Catholic education par excellence: PM

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

Sunday, November 12, 2017 Vol 148 No 44 24 Pages Rs: 30.00 Registered as a newspaper

THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY OF SRI LANKA

“Resplendent and unfading is Wisdom” (Wisdom 6,12)

November15

ST. ALBERT THE GREAT

Pg.15 Contd.

Guru Prathiba Prabha 2017 Award

“Let us fulfi ll the dream of St. Joseph Vaz…”

Catholic education par excellence: PM

Rev. Fr. Julian TisseraRev. Fr. Hettiarachchige Julian Peter Tissera, Chaplain Marcsri Homes, Kalutara was called to eternal rest in the early hours of Monday morning. His mortal remains were kept in state at the Marcsri Home, Kalutara until Tuesday and thereafter laid to rest after the Requiem Holy Mass celebrated at the Church of Our Saviour at Makewita. Fr. Julian was born on February 16, 1946 and was ordained on December 22, 1975. He served in the

Called to eternal rest

Rev. Bro. R. Joseph Jeyakanthan, Principal of St. Joseph’s College, Grandpass walked away with the award for the ‘Best Principal’ at the Guru Prathiba Prabha 2017 awards ceremony held last month at the BMICH and organised by the Ministry of Education. Bro. Jeyakanthan who

Peterites honouredFive former Peterites were conferred with the highest honour of the Nation by President Maitripala Sirisena. They are Mr. Abbasally Akbar-ally, Mr. Mineka Wickra-masinghe, Dr. Lakshman Weerasena, Prof. Willie Mendis and Prof. Rohan Jayasekera.

Bridgetines win Gold and SilverThe Choir of St. Bridget’s Convent wins Gold and Silver at the Fourth Asia Pacific Choir Games and Grand Prix of Nations, held in Colombo, recently.

SEE PAGE 9

Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith

has called on all parishes, institutions and apostolates of the Archdiocese of Colombo to observe Sunday, November 19 as World Day of the Poor. This event will be celebrated annually every 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time beginning this year, according to a

WORLD DAY OF THE POORSunday, November 19

Vatican declaration. World Day of the Poor was announced in Pope Francis’ closing letter for the Jubilee of Mercy and will be celebrated in the Vatican on November 19. The event expands the notion of what ‘neighbour’ means to a Christian. In a letter to the faithful His Eminence states:

Beloved Brethren, His Holiness Pope Francis has declared a World Day of the Poor to be celebrated annually on the 33rd Sunday of the Ordinary Time starting from this year. Accordingly this day falls on Sunday, the 19th of

November this year. In this era of economic and cultural globalization in the world and the scramble for wealth overtaking many, the number of people suffering the effects of egoism are increasing all over the world. Millions of people are becoming marginalized and deprived of basic needs for a dignified existence. Wars, terrorism, extremism, economic and political refugees are causing severe deprivation. While a few enjoy most of the benefits of the free market economies, large numbers

St. Joseph Vaz National Day organised by the

Catholic National Commis-sion for the Laity with the guidance of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL), was held at St. Anthony’s National Shrine, Wahacotte on Sat-urday November 4, under the theme, ‘Let us ful�ill the dream of St. Joseph Vaz by bearing witness to the Gospel’. The day began with an exhibition on the life and times of the Apostle of Sri Lanka, video shows, a ballet presenta-tion, recitation of the Rosa-ry and ended with a Night Vigil followed by Holy Mass. During the Night Vigil talks were given by representatives of the cler-gy and Catholic missions

among them the Kitu Dana Pupuduwa and the Risen Lord Community. An important fea-ture was the exhibition of the two historic crosses, relating to the life of St. Joseph Vaz: The Sillalai Cross and the Wahacotte Cross. The crosses were brought in procession and kept for veneration. The main speaker of the day was His Lord-ship Rt. Rev. Dr. Vianney

Catholic Teachers’ Day, annually organised

by the Archdiocesan Catholic Education Office celebrated its 25th

anniversary last week at St. Joseph’s College, Colombo with the participation of a distinguished gathering of invitees, among them

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Minister of Education

SEDEC declares Golden Jubilee YearCaritas Sri Lanka-SEDEC, the social arm of the Cath-olic Church in Sri Lanka will celebrate 50 years of service to the poor, vulner-able and the marginalised next year. The proclama-tion officially declaring the Golden Jubilee Year was read out by His Lord-ship Rt. Rev. Dr. Vianney Fernando, Bishop of Kan-dy and Chairman of the Catholic National Commis-

sion for Justice, Peace and Human Development, at

the Holy Mass held at the SEDEC Chapel last week.

hails from Mannar had his formal education under the De La Salle Brothers in Mannar. He later joined the De La Salle Congregation and took his final vows in 1990. He became Principal of St. Joseph’s College, Grandpass in 2010. SEE PAGE 10

Lord’s vineyard as Assistant Parish Priest at Katana and Parish Priest at Thoppuwa. In 1989 he joined Marcsri Homes, Kalutara and served there as Chaplain until his death.

Fernando, Bishop of Kan-dy. His Lordship reflected on the mission of St. Jo-seph Vaz in lines with Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhorta-tion, Evangelii Gaudium.

Pg.15 Contd.

Pg.15 Contd.are condemned to abject poverty. Even in Sri Lanka

2 The Messenger November 12, 2017

A musical evening titled "Siyeli Sara," featuring popu-lar singers, Keerthi Pasqual, Amarasiri Peiris, Surendra Perera, Chandana Liyanarachchi, Sevandi Ranatunga and many more artists will be held at St. Joseph's Col-lege Auditorium, Maradana on December 2, 2017 com-mencing 6.30 p.m. in aid of senior veteran artists of yester year who are living under trying circumstances in need of costly medication and financial assistance to support their own families. In response to many requests made by the artists themselves, this worthy initiative has been pro-posed by the Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence

Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, who has always shown a keen interest in their welfare and in appreciation of the immense contribution made by them to bring joy to the hearts and minds of people. This event has been organised by the Social Com-munication and Cultural Centre with the cooperation of members from the business community, academics and well wishers. Tickets are available at Sarasaviya Book Shops, the Social Communication and Cultural Centre, Kynsey Road, Borella and selected parishes in the Archdiocese.

Trevor Ludowyke

“and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her” (Wisdom 6,12)

Retreat for Priests of Colombo

Venue: Retreat House, Tewatte Date: November 20 - November 25, 2017Preacher: Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran

1. Rev. Fr. Maurice Namal Perera 2. Rev. Fr. Joseph Indika 3. Rev. Fr. Susith Mark Silva 4. Rev. Fr. Prageeth Chamara Perera 5. Rev. Fr. Gregory Jayantha Fernando 6. Rev. Fr. Clarence Dilran Peiris 7. Rev. Fr. Ciswan de Croos 8. Rev. Fr. Maximus Rodrigopulle 9. Rev. Fr. H.D. Anthony10. Rev. Fr. Samantha Kurera11. Rev. Fr. Priya Jayamanna12. Rev. Fr. Malcolm Perera13. Rev. Fr. Lester Wijesooriya14. Rev. Fr. Gyom Nonis15. Rev. Fr. Anton Ranjith (Jr)16. Rev. Fr. Elmo Dias17. Rev. Fr. Geethaly Anesley18. Rev. Fr. Vincent Ashley19. Rev. Fr. Jude Sriyananda Fernando20. Rev. Fr. Bernard Nishan Wilathgamuwa21. Rev. Fr. Suranga Niroshan Fonseka22. Very Rev. Fr. Placidus de Silva23. Rev. Fr. Samindu Pathum24. Rev. Fr. Basil Wickramasinghe25. Rev. Fr. Reginald Saparamadu26. Rev. Fr. Hugo Palihawadana27. Rev. Fr. Victor Silva28. Rev. Fr. Anton Jaylath Fernando29. Rev. Fr. Felician Ranjith Perera30. Rev. Fr. Prasanna Rohan31. Rev. Fr. Nirmal Malaka Silva32. Rev. Fr. Rasika Dilushan Perera33. Rev. Fr. Ravindra Kumar Peiris34. Rev. Fr. Noel Stephen Nonis35. Rev. Fr. Srinath Manoj Perera36. Rev. Fr. Henry Silva37. Rev. Fr. Sujeewa Athukorala38. Rev. Fr. Thusith Pradeep Fernando39. Rev. Fr. Prashan Dilantha Fernando40. Rev. Fr. Suran Attidiya41. Rev. Fr. Sumith Roshan Rodrigo42. Rev. Fr. Sisira Samarakoon43. Rev. Fr. Lalith Chrishantha Tissera44. Rev. Fr. Anura Sylvester Perera45. Rev. Fr. Prasad Harshan46. Rev. Fr. Hemantha Udaya Kumara Perera47. Rev. Fr. Shanthikumar Weliwita48. Rev. Fr. Leo Perera49. Rev. Fr. Sarath Thirimanne50. Rev. Fr. Thilina Geeth Gayan51. Rev. Fr. Pradeep Kumar Niroshan Fernando52. Rev. Fr. Jude Anthony Peiris53. Rev. Fr. Sunil Kumara Peiris54. Rev. Fr. Ivan Perera55. Rev. Fr. Darrel Coonghe56. Rev. Fr. Jude Tennyson

Rev. Fr. Patrick PereraPriest-in-Charge of the Annual Retreats

Release of St. Theresa's Video Cassette dubbed in Sinhala

A Video Cassette on St.Theresa dubbed in Sinhala was released on the day of the feast of St. Theresa's Church Peliyagoda, Kelaniya recently. Picture shows the first copy of the video cas-sette being presented to Rev. Fr. Anton Premalal, Parish Priest in the presence of Rev. Fr. Vikum Anton Kumara, Assistant and some members of the parish.

Jude Perera

"As human beings we make mistakes; keeping that in mind let us spread virtues among people," so stated His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Maxwell Silva, Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo, when he visited the Negombo Prison to cel-

ebrate the Annual Feast of the Mother of God in the Catholic Church situated within the compound. Picture shows His Lordship being welcomed by the prison authorities in the presence of Rev. Fathers

Church Feast celebratedin Negombo Prison

"Siyeli Sara" Musical Evening in aid of Veteran Artists

An Urgent Appeal for a Kidney

A kidney patient is seeking a kind donor for a kid-ney transplant. Blood Group of donor should be 'A' or 'O'. Please call on 071 6908454

Feast of St. Jude's Church, Bolagala

The Twenty Fourth Annual Feast of St. Jude's Church, Bolagala belonging to the Madampella Parish was held on October 28, 2017. Picture shows the Chief Celebrant of the Fes-tive Holy Mass Rev. Fr. Sisira Priyashantha, a member of the Archdiocesan Estates Administration, lighting the traditional oil lamp together with Rev. Fr. Dilran Peiris, Parish Priest. H.A.Caldera

Opening of New Police Station at Dungalpitiya, Negombo

A new Police Station was opened at Dungalpitiya, in the Police Division of Negombo which is the 941st Station in the Island by senior DIG Nandana Munasinghe and Inspector K.R.M.S.C.Ranasinghe was appointed Officer-in-Charge of the Station. Several Senior Police Officers were present at the opening ceremony together with many officers from the surrounding Police Stations of the area. Blessings were invoked at the ceremony by dignitaries of the dif-ferent faiths of the area. Picture shows several Rev. Fathers who partici-pated at the opening ceremony.

The Annual Family Day for the parishioners of St. Mary's Church, Dehiwela, initiated by Rev. Fr. Bonnie Fernan-dopulle, Parish Priest was held on November 3, 2017. The Family Life Committee of Dehiwela to-gether with Rev. Fr. Prasanka Rodrigo, Assistant Par-ish Priest, orgnaised several resource persons to con-duct programmes catering virtually to every member of a household.The speakers at this event were Rev. Frs. Claude Nonis, Archdiocesan Director, Family Apos-tolate, Krushan Kumar Perera, Archdiocesan Director, Pontifical Mission Societies, Nirmal Malaka Silva, Coor-dinator YCS in the Archdiocese of Colombo, and Randil Fernando. 300 parishioners attended the programme and retured home taking back a spiritual message on the relevance of being Christ centered families.

Udeshika Dissanayake

Family Day at St. Mary's Church, Dehiwela


By Rev. Fr. Noel Dias

The remarkable quality that captures any-one’s attention in the person of late Bishop

Raymond Peiris is his utmost interest in relating to persons with absolute frankness. He delights himself in bringing joy and fraternal solidarity wherever he is. What comes to my mind at the outset about Bishop Raymond is the Rudyard-ian outlook as stated in his “If” sayings:

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,If all men count with you, but none too much;If you can �ill the unforgiving minuteWith sixty seconds worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it.

Fr. Marcus Ferdinandez in an article that appeared in the 'Messenger' a few weeks back, stated that himself, Fathers Reginald Saparamadu, Edward Revel Pulle, late George Perera and I were his assistants. Fr. Selvarat-nam OMI was in residence and was in charge of the Tamil Catholic radio programmes. What a remarkable community it was. I feel that I would always want to go back to those days. The “king-pin” in this bond was Bishop Ray-mond (then Fr Raymond). Referring to Fr. Raymond’s Rudyard-ian spirit, he could get anything done just seated at the desk over the phone. He was in-variably there six days of the week and always accessible (this is an example for some parish priests of today who are so distant from their parishioners). He could move with kings and did not loose the common touch. He was very much with the crowd (the poor) and did not loose his virtue. His contacts with the min-isters and other officials helped him to help a number of poor people. Specially late Mr. Vincent Perera, one time Mayor and then a minister in both Jayawardena and Premadasa governments was a frequent visitor to the Ca-thedral and a dear friend of Bishop Raymond, who helped many people in numerous ways. He could write a note to Mr. Gnanam (of St. Anthony’s Industries), late Mr. V.A. Sugathada-sa and procure jobs for the unemployed. Such was his impact with ‘kings’ and ‘the crowd’. Bishop Raymond’s spirituality was simple but profound. He was on his Vespa scooter once a month unfailingly to give Holy Communion to the sick in his parish ward (this again is a reminder to our parish priests of today who easily delegate visitation of the sick to the religious nuns. No harm having an additional visit by religious sisters and lay Eucharistic ministers. Parish priest or his as-sistants without fail must visit the sick once a month). Cathedral Parish at that time includ-

ed, Our Lady of Sor-rows Church, New Chetty Street and St. Anthony’s Koch-chikade Shrine. The parish was pretty large and populace. It was divided into wards. He shared the apostolate equ-ally with his assistants. We never felt Fr. Raymond imposing his pow-er. He treated us with respect and as equals. It was Fr. Raymond’s trust and lead-ership that enabled Fr. Reginald, Bro. Mervyn (FSC) and self to have one of the vibrant youth groups in the Parish for English speaking. At the same time he allowed us to invest time to organise the Sinhala Youth (tharuna kela) and the St. Anthony’s Tamil Youth Front which con-sisted largely the parishioners in New Chetty and Kochchikade areas. The parish was bub-bling with enthusiasm and a great deal of ap-ostolic activities were in force [Legion of Mary Prasaedia, numbering over ten in all three me-dia; slum school, managed by late Fr. Dominic Candappa; KCYMA, for older youth; lively Cat-echetical instructions in Kotahena for Sinhala students at St. Lucia’s MV- for Tamil students at Good Shepherd (primary- Sinhala) school and Hill Street Convent]. Parish visitation was done regualarly by the priests in charge of the wards. This is only a small sample of the large number of pastoral activities that took place under the direction of a true leader and a pas-tor in the person of Fr. Raymond. One activity wherein all of us (Parish priest and his assistants) took part was the fortnightly counting of coins. Then unlike to-day, the collections were mainly coins, very few notes. Collections from the Bread Box from St. Anthony’s Kochchikade- and the oth-er tills from New Chetty and Kotahena were all brought to Fr. Raymond’s bedroom. All of us enjoyed doing this because Fr. Raymond himself was there, with light humour and sharing a ‘tiny tot’ and a game of cards (304). We really had good fun and activities such as this strengthened our fraternal feeling. All this to show, how humane Fr. Ray-mond was and divine in his love and caring for his priest assistants first and to everyone whom he came to be in touch with. Later, when he was elevated to the fullness of priesthood as the Chief Pastor in the newly carved out Kurunegala, Bishop Ray-mond performed a near miracle building up a fully-fledged diocese almost from nothing. This is the crowning glory of Bishop’s grit, spirituality and perseverance. He has left behind His Great Spirit with us. God bless you, Fr. Raymond, by which we addressed him in most endearing terms.

Email:[email protected]:colomboarchdiocesancatholicpress.com

Telephone: 011 2695984Fax: 2692586 / 2670100

November 12, 2017

EDITORIAL

SINCE FEBRUARY 1869

“She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of men’s desire” (Wisdom 6,13)

Omnia OmnibusOOmOmOibibi uss

Bishop Raymond Peiris: A Man for all Seasons

Think positively; act positivelyTo think, talk and act positively is essential because we live in a world that is often selfish and self-centred with greed and other vices rampant. The headlines and front page news are often negative if not depressing. Therefore, without the positive outlook that essentially comes through faith we also may be drawn into the pigsties of deceit and desperate wickedness. If we think positively with God’s power, we could act posi-tively in different ways and degrees. The widely watched international cable news network (CNN) every year selects and rewards heroes of the year to encourage us to cooperate with God in doing what we can to build a peaceful, just and all inclusive society. Among the top 10 is the 24-year-old Cambodian student Samir Lakhani, who started the mission Eco-Soap Bank. He showed that used luxury hotel soap could save lives of children in his poverty-stricken country. For many Cambodians, a bar of soap is a luxury they cannot afford. Children living in rural areas are vulnerable to disease because they are unable to wash their hands. According to UNICEF, diarrhoeal diseases alone account for one in five deaths of Cambodian children aged five and younger, large-ly due to poor hygiene. In 2014, as a college student, Samir Lakhani saw the issue firsthand while volunteering in a Cambodian village. “I remember quite vividly a mother bathing her newborn in a basin filled with laundry powder and water,” Mr. Lakhani said. “It’s an image I’ll never get out of my mind.” Mr. Lakhani was staying in a hotel in Cambodia, and he real-ized that one solution to the problem was being thrown away-bare-ly-used bars of soap. So, he figured out a way to save this soap and give it a second life. While still attending the University of Pittsburgh, Lakhani started the Eco-Soap Bank. The non-profit recycles discarded bars of soap from hotels in Cambodia and distributes them to people in need. Today, the movement has four recycling centres across the country, providing jobs to 35 local women. The used bars are sani-tized and remoulded into new bars or melted down into liquid soap. So far, more than 650,000 people have benefited from the group’s soap and hygiene education. “What I love most is that we are killing three birds with one stone,” Mr Lakhani said. “We are keeping waste out of landfills, em-ploying locals and spreading soap all over the country,” CNN says. Another hero is Chicago’s Jennifer Maddox who has launched a movement to stop the violence before it starts. For more than two decades, as a member of the Chicago Police Department, she’s ob-served the growing plight facing residents—particularly young peo-ple on the South Side. "We are in a state of emergency here," Policewoman Maddox said. " The shooting, the killing. Five-, six-, seven-year-olds—they're losing people that they love and care about." Last year was Chicago's deadliest in nearly two decades, with 762 homicides, according to the Chicago Police Department. And un-til recently, 2017 was on par with last year's rate. "A lot of our young people are fearful to even come outside," Ms. Maddox said. For the last six years, Maddox has dedicated herself to giving young people their childhoods back. Her nonprofit, Future Ties, offers an afterschool programme and escape for children living in the turbulent Parkway Gardens Homes. This low-income apartment complex that once housed the likes of Mi-chelle Obama is today a neighbourhood rife with challenges. "Parkway used to be a beat I covered on my patrol," said Ms. Maddox, 45. "I saw lack of opportunity, lack of resources, lack of commu-nity spaces for young people, and it sparked something inside of me." Today, Maddox and her group provide a free, safe space for more than 100 children in grades K-5 to learn, grow and succeed. Her ultimate goal is to reach all 1,200 children that live in the complex. Ms. Maddox works a second job to support these efforts.In Sri Lanka also there are such individuals and movements work-ing to restore the human dignity of impoverished or poverty trapped marginalized and voiceless people especially children. They include people of all religions. As Christians we must be aware that Jesus is alive and living within us. Faith can move mountains. We need to believe and act on the promises of God with the Lord Jesus telling “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11,9). Hence, let us ask for the Holy Spirit and the Father will refill us with the power, the gifts and the fruits of the Holy Spirit - to think, talk and act positively.

CNN Heroes 2017

CNN Hero Jennifer Maddox works with kids in Samir Lakhani taught himself to

recycle soap


Church in the Modern World

“he who watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed, for he shall fi nd her sitting by his gate” (Wisdom 6,14)

After nearly 40 people were killed in terrorist at-tacks this week in Somalia, New York and Afghanistan, Pope Francis voiced his sorrow for loss of innocent life and prayed for an end to the murderous hatred that spurs violence. During his No-vember 1 Angelus address on All Saints’ Day, Pope Francis voiced his sorrow for the various attacks, saying he is deeply sad-dened by the loss of life. “In deploring these acts of violence, I pray for the deceased, for the wounded and for their families,” he said and prayed for the Lord to convert the hearts of ter-rorists and free the world from hatred and the mur-derous folly that abuses the name of God so as to spread death. On October 29, five Islamic extremists stormed a hotel after a

suicide bomber detonated a vehicle filled with explo-sives at the entrance gate, killing some 23 people. The attack, which was claimed by Africa's most deadly Islamic extremist group, Al-Shabab, took place just two weeks after another deadly blast in Somalia killed 350 peo-ple, marking the country's worst-ever terrorist at-tack. Three days later, on October 31, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the US Embassy in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, killing at least five and wounding around 20 others. In a video posted to social media, the Islam-ic State claimed respon-sibility for the attack, but did not specify what its target had been. Also on October 31, eight people were killed and at least 12 in-jured in New York City af-ter a man in Home Depot

truck plowed through a crowd on a pedestrian and bike path on West Street in lower Manhattan, be-fore striking a school bus. In a statement after the incident, New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the city and the nation are stunned and horrified by another act of senseless violence. “While details continue to emerge, one thing is clear: Once again, no matter our religion, ra-cial or ethnic background,

or political beliefs, we must put our differences aside and come together in faith and love,” he said and encouraged New Yorkers of all faiths to support those who are in-jured, pray for those who have died as well as their families and loved ones, and work towards greater respect and understand-ing among all people so that heinous and evil acts like this become a thing of the past.

EWTN

• Pope mourns victims in string of recent terror attacks

Prays to end murderous hatred that spurs violence

After at least 26 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, last Sunday, the local Catholic Archbish-op offered prayers and solidarity for the victims. “We need prayers! The families affected in the shooting this morning at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs need prayers. The evil perpetrated on these who were gathered to worship God on the Lord’s Day – especially children and the elderly – makes no sense and will never be fully understood,” Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio said on November 5. “Disbelief and shock are the overwhelming feelings; there are no adequate words. There can be no explanation or motive for such a scene of horror at a small country church for families gathered to praise Je-sus Christ.” He said, “These Baptist brethren are our family, friends and neighbours who live among us in the arch-diocese … We are committed to work in unity with all our brothers and sisters to build peace in our commu-nities; to connect in a more direct and substantial way. The Catholic Church in Texas and across the United States is with you.” Garcia-Siller added that the San Antonio arch-diocese's Catholic Charities stands ready to assist and provide whatever services may be needed in this time of tragedy and will do whatever needs to be done. “Let’s help these brothers and sisters with prayers; they need us. Also, pray fervently for peace

amidst all of the violence which seems to be overwhelm-ing our society. We must be lights in the darkness. Eter-nal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May God have mercy!” Sutherland Springs is small town located about 35 miles southeast of San Antonio. A shooter entered the town's First Baptist Church late Sunday morning, during a service. He has reportedly been killed. The suspect, who fled in a car, was shot at by a local citizen. The suspect was found dead in his car by police. At least 20 people were injured by gunfire and taken to the hospital. EWTN

San Antonio Archbishop prays for victims of Texas church shooting

San Antonio Catholics pray for victims of Texas Baptist Church attack

VATICAN CITY - The Vati-can has designated mur-

dered Kerala-born Roman Catholic nun Rani Maria with the title of ‘Blessed’ last Sunday, Vatican News reported. She was mur-dered in Madhya Pradesh in 1995. The Vatican’s chief of the Department for Cause of Saints, Cardi-nal Angelo Amato made the announcement giv-ing her a title just below

sainthood, at a Holy Mass held at Saint Paul Higher Secondary School’s ground in Indore. Her murderer, Samandar Singh, was among those present at the ceremony. “The ‘Blessed’ title is considered a prelude to beatification of sainthood as was the case with Moth-er Teresa,” Public Rela-tions Officer of the Madhya

Pradesh Catholic Church Maria Stephen said. “But for canonisation of sainthood, a miracle is required.” On February 25, 1995, Singh stabbed Sis-ter Rani more than 50 times on a bus in Mad-hya Pradesh. She was 41 at the time of her death. Singh was hired by some landlords in Indore.

Vatican declares murdered Kerala nun ‘Blessed’

Kerala-born Roman Catholic nun Rani Maria

India’s tribal dominated Jharkhand State has banned people who have more than two children from contest-ing local body elections, which the local cardinal sees as a way to politically side-line indigenous people who traditionally have large families. The pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party State government has decided to disqualify people with more than two children in local body elections. "It is a human rights violation," said Cardinal Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi who is based in the State capital. He said it was ironic that Jharkhand was created 17 years ago to ensure the advancement of indigenous people but now works against their interest. "Restricting our people, who generally have more than two children, to contest the election is block-ing our people from coming up in life," he said. "The government wants to demoralise and sup-press tribal people and crush any emerging leadership," said the first tribal cardinal from Asia. UCAN

India’s Cardinal Telesphore Toppo opposes move to marginalise tribal people

Pope Francis

sides with

Benedict by saying Christ shed

blood ‘for many’Pope Francis has appeared to wade into one of the most contentious rows over liturgical translations, and agreed with Benedict XVI that Christ shed His blood “for many” rather than “for all”. During a Mass for cardinals who have died in the past year, the Pope said: “The ‘many’ who will rise for eternal life are to be understood as the ‘many’ for whom the blood of Christ was shed.” Crux says that the Vatican used the quota-tion around ‘many’ when distributing the text. Pope Francis added that ‘for many’ better expresses the idea that people have a choice to make in this life – whether to be for God or against Him. “Awakening from death isn’t, in itself, a re-turn to life,” Pope Francis added. “Some in fact will awake to eternal life, others for eternal shame.” Since the Holy Mass was translated into the vernacular, liturgists have debated how best to translate the words pro multis in the prayer of Con-secration. The words literally translate as ‘for many’, but many liturgists translated it into their own lan-guages as ‘for all’. In 2006, the Holy See gave instruction that all new vernacular editions of the Roman Missal from that point on should translate the words as “for many”, pointing out that it is also the most literal translation of the original Greek “περὶ πολλῶν” (peri pollõn) in Matthew 26:28. The change met with opposition from some countries, most notably in Germany, prompting Pope Benedict XVI to write a personal letter in 2012 ex-plaining why the bishops should adopt the new translation. A new German version of the Mass was pub-lished but never officially adopted. When Pope Francis published Magnum Principium earlier this year, devolving greater pow-ers over translations to local bishops’ conferences, Cardinal Reinhard Marx indicated the German bish-ops would abandon the newer version. This may put him at odds with the Pope. In 2007, the Argentinian bishops’ conference approved a new translation while the then Cardinal Jorge Ber-goglio was its president. That translation had “for many” rather than “for all.”

Catholic Herald


establishment of the 21st trisomy too can vary. This is commoner if a young moth-er give birth to a Down syn-drome baby. This mecha-nism is called translocation. The mother who has a Down syndrome baby by translo-cation which is commoner in young mothers may have a second baby with this condition. Hence it is very im-portant for a young mother with a Down syndrome baby to have genetic studies. Carriers for this condition too can be detected; the father too may be carrier when the chance of recurrence is higher. Sometimes it may go up to 100%. There are milder forms of Down syndrome called mosaics which may not be very obvious and gene testing will confirm the diagnosis. The final message is if a young woman delivers a Down syndrome baby de-tailed gene testing is essential. If an elderly mother has a baby the gene testing is not needed as she is very un-likely to go through another pregnancy. Antenatal diagnostic tests are commonly done now in pregnant mothers. Some basic tests like ultra-sound scanning are useful to check the development and growth of the baby and other information. But if these are done with the objective of identifying a con-genital defect in the foetus and to terminate the preg-nancy or cause abortion, it should not be allowed and is prohibited by the Church. Elderly pregnant mothers are requested to go through some of these expensive tests with the objective of causing an abortion if the foetus is having Down syndrome. These mothers should be given pretest counseling to avoid such a tragic end. If Down syndrome baby is born the family should accept him or her as a gift from God and look after the baby with love and care. He is going to make

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom” (Matthew 25,1)

Health relatedIssues in Sri Lanka

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

Down syndrome also known as trisomy 21 or Mon-golism is a genetic disorder caused by the presence

of all or a part of chromosome number 21. The term mongol is not recommended to be used as it has a so-cial stigma attached to it. These patients have physical growth delay, a characteristic facial features and intel-lectual incapacity. Their I.Q. is around 50 equivalent to the mental ability of 8 to 9 year old child, which of course can vary. Human beings have 46 chromosomes plus 2 sex chromosomes. These chromosomes are in pairs or in the form of two strands. During cell division at one stage the paired chromosomes or the 2 strands sepa-rate from each other and reunite with another of the same number in the next cell division stage. In Down syndrome the separation of the 21st pair does not take place and when reunion with another 21st pair occurs in the next cell division there will be 3 chromosomes instead of the usual 2. The presence of 3 chromosomes in the 21st chromosome results in Down syndrome. Hence the term TRISOMY 21 is used. Down syndrome has been recognized as the commonest single cause of mental handicap occurring in approximately 1 in 700 live births. A comparable birth incidence has been found in most populations. However the incidence varies with the age of the mother. the incidence for mothers aged 25 years is 1 in 1400 and increases to reach an incidence of 1 in 46 for mothers aged 45 years. In most instances a baby with this condition can be recognized at birth by the appearance of the face and the head, The head circumference is small with flat back of the head. The neck is short and thick. The eyes are slanting outwards (that is inner end of eye opening is at a lower level than the outer end). There is folding of the skin at the inner end of the eye. There may be whitish dots outside and round of the black of the eye. There is an increased incidence of cataract. The ears are small and placed at a lower level when measured with

Why should we spend time with God?

Down syndrome - Trisomy 21 - Mongalismthe outer end of the eye. The bridge of the nose is flat. The tongue appears large and is protruding out of the mouth as the mouth is smaller. Eruptions of teeth are delayed and they are often malpositioned. The hair is fine and sparse. The hands are short and broad. The 5th finger is short and incurved, because the middle bone in this finger is short, which can be shown by an x-ray.There is only one palmer crease in 50% of these chil-dren. There is a deeop skin crease on the sole of the foot between the 1st and 2nd toes. A congenital heart disease occurs in 40 to 60 percent of these babies. Narrowing of the intestines causing intestinal obstruction is considerably more common. Initially the baby has less tone in the body muscles and hence floppy. But the developmental mile-stones are eventually reached. These children are very affectionate; they are fond of music and more talented in music and playing musical instruments. There are fa-mous music troupes and bands made up of Down syn-drome persons both locally and internationally. They are happy and constantly smiling. Intellectual function deteriorates with age and there is presenile dementia. The developments of secondary sexual character-istics are delayed. In males infertility is the rule and there are no proven cases of a male fathering a child. In females although puberty is delayed they are usually fertile. The incidence of leukemia in these children is higher. Earlier two thirds of children with Down syn-drome died in the first year due to birth disorders. Now only about 10% die in the first year and high percentage may live up to 60 years. The diagnosis is clinically obvious but in doubt-ful cases can be confirmed by examining the genes in the chromosomes. 95% have the typical trisomy 21 pic-ture but some variations are possible which can be es-tablished by studying the genes. The mechanism of the

With all that is going on in our society

today, the task of parent-ing seems overwhelming. But the key is to recognise that we can never do it on our own and actually, we don't have to and turn to the expert parent of all time — our Father God—for help. The only way we can truly have peace about our children is to release them into His hands. As we partner with God in raising our kids, He will shoulder the heaviness of the burden and provide us with wisdom, power, pro-tection and ability beyond ourselves. But we need to humbly depend on Him for help, every day and ev-ery step of the way, trust-ing in Him completely and at all times. Surrendering our children is not easy. But it becomes easier as we acknowledge that they are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3); that they do not belong to us but to Him and that He is in control of their lives. We can't be ev-erywhere but God can. We can't see everything but God can. We can't know everything but God can.Entrusting our kids into His hands is the first step towards making a signifi-cant difference in their

lives. Prayer for them be-gins there. "Parenting is the most important pro-fession, but there is no training for it." (George Bernard Shaw). Since we have no previous train-ing, more often than not, we make many mistakes in raising our kids. At times, we just don't know what to do. Sometimes we mess up so bad that we wonder if and how we can ever make things right. Although we cannot undo the damage that we have done knowingly or unknowingly, thank God that He can through the Blood of Jesus because Je-sus Christ is the same yes-terday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). But before we can pray for our kids, we need to acknowledge our own sins, failures and mistakes and turn to God in true repentance, surrender-ing our own lives to Him. No matter what you have done, God forgives you. No matter what has hap-pened, He can heal you as well as your kids and restore broken, strained relationships and make something beautiful out of it all (Romans 8:28). So no matter what's going on

in your children's lives, do not be afraid; do not get discouraged and do not ever give up! Whether your child is three months old and perfect, or 33 years and going through a divorce, you can make a positive difference in their lives through prayer. Be-ing a perfect parent does not matter because there are no perfect parents. It is being a praying parent that makes the difference. Your prayers will always have an impact on your children because they will always be your children. Fathers are parents too! It's common for mothers to attend to all the needs of the children while the fathers provide the financial resources. But fathers are parents too. Fathers! Your children need you ! They need your presence, your time, your affection, your encour-agement and your praise! Rise to your position as the head of the home! Be the priest of the family and gather your family togeth-er for prayer! Support and assist your wife in bringing up the family! Your kids will not be kids forever ! But you can make a per-manent impact on them

that will last throughout their lives. So stop making excuses and be the best fa-ther that you can be!

Problem Kids??? Do you have "problem kids"? Temper tantrums, not studying, disobedience, stubborn-ness, rebelliousness, ly-ing, laziness etc.? Did it ever cross your mind that perhaps, the problem may not be your child/chil-dren but you? Although we would rather not ad-mit, sometimes our own inadequacies, insecurity, grief, rejection, anger, un-forgiveness, frustration, stress etc., may be the root cause of our Children's bad behaviour. When a person is wounded and hurt by what has happened or what has been done to him/her, he/she tends to unconsciously wound and hurt others, especially his/her own family. So the first step to the healing of our children is to take a good, long, honest look at ourselves and especially our own inner wounds.(E.g:suicidal tendencies, a traumatic loss of a parent, unexpected pregnancy at a time when you did not want or were not ready for a child, being rejected

by your husband when you were pregnant. abuse or neglect by a parent etc,) As we face the truth about ourselves, submit to God and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, He will cleanse, forgive and heal us. When we are free.then our children will be too. (John 8:32).

The family that eats together stays together Healthy families thrive on eating together. Unfor-tunately, longer working hours have meant that one or both parents may not be at home to eat with the kids during the week. Many families have also got used to having meals while watching TV. All this has led to a break-down in communication within the family. But it's vital that we make every effort to ensure that the family eats together, not just on weekends but at least for the evening meal every day, as much as pos-sible. This time needs to be developed into a time of mutual communica-tion, where members of the family can connect with each other. Try it. Your home will become a happier, more peaceful place!

Loving when our kids fall Even our best ef-forts at parenting do not guarantee that our kids will not fail us. When our kids make bad choices (and they will, especial-ly during their teenage years) we parents suffer. Parents who love enough not to blame themselves, not to preach, not to try to fix it, who will listen with empathy, give support and guidance - all in the spirit of unconditional love -will likely see their teenager take giant steps toward maturity through the consequences of failure. The teenager who fails does not need parents who walk behind, kick-ing him/her, or condemn-ing him/her for personal failure. Nor does the teen need parents who will walk ahead, pulling him/her, trying to get him/her to conform to the parents' wishes. What the teenager needs is parents who will walk alongside, speak-ing the teenager's love language with a sincere desire to learn with the teenager how to take re-sponsible steps after fail-ure. Parents who do this will be successful parents.


Purpose of lifeHave you ever thought about the meaning of your life? What is really the purpose of life? Are we supposed to spend a few years of earthly sojourn, then death comes and bodies begin to decompose inside the tombs? Shall we be like those who were once famous heroes, scientists, Nobel Prize winners, powerful, rich and important to men’s eyes while they were alive, then forgotten soon after they passed away? Will our life be similar to those renowned artists or musicians? Before, with their virtuosity they were composing and now… they are decomposing? What happens after death? These questions unwittingly pop up in our thoughts as we commemorate and offer suffrages for our beloved departed relatives, friends and acquaintances in this month of November. Many are at a loss, groping for answers. Pagans and non-believers think that death is a real ‘dead end’. There is nothing more beyond it. Fortunately, there is afterlife. For us who believe in Christ and God’s plan of salvation the answer is crystal clear. Our life on earth is a pilgrimage towards eternity. We are meant to live life eternal in heaven. This is the end, the goal and the purpose of our journey of faith. Without faith, our life would be like fumbling our way through a dark alley. Life is reduced to a merely two dimensional plane, flat. With faith, however, as a modern saint puts it, life acquires a third dimension: Height. With it comes volume and supernatural meaning. Some console themselves by holding on to certain beliefs like metempsychosis

or transmigration of souls, a cycle of reincarnations until one reaches a state of peace. The problem is, these have no convincing proofs nor do they provide sufficient motives of credibility.

Communion with God Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, revealed to us the divine plan of salvation. The Lord has a wonderful plan for us. In creating and redeeming us God has destined us to eternal communion with Himself, to what St. John calls ‘eternal life’ or what is commonly called “heaven.” Jesus communicated the Father’s promise to His followers in these words: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Because you have been good and faithful over small things enter into the joy of your Lord” (Mt 25:21). Unlike what some people believe, man’s ultimate end is not a state but a communion with a Divine Person: God. But we should not think that these matters are too ‘other-worldly’ to think about right now. That would be a big mistake. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in the very first point that we were created to live in communion with God. God, infinitely perfect and blessed in Himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in His own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek Him, to know Him, to love Him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of His family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son as Redeemer and Saviour. In His

Son and through Him, He invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, His adopted children and thus heirs of His blessed life (CCC, 1). Personal communion with God is not a matter reserved for the afterlife. It actually begins here and now. In fact, only those who actually live in communion with God while on earth are the same ones who will enjoy that unending union with Him in eternal life.

Eternal life How do you conceive heaven? What is meant by ‘eternal life’? Pope Benedict XVI said that eternal life should not be seen as a “continuous succession of days of the calendar, but rather as a moment full of satisfaction, in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality. It will be the moment to submerge ourselves in oceans of limitless love, in which time - the before and after - no longer exists. “We can only try to think that this moment is life in its fullest sense, submerging ourselves ever anew in immeasurable being at the same time as we are simply overwhelmed with joy” (Spe Salvi, 12). Why do we strive to behave in a proper way? Why do we have to do good and avoid evil? What is the point in denying ourselves of certain pleasures? Why control avarice and greed? Why the need to be truthful in words and deeds? Eternal life provides the answers. Eternal life gives meaning to human life, to observing ethical norms, to generous self-giving and unselfish service and to the effort to communicate Christ’s teaching and love to all men and women. Perhaps, some people

hesitate to think about the eternal reward in the next life. It is not selfishness to do so, since we were made precisely for the prize of heavenly bliss. A Christian’s hope in reaching heaven is neither selfish nor individualist, but encompasses every other person (cf. ibid. 13-15, 28, 48). Thus a Christian can be totally convinced that it is “worthwhile” to live a fully Christian life. “Heaven is the ultimate end and the fulfilment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme and definitive blessedness” (CCC, 1024). As St. Augustine said in his ‘Confessions’: “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessions, 1,1,1). Eternal life is the main goal of Christian hope.

‘Beati�ic vision’ “Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified, live forever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2), “that is face to face” (1 Cor 13:12). Theology has called this state the “beatific vision.” “Because of his trans-cendence, God cannot be seen as He is, unless He Himself opens up the mystery to man’s immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it” (CCC, 1028). Heaven is the maximum expression of divine grace. On the other hand, heaven does not consist in a purely abstract, immobile contemplation of the Blessed Trinity. In God, souls can contemplate all realities that in one way or another refer to their life, rejoicing in them and in particular loving those they have loved on earth with a pure and everlasting love.

“Never forget: After death you will receive Love. And in God’s love you will find in addition all the clean loves that you have had on earth” (Friends of God, 221). The joy of heaven comes to its full culmination with the resurrection of the dead. According to St. Augustine eternal life consists in eternal rest and in a pleasant and supreme activity. That heaven lasts forever does not mean that we cease to be free there. In heaven we are unable to sin, because in seeing God face to face, seeing Him also as the living source of all created good, it is no longer possible to “want” to sin. Freely and filially, the saved person will be in communion with God for ever. Our freedom has reached its fulfilment. Eternal life is the definitive fruit of God’s self-giving to man and therefore it has something of infinity about it. Nevertheless, divine grace does not eliminate human nature, neither in our being or our faculties, or in our personality or in what we have merited in life. Hence among those who rejoice in the vision of God there is distinction and diversity, not in the object, which is God Himself contemplated without intermediaries, but rather in the quality of the subject: “the one who has more charity partakes more in the light of glory, sees God more perfectly and will be happy” (Summa Theologiae, 1.q.12, a.6,c.). We now turn to our Lady. We ask Mary to guide our steps and enkindle our faith, hope and love for Jesus, her Son. Let us fill ourselves with confidence in her powerful intercession. The Mother in heaven we have is the Mother of God, the most Blessed Virgin, the Queen of heaven and earth.

LIVING FAITHRev. Fr. Daniel Icatlo

ETERNAL COMMUNION WITH GOD

“Five of them were foolish and fi ve were wise” (Matthew 25,2)

Along with sorrow in remembering our departed loved ones, there is still “the hope of resurrection”, which

“does not disappoint”. The hope was at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily during Mass for All Souls’ Day, 2 Novem-ber, at the Prima Porta cemetery in Rome. The following is a translation of homily which the Holy Father delivered extemporaneously in Italian. Job was in darkness. He was right at death’s door. And in that moment of anguish, pain and suffer-ing, Job proclaimed hope: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth.... my eyes shall behold (him), and not another” (Job 19:25,27). The commemoration of the dead has this two fold meaning. A sense of sorrow: a cemetery is sad, it reminds us of our loved ones who have passed on. It also reminds us of the future, of death. But in this sadness, we bring flowers, as a sign of hope, and also, I might say, of celebration, but later on, not now. And sorrow is mingled with hope. Today, in this celebration, this is what we all feel: the memory of our loved ones, before their remains, and hope.

But we also feel that this hope helps us, be-cause we too must make this journey. All of us must make this journey. Sooner or later, with more pain or less, but everyone must. However with the flower of hope, with that powerful thread that is anchored in the hereafter. Thus, the hope of resurrection still does not disappoint. Jesus was the first to make this journey. We are

A twofold remembrancefollowing the journey that He made. And it was Jesus Himself who opened the door: with His Cross He opened the door of hope, He opened the door for us to enter where we will con-template God. “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last He will stand upon the earth.... I shall behold Him, and not another, I shall. My eyes shall behold Him,

and not another”. Let us return home today with this twofold re-membrance; remembrance of the past, of our loved ones who have passed on; and remembrance of the future, of the journey that we will make. With certainty, security; that certainty came from Jesus’ lips: “I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn 6:40)

L’Osservatore Romano


Caterina BenincasalSt. Catherine of Siena, 1347-1380

“The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them …” (Matthew 25,3)

Ca t h e r i n e was the 24th in a fam-

ily of 25 children that belonged to the lower middle- class faction of tradesmen and notaries, which between one rev-olution and an-other ruled the black-death rav-aged Republic of Siena from 1355 to 1368. From her earliest childhood Catherine began to see visions and to practice extreme austerities, consecrating her virginity to Christ. In her sixteenth year motivated by a vision of St. Dominic she took the habit of the Dominican Tertia-ries, the female branch known as the Mantellate and re-newed the life of the anchorites of the desert, in a little room in her father’s house where she cloistered herself from the world. After three years of celestial conversation with Christ in visions, she underwent the mystical experi-ence known as the ‘spiritual espousals’, probably during 1366. Though illiterate for a greater part of her life, she was ever radiantly happy and full of practical wisdom no less than the highest spiritual insight. All her con-temporaries bear witness to her extraordinary personal charm, which began to attract disciples round her, both men and women, who formed a wonderful spiritual fel-lowship, united to her by the bonds of mystical love.

The Intellectual Landscape Chronologically just preceding her times was the era of the high medieval philosophical forerunners such as Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Dun Scotus, Robert Grosseteste, Meister Eckhart and Roger Bacon. She was sharing the times with philosophical contem-poraries such as Jean Buridan, William of Ockham, Ni-

cole Oresme, Francesco Petrarca, Marsilius of Padua and Albert of Saxony; during which period the predominant philosophical debates preoccupied intellectual battles of nominalism versus voluntarism. Living in the four-teenth century Catherine was traversing the decisive transitional period between the middle ages and the renaissance which spanned throughout the fourteenth century to the seventeenth century - a period regard-ed as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern times in the European history.

A Woman with Men Disciples During the summer of 1370 she experienced a mystical death, in which she had visions and heard a Divine command to leave her cell and enter the public life of the world. It was in 1377 that she miraculously learned to write, though she still seems to have chiefly relied upon her secretaries for her correspondence, she began to dispatch letters to men and women in every condition of life, entered into correspondence with the princes and republics of Italy, was consulted by the pa-pal legates about the affairs of the Church and set her-self to heal the wounds of her native land by staying the fury of civil war and the ravages of faction. She implored Pope Gregory XI, to leave Avi-gnon, to reform the clergy and the administration of the Papal States and ardently threw herself into his design for a crusade, in the hopes of uniting the pow-ers of Christendom against the infidels and restoring peace to Italy. She was made the Papal ambassador for many missions in view of establishing peace between the Papal States and the surrounding States. In June, 1376, she went to Avignon as ambassador of the Floren-tines, to make their peace; and made such a profound impression upon the mind of the Pope that, in spite of the opposition of the French king and almost the whole of the Sacred College of Cardinals, the Pope returned to Rome in 1377, ending the 67-year-long Avignon Papacy, which Petrarch called the ‘Babylonian captivity’. Dur-ing the great schism in 1378, Pope Urban VI summoned Catherine to Rome seeking her advice for ecclesiastical reform and in which she dispatched eloquent letters on behalf of the Pope. Her last political work, accomplished practically from her death-bed, was the reconciliation of Pope Urban VI with the Roman Republic in 1380. Among Catherine’s principal followers were two Popes: Gregory XI and Urban VI, then Fra Raimon-do delle Vigne of Capua, her confessor and biographer, afterwards General of the Dominicans and Stefano di Corrado Maconi, who had been one of her secretaries and became Prior General of the Carthusians and Fra Tomaso Caffarini, a young Dominican, then two of her Dominican confessors, Thomas della Fonte and Bartho-lomew Dominici, the Augustinian Father Tantucci, Mat-thew Cenni, rector of the Misericordia Hospital, the art-ist Andrea Vanni, to whom we are indebted for a famous portrait of Catherine, the poet Neri di Landoccio dei Pa-

gliaresi, her own sister-in-law Lisa, Alessia Saracini, and William Flete, the English hermit. Father Santi, an aged hermit, abandoned his solitude to be near her, because, he said, he found greater peace of mind and progress in virtue by following her than he ever found in his cell alone by himself.

Visual-Geometrical Thinking Catherine is famed as a visionary: A category of intellectuals whom many modern thinkers will hesitate to acknowledge as philosophers in the technical sense. As a woman thinker she did philosophy of seeing than thinking which comprised the vagaries of vision rath-er than exactness of systematic thought. To make her qualify as a philosopher one need to revisit the ques-tion of what is Philosophy. Philosophy in its Eastern sense is called Darśana (theophany). Etymologically it derives from Sanskrit d ś, “to see”; vision, apparition or glimpse. Darśana is described as a “disposed sight” of a holy person or a great guru. “Sight” here means see-ing or beholding and/or being seen or beheld. It is most commonly used for theophany, manifestation (epiph-any) revelatory visions of the divine. Sigmund Freud once wrote about pictorial thinking: “Thinking in pic-tures, stands nearer to unconscious processes than does thinking in words and is unquestionably older than the latter both ontogenetically and phylogenetically.” There is, in other words, something primordial, something foundational, about thinking visually. Such a view is anathema to many modern philosophers, a good many of whom believe that all thought is propositional, that to think is to use words. For some of the most dis-tinguished philosophers in history, thinking and verbal-ising were practically the same thing. For example Ber-trand Russell, was notoriously hopeless at visualising and was more or less indifferent to the visual arts as a thinker. His mental life and philosophy seemed almost entirely made up of words and numbers rather than im-ages. In this regard Ludwig Wittgenstein was Rus-sell’s opposite. For Wittgenstein, to think, to under-stand, was first and foremost to picture - it was thinking in pictures which implies that to grasp important things, we need not to reason verbally, but rather to look more attentively at what lies before us. “Don’t think, look!” Wittgenstein urges in Philosophical Investigations. Cath-erine’s capacity to see visions began at the tender age of six and many of her written works were dictated by her as they were given to her while in ecstasies, trances and visions, including her opus magnum ‘The Dialogue’, which was dictated by her, while in a state of ecstasy, to her secretaries and completed in the year 1370.

(To be continued)

Rev. Fr. Anthony Nilantha EdiriwickremaHead of the Department of Philosophy

The National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka, Ampitiya

Born: 25th March, 1347 in Siena, TuscanyDied: 29th April, 1380 (aged 33) in Rome Nationality: Italian Notable Works: The Dialogue of Divine Providence, Treatise on Consummate Perfection, Catherine’s Letters (about 380), Prayers of Catherine (about 26) Main Interests: Mysticism, Theology, Scholastic Philosophy, Mystical Marriage, Papacy, Unity, Peace, Reconciliation, Politics Notable Ideas:Incorporeal Union, Asceticism, Simplicity Canonised: June 29, 1461 by Pope Pius II

The World Day of the Poor, which was announced in Pope Francis’ closing letter for the Jubilee of Mercy,

is founded on “this whole notion of reciprocity, of shar-ing with each other of what each other has,” Msgr. Geno Sylva told EWTN News in an interview. It is also based on our understanding that each of us is poor in some way, and that we need to empty ourselves of certain things so that God’s grace can fill us, God’s mercy can fill us,” he said, adding that “there is so much we can learn from those who are poor as we try to provide.” In Rome, the event will begin with a Nov. 18 prayer vigil and solemn vespers for all those who volunteer in or-ganizations or associations that care for the poor. The vigil, which will be presided over by Arch-bishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Council for the New Evangelization, will be held at the Roman Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, a venue symbolically chosen in honour of the saint who once said that the treasure of the Church are the poor. The following morning, local poor and needy people will be bused to the Vatican for Mass with Pope

Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica, and will be offered a cel-ebratory lunch afterward in different locations around Rome, including the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. In addition, the council has arranged for Italian doctors, nurses and specialists from varying practices to provide free medical care to the poor and needy at-tending the World Day of the Poor. They will set up tents and offer free services to attendees the week prior. The council is expecting around 3,000 people to participate in the event. Since not everyone will be able to fit in the Vatican’s hall, other organizations and institutions have offered to host groups of the poor for lunch, such as the Pontifical North American College, which will serve around 200 people. The World Day of the Poor will also be celebrat-ed in dioceses and parishes around the world, Sylva said. Available in seven languages, the aid includes, among other things, prayer vigils, lectio divina prayers and the stories of Saints associated with the poor, “so it really will give priests and lay people involved with leadership a concrete pastoral resource they can use with the people to whom they minister.”

“It is so beautiful because you almost do not know who is the one asking for assistance and who is the one giving assistance, but what we see is that this reci-procity, this shared essence in being in that the one on the outside realizes that to get in he is got to hold that hand out, and the one on the inside realizes that he or she has to go out in order to encounter one another,” he said. “So how do we hand-in-hand, heart-in-heart reach out to one another, and again to not only welcome each other into the doorway of the Church, into the heart of each believer, but also along that road in which we also accompany each other closer toward heaven?” Pointing to Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of the Poor, published in June, Sylva noted that the Pope had said care for the poor should not be limited to occasional offerings that appease our consciences, but that charity must be a true encounter that shapes our daily lives. Pope Francis has announced the World Day for the Poor as an annual observance on the Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time, a week before the Solemnity of Christ the King. EWTN

More than just giving - World Day of the Poor highlights change of attitude


“… but the wise brought fl asks of oil with their lamps” (Matthew 25,4)

Proofs of the Existence of God

1. Proof from OrderThere is order and purpose in the Universe, in every object that composes it. The constellations in the immensity of the heavens move according to given laws; the tiniest plant on earth works according to a well conceived order. Let us take one of these plants

and examine one of its functions: Nutrition. The plant is fixed in the soil by roots; these absorb mois-ture from the soil, moisture containing various salts in solution. The absorption is done through the tiny capillary roots situated at the end of each rootlet. This moisture travels up the various roots and is pumped up through the stem to the branches, twigs and ultimately to the leaves. To convey water there must be water pipes, which must be of hard mate-rial. The wood forms these pipes. In the leaves there are apertures, especially on the lower side. Through these, the leaves breathe, absorbing air from the surrounding atmosphere. This air contains carbon dioxide. Thus in the leaf are gathered water and salts from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air: These together form the raw materials out of which plant food is made. But just as we need energy to prepare food out of raw materials, so the plant also needs energy. In the case of the plant the energy is from

the rays of the sun: Light and warmth; the machin-ery is the green substance found in the leaves, called chlorophyll. Under the action of the sunlight the chlorophyll in the leaf-cells, converts the inorgan-ic raw materials mentioned above into an organic substance: Starch. This starch in solution, normally under the form of sugar, travels down the twigs and branches to every part of the tree. But wonderful to say, this solution does not try to travel through the wood: There would be confusion. It goes down

through the inner bark and thus the whole tree is nourished. So many different structures—roots, trunk and branches, and leaves all uniting their complex activities for one definite purpose, in per-

fect order according to fixed laws — all this cannot happen by a blind impulse alone. There is an intel-lect behind. The intellect is not in the plant. Then there is an Intellect outside the plant. The examples may be multiplied by the hundred. The only possi-ble conclusion is that the Intellect that designed the plant and this Universe exists. For, if the universe is a reality, then the Intelligence that planned it must also be a reality. From this however, it does not immediately follow that the Mind behind this Universe created it — brought it out of nothing. Order may be intro-duced into already existing things. Thus an architect designs and builds a house out of existing material. He does not create. Creation means the bringing into existence of things when nothing existed be-fore. Can it be proved that the Intellect that designed the world is also its Creator? This can be done if it can be proved that the world had an origin, a begin-ning.

2. Proof from Origin Modern science has thrown wonderful light on the question of the world’s origin. Science has gazed on the face of the earth, investigated its structure, analysed the very atoms that compose it. Atomic science has discovered artificial methods of atomic fission or the breaking up of the atom. But the same science has also found that besides this artificial method of fission, there are also natural means of atomic change. The different stages of

transformation may take millions of years. Taking some particles of now existing matter, scientists, with this data in hand, have traced back across these millions of years the time necessary for the transition from one stage to another. Thus they have guaged the span of the world’s existence, measured the age of the universe. That age according to the best authorities is a bil-lion years i.e. a million million (1,000,000,000,000) years. The period may be more, may be less. But it is certain that it is a limited period of years and be-yond that period the world did not exist. Science has also scanned the immensity of space, recorded the speed of the constellations, unravelled the stages of their evolution, gauged the length of their existence. The findings, wonderful to say, are similar to those of Atomic Science. The age

of the universe again seems to be in the neighbour-hood of a billion years. We need not tie ourselves down to these numbers. One thing, however, is cer-tain. The Universe has had a limited existence. If the Universe has had a limited existence, if there is a period beyond which the atom did not exist, then we have reached the limit of time. Beyond that there was nothing, not the minutest particle of matter. Out of that nothing, something came into existence. That was a tremendous moment, the mo-ment of the beginning. But take away the Creator: Nothingness would have continued in Nothingness: There would have been no beginning. If there was

no beginning in the past, there would be no exis-tence in the present. But the existence of a universe in the present is a reality; then its beginning in the past was also a reality; then the Maker of that be-ginning must also be a reality, for a cause extrinsic to the universe was necessary. In other words if the Universe that has had a beginning is a reality, the existence of the One that made the Universe cannot but be a reality. Hence that One exists. He is the Cre-ator — creation being production of something out of nothing. That Creator is God. Hence God exists. And in the beginning God said ,“Let light be made:” And an immensity of luminous matter was hurled into existence. In the course of millions of years that luminous matter charged with terrific energy and moving at an unimaginable speed, be-gan to precipitate itself: The primordial constella-tions were thrown into space, solar systems were swung around and planets took up their orbits. One of these planets was our own earth. More millions of years passed. Luminous matter became gaseous; some of the gaseous turned into liquid, which in most cases settled down to sol-id. As the dark mantle of gaseous matter gradually descended, the face of the earth became clear. The outer universe with the sun, the moon and the stars began to appear. The oceans rolled into the hol-lows, the mountains lifted their lofty heads. Then appeared the living plant and every living creature on land and in sea. Finally, man came on the scene, man endowed with an immortal soul. How like the story of the Creation, narrated in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible: The Book of Genesis! The

only difference is that the Bible narrative was more adopted to the intellectual level of the common man of the time. The Bible divides the various stages of the earth’s development into seven periods which the Latin and the English version translate as “days.” But the original Hebrew word “Yom,” which can be translated as “day,” can mean also a “period of time,” even of millions of years.

The two foregoing proofs of the existence of God, one from the order of the universe and the other from its origin, are objective or extrinsic to man. But is there no proof imprinted by nature sub-jectively, in man’s own soul? There is; and we shall now investigate this subjective proof.

3. Subjective Proof or Proof from human psychology. According to human psychology, happiness is what all men seek. Examine all human actions: There is one factor common to all of them: In ev-ery one of them man looks for one common thing — happiness. In taking food, in taking rest, in rec-reation, in work, the ultimate object is always the same — happiness. There is not one single excep-tion to this rule. Even in doing an evil act, even in suicide, the object or purpose -— though in a mis-guided way — is still happiness. Happiness is that satisfaction of the soul which results when a need is supplied or a defi-ciency made good. Happiness does not necessarily mean pleasure. Pleasure very often is only a means, to help one to perform an action which produces happiness. For instance, pleasure in taking food is a means to the action of eating which by removing the pangs of hunger produces satisfaction, a type of happiness. If man were self sufficient he would have no

needs or wants to be satisfied; no deficiencies to be remedied. The fact that he does have wants, proves that he is not self sufficient. These deficiencies have to be made good by the acquisition of certain ob-jects that are external to him. This circumstance raises two questions. First, under what aspect does man regard these ex-ternal objects when he seeks them? Secondly, are these external objects many or do they all converge into one single final object. First, under what aspect does man regard these external objects? He regards them under an aspect of attractiveness. They are attractive in so far as they supply a need, real or imaginary. What sup-plies a need is considered by man, rightly or wrong-ly, as good in his case. In other words, man is drawn to the external objects in so far as they are good for him. He may make a wrong judgment regarding what is objectively good or not good. But if he is at-tracted by an external object, it is always under this one aspect of its being good for himself. Secondly, are these objects many or do they all converge into one single final object? At first sight they seem to be many. But if we again exam-ine human actions carefully, we find that whatever external good man acquires, his soul is not fully satisfied. He looks for more: Wealth honours, fame, friendship, cannot fully satiate the longings of his soul; if only he can attain an object which is so good as to leave nothing further to be desired, then only will his soul be satisfied, be fully happy. Such an ob-ject can be only an infinite good. For then there will be nothing left further to be desired. But an infinite

good can but be one. There cannot be two infinite things. Does such an infinite good exist? To clarify the answer to this question, we use an example: We take a mariner’s compass: On its dial is a magnetic needle; in whatever position we place the dial, the needle points in one and the same direction — northwards. Why should this nee-dle point north, rather than south or east or west ? There must be something attracting it. Though we have not seen that something, we can assert that that something exists. If the compass is a reality and the direction of the needle is a real-ity, the object that draws the needle must also be a reality. We can verify this point by experiment; i.e. by following the direction of the needle. In our journey we come across, say, a mountain of metal. Can this be the object that attracts the needle? If it is, then, once we cross the mountain the needle must turn back. But the needle points beyond and beyond and beyond till we come to a point where the needle ceases to point beyond. If we go to the north of it, the needle turns south; if we go east, the needle turns west; if we go west, the needle turns east. This is the centre of attraction, the magnetic pole. But even if we did not reach it, we cannot but conclude that it exists. For as we said above, if the compass is a reality and the fixed direction of the needle a reality, the thing that attracts the needle must also be a reality — it must exist. Such is the example. Let us now see the application. The human being is like the compass; human desire is the magnetic needle, it points al-ways in one direction — towards happiness in an external object which appears to be good. But none of the various objects that attract seem to satisfy it fully. Wealth draws it; but once realised, desire points beyond; fame attracts it: But once attained, desire points beyond. And so on with hon-ours, friends and all other things. Desire always points beyond and beyond and beyond.... The hu-man being is a reality; human desire after happi-ness in an external object is a reality. Can this object that draws the desire fail to be a reality? The mag-netic needle of the compass cannot point at nothing. Nor can human desire be directed towards nothing. The magnetic pole exists: The object that draws hu-man desire must also exist. It must be so good that from it desire cannot turn away. Such can be only an Infinite Good: For from an infinite good alone the soul will find no reason for turning away or for searching beyond. This Infinite Good we call God. God there-

God: Does He Exist?


“… but the wise brought fl asks of oil with their lamps” (Matthew 25,4)

Proofs of the Existence of God

1. Proof from OrderThere is order and purpose in the Universe, in every object that composes it. The constellations in the immensity of the heavens move according to given laws; the tiniest plant on earth works according to a well conceived order. Let us take one of these plants

and examine one of its functions: Nutrition. The plant is fixed in the soil by roots; these absorb mois-ture from the soil, moisture containing various salts in solution. The absorption is done through the tiny capillary roots situated at the end of each rootlet. This moisture travels up the various roots and is pumped up through the stem to the branches, twigs and ultimately to the leaves. To convey water there must be water pipes, which must be of hard mate-rial. The wood forms these pipes. In the leaves there are apertures, especially on the lower side. Through these, the leaves breathe, absorbing air from the surrounding atmosphere. This air contains carbon dioxide. Thus in the leaf are gathered water and salts from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air: These together form the raw materials out of which plant food is made. But just as we need energy to prepare food out of raw materials, so the plant also needs energy. In the case of the plant the energy is from

the rays of the sun: Light and warmth; the machin-ery is the green substance found in the leaves, called chlorophyll. Under the action of the sunlight the chlorophyll in the leaf-cells, converts the inorgan-ic raw materials mentioned above into an organic substance: Starch. This starch in solution, normally under the form of sugar, travels down the twigs and branches to every part of the tree. But wonderful to say, this solution does not try to travel through the wood: There would be confusion. It goes down

through the inner bark and thus the whole tree is nourished. So many different structures—roots, trunk and branches, and leaves all uniting their complex activities for one definite purpose, in per-

fect order according to fixed laws — all this cannot happen by a blind impulse alone. There is an intel-lect behind. The intellect is not in the plant. Then there is an Intellect outside the plant. The examples may be multiplied by the hundred. The only possi-ble conclusion is that the Intellect that designed the plant and this Universe exists. For, if the universe is a reality, then the Intelligence that planned it must also be a reality. From this however, it does not immediately follow that the Mind behind this Universe created it — brought it out of nothing. Order may be intro-duced into already existing things. Thus an architect designs and builds a house out of existing material. He does not create. Creation means the bringing into existence of things when nothing existed be-fore. Can it be proved that the Intellect that designed the world is also its Creator? This can be done if it can be proved that the world had an origin, a begin-ning.

2. Proof from Origin Modern science has thrown wonderful light on the question of the world’s origin. Science has gazed on the face of the earth, investigated its structure, analysed the very atoms that compose it. Atomic science has discovered artificial methods of atomic fission or the breaking up of the atom. But the same science has also found that besides this artificial method of fission, there are also natural means of atomic change. The different stages of

transformation may take millions of years. Taking some particles of now existing matter, scientists, with this data in hand, have traced back across these millions of years the time necessary for the transition from one stage to another. Thus they have guaged the span of the world’s existence, measured the age of the universe. That age according to the best authorities is a bil-lion years i.e. a million million (1,000,000,000,000) years. The period may be more, may be less. But it is certain that it is a limited period of years and be-yond that period the world did not exist. Science has also scanned the immensity of space, recorded the speed of the constellations, unravelled the stages of their evolution, gauged the length of their existence. The findings, wonderful to say, are similar to those of Atomic Science. The age

of the universe again seems to be in the neighbour-hood of a billion years. We need not tie ourselves down to these numbers. One thing, however, is cer-tain. The Universe has had a limited existence. If the Universe has had a limited existence, if there is a period beyond which the atom did not exist, then we have reached the limit of time. Beyond that there was nothing, not the minutest particle of matter. Out of that nothing, something came into existence. That was a tremendous moment, the mo-ment of the beginning. But take away the Creator: Nothingness would have continued in Nothingness: There would have been no beginning. If there was

no beginning in the past, there would be no exis-tence in the present. But the existence of a universe in the present is a reality; then its beginning in the past was also a reality; then the Maker of that be-ginning must also be a reality, for a cause extrinsic to the universe was necessary. In other words if the Universe that has had a beginning is a reality, the existence of the One that made the Universe cannot but be a reality. Hence that One exists. He is the Cre-ator — creation being production of something out of nothing. That Creator is God. Hence God exists. And in the beginning God said ,“Let light be made:” And an immensity of luminous matter was hurled into existence. In the course of millions of years that luminous matter charged with terrific energy and moving at an unimaginable speed, be-gan to precipitate itself: The primordial constella-tions were thrown into space, solar systems were swung around and planets took up their orbits. One of these planets was our own earth. More millions of years passed. Luminous matter became gaseous; some of the gaseous turned into liquid, which in most cases settled down to sol-id. As the dark mantle of gaseous matter gradually descended, the face of the earth became clear. The outer universe with the sun, the moon and the stars began to appear. The oceans rolled into the hol-lows, the mountains lifted their lofty heads. Then appeared the living plant and every living creature on land and in sea. Finally, man came on the scene, man endowed with an immortal soul. How like the story of the Creation, narrated in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible: The Book of Genesis! The

only difference is that the Bible narrative was more adopted to the intellectual level of the common man of the time. The Bible divides the various stages of the earth’s development into seven periods which the Latin and the English version translate as “days.” But the original Hebrew word “Yom,” which can be translated as “day,” can mean also a “period of time,” even of millions of years.

The two foregoing proofs of the existence of God, one from the order of the universe and the other from its origin, are objective or extrinsic to man. But is there no proof imprinted by nature sub-jectively, in man’s own soul? There is; and we shall now investigate this subjective proof.

3. Subjective Proof or Proof from human psychology. According to human psychology, happiness is what all men seek. Examine all human actions: There is one factor common to all of them: In ev-ery one of them man looks for one common thing — happiness. In taking food, in taking rest, in rec-reation, in work, the ultimate object is always the same — happiness. There is not one single excep-tion to this rule. Even in doing an evil act, even in suicide, the object or purpose -— though in a mis-guided way — is still happiness. Happiness is that satisfaction of the soul which results when a need is supplied or a defi-ciency made good. Happiness does not necessarily mean pleasure. Pleasure very often is only a means, to help one to perform an action which produces happiness. For instance, pleasure in taking food is a means to the action of eating which by removing the pangs of hunger produces satisfaction, a type of happiness. If man were self sufficient he would have no

needs or wants to be satisfied; no deficiencies to be remedied. The fact that he does have wants, proves that he is not self sufficient. These deficiencies have to be made good by the acquisition of certain ob-jects that are external to him. This circumstance raises two questions. First, under what aspect does man regard these ex-ternal objects when he seeks them? Secondly, are these external objects many or do they all converge into one single final object. First, under what aspect does man regard these external objects? He regards them under an aspect of attractiveness. They are attractive in so far as they supply a need, real or imaginary. What sup-plies a need is considered by man, rightly or wrong-ly, as good in his case. In other words, man is drawn to the external objects in so far as they are good for him. He may make a wrong judgment regarding what is objectively good or not good. But if he is at-tracted by an external object, it is always under this one aspect of its being good for himself. Secondly, are these objects many or do they all converge into one single final object? At first sight they seem to be many. But if we again exam-ine human actions carefully, we find that whatever external good man acquires, his soul is not fully satisfied. He looks for more: Wealth honours, fame, friendship, cannot fully satiate the longings of his soul; if only he can attain an object which is so good as to leave nothing further to be desired, then only will his soul be satisfied, be fully happy. Such an ob-ject can be only an infinite good. For then there will be nothing left further to be desired. But an infinite

good can but be one. There cannot be two infinite things. Does such an infinite good exist? To clarify the answer to this question, we use an example: We take a mariner’s compass: On its dial is a magnetic needle; in whatever position we place the dial, the needle points in one and the same direction — northwards. Why should this nee-dle point north, rather than south or east or west ? There must be something attracting it. Though we have not seen that something, we can assert that that something exists. If the compass is a reality and the direction of the needle is a real-ity, the object that draws the needle must also be a reality. We can verify this point by experiment; i.e. by following the direction of the needle. In our journey we come across, say, a mountain of metal. Can this be the object that attracts the needle? If it is, then, once we cross the mountain the needle must turn back. But the needle points beyond and beyond and beyond till we come to a point where the needle ceases to point beyond. If we go to the north of it, the needle turns south; if we go east, the needle turns west; if we go west, the needle turns east. This is the centre of attraction, the magnetic pole. But even if we did not reach it, we cannot but conclude that it exists. For as we said above, if the compass is a reality and the fixed direction of the needle a reality, the thing that attracts the needle must also be a reality — it must exist. Such is the example. Let us now see the application. The human being is like the compass; human desire is the magnetic needle, it points al-ways in one direction — towards happiness in an external object which appears to be good. But none of the various objects that attract seem to satisfy it fully. Wealth draws it; but once realised, desire points beyond; fame attracts it: But once attained, desire points beyond. And so on with hon-ours, friends and all other things. Desire always points beyond and beyond and beyond.... The hu-man being is a reality; human desire after happi-ness in an external object is a reality. Can this object that draws the desire fail to be a reality? The mag-netic needle of the compass cannot point at nothing. Nor can human desire be directed towards nothing. The magnetic pole exists: The object that draws hu-man desire must also exist. It must be so good that from it desire cannot turn away. Such can be only an Infinite Good: For from an infinite good alone the soul will find no reason for turning away or for searching beyond. This Infinite Good we call God. God there-

God: Does He Exist?

By Thomas Cardinal Cooray

The Choir of St. Bridget’s Convent un-der the direction of Priyanthi Senevi-ratne VanDort won the Gold Medal in the Youth Choir Championship Catego-ry held at the Lionel Wendt last month, thus qualifying to compete in the World Choir Games 2018 and Major Events within the next five years. It was the very first time that the Bridgetine Choir participated in an International Compe-tition.

In this Category the Choir Performed four songs:Lift Thine Eyes by Mendelssohn, Jeewaye Ahaaraya by Nimal Mendis and Choral Arrangements by Priyanthi Sen-eviratne VanDort.The Christmas Blessing by Phillip Stop-fordThe Lord’s Prayer by Albert Mallotte.

Contd. on Pg. 15

On March 20, this year, the President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena honoured among others, five distinguished Peterites with the highest honour of the Nation. Mr. Abbasally Akbarally and Mr. Mineka Wickramasinghe were con-ferred the title Desamanya for their dis-tinguished service of a highly meritori-ous nature to the nation. Dr. Lakshman Weerasena was conferred the title Desa-bandu for the yeoman service that he has rendered to the nation through the field of medicine. Professor Willie Mendis and Pro-fessor Rohan Jayasekara were conferred the titular title Vidya Jyothi for outstand-

Five distinguished Peterite National Award recipients felicitated

Gold and Silver for St. Bridget’s Choristers

ing scientific and technological achieve-ments involving original research. The Rector of St. Peter’s Col-lege, Colombo Rev. Fr. Trevor Martin, the Priest community, the members Contd. on Pg. 15


My encounter with three Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) was at Aquinas University College, Borella. They were my batch mates, one is deceased, one is in London and Fr. Vethanayagam is the third. My family has known him from then to date. He has been a sincere Priest-friend of ours ever since. My brother Aloy worked

very closely with him after the war in reconstructing and building part of the Madhu Shrine complex and few other projects in the Diocese of Mannar. During this period my brother perceived that Bishop Rayappu Joseph’s love, his highest respect in accepting Father’s views with regard to the re-construction of churches. He is a very sincere and unassuming person, always approachable, a dedicated Priest true to his founder St Eugene De Mazenod’s norms. With reference to the Parable of Talents preached by Jesus (Matthew 25:14-30). Where Jesus’ explanation makes us understand that each one of us is endowed with God given talent, do we make use of it? Or are we like the servant who received one talent? Talents, they are in born, they cannot be taught but they are awakened by each one of us. Fr. Vethanayagam is a living example. Finally, a Pastor worthy of Public Honour, though nowhere in any of his skilled handiwork, has he been acknowledged. I should say the, God given talent and a dedicated service well mastered, by our Father Vethanayagam is and should be emulated by one and all.Quoting Shakespeare: “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.” May God bestow His choicest blessings in your apostolate and May Our Mother Mary keep you in good health for your great love and devotion to her. Ad Multos Annos!

Fr. Vethanayagam hails from Jaffna and is the first Priest from the Parish of the famous historical

Church of Our Lady of Miracles. This miraculous statue of Our Lady was taken by the Jesuits during the persecution of the Catholics by the Dutch and is now installed in Goa. It is Father’s dream to get the statue of Our Lady back where it belongs. He is from a traditional Catholic family, mother being Lopiah Akathamma and father, Avarampillai Amirthanathar. He has two brothers and two sisters, one is Rev. Sr. Mary Edwin of the Congregation of the Holy Family, Province of Jaffna. Our first encounter was when he was in his first appointment as Assistant Parish Priest at St. Sebastian’s Church (Cathedral) Mannar when the late Rev. Fr. G.T. Balasundaram OMI (my Papa’s Godson) was the Parish Priest. He was later transferred to Panddivirichan, a village off Our Lady of Madhu Shrine where he built a small church in honour of Our Lady. This was his first venture and handiwork and now it is a rebuilt Parish. Since then he has not looked back. As a Priest, Architect, Designer, he has designed and constructed many churches, chapels and institutions in the OMI Communities in Sri Lanka, India, Philippines and Australia. He had also worked closely with the late Rev. Fr. Tissa Balasuriya OMI and was responsible for the design and construction of the Centre for Society and Religion at the Fatima Church, Maradana. The present St. Mary’s Cathedral is another edifice of his which was redesigned by Fr. Vethanayagam at the request of the then Parish Priest late Fr J.P.E Selvarajah, The Oblates Provinciate in Jaffna-Thodarpaham (to Evangalize), Provinciate in Bangalore-Nivethanam (to Offer), the Madhu Retreat House, St. Joseph’s Church in their Novitiate, Jaffna, The unique master piece Chapel in Indian cultural architecture, inspired by recently demised Monk Samarakone, in Bangalore, India - were some of his creations.

The elegance of the image of Jesus Christ in each of the Chapels is handmade by him and is always is in the form of the Risen Christ. The Bangalore one is exceptional, Christ portrays the Indian touch. The designs of the tabernacles too are singular one differs from the other. For the last 25 years Father Vethanayagam had worked closely with the Bishop of Mannar, His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph and the Chapel built in the unmatched design is the Chapel in Bishop’s House Mannar. In honouring Father’s love of his talent, the Bishop requested him to design and build the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Our Lady of Madhu Shrine which was officially opened by Pope Francis in 2015. He is a visionary for long term salutary projects. During his tenure as Oblate Provincial for the Province of Jaffna he used his office and bought 18 acres of barren land in Mannar and later built a chapel at the centre and little cottages - Gnanaothayam- (to be wise)which is used for conferences, seminars and retreats by the religious and by the public for ‘In-House’ workshops and other programmes. It also serves as a JuniorNovitiate. There is still enough and more space for expansion. Though he has completed 60 years in the good Lord’s Vineyard he is still at work.

“Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep” (Matthew 25,5)

Principal of St. Joseph’s College, Grandpass winsGuru Prathibha Prabha Award – 2017

The staff, students and parents of St. Joseph’s College, Grandpass with immense happiness and love

extending their appreciation for the hard work, felicitated the Principal Rev. Bro. R. Joseph Jeyakanthan who was awarded the prestigious ‘Guru Prathibha Prabha-2017’ award for the ‘Best Principal’ in the Colombo Education Zone, recently at the BMICH. A special Prayer Service was conducted by Rev. Fr. Maximus Rodrigopulle, Spiritual Director of St. Aloysius Seminary, Borella. In his sermon he said that Rev. Bro. R.J. Jeyakanthan had received this recognition not by might or power or by going after leaders and authorities but from Almighty God. Fr. Maximus said that Bro. Jeyakanthan in his daily routine gets up early in the morning and leaves for school by 6.00 am. On his way to school he never fails to go to church. With the assistance of the staff he executes his work faithfully, courageously and in a friendly manner. Having performed his duties honestly he leaves school after 8.00 pm every day. Rev. Bro. Christy Croos addressing the gathering stated that Bro. Jeyakanthan was an exemplary leader who faced life with courage and determination. He explained how he aimed high and worked towards his goal. Bro. Christy also said that for the past 150 years this was the first time that a De La Salle Brother had been honoured as the ‘Best Principal’ and it was a great achievement. This will be engraved in Letters of Gold in the history of the school, he said. The Directress of the School, Ms. S. Prabha said that out of 147 schools in the Colombo Education Zone, the reason why the Principal of St. Joseph’s College, Grandpass was honoured was mainly because he was a very duty conscious person. He respected authority, was responsible, methodical, neat, optimistic, ready to make changes for the betterment of the institution, creative,

honest and positive thinking. She admired his generosity and said that he was always ready to extend a helping hand to others and was willing to share the resources with other schools. She also said that he has made every effort to upgrade the School to a remarkable standard and thus had brought fame and honour not only to the School but to the name Grandpass as well. Mr. Poojitha Udalamatta, a member of staff extended the gratitude of the staff, students and parents. He explained how the principal always looked for opportunities to improve the school. He admired his strong outstanding leadership skills and the good relationship he established

with the staff, pupils and parents. Bro. Jeyakanthan always put the school before him, he said. Rev. Bro. Jeyakanthan who became Principal in 2010, in his brief speech thanked and praised God for the special blessings he had received. He thanked his superiors and the Directress for the guidance given. He humbly thanked his staff for the cooperation given to him. He said this achievement is not personal but of the entire school of staff, students and parents. The Vote of thanks was given by Mr. Prasad Nayanajith who thanked the Principal for being instrumental in bringing the school to the current position with untiring effort. Present on the occasion was the mother of Bro. Jeyakanthan, Mrs. Gnanam Rasaiah.

H.M.P.R.Samarasinghe,St. Joseph’s College,

Grandpass

Man-Elephant Con�lict

Recently, the secular newspapers flashed the news that a youth from Dehiaththakandiya

within the Mahiyangana Mahaweli Zone had discovered an electronic device to ward off rampaging wild elephants into cultivated vil-lages. This device is said to be suspended verti-cally in elephant prone areas. How the ordinary villager will react to this is questionable? Either cost-wise or oth-erwise? This method entails a certain amount of technical knowledge which an ordinary vil-lager may not possess, as a result, he may be reluctant to handle them. On the contrary, the hanging of Bee hives could provide quite a simple method. Be-sides, the villager is assured of a fairly steady income at almost no cost to him. The sound of the buzzing of the bees will certainly scare the elephants away, for they dare not approach any such areas. Finally, none of these methods need consideration, if only the root cause for this prob-lem is tackled, that of handing back to our Jum-bos their age-old habitats now invaded by wicked man. This then is the crux of the so called prob-lem. It is not the elephants that are invading our villages, but men have invaded our elephants age old habitats and are virtually driving them into villages in search of food and water.

Roggy CoreraWattala

Letters

Rev. Fr. Hilarian Vethanayagam OMI

A Priest Architect Designer cum Sculptor and Friend By Jessa Tambinayagam


the Rosary, we recite certain prayers that the Catholic Church has borrowed from the Holy Scriptures. The Lord’s Prayer is borrowed from the Gospels (Mathew 6: 9-13). The first part of the Hail Mary is borrowed from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:28-31 and Luke 1:42). These two prayers have been used as “mantras’ in the praying of the Rosary in the Christian tradition. The Rosary is also a meditation on the 20 mysteries on the life of Christ and His mother Mary. The Christian mystics such as Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross used salient scripture quotations to meditate deep into the divine mysteries. Such scripture quotations will help us in our meditation. We all are familiar with Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want...” Does not this Psalm encourage us to trust in the love and guidance of the Lord? There are many inspirational scripture passages in the writings of Paul. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). “I can do all things with Christ who strengthens me” ( Philippians 4:13). Both these passages instruct us that we can achieve anything united with Christ and with the strength that God gives us.

Contemplation Contemplation is another deeper kind of prayer. Fr. Anthony de Mello, SJ, in his book ‘Sadhana’ talks about the difference between prayer and contemplation. “I use the word prayer to mean communication with God that is carried on mainly through the use of words, images and thoughts. …Contemplation for me is communication with God that makes minimal use of words, images and concepts or dispenses with them altogether….we are endowed with a mystical mind and mystical heart, a faculty which makes it possible, for us to know God directly, to grasp and intuit Him in his very being.” There is no human being on earth who is not a sinner (John 8;7). More we reflect on our sinfulness, we become sorry and contrite. When we are contrite, can we find a better prayer than Psalm 51? “Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy great mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins.” Psalm 130 too talks about our sinfulness and God’s mercy. “Out of the depths I call to you, O Lord, Lord hear my cry! May your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you remember our sins, who could stand. But with you is forgiveness.” When we reflect in the morning on the gift of another new day can we find a better morning prayer than Psalm 118? “This is the day which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Prayer and meditation are ways to think about God and His gifts. This also is one of the ways to encounter and think about the right perspective in the sufferings, stress and the anxiety of our daily life. The first step in the process of meditation is concentration; seek for silence and stillness and getting centered. Concentrating on inhalation and exhalation, bodily awareness exercise

can help in this process. When the mind is in a calm and centred state, look for a “mantra” from the Bible, which will help you to go deep into reflection and meditation. Meditation and prayer will have a profound effect on your spiritual and mental life. It also will enrich and strengthen our mind and as well as our body.

Be groomed to fl y like a butterfl y

“You like butterflies, Little Bird, don’t you?” “Why not? They are our friends. They are tiny flying miracles.” “You too are a tiny flying miracle Little Bird” “Oh thank you...but don’t forget that every human being, every bird, beast, every tree, fruit, cloud and rain drop, every blade of grass is a miracle...by the way why did you ask about butterflies?” “Well…I like them...they are beautiful creatures ...Jesus would also have said, “Look at the butterflies of the air... they are so free, light hearted and carefree and God cares for them...” “But do you know what a hard struggle a butterfly has to go through in order to become a happy lighthearted butterfly?” “Tell me please.” “You know before becoming a butterfly, he has to struggle in a cocoon. This is his training period…training to be disciplined, to face hardships courageously, to be a worthy partaker in creation.” “Why is it Little Bird, that all have to go through a painful period in life? Can’t we do without pain and hardships?” “Well...that’s the way nature works...nobody knows why... all I can say is that sometimes pain is necessary to make people understand life, to discipline themselves and be genuine ambassadors of integrity. Hard times in life reveal great truths. They have the power to make us strong…I think pain opens our eyes to see the beauty of life...”“Never thought about it” “A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. He saw how the butterfly was struggling to force its body through a small opening in that cocoon. Then it seemed to stop because it appeared to be painful. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man thought that at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand and the butterfly would fly. But it didn’t happen. In fact, the butterfly couldn’t fly at all! It spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. That man was very kind but foolish. He did not realise that the struggle within the cocoon was a must for the butterfly to come out as a fully-fledged free and happy butterfly. It was a kind of grooming...that’s nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon... See..! Only through struggle, pain and hardships life becomes meaningful and joyful. Even Jesus suffered. That is what made Him an invincible victor. So, don’t take hard knocks in life as punishments or mere pain. Probably they are blessings in disguise. The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire...Face your painful moments with courage and faith. You will be a carefree butterfly for sure.”

Michael Angelo Fernando

BiTS &PiECES

By Ariel

Prayer and Meditation

“At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’” (Matthew 25,6)

Various religions regard prayer and meditation as a means of getting closer to God. Buddhists regard meditation as a means of gaining

enlightenment. Psychiatrists recommend meditation and prayer as a means of counteracting stress and anxiety. The relaxation therapists say that the practice of daily meditation alters the neural pathways of our brain. It will make us more resilient to stress. Neuro-scientists have categorised this stage of meditation as ‘alpha state’. Buddhist meditation gurus talk about anapanasati: Concentration on the act of inhaling and exhaling. Breathing is such a natural phenomenon and it is happening every second just below our brain. The ancient Hindu and Buddhist meditation teachers found that this is a very easy point that the humans can centre to achieve concentration. When the mind wonders from the centering on breathing in and out they teach us to bring the centering back to inhalation and exhalation. Medieval Christian mystics such as Ss. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross teach us the value of silence and awareness about the various parts of the body, besides concentrating on breathing as a prerequisite to deep meditation. Without silence it is impossible to pray or to meditate. Lao-tse, the founder of Taoism said, “Silence is the great revelation.” Compare this saying with what the Christians believe that God reveals Himself in the Holy Scriptures. Silence is the state where the person experiences a state of thoughtlessness, imagination, feelings and sensations. Bodily awareness is the act of diverting your concentration on various parts of the body. We can direct our awareness on the head or one of the toes or the navel. This makes us aware of the various parts of the body. Just concentrate on each part of the body for a few seconds. This makes us aware and trains our mind and heart to concentrate on different parts of the body. Like the silence and breathing the bodily awareness and concentration makes us more prone to deeper levels of prayer and contemplation.

Awareness and Centering Once you gain centering and reflect on breathing, it makes it easier for us to concentrate on our posture. E.g. Hindu and Buddhist gurus advise us to sit cross-legged position on the floor as a position to meditate. As the second step in meditation they teach us to concentrate on the act of sitting in a cross-legged position on the floor. Whenever the mind moves away from this thought they instruct us to bring it back to cross-legged position. This stage is called ‘mindfulness of your position’. Hindu rishis also chant mantras to go into deeper stages of meditations. Mantras are not sinister lines of Sanskrit stanzas which the long-bearded Hindu priests used to incessantly chant merely to invoke the blessings of gods. They are salient stanzas from Hindu scriptures such as Vedas which are repeated to go into deep states of enlightenment. In the monastic tradition, Christian monks and nuns used “mantras” to reach deep states of consciousness about God and Christ. The simple form of prayer that the Catholics use called the Rosary is an example of this type of repetitious prayer. When we pray


• The Sixth Apparition On the morning of Saturday, October 13,1917 an estimated 70,000 people had turned up at Fatima in appalling weather conditions. The torrential rainfall which had made a mud-bath of the entire Cova da Iria did not dampen the spirits of the people, who came from every section of Portugal to witness the promised miracle. (70,000 would be a dream figure for a sponsored event nowadays, but in 1917, long before TV and also mass transport, a crowd of 70,000 must have been an awesome sign of man’s desire to experience the power of God. In fact Dr. Almeida Garrett, a professor of the University of Coimbra, after a careful study had estimated the crowd at over 100,000). From the previous night people had been reciting the Rosary and singing hymns either in groups or individually. Among the crowd were unbelievers who sneered at the Apparitions and the enemies of the Church who called them a huge hoax orchestrated by the Church. Because of the magnitude of the crowd the three children managed to come near the holm-oak sapling with the greatest difficulty. No sooner they arrived, Lucia asked the people to fold their umbrellas and started to recite the Rosary. There was a priest close by who had spent the night near the holm-oak sapling. When the Apparition did not take place at noon according to local time, he waited for a few minutes, looked at his watch and said: “Noon is gone. Everyone move out of here. The whole thing is an illusion.” As the three children did not want to leave, the priest began pushing them away. Lucia, almost in tears said: “Whoever wants may go away. I am not going. Our Lady said she was coming. She always came before and so will come again.” Just then she glanced towards the east and said to Jacinta: “Jacinta, kneel down. Our Lady is coming. I have seen the flash.” As Our Lady came and rested her feet on the holm-oak sapling, the faces of the three children assumed a heavenly expression and their features became more delicate. Once again Lucia asked Our Lady: ‘What do you want from me?” Our Lady replied: “I want a chapel to be built here in my honour. I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary everyday. The war is going to end soon and soldiers will return to their homes.” Lucia then said: “I have many things to ask from you - to heal some sick people, for the conversion of sinners ...” and Our Lady replied: “Some, yes. Others, no. People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins.” Looking very sad, Our Lady then said: “People must not offend Our Lord anymore because He is already so much offended.” Our Lady then began to ascend towards the east, but while doing so she opened her hands as she had done during the first three Apparitions and the light gleaming from her hands brightened the sun itself. At this point Lucia shouted: “There she goes; there she goes!” and precisely at that moment the clouds were quickly dispersed and the sky became very clear. After Our Lady had disappeared, the three children saw (as foretold by her during the Fifth Apparition) St. Joseph on the left of the sun, holding in his left arm the Child Jesus, and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle (as Our Lady of the Rosary) on the right of the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus blessed the world by tracing the Sign of the Cross three times. When this vision disappeared, Francisco and Jacinta were bathed in the marvelous colours of the sun while Lucia was privileged to see Our Lord dressed in red as the Divine Redeemer, blessing the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done earlier. Beside Jesus stood Our Lady now dressed in the purple robes of Our Lady of Sorrows. Finally Our Lady appeared to Lucia clothed in the simple brown robes of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

While the children stared enraptured by these most beautiful heavenly visions, the 70,000 people who were at the Cova da Iria and many others in towns and villages around, witnessed the ‘Miracle of the Sun’. People could look at the sun with ease. Everybody stood still and gazed at the sun and it did not hurt their eyes. The sun cast the different colours of the rainbow on the entire area - in different directions and painted the trees, the ground and the people in purple, blue, green, yellow, red etc. At a certain point the sun stopped its play of light and then started to dance. It stopped dancing and again started to dance until it seemed to loosen itself from the sky. It looked like a revolving ball of fire falling upon the people. As the sun hurtled itself towards the earth in a mighty zigzag motion, the people knelt and cried out in extreme fear: Oh Jesus, we are all going to die here!”. Some begged for mercy: “Our Lady save us, Our Lady save us” and many others made the Act of Contrition. After ten minutes, the sun swerved back to its orbit and rested in the sky. When everyone realised that the danger was over, there was an outburst of great joy. The miracle promised by Our Lady had taken place, and everyone broke out in a hymn of praise to Our Lady. In fact, some people affirmed that they saw the face of Our Lady. The three children did not see the ‘Miracle of the Sun’ as it was the great miracle promised by Our Lady so that the people may believe in the Apparitions. The miracle took place at the hour and the day designated by Our Lady. No one was disappointed. But, Our Lady told the children that the miracle would have been much greater if they had not been so badly mistreated by those who did not believe them. Another surprise awaited the people as they arose from the muddy ground. Before the miracle took place, they had been standing in the pouring rain, soaked to their skin. Now they noticed that their clothes were perfectly dried. Rt. Rev. Dr. Jose Alves Corrcia da Silva, the Bishop of Leiria, in his Pastoral Letter written after a long study and careful interrogation of the many witnesses of the Apparitions, wrote, among others: “The children had foretold the day and the hour at which the solar phenomenon would occur. The news spread rapidly throughout Portugal and in spite of bad weather, thousands and thousands of people congregated at the spot. At the hour of the last Apparition, they witnessed all the manifestations of the sun which paid homage to the Queen of Heaven and Earth who is more radiant than the sun in all its splendour. This phenomenon, which was not registered in any astronomical observatory and could not, therefore, have been of natural origin, was witnessed by people of every category and class, by believers as well as unbelievers, journalists of the principal newspapers and even by people many miles away. It is a fact which destroys any theory of collective hallucination.” After the last apparition on October 13, 1917, the three children tried to return to their ordinary routine life. But, people flocked to see and speak with them. They asked a thousand different questions, but the answers were always the same. Their innocence, seriousness and simplicity were a solid proof to both the learned and the unlearned alike of their utter truthfulness.

“Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps” (Matthew 25,7)

• The Fifth Apparition

A crowd estimated at thirty thousand had assembled at the Cova da Iria on Thursday, September 13, 1917 when the children arrived

for the Fifth Apparition. The roads overflowed with people and everyone wanted to see and speak to the three children. The crowd pressed in on them all the way touching them and begging for intercession to be made for themselves and or for their loved ones. People who could not get near them shouted through the crowd asking for various cures, favours, etc. At the site, almost everyone was kneeling and reciting the Rosary with devotion. When the children arrived, they started to recite the Rosary with the people and all of a sudden there was a flash of light from the east which announced the visit of Our Lady. A few moments passed and Our Lady was standing over the same holm-oak sapling. This time too Lucia asked Our Lady: “What do you want from me.” Our Lady replied “Continue to pray the Rosary everyday in order to obtain the end of the war. In October, Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Carmel. St. Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacri�ices. He does not want you to sleep with the rope on, but only to wear it during the. day time.” Lucia then placed the requests of the people saying: “I was told to ask you many things - the cure of some sick people, of a deaf and dumb girl “and Our Lady said “Yes, I will cure some but not the others.” Lucia told Our Lady: “Many people say that I am a swindler who should be hanged or burnt. Therefore, please perform a miracle for all to believe.” Our Lady said: “Yes, in October I will perform a miracle so that all may believe.” Thereafter, Our Lady left. As in the previous month there were no rays of light emanating from her hands. She simply rose and began to leave. Pointing towards the east, Lucia shouted to the people: “If you want to see Our Lady, look that way?” Many saw the luminous globe ascending towards heaven. As ‘soon as it disappeared, the crowd rushed towards the children asking them a thousand questions. There were many reports of two further phenomena at the time of this Apparition. The first occurred before the Apparition. Among many witnesses were the future Vicar General of Leiria, Fr. Joao Quaresma and Fr. Manuel Gois who were at a spot overlooking the vast area of the Cova da Iria, from where they could easily see the place where the three children prayed awaiting the arrival of Our Lady. Fr. Joao Quaresma gave the following testimony: “To my great astonishment I saw, clearly and distinctly, a luminous globe coming from the east and moving to the West, gliding slowly and majestically through space. With my hands I motioned to Fr. Gois who was standing next to me and who had been making fun of me for coming. Looking up he too saw this unexpected vision. Then suddenly this globe, giving off an extraordinary light, disappeared from my sight and Fr. Gois also saw it no longer. But there was a little girl, dressed like Lucia and of about the same age who continued to cry happily, ‘I see it! I see it! Now it is coming down towards the bottom of the hill’. It was a luminous globe, oval in shape.” When Fr. Quaresma asked his friend Fr. Gois: “What do you think of that globe,” without any hesitation he had replied: “That was Our Lady.” However, some people saw nothing. Among them was Canon Manuel Formigao, who later became the first champion of the Fatima Apparitions. The second phenomenon occurred as Our Lady departed towards the east. It was a fall of white petals which, like round shining snowflakes floated towards the earth in a strong beam of supernatural light. Contrary to the natural laws regarding the observation of objects, these petals became smaller as they came down and vanished as they reached the people, leaving no trace. (This phenomenon took place again on May 13, in 1918 and 1924).

The Fifth & Sixth Apparition

(Contd from last week) By Victor Silva

PART 5

(To be continued)

H u n d r e d Y e a r s A f t e r F a t i m a


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

KEEP WATCH “BE PREPARED”

My Dear Young Builders, In this month when we commemorate our loved ones who have passed on from this world, and when we pray for them, we are reminded of our own death. Today’s Readings remind us to be always ready to receive the Lord. Death is something that we all have to face, and we do not know the time that we will be taken away from this world. And when we leave this world, we will have only our soul, leaving everything else behind. We have heard all the time, to be ready, to be ready means to invite Jesus into our hearts so that we will not be condemned. But after a few days we might forget and return to our normal life-style. So today, I invite you to set goals. Just like you set goals for your life on earth, for your studies, you must set goals for your spiritual life. You can say that someday when I pass onto the next world, I will be rich in humility, or I will have prayed for sinners and converted them. These spiritual goals, will keep us awake in this overwhelming world. So set your goals, and work towards them, because we do not know the time or the place. We have to be ready at all times. Aunty Gerro

Colour the picture

“The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out’” (Matthew 25,8)

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” Aristotle

thought for the week

Laughteris God's

Blessing

Teacher: Your essay on “My Dog” is exactly the same as your brothers. Did you copy

from him?Student: No, teacher, it is about the same dog.

The Sunday Liturgy32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

We are fast approaching the end of the Liturgi-cal Season (Cycle A - the Gospel of St. Matthew). In a few weeks time on November 26, we will celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Uni-verse. The Sunday following is the 1st Sunday of Advent and we begin a new Liturgical Season, which will be Cy-cle B and the reading for Sundays will be taken from the Gospel of St. Mark. Through the Gospel story today, Holy Mother the Church speaks to us about the importance of “pre-paredness,” inviting each of us to be in “readiness” to receive Jesus when He comes. Using the example of a wedding feast and the ten virgins, Jesus teaches about the need of being pre-pared to receive the Kingdom of Heaven and also what will happen to those who are prepared and those who are not prepared. (Read Matthew 25:1-13). Now, what do you think the virgins did to pre-pare to greet the bridegroom? What did those who did not bring enough oil for their lamps do? Were the fool-ish virgins able to attend the wedding feast? We do not know when the Kingdom of Heaven will come, but we need to be prepared. What are some of the things that we should be doing to stay prepared? Share your thoughts with your family and friends.

Sacraments unite us to God A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Jesus for the good of our souls.. There are seven Sacraments and they are Baptism, Confession, Holy Communion, Confir-mation, Matrimony, Holy Orders and Anointing of the sick. There are sacraments that we can receive only once like Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders. When we receive Baptism we become the chil-dren of God and then we don’t have the original sin any-more. When we confess our sins it is called Confession or Penance which cleanses our soul. When we received First Holy Communion Jesus came into our hearts for the first time. At Confirmation we receive the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit. In Matrimony we live as a fam-ily with new life. The Holy Orders transform men into priests. The Anointing of the sick also known as the Ex-treme Unction anoints the people who are seriously ill. The Sacraments unite us to God so we can go and live with Him in Heaven. The Sacraments help us to live a good Catholic life. The more we use the Sacra-ments of Penance/Confession and the Holy Eucharist, the better for our soul.

Jessica WarunawansaGrade 6, St. Mary’s Sunday School,

Nayakakanda.

Elizabeth was born in Presburg. She married Louis, the ruler of Thurin-gia. Elizabeth was a beauti-ful bride who dearly loved her handsome husband. Louis returned her affec-tion with all his heart. God gave them three children and they were very happy for six years. She built a hospi-tal at the foot of the moun-tain where the castle stood and looked after the sick herself. Once when she was taking food to the poor and sick in secret, Louis

Albert was the son of a military nobleman. He studied at the University of Padua in Italy and there he decided to become a Dominican Priest. His uncle tried to change his mind but Albert would not as he felt that this was what God wanted. His father was very angry. The Dominicans thought that he would force Albert to come

back home and transferred him to a location farther away. But his father did not

Margaret was an English princess who was born in Hungary and was the great-niece of St. Stephen of Hungary. She and her mother sailed to Scotland to escape from the king who had conquered their land. King Malcolm of Scotland fell in love with the beautiful princess and

stopped her and the food she was carrying miracu-lously changed to roses. Then her sorrows began. Louis died of the plague. She was so heart-broken that she cried: “The

world is dead to me and all that is joyous in the world.” Louis’ relatives had never liked Elizabeth because she gave food to the poor. While Louis was alive, they had not been able to do anything but now they began to trouble her. Within a short time, she and her three children were sent away from the castle. They suffered hun-ger and cold. Elizabeth’s rela-tives came to her rescue. She and her children had a home once more. Her

uncle wanted her to marry again, for she was still very young and attractive. But the Saint had decided to give herself to God. She wanted to imitate the poverty of St. Francis. She went to live in a poor cottage and spent the last few years of her life serving the sick and the poor. On her death bed, she was heard to sing softly. She had great con-fidence that Jesus would take her to Himself.

Holy Spirit Interactive

come after him. St. Albert loved to study. The natural sci-ences, especially physics, geography and biology, in-terested him. He also loved to study his Catholic reli-gion and the Bible. One of St. Albert’s pupils was the great St. Thomas Aquinas. It is said that Albert found out about the death of St. Thomas

directly from God. He had guided St. Thomas in be-ginning his great works in philosophy and theology. He also defended his teach-ings after Thomas died. As Albert grew older, he became more holy. Before, he had ex-pressed his deep thoughts in his writings. Now he ex-pressed them in his whole way of living for God.

Margaret and Malcolm were soon married. They

They tried very hard to imitate Jesus in their own lives. She and Malcolm had new churches built. She loved to make the churches beautiful to hon-our God. Their youngest son became St. David and one of their daughters St. Maud.

had eight children, six sons and two daughters. Margaret changed her husband and the coun-try for the better. She made the court beautiful and civilized. The king and queen were wonderful ex-amples because of the way they prayed together and treated each other. They fed crowds of poor people.

ST. ALBERT THE GREAT - Feast Day November 15

ST. MARGARET OF SCOTLAND - Feast Day November 16

ST. ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY - Feast Day November 17

Name it ....................................................

14 November 12, 2017The Messenger

1. The Eschatological Discourse of Matthew 25, which we listen to from this Sunday onward, is in three para-bles: the Parable of the Ten Virgins (vv. 1-13), the Par-able of the Talents (vv. 14-30) and the Parable of the Judgement of the Nations (vv. 31-46). The Early Church lived in early expectation of the ‘parousia’ (i.e. the return of the Lord). The parousia did not occur immediately. But still the early Christians continued to believe in the return of the Lord. For sure, this Eschatological Discourse helped them living in such a historical context.

2. The first Parable refers, like the second, to the dis-ciples. They have to be like the five wise virgins, watch-ful, with the oil of good deeds in their lamps, for the end of days. Such disciples, the virgins who have had the wisdom to be ready with good deeds, will go into the wedding feast of the Kingdom with the bridegroom, Jesus. The good deeds will make such a difference in one’s destiny. 3. Neerja Bhanot (1963-1986), who re-ceived her education in a Christian set-ting (at Sacred Heart School in Chandigarh, Scottish School in Bombay and gradu-ated from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai), was an Indian purser for the airline Pan American World Air-

First Reading: Wis. 6: 12 - 16. Wisdom is often described in the same terms as for God. For wisdom flows from Him and it takes us back to Him. Provided we live according to it.

Second Reading: 1 Thes. 4: 13 - 18. St. Paul explains to the Thessalonians regarding the second coming of Christ. On that day it will not be only the living but also the dead who will rise for the last judgement.

Gospel: Mt. 25: 1 - 13. The Parable of the Ten Maidens is related to stress the importance of being ready to meet the Lord when He comes no matter how long it takes.

Re�lection. Today’s Readings encourage us to act with wis-dom and be ready to meet the Lord at His second com-ing or at the end of our life here on earth. Besides, they advise us to ever be prepared as to secure a place in the great heavenly Banquet. It is immaterial whether we are alive or dead at Christ’s second coming. But what matters is that we be prepared to secure a place in heaven. Those who died earlier and those who die on the final day will be on equal footing. Those who in wisdom lived a perfect life will finally be allowed to enter the great banquet and sit with the Lord. Others will be shut out. Therefore let us from now on live for the Last Judgement. The First Reading highlights the importance of wisdom. Wisdom is the knowledge and the power to choose between good and bad. It is wisdom that will help us to choose holiness as against sin and evil. There-fore all Christians should possess this wisdom. They should all strive for this as it is only wisdom that would help them to be against what is worldly. Wisdom stands for God. For wisdom flows from God and takes us back to

Him, provided we live according to it. Everyone must prepare for the final judgement on the day. On that day the good will be welcomed by the Lord and the bad will be rejected. On the day of the fi-nal judgement the dead too would rise. Therefore we all ought to live a perfect life on earth as to be ready to face the final judgement. Not only to face it but also to secure a place at the great banquet in heaven. We should all be prepared for this judgement by leading a perfect life. Five maidens were intelligent and other five were foolish. As the bridegroom got late the lamps of the foolish virgins had gone out for want of oil. The foolish ones had to go out to buy oil. While they were out the bridegroom arrived and all went in and the doors were shut, this will happen to all those who do not take the trouble to correct their lives. They will be shut out of heaven. Therefore let us not be caught unawares but al-ways be ready and prepared to meet the Lord at what-ever hour He comes.

Aid Story 1. A very wealthy lady went to a dance with her young husband. They had a very good time and returned home very early in the morning. She caught a cold and then pneumonia and died one week after the dance. The follow-ing was written on her tombstone: “she lived 30 years.” Just what did she do all that time? She slept for ten years. Spent five years, in frivolous company. Five more years, reading cheap novels and picture maga-zines. Five more years, travelling and theater going. And one year, in front of the mirror. What was left for praying, for acts of mercy, for the poor and for God’s Kingdom?

Aid Story 2. Our watchfulness must be a daily thing.

“I learnt my first lesson in responsibility the day I returned from school to find my guinea pigs missing." I rushed to ask my mother about them. “I gave them away because you didn’t take care of them.” “But I did take care of them. You know that I loved them so much!,” “Joni, I gave them away ten days ago!”

Rev. Fr. Ciswan De Croos

Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Rev. Fr. Don Anton Saman Hettiarachchi

“But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you’” (Matthew 25,9)

SUNDAY WORD

Sun: 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Wis. 6:12-16; 1 Thes. 4:13-18 (or 13-14); Mt. 25:1-13Mon: Wis. 1:1-7; Lk.17:1-6Tue: Wis. 2: 23-3: 9; Lk.17: 7-10Wed: Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop & Doctor Wis. 6:1-11; Lk.17: 11-19Thu: Memorials of St. Margaret of Scotland & St. Gertrude, Virgin Wis. 7: 22-8:1; Lk.17: 20-25Fri: Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious Wis. 13:1-9; Lk.17: 26-27Sat: Dedication of the Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul Wis. 18:14-16; 19: 6-9; Lk.18: 1-8Sun: 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Prov. 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; 1 Thes. 5: 1-6; Mt. 25: 14-30 or (14-15, 19-21)

Liturgical Calendar Year A 12th Nov. - 19th Nov. 2017

“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour”(Matthew 25,1-13)

ways, based in Mumbai, India. It was September 5, 1986. Neerja was the senior flight purser on Pan Am Flight 73 flying from Mumbai to the United States. Beyond all expectations, it came to be hijacked by four armed terrorists at Karachi airport in Pakistan. The aircraft was carrying 365 passengers and 13 crew members. The terrorists wanted to fly to Cyprus with the goal of freeing Palestinian prisoners in Cyprus. Im-mediately Neerja alerted the cockpit crew and as the plane was on the tarmac, they left the aircraft through an overhead hatch in the cockpit. Thus Neerja helped prevent the plane from getting off the ground. In the early minutes of the hijacking, the terror-ists shot an American citizen dead and threw his body on to the tarmac. The terrorists then instructed Neerja to collect the passports of all the passengers so that they could identify the other Americans on board. She hid the passports of the remaining 43 Americans on board; some under a seat and the rest down a rubbish chute so that the hijackers could not differentiate between American and Non-American passengers. Thus the rest of the Americans were saved. After 17 hours, the hijackers opened fire and set off explosives. Neerja opened one of the airplane doors, and started helping the other passengers escape. If she wanted, she could have been the first one to jump out and flee from the aircraft when she opened the door, but she decided not to and instead started helping the other passengers escape. According to a surviving passenger, “She was guiding the passengers to the emergency exit. That is when the terrorists were firing constantly fearing a commando attack. They saw Neerja relentlessly trying to help the passengers out and that is when they caught her by her ponytail and shot her point blank.” She was

shot while shielding three American children from a hail of gunfire from the terrorists. Neerja’s family was waiting at home for cel-ebrating her twenty third birthday. But she returned to them in a totally unexpected way. This reminds us the words of our Master, “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Neerja had, like the five wise virgins in the Parables, had the oil of good works to trim the lamp; do I have it ‘now’, for I know not the day or the hour of destiny, personal or cosmic?

15 November 12, 2017The Messenger

Through this document he said the Holy Father urges us to become disciples of a missionary Church, which can be achieved if we dis-cern ways of witnessing to the Lord and the Gospel with sensitivity to the realities of the world like St. Joseph Vaz. The Chief Cel-ebrant at Holy Mass fol-lowing the Night Vigil was His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Winston Fernando sss, President of the CBCSL. His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Cletus Chandrasiri Perera OSB, Bishop of Ratnapura con-celebrated. The homilies in Sinhala and Tamil were de-livered by Their Lordships Rt. Rev. Dr. Norbert Andra-di OMI, Bishop of Anurad-hapura and Rt. Rev. Dr. Noel Emmanuel, Bishop of Trin-

Akila Viraj Kariyawasam. Addressing a packed gathering of teachers from the Archdiocese comprising the lay, religious and clergy at the College Sports Complex last week, Prime Minis-ter Ranil Wickremesinghe hailed the Universal Catholic Church for having carved a name for itself in the field of education. The service to the people in this field by the Church was par excellence, he said. The Prime Minister recalled that it was His Grace Christopher Bonjean OMI, Archbishop of Colom-bo who had fathered the Denominational School System in the island. He noted that then and now the Catholic edu-cational institutes in the country have produced men and women of integrity, intellect and values who have contributed yeoman service to their motherland. He reminded that former President R. Premadasa, was a product of Catholic education. The Prime Minister also revealed that Presi-dent Premadasa once told him, that because he received a good education at St. Joseph’s College, he felt it was a qualification for him to take on the mantle of President of the country. Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm

Cardinal Ranjith in his address to the Catholic teachers said that teaching is a vocation rather than a profession as it involves the teacher as disciplinarian other than imparting cognitive knowledge to the children. His Eminence said he hoped that the Govern-ment will take measures to abolish private tuition class-es at least on Sunday and Poya Day mornings as Reli-gious education is a sine qua non for the child’s integral growth. Addresses were also delivered by Minister Kariyawasam and National Director Catholic Education, Very Rev. Fr. Ivan Perera. His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. Maxwell Silva, Auxil-iary Bishop of Colombo celebrated Holy Mass.

T. Sunil Fernando and Roshan Pradeep

“Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves” (Matthew 25,9)

From Pg. 9 Gold and Silver...

of the Staff and student body expressed their deep ap-preciation and recognition by felicitating the National Award recipients at a ceremony held at the College.

From Pg. 9 Five distinguished...

The Choir also won the Silver Medal in the Gos-pel, Spiritual, Music of Spirit and Faith Championship Category, which was held at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre recently.

In this Category the Choir performed -Rejoice in the Lord - a Filipino Composition by Lucio San PedroMage Jeewanayame Oba We - By Ivor Dennis and Sr. Fidelia, with special Choral Harmony arrangements by Priyanthi Seneviratne VanDort

material and spiritual poverty is beginning to afflict many families. Thus the Holy Father’s call is timely and I therefore call upon all our priests, religious and laity especially at the parish level to celebrate this special day appropriately, focusing on our Christian call to be agents of social transformation and sanctification. I also invite the Caritas setup to gear themselves into action conscientizing our flock about the need to respond positively to this call. I would therefore invite all our parish and institution fathers as well as those in charge of the apostolates to organise for that Sunday, the 19th November 2017, special prayers in the Liturgy, sermons about our Christian duty towards the poor and about the respect and dignity with which we should treat

From Pg. 1 World day of .... them, organise campaigns to help the poorer families and other sections of society afflicted by such egoism. Also to assist children in child care homes as well as elders in the homes for elders. Any initiative that would help these our brothers and sisters is welcome. Let us become aware of the importance of considering very specially the dignity and the supremacy of the poor for it is they who will make us understand the true meaning of God’s love. For the Lord Himself asked us to help our brethren conscious that it is He Himself th.at comes to us in the face of the poor. “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers that you do unto me” [Matthew 25: 40]. May God bless you. ✠ Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith Archbishop of Colombo 07.11.2017

From Pg. 1 Catholic Education ....

From Pg. 1 Let us ful�ill....

The Way, the Truth, The Life and Sing Unto The Lord both Original Compositions by Priyanthi Seneviratne Van-Dort From among the 35 foreign Choirs and 35 Sri Lankan Choirs which competed in this Asia Pacific Cham-pionship and Grand Prix of the Nations, the Choir of St. Bridget’s Convent Colombo and St. Joseph’s College Co-lombo were the only two Catholic Schools in Sri Lanka which participated in this International Choral Competi-tion which was held in Sri Lanka for the first time. The Bridgetine Choir had a record number of 129 Choristers and was the largest Choir at this competition.

Vatican to set up joint committee with Muslim

World League

Pope Francis has held talks with Dr. Muhammad Al-Is-sa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, ac-companied by a delegation. The meeting came during an informal encounter on last Wednesday between the World Muslim League delegation and the President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardi-nal Jean-Louis Tauran. A statement from the Pontifical Council said that the two sides reaffirmed the following points: That religion and violence are incompatible; that religions have moral resources capable of contributing to frater-nity and peace; that the phenomenon of fundamental-ism, in particular when violent, is troubling and joint efforts are required to counter it. In addition, the statement said, situations ex-ist where freedom of conscience and of religion are not entirely respected and protected, so there is an urgent need to remedy this, renewing “religious discourse” and reviewing school books. In conclusion, the statement said both sides agreed to establish a joint permanent committee in the near future. Meanwhile Vatican Radio reported that Pope Francis last Tuesday met the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Muhammad al-Tayeb who is in Rome to at-tend a conference organised by the St. Egidio community. No details of the private encounter were re-leased, but the meeting marked the second trip to the Vatican in two years by Egypt’s top Muslim leader. His first meeting with the Pope in May 2016 marked an important step forward after five years of suspended dialogue between the Holy See and the prestigious Al-Azhar University. In April this year, Pope Francis travelled to Cairo to visit the headquarters of Sunni Muslim schol-arship and attend an international peace conference there. During his two-day visit to Egypt, the Pope urged religious leaders to denounce violations of human rights and expose attempts to justify violence and hatred in the name of God. He appealed for respectful interreligious dia-logue, saying the only alternative to a culture of civilised encounter is the incivility of conflict. Recalling the visit of St. Francis to the Sultan in Egypt eight centuries ago, he called for dialogue based on sincerity and the cour-age to accept differences.

Vatican Radio

Rev. Fr. Paul Robinsoncomalee respectively. The clergy in their presentations appreciated the dedication of the laity who in their hundreds brav-ing the incessant weather had gathered in steadfast faith to honour the Saint who was led by the Spirit in his mission to revive the faith of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka.

XX = November 12, 2017Messenger

With seven out of 16 awards, In-dia bagged the

highest number of awards among all the participant nations in the United Na-tions Educational, Scien-tific and Cultural Orga-nization (UNESCO) Asia Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation for 2017. While the award for merit was given to three Indian historical sites, the others four sites

were given honourable mentions in the UNESCO awards, announced on November 1. Four of the award's winning struc-tures are in Mumbai. The award rec-ognises work done by individuals and organi-sations to restore adapt and conserve structures and buildings of heritage value. Recognising this, UNESCO seeks to encourage private sector involvement

and public-private collabo-ration in conserving the re-gion’s cultural heritage for the benefit of current and future generations. The Awards of Merit were given to Christ Church in Mumbai’s By-culla, the Royal Bombay Opera House in Mumbai and Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Tiruchirappalli. Byculla’s Christ Church opened to worship in 1833. This Neo-Classi-cal church structure was restored in two phases. According to the UNESCO report, the church had suffered from earlier inappropriate re-pair works that disguised and diminished its cultur-al value. The panel appre-ciated the fact that Artisan skills were revived during the renewal of the elegant interior with its gilded col-umns, memorial stained glass windows and lath and plaster ceiling. Royal Bombay Opera House was restored from a near-derelict state. It opened in 1916 and was called the finest theatre in the East; the century-old building was shut down over two decades ago. The panel ac-knowledged the extensive

restoration of its decora-tive features using expert knowledge and research, to ensure that India’s only surviving opera house could make its mark again. Sri Ranganathas-wamy Temple has revived through a major public-private initiative. It is said that the use of traditional methods in renovating temple structures and re-establishment of rainwa-ter harvesting and historic drainage system, to aug-

ment water and prevent flooding, were the main reasons for the temple to achieve the award. Honourable men-tions were given to the Bo-manjee Hormarjee Wadia Fountain and Clock Tower in Mumbai, the Wellington Fountain in Mumbai’s Co-laba, Gateways of Gohad Fort in Bhind and Haveli Dharampura in Delhi. “The Jury was impressed by the heroic nature of the conserva-

tion projects, especially those that underscore the importance of protecting the heritage that is rooted in the least powerful seg-ments of society,” said Duong Bich Hanh, Chair of the Jury and Chief of UNESCO Bangkok’s Cul-ture Unit. The 16 winners of the UNESCO award are from six countries: Austra-lia, China, India, Iran, New Zealand and Singapore.

UCAN

“Then the door was locked” (Matthew 25,10)

The month of November is set apart to commemo-rate the Holy Souls in Purgatory. “It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that

they may be freed from their sins" (2 Mac. 12:46). Purgatory has very often been misconstrued as a place of punishment while in effect this is not so. On the contrary, purgatory is a place of purification for the holy souls who die in God's grace.

Why then should such souls be puri�ied? Like gold in a furnace to be rid of impurities, these souls in purgatory undergo purification in order to be worthy to enter into the Beatific Vision in Heaven. If not for this process of purification, these souls be-come unworthy of the Beatific Vision. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is quite clear on this (CCC 1030). St. Alphonsus Liguori says that though the holy souls cannot merit for themselves, they can obtain for us great graces. Similarly, they can obtain for us as-tounding favours and deliver us from evil, sickness and dangers of every kind. Those souls who are being puri-fied by our prayers, pray for us, offer their sufferings for our well being and through our prayers they are as-sisted in being set free from all human imperfections which prevent them from entering into the eternal Joy of paradise. We on earth fail to realise, the advocates we have in the holy souls in purgatory and once they join the Heavenly Father, they are eternally grateful to us here on earth, for the prayers and sacrifices we had of-fered on their behalf. They keep on praying continually before the throne of God for all our needs. It has been said that it would be utterly impossible to describe their unbounded gratitude to all those who had assist-

ed them in their hour of need, by prayer and sacrifice in order to repay the fervour so great, so intense and so constant that God can refuse them nothing. St. Gertrude the Great had a great devotion to that holy souls and has had many visions with Our Lord. In one such vision Our Lord told St. Gertrude that He yearns for someone to ask Him to release souls from purgatory, just as a king who imprisons a friend for the sake of justice, longs that someone will plead for clem-ency for this friend. Jesus told her, "I accept with highest pleasure what is offered to me for these poor souls, for I long to have near me, those for whom I paid so great a price. By your prayers I am induced to free a prisoner from pur-gatory as often as you move your tongue to offer a word of prayer. Besides prayers, we can offer acts of charity in the from of almsgiving and sacrifices for those holy souls languishing in purgatory.

Sacred scriptures provide us with a wealth of infor-mation on the departed souls.

• “I shall rise from the earth on the last day and be clothed again in my skin and in my flesh - I shall see my God” (Job 19: 25-27).

• “After a day or two he will bring us back to life, on the third day he will raise us to live in his presence” (Hos. 6: 1-12).

• “Your dead will come to life, their bodies will rise” (Is. 26:19).

• “Have pity on me, oh my friends, for the hand of God has touched me” (Job. 19:21).

• “In the eyes of the unwise they seemed to die, but they are at peace” (Wis. 3:3).

• “When our earthly tent is folded up, there is a house built by God, not made by human hands” (2 Cor. 5:1).

• “He who raised Jesus from the dead, will give life to our mortal bodies, through his spirit living in you” (Rom. 8:11).

• “For me to live in Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21).

• “Death is swallowed up in victory - Oh death where is your sting?” (I Cor. 15:55).

• “Whoever keeps my word will never see death” (Jn. 8:51).

• “I walk before the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps. 116:9).

• “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his people” (Ps. 116:15).

• “Happy are they who die in the Lord - now they can rest forever” (Rev. 14:13).

• “My desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is better” (Phil 1:2-3).

An English poet once said, “When we at birth lie in the cot crying, all those around us are laughing and at death when we lie in the coffin, we are laughing, while all around us are crying.” Laughing in this sense is being born to eternal life, which the above Scriptural quota-tions amply testify.

Roggy Corera

Remembering the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Mumbai church among seven Indian sites awarded by UNESCO

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Tiruchirappalli

Indian sites awarded by UNESCO

The pipe organ of the church adds grandeur to the architecture.

XVIII November 12, 2017Messenger

“Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’” (Matthew 25,11)

Young World

Children from the Infant Jesus Pre-School in Peralanda spent a day with the Elders of St. Vincent de Paul Elders' Home at Morawatta, Nagoda in the Kandana Deanery, to commemorate World Children's and Elders' Day, which fell on October 1. The main objective of the programme was to inculcate in the children the need to appreciate our elders and their words of wisdom. Dickson Anthony

Twenty two children from St. Roche's Sunday School in Hettirippuwa in the Kurune-gala Diocese, received First Holy Communion recently with Holy Mass presided by Rev. Fr. Lester Nonis, Archdiocesan Catechetical Director. The children are seen here in a group photograph with the Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Terrence Kannnangara, Rev. Sr. Felicita and Rev. Fr. Lester Nonois.

Chrismal Livera

The Youth Group of Our Lady of Good Health Church, Halpe in Patinigodella celebrat-ed the 57th annual feast of the church, by erecting this novel pandal with two bullock carts on either side. The carts were balanced on tiers of coconuts giving an impres-sion of an arch.

H. A. Caldera

Appreciating the Elderly

Novel Pandal at Halpe Parish FeastFirst Holy Communion at Hettirippuwa Parish

A bevy of beautiful little girls all dressed in tradition-al redda and hatta, from the Sunday School of Pamu-nugama Parish, seem quite happy as they busy them-selves selling vegetables at the Pola conducted by the Sunday School recently.

Benjamin Kirihetti

We sell fresh vegetables here

The Holy Childhood cell of St. Anthony’s Church, Kadalana clinched the awards for the ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Set-ting’ at the drama competition conducted by the Archdiocese of Colombo. The proud winners are seen here in the photograph. Surath de Silva

Holy Childhood Cell Kadalana placed wellA talent show was organised by the Gurubewila dean-ery Holy Childhood and was held at the Hanwella Rajas-inghe School Auditorium. Picture shows a dance item presented by the children. Anthony Hettiarachchi

Talent Show at Gurubewila

“Things have a price and can be for sale.

But people have a dignity that is priceless;

Worth far more than things”- Pope Francis

Questions

The Covenant of Sinai 651. What is a covenant? 652. Name some social contracts. 653. Are there Covenants in the Bible? 654. Name a few. 655. What are the main differences between social contracts and Biblical Covenants? 656. How did God cut a Covenant with the first parents? 657. How did God cut a Covenant with Noah? 658. What was the sign of that Covenant? 659. What did God promise to Abraham, as He cut a Covenant with him? 660. What was the sign of that Covenant? 661. What was the sign of God’s Covenant with Israel at Sinai? 662. What sort of duties is enshrined in the Ten Commandments? 663. Israel became God’s people through the Covenant of Sinai. How did we become God’s children? 664. What did we basically promise at Baptism? 665. How do we express our belief in God at Baptism? 666. How do we promise to reject satan at Baptism?

St. John the Baptist (Luke 1)667. Who was the king of Judea at the birth of John the Baptist?

668. Who was the father of John the Baptist?

669. Who was the mother of John the Baptist?

670. How were they?

671. Why did they not have children?

672. When and where did the angel appear to Zechariah?

673. What was the name of the angel?

674. What was the initial reaction of Zechariah to the apparition of Gabriel?

675. What did the angel announce to Zechariah?

676. What were the words of doubt said by Zechariah?

677. How was Zechariah punished for his disbelief?

678. What did the people outside the sanctuary realize?

679. How did Elizabeth react to the conception?

680. What was the sign given to Mary at the Annunciation?

681. What can we learn from these conceptions?

682. Where did Mary go after the Annunciation?

683. What happened when Mary greeted Elizabeth?

684. What did Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, say? 685. When was Zechariah’s mouth “opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God”?

Responses651. It is a solemn agreement between two parties over something with conditions laid down.

652. political, trade, peace and marriage

653. Yes.

654. God’s Covenants with Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Israel

655. i. God initiates the Covenant

ii. There is a vast difference between the two parties, God and man

iii. God is ever faithful to the Covenant, while man often breaks it

656. i. “The LORD God gave man this order: “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die” (Genesis 2,16-17)

ii. Promise of a redeemer: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel” (Genesis 3,15)

XIX November 12, 2017 Messenger

“But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you’” (Matthew 25,12)

A COMPANION TO SCHOOL STUDENTS Faith in the Holy Trinity

2017 Fr. Don Anton Saman Hettiarachchi

Logos: 24

O/L CATHOLICISM

657. “I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth” (Genesis 9,11)

658. Rainbow = “I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth” (Genesis 9,13)

659. Land and children

660. Circumcision = “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised” (Genesis 17,10)

661. The Ten Commandments

662. Duties towards God and neighbour

663. Through the sacred Sacrament of Baptism

664. i. To believe in God

ii. To reject satan and all his actions

665. V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? R. I do. V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? R. I do. V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? R. I do.

666. V. Do you reject Satan? R. I do. V. And all his works? R. I do. V. And all his empty promises? R. I do.

667. Herod

668. Zechariah

669. Elizabeth

670. “Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly”

671. “because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years”

672. at the hour of the incense offering in the sanctuary/ altar of incense of the Temple of Jerusalem

673. Gabriel

674. “Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him”

675. “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John”

676. “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years”

677. “But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time”

678. “they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary”

679. “she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others”

680. “And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren”

681. “for nothing will be impossible for God”

682. “Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah”

683. “the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice”

684. “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? … Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled”

685. When he wrote on a tablet “John is his name”

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]

“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25,13)

Dear Readers,

This is our lesson 36. In our last lesson we looked at �igurative language. In this lesson let’s look at homophones, homonyms, homographs. A lesson on reading is also given.

You are welcome to express your views.

Noel Jayamanne

Language Study & English

Grammar

XVII November 12, 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 looked at �igurative language similes, metaphors, alliteration hyperbole, personification assonance symbolism metonymy and onomatopoeia in our last lesson?

Sir : That’s right. In this lesson we are going to look at different shades of words.

Sumaga : What do you mean by different shades, Sir?

Sir : Yes, Sumaga. They are going to be Homophones, Homographs and Homonyms.

Sumaga : These three terms are very confusing. I’ve been struggling a lot to differentiate them. Sir : Yes. Sumaga. Let’s have a close look at them.

Homonyms are words that sound alike but have different meanings. Homo-phones are a type of homonym that also sound alike and have different meanings and different spellings. Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings.

A homonym is a word that is pronounced the same as another word with a different meaning. When the words have the same spelling, they are known as homographs. When they have different spellings, they are called homophones.

What is a homonym?Homonymy is the relation between words with identical forms but different mean-ings—that is, the condition of being homonyms.Examples – (a)in the word ‘bank’ [bænk] as it appears in ‘river bank’ and ‘savings bank.’

(i) First I went to the bank of the river, relaxed a while and then went to National Savings Bank to withdraw some money.Examples – ‘can’ expresses two meanings. As a modal auxiliary verb ‘can’ expresses ability or permission e.g. (i)I can run fast. (ii) You can go home.

‘can’ as a noun expresses the meaning of a container. e.g. I bought a water can yesterday.

Can is pronounced as (kæn) and it has two different meanings, one as a noun and one as a verb.

Homonyms are also called multi meaning words. Fine [f[aɪ]n ] as an adjective is nice or excellent. I had a fine dictionary Fine [f[aɪ]n ] as a noun is (a charge) I had to pay fine for driving fast.

According to many grammarians there are two types of homonyms as Homographs and Homophones

Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different pronunciation and different meanings

Lead is pronounced as [led] and it means a chemical and when lead is pronounced as [li:d] it means to go �irstFlies = the verb to �ly and the noun denoting small insects) (iii) When one fly �lies all other �lies fly with it.Homophones. These are words with the same sound but with different spellings and meanings:place (location) and plaice (the fish) bear (the animal) and bare (meaning naked)

(b) write / right (ii) I usually write with my right hand

Look at the following chart and learn the shades of homophones homographs homonyms

Homophones Homographs Homonyms Types Pronunciation Meaning Spelling Example Homophones Same Different Different Lead- (noun)metal Led - (verb) Past tense of lead Homographs Different Different Same Lead – (noun) metal Lead –(verb) to go first Homonyms Same Different Same Lead (verb) to go first Lead ( noun) a lead role

Homonyms, homophones and homographs can bring confusion to even adults and teachers! It makes it easier to learn the difference among the three types of words us-ing the definitions and homonyms, homophones and homographs examples below

Look at chart 2 and be familiar with another explanation of homographs, homo-phones and homonyms

Homonyms Homophones Homographs Multiple meaning words Words that sound alike Same spelling, different pronunciation, different meanings

the spruce tree… addition for math desert = abandon to spruce up… edition of a book desert = area of land

suit yourself… I want to go bass = fish wore a suit… I like it too bass = instrument One plus one is two

weigh on the scale… capitol building close = nearby scale the wall… state capital close = to shut

the price is fair… pick a �lower bow = to bend down go to the fair… bake with �lour bow = ribbon

A simple lesson on Reading for grade six students - Task 1- Read the text in pairs and be familiar with the context..

Nurses work in hospitals. They work hard. Nurses must be kind and patient. They need to know a lot about medicines and the human body too. If you want to be a nurse you must be at least eighteen years old. Then you train for two or three years in a hospital. Good, kind and dedicated nurses are loved by all. Florence Nightingale is the name of a famous nurse. She was very good and kind to her patients. She worked hard and stayed all night without sleeping when they were very ill. She went round the hospital with a lamp in her hand to see them all. “They called her the Lady with the Lamp”.

Task 2- Read the text and underline the suitable word within brackets.1. Nurses work in [ (a) schools (b) libraries (c) hospitals].2. Nurses must be [ (a) angry (b) wicked (c) patient ].3. If you want to be a nurse you must be at least [(a) 17 (b) 18 (c) 19) years old.]4.The famous nurse given in the text is [(a) Helen (b) Maya (c) Florence)]5. The patients called Florence Nightingale the [(a) Girl (b) Woman (c) Lady] with the Lamp.

Task 3- Answer the questions in complete sentences(a) Where do nurses work?(b) What must they be?(c) What kind of nurses are loved by all?(d) How did Florence Nightingale go round the hospital?(e) Do you like this text? Why/ Why not

Task 4- Match the information in Column B with the words in Column A. Write the relevant number in the box.

Column B Column A Box

1.Library a place where students do higher studies 2. Stage a place where surgical operations are done 3.Laboratory a place where dramas are performed 4.Playground a place where experiments are done 5.University a place where books can be borrowed 6.Operating Theatre a place where games are played

“While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him” (Matthew 25,10)

A s I left the warmth of the car, the air was so cold and

dry it almost hurt to take a breath. I slowly opened the door and pulled my wrap-around coat tighter around me. As I stood up in the parking lot, I braced myself, touching the car to make sure I had my bal-ance. "It is bad enough I have to be here," I said to myself. "I have to be careful not to slip and fall. I don't want to hurt the baby." I had lost my first child when I was only six weeks pregnant. Ever since I found out I was pregnant again, I was extra careful. I closed the car door and turned to face the building. "Come on, you can do this. Put a smile on your face and get it over with." I took anoth-er deep breath of the late January air and made my way to the door. I walked straight to the sign-in sheet and

wrote my name under "visitor." I wrote down the time and then under "res-ident" I wrote my grand-mother's name. I started to write "Noni," my name for her, but I realized I needed to put her given name. I glanced at the list of visitors and saw it was very short. As always though, my parents' names were listed. Mom and Dad made sure one or both of them visited my grandmother every day. They felt that the patients that were vis-ited the most received the best care. I didn't visit very often. lt hurt so much. I hated seeing Noni this way. She always had been such a strong and vibrant woman. She had outlived

two husbands and had raised my father as a single mother during tough times in Chicago. She started a new career at the age of 65 when she moved to be close to us after her 2nd husband had died. She was always on the go. It was to her I ran whenever I had a problem or just wanted to know I was loved uncondi-tionally. I loved her so much, but it was easy to make excuses not to visit. My husband and I were young and busy with work and friends. I was four months pregnant and didn't want to "catch" any-thing from the residents at the home. My parents encouraged me to go, but the truth was I was scared. I didn't know what to say or do when I visited. There was a time when Noni and I would talk for hours. She taught me to crochet and sew and cook. We watched TV, played cards and read to-gether. But now I felt as if we had nothing in com-mon and I knew nothing I could do would make her better. When I got to her room, I peeked around the partially closed door. Noni was lying still on her bed and I watched to see her chest rise and fall. Her eyes were closed. I

debated whether or not to bother her. I knew that most of her day was now spent in bed sleeping; she wasn't able to do much of anything else. As I started to turn to leave, she looked towards me. Her once strong voice barely whis-pered: "Who's there?" I took a deep breath and silently asked God for the courage to do what I now knew I had to do, both for myself and my precious Noni. I painted a bright smile on my face and danced into the room. "Hi Noni! How are you?" I paused to take off my coat and felt my face turning red. The coat I was wear-ing was Noni's, My moth-er had given it to me to wear since Noni wouldn't be going anywhere and I needed a coat to fit my ex-panding figure. "Thank you for letting me use your coat, I'll take good care of it so you can use it next winter when you are doing bet-ter." The words tasted aw-ful in my mouth, I knew they were lies. Noni smiled in recognition and held out her hand to me. I started to sit down next to her bed, but decided stand-ing would make it easier to leave when things got awkward. I leaned over the bed and patted her

hand. I looked every-where but at the figure in the bed. I tried to make lively small talk, but my words fell flat. Noni's eyes seemed to draw mine to hers and I felt like I was falling into the deep blue of her eyes. The dazzling blue eyes that used to read to me and that used to watch me with love could no longer read or watch tele-vision due to the clouding of cataracts. "Oh Noni, I am so sorry!" I became over-whelmed with grief and started to weep. My heart broke knowing I was un-worthy of the love this woman had always given me. In her final days, I was only thinking of my-self and how unpleasant it was for me to visit her in such a terrible place. I had not considered how dreadful it was for Noni. My grandmother, who had every right to feel sorry for herself and her circumstance, reached up to me and pulled me to her. She patted me on the back and whispered in my ear as she had always done whenever I was up-set. "It's okay honey, I love

you. It will be all right." She held me until I was calm and took my face in her hands. Suddenly I real-ized why God had led me to my grandmother that day. I was there to learn a beautiful thing about life that no one else besides my Noni could teach me. By her example, she had taught me about unself-ish love. It was an inheri-tance I would pass on to the small life inside me. Everything would indeed be all right. As I was walking back to my car, the cold winter air seemed to feel a bit warmer, or maybe it was the warmth from my grandmother's love that was keeping me toasty. I realized I had made the right decision in going to the nursing home that day, and I promised myself I would go again soon. After all, the lessons Noni had to teach me were not over. As long as she had life, she would contin-ue to love. And loving and learning from others is re-ally what life is all about.

Courtesy: Messenger of the Sacred Heart

Lesson Learned

The words tasted awful in

my mouth, I knew they were lies.

XXIV Messenger November 12, 2017

Tools for the Workshop of LifeModeling Scripture-based values to our children

At our son's high school graduation ceremony, the mother of one of his friends took me aside and said she wanted to talk to me about my son. I was

pretty sure his graduating class had not participated in the kind of pranks that had made headlines two years earlier when some seniors arrived at school with life-like toy guns. Though these "weapons" discharged only large amounts of water, the act was singularly insensitive coming on the heels of a rash of school violence nation-wide. I'm ashamed to say that potential pranks flickered through my mind, however, because this mother's very next words were, "I just want you to know that your son knows his values-and he acts on them." Only days before, someone had tried to con-vince me that values can't be taught to children until they're "old enough to choose their own value system without having one imposed on them." What's wrong with God's? I had wondered. For me, parenthood is not about imposing God's wisdom; rather, it is about trying to model this wisdom as early and as consistently as we can. How do we impart the Scripture-based values that we want to be the foundation of our children's lives? My son once said that the choice God would want us to make just always makes sense. Values are tools that aid us in our choices as we strive for what is best in God's eyes. A basic tool kit, then, includes the following: Truthfulness, the foundation of all virtues.

If we step even a hair's breadth outside its bounds, we risk having the truth become clouded in our own minds-an outcome even more dangerous than the way in which our lack of truthfulness may affect others' ability to trust us. The Golden Rule, remarkably similar among the world's major faiths. God's law that we should treat others in the way that we wish to be treated implies that those things high on our own wish list-courtesy, respect, love, and fairness-should be in plentiful supply in our behavior too. Awareness of purpose, both our own and that of all creation. When we know and align our choices with this, our efforts are usually successful. Obedience to God, a major source of protec-tion. This has the by-product of attracting confirma-tions too. Laws, especially spiritual ones, are not for God's satisfaction but for our assistance. Living prayer, not only to connect and com-mune with God but also to be able to perceive the path God places before us. Our steps on that path, when taken consciously (the most effective use of our power of choice), can literally become living prayers. This pat-

tern can exalt all of our efforts to acts of faith and wor-ship and can also be a source of deep happiness and lasting fulfillment. Naturally, our first exposure to such tools-or the absence of them-usually comes within our own family. How often do young people see models of how to apply these tools in the workshop that is daily life? Workshops are places for learning and prac-tice. They sometimes get messy, but they help us learn how certain rules, and tools; can be applied for the greatest success. One disadvantage young people often face is that they can get the impression that life, instead of being a workshop, is a rather intimidating art gal-lery where we only show off what we think we already know. Much like the skills needed for creating artwork, values are not something we acquire only by listening to someone tell us about them. Most of us learn by see-ing them in practice and then by trying them out our-selves. We generally have more success when we re-ceive encouragement as well as helpful advice when we get stuck. The Lord has expressed a truth that reassures us in our efforts as we strive day by day to use our val-ues within the workshops of our families and our lives: "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's command-ments and abide in his love" (Jn. 15:10).

Liguorian

My son once said that the choice God would want us to

make just always makes sense.

Catholic education par excellence: PM

Documents