Christian Perspectives

St. John the Baptist Feast Nagoda, Kandana

S.I. Rosairo

The Feast of St. John the Baptist, the Precursor of Jesus Christ was celebrated at the Church named after the Saint, at Nagoda, Kandana, with much pomp, true to the assurance given by the new Parish Priest, Rev. Father Ranjan Silva, who took over the parish just one month ago.

The Holy Bible describes John thus:

"Behold I sent my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you."

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight." "Now John was clothed with camel hair, and with a leather belt around his waist and he ate locusts and wild honey and he preached crying.

There comes one after me who is mighter than I, whose sandal straps, I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptised you with water, but He will baptise with the Holy Spirit." (Mark Ch. 1.2-8)

St. John the Baptist was a holy man and a great prophet, so much so that Jesus refers to him thus; "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptist," and adds, "but who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven, is greater than he." (Matt.Chap 11-11). Whatever it is, John the Baptist holds a very prominent position above all the saints, for the fact that he was entrusted with the great and noble task of preparing the way for the coming of Christ to the world.

Coming to the Feast Day itself, the day proper was preceded with nine days of novenas preparatory to the great feast which was held on Sunday the 27th of this month.

There were Holy Masses, hourly, for the convenience of late pilgrims and in the evening the procession with the statue of the saint wended its way through the streets of Nagoda, despite the inclement weather which cleared up in time. All in all it was a public demonstration of the people of Nagoda.

I am sure St. John the Baptist would be reciprocating this gesture from his Heavenly abode.

Mary of Magdala, The shadow of the tomb

Fr. Don Anton Saman Hettiarachchi

On this festive occasion, it's deemed apt to admire the culminating and more significant role which St. Mary Magdalene played staying like the shadow of the tomb, as depicted in the Fourth Gospel.

John's report is distinctively his own. He confines his attention to Mary Magdalene (20, 1-2) in view of the following apparition to her (20,11-18). At first, she seems to visit the tomb alone. But her later words, "We don't know...." indicate that she has not gone alone. Regarding this, Bultmann holds that 'we' is not a genuine plural but it reflects an oriental mode of speech whereby plural can be used for singular. E. L. Bode says, it is a regular mode of John's writing as already seen in 3,2.11.

The Shadow in John's Account

Mary Magdalene having taken one look at the tomb turns to Peter and the other disciple to tell "The Lord has been taken out of the tomb." Her words don't presuppose any angelic appearance (as in the Synoptic tradition) in view of Jesus' forthcoming appearance to her.

What Mary thinks is that either enemies or robbers have taken Jesus' Body. So the theme of robbery continues in the narrative. The robbing of tombs was so common at that time and she fears such robbery. The copy of the decree of Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD), discovered at Nazareth and found in Barrett, The New Testament Background. Selected Documents (London 1957) 15 orders capital punishment for those destroying tombs, removing bodies, displacing the sealing or other stones. Such official action had to be taken because the robbing of tombs was so common then.

She returns to the tomb (20,11) and weeps for the Body of the Lord that has been taken away. That kind of a loss would be a concern to anyone at any time. But among Jews of the ANE (Ancient Near East) at that time abuse or outrage of the dead was something shocking. When the Philistines exposed the bodies of Saul and his sons, the men of Jabesh-Gilead bravely recovered them to give them a proper burial (1 Sam 31,9-13). It was natural for Mary to fear the worst concerning Jesus. She now stoops to look into the tomb. Her attention is caught by the sight of the two angels. So the powers of heaven have been at work.

One is at the head while the other at the feet where Jesus had been laid. So it's God, not robbers who has taken Jesus for a purpose yet to be revealed. Jesus's question draws her attention to Him, but it does not make her recognize Him. She fails to recognize Him in harmony with the Resurrection Narrative. She assumes that at so early an hour during the feast only the gardener would be there and so innocently confuses Jesus with the gardener. The Johannine literary device of misunderstanding characteristic of the dialogues finds an echo here.

Mary speaks in the language of concern, not even considering whether what she offers to do would be possible for her, "Tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him away." She thinks that since the tomb is new, he may have removed Jesus' Body from it to another place without ill will. Hence she pleads to know where he has placed it that she may take it away.

Jesus calls her by name - in the way. He used to speak to her and that would suffice for her to recognize Him. Once His word goes home to her, she recognizes Him. She answers Him in the way she used to address Him - now with astonishment that suits the circumstance. The Shepherd called His sheep by name and the sheep heard, "The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name" (10,3).

Mary calls Him, "Rabboni", a variant of "Rabbi", as He has frequently been called by His disciples during His earthly ministry. All her love, faith and joy illuminating her heart and mind are poured into this address, 'Teacher.' Jesus thereby re-establishes the personal relationship that she thought she had forever lost; it is now deepened as she calls Him Rabboni. However she is yet to realize He is now "Lord and God" (20,28).

Jesus tells her, "Don't cling to me" or literally "Don't keep touching me." Mary has evidently attempted to take hold of Jesus throwing herself at His feet and throwing her arms about his knees according to the Eastern customs. It's a perfectly normal expression of love, affection and joyful adoration.

Jesus tells her to let go of Him to share the good news with the disciples while He completes the drama of His glorification with the Ascension that immediately follows. Now He is on His way to return to the Father, thus accomplishing the destiny that has been the goal of His entire earthly life (6,62; 7,33; 13,1). Once ascended, He will fulfil the promises made at the Last Supper (14-16). Was Thomas not invited to touch the wounds of Jesus (20,27)? By then He would be ascended!

Finally she reports to the disciples this good news of "I have seen the Lord" along with His words to her. It's urgently necessary for Jesus Himself to deal with them by appearing (20, 19ff).

The Shadow that overshadows us today

In the Passion-Resurrection Narratives, women are present at Jesus' crucifixion, death and burial. They are the first to receive the good news of the Resurrection, to meet the Risen Lord and to announce it. It's striking and astonishing in the contemporary Jewish context that women would become the first custodians and proclaimers of Jesus' Resurrection, preached by the Church down to the present and a mystery so central and crucial to the Christian faith (1 Cor 15).

The absent male disciples must at first rely on their testimony. All this supports the historicity of their role. No invented story in that culture would have given them such prominence and entrusted the first proclamation of the Resurrection and its initial witness to such questionable witnesses.

The writer is the Dean, Faculty of Theology (English Medium) Aquinas University College, Colombo

Pamunugama celebrates Precious Blood feast

Joe Jayamanne

The Devotion to the Most Precious Blood which was shed by Our Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation is a pious Catholic devotion deeply rooted in the church from very early times. Private devotion to the Precious Blood had prevailed in various parts of Italy and in Rome, noticeably at a church dedicated to St. Nicholas, known as the church of San Nichola in Carcere in Rome where this private devotion had prevailed since 1708.

Fr. Francis Albertini, a saintly priest attached to this church and who later became a Bishop, gathered together most of these private devotees and formed them into a Society of Confraternity of the Precious Blood, for the first time in the church.

They dedicated themselves to frequent meditation on the Passion of Christ and offered the Precious Blood of Christ to His Heavenly Father in expiation of their sins, for the conversion of sinners, for the great needs of the Church and for the souls in purgatory.

Pius VII, the Pope at that time, officially recognised this confraternity as a religious society in the church and raised it to the rank of an Arch Confraternity on 26th Sept. 1815, which meant it had the privilege of having other confraternities of the Precious Blood anywhere affiliated to it as a parent confraternity. It was enriched with numerous indulgences and privileges.

Fr. Gaspar del Buafalo, who closely worked with Fr. Albertini and who later was declared a saint, got together a group of priests who laboured for the propagation of the devotion to the Precious Blood and formed them into a religious congregation known as the "Missionary Fathers of the Precious Blood" in Rome in 1815.

This religious congregation also established a confraternity of the Precious Blood known as 'Prima Primaria' and this Confraternity of the Precious Blood was also elevated by Pope Pius IX to the rank of an Arch Confraternity with the same powers and privileges as that of Saint Nichola in Carcere.

Missionary Fathers of the Precious Blood endeavoured to propagate this devotion not only in Italy but also in other countries.

The Confraternity of the Precious Blood and the Devotion to the Precious Blood at St. Joseph's church Pamunugama was inaugurated by Fr. Sylvester Papili (O.S.B.), a missionary priest from Italy. Fr. Papili was born and brought-up in a strict religious environment in Italy where the devotion to the Precious Blood was deeply rooted and strongly prevalent.

On March 26, 1866, within two years of his taking over of the parish, Fr. Papili established a Confraternity of the Precious Blood in his parish and through the then relevant local church authorities, affiliated this Confraternity to the Arch Confraternity 'Prima Primaria', belonging to the Missionary Fathers of the Precious Blood in Rome.

Though this affiliation, our Confraternity of the Precious Blood became entitled to all the spiritual privileges and concessions conferred to our Arch Confraternity by the Holy See from time to time, including the special papal concession to the Arch Confraternity and to its affiliates the world over to celebrate the feast of the Most Precious Blood, as a liturgical feast on first Sunday in July annually and the first time in Sri Lanka and in this part of Asia at that time, Fr. Papili celebrated the liturgical feast of the Most Precious Blood in St. Joseph's church, Pamunugama in 1868 and this annual feast has been celebrated on 1st Sunday in July every year.

Fr. Papili had to leave Pamunugama parish after 15 years of active service to join his congregation in its new Diocese of Kandy assigned to them. Devotion to the Precious Blood continued to be fostered in the Pamunugama parish by his successors in the parish. In 1918, Confraternity of the Precious Blood of Pamunugama celebrated its Golden Jubilee.

To commemorate this historic event, a marble plaque in honour of Fr. Papili with his bust imprinted was installed in the present church of Pamunugama, which was built by him. In 1968 the Precious Blood devotion in Pamunugama reached its centenary. This centenary was celebrated with great piety and devotion. In 1993, the Jubilee celebration of 125 years of the Precious Blood devotion took place with the participation of the parishioners and others from the neighbouring parishes and villages.

Those days the pilgrims came in caravans of bullock carts along the untarred and uneven roads and camped in lands within the vicinity of the church. The Hamilton canal that runs through the village and joins the Negombo lagoon with the Kelani river also became a popular and convenient route for pilgrims from distant coastal areas. They came in boats, pada-boats and the old folk in the village still remember the long line of boats along the canal as far as the eyes could see and such pilgrims camped in houses and lands along the canal and the sea beach.

They enjoyed a good and quiet rest and the kind hospitality of the village. Priests from nearby parishes arrived well earlier and stayed in Pamunugama parish and administered to the pilgrims and Pamunugama in fact resembled the Madhu Camp in those days. In course of time, the Confraternity of the Precious Blood of Pamunugama gradually became dormant and inactive due to historic reasons and the devotion to the Precious Blood became limited to the annual celebration of the Precious Blood feast on 1st Sunday in July, at the parish level.

To remedy this situation, it became necessary to revive and re-vitalise the dormant confraternity of the Precious Blood and accordingly it was revived on 1st July 1998. With the aim of re-vitalising this ancient devotion in the parish, a Holy Hour in honour of the Precious Blood is held on every First Friday of the month from 6.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. in the parish church, with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and on other Fridays of the month special devotion to the Precious Blood is conducted in the parish church at the same time.

The annual feast of the Most Precious Blood, this year, is celebrated on July 4 (first Sunday in July) with great devotion by the parish of Pamunugama. All are welcome to the only Shrine dedicated to the Most Precious Blood in Sri Lanka. Following in the foot steps of our ancestors and forefathers, we invite you to foster the devotion to the Most Precious Blood of our Redeemer and reap the rich benefits therefrom.

The writer is the Secretary, Confraternity of the Most Precious Blood, Pamunugama.

God's Love

Pastor Rohan Peiris

God wants to do good things for us because He loves us. We can begin to understand how much the father loves us if we think about how much we love our children. However, God loves us because He is love. Love is not something He does, love is who He is (1 John 4:16)

Love is all God knows how to do. And the Bible says ... God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34 KJV) He does not love one person more than He loves another one. He does not love the preacher at church more than He loves you or the most prominent person you can think of. But sometimes we think that way. We think God loves other people more than He loves us!

God's love for us is complete, pure, steady, constant and unending. We can't be separated from it. (See Romans 8:38-39). God wants to have a personal relationship with us because, as a loving Father, there is so much He wants to do for us. He wants us to receive all the benefits He has for us that we read about in Psalms 103. To provide a way for us to have a personal relationship with him, God sent His son Jesus. Jesus said ... "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, but through me." (John 14:6)

We receive everything the Father has for us through Jesus; not only salvation-eternal life with the Father - but the benefits described in Psalms 103:2-5 and everything else.

The problem is not on God's side - He is not withholding good things from us. The problem is on our side - not being able to receive what He has already made freely available for us. Many of us don't freely receive many or any of all things the Father has for us because we don't know they are available. Others of us who know what good things He has for us, don't know how to receive them.

First to become an heir of God, of all things He has for us, we establish a personal relationship with him by believing in His son Jesus. (Galations 3:26 (KJV) tells us: For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. And as a son (or child) of God, we become an heir of God, a fellow heir with Jesus (see Romans 8:17, Galations 4:7)

Also, to receive all the father has for us, we must fully consider the great price Jesus paid for the purpose of making eternal life and all other benefits freely available to us.

Dynamics of God's Love

"For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, that whomsoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

The following points describe the greatness and goodness of God's love.

God's love is plenteous

"God so loved the world"... (John 3:16)

A. Millions of people in our world lack food, clothing and shelter. They are so destitute as far as life's necessities are concerned.

B. There seems to be plenty for some people in our world. However, many are homeless and some are starving to death.

C. It is so comforting to know that there is no short supply of God's love. It is sufficient for all , "God so loved the world" - the small and great, rich and poor alike. No one is left out.

God's love is priceless

".. that He gave His only begotten son..." (John 3:16)

A. Mode of today's love is cheap and temporary. The divorce rate almost surpasses the number of marriages.

B. God's love is priceless. He gave His only son to die for our sins. No one else could at one. God gave the best Heaven had to offer because of His priceless love for us.

C. We deserve to die for our sins." For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romars 6:23)

God's love is protective

"... that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish ...." (John 3:16)

A. The love of a mother and father is great parents strive to protect their children from harm and danger.

B. God's love is greater. We sinned and deserved to die, but God's protective love saved us from wrath. We must believe to receive.

C. Ours is a dangerous world. Terrorism is spreading, death and destruction throughout the world, but God watches over His own. "For He shall give His angels charge over thee ...." (Psalms 91:11).

God's love is permanent

" ... but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)

A. Few things in today's world are permanent. Almost everything rusts, decays, is stolen, or destroyed.

B. It is so uplifting to know that God's love is permanent. It does not last for just a day, week, month or year. God's love is eternal. "God is love" (1 John 4:8)

C. Christians can be filled with God's love. They can enjoy happiness in this life and everlasting life in the world to come.

Amen!

The writer is the Founder President, Gracious Ministries international