Christian Perspectives

All set for St. Nicholas feast at Bopitiya

D. N. B. Kirihetti Pamunugama group correspondent

The annual feast of St. Nicholas, the patron Saint of sick children and the barren women will be held at the RC Church Bopitiya in Pamunugama on December 9.

St. Nicholas is also known as Santa Claus in appreciation of his generosity for he donated all the wealth he inherited from his parents among the poor, beggars and the most needy, deserving people.

Born to rich parents Epiphany and Jnana in a village called Pallara in the city of Lecia in Milan, little Nicholas was very pious since his childhood. He was used to visit the church daily and spend most of his time saying prayers.

When a poor man was in anguish as he could not give his three daughters in marriage due to dowry problems, young Nicholas gave him money to give his daughters in marriage.

Some time later young Nicholas with a crowd of devoted Catholics went on a sea voyage to visit the Holy Land. In the middle of the sea the ship they travelled was about to get wrecked by a storm, Nicholas through the power of prayers to God calmed down the sea miraculously.

During this period the Bishop of Miran died. The Bishops who gathered at the church were discussing as to who was going to fill the vacancy, when a voice from above announced that the first person who visit the church the following day should be appointed as the new Bishop.

Accordingly when young Nicholas who entered the church was declared new Bishop. It was the first time a Catholic layman was appointed Bishop even before becoming a priest.

Later people of Milan were facing hardships without food as a famine gripped the entire city. When three poor boys who were starving went to a hotel keeper and asked for something to eat, he caught and locked them up in a wooden barrel, to kill and obtain their flesh later.

Then a miracle took place. Bishop Nicholas who saw this incident by a divine power rushed to the hotel and saved the children, punishing the hotel keeper.

Since then Bishop Nicholas was known by the title ‘Protector of Children’. Annual Novena set apart for the sick children and those who expect babies after several years of marriage is held on December 6 at 11 a.m.

Special bus services are operated from Negombo to Bopitiya on the route No. 273 Ja-Ela, for the convenience of the pilgrims. Festival High Mass will be sung at 8 a.m. on December 9.

All arrangements have been arranged by the Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Basil Nicholas Hapuarachchy with the assistant Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Don Anacletus and the parish council.

Santa Claus coming to OTSC

The Old Thomians’ Swimming Club’s (OTSC) annual kiddies X’mas party for members’ children between the age two to 14 will be held on Saturday December 22, 2007 from 4.30 to 7.30 p.m. at the Club House premises, with all the fun, games, competitions, refreshment, bouncer, face painting and music.

The Magic show will be presented by ‘Wonderoo’ - Rohan Jayasekara and at the end Santa Claus will be giving away gifts to the kids. Tickets priced at Rs. 250 per child is available with the Club Manager.

The ‘Club Nite’ will be followed on the same day from 8.30 p.m. onwards with candle lit carols and Special Guest Artiste. Music for dancing will be by a two piece band ‘Opus’ led by Ryle Hanwella. Brian Thomas will be the host for the evening.

There will be no cover charged, a set menu dinner will be available. It’s open to all members, their families and guests.

Table reservations could be made with the Club Manager, says the OTSC Social Secretary, Tusita de Alwis.

St. Mary’s Church feast at Mattakkuliya

The annual feast of St. Mary’s Church, Mattakkuliya will be celebrated on December 9, said Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Mark Fernando TOR.

The Colombo West Episcopal Vicar, Rev. Fr. Ivan Perera will officiate at the festive High Mass in Sinhala, Tamil and English at 7.30 am.

The procession starting at 5 pm carrying the statue of Our Blessed Mother will vend its way along St. Mary’s Lane, Jubilee Mawatha, Ferguson Road, Church Road, Farm Road, Vystwyke Road, St. Mary’s Road and return to the Church.

The flagstaff was hoisted on Friday, November 30 at 5 pm. Vespers will be sung on December 8 at 7.30 pm presided over by Rev. Fr. Daya Shelton Welikadarachchi, Professor, National Seminary, Ampitiya. The daily Novenas at 6.30 p.m. will continue till December 7.

The social doctrine of the Church and promotion of peace

Rev. Fr. Leopold Ratnasekera OMI

The promotion of peace is part of the apostolate of the church. It is based on the fundamental tenet of the Christian faith that God is a God of peace.

Before being God’s gift to man and a human project in conformity with the divine plan, peace is first of all a basic attribute of God. Through Jesus Christ, God reconciled to himself the estranged mankind and gave us the pledge of peace that Christ alone can give of which the world is incapable.

The Beatitudes found in the ‘sermon on the mount’ declare peace-makers to be blessed. It is part of the solemn character of God’s Kingdom. The psalms sing of the beauty of the feet of those who come from the distant mountains announcing peace.

God reconciled to himself the nations through Israel his chosen people and raised it as a sign and agent of unity and peace among them. St. Paul teaches that the whole of creation groans to see the revelation of the children of God and that in Christ all human groups are reconciled and that his ministry is one engaged in reconciling nations.

The basic biblical reason that called for this reconciliation in the world is the regain of sin that causes division, rebellion, dissension, conflict and violence in mankind.

Social sins are the main sources of such disturbances since human nature suffers all the consequences of sin. This situation leads to constant violence that disrupts personal and social relationships.

Prophet Isaiah, in the Old Testament reveals the breath-taking vision of all peoples marching towards Jerusalem in a procession of peace and there to be taught by God.

The work of divine peace is orchestrated in the work of Jesus Christ: his birth hailed by the angelic song of peace to all men of goodwill, his lifestyle and preaching about the kingdom of love, life and forgiveness ending in his saving death that brought liberation from sin and the peace he left with us.

The Risen Lord always carried on his lips the greeting of peace or shalom. There is no announcing of the Gospel without painstakingly taking up the missionary task of working for peace and reconciliation.

In fact, the Gospel is the good news of peace. In the light of the above data, the foundations and the imperative for peace and the work for peace are to be discovered in the word of God, which is the Bible.

It is revealed in the history of Israel and later in the story of Jesus and now continues in the work and in the history of the Church which is the community of believers who are in communion with God, with one another and with the wider humanity across the variety of world’s cultures.

Even the smallest Christian community in an outstation of a parish has to grow to be an agent of peace, justice and reconciliation in its own environment characterised as it is in a country like Sri Lanka with its ethnic, religious and social differences.

A community engaged in peace-work has necessarily to be a community of active dialogue at all levels.

Beginning from Vatican’s diplomatic service, then through the pontifical council for justice and peace, and percolating through to the national commissions for justice and peace, peace-work galvanises even the smallest of the Christian communities launched through the pastoral program of ASIPA.

Thus we become the light and leaven of peace in the heart of society, the salt that gives the flavour of peace and harmony, sharing and solidarity.

Peace is as much a fruit of justice and love as war is its lamentable failure. Peace is not merely the absence of war nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power.

The profoundest foundation of peace is based on the dignity of the human person and calls for the establishment of a social order based on justice and charity. Building up this social order is a daily task and will flourish when everyone assumes responsibility in this regard.

Pope John Paul II once speaking to the Diplomatic Corps referred to a ‘culture of peace’ that arises in a climate permeated with harmony and respect for justice.

The same pope spoke strongly against violence which can never be condoned and that it is evil, unacceptable as a solution to problems, unworthy of man, a lie militating against the Christian truth of our faith and that of humanity.

Its worse contradiction is that it destroys what it claims to defend: the dignity, the life and the freedom of the human beings.

Against the background of social violence, we need today the witness of the so-called ‘unarmed prophets’ who can teach the gravity of the physical and moral risks consequent to having recourse to violence.

In August 1939, Pope Pius XII said that nothing is lost by peace and that everything may be lost by war. We have to bear in mind that the damage caused by armed conflict is not only material but also moral.

No wonder, that at the end of it all, we realise that war is the failure of all true humanism. Hence, seeking the alternatives for resolving conflicts is a matter of great urgency today when we see nations prone to war and competing for nuclear supremacy.

The deeper roots of violent conflicts have to be addressed, especially those connected to structural situations of injustice, poverty and exploitation which need to be removed. This is why Pope Paul VI said that another word for peace today is ‘development’.

This too is a collective responsibility. The Church condemns outright any war of aggression as intrinsically immoral and that the victim has the right of self-defence.

While armed forces are called in such instances to defend security and freedom they have to clearly refrain from committing crimes against the law of the nations.

While the so-called conscientious objectors must be provided with other forms of community service, the teaching authority of the Church encourages initiatives such as an International Criminal Court to bring to justice those found guilty of crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.

In an era of arms proliferation, the Church proposes the goal of general, balanced and controlled disarmament. She has great reservations regarding the phenomenon of ‘deterrence’.

She teaches that: “This method of deterrence gives rise to strong moral reservations. The arms race does not ensure peace. Far from eliminating the causes of war, it risks aggravating them. Policies of nuclear deterrence, typical of the Cold War period, must be replaced with concrete measures of disarmament based on dialogue and multilateral negotiations.”

The weapons of mass destruction and other forms of arms, even small arms like landmines are unacceptable in the judgement of the Church.

The recruitment and the use of children as soldiers in combat forces of any kind are condemned in the strongest possible terms as most inhuman. It does violence to their education and robs them of their precious childhood. It is of paramount importance that care and rehabilitation of these children be assisted with all means possible.

While terrorism is seen as the most brutal form of violence traumatising society in general and the international community as well, we must also realise its destructive nature that ignites hatred, death and the urge for revenge and reprisal.

From being a subversive strategy of extremism, it has turned out to be a shadowy network of political collusion.

At the same time, the fight against it presupposes the moral duty of helping to create those conditions that will prevent it from emerging and developing such as situations where rights are being trampled upon and injustices tolerated over long periods of time.

We need not repeat the Church’s view that terrorism is to be condemned in the most absolute terms for its shows complete contempt for human life and can never be justified since the human person is always an end and never a means.

Yet, it must be stated that the right of defence against terrorism cannot be exercised devoid of moral and legal norms. The Church has affirmed ad nauseam that declaring oneself a terrorist in God’s name is a profanation of religion and that no religion should tolerate or preach it.

Akin to the ministry of justice is the work of the promotion of peace in the world embraced by the Church as an integral part of her mission of perpetuating the work of Christ on earth.

This mission is still not ended and is very relevant to our times. The Church is called by Vatican II ‘the sacrament of unity of mankind’ and from this logically follows that it has to be a sign and instrument of peace in the world and for the world.

Flowing from the faith in a God of love who liberates, a new vision of the world and a new way of approaching others arises.

This meanders into Church’s gestures of dialogue with all Christians and people of other faiths so that diversity far from becoming an obstacle to human and spiritual relations creates an oasis for cordiality, exchange, collaboration and mutual betterment.

A view that is typical of the Church’s social doctrine on peace is that peace is made possible through forgiveness and reconciliation and not through raw justice and fight for rights.

In the course of the Great Jubilee Year 2000, the then reigning pontiff defended this position and extended many striking gestures of repentance for faults inflicted on others by Christianity.

It is very striking to see that justice and truth represent concrete requirements needed for reconciliation. All have a right to peace which demands that structures of power be transformed into those of cooperation to achieve the common good.

It has to be naturally understood that prayer plays a key role in the Church’s involvement in the pursuit of peace. Prayer leads to a deep encounter with God and to an encounter with others as well. Good relationships with strangers and aliens are already part of Israel’s code of social ethics.

The first historical peace-prayer even of all religions led by John Paul II held in Assisi of Italy in October 1986 was an imposing gesture for witnessing to the role of religions in world peace.

As succinctly taught in the apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist entitled: “The Sacrament of Charity”, the liturgy of the Holy Mass is seen as the source and summit of the Christian life and as a well-spring for authentic commitment to peace.

This liturgy itself abounds with references to peace from the initial greeting to the final sending of the assembly to go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

Pope Paul VI began the celebration of the World Day of Peace since 1968, fixing it for every January 1.

Papal messages of these annual celebrations to this day represent a rich source for the renewal and development of the Church’s social doctrine and are a witness to the Church’s constant pastoral activity in the promotion of peace and harmony.

Thus praying for peace and engaging in peace-building in the world are considered authentic actions of evangelisation of the church in the diffusion of the Gospel of Peace and reconciliation.

In this task, the Christian laity who live in the heart of the world and manage the temporal realities of life have special role to play since they have many avenues open to become apostles of peace and reconciliation in all sectors of social and civil life and in the areas of culture and fine-arts.