Christmas of solidarity among Sri Lanka's flood victims and children

The bishops' appeal: “A call to renew respect for the dignity of life”. In the parish of St Francis Xavier in Wewala the crib built together with the little ones who live in difficult situations: ‘Here they have the chance to know the love of Jesus’.

Colombo (AsiaNews) - The birth of Jesus in the manger, in an atmosphere of great poverty and simplicity, ‘invites us to live a life of simplicity and to always be attentive to the poor’. This is the message that the bishops of Sri Lanka addressed to their faithful on the occasion of Christmas.

In the text - signed by the president of the Bishops' Conference (Cbsl) Harold Anthony Perera and secretary J.D. Anthony Jayakody - the bishops write that the issue of poverty can only be alleviated by creating just economic structures, with a “sincere commitment on the part of all”. ‘The birth of Jesus,’ they add, ’is also a call to renew respect for the dignity of life.

This is the only way to lay a solid foundation for a peace that lasts in time’. In this sense they denounce ‘the disturbing level of contempt for precious human life in the world - especially in Gaza and Ukraine’. ‘May the newborn Child Jesus,’ the Sri Lankan bishops conclude, ’inspire the resolution of these conflicts, bringing peace and stability to those areas. May the splendour of Christ illuminate our lives, providing comfort and confidence in the times to come’.

A concrete sign of this spirit was the initiative promoted by the parish of St Francis Xavier in Wewala, in the archdiocese of Colombo: a special Christmas celebration was organised in cooperation with some past members of the diocesan youth ministry for 20 children who were orphans or in situations of serious difficulty. Each child was given a lunch box, a backpack and other items, and activities were carried out with them to highlight their talents.

Together they designed and built a nativity scene to represent the birth of Jesus. ‘The children here have the opportunity to learn, dance, sing and get to know the love of Jesus during the ‘Love Encounter’ that we offer every Saturday on the church premises,’ Sister Marian Fernando, the Good Shepherd nun who leads the group, tells AsiaNews.

Meanwhile, members of the Charismatic Movement have also been helping to share the love of Christmas with families affected by the recent flooding. Sanjeewa Wijesinghe tells AsiaNews: ‘We distributed a bag of dry rations worth 5000 rupees to 150 farming families affected by the floods in the Omanthai area, in the Vavuniya district in the north of the country, among the hardest hit in recent weeks by the floods that have inflicted severe damage in Sri Lanka. It is not charity, but their right. Jesus said that if you have two coats, one is not yours. It belongs to someone else. To keep it is to steal someone else's right. We have tried to witness this. I think everyone can understand the true meaning of Christmas and celebrate it authentically,' Sanjeewa concluded, ’by learning from an early age to receive and share.