Looking to Heaven for Deliverance Prayers of the Sisters of the North
MELANI MANEL PERERA
“A group of Tamil women from the North visited the Katuwapitiya church and paid homage to the victims of the Easter tragedy, asking for peace, healing of the wounds and strength to live the rest of their lives,
A group already shouldering memories from three decades of war, chose to visit the St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, Negombo to pay homage to the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings.
On the evening of the 20th of September, exactly five months after the Easter Sunday attacks, the group of Catholic and Tamil Hindus arrived at the church in Katuwapitiya. This group comprised of women from Mullaithivu, Kilinochchi, Wanni, Poonagari, Mulangaveli, Nachchikuda, Vavuniya and Jaffna, among them there were several who had come to the southern part of the country for the first time in their lives.
Close to the main entrance of the church is a panel with the lives and stories of the victims of the Easter Sunday tragedy. We could witness feelings of pain overwhelming with passion.
“It’s very sad to have lost so many people. They are Christian devotees, who came to church on the greatest day of their faith”, they said.
Sugandi Mary raised her voice and said that according to her faith, she believes that those who caused such suffering should be forgiven. She said that it isn’t an easy task, but they will have to do so, hard as it may be, in bearing witness to Christ.
V.Valliyamma and Sugandhi Mary said that they prayed for mercy on the suicide bombers and for the entire Muslim community who have been blamed. They also prayed for understanding, unity and peace among all communities, and all religions living in the country.
“We should not allow what happened to the Tamils also happen to the Muslims. Although the LTTE were Tamils, not all Tamils are Tigers. Likewise, if a terrorist group had committed that brutal crime, it is not right that the entire Muslim community be branded as murderers,” Sugandhi Marie and Dharmanayagi added further to the statement made by Valli Amma, whose daughter is still missing after the war in the North.
“We must speak the truth. No matter what ethnicity, creed or religion, we must look at the problem in perspective. It’s not fair to look at every man with hatred and suspicion.”, they emphasized.
These women strongly believe that whoever tries to play with the lives of people should be identified and exposed to the public. Having witnessed the reconstructed Katuwapitiya church and meeting the present Father in charge of the church, they expressed their heartfelt condolences over the tragedy. They hope that such a disaster will not happen again in our country.
This article was originally published on the catamaran.com
