CHRISTIAN perspectives

St. Peter’s Rector celebrates Silver Jubilee

Such an occasion definitely needs a celebration and that’s exactly what it was on July 16 at St. Peter’s College, Colombo 4. The occasion was the Sacerdotal Silver Jubilee of the Rector, Rev. Fr. Travis Jude Gabriel.

The gentle, chilly breeze that blew across the College Quadrangle created a seraphic atmosphere in which the presence of the Holy Spirit of God was very evident. Prayers of Thanksgiving emanated from every heart and soul as the Silver Jubilarian was led in procession to the Altar for the concelebrated Festive Mass. Episcopal Vicars, Very Rev. Fr. Ivan Perera, Very Rev. Fr. Bonnie Fernandopulle, Very Rev. Fr. Elmo Dias and Rev. Fr. Ranjith Madurawela the General Manager for Private Schools together with the Chief Celebrant, Rev. Fr. Travis Gabriel offered a Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving to God Almighty for a fruitful journey of twenty five long years in the Lord’s Vineyard. Members of the family, Rev. Fathers. Rev. Sisters, Rectors, Principals, well-wishers, members of the OBU, P T A Welfare Society, tutorial staff, non academic staff and student body joined in thanking God Almighty for the wonderful gift of priestly vocation.

The homily was preached by Rev. Fr. Cecil Joy Perera who is a close compatriot of the Rector as they are both from the Kotte Parish. It was a soul stirring sermon in which he spoke about the stamp of God which marks a Priest right from the time of conception. He urged young Peterites to answer God’s call and not to ignore it. The Papal Blessing was imparted on the Silver Jubilarian by Very Rev. Fr. Ivan Perera.

The General Assembly commenced with the traditional drum beats accompanied by the swivels and swirls of the Kandyan dancers. The Rector was garlanded by the student who obtained the best results at the G.C.E (O/L) Examination while the youngest Peterite on roll worshipped him as he reached the podium. The hoisting of the Papal, National and College Flags followed by the singing of the College Anthem set the tone for the august ceremony ahead. The College Air Cadet Corps then accorded a Guard-of-Honour to the Rector. The proceedings included a Profile of the Rector and Speeches of Appreciation by representatives from the Tutorial Staff, Non-Academic Staff and the Student Body. Specially composed selections by the Western Choir reverberated through the air from time to time. A commemorative plaque from the Peterite Family and many other souvenirs were then presented to the Rector.

Silver Jubularian, Rev. Fr. Travis Gabriel was the cynosure of all eyes as he rose to address the gathering. He began by thanking God Almighty for his Priestly Vocation. He has answered the Lord’s call as a teenager under the guidance of Rev. Fr. Stanley Abeysekera who had been both the Parish Priest of St. Thomas’ Church, Kotte and the Rector of St. Thomas’ College, Kotte at that time. He also encouraged more Peterites to answer God’s call if and when it comes. He stressed the fact that the Blessed Virgin Mary had always been with him all through his life - she had never ever failed him. He attributes this deep devotion, especially to the Lady of the Miraculous Medal, to his dear Mother who had instilled it in all her children.

It was indeed a very emotional moment when he remembered his deceased parents and thanked them for their love and support. He also thanked his brothers and sisters who had played a major role in his Priestly formation.

Recollecting the years he had served under the Rectorship of the late Rev. Fr. Joe. E. Wickremasighe, he said, “He was my Mentor. He taught me the ABC’s of Education and School Management.

I will always remember with gratitude.” He added, “Many others, including all my Rectors too have played a great role during these twenty five years. I thank them all with a sincere heart.”

He finally thanked the Peterite Priest Community for organizing the day’s function under the leadership of the Vice-Rector, Rev. Fr. Anton Ranjith together with the entire Peterite Family. He thanked all who had graced the occasion with their presence and prayers.

The most poignant moment of the day was when the Silver Jubilarian worshipped his Vocation Director, Rev. Fr. Stanley Abeysekera who blessed him with a fatherly embrace and a happy smile.

The Silver Jubilee Celebrations concluded with a festive lunch for the entire Staff and musical entertainment for the students. The toast at the lunch was proposed by the former Rector, Rev. Fr. Felician Ranjith Perera, in his own inimitable style. A slide presentation featuring important events in the Rector’s life from childhood to present day was shown during lunch.

It was everyone’s wish that Silver Jubilee Bells may turn into Golden Jubilee Bells in another twenty five years. AD MULTOS ANNOS!

Imojen Mel

Archbishop Desmond Tutu retires

Archbishop Desmond Tutu announced Thursday he was withdrawing from public life after decades at the forefront of the struggle against apartheid and injustice around the world.

“I have done as much as I can and need time to do things I have really wanted to do. I do want a little more quiet,” the Nobel laureate told a press conference at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. “On October 7, I turn 79 years old, and withdraw from public life,” he said.“Instead of growing old gracefully, at home with my family — reading and writing and praying and thinking — too much of my time has been spent at airports and in hotels,” he added.

“The time has now come to slow down, to sip Rooibos (redbush) tea with my beloved wife in the afternoons, to watch cricket, to travel to visit my children and grandchildren, rather than to conferences and conventions and university campuses. AFP

Religious leaders call for ‘pragmatic approach’ to AIDS

Representatives of major religions called Wednesday for a “pragmatic approach” to the fight against AIDS and greater involvement by faith communities.

A document released on the sidelines of the 18th International AIDS Conference in the Austrian capital called for religions “to work unceasingly to end the stigmatisation and discrimination” suffered by those with the disease.

The document, which had been agreed at a forum in Amsterdam in March, was signed by representatives of Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Baha’i faiths.

The document called for a “pragmatic approach” in the fight against the disease, and urged religious groups to take a more active role, despite the hostility of some religious leaders — notably Pope Benedict XVI — to the use of condoms.

“We want to do all we can to save lives. We need an HIV competent church,” said Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, who heads the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). “Our recommendation to faith communities is to provide fully accessible and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information to women and girls which will enable them to make a decision,” she said.

“The Church has to accept this,” she added.

Hany El Banna, president of Muslim organisation Humanitarian Forum, said it was necessary to begin a dialogue with more conservative leaders.

“We need to educate our religious leaders,” he said.

AFP

Why Christianity... Continued from last week

Leslie PEIRIS WETTASINGHA

* St. Camillus, a wild ex-soldier with a broken leg, given to drink and gambling who convented and spent the next 36 years of life working 22 hours a day attending to the sick in hospitals amidst the filth and insanitary conditions of the time.

St. Peter Claver (1610) who loured for 38 years at the first slave market in the New World at Catagena washing, cleaning and disinfecting half naked Negro slaves, both men and women after they were brought in the lower decks of ships, starved, dispirited, and with layers of human excretions of all lypes all over their bodies, that gave not such an umber able, stench, that other workers refused to do the work.

* St. Maximillian Cobly who offered his life in place of a fellow prisoner (a distraught father) whose turn it was no be shot and eliminated that day in a German concentration camp during world war II.

No one can know about God and his nature unless that God revealed himself. Christinality in thus a revealed religion. God first spoke to his people through his prophets as revealed in the Old Testament.

That book is a fore-runner that anticipated the main saga that was to be enacted when God revealed himself in person by taking human from through the agency of the second person of the Trinity, namely Jesus Christ. This is recorded in the New Testament. Both these sacred texts taken together form the essence of the Christian message. An important aspect of this message is that God created the physical universe and all living things within it. Another of Professor Wickremasinghe’s statements int eh article referred to, although a mere statement of fact, lends support to this claim.

He stated the universe in not of infinite duration but had a beginning 14.5 billion years ago in the explosion referred to as the Big Bang. According to Einstein’s theory of general relativity the explosion had to be a tiny speck of highly condensed energy hovering around zero radius and infinite density.

Speculation is rife in scientific circles as to whether the big Bang explosion is a singular event in time or whether it is the result of some other happenings preceding it. Some attribute the Big Bang explosion to “cosmic inflation” whatever that means, others to micro-wave radiation, still others (Professor stephen Hawking FRS, adopting the quantum theory) to actualization of possible “baby” universe into the real. (our universe) All this is Greek to us laymen and the less we delve into them the better is is for our composure.

But one thing is beyond question – the only scientifically established fact is that the universe started with the Big Bang explosion that crated 4 dimensional space – time. What would have transpired before the Big Bang would be beyond this four dimensional continues where the laws of physics do not operate and scientists become helpless.

To get over the difficulty they introduced the concept of multi-dimensional or super space ie, space with in space. If they are to be consistent they will have to take that process ad infinitum stopping half way gives rise to the same implications as for the Big Bang – namely a singular act of creation by a transcendent God. Proceeding up to an infinitude makes the series itself of God quality since subsisting in its own right.

This is the Hindu concept of God – a God immanent in the universe and creating, sustaining and destroying it at the appropriate time (pantheism). Therefore whatever is the way one looks at the problem you are confronted with a creator God.

In this welter of scientific theory and philosophical speculation one cannot scoff at the description given in the book of Genesis (old testament) of how God crated the universe in six days and rested on the seventh, for that was a message given to an ancient people circa 2000 BC in the language and idiom of the time. It would be puerile to expect that message to be conched in modern scientific jargon which was not even extant at time.

As for the emergence of life within the physical universe, the weight of authority is against self animation by matter. I quote Dr. Goswani, Professor of theoretical nuclear physics, University of Oregon, “The argument presented by serious intelligent design theorists (Behe 1996) that life has an irreducible complexity built into it that makes it impossible to build life from matter via chance. Using quantum physics I have made this argument fool proof – page 100 (God is not dead).

Fr. Jacome Gonsalvez ... Continued from last week

Indigenisation of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka:

W T A Leslie FERNANDO

‘Oppari’ contained pathos said to be seldom found in prose or verse in any langauge. At one time Catholic women from Negombo who used to chant Oppari at funerals were misunderstood as ‘hired mourners’.

During the Dutch times, Bolawatta, where Fr Jacome Gonsalvez stayed most was a centre of Catholic cultural activity. During Christmas and more specially at Easter, Catholic rituals were performed there with all the solemnity.

There were lovely scenes with drama, processions and passion plays with prayers and hymns written by Fr Jacome Gonsalvez.

Catholics were the pioneers of Sinhala nadagam. Here too the influence of Fr Jacome Gonsalvez is seen.

Some of the themes of earlier nadagam were drawn from his works. His compositions too have influenced lyrics and songs in them.

Thus Fr Jacome Gonsalvez laid the foundation to evolve an indigenous Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. He presented Catholic forms, prayers and practices in terms of indigenous thought.

He brought about a synthesis between Christian concepts and indigenous culture.

Today so much emphasis is placed on indigenisation and cultural adaptation in the Church.

Since of late there is a tendency among some to introduce extraneous forms and practices in the name of inculturation. To some cultural adaptation means slavishly imitating Buddhist and Hindu forms and practices.

At times fantastic rituals are performed in churches without due regard for dignity and holiness of the service. There are also some who suggest an indigenous theology. Christianity is God given and not manmade. It is universal, transcendental and supra-cultural. You cannot categorise Christian doctrine as Western theology, Eastern theology, Eskimo theology or Sri Lankan theology. On the other hand religion is a powerful force in the formation and development of culture.

A universal religion like Christianity has some cultural elements that do not vary from country to country and century to century.

The Christian cultural traits, in course of time would intermingle with the native culture to give the Church in that country a distinct identity.

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has a proud history of its own for over 500 years.

During this time it has evolved an identity of its own. During the Dutch times the Church in Sri Lanka witnessed a magnificent cultural adaptation under the oratorians like Blessed Joseph Vaz and Fr. Jacome Gonsalvez.

As the late Bishop Edmund Peiris vividly put it, “We Catholics must catch up the strand where the real creators of Sinhala-Catholic synthesis has left it and develop and enrich it to suit the modern conditions in the Church as well as in the country.”

The writer is a former President of Newman Society Alumni Association

Vatican begins circulating euros

A 50-cent euro coin bearing the image of Pope Benedict XVI has begun circulating in Vatican City for the first time since the Holy See adopted the currency in 2002, a news report said Thursday.

For eight years the Vatican City euros served only as popular collectors’ items, initially featuring the face of Benedict’s predecessor John Paul II, who died in 2005. The current collectors’ set, with a face value of 3.88 euros, sells for 30 euros (38.6 dollars).Under an agreement reached with the European Union last year, however, the Vatican must circulate at least 51 percent of its currency at face value, and the Holy See last week began using its 50-cent coins to satisfy the requirement. The agreement also more than doubled the amount of euros the world’s smallest state can mint, the religious news agency i.Media reported. But the coins are still be hard to come by. They can be found only inside Vatican walls, in businesses patronised by residents and workers including a supermarket and a petrol station, where employees cannot give out more than two coins at a time, i.Media said.

Euro coins have a common reverse side portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the 16-member eurozone has its own design on the obverse. AFP

Feast of Our Lady of Voyage Duwa Oru Mangallaya The annual festival of “Our Lady of Voyages” of Duwa Negombo held recently. After the festive service the statue of Our Lady was taken by boat in a procession route through the Negombo Lagoon and along the sea. Picture by H. FernandoNegombo Special Corr.

Rev. Fr. Nadeera Fernando of Mission House, Kal-Eliya won the first place in home garden contest conducted in the Gampaha District. Here Fr. Nadeera Fernando receives the award from Agriculture Export Department, Gampaha Director-General W. D. L. Gunaratna. Picture by Nimal Jayasinha, Gampaha roving corr.