The Festive High Mass, blessing the New Year 2020, conducted by His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso, was commenced at Our Lady of Katunayake’s Shrine at 11.45 in the night of 31st December 2019. As His Holiness the Apostle’s Festive High Mass to bless the New Year was held in the Apparition Church, people from different parts of the country gathered in the Apparition Church and in the Shrine ground of Our Lady of Katunayake’s Shrine. The Festive High Mass to bless the New Year was held in the Apparition Church of Our Lady of Katunayake.
With the dawn of the New Year, His Holiness the Apostle, announcing the dawn of New Year from the main altar precisely at 12 midnight on 31st of December, wished everyone a Happy New Year.
Something which was not happened in any other new year took place in this year. That is, after the New Year’s Holy Mass, the Holy Apostle served all devotees who gathered to participate in the New Year’s Holy Mass with a piece of milk-rice. This was commended by all. His Holiness the Apostle, who came to Holy Apostles Peter and Paul Garden of Our Lady of Katunayake’s Shrine after the New Year’s Holy Mass, offered all devotees, from his own hands, a small plate of a piece of milk-rice and some lunu-miris (salty chili), with a smiling face. Everyone felt that His Holiness The Apostle did that not from His hands but from the depth of His heart because of the joy reflected in His face. At the same time, He did not forget to offer His wishes to them for the New Year. Those who present received the opportunity to taste a piece of milk-rice from the sacred hands of His Holiness the Apostle in the wee hours of newly dawned year 2020.
His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso did not collect money from anyone for this milk-rice ceremony. No one knew about this until it was implemented. At least the Governing Board of the Shrine did not know that this was planned. However, the Holy Apostle secretly organized all these things and provided this meal of milk-rice for all the devotees in the New Year’s dawn, surprising them. There were pilgrims who came from far away, and after a long Holy Mass, this milk-rice and lunu miris treat, which was somewhat sufficiently received by the hungry devotees, was a feast of the newly dawned year. “Most Holy Apostle, what you did is truly commendable”.
As a Father, this Holy Apostle of ours always blesses all the devotees who come to him and does unthinkable and unexpected things. This act of kindness of His Holiness The Apostle also caused the admiration of the devotees. With the dawn of the New Year 2020, all devotees were delighted to have an opportunity to eat a piece of milk-rice before leaving the Most Miraculous Shrine of Our Lady of Katunayake. Some people said they would not cook milk-rice after going back to their homes because they ate the milk-rice, served from the sacred hands of His Holiness the Apostle.
These photos show His Holiness the Apostle Rohan Lalith Aponso offering a small plate of milk-rice with lunu-miris to the devotees from Holy Apostles Peter and Paul Garden of Our Lady of Katunayake’s Shrine
