From: Paddydes@aol.com Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2002 00:04:18 EDT Subj: Catholic-DevotionDate: 06/14/2002 0:45:51 AM ESTFrom: robinhod@tv-email.orgTo: paddydes@aol.comCentenary of devotions observed in Karachi dioceseKARACHI: Euphoric scenes were witnessed in Catholic churches here on Thursday as the diocese of Karachi marked a centenary of devotions and novenas to Mother Mary and the pantheon of Christian saints.Thousands of Catholics attended the day's devotions, which were offered to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Anthony of Padua, one of the most revered saints in Pakistan. On Thursday Catholic priests described the two personages as powerful mediators who plead on behalf of all humanity. Recognised by Catholic clergymen as symbols of popular piety, the devotions have attracted record numbers of people--even those segments of Christian population that would earlier confuse idolatry with the Catholic tradition of p!
raying before a statue. A hundred or so years ago, the Christian settlers in Karachi, Chittagong, Quetta and Lahore, many of them from South and East India, were introduced to novenas and other forms of devotions. It is likely that some of them, if not all, were already familiar with these forms of devotion but no record is available to suggest that they had begun offering novenas without pastoral ministrations, according to a church worker.Fr. Archie deSouza, a one-time vicar-general of the diocese, recalled on Thursday that in spite of the wide acceptance of novenas by the settlers, or English-speaking members of the community, he could not until 15 years ago himself see the same enthusiasm in the indigenous Urdu- and Punjabi-speaking Christians for these devotions. "When a parishioner at the Mauripur church... a woman of Tamil origin...asked for permission to place a statue of St Anthony in the church, I could have hardly guessed the kind of response it evoked in the pari!
sh, where nearly every family was Urdu or Punjabi speaking. They came in droves to offer novena prayers at the church and elsewhere, too, I learnt the devotions do pull in the crowds," said Fr deSouza, explaining how the devotions came to be popular in the indigenous communities.In a public discourse on these forms of devotions, Fr. deSouza drew attention to the importance of mediators in communication with God. Such intercession is vital for humans, he said. "Both Mother Mary and St. Anthony are mediators--as are the saints--but we must remember Christ's words if we are to obtain favours and miracles from God. Jesus tells us to first reconcile with our estranged brother, almost immediately after leaving burnt offerings to the Lord or praying. So the mediation is not just with God but also with our fellow man," he added.
