Feast of Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary today

Catholics flock to Madhu Church:

Miran Perera

FEAST: On 15th August every year Catholics all over the world celebrate the feast of Assumption of their blessed Mother Mary the Mother of Christ Jesus. This feast every year is celebrated on a grand scale by the Madhu Church, a hallowed place of veneration with a grandeur history in the annals of our country.

People of many faiths take the long pilgrimage up to the Madhu shrine situated in the Vanni area of this island.

The history of the Madhu Church and its revered statue of Mary goes back to the Portuguese occupation of Sri Lanka where this special statue of Mary is bound with many oral and written folklore.

Some believe that the statue was in a ship stranded on the high seas and when the sailors faced a storm the statue was thrown overboard and the waves brought the statue to the shore.

Finding such a statue the natives had hidden it in the jungle and later when it was found by others that particular place began to attract many as the statue was believed to be making miracles.

Gradually this place began to be a popular place of worship and a church was built there to propagate the faith to our blessed Mother Mary. This church at Madhu began to attract pilgrims from all over the country.

Naturally this small church could not accommodate the large number of devotees and a much bigger church took its shape to be built. Another church which is woven with historical folklore is the church at Talawila dedicated to St. Anne, the Mother of Mary.

The social impulses are a source of the crystallization of religion. All of us humans are mortal and fallible. Therefore perhaps the guidance, love and support to all from Mother Mary prompts them to form the social and moral need to make an annual trip to the Madhu shrine for the feast on August 15.

Everything that all Catholic devotees has done and thought is concerned with their satisfaction of deeply felt needs and the assuagement of pain.

The devout has to keep this constantly in mind if they wish to understand the importance and benefit of the Madhu shrine. Feeling and longing are the motive forces behind all visitations of pilgrims to Madhu.

As in many of the Psalms of David and in some prophesies the beginning of a cosmic religious feeling appear wanting all devotees to experience the universe as a single significant whole. Perhaps this may be one of the reasons for those of faith in Mother Mary to take the annual pilgrimage to Madhu shrine.

The feast of Madhu organises a religious pilgrimage with a view to promoting goodwill, reconciliation, solidarity and harmony among the different communities and to enable the devotees to know and respect values and virtues of all religions.

A new statue of our Lady of Maradha Madhu which was blessed by the Holy Father John Paul II in December 2002 at Vatican City Rome was brought to the Madhu church to be installed.

Those living around the Madhu church in camps are those who have lost everything that they have had.

The Madhu Church of our Blessed Mother is situated in a peace zone. Our country and our people are left to the care of the blessed mother of Madhu by all Catholics. All intentions and please on the feast day of Madhu would be to make the whole country a peace zone and to give us everlasting Peace.

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The First Chapel with indigenous outlook at Peradeniya campus

W. T. A. Leslie Fernando

FEAST: On Sunday August 26, 2007, the Catholic community of the University of Peradeniya in collaboration with the Newman Society Alumni Association will celebrate the annual feast of the Church of Our Lady of the Seat of Wisdom. This beautiful church with Sri Lankan identity could be considered as the first chapel with an indigenous outlook in Sri Lanka.

The European missionaries during the Portuguese times who established the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka in the 16th century imposed western culture on people along with Christianity.

During the Dutch times the Oratorian priests headed by Blessed Joseph Vaz and Fr. Jacome Gonsalvez made an attempt to set up an indigenous church adapted to the country and suited to its needs and circumstances. Nevertheless art and architecture in the church remained western.

In 1940s when the administration of the Catholic Church began to be indigenised there was a national resurgence in the Church. The pioneer of this cultural renaissance was Bishop Edmund Pieris who wanted to make the Church in Sri Lanka a thing of the soil.

With this end in view, he revived many works of Fr. Jacome Gonsalvez that contained prayers in the chanting style of Sinhala and Tamil prose and hymns set to Carnatic ragas and folk music.

Following the initiative taken by Dr. Edmund Pieris, others like Fr. Marcelline Jayakody, Fr. D. J. Anthony, Fr. Moses Perera, Fr. Henry Rodrigo, Sunil Santha, J. K. S. Perera produced religious art, literary works, prayers, hymns and built churches that contained both Christian aspects and national sentiments.

Until 1950s the Catholic churches in Sri Lanka were built on the Western model following Roman and Greek Gothic style. However the Tewatta Basilica which was designed in late 1940s has elements of oriental culture, the first Sri Lankan church supposed to be built strictly adhering to indigenous art and architecture was St. Mary’s Church, Badalgama. It was the brainchild of Fr. Henry Rodrigo OMI. Its construction begun in 1953 and was completed in 1956.

In building St. Mary’s Church, Badalgama, Fr. Henry Rodrigo has adopted art and architecture, sculptural forms and decorative designs in the Anuradhapura period. He followed Kandyan architecture in designing the outer structure, facade and the roof. St. Mary’s Church, Badalgama has proved what a beautiful church could be built following indigenous art and architecture.

St. Mary’s Church, Badalgama was acclaimed by both Christians and non-Christians as a wonderful structure. In fact several Nayaka Theras came to the site and admired it. It was St. Mary’s Church, Badalgama that gave the lead to build several other churches like St. Joseph’s Anuradhapura, St. Sebastian’s Katuwapitiya and St. Martin de Porres Church in Gangoda, Wennappuwa with a national setting. Now almost all our Catholic churches in Sri Lanka are built with an indigenous outlook.

When the construction of the celebrated St. Mary’s Church, Badalgama was in progress, though not in such grandiose form, another church with an indigenous outlook was taking shape in the foothills of Hantane. This was the Church of Our Lady of the Seat of Wisdom in the Peradeniya University campus.

The chapel was designed by the then Peradeniya University Catholic Chaplain, fr. Ignatious Pinto OMI. Its construction was initiated in 1953 and was completed within two years. It was blessed by Dr. Bernard Regno, the then Bishop of Kandy and was formally inaugurated in late 1955. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Seat of Wisdom could be considered as the first church with an indigenous outlook to see the light of the day.

When the Arts Faculty of the University of Ceylon was shifted to Peradeniya in 1952, Fr. Ignatious Pinto too moved to Peradeniya as the lecturer in European History and Chaplain of the Catholic students association was known as the Newman Society. Soon he conceived an idea to build a chapel and a hall of residence. After months of tenacious correspondence Fr. Ignatious Pinto managed to get a land within the University campus for the purpose.

Fr. Ignatious Pinto built the chapel in accordance with national concepts with Kandyan elements and lotus shaped lamps etc. to fall in line with the early university buildings in Peradeniya. The triumphant climax of this thinking was the mosaic of Our Lady of the Seat of Wisdom in saree in an indigenous framework with the Kandyan arch at the top.

He commissioned the Goan artist Angela Trinidad to lay out the mosaic. Such an outstanding mosaic with an oriental flavour is not found in any other Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. It was Fr. Ignatious Pinto who named the chapel with the inspiring choice ‘Church of Our Lady of the Seat of Wisdom’.

The Church of Our Lady of the Seat of Wisdom with its indigenous art and architecture and its wonderful mosaic is a unique structure that adorns Peradeniya University campus. It stands as a monument to its architect - the great and holy priest of God, erudite historian and founder of chaplain of Newman Society Peradeniya, Fr. Ignatious Pinto.

When Fr. Henry Rodrigo OMI, was in charge of St. Philipneri’s Church, Katukurunda, Kalutara, there too be built a new church following traditional indigenous art and architecture. He started building the church in 1964 and completed it within three and half years. St. Philipneri’s Church, Katukurunda is a class by itself.

The facade of St. Philipneri’s Church, Katukurunda has crosses with Kandyan style arches on the background. The doors have Lotus designs and punkalasas on both sides of entrances. The dome over the sanctuary has a octagon in Patthirippuwa style with crosses at the top of it. There are traditional indigenous decorations and designs inside the church with Lotus sculptured pillars. The sanctuary is separated with Makara Thorana arches.

The church is a place of God venerated by Christians and we should feel at home in a church. Recently there are attempts to build churches similar to Buddhist structures, and there are some churches decorated with Bopath designs. In some churches statues of Lord Buddha are placed for Vesak and in time to come even the cross in the church may be replaced with Dhamma Chakra.

The churches like St. Mary’s Badalgama, St. Philipneri’s Katukurunda and the Church of Our Lady of the Seat of Wisdom at the University campus, Peradeniya have both Christian traits and indigenous aspects in due proportion. They are a model to emulate in building Catholic churches with an indigenous outlook.

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What’s Jihad

Abdul aziz

JIHAD: Jihad is an important duty and its obligatory nature and its importance is quite clear on the basis of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet’s sayings, Jihad is a comprehensive word which packs a vast range of meaning within it.

A proper study of Qur’an and Sunnah reveals that Jihad is a comprehensive concept covering vast range of meanings. The word Jihad with its various derivatives has been used in the Qur’an in no less than 35 verses.

The word Jihad literally means, to strive, to endeavour, to contend, to struggle strenuously and to stretch one’s efforts to limit. The word Jihad has been used in the Qur’an to mean spending one’s substance, fortune, and person in the path of God, to fight in defense of one’s faith and conscience.

On a comprehensive reading of Qur’anic verses in their proper context and with varying connotations of the word Jihad the scholars have categorised Jihad as

(i) A spiritual struggle against one’s evil propensities, which has been described as Jihad bin naffas,

(ii) Committing one’s effort and fortune for religious cause is termed as Jihad bil maal and

(iii) Contending and arguing with good reason and in the light of Qur’an is termed as Jihad bil Qur’an. The last category termed as

(iv) “Jihad bil saif”, or taking up arms, which is also known as Qital.

This last category of Jihad has been placed by the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) at a much lower pedestal. On returning from an expedition, the Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said, “We have returned from a smaller Jihad to a bigger Jihad”, meaning returning from the armed conflict to a spiritual struggle of Jihad bin nafs.

The Jihad of spiritual struggle, committing one’s resources to the noble cause, propagating faith by reason and argument and spreading the teachings of Qur’an are the kinds of Jihad which are obligatory for Muslims at all times and at all places.

The last category of Jihad i.e. defensive war is obligatory only under certain preconditions and specific times only for those who are fit to take up arms.

Admissibility of this particular kind of Jihad-which is termed as Qitaal in the Holy Quran’s nomenclature-is contingent upon, and conditional with, the existence of a set of specific circumstances and particular conditions.

Unfortunately, with the passage of time an erroneous interpretation of Jihad has found its way into the Muslim Ummah (Community), according to which Jihad consists of spreading the religion of Islam with sword. The Qur’anic verse that permitted Jihad bil saif, (taking up arms), is set forth in the following words:

Permission to fight is granted to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged and Allah indeed has the power to help them. They are those who have been driven out of their homes unjustly. (20:40-41).

With the passage of time the predominant aspect of Jihad of spiritual struggle, material efforts and propagation by reason was lost and the lesser Jihad by arms found its way. In that process Jihad assumed a political dimension and over a period of time it assumed the meaning of waging an all out war against all non believers at all times. The concept of Jihad was distorted.

Islam is a religion of peace. The very word means peace: peace with in and peace without. It means being at peace and giving peace to others. There is no room for coercion in religion. “There shall be no coercion in matters of faith” says Qur’an. Violence and the distorted perception of Jihad is in conflict with the Islamic principles.

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Celebrating the birth of Lakshmi

BIRTH: The goddess, called Devi, Ambal, Lakshmi, Shakthi, is one of the most important figures in the Hindu pantheon. Tradition tells us to pray to the Goddess first, because with her kind and benevolent heart, she will intercede with the Lord for the granting of any boon. While the goddess represents everything from power to prosperity, in the form of Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu, she is a symbol of wealth.

Performing the Varalakshmi puja is said to be equivalent to worshipping all the different forms of Lakshmi. The evening before the day of the puja, the area for its performance is cleaned and decorated.

A bronze or silver kalasam (special pot) is filled with rice or water and coins, a whole lime, five types of leaves and betel leaves and betel nut. The kalasam is smeared with sandal paste and covered with a new cloth up to the neck.

A coconut applied with turmeric paste is placed on top with mango leaves around. An image of the Goddess made of different materials, including cloth, is affixed to this. The kalasam is deemed to be the Goddess herself. Offerings of pongal are made and arathi is performed.

The next morning, before rahu kalam, the kalasam is placed on a bed of rice. This signifies that Lakshmi has entered the house. After the installation, a puja beginning with an invocation to Lord Vinayaka begins. During the puja, the Lakshmi Sahasranamam and other slokas dedicated to Varalakshmi are chanted.

Different types of sweets are offered to the Goddess. The women and girls of the house tie yellow coloured saradu or thread around their wrists.

Thamboolam is given to other “sumangalis” (married women) who are invited to the house that evening. The woman who has performed the puja observes a fast on that day, eating only certain items. The following day the holy water in the kalasam is sprinkled throughout the house. If rice has been used in the place of water then it is mixed with the rice stored in the house.

The legend behind Varalakshmi puja and the fasting is fascinating. It was a game of dice which caused a small tiff between Lord Shiva and Parvati as to who was the victor. An honest gana, Chitranemi, was asked to arbitrate and he decided in Shiva’s favour.

An angry Parvati cursed him to suffer from leprosy. When Shiva pleaded with her, she gave in and said the day women in the world observed Varalakshmi puja, Chitranemi would get deliverance. Chitranemi got relief when he observed some women performing the puja. Ever since then, this fasting has been observed.

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Christian songs

COLOMBO: The voice of peace festival of Christian devotional songs organised by Pastor Sri Lal will be held at Colombo Vihara Maha Devi open air theatre on August 18 and 19 from 5.00 p.m.

Admission is free. Pastor Sri Lal’s 8th Christian devotional songs cassettes and CDs will also be launched.