Bishop’s Monthly Letter

 

My dear Fathers,  It is heartening to note that all of you are enthusiastically promoting various programmes in order to foster a truly missionary revival in our diocese.  As we begin the Season of Lent we realize that this grace-filled season for all followers of Christ could be utilized to the maximum to deepen our faith commitment in view of becoming more and more faithful as the local Church of Kandy to its indispensable missionary call. We are fully aware that following Christ is not a question of moral obligations and faithfully following some religious practices. It is fundamentally as St. Paul says is a matter of knowing Christ Jesus not only intellectually but also personally and existentially. It is only through a personal encounter with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that we can proclaim him to others. Therefore, a profound and personal relationship with him will make us true evangelizers. Doctrines and moral obligations are important as a follow up of this personal encounter and rediscovery of Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of each one of us and all of us.

In the Lenten message of our Holy Father, there is a plea to all of us to celebrate the season of Lent “with a renewed heart by focusing on the great mystery of the death and resurrection as the corner stone of personal and community life.

Quoting the Apostolic Exhortation “Christus Vivit”, the Holy Father says “look at the open arms of the crucified Christ, let yourselves be saved again”. Let us therefore, make maximum use of this grace-filled season to personally spend time with Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and with great fervour and love take part in the traditional Lenten devotions such as Stations of the Cross, fasting, almsgiving and prayer.

As Shepherds and “fishers of men, “we can then draw our people closer to Jesus and bring back “the fish” who have gone astray.

When I met many devout Sri Lankan Catholic families who have migrated to Australia for the sake of their children, they expressed the constant challenge they are facing, to preserve the faithcommitment of their children in a highly secularized society and culture. This poses an agonizing problem to our Catholic families. The only answer I could give was that our children and youth must be given a powerful God-Experience in Jesus in their lives just as the parents will have to have a personal encounter with Jesus through the Word of God and prayer. We, the Shepherds need to concentrate on this need during this year of missionary revival.

It is only then that we can hope to make our parish communities and Institutions, evangelizing communities.
We need to be deeply concerned about the possibility of the Corona virus becoming pandemic. It has already spread to Italy and South Korea. In this season of Lent, let us pray very much that our heavenly Father may have mercy on those who are in imminent danger from this dreadful virus and protect them.

 

With prayerful wishes and God’s blessings.
Bishop Vianney Fernando,
Bishop of Kandy

 

 

Bishop’s Engagements in March

16th  10.00 am – Presbyteral Council Meeting at Gatambe

3.00 pm –     Episcopal Council Meeting at Bishop’s Office
19th  9.30 am –     Blessing of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers’  Novitiate in Matale
21st  10.00 am –   Kandy Diocesan Pastoral Council Meeting at Gatambe                                                                       22nd   –     75th Jubilee of Religious Profession of Sr. Mary Lourdes and Mary Agatha at Bolawalana
29th    –     Day of Recollection for the members of Colombo  Doctors’ Guild of St. Luke at Lewella Retreat House.

 

New Appointments 

Very Rev. Fr. Milroy Fonseka :  Acting Parish Priest – Sacred Heart Church, Katugastota.
Rev. Fr. Surendra Pragash      : Acting Parish Priest – St. Mary’s Church, Gatambe.
Rev. Fr. Ranga Chalitha Perera : Assistant Parish Priest – Sacred Heart Church,                                                         Katugastota.

 

Catechetical Apostolate Diocesan Programme for the Month of March 2020.  

3rd Year Catechists Seminar (Diocesan Programme)

Date   : 18th  to 21th of March 2020

Time  :   9.00 am to 2.00 p.m.

Medium   : Sinhala & Tamil

Place : Seminar Centre at Kadugannawa.

 

1st Term Test (Diocesan Programme) Date : 29th March 2020

 

Sent By : Rev. Fr. Camillus Janzs, Director – Catechetical Apostolate

 

Holy Childhood  New Animators Training Programme
Date : 12th – 14th March 2020                                                                                                                                                    Place : Pastoral Centre, Nuwara Eliya
Sent By :Rev. Fr. Leslie Perera – Director PMS

 

“Year of Missionary Revival” Mission Team of  Kandy Deanery
Fr. Joseph Miranda         –  Family Life – Couple Animation

Fr. Ivan Jayasundera       –  Liturgy and Mission

Fr. Cecil Xavier                 –  Catechism and Christian Formation

Fr. Christy Paul                 –  Lay Leadership

Fr. Roshan Almeida         –  Sacred Music for Choristers

Fr. Roninson                     –  Secularization and Mission
Dear Fathers of the Kandy deanery. please note that the above mentioned priests will be available for any programs in your  respective parishes for the “Year of Missionary Revival” under the themes given above. They are prepared to come on your requests.

Sent By: Rev. Fr. Ivan Jayasundara – Vicar Forane – Kandy Deanery

“Dear  brothers and sisters   who experience suffering in a particular way, you are called to  a special mission in the new  evangelization.” Pope St. John Paul II”
KDPC Meeting of Nuwara Eliya Deanery will be held on 7th March 2020 at Hatton Pastoral Centre at 9.00 am
KDPC Meeting of Kandy  Deanery will be held on 14th March 2020 at  Gatambe Hall at 9.30 am
KDPC Meeting of Matale  Deanery will be held on 9th March 2020 at  Matale  at 9.30 am

 

“Year of Missionary Revival” Mission Team of Nuwara Eliya Deanery
 Programmes for Lay Leaders  Motivation programmes for the Sunday School Children  Animation programmes  different Associations  Awareness programmes for the youth of marriageable age  Focus on changing the attitude of people

Dear Fathers , please note that the Mission Team of the Nuwara Eliya deanery is willing to conduct the above mentioned programmes in your respective parishes on your requests.
Members : Rev. Frs. Edwin Rodrigo, Cross Xavier, Jesudasan,  Roy, Mathew.

Sent By: Rev. Fr. Edwin Rodrigo,  Vicar Forane – Nuwara Eliiya Deanery

 

“Year of Missionary Revival” Mission Team of  Matale Deanery

“Hearing strongly the call to the mission towards all peoples and towards all those who are among us, live on the margins”. Pope Francis.
The deanery fathers decided on the following:

1. Directors of different Apostolates to visit the 07 parishes along with their teams during the year.

2. Missionary team of priests to focus on the out stations of all parishes.

3. To make use of the deanery Lenten pilgrimage scheduled for the 28th March to highlight the importance of the Mission.
Special Focus on :  * Animating Catechists with the word of God  – Fr . Lakmal & Fr Gunasekaran

* Christ in missions for the Youth ; Fr Lalth Thushara

* Formation of  children for mission – Fr Eranga OSB & Fr Oliver SSS

* Christ in married life – for adults – Fr Aruna SSS  & Fr Vincent Wijesuriya

* Treating the poor with justice and building cultures of peace: Fr Nandana & Fr Melraj

* Care of the Elders – Fr Joe Pakiam SSS & Dushantha OSB
Sent By : Fr Nandana Manatunga-Vicar Forane – Matale Deanery

 

Pope’s Message for Lent—2020
“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This year the Lord grants us, once again, a favourable time to prepare to celebrate with renewed hearts the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of our personal and communal Christian life. We must continually return to this mystery in mind and heart, for it will continue to grow within us in the measure that we are open to its spiritual power and respond with freedom and generosity.
1. The paschal mystery as the basis of conversion Christian joy flows from listening to, and accepting, the Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus. This kerygma sums up the mystery of a love “so real, so true, so concrete, that it invites us to a relationship of openness and fruitful dialogue” (Christus Vivit, 117). Whoever believes this message rejects the lie that our life is ours to do with as we will. Rather, life is born of the love of God our Father, from his desire to grant us life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). If we listen instead to the tempting voice of the “father of lies” (Jn 8:44), we risk sinking into the abyss of absurdity, and experiencing hell here on earth, as all too many tragic events in the personal and collective human experience sadly bear witness.
In this Lent of 2020, I would like to share with every Christian what I wrote to young people in the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit: “Keep your eyes fixed on the outstretched arms of Christ crucified, let yourself be saved over and over again. And when you go to confess your sins, believe firmly in his mercy which frees you of your guilt. Contemplate his blood poured out with such great love, and let yourself be cleansed by it. In this way, you can be reborn ever anew” (No. 123). Jesus’ Pasch is not a past event; rather, through the power of the Holy Spirit it is ever present, enabling us to see and touch with faith the flesh of Christ in those who suffer.
2.The urgency of conversion It is good to contemplate more deeply the paschal mystery through which God’s mercy has been bestowed upon us. Indeed, the experience of mercy is only possible in a “face to face” relationship with the crucified and risen Lord “who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20), in a heartfelt dialogue between friends. That is why prayer is so important in Lent. Even more than a duty, prayer is an expression of our need to respond to God’s love which always precedes and sustains us. Christians pray in the knowledge that, although unworthy, we are still loved. Prayer can take any number of different forms, but what truly matters in God’s eyes is that it penetrates deep within us and chips away at our hardness of heart, in order to convert us ever more fully to God and to his will.
In this favourable season, then, may we allow ourselves to be led like Israel into the desert (cf. Hos 2:14), so that we can at last hear our Spouse’s voice and allow it to resound ever more deeply within us. The more fully we are engaged with his word, the more we will experience the mercy he freely gives us. May we not let this time of grace pass in vain, in the foolish illusion that we can control the times and means of our conversion to him.
3. God’s passionate will to dialogue with his children The fact that the Lord once again offers us a favourable time for our conversion should never be taken for granted. This new opportunity ought to awaken in us a sense of gratitude and stir us from our sloth. Despite the sometimes tragic presence of evil in our lives, and in the life of the Church and the world, this opportunity to change our course expresses God’s unwavering will not to interrupt his dialogue of salvation with us. In the crucified Jesus, who knew no sin, yet for our sake was made to be sin (cf. 2 Cor 5:21), this saving will led the Father to burden his Son with the weight of our sins, thus, in the expression of Pope Benedict XVI, “turning of God against himself” (Deus Caritas Est, 12). For God also loves his enemies (cf. Mt 5:43-48).
The dialogue that God wishes to establish with each of us through the paschal mystery of his Son has nothing to do with empty chatter, like that attributed to the ancient inhabitants of Athens, who “spent their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new” (Acts 17:21). Such chatter, determined by an empty and superficial curiosity, characterizes worldliness in every age; in our own day, it can also result in improper use of the media.
4. A richness to be shared, not kept for oneself Putting the paschal mystery at the center of our lives means feeling compassion towards the wounds of the crucified Christ present in the many innocent victims of wars, in attacks on life, from that of the unborn to that of the elderly, and various forms of violence. They are likewise present in environmental disasters, the unequal distribution of the earth’s goods, human trafficking in all its forms, and the unbridled thirst for profit, which is a form of idolatry.
Today too, there is a need to appeal to men and women of good will to share, by almsgiving, their goods with those most in need, as a means of personally participating in the building of a better world. Charitable giving makes us more human, whereas hoarding risks making us less human, imprisoned by our own selfishness. We can and must go even further, and consider the structural aspects of our economic life. For this reason, in the midst of Lent this year, from 26 to 28 March, I have convened a meeting in Assisi with young economists, entrepreneurs and change-makers, with the aim of shaping a more just and inclusive economy. As the Church’s magisterium has often repeated, political life represents an eminent form of charity (cf. Pius XI, Address to the Italian Federation of Catholic University Students, 18 December 1927). The same holds true for economic life, which can be approached in the same evangelical spirit, the spirit of the Beatitudes.
I ask Mary Most Holy to pray that our Lenten celebration will open our hearts to hear God’s call to be reconciled to himself, to fix our gaze on the paschal mystery, and to be converted to an open and sincere dialogue with him. In this way, we will become what Christ asks his disciples to be: the salt of the earth and the light of the world (cf. Mt 5:13-14).
FRANCIS
Rome, at Saint John Lateran, 7 October 2019 Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

Taken from : Zenit

 

Three Pillars of Lent
Recollection Talk given by Rev. Fr. Ivan Jayasundera on 25th February 2020 at Lewella
LENT

 The origin of the Season probably lies in the formal and final period of preparation of candidates for baptism  at Easter.  It became transformed  in to a period of general devotional preparation for Easter for all.  *

 40 days           –  meant a time of fulfillment.         The biblical significance         Ex:  01. Our Lord fasted 40 days       02. God’s people spend 40 Years in the desert        03. Moses remained on mount  Sinai 40 days       04. Forty days Elijah fasted on his journey to mount Horeb.

 Season of Lent – form Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday Lord’s supper exclusive How many days? 35+ 05+ 04 = 44

 History of this period of Lent  4 C. Commencement of the 40 day period Earlier it was variable in length It began 6th Sunday before Easter. 35 + 05 = 40

5 C No fast on Sundays. 40 – 6 = 34                           Therefore, increased the number of fast days in lent            HOW?  Good Friday & Holy Saturday separated            From Easter Triduum and 4 week  days                     were added (Ash Wed. to Saturday)              34 + 02 + 04 = 40 Here we see the custom of beginning the Lenten fast  on                      Ash Wednesday

Now. Good Friday and Holy  Saturday not part of lent  Also Sundays are  Included      Therefore actual number of days – 44

6 C   Pre-lent period was introduced      (3 more Sundays were added)      Possible reasons     – Due to some attacks people were ready for       Additional prayers and penance   Liturgical custom of Byzantaine church

1969     Pre- lent period was abolished

 Ash Wednesday  marks the beginning of the season of Lent.

 During Lent we climb the Holy Mountain of Easter.
Three Pillars of Lent
Recollection Talk given by Rev. Fr. Ivan Jayasundera on 25th February 2020 at Lewella
LENT

 The origin of the Season probably lies in the formal and final period of preparation of candidates for baptism  at Easter.  It became transformed  in to a period of general devotional preparation for Easter for all.  *

 40 days           –  meant a time of fulfillment.         The biblical significance         Ex:  01. Our Lord fasted 40 days       02. God’s people spend 40 Years in the desert        03. Moses remained on mount  Sinai 40 days       04. Forty days Elijah fasted on his journey to mount Horeb.

 Season of Lent – form Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday Lord’s supper exclusive How many days? 35+ 05+ 04 = 44

 History of this period of Lent  4 C. Commencement of the 40 day period Earlier it was variable in length It began 6th Sunday before Easter. 35 + 05 = 40

5 C No fast on Sundays. 40 – 6 = 34                           Therefore, increased the number of fast days in lent            HOW?  Good Friday & Holy Saturday separated            From Easter Triduum and 4 week  days                     were added (Ash Wed. to Saturday)              34 + 02 + 04 = 40 Here we see the custom of beginning the Lenten fast  on                      Ash Wednesday

Now. Good Friday and Holy  Saturday not part of lent  Also Sundays are  Included      Therefore actual number of days – 44

6 C   Pre-lent period was introduced      (3 more Sundays were added)      Possible reasons     – Due to some attacks people were ready for       Additional prayers and penance   Liturgical custom of Byzantaine church

1969     Pre- lent period was abolished

 Ash Wednesday  marks the beginning of the season of Lent.

 During Lent we climb the Holy Mountain of Easter.
During Lent. We prepare ourselves for the annual celebration of the Paschal Mystery through  Penance  Repentance. For catechumens  – Final period of preparation for Baptism at Easter Vigil.  What is penance ? The Greek word for Penance is Metanoia . Metanoia = a complete change of heart (Inner conversion)  How are we going to experience this Inner conversion? The church recommends the traditional external works or expressions of penance.  In other words – Traditional observances of lent.
 Traditional observances of lent = Three Pillars of lent  Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving (Inner conversion is necessary even outside lent. Hence, external works or expressions of Penance are important even outside lent) However, during lent we should concentrate more on these external works or expressions of Penance (Traditional observances of lent) If we are faithful to these Traditional observances of lent, they will help us to lead a true Christian life even outside lent season.
Prayer  – When we Pray we do justice towards God  Fast  – When we Fast (abstinence) we do justice towards self Almsgiving – When we give alms we do justice toward neighbor

 Keep the Three pillars of lent strong during these 40 days. Pray more, Fast more, Give alms more – then we experience Inner Conversion = Experience Jesus.                FORTY DAYS OF LENT
“ The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness and remained there forty days” ( Mk 1/12 ) Quotations Fasting is better than prayer ( St. Clement ) Fasting is more effective than charity, for the latter is done with money, but the former can be done only by one’s own person. ( Talmud ) In these days, therefore , let us add something beyond the wonted measure of our service, such as private prayers and abstinence in food and drink. Let each one, over and above measure prescribed for him, offer God something of his own freewill in the joy of the Holy Spirit ( St. Benedict )

Statement The Lenten season has a twofold character: 1. It calls baptism or prepares forit;2. It stresses a penitential spirit. By these means especially, Lent readies the faithful for celebrating the paschal mystery, after a period of closer attention to the Word of God, and more ardent prayer. In the liturgy itself, and  in liturgy centered instructions, these baptismal and penitential themes should be more pronounced  ( Second Vatican Council – Liturgy ) Let our praise be with God, and not from ourselves, for God hates those who praise themselves. (Pope St. Clement) Man’s highest life does not consist in self expression, but in self sacrifice ( R.H.Benson) Self love is cunning, pushes and insinuates itself into everything, while making us believe it is not there at all. (St. Francis de Sales ) When a man is wrapped up in himself, he makes a pretty small package ( John Ruskin ) Self centeredness completely vitiates communication-with either God or man ( Hurbert Van Zeller) He is unworthy to live who lives only for himself  (English Proverb )
Sent by Fr. Bala Rajendram

 

Thought for Life
An Indonesian judge by the name of Marzuki was sitting in judgment of an old lady who pleaded guilty of stealing some tapioca from a plantation.
In her defense, the old lady admitted to the Judge that she was indeed guilty of the crime because she was poor and her son was sick while her grandchild was hungry.

The plantation manager insisted that she be punished as a deterrent to others.
The judge going through the documents then looked up and said to the old lady, “I’m sorry but I cannot make any exception to the Law and you must be punished accordingly”.
The old lady was fined Rp.1 million (USD 100) and if she could not pay the fine then she will be jailed for 2 1/2 years as demanded by the Law. She wept as she could not pay the fine.
The Judge then took her hat and put in Rp.100,000 into the hat and said, “In the name of justice, I fine all present in the Court @ Rp.50,000 (USD 5.50) each as dwellers of this City for letting a child starve until her grandmother is compelled to steal to feed her grandchild. The Registrar will now collect the fines from all present.”
The Court managed to collect Rs. 3.5 million (USD 350) including the fine collected from the plantation manager, whereby the fine was paid off and the rest was given to the old lady!
Will we ever see such a thing happening in our courts ? I’ve learnt…..that being kind is more important than being right.

“A person who truly loves you is someone who sees the pain in your eyes, while everyone else still believes in the smile on your face.”

Sent by Fr Nandana Manatunga

A quote from Pope Francis “Jesus is ‘the evangelizer par excellence and the Gospel in person.’ His solicitude, particularly for the most vulnerable and marginalized, invites all of us to care for the frailest and to recognize his suffering countenance, especially in the victims of new forms of poverty and slavery. The Lord says: ‘I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ The mission of the Church, herself a pilgrim in the world and the Mother of all, is thus to love Jesus Christ, to adore and love him, particularly in the poorest and most abandoned; among these are certainly migrants and refugees, who are trying to escape difficult living conditions and dangers of every kind.”

Message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees

Pope Responses to the Synod of Bishops for Pan-Amazon Region  

Querida Amazonia  is a post-synodal apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, written in response to the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region. Focusing on the Amazon region of South America, it is addressed “to the people of God and to all persons of good will”.
Originally written in Spanish, the exhortation was also released in Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Polish, and Arabic, as well as English.  The English translation is organized into 111 paragraphs, in four chapters each of which is dedicated to a “great dream”: social, cultural, ecological and ecclesial.
Prior to its official release, speculation arose that Querida Amazonia would allow the ordination of married men who are already permanent deacons  to the priesthood, to address a shortage of priests in the Amazon.
The exhortation does not explicitly endorse married priests, instead stating that a “way must be found” for priests to bring the Eucharist to remote areas, while also calling for women to be given greater roles in the Church , but not within the holy orders of the diaconate or the priesthood.
Pope Francis states that efforts of inculturation should be made, to “respect native forms of expression in song, dance, rituals, gestures and symbols”.
In the first chapter, entitled “A Social Dream”, Francis focuses on improving the quality of life of the Amazonian people, underscoring the need to assist the poor. He ends the chapter with a reflection on the “broken institutions” of civil society, and calls for “social dialogue” to take place with the poor of the Amazon.
The second chapter of the exhortation, “A Cultural Dream”, utilizes a positive approach towards indigenous peoples, emphasizing that promotion of the Amazon does not mean “colonizing it culturally”.
Describing the region as a “polyhedron”, Francis deplores the exile of the indigenous from their homes into regional cities, and the subsequent loss of their cultural identities, also urging young people to “take charge of [their] roots”.
The document’s third chapter, “An Ecological Dream”, recalls Benedict XVI’s teaching on “human ecology”, referencing also Francis’s own encyclical Laudato si’. He calls for “ecological education and habits” to overcome modern consumerism in the region, an initiative to which, he says, the Church can also contribute.
“An Ecclesial Dream”, the final chapter examines the role of the Catholic Church in the Amazon. Pope Francis affirms the Great Commission of preaching the gospel in order to confront the region’s problems, underlining the importance of kerygma.
Furthermore, he calls for the Church to “offer understanding, comfort and acceptance”, instead of turning people away.  He underlines the traditional importance of priests being male, and provides the example of the Virgin Mary’s “tender strength” as a model for women. In briefly exploring the possibilities arising from ecumenism and “interreligious coexistence”,
Pope invites believers to “find occasions to speak to one another”. The exhortation concludes with a prayer addressed to Mary, “mother of the Amazon region”.

Source : From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sent By: Rev. Fr. Locksley Peiris

 

Some Chinese churches suspend activities because of coronavirus

Some churches in China have suspended community activities, including Mass, over fears of the deadly coronavirus virus that has already killed six people and continues to spread, reported ucanews.org. With Lunar New Year celebrated Jan. 25 this year, this is the busiest travel season, when millions of workers head back to their villages for celebrations. Hankou Diocese in Hubei province announced the suspension of community activities in all its parishes as the province is on high alert to check the virus, reported ucanews.org.
St. Ignatius Cathedral of Shanghai Diocese said Jan. 22 it will be closed temporarily, and no prayer services or Masses will be conducted during Lunar New Year. Holy Family Catholic Church in Wuchang, which is just across the Yangtze River from Wuhan, has issued a notice suspending all Masses temporarily following a government directive. Ningbo Diocese in Zhejiang province has asked parish priests not to distribute Communion on tongues from Jan. 22 as a preventive measure. “The church members shall receive the Eucharist in their hands,” it said in a notice seeking parishioners’ prayers to end the epidemic.
A Catholic layman in Hebei, identified only as Paul, said he was “worried that the authorities would use this to crack down on the Church.” “If it spreads quickly and uncontrollably, church meetings and gatherings may be banned. Authorities may also use this a pretext to crack down on the Church more severely,” he told ucanews.org. China’s national health commission has confirmed more than 500 cases of pneumonia with the new coronavirus infection in areas of Hubei, Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai. More suspected cases were reported from another 14 provinces, it said. Media reports say Asian nations such as Japan, Thailand and South Korea also have confirmed cases of the virus, which has no medical cure and can become deadly in people with low immunity. “The situation is serious and beyond the ability of ordinary people to check it,” said a Christian physician who is a member of a team working to check the spread of the virus in Hubei. Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, where the viral infection was first reported, remains the worst-hit area with six deaths, including 51 severe cases and 12 critical cases. The industrial city of 11 million people has temporarily shut all public transport systems and people have been advised not to leave the city in an effort to control the outbreak. The infection manifests itself with symptoms of simple fever but can turn soon into deadly pneumonia. Since the virus does not respond to antibiotics, people with low immunity, such as children and the elderly, are most vulnerable, a doctor in Hebei told ucanews.org. “The rate of infection with the new coronavirus pneumonia has exceeded the speed of SARS transmission in 2003,” he said. Several medical professionals in Hubei told ucanews.org that the administration concealed the detection of the virus from people in the initial days, which made preventive measures impossible. He said medical staff taking care of patients unaware of the virus were infected. “Some are now in a critical condition. One of the doctors died of the infection.” Wuhan Wang Baolu, who lives in Hubei, told ucanews.org that although Lunar New Year is round the corner, not many people are out in the open and in markets. “Just go home and do not stay out for another minute” seems to be the policy for everyone, he said.

Taken  From: https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2020/01/some-chinese-churches-suspend-activitiesbecause-of-coronavirus/

 

Birthdays

7th –   Sat –  Very Rev. Fr. Anthony Fernando

– Rev. Fr. Nalinert

 

Ordinations

19th  – Thu – Rev. Fr. Surendra Pragash

 

Deaths

03rd – Tue – Rev. Fr. A. L. Abeysekera

11th – Wed – Rev. Fr. Theophane Wickramaratne, OSB

15th – Sun – Rev. Bro. Sandanam Simeon

17th – Tue – Rev. Fr. Gabriel Fernando

19th – Thu – Rev. Fr. D. Paul Perera

– Rev. Fr. D. H. Letin, OSB

24th – Tue – Rev. FR. Robert M Perera, OSB

27th – Fri – Rev. Fr. Jerome E Perera
Cover story……..
Christ Crucified is a 1632 painting by Diego Velázquez depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus. The work, painted in oil on canvas, measures 249 × 170 cm and is owned by the Museo del Prado.
During his stay in Rome, Velázquez made various nude studies he used in later paintings, such as Apollo at the Forge of Vulcan (1630) and Joseph’s Tunic (1630). Art critics assert that the nude study for this painting is exceptional and masterly in its fusion of serenity, dignity and nobility. It is a life-size frontal nude, without the support of a narrative scene. Velázquez followed the accepted iconography in the 17th century. His master, Francisco Pacheco, a big supporter of classicist painting, painted the crucified Christ using the same iconography later adopted by Velázquez: four nails, feet together and supported against a little wooden brace, in a classic contrapposto posture. Both arms draw a subtle curve, instead of forming a triangle. The loincloth is painted rather small, thus showing the nude body as much as possible. The head shows a narrow halo, as if it came from the figure itself; the face is resting on the chest, showing just enough of his features. The long, straight hair covers a great part of the face, perhaps foreshadowing the death, already inflicted as shown by the wound on the right side. It lacks the characteristic dramatic qualities of Baroque painting. (Source Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Crucified_(Vel%C3%A1zquez)