Miraculous shrine of our Lady of Matara feast

Felix V Cooray

On Sunday, September 9, Catholics would witness thousands and thousands of pilgrims gathering at the feet our Heavenly Mother at Matara to celebrate her feast. As they camp out from the former Rest House premises right along the beach including all lanes and by lanes, this is no doubt of the favours people receive and received right through the years from our lady of Matara which is a national shrine today. The writer visits this festival season for the 55th time.

During the period of Mgr. Alles in 1950 remarked that this shrine will lead to a great miraculous way and in time to come pilgrims will flock at her feet for redress.

Priest Rev Fr Charles Hewawasam administered this shrine for over 10 long years for the second period. During this tenure only the tsunami damaged the Church Mission House and all buildings of this church. Due to his hard work the Church stands as a beacon light for the entire Southern Province with Matara Meriyo as our Mother who intercedes on behalf of all her children.

Rev Fr Damian Aresecularatne has assumed duties as Administer to carry out the good work of Rev Fr Charles at this shrine. We pray for both of them and seek her intercession for their success in all their future endear ours. Thousands will flock at her feet to celebrate the birthday.

The miraculous statue is well over 400 years old and is cut out of one solid piece of ash wood. Several experts in Europe are of opinion that it is of Portuguese type of sculpture in the 17th century.

Mystery

The statue has an history where legend tells how a huge wooden crate was hauled out of the sea by some fisherman of Weligama. When it was opened, the beautiful statue of the Mother and Child was found inside, untouched by the sea water. They handed it over to the Parish Priest of Matara and subsequently placed at St. Mary's Church Matara. This miraculous statue has come on its own over the waves unchaparoned and given itself to the care of the Catholics of the Ruhuna Rata (South of Sri Lanka). Many cures and favours are claimed to have been obtained by devotees who prayed before it.

Cholera Epidemic

At a later period during a Cholera epidemic which raged through the district and claimed hundreds of lives, the Catholics rallied round the statue and prayed to be free from this terrible disease.

The statue was taken in solemn procession through the streets of Matara and non-Catholics too participated.

After a few days the area was declared safe and there were no fresh cases reported.

Since then the people of Matara have come to look upon this statue as miraculous. In the early 1900's after over 300 years in the Church of Matara the statue looked faded and worn due top exposure and the hands of thousands of devotees touching and kissing it.

The first Bishop of Galle Rt. Rev Dr Joseph Van Reith was a Belgian who made arrangements with the then famous sculptor and painter M Zeus of Gehent, to renovate it. Accordingly, the statue was sent to him on June 2, 1911.

M Zeus not only restored the wasted parts, but also brought out its original colours. With care the statue was repacked in a wooden crate and shipped to Matara in the Cargo boat Beachy which set sail from Antwerp. However the package never reached our shores. It was lost in transit.

This ship had caught in a fierce storm in the North Sea and was nearly wrecked. However it managed to limp into the middles borough the next morning. Most of the cargo had been destroyed and some had been thrown overboard. At Minicoy too, the ship encountered trouble and once again a part of the remaining cargo was thrown overboard.

Finally the ship entered Colombo harbour minus the statue. The Bishop and the Belgian Priest in the Galle Diocese that time wrote to friends and relatives in Belgium through their intensive investigations and traced the statue to a man in Middles borough.

This man happened to be an atheist and refused to hand over the statue and demanded a fabulous sum of money which was refused. In his disappointment and rage, he smashed the face of the statue with a hammer and threw it away, but the statue was recovered and it came back to Zeus. He repaired and painted it. He spending all his energy and time on it till it was restored to its original beauty.

Three days later a Cargo boat, the “Uckeramarck” from Belgium arrived in Colombo with the missing statue. What had left Antwerp harbour and into this cargo Boat had been loaded the excess luggage of the earlier passenger ship.

Third miracle

On December 26 (Holy Family Sunday) 2004 at 9.10 am, it was community rite in the Eucharist. On this particular fateful day the congregation was less than usual perhaps due to the Christmas holiday. At this moment the Church and its environment and the whole area went under water suddenly. Rev Fr Charles Hewawasam the Administrator and the celebrant of Holy Mass noticed the gushing waters and shouted at the people to run for safety.

This was the stubborn waves of tsunami. He noticed the great volumes of water gushing towards the church.

At this moment even Fr. Charles had to run for safety. Then he realized that he should remove the Blessed Sacrament and the Miraculous Statue of our lady. By this time everything was taken by the cruel waters.

By this he noticed that another disastrous waves which was most destructive, approaching fast causing damage to the Church, St Servatius College and the entire area. He promptly took refuge in the New Building and he was able to see vehicles being carried by cruel gushing waters.

The break between the first wave and the second wave was about 20 minutes. In this connection even the valuable jewellery presented in 1918 to the Blessed mother was missing. However the water receded and Fr Charles with a few Parishioners and relations went towards the main road.

There he suddenly noticed that a man was carrying a bucket and recognized that it was the bucket used for church collections. They insisted this man to show them what he was carrying to their utter surprise the jewellery was found. Our mother guided them to recover her stolen jewellery.

A solemn surprise

Fr Charles had to occupy a room in the new building and there in fret people were praying for the statue to come.

On December 29, 2004 Fr Charles had a visitor early morning around 6 am. It was one Milton Hakmanage and Ravi Rathrasingham.

They informed Fr Charles that the statue had been washed ashore 400 meters away to the land and the sisters of Charity of St Mary's Convent were hoping to buy it The Infant Jesus carved on to the Statue of our lady of Matara had not lost His Crown. During the Sea Voyage even though tiny it was survived. They also recovered the gold chain which was on the Infant Jesus carved on the statue of His body.

On January 2, 2005 on the Feast of the Epiphamy, Rr. Dr Mario Zenari, the Apostolic Nuncio of Sri Lanka arrived in Matara accompanied by the Vicar General of Galle Rev Fr Nihal Nanayakkara and Secretary to the Bishop of Galle Rev Fr Christopher Lalith Fernando with the Statue of our Lady of Matara to celebrate Holy Eucharist and to give the Blessing with the statue of our Heavenly Mother.

Subsequently after the repairs were over, the Statue was installed to a special place right on top of the main Alter as everyone could see today. The New Administrator Rev Father Damian Aresecularatne with the Parish family has made all possible arrangements for the convenience of the pilgrims.

On Friday September 7 the Holy hour of 4.30 pm by the Eucharistic procession and Benediction will take place at celebrant Very Rev Fr Nihal Nanayakkara Vicar General, Galle Diocese.

On Saturday September 8 at 4 pm the Holy Rosary, Letany vespers and procession with statue of our Lady of Matara will take place.

On September 9 - The Feast Day Holy masses will commence with

4 am – Mass in Sinhala

5 am – Mass in Tamil/Sinhala

6 am – Mass in English/Sinhala

8 am – Festive High Mass

Celebrant for Vespess and Festive High Mass will be conducted by Bishop of Kandy Most Rev Dr Vianney Fernando.

A Cardinal’s love for children

There was a little commotion at the Archbishop’s House on August 4. at around 9am about fifteen noisy little ones with their parents walked in to the Archbishop’s house which normally has a very peaceful and quiet environment.

May be the little ones were too small to understand as to where they were or why they came over to such a colossal palace like this so early on a Saturday morning. To keep them quiet was not an easy task!

However it was going to be a very memorable day not only for some toddlers but also for their parents. The little ones had an appointment with His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo. They were all invited to receive a copy each of the book titled My Jesus and I, a little prayer book for toddlers by Arundathy Gunawardena.

The little ones were at the right time taken into a room adjacent to His Eminence's office, which looked more like a conference room. They trooped in one by one with a look of uncertainty as to what was really happening. They sat around the table and they looked a picture of innocence. They were solemn and quiet much to the relief of the parents who were outside.

What followed thereafter was extremely touching and heart warming! His Eminence asked all the parents also to come in and they stood beside their children. This came as a wonderful surprise and experience for the parents. His Eminence took each child to his side one by one and asked for their names and the name of the school they were attending. By that time the children were happy and smiling. The toddlers were freely allowed to be photographed with His Eminence.

Thereafter little Senahali Amerasinghe presented a copy of the book My Jesus and I to His Eminence. It was followed by His Eminence presenting each child with a copy of the book at the request of the author. He also presented each toddler with a very beautiful picture of the Holy Family and also a tiny crucifix. The children were delighted. It did not stop there, His Eminence allowed each family to pose for a photograph with him. They were amazed how His Eminence gave so much of his valuable time to these little children. Although there were many other appointments lined up in his calendar that day, he never showed even for a moment any hesitation. He proved beyond any doubts his great love for children.

The parents were of the opinion that it was a very blessed day for them and their children, and a great honour as they would have never got an opportunity like this to come so close to His Eminence and personally get to know Him. The time they spent with His Eminence will always remain so very vivid and precious in their memory.

The gift book My Jesus and I by Arundathy Gunawardena with colourful illustrations and little appropriate prayers for toddlers was formally presented His Eminence on that day in that manner and every child very happily carried their little prayer book home. This little prayer book is intended to bring toddlers close to our Lord and our Blessed Mother and enhance their prayer life as they grow up.

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Bishop Raymond...

Continued from last week

E Weerapperuma

It's on record that late Chilaw Bishop Most Rev. Dr. Edmund Peiris OMI had prepared the ground to meet expenses in the event Kurunegala emerges as a new diocese. Having studied the ground situation, late Bishop of Chilaw Most Rev. Dr. Franck Marcus Fernando submitted a proposal to the Vatican. Treating that submission with favour, the Holy See created the new Diocese of Kurunegala and named Very Rev. Fr. Raymond Peiris, the First Bishop of Kurunegala.

Bishop Raymond served the diocese for 22 years and sent retirement papers to Vatican when he reached the age 75 as required by the Church Law. But he had to serve the diocese for nearly two more years until a new bishop was appointed to succeed him. The Vatican then named Galle Bishop Most Rev. Dr. Harold Anthony Perera, as the new Bishop of Kurunegala. The diocese held a ceremony to mark the Silver Jubilee of the Episcopate of the first Bishop of Kurunegala Most Rev. Raymond Peiris on July 18, this year. The Vatican Nuncio Archbishop Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Spiteri along with the Bishops, clergy, religious and laity were present to felicitate the Bishop Emeritus at the St. Anne’s Cathedral Grounds, at Kurunegala.

The Buddhist community was represented by the incumbent Chief Monk of the Athkanda Raja Maha Viharaya the Rajakeeya Panditha, Ven. Mahasengama Punyananda Thera. The government was represented by Internal Trade Affairs and Cooperative Minister Johnston Fernando and the UNP Member of the Kurunegala District Jayawickrema Perera. Both Ministers vouched to the sincerity of the Bishop Emeritus.

Minister Johnston Fernando cited an incident to drive home the point he wanted and said, “One day Bishop Raymond asked me for pecuniary help to support some church construction work. I was not the Religious Affairs Minister but Minister of Sports. I sent him a cheque from our Sports Ministry. The very following day the Bishop had returned the cheque thanking me for the prompt response capped with a note. It said that money belongs to the Sports Ministry and such money could not be rendered to church affairs and that he was returning the cheque to redeposit in the Sport Ministry Accounts.” Kurunegala District Member of Parliament Jayawickrema Perera paying tribute to Bishop Peiris referred to him as a man concerned about the poor and the needy. Bishop Peiris never asked for any personal favour. But always for the benefit of the larger community, he added. Bishop Raymond a shepherd is very much close to his sheep and knows all them by their first name.

In his address His Lordship came with an incident connected to the organizing of his consecration as a bishop. “My Archbishop (referring to former Colombo Archbishop Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando who had entered the St. Aloysius Minor Seminary in the year 1945, the Vatican was on stage with other members of the clergy) asked me whether I knew about the obligation to keep a secret of my being elected a Bishop until it was revealed by the relevant church authorities. I said yes my Lord. I also know that you know it. Then can we both talk about it as we both know it, asked the Archbishop. Yes my Lord and what is it.

Where do you want to have your consecration ceremony? My Lord I am no fool to have that ceremony either in Rome or in Colombo like some prefer to do and then go to Kurunegala. I have been assigned to my flock at Kurunegala. They are mine and I am theirs. I am their shepherd and they are my sheep. I will have my consecration at the St Anne’s Cathedral Grounds at Kurunegala. That conversation dramatized by the bishop emeritus on the stage recalled minding how the consecration ceremony came to be held in Kurunegala. It manifested well the way he thought and the Archbishop was very much pleased with the response.

Although my knowledge about him is very poor I realized that I should be grateful to a man who did and does whatever possible to promote the devotion to the Blessed Joseph Vaz the Apostle of Sri Lanka. And I met him after he went on retirement to hand him the first copy of my book on Blessed Joseph Vaz, which dedicated to him in appreciation of his service to the diocese and for setting the living example of inter-religious and inter-racial harmony, for which the countries loud in our times.

School children make history at Maha Galgamuwa

Text and Pictures by E Weerapperuma

School children along with some elders entered Maha Galgamuwa's history on Sunday, July 15, as they were the first batch to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in the new Church now under construction on the directives of Rev. Fr. Newman Muthuthambi OMI, replacing the 144 year old Church dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, at Maha Galgamuwa.

A young lady being confirmed in her faith

School children candidates with lighted candles in their hands pledge to live the faith prior to receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation

The Bishop of Kurunegala Most Rev. Dr. Harold Anthony Perera was the prelate officiated at the ceremony held with the Concelebrated High Mass offered to celebrate the feast of the Saint Anthony, the Patron of the Maha Galgamuwa Church.

His Lordship invited those newly confirmed in their faith to emulate the example set by their immediate elders. They had faithfully preserved the gift of faith received from their elder’s generation after generation. “You have created history being the first group to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation today.

It is a historical occasion and the generations to come will remember with modest pride.

It is also your duty to hand over the faith you received to the next and this passing from one generation is similar an unending chain,” Bishop Perera added.

His Lordship announced that He would be gladly present himself to consecrate and bless the House of the Lord God at the feast of the Saint next year and invited the devotees of the Saint to assist in the work of completion of the Church building.