Christian Perspectives

'He gave His life'

Sripathy JAYAMAHA

On this day, when we go back to more than 2000 years, to relive that sorrowful moment in the calendar of the Christian world, let us, sit at the foot of the Ignominious Cross, on the blood soaked earth, while looking up at the tormented but serene face of the Crucified Lord, with His Blessed Life Giving. Blood falling on our bodies as droplets and recall some of the most beautiful words of our Saviour which I feel is for all time and all mankind, irrespective of Nationality and Religion.

Chasing the money changers and tradesmen from the temple in anger, by saying "Do not make my Fathers House a den of thieves." Sadly the practice still goes on.

He said, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Lord Buddha too meant the same when He said "Thanhaya Jayathi Shoko". Yes! sorrow is always behind the greedy and the rich.

The most significant and beautiful words were said by Jesus when the elite brought the woman in sin before Him. They wanted to know His thoughts before stoning her.

Then those words. "He that is without sin let him cast the first stone." These hallowed words and "Physician healthy self" and "Remove the beam in your own eye before trying to remove the speck in others eyes."

The world would have indeed been a fairyland if man heeded to these words. They are absolute Gems.

While teaching us to pray to the Father in Heaven: "Forgive them that trespass against us. And on the cross," Forgive them because they know not what they do." Yes! He forgave His murderers.

Out of His parables, one of the most poignant. The sympathy and the empathy shown by an outsider a Samaritan, towards a helpless person, when his own people had given the fallen man a wide berth.

His attitude towards humility is shown when He washes the feet of his disciplines.

He said Greater Love no man has, than for him to give his life for his friend.

How very true, He gave his life for all of us, many have given their lives for their motherland.

And His all encompassing words for all generations. "Peace be unto you all."

Special Easter play at PM's office

A special Easter play was staged at the Prime Minister's office on Tuesday to mark the Easter organized under the directions of Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka.

The Premier said the priority of all should be unity and to help country's development following the eradication of terrorism.

He said the main aim of the Government was to hand over a self sufficient country to the next generation.

Bishop Emeritus Rt. Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis said Jesus Christ preached that hatred ceaseth not by hatred and what Christ preached at that time is very relevant today. We should forget the past in a spirit of forgiveness.

"We all commit mistakes.Our duty should be to bring those who erred into the righteous path."

He said sections of the youth committed mistakes in the past. But today peace has dawned in the country.

Now is the time to forgive those who committed mistakes in the past and bring them into the mainstream of development.

"I ask all Sri Lankans to strive to build harmony among all communities and religions so as to take the country forward on the development path.

"The Prime Minister has completed 50 years in politics. He is a leader who had won the respect of all of us. The service he has rendered to the country and its people are immense.

There is lot more he could do for the country and people. We wish him all strength and good health in his journey to make this country self sufficient," said Bishop Gomis.

Catholic Journalist must be a true voice maker

Padminie NANAYAKKARA

Catholic Journalist must always speak the truth, he should be impartial and always be independent.

He should report the real situation but not the fabricated ones," said His Grace the Archbishop Dr. Malcolm Ranjith in his address as the chief guest at the silver jubilee celebrations of National Catholic Writers Association (NCWA) held on March 21 at Paul the VI centre, Colombo.

His Grace added that second Vatican Council decided to encourage Journalists to do priestly, prophetical and pastoral role effectively to bring closer to God. Archbishop Emeritus Most Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis who graced the occasion, explained how the Journalism started in Sri Lanka and the services rendered by Rev. Fr. Jacome Gonsalves and Alagiyawanna Mohottala to the Sri Lankan literature.

The prizes were awarded to the winners both children and youth who send, articles to magazine "Nirmani."

The 'Livisuru' award won by Maximus Roy while Aloye Kahadawitagamage won the 'Kirisuru' award and Rodney Warnakula was awarded 'Kalasura'.

Why Christians adore The Holy Cross

Lenard R. Mahaarachchi

The cross is the sign of the Christian. This is how the catechism book describes the cross. Once an instrument of shame associated with criminals, it was raised to sanctity once Jesus died on it, as a ransom for the sins of mankind.

It was the cross that reconciled the world to God in Christ with the death on it of God's Son, Jesus Christ.

On May 3 and September 14, the church celebrates a feast in honour of the Cross on which Jesus died at 3 p.m. on that fateful first Good Friday in 29 AD. The former recalls the Finding of the Holy Cross, while the latter celebrates the Exultation of the Cross.

Both feasts recall the triumph of the Cross which was lost for nearly 3 centuries. The finding of the cross is attributed to the mother of Constantine the Emperor, St. Helena. It is said that the emperor gained victory over his enemy through the intercession of the Cross, which sign he had seen in the heavens.

The cross of Christ which was thrown into a ditch near the Holy sepulchre got covered by earth with time including the Calvary area.

In the second century Emperor Hadrian had this area covered with earth to erect a temple for Jupiter, Constantine's mother Helena had it razed to the ground and when the soil was dug up she came across three crosses in the debris.

A miraculous cure of a woman, made it easy for the real cross to be identified. She then had the cross divided into three parts and deposited each of them in Rome, Constantinople and Jerusalem.

There are three varieties of crosses and what the Christians identify as cross is the Latin version which has its beam near the upper part of the upright.

The second takes the shape of the letter X and is referred to as St. Andrew's Cross, since the Apostle had died on one such.

What is known as St. Anthony's cross is like the letter T. There is also a 4th type called the Greek cross which has equal beams and is like the sign + (plus). Crucifixion was the type of capital punishment used by the Phoenicians, later copied by the Carthagians. Egypt is also said to have used this method of punishment later.

The death sentence was carried out via stoning by the Jewry of Jesus' day and long before in the pre New Testament times.

Jesus was a Jew and how He came to die on a cross is explained by the fact that Palestine at the time of Jesus was under the sway of Rome and crucifixion was the Roman method of death to offenders of the law.

It was the most excruciating type of execution since the victim had to suffer for days before dying. With the death of Jesus on a cross, this instrument became a symbol of deep veneration whereas earlier it was an instrument of humiliation.

In the early New Testament era, the Cross of Jesus was the centrepiece of all preachers. St. Pausl exalted the cross when he said, "But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles." (I Cor 1/23) To the Jews of Jesus's day the cross was an emblem of shame.

Coming back to the subject, the feast celebrated on September 14 is also in remembrance of the dedication of Cosntantine's Basilica on September 14, 335 AD.

The second part of the Cross found by his mother, referred to as deposited in Jerusalem earlier in this article, was carried away by the King of Persia.

Ve Prasansa, the musical enlightenment

Ajith PERERA

Prayer can do wonders and the same spirit of prayer can bind people in unity that cannot be destroyed or detached by any power on earth.

When people of different walks of life pray together in unity, the strength and power they experience in this collective enterprise is enormous. Such a motivated diverse crowd in unity may pray aloud and sing aloud for what they are and for what they have received from Above.

On the other hand some weep or lament when their shortcomings or offences are realized. When they are guided to leave behind their weaknesses and awaken to a new life while following the foot steps of Jesus either they praise or sing in glee because they know that 'He who sings prays twice.'

This is a widely accepted truth in which the faithful can be brought into one aim and one direction. That is why hymns of praise acclaim a pivotal position in prayers. Prayer, the dialogue between God and man, can be of different forms.

Similarly they are convinced that God Almighty is present among them, 'Where there are two or three gathered in My Name, there I am in the midst of them.'

We live in a peculiar society where most of the people are ungrateful or reluctant to praise and show their gratitude. How many of us are grateful? Are we grateful to God who is behind our success? Do we run to Him only when we are in need? When the needs are fulfilled, don't we forget the source or the entity we benefitted from?

Let us question ourselves whether it is the same spirit we have when it comes to praising human beings whom we consider our saviours or true leaders? No not at all. Can this harsh truth be ignored?

In such a social context Charles Thomas, the main figure and the guide of Ve Prasansa swims against the tide in billowy seas with a lot of vicissitudes to carry the flock to land where people adhere to the Good News offering the prominence to God alone and to praise the Lord for what He has done to the entire human race. In this spiritual endeavour we are invited to come as we are and to accept our strengths and weaknesses and to grow in Him while giving the due position to God in our lives in prayers and actions.

Ve Prasansa; conducted by Daham Pahana Movement is not just a musical prayer session that entertains people of different levels of faith but enlightens the faithful of different levels of education and social backgrounds on the hidden realities of the Good News of the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ and on how to be content in life by following the scriptures accordingly.

The thirst for the Good News that the faithful cannot stand is quenched in this holy gathering of volunteers through the Good News, prayers and hymns and songs that appropriately go along with meditation and enlightenment.

Music and effective style of smooth singing is believed to be effective in the treatments of different types of illnesses due to its effect on the psychological process of human body. Music is promoted healing and enhancing the quality of life. This is strongly prescribed in the management of stress.

Relaxing music stimulates various parts of the brain positively and reduces negative feelings that make them sick. When music and the Good News are intertwined effectively and meaningfully the diversity of participants are tranquilized. Therefore, music is accepted to be the best form of healing.

If a person is made aware of the depths of the teachings of the Holy Bible on what God expects from man and how man should live while making himself happy and God Almighty happy, he realizes completely practicing religion would not be as difficult as it seems to be. After carefully listening to the sermon based on scriptures people who may have listened to the same scriptures many a times in life, question among themselves how and why it was not explained and understood like this before. I too questioned myself why and how and where it went wrong.

I still cannot find proper answers. Bringing the Good News to the grass roots level in every nook and corner is the main intention of the well known 'Ve Prasansa.', the holy gathering of inspired faithful. Unlike in the past, the Good News should be brought to the doorstep of the faithful.

Otherwise the number of innocent lambs devoured currently by the unscrupulous fundamentalists will be innumerable and immeasurable.

Lacking the essence or core of religion in their depths is a major issue that remained unanswered but it should be remedied immediately. If not the decadence of our religion is inevitable.

You learned readers may not agree or may not like to accept the fact but it is nothing but the truth. Pooling the faithful in Jesus' name and enlightening them on the Good News cannot be done only by the clergy.

This could be a joint venture of the clergy and the laity. Catering to the spiritual and social needs of the faithful has been a challenge and that should be addressed some how. When the victims of the socio economic and spiritual whirlpool struggle for life, they are trapped as easy prey.

This is silent yet dangerous mission of certain religions or organized religious groups that offer shoulders to the victims to weep as much as they prefer and ultimately these innocent yet ignorant people are blindly directed to their camps.

Spiritual exercises and guidance like 'Ve Prasansa' is a timely need because circumstances in society make people helpless and they are unaware of solutions and directions in order to address their problems successfully.

Even the wisest man in society becomes helpless when fatal or miserable issues like diseases or injustices crop up. He could be ignorant to his sight and in such instances the helplessness and the misery could blindly guides him to darkness where he ends up in a labyrinth.

That may be one of the reasons why the faithful needs spiritual guidance and vision. So the sessions on spiritual exercises such as meditation, retreat, enlightenment on the Good News etc. are attended by the Bishops and the clergy in order to encourage the desiring faithful.

When the Sunday Mass may be prolonged by the homily or any other activity, the faces of the participants may be drooping or they are brow beating or biting their teeth.

Some of the crowd who ease themselves in the church yard exchanging their pleasantries during the Mass may not know what exactly is happing inside the church since they are name sake or ritualistic Catholics.

What is the secret behind this? Do people prefer ritualistic activities in religion or do they like the active involvement in praise, discussions and meditation? Such questions should be answered immediately and instead of doing so if the ways and means of discouraging people attending such musical enlightenments are sought, it could undoubtedly be a futile act of hypocrisy.

If arguments break out on loud music, loud singing, clapping and aloud praise of God is absurd, Psalm 150: 3, 4, 5 will disprove and silence such arguments.

Let me conclude my note with the question once raised by the late Bishop of Chilaw Rt. Rev. Dr. Frank Marcus Fernando encouraging the Daham Pahana Movement to be strong in faith and action inspired by God Himself.