Archbishop calls for prayers for Lanka victims on April 28

NT NETWORK

Panaji

Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao in a circular has urged the pastors and those in charge of the liturgy during the coming Sunday, April 28 Eucharistic celebrations to add some prayers of the faithful for the departed souls, the injured and the families that were affected by the multiple bomb blasts that took place in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday targeting churches and hotels.

The Archbishop in the circular to the clergy, religious, lay faithful and people called for “some time in prayer before the Lord, individually or in groups, so that the country of Sri Lanka may experience healing and receive the gift of peace.”  “The Latin rite dioceses in India, under the CCBI, have been advised to observe coming Sunday, the Divine Mercy Sunday as a day of prayer for the Church and the people of Sri Lanka. Let us join in, from Goa, and pray unitedly for those who were most affected by these attacks and for the restoration of peace and order in neighbouring Sri Lanka,” said the Archbishop.

The Archbishop said, “A candlelight prayer or procession could be organised wherever possible, to draw the attention of our people to the gruesome tragedy which occurred in our neighbouring country and to invite them to pray with us for peace and harmony throughout the world. May the Divine Mercy grant us the necessary strength and grace to live and to extend help to others who are in need of our support in facing the hardships and persecution that the sincere practice of our faith sometime brings.”

“We need to pray for those who were most affected, the souls of the deceased, some of them children who had made their First Holy Communion a few minutes earlier, the hundreds who are injured, quite a few of them on the brink of death, and the great number of families whose life has been thrown out of balance by the tragedy,” said the Archbishop.