Sri Lankans prepare for Holy Week

( March 30,2010) The Catholic communities of Sri Lanka are preparing for the celebrations of Holy Week, with an intensive program of prayers, retreats and pilgrimages. Initiatives are being taken by individual parishes and communities. In the Diocese of Mannar the Vicar General Fr. Victor Soosai told AsiaNews that on the evening of Friday,( March 26), over 4 thousand faithful made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Parappukadantan, 21 km east of Mannar, where they participated at Mass. In the Diocese of Kurunegala on Friday, (March 26) there was the traditional Way of the Cross, led by Bishop Anthony Pereira of the diocese. And during Lent, the faithful took turns in welcoming the Holy Cross to their homes.
The faithful of all the dioceses of Sri Lanka, including the Diocese of Trincomalee, Anuradhapura, and Colombo, held prayer meetings, meditated and made donations for the poor. In addition to traditional Lenten celebrations, some believers participated in pilgrimages and spiritual exercises, as a means to build unity, understanding and sharing among parishioners. In many villages, there were Stations of the Cross, some as long as 30 to 50 kilometers, to commemorate the Holy Cross as a symbol of Lent and unity of families and parishes. Many marched while observing fasts. Parishes throughout the dioceses, institutions and schools, at the request of Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, of Colombo, held special collections of money as a Lenten sacrifice, for the poor of the archdiocese.