“Little children become happy when Christmas is drawing near. Even the adults become happy. There is yet another set of creatures who are happy when Christmas is drawing near. Those are the animals that live among people. They become happy not because Christmas is drawing near but because they get more food when Christmas is drawing near. The animals don’t know that they are given more food to make them fatter to be killed and eaten up. Will animals ever be happy if they happen to know that Christmas which causes them to be killed and eaten up, is drawing near? If animals had the chance of knowing that people are getting ready to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, how mournful would their death wail be?”
His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aposnso expressed these words at Our Lady of Katunayake’s Shrine on 14th November, 2019.
His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso expressed thus at the meeting of the officials of Apostolic Media Network held in the Apostolic Hall at Our Lady of Katunayake’s Shrine.
“If cattle were given the faculty of speech on Christmas day, they would say, ‘Pray, Lord Jesus, the Ocean of Kindness and the Prince of Peace, have mercy on us and redeem us from your followers.” In fact, if cattle were given the faculty of speech on Christmas day, the mournful wail let out by the cattle, would be heard over the sound of fire crackers and melodious psalms sung during Christmas. The cribs are usually made in Christian churches and Christian houses on Christmas day, aren’t they? The images of cattle are inevitably placed near the image of Baby Jesus in those cribs. Placing the image of Baby Jesus near the images of cattle and killing them afterwards and swallowing their flesh at Christmas banquets is a flagrant disrespect to Jesus Christ who was born in a manger, is it not? The whole world knows about those innocent animals that were present near Baby Jesus apart from Father Joseph and Mother Virgin Mary. People rejected the presence of Baby Jesus among people whereas animals didn’t do so. Do stop to think whether it is correct and fair to kill those very animals in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso expressed that slaughtering cows is similar to killing one’s own mother and further stated that,
“A human mother breastfeeds only her own child. But, cow’s milk nourishes almost every child. You and I have been nourished by the milk of our own mothers. Whose milk do we drink in addition? Whose milk do we drink to nourish ourselves in our adulthood? A cow’s blood turns into milk owing to the affection it has towards its little calf. But, we allow the calf to drink only a little milk of its own mother and we forcibly snatch away all the rest of the milk and finally kill that animal for food. Is it incorrect if I say that slaughtering such an animal is equal to killing your own mother?”
Expounding the details to the officials of the Apostolic Media Network, His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso further stated that beef is harmful to health. Why do you commit that crime merely for desiring the taste of biting it in your mouth? If you throw up a meal swallowed up with beef, do you pick up a piece of beef and eat it up again saying ‘Alas! Why waste that piece of beef?’ Can a grateful human being who is said to possess a higher mentality, swallow beef which is harmful to health desiring the momentary taste of biting it?
His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso expressed how we encourage others to kill the cattle that provide us with the manure without poison that helps the growth of a flower plant which provides beautiful flowers for the Buddhist shrine as well as the Christian shrine and the manure that helps the growth of vegetables and fruit we consume.
“What a vast amount of work is done by cattle for the comfort of human beings! The cart is drawn by cattle in some areas even now. Cattle help us to plough the paddy field that provides us with the rice that sustains us. The earth that provides us with vegetables and fruit is fertilized by cattle dung. The flowers that come from the earth beautify the altar at the temple and at the church. Cattle provide us with all these things free of charge. By consuming the flesh of cattle all of us, Christians encourage the slaughter of cattle.”
Pointing out that human beings do not have any right to deprive animals of their right to live on this earth without any troubles, tribulations, fear or pain of death. His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso further expressed, “I have no right to tell you to eat such and such things and not to eat such and such things. I have no right to meddle with your freedom. In the same way, I would like to say that human beings have no right to deprive not only human beings but also animals of their right and freedom to live on this earth without any troubles, tribulations, fear or pain of death.”
Commenting on the principle of some Christians, refraining from consuming the flesh of animals on Good Friday, His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso expressed himself in the following manner. “Most of the Christians abstain from consuming meat on Good Friday or on the day of commemorating the death of Jesus Christ. Why don’t you consume meat on Good Friday? Does Jesus Christ get any consolation by your doing so? If you have any good reason to abstain from consuming meat on Good Friday, why don’t you follow the same good precept on Christmas day? Why don’t you give the same consolation to Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas day, the consolation afforded to Him on Good Friday? Why don’t you offer the same consolation and respect to Jesus Christ throughout the year? If you have anything that you shouldn’t do, it shouldn’t be done throughout you lifetime and if you have anything that you should do, you should do it throughout your lifetime.
Finally, commenting on putting an end to the slaughter of cattle, His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso expressed thus, “In my view, the best way of putting an end to the slaughter of cattle is stopping the consumption of beef. Otherwise, people might say ‘we eat beef because the cattle are killed and cattle are killed because we eat their flesh. If you continued to cheat your conscience by saying ‘cattle are killed for us to eat and we eat the flesh of cattle because they are killed.’ In this manner, there would never be an end of this act of bestiality by human beings.”
