![]() When they arrived, he got out of the Jeep and put on rubber gloves and a mask and gave out food and supplies and offered blessings.Ī year ago, as the pandemic was just beginning to spread, he wrote an essay describing the hundreds of people who were showing up every day outside his cathedral, waiting for help: old people, widows, families with children. This simple man with a long grey beard and flowing saffron robes climbed into a Jeep and traveled with workers to villages. He organized volunteers, priests and religious in his diocese to distribute food, hygiene kits, protective equipment, masks. He set up a kitchen to prepare hot meals for 1500 people a day. “We don’t have any place to go,” they said, “Please help us.”Īnd he did. When COVID first struck India over a year ago, families naturally came to him, looking for help. When Mar Barnabas travels to visit missions in his diocese, he often sleeps on the floor.īut his enthusiasm is infectious-and so is his love for the poor. He runs his diocese on a small budget with almost no staff. I had lunch with him a few years ago when was in New York. ![]() He is known as Mar Barnabas, and he is a bishop in New Delhi, India. There are even some I would call living saints. Working in the church, I’ve met some amazing men and women. In your charity, please, prayers for the repose of his soul and the comfort of those who mourn him and the people of India who continue to suffer as the Covid-19 pandemic rages there. By the time we were preparing this issue for publication, Bishop Mar Barnabas had died of Covid (August 26, 2021). At the time this was initially written, the Bishop was still hospitalized, though improving. I found it profoundly applicable to our issue on Missions, for every Catholic is called to mission every day of life, as life, and Bishop Mar Barnabas shows us how. About Ascension Day in Other CountriesRead more about Ascension Day.Editor’s Note: Deacon Greg Kandra preached this homily on Ascension Thursday and previously published it on his blog, A Deacon’s Bench. Many Eastern Orthodox churches calculate the date of Pascha (Easter) according to the Julian calendar, rather than the Gregorian calendar used by many western churches, so their Ascension Day usually occurs after the western observance. However, it has been reported that some Roman Catholic churches in Canada celebrate it on the following Sunday. Depending upon the phases of the Moon in a particular year, Ascension Day is usually celebrated on a Thursday. It is believed that on the 40th day he took them to the Mount of Olives, where they watched as he ascended to heaven.Īscension Day marks the end of the Easter season and occurs ten days before Pentecost. According to the New Testament in the Bible, Jesus Christ met several times with his disciples during the 40 days after his resurrection to instruct them on how to carry out his teachings. BackgroundĪscension Day is one of the earliest Christian festivals dating back to the year 68 CE. ![]() Offices, retail stores, educational institutions and public transit systems run to their usual schedules. Public LifeĪscension Day is not a federal public holiday in Canada. Children who attend Sunday school may learn about the meaning of Ascension Day around this time of the year. Various churches, including the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada, observe this event. Some Christians in Canada attend Ascension Day church services where they can receive communion, also known as the Eucharist, engage in prayer and sing hymns. Statue of Jesus, who Christians believe ascended to heaven. It commemorates Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven, according to the New Testament of the Bible.Īscension Day is not a public holiday.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |