Miracles

A miracle is a phenomenon which cannot be fully explained using human reason or “laws” of nature.For a believer,it is God using is crestion and the laws of that creation(i.e.the laws of nature) the lay he wishes. According to the well-known writer,C s lewis,one cannot believe a miracle that has taken place,if one has already drawn a conclusion in one’s mind that miracles are not possible at all.
The Bible is full of miracles,which can be perceived as Go’s interventionin human history,in His creation to achiev His purposes. In the old testament,that is more than evident in the book of Exodus,for example,when God brought His people,Israel out of the land of Egypt with inexplicabli wonders,which surely are’miracles’ by definition.Than in yhe new Testament,God intervenes in the laws of the nature in and through jesus of Nazareth,His only Son and our God.Miracles are so interwoven with the earthly ministry of jesus that we simply cannot perceive jesus of Nazareth as portrayed by the Evangelists without His many miracles which the Evangelist John call”signs”.These miracles were to do mainly with healings,exorcisms and raising the dead to life again.Besides these,there are also miracles attributed to jesus which are supernatural in the sensethey are to do with the divine control over nature,the Creator’s control over His creation.Thus,we have changing water into the wine,walking on water,calming the storm in themidst of the sea,the draught of fish,feeding the multitude by multiplication of bread and fish……..etc.Also.His own Transfiguration on Mount Tabor and His Resurrection from the Dead clearly indicate Hid divine control over nature and all naturalprocesses,including life and death.This is an essential part of our Catholic faith.
In the Acts of the Apostles,we read page after page how disciples of jesus continue more or less performing the same miracles,of course,always in the name of jesus of Nazareth.This is the way the author of Acts is trying to portray how the miraculous power of jesus the Risen One is now present in and through His spirit,working in the Church.In other words,the mieacles of jesus did not cease with the end earthly ministry.Jesus who was active yesterday,is active today,and will be active tomorrow,too.
According to the gospel of John,the first”sign” or miracle of Jesus was in cana of Galilee where He changed water into wine.For our purposes here,what is pmportant in this event in Cana is that Jesus performs that miracle at the request of His mother who tell him”They have no wine" Mary’sintercession on behalf of us when we too run short of “wine “in this earthly life continues.Hundreds and thousands of Christians down through the ages do dear witness to this powerful intercession of Mother Mary.In fact,the many titles with which she is venerated all over the world are a clear testimony to this,because each and every such title implies a particular intervention/intercession of the Mother of God on behalf of us,her children,at a given time and place in our human history.One of the most popular titles with which she is venerated all over the world is the title “The Mother of Perpetual Help”.This is based on a devotion to a miraculous icon that goes back to at least the 15th century.

The Miraculous Icon

It is popularly believed that this miraculous icon (Which is of Oriental Origin) was first brought to Rome from the Mediterranean island of Crete towards the end of the 15^th Century, by a merchant who miraculously survived a terrible storm in the sea on his way to the eternal city. Extraordinary events were attributed top this icon ever since its arrival in Rome where it was given the title of “Mother of Perpetual Help”. The Church of St. Mathew which was at that time between the two well-known Major Roman Basilicasm St. Mary Majors and St. John Lateran, was the first location where it was venerated by Christians in Rome. Records tell us that it was in this Church that from 27^th June 1499 it was venerated for some 300 years. Unfortunately, in 1798, this Church was destroyed by the French Army led by Napoleon.

It so happened that later a new Church was built by the redemptorists almost on the very site where the iold Church of St. Mathew was situated. The icon was discovered amidst the rubble which had miraculously survived the destruction. Having learnt its miraculous history, Pope Pius XI Instruted that the icon should be restored to its original place on which now there was the new;y – built Redemptorist Church. Thus , in 1866 , the same Pope entrusted this imahe to the Redemptorists and solemnly commissioned them as guardians of this miraculous icon, to propagate the devotion it it, saying “ Male her known throughout the world” !

Ever since, the Redemptorists have tirelessly endeavoured to be faithful to this commission of the Pope, and these efforts have been visibly blessed by God, for now the devotion to the Mother of Perpetual Help is almost a universal Catholic Phenomenon. The Asian continent has been one of the major locations where this devotion is very popular. The massive Redemptorist Church of Baclaran in Manila, the Philippines, has the record of having never closed its doors ever since it was built, for day in and day out , hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flock there to pray to this icon. Every Wednesday, well over 100,000 pilgrims attend the many sessions of the Novena devotions to this icon in Baclaran. In Singapore, thousand of both Chritian and non - Christian devotees flock to the Redemptorist novena devotions to this icon in Baclaran. In Singapore, thousand of both Christian and non Christian devotees flock to the Redemptorist novena church every Saturday.This Singaporean Shrine is so popular in that country there is a separate underground station named after this devotion as “novena”. Other renowned shrines dedicated to the Mother of Perpetual Help are the Basilica of Perpetual Help in Boston, USA , the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Santiago, Chile, the Shrine of Curtiba, Brazail,the Redemptorist Church. Belfast, Ireland,the Shrine of Perpetual Help Krakow (which the late Pope John Paul II Used to often go to, as a young man.) Moreover , the nation of Haiti is consecrated to Our Mother of Perpetual Help.

The First Shrine in Sri Lanka

When the three Irish Redemptorist Pioneers arrived in Sri Lanka in 1939, to establish the Cogregation here, they carried with them the icon of Mother of Pertetual Help which is fact was an integral part of their missinery activity, by then. When the Redemptorists finally established a permanent foundation in Kandy on 15^th March 1946 ( that is where the present Sancta, Maria is situated), they became the first chapel to our Mother of Perpetual Help, thus, Sancta Maria became the first shrine dedicated to this miraculous icon in Sri Lanka. They named the place itself “Sancta Maria” taking the first two words of the Latin title of this icon, “ Sancta Maria de Perpetuo Succurso”. In early years, there were two or three sessions of Novena every Saturday at sancta Maria, and thousands of pilgrims used to attend them. With the Redemptorists (though always small in number in Sri Lanka) going to every nook and corner of this island, to preach missions and retreats , the devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help was propagated all over Sri Lanka. In fact, it was Fr. Christie McCarthy, CSsR who took the initiative with Fr. John Herath, OMI , to start this devotion at all Saints Church , Borella, in 1951 which eventually became one of the most popular centres of this devotion.

The beautiful wooden altar which we see at Sancta Maria Chapel was build in 1946 by Fr. Arthur Maloney, CSsR , himself. The ion enshrined on top of that altar was crowned in 1957 by the then Bishop of Kandy, His Lordship Bernard Regno , OSB, amidst a large gathering of devotees. The Saturday novena at Sancta Maria though now reduced to one session, at 4.45 p.m. has continued, and on 26^th June 2010, will mark the 3,500^th novena conduced in this hallowed shrine. For the past 64 years, generations of Catholics and non- Catholics have come here to veberate our Mother of Perpetual Help, and have received innumerable favours through her powerful intercessiona with her beloved Son, Jesus Cjrist. It is amazaing to note how devotees come almost dayil ( outside the novena of Saturdays ) to pray at this beautiful shrine, and many are the miracles attributed to this holy place. At each novena, some of the letters of thanksgiving sent in by devotees are read. Unfortunately, we, the Redemptorists, have not kept a careful record of all the thanksgivings sent in by recipients of allsorts of favours, right from the beginning. What we have in our files are only a collection of some of the recent thanksgivings. In this booklet, we re-produce a few selected thanksgiving chosen from them . Some, if not most of them, would surely qualify to be what we believers may call a ‘Miracle’ , signifying God’s continuous intervention in our lives, through the intercession of Mary. These letters of thanksgiving are, thus , presented with the sole purpose of inculcating and enhancing the faith of the readers in the powerful intercession of our Mother of Perpetual Help before her divine son. We hope that eventually they would also enable our readers to be alert in their ordinary daily lives to detect the hand of God, and then, give praise to Him for His powerful never –ending presence in our midst. May our Lady of Perpetual Help be ‘a perpetual help’ to you in your life !

(Please note that these thanksgivings are edited without changing the original versions as far as possible)

Fr. Vimal Tirimanna , CSsR

May 2010,Sancta Maria,Kandy

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