Chiristian Perspectives

Resurrection miracle, heart of Christianity

Easter, the Spring of Christendom celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after His death on that fateful first Good Friday 7th April 30 AD. The Holy Writ says that at dawn on Sunday there was an earthquake, which may have removed the stone that covered His sepulcher. There had been an earthquake on Friday too at the time Jesus died on the cross.

This was a full moon day and there as an eclipse of the sun at noon, which is not a possibility according to astronomy, as no eclipse of the sun can occur on a full moon day. May be mother nature lamented the death of the creator. The dawn earthquake may have marked the Rising of Christ from the grave. Christ, the vanquisher of death rose from the tomb which made the greatest historical event in human history. This proof of His divinity is the foundation of Christendom. It is the outstanding incident of all time and the starting point of the Christian faith. This singular event sealed for ever Christ's victory over death and the devil.

The Resurrection miracle is at the very heart of Christianity. Christian faith is now a resurrection faith and Christian theism is resurrection theism, thanks to the Lord's Rising. Good is the God who raises the dead as St. Paul says in his epistle to the Romans, (4/16-17). It was the Easter miracle that transformed the ignominy of the cross which apparently seemed to be a tragedy. One can never divorce the resurrection from the crucifixion seemed to be a tragedy. One can never divorce the resurrection proved that not only the scandal of the cross is really God's saving act, but that Jesus is the promised saviour and not the imposter that the High priests thought He was. St. Paul who never knew Jesus during His ministry, is the first witness to the Resurrection, having experienced the Risen Lord on his way to Damascus. (4/25. 6/4-11 etc) it was the resurrection that established that Christ is God's son. (ibid 1/4) Jesus entered upon His ministry as High Priest of the New Covenant presenting His own sacrificial blood to His Father, which made Him the intercessor. (ibid 8/34). It was due to the resurrection that Jesus becomes the judge of the living and the dead.

The Jewry of Jesus's day, believed is the resurrection. The high priests in fact believed that when rising they would still be attired with the funeral dress and insisted that their corpses be dressed properly. But fearing that Jesus would rise they asked Pilate to place a palace guard and seal the tomb stone. Who removed the stone at dawn that first Easter Sunday? The tomb stone was thrown away by the earthquake, not for Jesus to exit, but for Peter, John & Mary Magdalene to enter to check on the veracity of His Rising. It was an invitation from the Risen Lord. "To come & see" - Is there proof of the resurrection for us living 2000 years later? Yes there are two silent witnesses, the mute empty tomb and the Holy Shroud in which. He was wrapped for burial.

I had the privilege of kissing the slab of the tomb (where) Jesus' dead body lay) at my pilgrimage to the Holy Lands recently. We saw the olive trees in the garden where Jesus was in agony in the dark night lit by the Paschal moon. The dungeon where he was kept awaiting the unjust morning trial, the stone slab where His dead body was hurriedly washed and embalmed et al. The empty tomb's silence is deafening as it seems to cry "He is not here He is Risen." (Mk 16 5-7).

The other document that testifies to the Resurrection is the Holy Shroud of Turin. Today the team of expert scientists that analyzed the holy relic call (which is deposited in a reliquary at the cathedral of St. John the Baptist, in Turin, Italy) it the 5th - unwritten - gospel, and presto, it has now been found to be also the Table cloth that was spread on the "Last supper" Table. Miss Rebecca Jackson, the Jewess and the only female member of the study team, insists that as Joseph of Arimethea could not fetch a linen to wrap the body, he must have used this as an alternative. This singular vision made her convert from Judaism to Christianity.

However, as Christians we do not either need an empty tomb or even a shroud to establish the mystery of Christ's Resurrection. He was in the glory of the Father from all ages. "Father glorify they Son, that He may glorify You. With the glory that was mine when I was with you, before the world was." That was Jesus' last prayer. (Jn 17/5). Jesus at His Resurrection was only taking back His divinity that he divested at the Incarnation. This singular act of Jesus's Resurrection, gave rise to a new faith. It changed the world beginning from Rome. Pagan Rome which St. John calls the harlot became Christian. (Apocalypse).

The pagan temples in the empire had sacred prostitutes. The temple at Corinth dedicated to Aphrodite had thousand prostitutes and intercourse was an act of worship there. Messallina, the wife of Claudius (AD 41-54) made a mess of her royal life by visiting brothels in the nights under her night name Lycisca. It was this pagan Rome that was Christianized thanks to the miracle of the Resurrection. The new faith spread like a wild fire throughout the length of the Roman empire civilizing it in the process.

Tacitus described Rome as the place where atrocity in all its fury and shame flowed. Senaca called it "A filthy sewer". But Christianity changed that infamous image and gave the church the start it needed with the blood of martyrs which became the seed of the new faith. The emperors from Caligula (AD 41), Claudius (54), Nero (68), Vespasian (79), Titus (81) and Domitian - (96) AD (the years mentioned are the last year of their reign) all of whom advocate Caessar worship killed Christians who denied the emperor as Lord and accepted the Risen Lord as their only Lord.

Jesus the Risen One, changed pagan Rome which later became the centre of the new faith. The most notable witness to the Risen Lord was Saul, who later became Paul. His experience of the Risen Christ on his way to Damascus, was the turning point of his life. The Resurrection of Jesus today will not have any meaning unless we experience Him as did Paul. If you have not partaken of the Lord's Passion during Lent, you have no right to the joy of His Resurrection. Ask the Risen Lord to help you to be born again like Saul.

Lenard R Mahaarachchi

Statue of Risen Lord installed

The statue of Risen Lord was installed at the Opatha Church Kotugoda dedicated to St Anthony of Padua by Episcopal Vicar of Colombo North Very Rev. Fr. Patrick Perera in the midst of the devotees attended the Holy Mass on Easter Sunday.

The Church land covering about six acres had been donated by Ms Agnes in the beginning of 1990.

The statue is a donation of K. Raju of Chilaw, a Hindu by religion and a businessman who had extensively helped financially in the renovation of the century old Church in 2009. He donated the statue to add beauty to the church premises on the advice of his friend, Roland Fernando, the president of the Fishermen's Society of Chilaw.

Ranil Fernando of Kimbulapitiya crafted the 15-foot statue which was placed on a platform built by Gamini and Rohana. Kotugoda Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Don Jude Lakshman paid a glowing tribute to the donor and also expressed his appreciation over the manifestation of tolerance, religious amity, harmony and co-existence through the co-operation shown by the Buddhists of the area in working with the Catholics to make the road-way leading to the Church ground clear of any hindrance to take the statue of the Risen Lord which was moved from Kimbulapitiya in procession on Holy Tuesday.

Wiruma

Beatification of John Paul II

Late Pope John Paul II, who is set to be put on the path to sainthood on Sunday, was an inspirational figure who helped bring down Communism but alienated many Catholics with his conservative views.

The first non-Italian pope in more than 400 years, and the first from Eastern Europe, Polish-born Karol Wojtyla was immensely popular, eschewing the pomp that surrounded his predecessors and seeking contact with ordinary people.

He was scheduled to be honoured at a solemn beatification ceremony in Saint Peter's Sqare that will give the late pontiff "blessed" status for the world's 1.1 billion Catholics and leave him just one step from full sainthood.

Duting a pontificate lasting nearly 27 years, his extensive travels were often greeted by massive crowds and he argued for peace, denounced human rights abuses and often deplored the decadence of the modern world.

He left one of his most momentous acts for the twilight of his papacy - an attempt to purify the soul of the Roman Catholic Church with a sweeping apology for sins and errors committed during its 2,000 years of existence.

John Paul II was born in a small town near Krakow, in southern Poland, on May 18, 1920. His mother died when he was eight and his father raised him, teaching him German and football.

He studied at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow where he became fascinated by theatre and wrote a number of plays.

John Paul was never a member of the Polish resistance, but the experience of war caused him to consider the priesthood.

He became a parish priest and rose steadily through the Church hierarchy, eventually rising to cardinal.

When he was elected pope in October 1978, John Paul was 58, a robust sportsman and a relative outsider amid the vast bureaucracy of the Holy See.

His first foreign visit was to his native Poland.

Despite Soviet warnings, Communist authorities were unable to head off the pope's 1979 visit, when he appeared before million-strong crowds speaking powerfully for human rights.

AFP

Museum for St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade

"One of Sri Lanka's great wonders is its spiritual intensity due to a multi-denominational society in which all four major religions intermingle. This intensity manifests at holy shrines, an example being St. Anthony's Church at Kochchikade, Colombo, where not only Catholics but people of other faiths converge to venerate the Saint and request his assistance," wrote Richard Boyle in a recent article.

On Tuesdays, thousands make the weekly pilgrimage to this shrine to pray to St. Anthony to ask favours, make vows or give thanks. Many miracles have been performed in this shrine from, those cured of terminal illness, protected from enemies, financial gains for entrepreneurs from business, employment for youth, university entrances and scholarships to students, career promotions for professionals, babies born to infertile women and finding lost things. The Shrine was completed and blessed on June 01, 1834.

On January 20, 1995, unexpectedly, the Pope John Paul II visited the shrine on his way from the airport to Colombo during his first official visit to Sri Lanka. In March 2010, the holy relics of St. Anthony, was brought from the Basilica of Padua in Italy to mark the 175th anniversary of this shrine. Millions of devotees lined up before sun rise until midnight to pay homage to this miraculous saint. See pictures at the shrine website, www.stanthonyshrinekochchikade.org.

The present Administrator of the Shrine Rev Fr Clement Rozairo with the Blessings of his Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, has planned to build a Museum of St. Anthony adjoining the Shrine at Kochchikade. "This Rs 30 Million (US$ 270,000) project will need a miracle to complete and with the grace of our miraculous saint and the help of the faithful devotees we will succeed," says a confident Fr Clement. The first contribution to the Museum Fund was made by Madam Shiranthi Rajapakse, First Lady of Sri Lanka, who is a devotee of St. Anthony. "The Museum Fund launched on Tuesday 1st March 2010, now stand at Rs 1 Million" said Fr Clement. The proposed museum will have many rare items related to this miraculous saint that will be of interest to the Sri Lankan public and the Tourists.

St Anthony was born in Portugal, in 1195 died in Padua in Italy on June 13, 1231 at the age of 36. He became the quickest canonized saint in the history of the Catholic Church less than a year after his death, on May 30, 1232. He joined the Augustinian Order at a young age of 15.

At first he was an ascetic, but became a highly-skilled preacher after being commanded to deliver a sermon. Apparently his rich voice, arresting manner, and moving eloquence, held the attention of his audiences. He is said to have possessed the power of bi-location, being in two places at one time.

History gives an interesting story for the existence of the holy shrine of St. Anthony's at Kochchikade in North of Colombo. It is said, when the Dutch ruled the coastal area of Ceylon and Catholicism was proscribed during the late 17th Century, Friar Antonio of Cochin, from in India was sent to Colombo to administer to the needs of Catholics. As catholic priests could not exercise their ministry in public, Friar Antonio held clandestine services at night in his small mud hut.

The Dutch discovered the Friar's residence but he escaped to a nearby fishing village where the fishermen promised to protect him if he could request God to prevent the erosion of the beach in Colombo North that prevented them drying their nets. Friar Antonio placed a wooden cross at the spot most threatened by the advancing sea and prayed, surrounded by the fishermen who thwarted the Dutch attempt to detain him. On the third day of prayer, the waves miraculously receded and a protective sandbank was revealed.

The Governor on hearing this miracle gifted him a plot of land nearby. Here Friar Antonio built a small shop which was called kade in Sinhalese, where he worked during the day and ministered to the local Catholics at night. As he was from Cochin, the shop was known Cochin-Kade in Sinhalese language and later became Kochchikade.

Rev Fr Clement Rozairo

Administrator

Easter Morning Resurrection (Long Dark Night Ends for Lanka)

Beauty from warring ashes
Oil for mourning and bruises
Garments of compassion
Clothing our civilization

Father mother meet in harmony
Nations again in racial symphony
Paternal fraternal fractures healing
Gaps of generations are mending

Tombstones rolled freeing the dying
Dungeons open releasing the sighing
Christ arisen - did it for every victim
Oppressor and oppressed meet in Him

Three fragile ladies with spice to anoint
Christ meets them - to privilege appoint
Allow children, Let the weak come to Me
I lift up the fallen transforming the mighty

Grief and gloom, a long night of human suffering
Ends with Rome perplexed - religion protesting
Galilean carpenter proven to be Lifes Architect
Baby Fragile, crucified victim, Saviour perfect

Doubting Thomas touches to believe
Fighting zealot bows low to receive
Impetuous Peter feed My Sheep
Masters bidding makes him weep

Son of thunder- John turned to love
Invaded by the Kingdom from above
Rome succumbs to Another King
Pilate remorseful - the humble sing

Priestcraft defeated Way now open
Selfish to selfless, miracle will happen
Manthai to Hambantota Our Beloved Lanka
Point Pedro to Dondra dance a new Samba

Galle to Trinco, West to East Hopes arise
She surely shines her detractors to surprise
She Awakes midst threat of Panel reporting
Her Races unite Prosperity Peace adorning

Dr Lalith Mendis, (www.apeksha-lanka.com)