..:: Archdiocese of Colombo ::..

The five months ahead could be well termed as the ‘Season of Parochial Festivity.’ Beginning with the feast of St. Anthony, a series of celebrations commence leading us to the more broad-based celebrations at the national shrines of Madhu, Talawila, Tewatte and Matara.

While the celebrations at the national shrines take a routine moderate form, there is much that could be desired of the celebration of feasts at the parochial level. We begin to see more and more an extravagance and commercialism that at times even run counter to the spirit of any Christian celebration.

There is certainly a positive aspect to the celebration of church feasts. Besides the spiritual advantages the people derive of the celebration, there are also the social advantages such as of a Christian community coming together and working together. It even promotes marriages among Christian partners which happen through the association of families living far apart from each other.

It is therefore expedient for us to exploit the church feast each year for a deeper spiritual awakening of the parish. A more profound catechesis during the novenas, penitential services, video shows or theatrical performances of the life of the saint, and such other devices could help foster this spiritual upliftment.

It is natural that the assemblage of people at such festivities, especially at the more popular shrines would attract commercial ventures. While a certain degree of this is inevitable it is unfortunate to see the whole festival turning out to be a tamasha and a commercial venture. As is customary today with any venture, there are the hawks and eagles who prey on even the most sacred. And they destroy the essence of the whole celebration with their pollutions of every kind, not excepting the moral. Often our own parishioners are part of this. All what these agents of the mammon seek is financial advantage.

I need not describe all this to you, as you who are of good faith know them perhaps better than I do, with your experience at the very grassroots level. There are things we could prevent, there are others that we cannot. But we should try our best, at least at our level as pastors and lay leaders of the Church communities, to give a correct orientation. Hence I propose to make a few suggestions that could help us to better this situation and make our parish patronal feasts more meaningful.

It is evident that there is a great wastage on the external side of the celebration. If we only think of some of the poor parishes in our own archdiocese and of some of the poorer dioceses in this country we could certainly curtail some of these extravagances and lend a helping hand to provide subsistence to these poor missions.
One of the glaring extravagances is the waste of money on the dangerous exercise of fireworks. This has caused danger to life and limb even in the recent past. It would certainly be a very difficult task to convince people to give this up totally, especially with some of their “superstitious beliefs.” But a regular insistence on moderation could perhaps bring in the desired effect eventually. We could perhaps appeal to them to contribute these monies to some charitable venture like Flood Victim Relief this year..
It would also be a good missionary endeavour to promote participation in pilgrimages to non-traditional places. This has been a tradition promoted by our foreign missionaries in the past. For instance, the feast of Thebuwana has been celebrated by the people of Kalutara who reached there then by boat. The feast at Balangoda had been celebrated by the people of Beruwala and the feast at Horana has been celebrated by the people of Moratuwa. Sans extravagances, this has a deep missionary character. The people living isolated in the midst of thousands of non Catholics are deeply encouraged by the visit from their Christian brothers and sisters and they begin to feel they are not alone in this Diaspora situation but form part of a large community of brethren. In fact Christian communities have taken root in these hinterland places due to the visits of this nature. It would therefore be a salutary exercise to revive some of these traditions and even venture into new missionary areas.
It may also be a good effort to see whether we could see whether our people would contribute to a “Missionary Fund” that could help some of the poor parishes of other dioceses. If we desire to make this something more tangible and concrete we could, in contact with the Ordinaries of those dioceses, select some parish or other and then direct our contribution. Even a modest collection would help both the recipient parish in their want, and our people to imbibe a missionary spirit.
It is time for us of the Western coast to realize that the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is mostly a West Coastern Church. Our Christian communities swiftly dwindle as we go barely ten miles off the coast to the eastern hinterland. This has been so now for centuries. What then of our missionary concern?

I place these random thoughts before you with the hope that they will help us to grow at least a little closer to the Church of origin. We have read so much of their doings these days of Eastertide. Let the living Word of God we have read and meditated upon inspire us to be more faithful to it in deed.