deninton Subasinghe, Secretary - Adminis-tration, to be asked to SMS all the Fathers of the Diocese, regarding the Arrangements/ Programmes and other notifications. The Notifications will be given to Fr. Deninton.

10. Rev. Fr. Francis Nicholas to be asked to Co- ordinate the Motorcade from Madhu with the help of a few young Priests.

� His Lordship Bishop Maxwell Silva Chief Organizer

Manjula Priyantha, Director of the Technical Centre awarding a prize to a winner.

Pic. E.A.D. Stanley Text Sebastian Perera

T. Sunil Fernando and Roshan Pradeep


"I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Hence-forth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:7-8). St.Paul's words, writing from his prison cell to his disciple Timothy, are not those of a discouraged, broken old man. There is no despair, regret or defeat in these words of encouragement and hope. His calm assurance is all the more startling when you consider the situation in which Paul addressed Timothy. These words are equally appro-priate to our beloved spiritual leader and father, Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Mar-cus Fernando, the Archbishop Emeri-tus, who celebrates his 85th birthday on December 6. St. Paul labored for more than 30 years or more to preach the Gospel around the Roman Empire. Likewise our Archbishop Emeritus since his ordination to the priesthood on December 20, 1959, up to his re-tirement on July 6, 2002, totally and tirelessly dedicated himself for the ser-vice of his Lord and Master Jesus Christ and for the salvation of His people. His priestly life and the episcopate was not a 100 meters dash but a marathon. Af-ter having served his Master for so long he crossed the finished line with en-ergy to spare. His race was not an easy and smooth contest but a journey with confrontations, resistances and oppo-sitions. But this man of faith, totally re-lying on the grace of God, was faithful to his vocation and fulfilled the task en-trusted to him with dignity and humil-ity. So together with St.Paul, His Grace the Archbishop Emeritus can declare with confidence that, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith". Archbishop Nicholas Marcus could give a good fight, because he re-produced himself in others. The legacy he left behind for us in the Archdiocese of Colombo is the supreme gift he gave to all of us. His struggle for Christ has laid a solid foundation for the Archdi-ocesan Church to stand as a spiritual power in our country, among our peo-ple. This kind hearted dedicated good shepherd could finish well because he viewed his life an offering to God. His exemplary total dedication to his min-istry was a model for his priests and the faithful. Certainly Archbishop Nicholas Marcus kept his faith. He never com-promised his position as the Archbish-op of Colombo, with any political or in-fluential authority. Keeping faithful to his motto, "To speak the Truth in Char-ity", he guarded the truth about Christ to the best of his ability. Archbishop Emeritus wrote in 1977, the year he was consecrated as the Archbishop of Colombo, "Christ our model made use of all his powers in the service of man. He cured the sick, he calmed the seas, he taught the ignorant, he fed the hun-

gry, he consoled the poor, he gave his love, his forgiveness and finally he emptied himself in the Cross. That is our model, the model we have to fol-low, to empty ourselves wholeheart-edly without reserve in the service of God and our neighbor, in the service of the Kingdom". He practised all what he preached and following his Master, the Archbishop emptied himself not of worldly things, but his inner life. He was such a simple and humble man; he can certainly say that he kept the

faith. His Grace not only was a model for his priests during his active min-istry but also in his retirement. The Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops issued by Congregation for Bishops states: "For the part of the Bishop Emeritus will be careful not to interfere in any way, directly or indi-rectly, in the governance of the diocese. He will want to avoid every attitude and relationship that could even hint at some kind of parallel authority to that of the diocesan Bishop, with damaging consequences for the pastoral life and unity of the diocesan community..." (No. 226). After the retirement Archbishop Nicholas Marcus Fernando, so isolated himself from the public life, entered into his secluded life in "Emmaus", appeared in Diocesan Functions only on invitation with reluctance. He never either publicly or privately discussed about the gov-ernance of the diocese with anyone, he never came forward to give any advice to those in administration even when necessary. Such was the spirituality of detachment of this great man. By virtue of sacramental con-secration and hierarchical communion with the head and the Episcopal Col-lege, the Bishop Emeritus enjoys many rights in the Church. Thus in the Direc-tory for the pastoral ministry of Bish-ops, the Bishops Emeritus are encour-aged to assist the Bishops' Conferences with their expertise and experience. But Archbishop Nicholas Marcus Fernando never wanted to come to limelight and continue to function as a public figure of the Church. He went into oblivion re-mained a silent pastor and be isolated to himself with his prayer and medita-tion. But he never refused to entertain the numerous priests who came to see him at Emmaus. He listened to them attentively, never interfered with any administrative interests, but assured of his prayers for them to meet the diffi-cult situations courageously. Your Grace, rejoice today and be glad for all the beautiful things the Lord has done in your life. May God's grace continue to shine upon you. Our beloved spiritual leader and father, we ap-preciate God's presence in your life, we a p p r e c i a t e your righ-teousness. On your special day, there is nothing better than thanking God for His mercy upon your life.

Email:[email protected]:colomboarchdiocesancatholicpress.com

Telephone: 011 2695984Fax: 2692586 / 2670100

December 17, 2017

EDITORIAL

SINCE FEBRUARY 1869

“To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners” (Isaiah 61,1)

The silent and saintly sage at Emmaus

By Rev. Fr.Francis Nicholas Senanayake

United against corruption for development, peace

and securityIn the era of Jesus Christ corruption and fraud were rampant in socio-religious circles so much so that the Lord bluntly slammed His people as white-washed sepulchers, hypocrites and sanctimonious humbugs (Matthew 23). Further He “entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And he said to them, “It is written: ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21,12-13). Such thoughts would have come to mind when the world marked International Anti-Corruption Day on Saturday December 9. The theme was ‘United against corruption for development, peace and security’. In a statement the UN says, every year a staggering US$ one trillion or around Rs. 150,000,000,000,000 is paid in bribes while an estimated $2.6 trillion are stolen annually through corruption – equiva-lent to more than 5 per cent of the global GDP. In developing countries, according to the United Nations De-velopment Programme (UNDP), funds lost to corruption are estimated at 10 times the amount of official development assistance. The UN says corruption is a serious crime that can undermine social and economic development in all societies. That is why Pope Francis has asked the Church and the world to give top priority to poverty alleviation which is caused mainly by corruption and bribery. The UN says no country, region or community is immune. This year the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and the UNDP have developed a joint global campaign, focusing on how corrup-tion affects education, health, justice, democracy, prosperity and devel-opment.UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov in a message says, young people denied all-empowering education, women excluded from life-saving surgery and workers prevented from working are just some of corruption’s unwitting victims. Corruption has a catastrophic impact on societies; it stifles op-portunities, denying vulnerable people access to infrastructure, and condemns them to lives of inequality and inequity. Corruption’s victims are not from a single generation. This crime haunts successive genera-tions impacting on countless numbers of people, he says. If people are to be removed from poverty and economic growth promoted, the world must stand united against corruption. This means rejecting corruption and embracing accountability, transparency and good governance. To achieve this, we must make determined use of our sharpest tools, this means universal adoption and full implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption, the Executive Director adds. With 183 parties, we are nearly there, but there is a need to go still further. Anti-corruption partnerships formed with the private sector, civil society and academia can ensure that everyone is united in ending corruption. We must also be innovative and creative in ensuring that the anti-corruption battle remains high on the world’s agenda, he says.Just as importantly, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for substantial reductions in corruption as part of the efforts to build peaceful and inclusive societies. It is recognition that corruption can wreck sustainable development, he says. UNODC has vowed it will con-tinue to work with countries, and its many partners, to ensure every-one is united against corruption for development, peace and security. In Sri Lanka despite the people’s revolution to appoint a rain-bow coalition on January 8, 2015 corruption still continues though the national unity government has pledged to prioritize the anticorruption drives and the restoration of rule of law. The former regime’s VIPs are alleged to have plundered bil-lions of rupees in public funds and hidden the money in secret accounts overseas. After nearly three years only a few of these VIP corruption cases have been brought to courts and many of them are stuck at the investigating agencies or Attorney General’s Department. Meanwhile most people say corruption is continuing and growing like a cancer in society with the Central Bank bond issues seriously damaging the im-age of the present Government. Hence The Church needs to speak out prophetically against corrup-tion and bribery because it is not just a personal issue of making more money but it seriously damages the economy and further impoverishes the poverty-stricken people.


Church in the Modern World

“To announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God, to comfort all who mourn” (Isaiah 61,2)

Gujarat Election Commis-sion served a notice to on Archbishop Thomas Macwan of Gandhinagar on November 25, asking him to explain his letter asking Catholics to pray to elect leaders who will remain faithful to the In-dian Constitution so that the country can be saved of nationalist forces. The notice, served through the Dis-trict Election Officer of Gandhinagar, asked Arch-bishop Macwan to explain why his appeal should not be viewed as a violation of the Model Code of Con-duct. Officials said

the action was taken on a complaint received by the Election Commission of India (EC) from an or-ganisation, Legal Rights Observatory. It sought “imme-diate action” against the Archbishop, as his public letter dated November 21 was an attempt to gener-ate fear among voters to divide people on the basis of caste and creed. Gandhinagar District Election Officer Satish Pa-

tel said that on EC’s order for inquiry, a notice was served on Archbishop Macwan on Saturday. Archbishop Macwan said, The letter has only been sent to the Christian community to pray. We can always pray for good humans to be elected as leaders. It has not been issued with any malicious intention to harm anyone. Archbishop Thomas

Macwan on November 28 clarified to the Election Commission (EC) that he had no ‘mala fide inten-tion’ against any party when he made appeals for prayers for elections. The EC who had issued a notice to Arch-bishop Macwan regarding his appeal last week to the Christian community asked why the archbish-op’s appeal should not be viewed as a violation of the model code of con-duct. The District Election Officer (DEO) was expect-ed to examine the reply on November 29. Meanwhile Indian Prime Minister Narendra

Modi on December 3, criti-cised Archbishop Thomas Macwan of Gandhinagar for issuing the pastoral let-ter to Catholics in the State of Gujarat to pray for the victory of humane leaders and to save the country from nationalist forces. Without taking the name of the arch-bishop, Modi said: "I am shocked that a religious person has issued a fatwa to kick out rashtra-premis (nationalists)," the Times of India reported. Speaking at the opening of a 400-bed multi-specialty hospital run by the Swaminarayan sect, Modi said: "Only pa-triots can work for the

welfare of people with-out discriminating on grounds of religion, caste and language..." Modi recalled the Centre's mission to rescue Christian priests, nurses and other Indians from strife-stricken countries. He said the In-dian government had also rescued the citizens of 80 other countries. Attack-ing Archbishop Macwan on Twitter without taking his name, he said: "I was surprised to see a man as-sociated with spirituality issue a diktat to remove nationalist forces from power..."

UCAN

Modi hits out at archbishop for 'maligning' nationalism

In Myanmar and Bangladesh “I experienced the vitality

and sufferance of Asia” “In Myanmar and Bangladesh, I was able to experience the vitality and the enterprise that mark the peoples of Asia, but also the suffering face of a humanity all too often deprived of material prosperity and social well-being.” The Pope said at the National Council of Churches of Tai-wan, which he received in audience on Monday morning. Pope Francis stressed that Christians are called to work together to promote the dignity of each human being and to support those who are less fortunate. Founded in 1991, the National Council of Churches of Taiwan, a member of the Christian Confer-ence of Asia and the World Council of Churches, is the evolution of the Consultative Ecumenical Commission of Taiwan (1963) and the Cooperative Ecumenical Com-mission of Taiwan (1966). ‘There I was thus able to experience the vitality and the enterprise that mark the peoples of Asia, but also the suffering face of a humanity all too often deprived of material prosperity and social well-being. There are many areas in which we, as Christians, are called to work together to promote the dignity of each human being and to support those who are less fortunate than ourselves,” Pope Francis said. The Holy Father said that as Christians, we are bound above all to practice the Lord’s command: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” The love of God, made incarnate in life, is thus our royal road, and the basis of our common responsibility before the world to account for the hope that is in us. Vatican Insider

A former doctor becomes Archbishop of Paris

Monsignor Michel Aupetit, hitherto bishop of Nanterre, is the new metropolitan archbishop of Paris who suc-ceeds Cardinal André Vingt-Trois who leaves for reached age limits. Vatican Radio announces this. Born on March 23, 1951 in Versailles, in the namesake diocese, Aupetit earned a degree in medicine in 1978 at the University of Créteil. He has worked as a doctor in Colombes, on the northern outskirts of Paris, for twelve years. He specialised in medical bioethics and also taught this subject at the Henri Mondor Hospital in Créteil. In 1990, he entered the Seminary for priestly for-mation, concluded with a Baccalaureate in Theology. He was ordained priest on 24 June 1995 for the Archdiocese of Paris.

VI

Human rights groups have condemned the killing of Marcelito Paez, 72, which they claimed occurred af-ter the victim assisted in the release of suspected communist rebel Rommel Tucay from the provincial jail in Cabanatuan City. Tucay was arrest-ed in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija several months ago for illegal possession of ex-plosives and firearms and was suspected to be a New People’s Army (NPA) guer-

rilla. He was reportedly an organiser of the militant group Alyansa ng Mag-bubukid sa Gitnang Luson. Fr. Paez, a retired Catholic priest was killed by unidentified gunmen in Jaen, Nueva Ecija, on ecember 5. He was driv-ing his Toyota Innova van along the Jaen-Zaragoza Road when motorcyle-riding gunmen blocked his path and opened fire at his vehicle in Baran-gay Lambakin late Monday.

Paez succumbed to mul-tiple gunshot wounds in the body while being treated at the Gonzales General hospi-tal in San Leonardo town. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) strongly condemning the killing said Fr. Paez served the diocese for more than 30 years. Even after retir-ing from the priesthood, Paez was involved in the Church’s human rights and social justice advo-cacy, the CBCP said. UCAN

Priest martyrdom in the Philippines

Following US President Donald Trump’s December 6 notice that he will be moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the Holy See has expressed its concern for recent violent outbreaks and urged leaders to promote peace and security. A Vatican communique issued on December 10 pointed to concerns for peace and security in Jerusalem and reiterated its belief that only a negotiated solution between Israelis and Palestinians can bring a stable and lasting peace, as well as guarantee the peaceful co-ex-istence of two States within internationally recognised borders. The brief statement was published just days after the news broke that President Trump would rec-ognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – a widely con-troversial decision that has provoked a mixed reaction from the international community. The Vatican said it is watching the development of the situation closely, espe-cially in Jerusalem, which is a “Sacred city for Christians, Jews and Muslims from all over the world.” The statement also reiterated the Holy See’s po-sition on the importance of maintaining the status quo in Jerusalem, as per the repeated requests of the inter-national community and the hierarchies of the Catholic and Christian communities of the Holy Land. Renewing an appeal made by Pope Francis during his general audi-ence on December 6, it conveyed his fervent prayers for national leaders, that they be committed to promoting

peace, justice and security and averting a new spiral of violence in the nation. Israel has traditionally always recognised Jeru-salem as its capital. However, Palestinians claim that the eastern portion of the city is the capital of the future Pal-estinian State. In recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capi-tal, the US is the first country to do so since the State was established in 1948. Debate on the issue is in many ways the crux of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, which is backed by Arab leaders, including Saudi Arabia, and the wider Islamic world. According to the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, the final status of Jerusalem is to be discussed in the late stages of peace talks. Israeli sovereignty over Je-rusalem has never been recognised by the international community, and all countries with diplomatic relations have their embassies in Tel Aviv. More than 30 Palestinians have been injured in clashes across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip amid protests against Trump’s decision. The position of the UN on the Jerusalem issue is that East Jerusalem is occu-pied Palestinian territory and that the city should even-tually become the capital of the two states of Israel and Palestine. The Vatican has long supported a two-State solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and on a dip-lomatic level recognises and refers to both “the State of Israel” and “the State of Palestine.”

EWTN

Vatican voices concern over Trump's Jerusalem move

Nearly 200 protesters staged a dharna outside the Goa Archbishop's of-ficial residence in Panaji on December 9, protesting against the Church's deci-

sion to relocate of the feast venue of recently anointed Saint Joseph Vaz. The Church de-cided to relocate the venue from a sanctuary dedi-

cated to the saint in San-coale village, to the larger precincts of the Our Lady of Health Church, located a short distance away. The parishioners from Sanco-

ale village located around 25 km from Panaji, have now threatened to boycott Christmas donations to the Church during the upcom-ing festive season. UCAN

sancoale Catholics protest over relocation of st. Vaz feast

Fr. Marcelito Paez


“A man named John was sent from God” (John 1,6)

Health relatedIssues in sri lanka

By Dr. Maxie FernandopulleEmail:[email protected]:[email protected]

The visit of Pope Francis to both Myanmar and Bangla-desh underwrite just how much the Catholic Church in

many parts of Asia has changed. The visit had many of the hallmarks of this pontifi-cate. But what was plain to the eye is that this was a welcome to the Pope by energetic local churches comfortable in their own skin and generations from their colonial foundations. Small as they are, the Catholic communities of Myanmar and Bangladesh were on display as just what John Henry Newman saw to be why the church is Catholic: be-cause it is the church in local areas — not as a branch office of a multinational organization whose headquarters are in Rome. This is important for the Church in Asia in all its diversity. But the message of this visit also has universal sig-nificance for just the church Pope Francis wishes to shape in the 21st Century. Myanmar has 135 recognized ethnic minorities and the Catholic Church is at its most vital and numerous among some of the tribal minorities away from the Barman majority in the south of the country. But the culture of the country is dominated by Buddhism, and among its advo-cates are militant religious nationalists. Representatives of the Catholics among the tribal minorities made their way to Yangon and the oddly surreal capital, Nay Pyi Daw, in their tens of thousands to celebrate the Pope’s arrival, some travelling days by foot, bus and car from villages and Internally Displaced Persons’ camps. This is a poor church putting in all they had to live on. When asked by a young Jesuit in Myanmar during his meeting with the 50 Jesuits in that country how he felt about all the sacrifices poor people were making to come to see him, Pope Francis returned to the Spiritual Exercises where St. Ignatius asks the retreatant to pray “for the grace

A Church for the 21st Centuryof shame.” He said he had received that grace. And he admitted to receiving that grace again when it came to the Rohingya: he asked their forgiveness not just for not using the word during his time in Myanmar but on behalf of all who treat them with neglect. He really couldn’t use the word Rohingya in Myan-mar and some — especially American — media condemned him for it. But again, though all his speeches in Myanmar were coded to be read as a defense of the Rohingya, he com-plied with the request of the local Church to not inflame a local situation that would be made worse for everyone – not least the Catholics left to take a beating from their fellow citi-zens – if the word was used. Pope Francis not only recognised the need for cul-tural sensitivity as a visitor to Myanmar. He respected the views of the local church. In Bangladesh, the church of the poor was further displayed. The same sacrifices were made by locals travel-ling by push bikes, buses and on foot to see Pope Francis. But what held the trips to the two countries to-gether was not just poverty, and Bangladesh and Myanmar are in the top five poorest countries in Asia. It was also the Pope modelling his distinctive modus operandi – his en-counter with diversity. Catholics in the two countries amount to a million people in places with a combined population of nearly 220 million. Each country has its own dominant religion: Islam (Bangladesh); Buddhism (Myanmar). Both places had small groups of religious fanatics who were hostile to his visit. He accommodated those objections by commenting that all re-ligions – Christianity and Catholicism included – have their fundamentalists. But his approach to the religious differences in both places was not only a hallmark of the journey. It also

models something of universal significance for the Catholic Church. If, in the 21st Century, the church in Asia is genera-tions from its colonial foundations, it is also well aware of its minority status and its need to live well with their fellow citizens who are religiously different. The church in Asia, for its survival no less than for the fulfilment of its mission, begins from accepting pluralism as being as familiar as the air it breathes. The foundation for living freely in a pluralist world is respectful encounter with those who are different. Pope Francis met as many Muslim and Buddhist groups as he did poor people and Catholics. But what else should we expect of a Pope coming to Asia? Casual observance of the theologically cossetted and claustrophobic arguments coming from a few Cardinals and Bishops in Europe and the USA leads the observer to ask what world they are in? The answer: their own! In their own worlds, there is no room for difference and diversity. As the saying goes: they need to get out more and discover how different life is beyond the aristocratic con-fines of some disgruntled Catholics in Europe or the ideo-logically driven Catholic culture wars indulged by some far too frequently published US Catholics. This trip to Asia – the third by Pope Francis to the continent and with another rumored for next year – was a triumph for a reality of Catholicism lived by the poor faithful happily untroubled by the tedious and unproductive con-tests that want to show the Catholic Church is on the edge of schism. They have more than enough real world troubles to deal with. Father Michael Kelly SJ is executive director of ucanews.com and based in Thailand.

UCAN

Congenital and acquired disorders of the bones, joints and muscles are an important cause of disability and handicap in children. Some of these disorders are

visible at birth itself or appear later on in life which may sometimes be congenital but often acquired.

Bow legs. There is bowing or curving outwards of the two bones of the two legs below the knee and above the ankle. The knees will be wide apart when standing with feet to-gether. It is common in toddlers and children up to 3 years and seldom needs treatment. It can be acquired due to dis-eases called rickets which is due to lack of vitamin D.

Knocked knee. In this condition the feet are wide apart seen commonly between two to seven years of age. And usually resolves. Flat feet. Toddlers learning to walk have flat feet which subsequently disappear. But it may remain in some modifi-cation of the child’s shoes may be required. Surgery may be required in adolescents

Toe walking. This is common in children one to three year old. It may become permanent. It is usually by habit forma-tion but may be due to mild brain damage (cerebral palsy). It may be due to the tightness of the prominent tendon on the lower back of the leg. In older boys it may be due to muscular disease.

Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip-DDH (Congenital dislocation of Hip).DDH is a condition where the ‘ball and socket’ joint of the hip does not properly form. The hip joint attaches the thigh bone (femur) to the pelvis. The top of the femur (head) is like a ball and sits inside the cup shaped hip socket. In DDH the socket is shallow and the head of the femur is not tightly in place. So the hip joint is loose. In severe cases it is dislo-cated. It will lead to a limp, hip pain and later to a stiff joint. With early treatment it can be made normal. It should be diagnosed within 72 hours of birth. If the hip feels unstable ultra sound examination within a few weeks is needed; or if there is family history of DDH, in twins, and birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Follow the instructions given by your paediatrician or the orthopaedic surgeon who should handle this problemClub Foot – ( Talipes Equino Varus Deformity). It can be mild or positional due to compression of the foot while the baby is in the mother’s womb. It can be

corrected by passive manipulation which the paediatrician will teach the caregiver. The more serious one where the entire foot is turned inwards and the ankle joint is turned upwards and the entire foot is in a fixed position. The affected foot is shorter and the calf muscles thinner. Often both feet are affected. It should be treated by experts without delay.

High arched foot – (Pes cavus). There is often a mus-cular or nerve disease causing this deformity. The foot is curved upwards with a wide gap between the sole and the ground.

The painful knee. This is due to overuse of the knee in ac-tive males around puberty resulting in fragmentation and detachment of the cartilage in the front of the knee. There is pain and tenderness over the bony prominence in front of the knee. Most resolve with rest and less activity. Dwarfism (Achondroplasia). The infant is short mainly because the limbs are short. When the upper limbs are kept on the side downwards the finger tips should be be-low waist line ending below the upper third of the thighs. In these babies the tips of the fingers are well above. They remain short for the rest of their lives. When older they often act in circuses. The spine is not straight and the abdo-men is protruding outwards. It is inherited with 50% of the children been short of stature. But spontaneous cases are seen without the parent been short of stature. They end up with paralysis due to spinal bone compression. The canine equivalent is the dachshund dog.

Back pain. Is uncommon in pre-adolescent children get-ting commoner in adolescence. Often there is a cause. It can be due to spasm of spinal muscles or injury. Poor posture may be a responsible cause. Stress fractures can also be a cause. It can also be due to psychological stress.

Increased lateral curvature of the spinal bone column. – (scoliosis.) It can be observed by looking at the spine when bending forward. It is a cosmetic problem but if se-vere can lead to cardio respiratory failure from distortion of the chest. Early onset ones resolve spontaneously. Late onset type commonly affects girls around puberty. Many recover spontaneously.

Wry neck (Torticolis) The most common cause is small marble like tumour noticed soon after birth in the big mus-

cle (sterno mastoid tumour ). The big prominent muscle from the lower border of the ear ending attached to the collar bone. Usually resolve in two to six months. Passive stretching should be done The painful limb. Episodes of generalised pain in the limbs, referred to as ‘growing pains’ pain in the night due to an unknown cause are common in preschool children. The pain often wakes the child from sleep and settles with massaging and or comforting. It occurs less often during the day. The child is otherwise healthy and there is no obvious evidence of musculoskeletal disease. Children with exces-sive movements of joints beyond what is found in a nor-mal child may develop limb pains. In older children, limb pains may be related to psychological stress or may result from overprotection of the limb following a minor injury. The limb may be held in the splinted position and in time localised tenderness swelling and alteration in colour may develop ending wasting of muscle. limb pain of sudden onset. Is commonly due to trauma, usually accidental from sports injuries or falls. It can occa-sionally be non accidental or caused by an adult which is a form of child abuse.

Infections of bone (Osteomyelitis). The infection is often located to the end of a long bone in the limbs, most common been below and above the knee even though any bone can get infected. The offending germ often traverses through blood but may arise by direct spread from an infected wound. The skin is swollen directly over the affected site. From the end of an infected bone it can spread to the adjoin-ing joint causing infection of the joint (septic arthritis). The presentation is usually with a markedly painful immobile limb in a child with high fever. Directly over the infected site there is swelling and exquisite tenderness and it may be red and warm. Moving of the limb causes severe pain. There may be fluid collected in the adjoining joint. Presen-tation may be insidious in infants in whom the swelling or reduced limb movement is the initial sign. Beyond infancy presentation may be with back pain in vertebral bone infec-tion, or with a limp or groin pain in infection of the pelvis. It is essential to get admitted to a speciallised hospital; and blood tests including culture to identify the organism, are done. After which prolonged courses of antibiotics often by intravenous route is mandatory

Disorders of bones, joints and muscles in children

Contd. on Pg. 15


Calling of AbrahamIf God were to ask you to leave your country and kin, then launch yourself on a long journey to a ‘Promised Land,’ whose exact location and conditions awaiting you there is unknown: Would you heed the call? The Lord asked a man from the land of Ur to do just that. He believed, hoped and obeyed. His life was totally changed from then on. When a man’s life crosses the Lord’s path, his life radically transforms. Such was the case of Abram. The Book of Genesis recounts his life, but without detailing his biography. His life had numerous episodes that show the deep faith of the holy patriarch and the way in which he allowed God to act in his life. “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Gen 12:1-2). Yahweh promised to give him a land to dwell in and many descendants, but Abram will have to undertake a long journey. Later on, God Himself changes his name. “No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham” (Gen 17:5), to indicate that he had conferred on him a new personality and a new mission, as can be seen from the meaning of his new name: ‘Father of a multitude of nations.’ This new name made clear that the patriarch’s special role depended on his covenant with God and his fidelity to it.

seeing with eyes of faith

Abraham listened to God’s command and put it into effect, without paying too much attention to what circumstances seemed to dictate. Why abandon the security of his homeland, and expect descendants when both he and his wife were already old? But Abraham trusted in God, in His omnipotence, wisdom and goodness. Admittedly, knowledge of the world, common sense, experience, human means all have their importance. But if our vision remained stuck on the plane of human prudence, our perception of reality would be false and incomplete, since our Father God is always watching over us and His power has not been diminished. Thus, a contemporary saint insisted: “In your apostolic undertakings you are right —it’s your duty— to consider what means the world can offer you (2+2=4), but don’t forget - ever! - that, fortunately, your calculations must include another term: God+2+2 ...” (The Way, 471). This principle holds true in other human endeavours of a Christian as well, like raising up a family, studies, professional work, civic projects, etc. There will always be obstacles and hardships in life. But difficulties in life, no matter how adverse they might seem, are never the final word. God is faithful and always fulfills His promises. Abraham acts in accord with this reality. The exemplary value of Abraham’s faith is made up of three key features; obedience, trust, and fidelity. Trusting hope and abandonment in God Let us focus on

Abraham’s confident hope to draw out lessons for our Christian life in this season of Advent. Considering Abraham’s example, we see that faith is present in his entire life, and that it comes to the fore especially in moments of darkness, when human evidence fails. Faith always implies a certain obscurity, a living in mystery, knowing that we will never attain a perfect explanation, a perfect understanding, because then there would no longer be faith. As the Letter to the Hebrews says, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). By faith, the patriarch set out on his way without knowing where he was going. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, Abraham had to trust greatly in God in order to live “as a stranger and pilgrim in the Promised Land (CCC, 145),” and to face the sacrifice of his son. “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Gen. 22:2). Abraham’s faith is revealed in all its depth when he is ready to renounce his son Isaac. The sacrifice of his own son is a prophecy of Christ’s self-giving for the salvation of the world. It is something so astounding that it needs no comment. But Abraham does not rebel against God. He does not question Him or express doubts, but hopes and trusts in Him. He sets out, attentive to the Lord’s voice, and at the end of the trip,

at Mount Moriah, he discovers that God does not want the sacrifice of Isaac’s blood. Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me… So Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord will Provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided” (Gen. 22:12-14).

Jesus is our hope There are certain events in life that leave questionings in their wake. They make us wonder why they should happen to us. A person who is taking good care of his health goes for a medical check-up and learns he has metastasized cancer. Someone who abides by sound ethical norms in business may one day find himself swindled by unscrupulous traders and suffers tremendous losses amounting to millions of rupees. A student may be exerting all the efforts he could muster in his studies, yet gets failing marks. Why all these? These are moments of darkness. There seem to be no logical explanations. These events in life call for an exercise of faith, hope and trusting abandonment in God’s hands. In the divine mind, there is always a providential plan for the good of our souls despite physical evils. The Lord knows how to draw out something good out of apparent evils, though there be no evident tangible signs that prove so. The lack of evidence in faith is superseded by the believer’s trusting hope in God. The answer to life’s woes is hope and Advent is a

season to grow in hope and joyful expectation. What really is Christian hope? It is a theological virtue, directed with a certain confidence toward what is to come and is not yet present. It is, first of all, a human attitude without which there can be no human life. Without it people won’t see any point in living. Thus, with hope the sick person hopes for recovery; the bankrupt business hopes to bounce back; for a lover, for the return of the beloved; those afflicted by war, for peace; those who fail, for succeeding one day. In every life there are plenty of hopes, of a greater or lesser sort. “In hope he believed against hope,” says Paul (Rom 4:18) about Abraham, the archetype of hope (CCC, 1819). Against all indications, - he was already advanced in age, as was Sarah, his wife - he believed in the promise of a son. Against all indications he trusted in the One who then granted him this son, and he was ready to sacrifice him. Jesus is the proper reason for hope. He is God who cares for us. He wants to save us from sin and lead us to eternal life in heaven. In faith, hope holds fast to the truth that God, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, will be victorious over all death’s victories. Therefore, hope “affords us joy even under trial (CCC 1820).” “Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation (Rom. 12:12).” Because hope is directed toward the imperishable happiness of heaven, “it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment” (CCC 1818). “Hope does not disappoint us” (Rom 5:5).

lIVING FAITHrev. Fr. Daniel Icatlo

“He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him” (John 1,7)

OUr FATHEr IN FAITH AND HOPE

If I see a man who is deeply in trouble, struggling with his difficulties, problems and challenges and tell him

to cheer up, I am almost certain I will get a bitter smile. He would probably reason out that I could say such words because I do not understand his problems and feel his pain. There are moments in our life when we feel so desolate, and then a friend comes along and tells us, “Cheer up.” To this we will probably counter, “How can you say that to me? You do not understand and feel what I am going through.” But there is a friend who is better and greater than all our best friends. That friend is Jesus. Jesus our best Friend and Companion, tells us when we are troubled, “Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome. You will be refreshed. Come to me, cheer up, it is not the end of the world.” But unlike Jesus we cannot tell Him, “Come on, Jesus, You tell me to cheer up, but, You do not know what I am going through.” We cannot tell Jesus that because He went through every pain that we are going through. If you are mourning or grieving for the death of a loved one, please do not forget that Jesus also grieved over the death of Lazarus, His friend whom He loved so much. If you are grieving over finances, remember that Jesus faced the same difficulty because He had to

feed twelve apostles while He Himself did not have any bed on which to place His head for the night. If you feel you have been betrayed by a friend, remember that Jesus was betrayed by His best friend. If you have been denied by a friend, remember that Jesus was denied three times by His most reliable disciple. If you are sad and disappointed because you feel that you are despised, ignored and rejected by your relatives or friends, remember that Jesus was also despised, ignored and rejected by His own relatives and friends in His home town. If you feel that your schedule is terrible and no time to relax and enjoy life, if you feel that your boss is bearing down hard on you, do not forget that Jesus also felt the crowd always pressing on Him, the crowd always running after Him, the crowd practically clawing to get everything out of Him and did not even have time to eat with the disciples. When you are in trouble, in pain and suffering, listen to Jesus telling you: “Come to Me and I will refresh you; come and rest in Me and I will cheer you up; come to Me and I will open your eyes, ears, mind and heart to recognize the power, talents and gifts given by God that will help you to overcome your troubles and challenges; come and rest in Me, you will experience calm, serenity and peace and you will realise that it is not the end of

the world.” You cannot tell Jesus, “Come on Lord, You cannot understand and feel my pain because You have never experienced what I am going through.” Jesus did experience what you are going through; every pain, every ache, every anxiety, every fear that you are facing. Jesus has faced them ahead of all of us. So the good news is that Jesus, our best friend, our Lord and God, tells us, “In the face of your problems, difficulties, challenges, hardships, pain and suffering, cheer up. “If they persecute me, they will definitely persecute you also.” “I have gone ahead of you, but I am always here for you sharing, bearing and shouldering all our pains.” If we believe the Word of God and turn to Him with our whole heart, mind and strength, we will definitely experience the peace and grace of God. We can then truly celebrate Christmas, not only on the 25th of December, but also throughout the year.

National secretaryApostleship of PrayerSt. Xavier’s ResidenceAkkara PanahaNegombo 11500

J E S U S K N O W S


“He was not the light, but came to testify to the light” (John 1,8)

The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” The focus of the entire season is preparation to cel-ebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ in His First

Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in His Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we now participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. Scrip-ture reading for Advent will reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at His coming, judgement on sin, and the hope of eternal life. In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolises the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a pro-found sense that we live “between the times” and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. So, as the Church celebrates God’s in-breaking into history in the Incarnation, and antici-pates a future consummation to that history for which “all creation is groaning awaiting its redemption,” it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commis-sioned to “love the Lord your God with all your heart” and to “love your neighbour as yourself.”

The spirit of Advent Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. There is a yearn-ing for deliverance from the evils of the world, first ex-pressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope of deliv-erance by a God who has heard the cries of oppressed slaves and brought deliverance! It is that hope, however faint at times, and that God, however distant He sometimes seems, which brings to the world the anticipation of a King who will rule with truth and justice and righteousness over His people and in His creation. It is that hope that once anticipated, and now anticipates anew, the reign of an Anointed One, a Messiah, who will bring peace and jus-tice and righteousness to the world. Part of the expectation also anticipates a judge-ment on sin and a calling of the world to accountability before God. We long for God to come and set the world right! Yet, as the Prophet Amos warned, the expectation of a coming judgement at the “Day of the Lord” may not be the day of light that we might want, because the pen-etrating light of God’s judgement on sin will shine just as brightly on God’s people. Because of this important truth, especially in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Season of Advent has been a time of fasting and penitence for sins similar to the Season of Lent. However, a different emphasis for the Season of Advent has gradually unfolded in much of the rest of the Church. The Season of Advent has come to be celebrated more in terms of expectation or anticipa-tion. Yet, the anticipation of the Coming of the Messiah throughout the Old Testament and Judaism was not in connection with remembrance of sins. Rather, it was in the context of oppression and injustice, the longing for redemption, not from personal guilt and sin but from the systemic evil of the world expressed in evil empires and tyrants. It is in that sense that all creation groans for its redemption as we witness the evil that so dominates our world (Rom 8:18-25). Of course, there is the problem of longing for vindication from an evil world when we are contribu-

tors to that evil. This is the power of the images of Amos when he warns about longing for the “Day of the Lord” that will really be a day of darkness (Amos 5: 18-20). Still, even with Amos’ warning the time of Advent is one of expectation and anticipation, a longing for God’s ac-tions to restore all things and vindicate the righteous. This is why during Advent we as Christians also anticipate the Second Coming as a twin theme of the season. So, while some church traditions focus on peni-tence during Advent, and there remains a place for that, the spirit of that expectation from the Old Testament is better captured with a joyous sense of expectancy. Rather than a time of mourning and fasting, Advent is celebrated as a time of joy and happiness as we await the coming of the King. So, we celebrate with gladness the great prom-ise in the Advent, yet knowing that there is also a som-bre tone as the theme of threat is added to the theme of promise. This is reflected in some of the Scripture readings for Advent, in which there is a strong prophetic tone of accountability and judgement on sin. But this is also, faithful to the role of the Coming King who comes to rule, save, and judge the world. Because of the dual themes of threat and prom-ise, Advent is a time of preparation that is marked by prayer. While Lent is characterised by fasting and a spir-it of penitence, Advent’s prayers are prayers of humble devotion and commitment, prayers of submission, prayers for deliverance, prayers from those walking in darkness who are awaiting and anticipating a great light (Isa 9) The Spirit of Advent is expressed well in the Parable of the bridesmaids who are anxiously awaiting the coming of the Bridegroom (Matt 25:1-13). There is profound joy at the Bridegroom’s expected coming. And yet a warning of the need for preparation echoes through the parable. But even then, the prayer of Advent is still: Come, 0 Come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel!

CHRISTIAN SEASON OF ADVENT AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE Ridley Casie Chitty

Advent the precursor of Christmas as John the Baptist was the precursor of Christ. Advent! preparing the way for the celebration of the birth

of Christ; just as John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah exhorting people to turn away from sin as the kingdom of heaven was nigh. .

Manifesting himself as an ascetic; clothes of camel skin and food of locusts and honey he was the voice crying out in the wilderness for repentance and turning to the Lord. He cleared the way for the coming of the Messiah declaring” He is one the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloosen”. When he was asked if he was the Messiah. So vociferously and eloquently did he proclaim the coming of the promised one. So too for us Advent is a preparation for the great coming for the great celebration of the birth of the Messiah.

Oh come divine Messiah .. The world in silence waits the day.

Advent is ushered with the Advent wreath of four candles on the flower entwined candle holder symbolic of the season. During the four Sundays prior to Christmas one candle is lit each Sunday at the beginning of the Sunday service. The first candle stands for John the Baptist; the second symbolises Bethlehem the city where Christ was

born-the hub of the event. The third for the shepherds to whom legend states the birth was first announced. The fourth for the star which shone over Bethlehem proclaiming the birth of the Christ Child. Advent is a profound reflection of what the coming of Christ implies. The Christ Child should be welcomed spiritually through penance, - purification, in the river of confession, repentance and prayer. It is a prayerful awaiting; a spiritual awakening. Then only will we be ready to welcome the Messiah truly. Today more than in any period in history we need a Second Coming. The world is rife with evil: Strife among nations; strife within nations; bitter combat, thieving, blasting massacring; life so cheap, violence abounding. Man’s inhumanity to man screams out in deafening tones with hardly a hearing. Today we need the peace of that holy night. The peace that pervaded that humble stable where the Prince of Peace was born. We need not only peace at large but peace within our own hearts because it is from that focal point that we can radiate peace. Peace is not in the glamorous advertisements of sundry goods screeching for attention, nor in the gorgeously dressed shop windows. Certainly not in the insistent tramp of hurriying feet thronging the city. Nor in the gourmet and exotic food and drink at plush hotels with their ambience and music.The world has commercialised this great yet simple birth;It has taken commercial mileage of a profound and sacred event. Peace is where the crib is; the lowly manger, the lowing cattle. The thought provoking stable is a reminder of the miserable conditions in which a great spectrum of the world’s population wallow in. Today we need to bring back the sanctity into Christmas. Not so much the merry, jolly Christmas but a peaceful meaningful Christmas; sharing the largesse God has given us with the less privileged, not indulging

A D V E N Tin satiation of our own selves. It is good for us to understand how the other half of the world lives - in our own particular world, in our own country, those who are unaware its Christmas time at all. Why wait till Christmas? We can start from Advent. Reach out to others in bounty and generosity. Reach out to others in reconciliation and goodwill. Along the path of Advent may we journey on to a meaningful Christmas.

By Jeannette Cabraal

AdventAdvent gives us hope and a second chance

for our salvation.Don’t get unnecessarily entangled in the

worldly atmosphere of Christmas.Verily the real aim of Advent is to change

our lives and repent for our sins.Enter into a close relationship with God and

our merciful Saviour who sacrifi ced His precious life to save us.

Not a single day should pass without medi-tating on the real meaning of Advent and prepare ourselves for the Second Coming of Christ that is when we face death.

Truly it is then that we can have a holy and happy Christmas.

Ruth Peiris


• This is the text of the Hom-ily delivered by the Arch-bishop - elect, Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando at St. Lucia’s Cathedral on Monday this week when he formally took over the Archdiocese of Colombo.

The theme of the Good Shepherd often Chosen for oc-casions of this nature lends itself very well indeed to the expression of many useful and relevant ideas related to this ceremony of installation. The Shepherd theme and metaphor though not of the present age and civilisation; through not of our local culture and known history, evokes nevertheless the nomadic civilisation that existed and was a stage in man’s evolution in the course of human history. This nomadic condition describes perfectly the religious state which is never established, which is always on the move in search of verdant pastures and running streams, to satisfy the hunger and quench the thirst;

a hunger and thirst that is real and urgent; a hunger and thirst that is regularly and routinely satiated but never quenched once and for all, but ever re-curring and ever con-tinuing, It is a pilgrim peoples search for God.

DYNAMIsM A search, a march, a pilgrimage signifies dynamism; signifies movement. A nomad’s life, a shepherd’s life, the life of the sheep,

are in constant motion, never sure of the morrow; never sure of anything except that Providence which is the love of God has wisely arranged for his crea-tures. This is why we have no lasting city here; no permanent abode but only a resting place, a pilgrims’ rest, for we seek a city which is to come. We cannot decide to settle down and build a tower that Contd. on Pg. 15

After Fr. Clinton Anandappa read the documents of appointment, given pro tem by the Pro-Nuncio as the Papal Bull had been delayed and the solemn profession of Faith by the Archbishop elect, he was led to the Throne by the Vicar Capitular. Then began a long stream of priests to the new Archbishop to pledge their obedience to him and nuns to ex-press their allegiance through their Ma-jor Superiors.

Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando received each one warmly. Among the priests who came to him were many ageing foreign Ceylonese priests. When Fr. D. J. Anthony came up with a walking stick, enfeebled by age, and aided by Fr, Claude Lawrence, the new Archbishop graciously stepped down from his throne to greet him. The Gospel as the theme of the Good Shepherd was read by the Very Rev. Fr. Harold Panditharatne Rector of the National Seminary. The homily was delivered by the new Archbishop-elect.

“And this is the testimony of John” (John 1,19)

40 Years agoHow the “Messenger” captured the sunrise of a New Era

rev. Fr. Nicholas Marcus Fer-nando has been appointed

the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Colombo in succession to His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Co-oray, who resigned on September 2, 1976. He will be the seventh Arch-bishop of the ninety-one year old Archdiocese of Colombo. The announcement of the appointment by the Holy Fa-ther was made in Rome at noon on March 30 and communicated through the Pro Nuncio in Sri Lanka, His Excellency Archbishop Carlo Curis. The Archbishop-Elect who is at present Professor of Moral Theology at the National Seminary, Ampitiya is just over 44 years old. He was born at Munnakkara, Ne-gombo, on December 6, 1932 and ordained a priest on December 26, 1959 in Rome. He did his ecclesi-astical studies at Propaganda Col-

lege, Rome for Philosophy and Theology between 1953 and 1960. In 1976 he received the Doctorate “summa cum laude” in Moral Theology, He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the London Univer-sity. He was on the teaching staff of St. Peter’s College, Colom-bo for some time and Rector of St. Aloysius’ Minor Seminary and Di-ocesan Director of Marian Sodali-ties. Both Fr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando and his predecessor did their ecclesiastical studies in Rome and both were involved in spiritual formation of priests. They both hail from the same geographical area. The Bish-op-Elect who comes from the par-ish of Grand Street, Negombo was born about two miles from Periya-mulla where Cardinal Cooray was born.

Hosanna!See of Colombo is filled

Archbishop-Elect Rt. Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus

Fernando

As the announcement of the appoint-ment of the seventh Archbishop to the See of Colombo almost coincides with Palm Sunday, we cannot help expressing the feelings of the entire Christian com-munity in the seasonal word evocative of joy and blessing - HOSANNA! The time when the See was va-cant was marked by an exceptional and widespread interest in the successor and even in the intricate and dignified pro-cesses of selection. It would be indeli-cate on such a joyous occasion to ques-tion whether the interest evinced was at all times similarly dignified. It is enough for us that the See has been filled. The Apostolic., succession has been secured

salutations !

His Grace the Archbishop elect Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando in his ponti�icals

(by E. C. T. Candappa) In a solemn, colourful and mov-ing ceremony informed by the rich lit-urgy of the Church, the Archdiocese of Colombo was formally handed over to the Archbishop elect of Colombo, His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Lucy at Kotahena on Monday, May 2. The ceremony truly typified the universal nature of the Catholic Church

as the sonorous rhythms of Latin and Ro-man rituals blended with the languages in common use in Sri Lanka, Sinhala, Tamil and English—and the colourful trappings of many cultures formed a backdrop to a deeply meaningful service. Many thousands, including hun-dreds of priests, nuns and religious brothers from the Archdiocese and oth-er dioceses, participated. The Archbishop elect was re-ceived in the Cathedral Square by the Vicar Capitular, Bishop Edmund Fernan-do and taken in procession to the sanctu-ary where he was accommodated along with His Excellency the Pro-Nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Curis, His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Cooray, the two Auxil-iary Bishops, Bishop Edmund Fernando and Bishop Oswald Gomis and other priests. Rev. Fr. Clinton Anandappa, Chan-cellor of the Archdiocese acting as Master of Ceremonies conducted the service. The mother of the new Arch-bishop and other members of his family were accommodated in a place of hon-our in the nave of the Church. As the Archbishop elect entered the Cathedral, his mother walked up with him. Kandyan dancers and a hevisi band were in attendance.

Bishop-Elect takes over ArchdioceseTHOUsANDs FlOCK TO GrEET NEW sHEPHErD

At the time of writing we await with joy and prayerful anticipation the episcopal ordination on Saturday, the Fourteenth of May, in the year of the Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Seven, of the Seventh Archbishop of Colombo, the Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando. We wait with trust in Him whose guidance is unfailingly with us all times, and especially manifest on occasions such as this and we wait with hope and humility. We pray that as He has anoint-ed him and set him apart to lead His people, the people of God in Sri Lanka too will be anointed with the oil of peace and love and unity, and that the cup of holy exultation will run over. We pray that the Good Shep-herd who guided the Church in choos-ing the Chief Pastor of Colombo will remain always to steady his hand as he holds the staff and the rod to com-fort his people. We pray that the Holy Spirit would enlighten him to see the path ahead, that as he picks his way with courage and caution, he will be reas-sured by the sure knowledge that the Shepherd of Shepherds walks before him in the paths of righteousness. We need fear no evil, for al-ways HE is with him. We are heartened by the fact that even at his first homily preached as the new Archbishop at his cathe-dral last week, the image of the Good Shepherd was uppermost in his mind and that much of his thinking is drawn from the consequent pastoral imagery. He moves, and is moved to lead, with his eyes towards the heav-enly Kingdom, conscious of the fact that Jesus Christ alone is the one

doorway to the sheepfold, conscious of the nomadic nature of the people of God and of the transitoriness of earthly things, conscious like the man of simple faith that he is of the faith of simple people, conscious of the pace and rhythms of nature and thus of the pace of natural change, conscious of the need of the leader to be conscious of others, needs, conscious of the need to advance without causing the rear to go asunder, conscious of the need to build up without demolishing the foundations. There were many touching symbols of his graciousness last week at the Cathedral. He stepped down from his throne to meet an aged priest who stumbled at his feet to greet him. He remembered to thank those who had worked before him. There is no doubt that in him will meet the multifaceted aspirations of the Church in Sri Lanka. He has said that there is room for all in the Church. We are equally confident that there is room for all in his heart. There is also no doubt that he takes over at a most critical stage of the Church. As the Vicar Capitular re-marked at the handing over of the Archdiocese, the Church stands most in need of charity and unity. And all who wish the new Archbishop well can do no better, can offer no richer gift, than resolve in their own hearts, to offer in their own way, to add to the sum of Christian unity and love, to cast aside what di-vides and to hold fast to what binds in the love of Christ. Then surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life.

A day of hope and joy

sUNDAY 1st May 1977

OfficialAppointments in the

Archdiocese

Vicar General: Very Reverend Father Martin Gunaratne OMIProcurator General:Reverend Father Raymond Peiris.secretary to the Archbishop: Reverend Father Gregory A. Fernando

Sgd. Nicholas Marcus Fernando

Archbishop Elect.

Archbishop’s House,Borella, Colombo 8.May 1977

sUNDAY 3rd April 1977 sUNDAY 8th May 1977

St. Lucia’s Cathedral on 2nd May 1977

Cardinal greets new Archbishop

love - The Need of the Hour

and sealed, with human aid and divine guidance, by the hand of the Vicar of Christ Himself. On the other hand the extent of the interest shown at various levels is an index of the significance of this sa-cred office, of the fact that it is a focal point of many, varied and deep seated aspirations of our ecclesial community. The keenness shown even in secular and external areas is a further indica-tion that the influence of the Church surely goes beyond its pale. The aspirations of the people are sharpened by the circumstance that more than thirty years have passed since the previous Incumbent was consecrated to this exalted office. More therefore than a generation gap spans the interval after which the successor will assume it. And in that time chang-es have taken place in every sphere of terrestrial activity that have been more profound and at a much greater veloc-ity than at any other time previous in human history. Filling the See will also mean the stupendous task of endeavouring to fill that gap as well by the Grace of God. Along with the cries of joy that rise from a million lips will also rise the most sincere greetings and tokens of goodwill to the man who must not only bear the palm, but the cross as well, that there will also rise the most fervent prayers that when this man appointed by God is anointed in His name, he will have the strength to carry the burden which has been placed upon his youth-ful shoulders the vision to perceive the needs of the Church, at this hour, the grace to be a faithful shepherd of his people, the courage at all times to defend the Magisterium of the Church against threats from any quarter and the charisms needed specifically for the great task for which he was born. We ourselves offer him our warmest felicitations and assurances of unswerving loyalty.


• This is the text of the Hom-ily delivered by the Arch-bishop - elect, Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando at St. Lucia’s Cathedral on Monday this week when he formally took over the Archdiocese of Colombo.

The theme of the Good Shepherd often Chosen for oc-casions of this nature lends itself very well indeed to the expression of many useful and relevant ideas related to this ceremony of installation. The Shepherd theme and metaphor though not of the present age and civilisation; through not of our local culture and known history, evokes nevertheless the nomadic civilisation that existed and was a stage in man’s evolution in the course of human history. This nomadic condition describes perfectly the religious state which is never established, which is always on the move in search of verdant pastures and running streams, to satisfy the hunger and quench the thirst;

a hunger and thirst that is real and urgent; a hunger and thirst that is regularly and routinely satiated but never quenched once and for all, but ever re-curring and ever con-tinuing, It is a pilgrim peoples search for God.

DYNAMIsM A search, a march, a pilgrimage signifies dynamism; signifies movement. A nomad’s life, a shepherd’s life, the life of the sheep,

are in constant motion, never sure of the morrow; never sure of anything except that Providence which is the love of God has wisely arranged for his crea-tures. This is why we have no lasting city here; no permanent abode but only a resting place, a pilgrims’ rest, for we seek a city which is to come. We cannot decide to settle down and build a tower that Contd. on Pg. 15

After Fr. Clinton Anandappa read the documents of appointment, given pro tem by the Pro-Nuncio as the Papal Bull had been delayed and the solemn profession of Faith by the Archbishop elect, he was led to the Throne by the Vicar Capitular. Then began a long stream of priests to the new Archbishop to pledge their obedience to him and nuns to ex-press their allegiance through their Ma-jor Superiors.

Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando received each one warmly. Among the priests who came to him were many ageing foreign Ceylonese priests. When Fr. D. J. Anthony came up with a walking stick, enfeebled by age, and aided by Fr, Claude Lawrence, the new Archbishop graciously stepped down from his throne to greet him. The Gospel as the theme of the Good Shepherd was read by the Very Rev. Fr. Harold Panditharatne Rector of the National Seminary. The homily was delivered by the new Archbishop-elect.

“And this is the testimony of John” (John 1,19)

40 Years agoHow the “Messenger” captured the sunrise of a New Era

rev. Fr. Nicholas Marcus Fer-nando has been appointed

the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Colombo in succession to His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Co-oray, who resigned on September 2, 1976. He will be the seventh Arch-bishop of the ninety-one year old Archdiocese of Colombo. The announcement of the appointment by the Holy Fa-ther was made in Rome at noon on March 30 and communicated through the Pro Nuncio in Sri Lanka, His Excellency Archbishop Carlo Curis. The Archbishop-Elect who is at present Professor of Moral Theology at the National Seminary, Ampitiya is just over 44 years old. He was born at Munnakkara, Ne-gombo, on December 6, 1932 and ordained a priest on December 26, 1959 in Rome. He did his ecclesi-astical studies at Propaganda Col-

lege, Rome for Philosophy and Theology between 1953 and 1960. In 1976 he received the Doctorate “summa cum laude” in Moral Theology, He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the London Univer-sity. He was on the teaching staff of St. Peter’s College, Colom-bo for some time and Rector of St. Aloysius’ Minor Seminary and Di-ocesan Director of Marian Sodali-ties. Both Fr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando and his predecessor did their ecclesiastical studies in Rome and both were involved in spiritual formation of priests. They both hail from the same geographical area. The Bish-op-Elect who comes from the par-ish of Grand Street, Negombo was born about two miles from Periya-mulla where Cardinal Cooray was born.

Hosanna!See of Colombo is filled

Archbishop-Elect Rt. Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus

Fernando

As the announcement of the appoint-ment of the seventh Archbishop to the See of Colombo almost coincides with Palm Sunday, we cannot help expressing the feelings of the entire Christian com-munity in the seasonal word evocative of joy and blessing - HOSANNA! The time when the See was va-cant was marked by an exceptional and widespread interest in the successor and even in the intricate and dignified pro-cesses of selection. It would be indeli-cate on such a joyous occasion to ques-tion whether the interest evinced was at all times similarly dignified. It is enough for us that the See has been filled. The Apostolic., succession has been secured

salutations !

His Grace the Archbishop elect Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando in his ponti�icals

(by E. C. T. Candappa) In a solemn, colourful and mov-ing ceremony informed by the rich lit-urgy of the Church, the Archdiocese of Colombo was formally handed over to the Archbishop elect of Colombo, His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Lucy at Kotahena on Monday, May 2. The ceremony truly typified the universal nature of the Catholic Church

as the sonorous rhythms of Latin and Ro-man rituals blended with the languages in common use in Sri Lanka, Sinhala, Tamil and English—and the colourful trappings of many cultures formed a backdrop to a deeply meaningful service. Many thousands, including hun-dreds of priests, nuns and religious brothers from the Archdiocese and oth-er dioceses, participated. The Archbishop elect was re-ceived in the Cathedral Square by the Vicar Capitular, Bishop Edmund Fernan-do and taken in procession to the sanctu-ary where he was accommodated along with His Excellency the Pro-Nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Curis, His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Cooray, the two Auxil-iary Bishops, Bishop Edmund Fernando and Bishop Oswald Gomis and other priests. Rev. Fr. Clinton Anandappa, Chan-cellor of the Archdiocese acting as Master of Ceremonies conducted the service. The mother of the new Arch-bishop and other members of his family were accommodated in a place of hon-our in the nave of the Church. As the Archbishop elect entered the Cathedral, his mother walked up with him. Kandyan dancers and a hevisi band were in attendance.

Bishop-Elect takes over ArchdioceseTHOUsANDs FlOCK TO GrEET NEW sHEPHErD

At the time of writing we await with joy and prayerful anticipation the episcopal ordination on Saturday, the Fourteenth of May, in the year of the Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Seven, of the Seventh Archbishop of Colombo, the Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando. We wait with trust in Him whose guidance is unfailingly with us all times, and especially manifest on occasions such as this and we wait with hope and humility. We pray that as He has anoint-ed him and set him apart to lead His people, the people of God in Sri Lanka too will be anointed with the oil of peace and love and unity, and that the cup of holy exultation will run over. We pray that the Good Shep-herd who guided the Church in choos-ing the Chief Pastor of Colombo will remain always to steady his hand as he holds the staff and the rod to com-fort his people. We pray that the Holy Spirit would enlighten him to see the path ahead, that as he picks his way with courage and caution, he will be reas-sured by the sure knowledge that the Shepherd of Shepherds walks before him in the paths of righteousness. We need fear no evil, for al-ways HE is with him. We are heartened by the fact that even at his first homily preached as the new Archbishop at his cathe-dral last week, the image of the Good Shepherd was uppermost in his mind and that much of his thinking is drawn from the consequent pastoral imagery. He moves, and is moved to lead, with his eyes towards the heav-enly Kingdom, conscious of the fact that Jesus Christ alone is the one

doorway to the sheepfold, conscious of the nomadic nature of the people of God and of the transitoriness of earthly things, conscious like the man of simple faith that he is of the faith of simple people, conscious of the pace and rhythms of nature and thus of the pace of natural change, conscious of the need of the leader to be conscious of others, needs, conscious of the need to advance without causing the rear to go asunder, conscious of the need to build up without demolishing the foundations. There were many touching symbols of his graciousness last week at the Cathedral. He stepped down from his throne to meet an aged priest who stumbled at his feet to greet him. He remembered to thank those who had worked before him. There is no doubt that in him will meet the multifaceted aspirations of the Church in Sri Lanka. He has said that there is room for all in the Church. We are equally confident that there is room for all in his heart. There is also no doubt that he takes over at a most critical stage of the Church. As the Vicar Capitular re-marked at the handing over of the Archdiocese, the Church stands most in need of charity and unity. And all who wish the new Archbishop well can do no better, can offer no richer gift, than resolve in their own hearts, to offer in their own way, to add to the sum of Christian unity and love, to cast aside what di-vides and to hold fast to what binds in the love of Christ. Then surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life.

A day of hope and joy

sUNDAY 1st May 1977

OfficialAppointments in the

Archdiocese

Vicar General: Very Reverend Father Martin Gunaratne OMIProcurator General:Reverend Father Raymond Peiris.secretary to the Archbishop: Reverend Father Gregory A. Fernando

Sgd. Nicholas Marcus Fernando

Archbishop Elect.

Archbishop’s House,Borella, Colombo 8.May 1977

sUNDAY 3rd April 1977 sUNDAY 8th May 1977

St. Lucia’s Cathedral on 2nd May 1977

Cardinal greets new Archbishop

love - The Need of the Hour

and sealed, with human aid and divine guidance, by the hand of the Vicar of Christ Himself. On the other hand the extent of the interest shown at various levels is an index of the significance of this sa-cred office, of the fact that it is a focal point of many, varied and deep seated aspirations of our ecclesial community. The keenness shown even in secular and external areas is a further indica-tion that the influence of the Church surely goes beyond its pale. The aspirations of the people are sharpened by the circumstance that more than thirty years have passed since the previous Incumbent was consecrated to this exalted office. More therefore than a generation gap spans the interval after which the successor will assume it. And in that time chang-es have taken place in every sphere of terrestrial activity that have been more profound and at a much greater veloc-ity than at any other time previous in human history. Filling the See will also mean the stupendous task of endeavouring to fill that gap as well by the Grace of God. Along with the cries of joy that rise from a million lips will also rise the most sincere greetings and tokens of goodwill to the man who must not only bear the palm, but the cross as well, that there will also rise the most fervent prayers that when this man appointed by God is anointed in His name, he will have the strength to carry the burden which has been placed upon his youth-ful shoulders the vision to perceive the needs of the Church, at this hour, the grace to be a faithful shepherd of his people, the courage at all times to defend the Magisterium of the Church against threats from any quarter and the charisms needed specifically for the great task for which he was born. We ourselves offer him our warmest felicitations and assurances of unswerving loyalty.


“When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites (to him) to ask him, “Who are you?” (John 1,19)

Letters

Catholics be alertLike in previous years interested parties have made

it a point to go around with lists to collect money to buys gifts for children during Christmas. Many are unaware that this money is used to buy drugs. This was revealed by a Catholic Priest in church. Catholics should be careful not to get caught to this ploy of buying toys for children by contributing money to this lists. In the same way if you are really keen on send-ing Greetings Cards during Christmas to your loved ones, see that the cards depict only the image Holy Family.

J.T. MirandoNegombo

The centenary year of the apparition at Fatima is fast drawing to a close. Hence, I wish to remind readers

of Mother Mary’s plea for the devotion of the First Five Saturdays (consecutive) in honour of her Immaculate Heart. On July 13, 1917 Our Lady specifically stated to St. Lucia “Jesus wants you to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. Many souls are con-demned because of the sins committed against me. I have come to ask for reparation.” Our Lady also showed to the three children at Fatima Her Immaculate Heart surrounded by thorns that seem to pierce it. On December 10, 1925, when Lucy as an 18-year-old Postulant, Our Lady and the Child Jesus ap-peared to her and Jesus said, “Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother covered with thorns, with which urgrateful man pierce at every moment, by their blasphemies and ingratitude.” Then the Blessed Mother revealed to Lucy the Great Promise, “Announce in my name that I promise to assist at the moment of death, with all the graces neces-sary for salvation, to all those who on the First Saturday of five consecutive months will:1. Attend Mass2. Attend Confession (During the eight days before or

eight days later).

At the commencement of every school year there is much fanfare concerning the admission of Catholic

children to Catholic Schools, not only in the Colombo re-gion but in the outstations as well. In past years, during colonial times, children were admitted purely on merit but now the only basis of admission resembles an “auc-tion”, where the highest “bid” in the form of a sizeable donation gains admission. Much has been said and written about this but nothing tangible has seen the light of day. The Church has taken up this cause many years ago, but due to the lethargy of the powers that be, this issue seems to be moving at snail’s pace, if at all it is moving. In recent months, both, President Maitripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have time and again paid glowing tributes to the education imparted by the Catholic Church. The last such occasion was at the Convocation ceremony at Aquinas. Thus it ap-pears that the time now is ripe for a concerted effort on the part of the Church through the Ministry of Christian Affairs to seek redress from the existing laws which pre-vent the levying of school fees which happens to be the direct cause for the on going ‘Donation Culture’. His Eminence our Cardinal has time and again emphasised on the ill effects of the Tution Culture to-gether with the School Van Culture, both of which seem detrimental to society. These account for a big slice in the family expenditure. Under the circumstances how can we expect an average family to shoulder an additional ever-growing school Donation Culture? Since the government is permitting both tution and school van cultures within the frame of a Free Education System likewise, it should also permit the schools to levy a moderate free from the students instead of the huge donations now in vogue. Now is the time for the Church to act in the light of the recent remarks attributed to the Church. On face value it appears that the clamour for the abolition of this ‘Donation Culture’ is dormant on the part of the Catholic population. However, there ex-ists a strong undercurrent at work silently and unseen.

This is certainly going from strength to strength, year after year. Let us be well aware of this impending dan-ger and not be caught sleeping? This undercurrent is flowing towards the Church from our fundamentalist brethren. They are silently fishing in troubled waters, undetected by most of us. Year in and year out the disgruntled parents of the vast number of rejects from our schools go to form an easy prey to those who are waiting with open arms to accommodate these rejects to their schools even free of charge with ulterior ends in mind. This danger should certainly provide food for thought in that this donation culture is at the root of large numbers leaving the Church. In this context, if and when our repeated ap-peals to levy school fees fail, then as a last resort, hand-ing over all our private schools to the State, lock, stock and barrel is a far better proposition than keep on los-ing our faithful year after year. In the final analysis, before arriving at a deci-sion we should carefully for see the ground reality that would exist, in ten to twenty years hence? Let it never be said by future generations that we were in deep slumber while our numbers were slowly hit surely dwindling, as a direct result of this ‘Donation Culture’. May the Holy Spirit inspire us to do that which is best for the greater glory of God. There will be many among us who will argue against the handing over of our schools to the State as they have done a yeomen service to the nation. While admitting this in all sincerity we should not lose sight of the fact that in the process we are educating a sizable non Catholic population at the expense of our children who are deprived of a Catholic education due to finan-cial strains in many a Catholic family. To add fuel to this, as stated above we will be losing our numbers in the days and years to come. It is in this background that we should view the continuation or otherwise of this mon-strous school ‘Donations Culture’.

roggy CoreraWattala

School Admissions cum Donations

3. Receive Holy Communion.4. Recite five decades of the Rosary.5. Keep me company for Fifteen Minutes Meditating on

the mysteries or any particular mystery.6. All this with the intention of making reparation to

Our Lady, “you at least try to console me.” Why five Saturdays and not nine or seven in honour of the sorrows of Our Lady? asked St. Lucy from Our Lord. In reply Our Lord revealed to her, “There are five types of offenses and blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”1. Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception.2. Blasphemies against her Perpetual Virginity.3. Blasphemies against her Divine, Maternity and the re-

fusal to accept her as the Mother of the human race.4. For those who publicly implant in children’s hearts,

indifference, contempt or even hatred of the Immac-ulate Mother.

5. For those who directly insult her images. Shall we then, urgently heed this request / plea of the wound-ed heart of Our Immaculate Mother and thereby be certain to obtain her Promise.

Start Now!V. Abeysekera

Battaramulla

Mary’s Great Promise at Fatima

Catholic Writer honouredVeteran Catholic

Writer and photographer H.A. Caldera was honoured for his long time service, at the Kitu Yatra Sahithya Ulela organised by the Bopitiya Kitu Yatra Writers’ Association held recently at the Parish Hall of Our Lady of Sorrows, Jaela. The Salutation was presented to Mr. Caldera by Rev. Fr. Shantha Sagara Hettiarachchi,

former Editor, Gnanartha Pradeepaya and Parish Priest St. Andrew’s Church, Kadawata.

Life’s Companions

Traversing together on the sea of life Two score and ten and four past the bouldary line.Scanning the terrain, guiding our bark with its precious cargo. Like Ulysseus in his wanderings. Through sail-tearing, mast-rending storms Detouring, when colossal projecting rocks, loomed on the horizon. Mutiny on board, becalmed, yet gathering sail You Captain ! Help-mate ! We struggled onl Sometimes through tranquil waters, glittering, sparkling, bubbling. With the enthusiasm of the warmth provoking sun And now weather-beaten, suffering a sea-change Resting our weary oars off and on A comforting clasp of our blistered hands, we glide on to the, sun-set; Thankful ! Oh so thankful ! To Divine Providence For each other’s comforting presence.

Jeannette Cabraal

Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith speaking at the blessing and

opening of the new Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes at St. Andrew Avellino’s Church, Kadawata last Saturday said, that though fundamentalist groups who base their belief solely in the Holy Bible say they do not regard or venerate Our Lady as we do, however, it is the Bible that tells us vividly that Mary is our Heavenly Mother. This is not a myth concocted by the Catholic Church but it is historical and detailed in the Holy Bible, because if not for Our Lady, Jesus Christ would not have been born into this world. The incarnation would not have taken place, he said. His Eminence also cautioned that the aim of these fundamentalists was to create chaos in the country by trying to introduce to its people, especially the

Catholics, a western culture without any moral values on the pretext of helping the people with their money. Hence, he appealed to the faithful not to be misled by such groups whose sole motive was to lead Catholics away from the Church. “If any such group visits your homes, take the Holy Bible turn to John 19, 25-27 and read it out to them,” he advised. His Eminence was the Chief Celebrant at the Holy Mass which was concelebrated by the Dean of Ragama Rev. Fr. Gregory Jayantha Fernando and Parish Priest Kadawata Rev. Fr. Shantha Sagara Hettiarachchi. A special invitee for the day was the Ven. Urugaswewa Saddatissa Thera of the Kadawata Sri Bimbaramaya Viharaya.

T. Sunil Fernando and Roshan Pradeep

NEW GrOTTO AT sT. ANDrEW AVEllINO’s CHUrCH(From Pg. 1)


The Password to Happiness

Do you feel unhappy because you don’t have enough of what you need or desire?

Do you suffer ‘lack’ in your life? Let me tell you how you can change the situation. If we want to receive what we need and desire, we have to give first. How can you give first and then receive? It should be the other way about. You should have enough to give. No! That may be logical thinking. But in fact that’s not the way how the laws of the universe operate. The law of abundance says first give out of something or anything you have, to make someone happy. Then get ready to receive your abundance. Get ready or surprise after surprise. “GIVE” is the password. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving. The more we give, the more we become eligible to receive...the more fortunate we become to experience the miracles of receiving... When we give with a cheerful heart we get back happiness...genuine happiness. There was a competition for farmers. One farmer continued to receive the first prize year after year. Everyone was wondering about this farmer’s secret of winning consecutively. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned and laid bare the secret. The farmer explained how he grew his corn. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his finest most productive seed corn with his neighbouring farmers. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they too are competing with you for the same award?” the reporter asked. “It’s giving with love sir,” said the farmer. “I don’t quite understand.” “Well this is how it happens...The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn....If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn.” “So, you give them your best seed corn?”“Yes, when I give my best, I get the best in return....It’s a law of nature.” “What goes around comes around..?” “Exactly...if I give good things I will get good things...if I give bad things then I too have to expect the same.” If you need peace, help your neighbour to be at peace. If you need to live well, let others live well. The value of your life is measured by the lives you touch. There is a Chinese saying that goes: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” It is better to give than to receive. This aphorism is drummed into our heads from time immemorial. But have you experienced how true it is? Be like that farmer. Give!...You will receive your abundance and continue to be a winner..!

Michael Angelo Fernando

BiTS &PiECES

By Ariel

“he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Messiah” (John 1,20)

Deepak Chopra is an Indian Endocrinologist born in New Delhi, India. Since 1970, he has been living

in the Unites States of America. He was treating patients suffering with diabetes, thyroid disease and other ailments at the New England Memorial Hospital, Massachusetts. He encountered Transcendental Meditation (TM) system from its founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Since this exposure, Chopra became convinced of the power of Eastern forms of treatment such as TM and Ayurveda as means of curative as well as preventative forms of treatment. He shifted his attention to integrative and holistic approach towards disease, integrating both the Western and the Eastern forms of medicine. Chopra started his own integrative and holistic programme and wrote and spoke about his approach. He advocated meditation. Yoga, massage and Ayurvedic herbal therapy for holistic healing and concentrated on more preventative healing than curative forms of medicine. He wrote books, produced CDs and DVDs and propagated his new approach to healing. He gave up his medical practice and became a prominent motivational speaker and a key figure in organising and leading motivational seminars and workshops. He proposed simple ways such as being connected with nature and embracing ancient practices of meditation, massage and herbal therapies as means of achieving health and wholeness. He advocated that living in harmony with nature and its Creator as the means of physical and spiritual wellbeing that will help people to live balanced, stress-free and healthy lives. He sees the connection between body (soma), mind (psyche) and spirit (consciousness), which lead to holistic healing. The spiritual dimension includes participation in ancient religious beliefs and practices that were an integral part of the life of our ancestors. The traditional practices such as prayer, meditation, contemplation and reflection can lead to fostering self-growth and connecting humans with each other and with nature. These traditional religious rituals can lead men and women to deeper spiritual growth and also to personal success and advancement in health.

live the Present Moment Deepak Chopra talks about the importance of the present moment. The past is history and it is gone and we cannot do anything about it. It is pointless worrying about what we have done in the past. We will have to take steps to formulate our future. But we cannot live in the future. Tomorrow is beyond our grasp. But we can plan for the future and take steps to make the future successful by living and taking correct decisions today. We only have this moment to be proactive and to plan for a successful, fruitful and meaningful future. I am quoting from one of his books, ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’. “Intention combined with detachment leads to life-centered, present moment awareness. When action is performed in the present moment awareness, it is most effective. Your intent is for the future, but your attention is in the present. As long as your attention is in the present, then your intention for the future will manifest, because the future is created in the present. You must accept the present as it is. Accept the present and intend the future.” He condemns the reductionist point of view of the world and the universe. The world cannot be understood by studying its parts. Consciousness cannot be understood by studying the parts of the brain. He believes in a holistic world view; the parts can be identified and understood by concentrating on the whole. He says by getting a glimpse of the Creator we can get a proper understanding of the creation.

The Third Jesus In his book, ‘The Third Jesus’ he explores the present reality and understanding of Jesus. He distinguishes the historical Jesus and the theological Jesus. Deepak Chopra says that the historical Jesus is the Jesus who lived and preached in Galilee. He was powerful. He had power over disease, nature and even death. He conquered death and rose from the depth of death and decay. Historical Jesus is the person born in Bethlehem, lived in Nazareth, walked and preached in

Deepak Chopra

Galilee. This is the Christ Jesus that is recorded in the four Gospels by the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Then the second Jesus is the Jesus of Theology. This is the Jesus promulgated by the Church. In 313 during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine, a

Council of the Church leaders assembled together and clarified certain theological facts. These theological facts were formulated during the Nicene Council of 325 and are contained in the Nicene Creed. In the name of theological Jesus so many charitable institutions were started such as hospitals, schools and many other benevolent institutions. At the same time to safeguard these concepts there have been wars, crusades, killings and infamous inquisitions. The Third Jesus is the Jesus that is grasped and understood by the monastic and spiritual traditions of the world in the past as well as in the present. It is the Jesus that is revealed to us through prayer, meditation, contemplation and deep reflection. It is Jesus that is grasped through our consciousness. This is the Jesus that is present, relevant to the growing needs of the present problems and situations. The insights of the present day mystics are part and parcel of ‘The Third Christ’. In the heart of deep devout prayer and contemplation this ‘Third Christ Jesus’ is revealed to us. At this level we get into a higher state of consciousness where Creator and creature become one. The unity and the sharing of the universal resources make us one and integrated with the Creator and the creation. We share the same breath, same energy fields, and same cosmic vibrations. We become an essential part of the universal energy fields. When you are aware of these universal realities you experience a peak state of consciousness or enlightenment. Chopra quotes chapter 10 of the Gospel of John where Jesus Himself witnesses to this unity between God and man. Referring to the sheep that have been entrusted to Him by God the Father, Jesus says the following: “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hands. I and the Father are one” (John 10:29-30). When the last words were uttered the Jewish audience took stones to kill Jesus for blasphemy. Paul speaks about such a unity in Christ at the end of time. “As a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians1:10). Paul again talks about such unity with Christ regarding our redemption from sin. “For if we have been united with him in death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5). Whatever his religious affiliations or convictions are, Deepak Chopra is trying to get his message to the audience who grew up in a Christian background in the United States of America. The only way to reach them is to use their traditional Christian concepts and terminology. That is what the Christians understand and the only way to reach their minds and hearts. He is successfully achieving this purpose in ‘The Third Jesus’. This is only one of 84 books that he has written out of which 22 books rose to the New York Times best selling list. Some of his books have been translated into more than 43 languages. Deepak Chopra says, “Christianity needs to overcome its tendency to feel exclusive and refocus on being a religion of personal insight and spiritual growth. In this way Jesus can be seen for the universal teacher He truly is, someone whose teachings of compassion, tolerance and understanding can embrace and be embraced by all of us.”


“So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not” (John 1,21)

We are approach-ing the end of one year and

the beginning of another. Time after time, warnings abound, but none more urgent than those that are being announced this sea-son. The dreariness of

An end brings a new beginning

the world and the seasons of growth and optimism are worn. Life is well on its way and the soul is cast forward, in due propor-tion, as it apprehends that the night is far spent and the day is at hand (Romans l3:12) when we will see a new heaven and a new earth (Revelations 21:1).

This is where we are at as we bring our prayer each day before Him. Against the dol-drums of sky and world, the words of the prophet, Isaiah, return to us as does the epistle that bids us to awake from our slumber (Romans l3:11), for it is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Psalm 118:26). The destiny of others is unknown to us, but that which lies before all of us is the day we have sight of our maker and God, whom we will see face to face, as we are des-tined to come before Him in judgement. Given the pros-pect, we might ask in ear-nest then, “Is this what life is about?” We are in a world of sense and we must rea-

lise we are in the dark now, but all will be light, such that God is now hidden and He will be revealed. Therefore, it is obvious to see that there has to be some form of preparation for this change. It is weak and in-sufficient to merely say that we must strive to obey Him. It might have been enough were rewards and punishments to corre-spond in the way of nature as they do here on earth. It is not the same as being subjected to a court of law. We need to be realistic that we will actu-ally appear before God, in His presence, so we must think of how to prepare ourselves in a manner that involves a deep overhaul of thought and affection, of both mind and heart. Whether or not this is sound reasoning, scripture stresses its ne-cessity by telling us that the Gospel covenant has, amongst other purposes, to prepare us for this des-tiny, the vision of God. Many have asked why we need to profess our religion. Why do we go to Church, observe the rites and ceremonies;

watch, pray and fast? Isn’t it enough to be just, honest, benevolent and virtuous? There is no better reply except to say firstly, that it is God who tells us to do so and secondly, be-cause we are not on earth forever, as we will change our state of being. Sacramental com-munion may be in some way a preparation for a sight of Him. Perhaps a third response to those ques-tions would be to ask what it would be to meet Christ without any preparation. When we face a difficult task, we prepare ourselves by making up our minds. Courage is nec-essary and it is gained by a thorough preparedness in thought. We come to Church, therefore, to pray and plead for help for pre-paredness. We come to Church because we are heirs of heaven. One day, we will come to inherit it so that, in the here and now, by psalms and song, by confession and by praise, we learn to do our part. The One who to us is judge prepares us to be judged; and he who is to glorify us, prepares us

to be glorified that He may not take us without giving us any warning. When the voice of the archangel sounds, the name known only to the one who receives it (Rev-elation 2:17), we will meet the bridegroom and must be ready. Therefore, we are reassured that if we act ac-cordingly in preparation, we· will, through God’s grace, be gradually imbued with His Spirit. In time, in our manner of acting and talk-ing, in our service and con-duct, manifest spontane-ously and naturally, that even though we fear Him, we love Him. Until Christ came, it was a time of shadows and when He came, He brought truth, because He is truth. It is necessary that we are to be true and sincere so that we may then be gift-ed to see no longer through a dark glass, but marvel at great wonders with a sight beyond our ability. The end of the old ushers in a new beginning.

Courtesy: Sunday Examiner

Your eyes are going to look on a king in his beauty: � ey will see an immense country

(Isaiah 33: 17)

Advent- A Second Coming

Come! I Oh Comel Messiah Divine ! The world awaits with bated breath

Thy Second Coming To dispel the gloom

Of a world fraught with strife. Heretic Babel voices rise high Waves of immorality over-ride.

Man against man. Nation against Nation

Come heal the world with Thy redemptive power

Thy recuperative soothing words of love As those from the cross

On a tempestuous world bestow Come ! Come! long awaited Messiah! The world needs thy Second Coming

To effect a long-needed catharsis

Jeannette Cabraal

Advent is a season of joy and anticipation of pa-tiently waiting, watching and preparing for the coming of the Messiah. Since the dawn of cre-

ation God promised that He would send a Saviour (Gen-esis 3:15). This Holy Season of Advent invites us to keep watch, stay awake and be on the lookout. We are to be alert and watchful for all the signs of this coming of God into our world, the signs of His abiding presence. As Vatican II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern Word (Gaudium et Spes) says, “God has in a certain way united himself with each indi-vidual. He worked with human hands, he thought with a human mind, he acted with a human will and with the human heart he loved (no 22).

Hope and Justice Traditionally Advent, like lent was one of the times in the Christian year where people were in a wait-ing mode. It was in part, waiting for Christmas but also for something more - for the day when Christ would re-turn a second time. This was to be a day when the world would finally be set to right again, when God would step in to bring history to its true fulfillment. Advent is there-fore ultimately about our profound need for two things: Hope and Justice. Without hope, human life is unbearable. It is rare to find moments of total satisfaction, where every-thing, literally everything is perfect. Most of our happi-ness involves some kind of expectation, some kind of hope for the future that things are looking up. The child waiting excitedly for Christmas is a picture of happiness, almost more so than the day itself. We need hope, but so often when we get it, the object of our hope is disappointment. Whether Christ-mas presents, a clean bill of health, or the dream job, so often getting what we long for fails to match the in-tensity of that very desire. When hope is absent either because we are completely sated, with nothing left to look forward to or because we are in despair, with no prospect of change, life becomes at best dissatisfying at worst intolerable. Our capacity for happiness is some-

how tied up with anticipation and the inability of any-thing in this life to totally satisfy that hope is a hint that we were made for something more than this world can offer. Yet, Advent is not just about our deep human need for hope. It is also about our need for justice. For Christians, Advent looks forward to the (perhaps still distant) day when the Son of God will make another entry into the world, this time not incognito but as the creed puts it, to judge the living and the dead. Judgment is about justice-putting things right-and without justice the traffickers and the tyrant win. Ultimately our deep-est desires will be met, not by another gadget under the tree but when this world will finally but put right, so that children are no longer sold into slavery, refugees can re-turn home and our own broken hearts are healed. And, Advent also looks forward to the (perhaps less distant) days when we see signs of that future in the small signs of that future, in the small signs of justice and healing that we are privileged to glimpse in the meantime.

longing for the Coming Watching and waiting are part and parcel of our lives, waiting for a letter to pop through the post, wait-ing for hospital or examination results; waiting of ex-pectant mothers for the arrival of the new baby. Watch-ing and waiting is not always easy - it requires patience, even long suffering. It always requires anticipation, ex-pectancy and hope and these are the fruits of grace the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. All our watching and waiting mirrors the watch-ing and waiting of our praying, longing for the coming of Christ. We join with the Spirit and the bride and pray. “Come Lord Jesus” (Rev 22: 17,20). Advent is a preparatory season in which it is good for us to examine our lives with the light of the Holy Spirit and know the healing and grace offered to us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. God desires our happiness and blessedness. God wants to lavish His grace on us and pour our love into our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. The coming of St. John the Baptist was the

herald of an invitation to us to change direction or un-dergo a change of heart. The man with many tunics was encouraged to be generous and give some way (Luke 3:11). Tax collectors were urged not to build in exorbitant commissions but to collect the correct taxes (Luke3:12). Soldiers were cautioned against corrup-tion, abuse of power and complaining about their pay. Making a straight path was not an obstruct theory - but involved a different way of thinking and acting. Blessed John Henry Newman said: “To change is to live and to change often is to be perfect. The Sacra-ment of Reconciliation is an encounter with God’s mer-cy in which we receive the grace to go into a different direction and experience change of heart.

listening Learning to listen to God’s voice is an impor-tant part of being a disciple. The Prophet Samuel said: “Speak Lord for your Servant is listening.” Mary of Beth-any sat at the feet of Christ listening to his word (Luke 10:39) and St. James urged that we be quick to listen (James 1:9). God speaks in many ways - in prayer, in the contemplation of His word, in the things we read in the people we meet, in the events and circumstances of our lives and sometimes even in dreams and visions. St. John the Baptist was the last of the Old Tes-tament Prophets. His mission was to be a voice crying in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3). To be this voice to fulfill his mission, he had to learn to listen to God’s voice, St. John Fisher said: “A good person is not a perfect person; a good person is an honest person, faithful and unhesitat-ingly responsive to God’s voice isn’t harsh, brashly de-manding or harshly commanding. God touches us, most often, in a gentle way, although sometimes God shakes us into awareness of our sins. God speaks to the deepest part of us, heart to heart, person to person, one to one, lover to the beloved. Our prayer this Advent is: “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.”

Advent - watching for His comingBy Eric Jeevaraj


So they rode away; and the star stood still, � e only one in the gray of mornYes, it stopped, it stood still of its own free will,Right over Bethlehem on the hill, � e city of David, where Christ was born.

And the � ree Kings rode through the gate and the guard, � rough the silent street, till their horses turnedAnd neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred, And only a light in the stable burned.

And cradled there in the scented hay, In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,� e little child in the manger lay,� e child, that would be king one day Of a kingdom not human but divine.

His mother Mary of Nazareth Sat watching beside his place of rest,Watching the even � ow of his breath,For the joy of life and the terror of death Were mingled together in her breast.

� ey laid their o� erings at his feet: � e gold was their tribute to a King,� e frankincense, with its odor sweet,Was for the Priest, the Paraclete, � e myrrh for the body’s burying.

And the mother wondered and bowed her head, And sat as still as a statue of stone;Her heart was troubled yet comforted,Remembering what the Angel had said Of an endless reign and of David’s throne.

� en the Kings rode out of the city gate, With a clatter of hoofs in proud array;But they went not back to Herod the Great,For they knew his malice and feared his hate, And returned to their homes by another way.

Girls, come and help us! Boys, come and help us!

“The Lord is near”Are we ready to welcome Him?

My Dear Young Builders, Today is the Third week of Advent. There is only one week more for Christmas day and we are all excited. In this season of happiness, there is a lot happening around us. We see a change in the way people go about their work. Everyone is in a hurry, everyone wants to get the many things done before Christmas, everyone wants to prepare. Everyone one is waiting for the day. We are not the only ones who have been waiting for Christ our Saviour. The whole of history waited for Him to be born. The Gospel of today speaks about St. John the Baptist. St. John was chosen by God before he was even born, to prepare the way of the Lord. And as we see in the Gospels, St. John lived out his calling each and every day of his life. He ate simple food and he wore simple clothes, because to live God’s calling was much more important to him. My dear children, each and every one of us has a calling to prepare the way for the Lord. We have to be committed to this calling just like St. John was. The Second Reading asks us to be holy and blameless, and God, who has called us will carry out His mission through us. Are we prepared to receive Jesus? Are we holy in our hearts? Have we made a good Confession? Have we offered acts of love and charity for Jesus?It’s never too late… Aunty Gerro

“Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No” (John 1,21)

“Christmas is the promise... that

hope is not a vain dream, when it

becomes flesh in people.”

Gustavo Gutierrez

thought for the week

Neyali Abeyratne Sunday School, St. Sebastian’s, Kandana.

THE THrEE KINGs� ree Kings came riding from far away, Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar;� ree Wise Men out of the East were they,And they travelled by night and they slept by day, For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star.

� e star was so beautiful, large, and clear, � at all the other stars of the skyBecame a white mist in the atmosphere,And by this they knew that the coming was near Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy.

� ree caskets they bore on their saddle-bows, � ree caskets of gold with golden keys;� eir robes were of crimson silk with rowsOf bells and pomegranates and furbelows, � eir turbans like blossoming almond-trees.

And so the � ree Kings rode into the West, � rough the dusk of night, over hill and dell,And sometimes they nodded with beard on breastAnd sometimes talked, as they paused to rest, With the people they met at some wayside well.

“Of the child that is born,” said Baltasar, “Good people, I pray you, tell us the news;For we in the East have seen his star,And have ridden fast, and have ridden far, To � nd and worship the King of the Jews.”

And the people answered, “ You ask in vain; We know of no king but Herod the Great!”� ey thought the Wise Men were men insane,As they spurred their horses across the plain, Like riders in haste, and who cannot wait.

And when they came to Jerusalem, Herod the Great, who had heard this thing,Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them;And said, “Go down unto Bethlehem, And bring me tidings of this new king.”

Q: Where is the Hail Mary in the Bible?A: The Hail Mary is broken up into two parts: 1. Who Mary is. 2. Our prayer to Mary. The first half of the Hail Mary (rows 1-5) is contained in Luke 1. The second half (rows 5-6) comes from Luke 1, James 5 and various other Biblical Texts. Below the Hail Mary is examined line by line:

THE HAIL MARY PRAYERPrayer Biblical Support Explanation

Hail Mary, full of Grace

The Lord is withThee

Blessed art thouamong women

And blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus

Holy Mary, Motherof God

Pray for ussinners,now and at thehour of our death

Luke 1: 28

Luke 1: 28

Luke 1: 42

Luke 1: 42

Luke 1: 43

James 5: 16

And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favoured one! The Lord is with you.”

And coming to her, hesaid, “Hail, favoured one!The Lord is with you.”

... cried out in a loud voice and said, “Mostblessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb... cried out in a loud voice and said, “Mostblessed are you amongwomen, and blessed isthe fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lordshould come to me?

Therefore, confess yoursins to one another and pray for one another, thatyou may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful

The Angel Gabriel greets Mary with very respectful greeting used for royalty. The text doesn’t say “Mary” after Hail but it is implied. Gabriel then proclaims Mary full of Grace (full of God’s own life and love)

This is word for word. The Angel Gabriel said that the Lord is with Mary; she is full of His Grace, His own life.

Elizabeth inspired by the Holy Spirit; she is inspired by the 3rd person of the Blessed Trinity to proclaim that Mary is the most blessed among all women.

Elizabeth still inspired by the Holy Spirit proclaims that the fruit of Mary’s womb, Jesus, is blessed. The text doesn’t say “Jesus” after womb, but it is implied, the fruit of her womb is Jesus.

Mary is full of God’s grace, this would make her holy. Mary is the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity. Since Jesus is God this makes her the mother of God. She is the mother of the God-Man Jesus, not the mother of the Trinity.

St. James tells Christians to pray for one another. All the baptised are members of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12: 12-14). Therefore it is right to pray for other members of the body. James goes on to say that the prayers of the righteous have great power. What human (other than Jesus) is more righteous than the Blessed Mother? Though she is in heaven she still hears the prayers of her children on earth and intercedes for them.

KNOW YOUR FAITH?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Christmas StarA diamond shines no brighter than that lovely Christmas star.

It shines in all its brilliance; it’s seen from near or far.A symbol of the Christ child as He lay upon the hay,

It tells to all the waiting world a King was born that day.

O Bethlehem Star keep shining- give us faith and hope and love,Keep our thoughts forever turning to the Saviour up above.Give us strength and hope and courage to do our best by farAnd never falter in our faith as we watch that Christmas star

Author Unknown

14 December 17, 2017The Messenger

His Messiahship to an ordinary family man of Naza-reth. The fiction, Da Vinci Code, is not the first, the last and the only of this kind.iv. For atheists, Jesus never existed or lived. For them, He is just a myth like Greco-Roman gods; a cocktail, retelling or copied form of the existing or preexist-ing mythologies concerning Mithras, Asclepius, Dio-nysus, Apollonius, Heracles and Horus. v. Some have reduced Jesus only to a prophet who played a subordinate and preparatory role to anoth-er prophet who is said to be greater than Him. Hence in this period of hope, we must continue our work of witnessing to the fullness of truth concern-ing Jesus and His Gospel.

By Rev. Fr. Don Anton Saman Hettiarachchi

“So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” (John 1,22)

SUNDAY WORD

Sun: Third Sunday of Advent Is. 61: 1-2, 10-11; 1 Thess. 5: 16-24; Jn. 1: 6-8, 19-28Mon: Jer. 23: 5-8; Mt. 1: 18-24Tue: Jdg. 13: 2-7, 24-25a; Lk. 1: 5-25Wed: Is. 7: 10-14; Lk.1: 26-38Thu: Song. 2: 8-14 or Zeph. 3: 14-18a; Lk. 1: 39-45Fri: 1 Sam. 1: 24-28; Lk. 1: 46-56Sat: Mal. 3: 1-4, 23-24; Lk. 1: 57-66Sun: Fourth Sunday of Advent 2 Sam. 7: 1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Rom. 16: 25-27; Lk. 1: 26-38 On the Vigil Is. 62: 1-5; Acts. 13: 16-17, 22-25; Mt. 1: 1-25 (or 18-25)

Liturgical Calendar Year B 17th Dec. - 24th Dec. 2017

Third sunday in AdventFirst reading:Is. 61: 1-2, 10-11. Prophet Isa-iah declares what he is called for. He is called to proclaim about the free-dom that was awaiting the exiled Israelites. He also glorifies the Lord for calling him to be a Prophet of God.

second reading: 1 Thes. 5 : 16-24. St. Paul advises the Thessalonians be-fore he was forced to leave Thessalonica. He wants the people to see the Will of God even in that disheartening inci-dent. The faithful should continue to love and serve the Lord.

Gospel:Jn: 1: 6-8, 19-28. The Gospel pas-sage is about John the Baptist, his mission and his position with regards to Jesus Christ the Saviour Whom the Jews were ex-pecting at the time. John is the precursor, the one who prepares the way for the Lord.

Reflection. Last Sunday we were invited in a very special manner to prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord our Saviour to our lives.

The message was noth-ing but the preaching of John the Baptist; a call for repentance and change of life. As we prepare ourselves to celebrate Christmas we ought to mend our ways and change our lives in order that the rest of the mankind would also be saved. First of all the Saviour has to be born in our lives. He has to survive all hardships and temptations in our lives. The question is what are we going to do to our lives in order to welcome the Lord, our Saviour? Today’s ques-tion is. How are we going to give birth to the Lord in order that the rest of the mankind would also be saved? First of all the Saviour has to be born in our lives. He has to sur-vive all hardships and temptations in our lives; only then could we give birth to the Lord for the benefit of our neighbour. If not who else could do it for us? In the Second Reading St. Paul gives courage to the Thessa-lonians in order to pro-tect their faith amidst the reaction of the Jews. The Jews made St. Paul leave Thessalonica. St. Paul wants the Thessa-

lonians to see the Will of God in the whole inci-dent so that they will re-main faithful to the Lord amidst all suffering. While we sur-vive all hardship by ac-cepting them as the Will of God and remain faith-ful to Him, we also have to see the Grace of God calling us to carry on His mission. In the First Reading Prophet Isaiah is so happy that he glo-rifies the Lord for call-ing him to be a prophet. It seems as if he is fully aware about his mission and he is all out to fulfill his mission. He is com-mitted. He is ready to go out as a powerful mis-sionary force in order to save the people who are still living in sin. Simi-larly we too as Chris-tians are called through our Baptism to carry on the Lord's mission. Therefore let us glorify the Lord and fulfill this mission There are cer-tain things that we have to keep in mind when we try to fulfill the Lord’s Mission. First of all we must always keep in mind that it is the Lord who called us. Then, it is to fulfill His Mission and not a mission of another. Not even our own.

During this mission we are only mediators. We only do it on behalf, and for the Lord. The Lord should be seen as the Light and we as just a reflection of this Light. This is seen quite clearly in the mission of John the Baptist. He is very true when he says that he is not Christ. He is the precursor, the one who prepares the Way of the Lord. We too ought to be quite open and truthful in our mission. Therefore let us all heed and preach the Good News of repen-tance lest we all perish.

Aid story 1. In response to a call for a wise and a holy monk to initiate the Novices in the spiritual life from the North Great Lama; the South Great Lama sent five monks. When questioned as to why he sent five. He said “We will be lucky if one of the five finally gets to the Lama.” The five were on the way when a mes-senger came running and said that the village monk had died and that they need someone to take care of the spiri-tual needs. One got at-tracted and said “I will not be a true Buddhist if I do not heed this call,”

and stayed in the village to take the place of the monk. Some days later they stayed in a palace and the old king got at-tracted to them and requested one of them to stay back in order to succeed him as the king. The monk said “What better way to influence the people of this coun-try for good than to be-come the king? I would not be a true Buddhist if I did not accept this opportunity for serving the cause of our Reli-gion.” So he too dropped out. Another time they came across an orphan, a young girl who’s par-ents were killed by the leader of the neighbour-ing village, a bandit. Her father had given the leadership to the village. Next morning they were preparing to leave. At that time one monk said “I shall stay back and look after the girl and give the leadership and protection to this poor village. I would not be a true Buddhist if I did not practice Compas-sion.” The remaining two came to a Buddhist village and to their hor-ror found that all had abandoned their reli-gion and was now un-der the way of a Hindu Guru. One of the monks

said “I owe it to these poor people and to the Lord Buddha to stay on here and win them back to the true religion.” He was the last to drop out. The fifth monk eventu-ally got to the Lama. The great Lama of the South was right after all.

Aid story 2. Once there was a frog in one of the drying wells. One day, he was surprised to see another frog in the well. “Where have you come from” he asked, “from the Lagoon. That’s where I live,” said the other. “What is a La-goon? How does it look like? Is it big as this well?” The Lagoon frog laughed, “There is no comparison.” He said. And the Lagoon frog invited the Well frog to go with him for safety. The Well frog pretended to be interested in what his visitor had to say about the lagoon. But he thought. “Of all the liars I have known in my life-time, this one is undoubt-edly the greatest and the most shameless!" He stayed back and regret-ting that he should have listened to the Lagoon frog and died of starva-tion and lack of water as the well dried upRev. Fr. Ciswan De Croos

1. On this Third Sunday of Advent, we meet the fig-ure of John the Baptist once again. The Gospel pres-ents him as the precursor of Jesus the Messiah – the messenger sent ahead of Jesus to prepare His way and make straight His paths and to testify to Him.

2. In the days of the Early Church, some of John’s dis-ciples developed his movement as a rival to Chris-tianity. We can expect some tensions between the disciples of Jesus and those of John the Baptist. But because of his martyrdom, Jesus’ respect for him and affinity between the two by their prophetic preach-ing, religious seriousness, practice of baptism and expectation of the end-time; the Christians began to regard him as a forerunner of Jesus. In the mean-time, the Christians kept him in his proper place in relation to Jesus the Messiah, Lord and Light. To-day’s Gospel reflects better this historical situation of the Early Church.

3. It is true both Jesus and John are sent by God: “A man named John was sent from God” (1,6); “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work” (4,34). But Je-sus is superior and John is subordinate:i. John the Baptist is not the light; he testifies (like the Samaritan woman, Scripture, works of Jesus, the crowds, the Spirit and disciples of Jesus) to the light that is Jesus.ii. The purpose of the testimony of John is that people may believe in Jesus through him (and not in him). iii. John is not the Messiah – priestly, prophetic or kingly; Jesus is the Messiah.iv. Jesus is the Lord; John is the one who prepares people for the coming of the Lord baptizing (purify-

“He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him” (John 1,6-8.19-28)

ing) them. v. Jesus is the Master while John is humbly a disciple. He acknowledges, “the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” Rabbis taught that a disciple should do for his teacher any-thing a slave would do except take off his shoes.

4. It is in a context of hostility that John the Baptist testifies to Jesus the Messiah. The Jews – the hostile authorities, both Pharisees and Sadducees especial-ly in Jerusalem – refuse to believe in Jesus. Against this background, he strongly gives witness to Jesus and categorically denies:i. that he is the Messiah – the anointed agent of God, considered to be of Davidic descentii. that he is Elijah – since people expected Elijah to return: “Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Be-fore the day of the LORD comes, the great and ter-rible day” (Malachi 3,23)iii. that he is the Prophet – the prophet like Moses who said “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen; to him you shall listen” (Deuteronomy 18,15).

5. Today we live in the period of God’s Kingdom, inaugurated by Jesus. We also live in the period of hope, expecting its culmination when Jesus comes again into our history. The world is yet to recognise the true image of Jesus, for:i. Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah. They still live expecting a Davidic Messiah of fiery judgment.ii. Various Christian sects tarnish the true image of Jesus as the Messiah. For example, Jehovah Witness-es call Him the Archangel Michael. iii. Down the centuries, novels have been written, films have been produced out of sheer imagination without any historical basis attempting to reduce

15 December 17, 2017The Messenger

“He said: “I am the ‘voice of one crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as Isaiah the prophet said” (John 1,23)

Contd. from Pg. 8

Love - Thereaches to the skies to make for ourselves a name, for the Lord will make a Babel of it, lest we forget our eternal destiny, our life beyond life. Not even Mt. Tabor with its transfigured Christ can become a permanent abode, to pitch ones, tent and stay for ever. Instead, Christ asked His apostles to go to the ends of the earth and announce the Good News till the end of time, promising to be with them always. We are therefore a nomadic people with Christ our Shepherd, a pilgrim people, always on the move, a dynamic people forced to adapt ourselves to the chang-ing conditions of the day to day life, not sure of the morrow and what it would bring but absolutely sure of what man needs, of what we need to satisfy our inert most hunger and thirst, our innermost-longing as the children of God made to his own image and likeness.

NOMADIC The Church is on pilgrimage; the people of God are nomadic. We therefore have to be on the move we have to be dynamic; we have to be caught up in time; in the before, in the now and in the after. We have to be a people of the past, the present and of the future. Dyna-mism is a very fashionable word today and rightly so. There is no need to labour the point over the necessity of progress even in the sphere of religion. Vatican II which is the expression of the religious thinking of the Chris-tian of today provided us with sufficient proof of this dy-namism. Caught up in the aura of dynamism and progress, when we strain ourselves to rush into the future, let us not yield to the temptation and fall into the common error of condemning the past and belittling our ancestors. To do so would mean that we have miserably failed to under-stand the very meaning of the word dynamic. Because, if the Church has to be dynamic as many would wish her to be it had to grow from what it was in the past to what it is today. It had to be something different and perhaps something less perfect to become what it is now, perhaps a little more perfect for us to crow about. The temptation to fall into the error of condemning what has gone before is easily made on occasions such as this. It is, for example, not altogether rare to hear people who are only too ready to belittle the religious devotion of the middle ages, of men and women who believed in building massive cathedrals, Gothic to reach the skies vertically and Byzantine to embrace the world horizontally. They built them for years, perfecting them, filling and enriching them with their arts and crafts and with all the talents they had received from God. Here in our own island home, our ancestors built the stately edi-fices in which we now kneel and pray and raise our hearts and minds to God in our eternal longing for Him. These were built not by people rich in earthly possessions but by those who tilled the land or scoured the seas for a liv-ing, those who preferred to live in mud huts and cadjan houses provided their Lord had a stately house befitting a God. His religion, his devotion, consisted in emptying himself of all that he had, to offer it for God. That was his way of reaching God; his expression of religious be-lief and living. He showed his devotion in the candles he burnt and even in the crackers that he made noise with. He burnt his savings, he burnt his money for God, just as his ancestors had killed and burnt whole lambs in sac-rifice. That was his way of religious devotions, his way of denying himself, of self annihilation, of self immola-tion before God, which is after all religion the emptying of oneself to be filled by God. In the dynamic progress of the Church, in its journey toward of the everlasting city, the Kingdom of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, we of the second half of the 20th century have preferred to ex-press our religion, not in building edifices of mortar and stone, not in burning candles and incense but in building a community of men and women more in keeping with the original likeness of God, before sin entered this world with its greed and selfishness, with its hatred and divi-sions, with its decay and death. We have preferred not to burn our money in candles and crackers but to provide

our starving brothers and sisters with the bare neces-sities which sin and its train of evils have deprived them of. This is a laudable change indeed because it is the need of the hour; the religion of this moment, though not whole of it. If is a truly Christian task to feed the hun-gry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked; all in the name of Christ and done to Christ in his brothers. It is Christ we serve, the Christ who comes under the guise of our neighbour in need, fallen on the road of pilgrimage on the way to life everlasting. TrANsITIONAl But we are at a critical stage of our pilgrimage.We are in a transitional stage in the history of the Church with two generations living together but thinking differ-ently. We are at that moment when one generations's way of religious expression is different from the other generation's expression of devotion to the one and the same God. It is here that charity must prevail. It is here that we must remember that love is above all virtues. As St. Paul says: "faith hope, love abide: these three but the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:13.) "And love does not insist on its own way. It is not arrogant or rude." 1 Cor. 13:5. It is the love of one's neighbour and the con-cern for his salvation that should make a man of knowl-edge as St. Paul says again, not to make his knowledge a stumbling block to his weak brother. The truth must be told, it is true and acted upon, but in love and never with-out it. St.Paul cautioned his learned friends saying if your superior knowledge of the truth sees no sin in eating flesh sacrificed to idols, still desist from doing so because charity demands that by your knowledge the weak man be not destroyed (1 Cor. 8 : 11). In a Church where there is love, there is room for everybody. There is room for the strong and there is room for the weak; there is room for the virtuous and there is room for the sinner; there is room for the pro-gressives and there is room for the conservatives, there is room for the old and there is room for the young. There is room for all these, provided there is love. Our primary and urgent aim therefore should be the build-ing up of this love. Love is such a noble thing. It is God indeed because God is love. St. Paul tells the Corinthians; "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Cor. 13:-13. If we Christians can grasp and take hold of this pearl of great price, sacri-ficing all that we have to purchase it, the Kingdom of God cannot be very far from us. If we can once again, merit the remark of the ancient admirers of early Christianity, "see how the Christians love one another" we shall not be far from, a new Pentecost and a new change of hearts. In a Church that has found the true meaning of love, "love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things," 1 Cor. 13:7, we can sincerely ex-tend the hand of friendship to all men of goodwill who are like us searching for God and the ultimate meaning of life. We will have to bear up, we will have to endure. It is then that we will be able to believe the impossible and hope for the impossible because it is the work of God. Within the Church itself not all the sheep are of the same brand and character and especially as free hu-man beings, as persons, we are all different and each is an individual. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep indi-vidually and they know Him and He calls His own one by one and leads them out to pasture. But in all this diversi-ty of the sheep, in the diversity of vocations to which God calls us, we should "with all lowliness and meekness, with patience for bearing one another, in love, be eager to maintain unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Eph. 4-2,3. St. Paul continues his advice to the Ephesians say-ing: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. But grace was given

to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some, prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and teachers for the equipment of the saints for the work of minis-try, for building up the body of Christ." Eph. 4:4-7; 11-12. "We may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cun-ning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love," Eph. 4:14-16. Jesus is the only mediator, the one doorway to the sheep and to the pastures. He alone delegates His pastoral power to men like Peter who had confessed "Lord you know everything; you know I love you." Jn. 21:17. We dare not openly boast of our loyalties:to our Master because we know Peter's experience in that crucial week of the passion. Peter's experience should be our lesson. Jesus and only Jesus is the perfect Shep-herd, the One Who gave His life for His sheep, not as one struck down but one who laid down His life on His own, of His own accord. Jesus is the ideal shep-herd, one who is simultaneously the leader and the com-panion, the strong man who defends his flock against the wolves, the gentle caretaker who sees to all the needs of his flock, the forgiving master who goes in search of the one lost lamb; here indeed is leadership in service, authority through love. May the same Jesus the one and only Good Shepherd be with us to be our sure guide to lead us on in this earthly pilgrimage, always on the move, always open to the Holy Spirit, always united in brotherly love, always helping, always believing that truth will set us free truth in love. May the same Good Shepherd protect and guide our Holy Father the Pope and bless his brother collaborators specially in the Sa-cred Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and the Holy Father's Representative herein our midst, His Excellency the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio. I feel it my sacred duty on this occasion to express my sincere thanks to my predecessor in office. His Eminence our Cardinal. This is not an opportune moment to sing a litany of praises in his honour. I shall only-say: Here was a Prel-ate dedicated to his calling and holy in his life Thank You, Your Eminence and God be with you. I also wish to express my gratitude to the two Auxiliary Bishops who have served His Eminence and the Archdiocese for eight and a half years up to now; to the Vicar Capitular and the Council who have graciously looked after the Archdiocese during the 'sede vacante' period. I thank them all in the name of the whole Archdiocese and in my own name. May the Lord bless them all and bless us too. Amen.

Contd. from Pg. 1

lex orandi...Present on the occasion were the Rector of the National Seminary Very Rev. Fr. Expeditus Jayakody, Very Rev. Fr. J.D. Anthony, Episcopal Vicar for Priestly Formation and Promotion of Vocations and many priests and religious from the Archdiocese.Names of the new deacons:1. Rev. Bro. Niranjan Marshall Peiris2. Rev. Bro. Koswattage Prasad Rangana Perera3. Rev. Bro. Pathum Chinthaka Perera4. Rev. Bro. Rajitha Clamantha Edirisinghe5. Rev. Bro. S. D. Sanath Udara6. Rev. Bro. Yohan Placi Fernando7. Rev. Bro. Gihan Nilushan Fernando8. Rev. Bro. Chamila Chryshantha Fernando9. Rev. Bro. Sumeda Patthum Fonseka10. Rev. Bro. Amila Maduranga Jayatillake 11. Rev. Bro. Samesh Anthony Baldsing12. Rev. Bro. Hirushan Hasantha Fernando

Contd. from Pg. 1

A world without...Celebrant at the Holy Mass held at St. Joseph’s Branch School, Kadol Uyana, Negombo where he blessed the newly constructed chapel. Addressing the church filled with school children and staff, His Eminence noted that churches are built for the sake of the future generation so that they may know God but while inculcating our children in wisdom and knowledge, it is also our duty to instill in them a belief in the divine, he said.

His Eminence emphasised that if such belief in God is not found in a child then even if he passes out with high qualifications in the field of education, it will have no purpose. The Holy Mass was concelebrated by the Direc-tor of the School Rev. Fr. Chryshantha Kumar and former Director Rev. Fr. Sudath Gunatillake.

The Holy Mass was followed by a carol singing session by the children of the School.

T. Sunil Fernando

Contd. from Pg. 5

Disorders of....Bone Tumours. The malignant or cancerous ones are termed osteogenic sarcoma and Ewing’s tumour are rare. They present with pain and swelling or occasionally with fractures. Osteoid osteoma is benign (non cancerous) tu-mour affecting adolescents, specially boys involving the thigh bone (femur) The pain is more severe in the night and improve with ingestion of Aspirin. There may be some loca-lised tenderness. The x-ray is diagnostic.

“They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?” (John 1,25)

XX = December 17, 2017Messenger

Many years ago, in Sri Lanka, for-ests had a large concentration of elephants. In those days there was a natural balance between humans and animals. We have seen pictures of elephants being used in warfare by kings of ancient Sri Lanka. But when the English arrived things changed. They killed animals for their pleasure and for their body parts, for various purposes including medici-nal. However, as time went on the locals too killed elephants for their

skins and tusks. The killing of wild animals is called poaching. After all 1948 vast areas of jungle were cleared for farmer villages in the name of resettlement schemes. Since people needed land, they cleared forests and cut down trees. Most animals like the el-ephant even if they are chased away return to their known territory and fall prey to humans. This is a sad sit-uation. We find a good concentration of elephants in the South, especially

in Yala as they have food there. There is a need for new forest areas to be declared national parks where nobody is allowed to kill or hurt elephants. It is our duty to protect this gentle giant for the benefit of our future generation.

Shrawanya LawrenceGrade 7,

Lyceum Internatinal School, Wattala

Elephants of Sri Lanka

He walked up to her and told her “Be quiet.” but she didn’t listen to him and kept on shouting. Finally, he went right up to her and slapped her. She burst into tears. “I can’t help it. It was an impossible situa-tion,” commented Paul. “I don’t condone what you did. However, there are no good or bad people, only good and bad actions,” said Myra. “Well, I suppose so. We are so busy point-ing fingers and dividing people into good and bad, we don’t stop to think,” said Paul. “I know. I am reminded of the saying, ‘There is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us that it never does any good for any of us to talk about the rest of us,’" chimed in Uma. “I did not know that. Anyway, we should not be criticising or finding fault. I think that many of us spend a lot of time judging others. If only we follow the example of Jesus Christ who never judged any-body, we could really be happy,” said Paul. “You are right. Even though Jesus was tor-tured and nailed to the Cross, He actually prayed for His enemies saying “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”said Myra. “It is so hard for us mere mortals to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. I often get angry and nurture thoughts and feelings of ill will,” said Paul. “Why don’t you say a prayer and offer your feelings of hate and hurt to God the Father and ask Him to give you the strength to forgive and forget?” concluded Uma.

By Sirohmi Gunesekera

Actions

Upagupta, a disciple of Buddha,lay asleep on the dust by the

city wall of Mathura

Doors were shut, the sky was murky;Everybody was asleep by now.

Upagupta was awakened by the light of a lamp.

It was a dancer girl, dressed in apale blue cloak studded with jewels.

She lowered her lamp and sawthe beautiful face of the asetic.

"The dirty earth is not a fit bed for you"said the girl, drunk with the vine of her youth.

The youth replied, "Woman go on your way.I will come to you, when the time is ripe."

Upagupta passed through the city gates, andstood at the base of the rampart.

He saw a woman that lay in the shadow of the wall.

She was struck with black pestilence.Her body was spotted with sores.

The asetic sat by her side took her head on his knees.

He moistened her lips with water.Anointed her body with balm."Who are you, merciful one?"

asked the woman."Time at last has come" answered the asetic.

Adapted and simplified from Rabindrnath Togore's Poem

'Upagupta' Sent by Christie Gunawardena

The Indian Samaritan

The ‘Reflection and Healing’ pro-gramme which

was conducted by Fr. Au-gustine Vallooran at St. Joseph's College, Mara-dana was a heart-touch-ing and an unforgettable experience for all Catho-lics in Sri Lanka. The spiritual nourishment which was given to us through Fr. Augustine was valuable and highly appreciated by us all. The whole event was well-organised catering to all facilities. Firstly, I would like to thank my Almighty God who gave us, Catholics in Sri Lanka a valuable opportunity to par-ticipate in a significant programme of this nature. Secondly, I would like to extend my special gratitude to Fr. Augustine Vallooran for coming to Sri Lanka and conducting such a marvelous spiritual programme which inspired me a lot. My dear Father it was a nice time with you. I thank the Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and the Archdiocese of Colombo for the invitation extended to Fr. Augustine who was a great source of encouragement for us to change our lives for the better. I also extend my appreciation to the organ-ising committee for having seen to all aspects for the good of the faithful who were present in their thou-sands. Special thanks to Verbum TV for their valu-able support and for telecasting the programme for all the Catholics who were unable to participate due to various reasons. They all worked hard to make this event memorable. Fr. Augustine inspired all the Catholics by preaching about Christ the King along with two partners from India who praised the Lord with their great singing talent. It was a wonderful and amaz-ing programme which drove us to Jesus, the King of our hearts. It was really a beautiful moment where we experienced the love of God deeply.

"May the Lord give you more graces to cherish and His divine providence rest upon all of you and may His love drag all of us to His loving care."

D. Snehani Fernando, Grade 10Good Shepherd Convent, Kotahena

"You SayI am a King"

The Beauty of the beautiful world......

The Second Year students of the Philosophate of St. Francis Xavier's Major Seminary, Columbuthurai, Jaffna staged a drama titled 'The Voice of the Un-born' based on the theme, 'Abortion' - a current is-sue in present day Sri Lanka - on the occasion of the Meeting of the Cardinal Newman English Academy. A meaningful speech and a newly composed song added much colour to the programme.

The song of the Unborn(Verse 01)I've heard a songWhat a beautiful world is 'Home'Have I heard it wrong? (because)It's the dream of the every unbornI'm not a prince or kingI'm just the beautiful dream you dreamI'm sure you got somethingOh please just let me see.

(Chorus) The beauty of the beautiful world Don't break me down I'll build up your world I won't ask you much But only one thing It's love

(Verse 02)Home is a golden dreamLike a fabulous gem in a streamLife is a gift of graceNo other can give Him praiseDon't be a slave to your 'self'You will never come out of that hell(let) love be the rule of your willPlease give me a chance to sing

(Verse 03)"You're a bird and more""I have chosen you as my own"Lord Jesus there no moreWill be children to be Your ownMay be your will taking meTo the beautiful heaven, Your reignMom and dad don't know thisSo many they be forgive

lyrics and Music by seminarians of Philosophate II, Jaffna

"The beauty of the beautiful world,Don't break me down, I'll build up your world,

I won't ask you much, But only one thing,It's love"

XVIII December 17, 2017Messenger

“John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize” (John 1,26)

Young WorldHis lordship Emmanuel Fernando at Prize-Giving of

st. Nicholas’ International College, PelawatteThe Annual Prize Giving of St. Nicholas’ International College, Pelawatte was held recently at the Col-lege Hall under the guid-ance of the Director of the College, Very Rev. Fr. An-thony Fernandopulle. His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Em-manuel Fernando, Bishop Elect of the Diocese of Mannar graced the occa-sion as Chief Guest. This was his first official visit after the an-

nouncement as Bishop-elect. His Lordship con-gratulated the prize win-ners and reiterated the importance of a holistic education which he said is the need of the hour and that parents being the first educators of the child should share greater re-sponsibility towards their education and upbringing from beginning to end. Rev. Fr. Fernan-

dopulle presenting the annual report of the Col-lege for the year 2016/17, highlighted the excellent academic achievements of students at the Cambridge International Examination as well as in other aca-demic and non-academic programmes of the College. The presentation of certifi-cates and awards were in-terspersed with entertain-ment items presented by the students.

Francisca Ludowyke

His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Fernando, Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo administered the Sacrament of Con-firmation to 91 children of St. Peter’s Parish in Negombo, recently, on the invitation of the Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Gyom Nonis. In his address to the children His Lordship warned that modern technology is being misused in a danger-ous way by the youth and many have been led astray due to this. Hence, he reminded them that in receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation they also receive an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their lives and advised them to turn to the Spirit for guidance and strength to get over this dangerous addiction.

Raymon Aponsu

Confirmation Service at Negombo

‘Rangana Tharu’, a variety Christmas programme by the children of St. Mary’s School, Katukurunda, Moratuwa was held recently at the School, with the participation of officials from the Piliyandala Educational Zone, Par-ish Priest Rev. Fr. Rasika Lawrence, Principal and staff of the School. Picture shows the children enacting a scene from the life of St. Joseph Vaz.

Asika Priyadharshana

Christmas Concert at Katukurunda

leadership training programme for school children

A leadership training programme was held at the Oblate Centre at Minuwangoda for students of Holy Family Convent, Dehiwela. Picture shows the children in a group photograph with Rev. Fr. Ajith Perera, OMI and the Principal of School, Rev. Sr. Ranjani Silva. T. Sunil Fernando

Blessing for children sitting O/l ExamA blessing for children sitting the O/L Examination this year was held at the National Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka in Tewatte organised by the Archdiocesan Faith Anima-tion Team. T. S. F.

York International presents Christmas carolsYork Internation-al School, Wattala branch, held its annual Christmas carol programme recently, at the School premises, with Rev. Fr. Ajith Tissera, Parish Priest Wellapalli-ya, Palliyawatte as the chief guest.

Nimal Perera

little Angels in ActionA Christmas con-cert was held re-cently at Holy An-gels’ Pre-School, Willorawatte under the guidance of Par-ish Priest Rev. Fr. Roshan Prasad and Assistant Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Anton Thilina Samith.

Trissil M. Mendis

Questions

Paschal Meal 791. Which of the Gospels does not mention the institution of the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday?

792. What does St. John mention instead?

793. What did Jesus command at the end of foot washing?

794. What is the new commandment Jesus gave?

795. How is the foot washing related to the Holy Eucharist?

796. What was the fault of the Corinthian Christians?

797. How did St. Paul instruct them in 1 Corinthians 11?

798. What does the Canon Law instruct regarding participation in the Holy Eucharist (Canon 916)?

799. What are the two types of preparation for the Holy Eucharist?

800. What is bodily preparation?

Sacrifice of Calvary 801. Why was the animal sacrifice given prominence among the Old Testament sacrifices?

802. Where do we read this idea?

803. Why did Jews offer sacrifices?

804. What were the two types of offerings Jews offered?

805. Which animals did they burn?

806. Which Book of the Bible does speak of these burnt offerings?

807. Which of the offerings did they not burn?

808. What were the various types of burnt offerings?

809. Which is the one and only Sacrifice of the New Testament – so supreme, sublime, perfect and eternal – that fulfilled the Old Testament sacrifices, many and variant?

810. How is this Sacrifice continued today?

811. How shall we be judged on the last day?

812. How did Jesus explain this criterion?

813. What did Jesus say (Matthew 25)?

814. How does Hebrews 9 speak of Jesus the High Priest?

815. What are the principal differences between the sacrifices of the two Testaments?

responses791. St. John

792. The foot washing and the commandment of love (John 13)

793. “You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

794. “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

795. Love and service put into action – like Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and commanded love – makes the participation in and reception of the Holy Eucharist more meaningful.

796. They had neglected love and service in the breaking of bread.

XIX December 17, 2017 Messenger

“the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie” (John 1,27)

A COMPANION TO sCHOOl sTUDENTs strength for the life of Faith

2017 Fr. Don Anton saman Hettiarachchi

logos: 29

O/L CATHOLICISM

797. “When you meet in one place, then, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper, for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper, and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and make those who have nothing feel ashamed? … Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup.”

798. A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.

799. Spiritual preparation and bodily preparation

800. To fast at least one hour before the Holy Communion (allowed: medicine and water)

801. Jews believed that life belongs to God and there was life in the blood of animals.

802. i. Leviticus 3,17: “You shall not partake of any fat or any blood” ii. Leviticus 7,26: “Wherever you dwell, you shall not partake of any blood, be it of bird or of animal”

iii. Leviticus 17,10-11: “And if anyone, whether of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing among them, partakes of any blood, I will set myself against that one who partakes of blood and will cut him off from among his people. Since the life of a living body is in its blood, I have made you put it on the altar, so that atonement may thereby be made for your own lives, because it is the blood, as the seat of life that makes atonement.”

803. For expiation of sins and continuing the covenant with God

804. Burnt and un-burnt

805. Bulls, sheep, goats and birds (doves, pigeons)

806. Leviticus (chapter 1)

807. Food, drink, grain, oil, bread and wine

808. Fully burnt offering, peace offering, sin offering and guilt offering

809. The Sacrifice of Jesus the High Priest on Calvary

810. Through the Holy Eucharist

811. The way we would become a sacrifice to others

812. Through the Parable of the Judgement of the Nations/ Sheep and Goats

813. “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least broth-ers of mine, you did for me.’”

814. “But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to wor-ship the living God. For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first cov-enant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance”

815. Old Testament sacrifices: animal blood-many-repeated Jesus’ Sacrifice: Human Blood-one-once and for all.

Contd. Next week

Your suggestions are welcome. Your comments are deeply appreciated.

You can contact me on 2291540 or 0718004580 as I am in Sri Lanka now for any clarifications.

E-mail: [email protected]

“This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing” (John 1,28)

Dear Readers,

This is our lesson 41. In our last lesson we looked at compound sentences comprehensively. In this lesson let’s look at complex sentences.

All free internet sources referred to, and the illustrations copied are duly acknowledged with muchappreciation.

You are welcome to express your views.

Noel Jayamanne

language study & English

Grammar

XVII December 17, 2017 Messenger

Activity 1- Play the roles of Sumaga and his Sir with a partner with correct stress and intonation.Sumaga : Good Morning, Sir. May I come in?Sir : Yes. Sumaga.Sumaga : Thank you. Sir. We looked at a compound sentence in our last lesson.Sir : That’s right. Have you got any special comments? Sumaga : Yes. I like the examples. It cleared some of my doubts Sir : Let’s look at a complex sentence in this lesson. Sumaga : Yes. Sir I would like to learn a different kinds of complex sentences. Sir : Yes. Sumaga. Let’s first learn different kinds of subordinate clauses.

Complex sentences- In traditional grammar, a complex sentence is a sentence that contains an independent clause (or main clause) and at least one dependent clause.

It is made up of a main clause with one or more dependent clauses joined to it with an appropriate conjunction or pronoun.

e.g. (i) Vimal knew the person who shot the elephant. (ii)John left because he felt ill. (iii)Upuli got late yesterday because she missed the bus. (iv)Unless you work hard, you will not be successful in your undertakings.

Independent clause- Independent clauses are groups of words that contain a subject and a verb, and they can stand alone as compete thoughts. Examples:

(i) I ate seventeen pancakes. (ii) I get stomachaches. (iii) Nirmala sees a pretty sunset. (iv) She wants to visit the beach.

A subordinate clause or a dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject, but this kind of clause cannot stand alone as a complete thought

(i) Because I was hungry (ii) whenever I overeat (iii) whenever Nirmala sees a sunset

Complex sentences can start either with the independent clause or with the subordinate clause. If the subordinate clause comes first you must have a comma. Examples :(i) Because I was hungry, I ate seventeen pancakes (ii) I get stomachaches whenever I overeat.(iii) Whenever he sees a pretty sunset, Nathan wants to visit the beach.

Subordinate clauses come together to function as one part of speech. They can act as adjectives, adverbs or nouns and each one is joined to the independent clause with a different kind of word.

Dependent adjective clauses act as adjectives. This means they modify nouns or pro-nouns. They are joined to independent clauses with relative pronouns or relative ad-verbs. Examples:(i)This is the house that Jack built.

Dependent adverb clauses- Example : (i) I washed the dished after I ate my breakfast

Dependent noun clause – Example - (i) Whatever you want, is fine with me.

Complex sentences with finite clauses

A complex sentence combines a simple sentence (often called an independent clause) with a subordinate clause. Complex sentences come in many varieties based on the types of subordinate clauses that are available in English. Subordinate clauses are divided into two major types: (1) finite clauses (2) non-finite clauses.

Finite clauses are the basic subordinate clauses that are the focus of most work with complex sentences and dependent clauses. The "finite" just means a full verb phrase--and that the clause has some type of "time" meaning.

Finite clauses include (1) adverbial clauses, (2) noun clauses, (3) wh-clauses, and (4) relative clauses. In each of the following examples, the verb phrase is given in bold type to focus your attention on that feature of the clause.

Adverbial clause – Because humans are not monkeys, we must be careful about ex-trapolating from animal studies to human behavior.

Wh- clause- We imagine how we appear to those around us.

Noun clause- For example, we may think that others see us as witty or dull.

In the complex sentence "John left when his sister arrived", the clause when his sister arrived is a dependent clause because it is preceded by the word when, which is a subordinating conjunction. [ BJI / Lane Oatey / Getty Images]

EXAMPlEs AND OBsErVATIONs- sUBOrDINATE ClAUsEs ArE IN sQUArE BrACKETs • Martina laughed [when her mother dropped a pie upside down on the floor.]

• ["Because he was so small,] Stuart was often hard to find around the house."

• "I learned a valuable lesson about cheating [after I changed a mark on my report card in the third grade."]

• ["If a man does not keep pace with his companions,] perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."

• "He was like a cock [who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow."]

• "The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood up in a corner and kept quiet all night, [although of course they could not sleep."]

• ["Although volume upon volume is written to prove slavery a very good thing,] we never hear of the man who wishes to take the good of it by being a slave himself."(Abraham Lincoln, "Fragment on Slavery," July 1854)

Look at some more complex sentences

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