Replace the Eucharist in the centre of Christian life, says Mgr Ranjith
(October 29, 2009) Bishop Malcom Ranjith urges Colombo Catholics to rediscover the
central role the Eucharist plays in life and the family. On Sunday, the prelate led
the Corpus Christi procession from the grotto in the Kalutara Church to the Grace
Kumari Gardens in Katukurunda. Along the way, the faithful, religious and laity sang
and prayed following the Holiest in its journey through the streets of the city.
“We feel disheartened and discouraged with the difficulties in our lives. So we tend
to run around in all possible directions, without knowing that all things are possible
for God,” Mgr Ranjith said in a brief reference to the country’s situation now that
the 20-year civil is over. Every day concerns and struggles find rest in Christ.
“Our war ended; life must be centred on the Eucharist. It is in the Eucharist that
we find all the solutions to our problems.” In inviting everyone to have a conversion
of the heart, the archbishop of Colombo insisted, “The Eucharist is an act of God’s
love for man”, one that is too often forgotten or debased as a mere devotional act.
Instead, “every time we enter a church we must feel the joy of standing before the
Lord in the Eucharist,” the prelate said. For Mgr Ranjith, it is imperative “families
turn to the Eucharist as the source of their connection to God”. For this reason,
he has announced that starting next August the Archdiocese of Colombo will celebrate
the Year of the Eucharist in order to rediscover the “richness of this gift of the
Lord” and base on it “an authentic Christian life.”