“We need the love and compassion of Blessed Mother Mary desperately. You, and I, and we all, need the help of Blessed Mother Mary. Maybe, you have come today to the Most Fortunate and Most Miraculous Ground, at a most desperate moment. The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of All Graces, helps all of you without any differences. When she extends her love to you she does not consider ethnic, caste, party or religious differences. A mother loves her child even though the child is black, white or ugly, because for a mother, her child is her own child. A mother loves mostly her helpless children. Therefore, children like you who are helpless, comes from distant places to this Shrine, to seek the help of Blessed Mother Mary” The Most Holy Apostolic Father, His Holiness Rohan Lalith Aponso, reflected the above in the evening of Saturday 4th September 2010, at Our Lady of Katunayake’s Shrine.
Addressing the pilgrims who arrived from various places at Our Lady of Katunayake’s Shrine, to participate in the Evening Novena Service of the Immaculate Heart of Blessed Virgin Mary, His Holiness the Apostolic Father, further reflected the following.
“Every one of you will have to face troubles and sorrows without any differences. A Germ does not have ethnic, caste, or religious differences. When you get an ailment, you will not get the ailment according to ethnic, caste, party, or religious differences. Likewise, before you consult a Doctor, you will not check his ethnic, caste, party, or religious differences. When a Christian has an ailment, does he take treatments only from a Christian Doctor? Among the Christians, there are various views about various Churches, which are nothing but nonsense. Do the Catholics take treatments only from Catholics? Do the Protestants take treatments only from Protestants? We all will only consider the efficiency and the experience of the Doctor. The Doctor also treats us not considering our nationality, religion or anything else. Blessed Mother also helps us in the same way. She does not consider ethnic, caste, party, or religious differences to help us. Therefore, do not circle her in such narrow differences”
The Most Holy Apostolic Father, His Holiness Rohan Lalith Aponso, further reflected the following to the pilgrims who gathered in the Shrine as well as in the Shrine Ground. “At Mount Calvary, at the Feet of the Cross, Blessed Mother accepted all children of the world from Lord Jesus Christ without religious differences or any other differences. Therefore, she helps the children who beseech her without any differences. Hence, nobody should even try to circle her according to ethnic or religious differences”.
“Various nationalities from various places and people who have various religious faiths, and people who belongs to various Christian denominations comes to this Shrine. Blessed Mother Mary extends her help to all these people as a mother who is helping her own children. We cannot say that Blessed Mother Mary is belongs to a particular religious group or we cannot say that she belongs only to Christians or she belongs only to a particular church. Blessed Mother Mary belongs to you, to me, and to all of us”. His Holiness the Apostolic Father further declared.
Images of the celebration
