Just months ago, Sri Lanka was shaken by bombs exploding at several churches and hotels on Easter Sunday, killing hundreds and seriously wounding many more.
Sri Lankans in the Greater Vancouver Area responded by scrambling to reach out to friends and family on the island nation, grasping for hope that their loved ones were safe. Now the same local Sri Lankan community is revealing people of various faiths can unite over their common love for holy places as they continue praying for victims.
Deacon Peter Gomes, who immigrated from Sri Lanka in 2007 and is now a member of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, invited Sri Lankans regardless of religion to pray for and reflect on the value of peace. He chose the Sri Lankan Feast of Our Lady of Madhu, which dates back to the Dutch invasion and persecution of the Catholic Church in the 17th century.
“Since it coincided with about three months since the Easter Sunday bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, we offered the Mass for the victims and survivors,” said Deacon Gomes. “It is of huge significance to us to make peace in our country,” he said.
As many as 300 people arrived at St. Matthew’s Parish in Surrey for the gathering Aug. 10, and Deacon Gomes estimated a fifth of the crowd wasn’t Catholic.
Participant Eraj Liyamage moved from Sri Lanka to Canada 25 years ago. He was born a Buddhist, but has a love for the shrine of Our Lady of Madhu, a 400-year-old holy site surrounded by Sri Lankan jungles and considered by many to be miraculous.
“It’s an important shrine in Sri Lanka. It is a historic site. It’s known, with the local people, to have some healing powers. When people are feeling ill, they go and pray.”
Liyamage has not yet been there himself but friends and family members have made the trek to see the historic place and seek spiritual guidance. “Buddhists have their places of worship in Sri Lanka, but this particular shrine is worshipped by Buddhists as well.”
He appreciated the invitation to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Madhu in Surrey and the warm and welcoming atmosphere at the Mass and reception.
“I really appreciate Deacon Gomes with regards to the collaboration of the communities and bringing multiple faiths together to do such activities,” said Liyamage. “There are differences in beliefs, but people are very similar in nature. I appreciate what he has done for the community.”
Father Joe Selvanayagam, a priest of the Diocese of Hamilton, also participated. He said the Surrey event was a powerful sign of unity, especially as readings and hymns during Mass were in Sinhalese and Tamil. The choir included singers from mixed faiths, including four Buddhists and one person of the Hindu faith.
“Back home in Sri Lanka, this feast invites everybody. It’s a Catholic shrine and Catholic people cherish it, but a lot of Buddhists and Hindus, they come to this shrine,” Father Selvanayagam said. “Every Sri Lankan knows about that shrine. It is their shrine.”
He recently visited Sri Lanka, including the Catholic churches that were shredded in the blasts, and say many still suffer the effects of the bombings on Easter Sunday.
“I have been to those two churches, and I visited hospitals to see people who are still in hospital, in comas” more than three months after the bombs exploded.
Deacon Gomes said Catholics only make up about seven per cent of the population of Sri Lanka, but “are the bridge” between the ethnic Sinhalese and Tamil communities. He estimated half of the country’s Catholics are Sinhalese and the other half Tamil, but all treasure the Madhu shrine and make pilgrimages there to pray in peace along with Buddhists (about 70 per cent of the population) and Hindus (about 12 per cent).
“It’s a miraculous place” of peace and healing, he said.
Pope Francis noticed the shrine’s ability to bring warring sides together when he visited Sri Lanka in 2015.
“At this shrine of Our Lady of Madhu, every pilgrim can feel at home, for here Mary brings us into the presence of her son Jesus,” he said. “Here, Sri Lankans, Tamil and Sinhalese alike, come as members of one family. To Mary they commend their joys and sorrows, their hopes and needs. Here, in her home, they feel safe.”
Sri Lankan Catholics in the Lower Mainland have celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Madhu (Aug. 15) every year for the past five years.
