Christian Perspectives

Today: We are invited to be saints

The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of All Saints today, November 1. It is also the day, which calls all of us to think of the saints of the namesake and try to fall in line with their exemplary lives. The day invites all Catholics to live a holy life here on earth and become saints one day.

There are millions and billions of souls enjoying the heavenly bliss. But only a very limited number have been declared as Saints of the Universal Church and celebrate feasts on special days assign to each of them. There are Churches dedicated to honour as their patron saints.

But the Heaven is full of the Blessed and this Holy day provides us the opportunity to commemorate them who have no special feast days in the Universal Church. This day is specially to remember them all.

The custom of celebrating the All Saints Day goes back to the 4th century when martyrs and later other saints were honoured on a common day in various localities. It is recorded that either in 609 A.D. or 610 A.D., the Pantheon, a pagan temple in Rome was consecrated as a Catholic Church to honour Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary and martyrs.

Subsequently All Saints were added to this day. Pope Gregory IV who reigned from 827 A.D. to January 844 A.D. declared November 1 as the day for the celebration of the feast of All Saints.

Friday, November 2:

All Souls Day

On Friday (tomorrow) November 2, the Universal Church will commemorate the all-faithful departed. The custom of remembering the dead and praying for those gone to their rest comes from the early days of Christianity.

The Church history records that by the sixth century it became customary in the Benedictine monasteries to remember the deceased members of the Benedictine Order on the Pentecost day.

In the year 998, Saint Odilo of the Abbey of Cluny instituted a common commemoration day for all the faithful departed after the All Saints Day, and in the 14th century Rome accepted the observances of this kind.

Pope Benedict XV (by the way the present Pope is Benedict XVI) granted permission to all priests within the Universal Church to offer three Holy Masses in commemorating those departed. The Pope also granted very special indulgence to mark the occasion.

The Catholic cemeteries will be full of people praying at the graveyard of dead members of their respective families. There will be almsgiving and other meritorious acts performed to offer merit to the dead.

The day remind that we are on a journey and our life is short here and the life after death is real and long. The wish of the Catholic and Christian is to see the face of God his creator at the end of the journey here and the feast of the All Saints reminds us that we are call to be saints and our dead and we ourselves one day, join the rank and file of the dead and be with God our Creator.

For Catholics, Christian and for men of goodwill the first two days of great importance the said two days give us the opportunity to take a stock of our life and see for ourselves where are we leading and to amend our ways if we are in the wrong track.

Golden Jubilee

Sacred Heart Church, Rajagiriya:

Ruwanthi Abeyakoon

Sacred Heart Church Rajagiriya celebrated its golden jubilee with grandeur on Sunday, October 28. Several events were lined up to mark this special occasion.

Rajagiriya Parish, which functioned as a substation of Borella Parish at the beginning, became independent in 1957. Since then it has grown as a community of worship and service. Rt. Rev. Dr. Cletus Chamdrasiri Perera OSB, Bishop of Ratnapura celebrated the Holy Eucharist. After the Holy Eucharist a scroll was presented to the Bishop to declare the jubilee year.

The celebrations were intertwined with Sri Lankan cultural traditions. The pandal, which stood at the gateway

 and the drummers, added colour to the celebrations.

The history of the Sacred Heart Church cannot be overlooked. The grassland called `Tretoria’ bought by Rev. Fr. Guegen OMI in 1944 for Rs. 45,000 has turned today to a famous church where many believers gather to evoke blessings and worship.

Rev. Fr. Guegen OMI celebrated the first Holy Mass on Easter Sunday in 1945. On January 1,1949, the foundation laying ceremony was held for the construction of the new church with the initiative of late Rev. Fr. John Herath OMI. The building was completed in 1950. In 1957 Rajagiriya was carved out as an independent parish and Rev. Fr. Henry Joy Goonewardene OMI (later the First Bishop of Anuradhapura Diocese) served the parish community as the first Parish Priest.

In the year 1974, the Benedictine Order took over the parish and Fr. Dom Bonfilius Bastian OSB was assigned as the first Parish Priest of the Order. Since then the gentle hands of the Benedictine Monks nurture the parish.

As the small church could not accommodate the large number of worshippers the parish community drew up plans for a new church in 1983.

The foundation for a semi-circular church was laid on November 25, 1984 by Rev. Fr. Bruno Daniel OSB and at the completion on December 25,1985 he offered the first Christmas Holy Mass in the new Church. At present there are 1500 families in Rajagiriya and many outsiders come for masses.

In the year 1992 Rev. Fr. Wulstan Fernando OSB initiated the building of the two-storeyed mission house which shelters the resident priests of the church up to date.

On January 22, 2006 foundation laying took place for a four-storeyed community building which was a great necessity. Rev. Fr. Leonard Ranasinghe the Parish Priest celebrated the final Holy Mass in the old church on October 08, 2006 and commenced the construction of the new building.

Rt. Rev. Dr. Cletus C. Perera, Bishop of Ratnapura, Colombo district Member of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake and Mayor of Kotte Swarnalatha Silva, opened the new building on Sunday, October 28, 2007.

The building consists of a medical center, which offers free consultation every Sunday by the doctors of the parish. It will be utilized to conduct Catechism classes in Sinhala, Tamil and English medium.

The fully equipped auditorium will be used for various church functions. Senior citizens and the Apostolic movements will be able to hold their meetings and sessions in this new building.

The untiring efforts of Parish priest Rev. Fr. Leonard Ranasinghe, Assistant Parish Priests, Rev. Fr. Yovan Saverimuttu and Rev. Fr. Jude Nixon has helped the parish to expand and touch the hearts of the people. The parishioners have also supported to make this event a gleaming success.

Church’s Social Doctrine meant to inspire men of goodwill -Bishop Andradi

The Social Doctrine of the Church was meant as an inspiration to all men of goodwill to help build a healthy and just society based on the basic principles of social justice. The Church wishes to give this inspiration in the way she judges what a just society is and how its various dimensions are to be preserved with respect to human dignity and the basic human needs of persons.

Rt.Rev.Dr.Bishop Norbert Andradi OMI., Secretary General of the Bishops’ Conference and Director of BIOS, expressed those views inaugurating the Symposium, organised by the Bishop’s Institute for Orientation Studies (BIOS) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference. It was held at the Socio-Economic Centre, Kynsey Road, Borella on the Saturday, October 27.

Speaking further at the symposium on the Compendium of Social Doctrine of the Church issued by the Vatican in 2004, His Lordship said that the Church was also a socio-spiritual community inserted into the wider society and brings her own moral and religious insights to help build up a healthy social ethic.

Morality is basic to all human behaviour at all levels. It is in educating and preserving the social moral conscience

 in the light of teachings of the Christian faith that the Church brings her specific contribution towards making human society ethically moral and socially just and healthy.

The panel of speakers consisted of Fr.Reid Shelton Fernando, Rev. Dr. Noel Dias of the Law Faculty, Colombo University, Dr. Maxie Fernandopulle and Dr. Jehan Perera,Executive Director of the National Peace Council.

In making a summary exposition of the Social Doctrine, Fr. Reid Fernando explained the meaning of the social doctrine which reflects on the social implications of the Christian Gospel teaching and its faith.

This doctrine is over 100 years old with the first encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on the question of capital and labour in the aftermath of the industrial revolution that was unleashed in the late 19th century.

The Pope had stood for the dignity of labour, for decent working conditions, for a living wage and the spoke about just relations between the employers and the employees and the question of profit-sharing.

There had been ever since nearly 14 encyclicals of the various popes and many documents issued lately by the pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in the Vatican on the social question.

The compendium brings together all the important themes connected with social issues and the Church’s stand on these questions. It also exposes controversial issues like human rights, family planning, globalization and different political systems. The social

doctrine is based on the principle of human dignity and its various applications in domestic, family, labour, economic, political, international relations, environment questions and promotion of peace.

The Church’s interest and involvement in all these is because she has a spiritual mission to proclaim and defend the moral dimensions of these issues and pointed out that these demands have to be respected if individuals and social groups,indeed humanity itself are to live up to their dignity and that the individual person with his dignity remains an end in itself and never a means. Even political community must serve the civil community with the same applying to international relations and global economy.

Rev. Dr. Noel Dias spoke about the legitimacy of law as something

promulgated for the common good by a competent authority. All laws must respect the demands of the natural law that is written in human nature and voiced by conscience.

The moral conscience needs to be educated and formed to act justly in society. There is also the social moral conscience that the Church defends having its own demands bearing on social behaviour. Human rights flow from the dignity of the human person and are not a result of some positive or arbitrary legislation.

These are universally accepted as is witnessed to by their being enshrined in the United Nations Charter of Fundamental human rights. He referred to instances where positive laws have been flawed because they have gone against the precepts of the natural moral law.

The Symposium ended recalling the four great principles on which the

Catholic Social Doctrine is built, namely: the dignity of the human person,the common good, the principles of subsidiarily and solidarity. Devolution of power was seen as a good example of subsidiarily in the work of administration and governance.

The Church as an “expert of humanity” as Pope Paul VI of revered memory recalled, wishes to offer this doctrine to all men of goodwill, as her specific contribution towards building a just and peaceful society in which all individuals and social groups can achieve their noble ends within the freedom to live and work unencumbered by unjust social pressures of any kind.

Fr. Leopold Ratnasekera O.M.I.

Priests forgotten with the passage of time

E. Weerapperuma

Last week the Oblate Congregation and the Lak Ri Vi Movement commemorated the 23rd death anniversary of Rev. Fr. Felix Mevel OMI, the founder of the Sri Lanka Chapter of the International Movement of the Apostolate of Children (IMAC), LAK. RI.VI, to build a New World through the Children. He died on October 28, 1984 and was 59 years old at the time of his untimely death.

It was a decade after the School takeover. Religion became a subject in the school curriculum, limited to 45 minutes like any other subject and the religious atmosphere was a thing of the past. In this scenario Fr. Mevel, a visionary was entertaining the concept “Dharma Seva” for the Catholic families in general and a Movement for children in particular.

By this time he had some idea of the IMAC, a Movement flourishing in France, his country of birth. I understand

 that the Basic Christian Communities (BCC) now operating at the Parish level in the Archdiocese was based on the “ Dharma Seva” concept.

Fr. Mevel presented the Sri Lanka version of the IMAC. It began as a Movement for overseas children and its philosophy encompass all barriers. Impressed by the thinking behind the Movement he decided to introduce it with necessary alterations to suit the children in Sri Lanka.

Fr. Mevel and Rev. Sister Mathure, of the Franciscan Order canvass the idea speaking to the Scholastics. The duo underlined the importance of a Movement to reach children who needed to be guided in their spiritual upbringing.

Fr. Dennis Iddamalgoda, (former Editor the Bakthi Prabodanaya and now serving as the Director of the Marian Grove - Home of the Retired Oblates at Kohuwala), Neville Anasthasius, Paul Wijerathne, Brendon Fernando, Anton Silva (deceased) were among those who got involved in the Movement, with the introductory note by Sr. Mathure and Fr.Mevel. Fr. Hermon Paul Fernando OMI worked as the Director of the Movement immediately after Fr. Mevel. Fr. Sarath Silva OMI (deceased) followed him. It was during his time “Lama Handa”, the children’s monthly was introduced and I had the privilege to work as the first editor of the magazine.

Fr. Justin Silva OMI, Director St. Vincent’s Home Maggona, a former Editor of the Bakthi Prabodanaya took over. Fr. Marius who served the Movement handed over the mantle to Fr. Joe Cooray, the present Director of the Movement and operates from Head Office at Maradana Fatima Church Grounds.

Fr. Mevel with Stephen Dharmasena and Bro. Kingsley Cooray introduced the Movement to the children at Ragama St. Peter and Paul Church grounds under the “Lama Kriyakari Veerayo” (Lak Ri Vi) banner. The children were attracted to the Movement as the Play Ground was the meeting point. The children like playing and they were slowly but surely motivated to play with caring and sharing.

As the Movement was growing and spreading its wings far and wide Fr. Mevel decided to open it to embrace all children irrespective of their religious and ethnic differences. Thus today Lak Ri Vi is open to all children and the religious leaders of different faiths work together setting an example, ideal to follow in the face of the current situation in the country.

Belong to different ethnic and religious groups have not become an issue to live and work together. There is added beauty as the saying goes “ unity in diversity”. Thanks to his vision and pioneering efforts the Lak Ri Vi Movement has passed the Golden era and close to enter the Diamond era.

Lak Ri Vi stands as a witness to the dedicated service of Fr. Mevel.

He has been very faithful to the command of Jesus Christ who said: “Let the Children come to me.” It will be a fitting tribute to Fr.Mevel if priests and religions take more interest in the welfare of Children, the future of our country. Lak Ri Vi will show the way.

Rev. Fr. Felix Mevel was born on May 23, 1925 at Landivisiau, Quimper, France. He joined the OMI and took his final vows on 29th September 1947 and was ordained a Priest February 19, 1950. He came to Sri Lanka on January 1, 1951 and served with late Fr. L.M.V. Thomas learning the Sinhala Language.

He served as the Assistant Parish Priest at Ragama, Pamunugama and was made the Parish Priest of Beruwala in 1953. Then he served as the Parish Priest of Pallansena, Pitipana, looked after Duwa and then to Bolawalana. He was superior of the district for a while and was sent back to Ragama as Parish Priest in 1969.

Fr.Mevel also served the Diocese as Episcopal Councilor, Vicar Forane and District Superior. In 1971 he was elected a Member of the Oblate Provincial Council. In 1974 he was given a transfer as Parish Priest Nittambuwa and he celebrated the Silver Jubilee of Priesthood in 1975.

His last post was to serve as the Parish Priest of Mirigama. Though a foreigner he considered Sri Lanka his home and dedicated his life for the poor, the need and a very special way to Create a New World through Children.