From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Apr 2: "Good Friday is a very sacred day for Christians as they commemorate the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. The day is observed with fast, abstinence, silence and sacred worship," said Bangalore Archbishop Dr Bernard Moras, pointing out that administrative, legislative and judicial bodies holding public examinations and organising conferences on this day would undermine the sanctity of this holy and spiritual day.
In his message to the faithful and all people on the occasion of Good Friday and also Easter Sunday, the Archbishop said everyone should respect the religious sentiments of the Christian Community.
He pointed out that the proposal to hold Judges’ meet on Good Friday caused a furore among the Christians. It is claimed that holding the Judges’ conference on Good Friday was akin to the central government deciding to observe “good governance day” on Christmas Day.
"Why only important Christian festival days are chosen for such observances and meets?," asked the Archbishopof Bangalore, who is also the President of Karnataka Region Bishops’ Council (KRCBC) and All Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights (AKUCFHR)
The three most important teachings of Jesus Christ that one learns while contemplating on Jesus Christ dying on the Cross are Love, Forgiveness and Sacrifice, the Archbishop said and lamented that in today’s world, all of us seem to lead a very self-centred life looking for our own comforts and needs, and forget the needs of our fellow beings.
"Our love should be manifested to all, especially to the needy and the poor, and the marginalized in our society since what we do for one of these least ones, we do for God," he said quoting the Bible and said forgiveness is the most needed and expected quality for a better relationship with the members of our families and society. To be generous in forgiveness, we should be fully convinced that ‘no one is perfect and all of us have our own faults, failures and weaknesses.
"God forgives all our sins, always and without exception. What matters for God is for us to meet with him. To meet with each other and to maintain and promote cordial relationship with one and all, we must forgive the faults and shortcomings of others all the time. It is not so easy to do so, as it calls for humility, generosity and open mind and heart, he said.
The Archbishop said by remaining faithful to death on the Cross, Jesus proved that his spirit of self-sacrifice had no limit. As followers of Jesus, we too need to display the spirit of self-sacrifice by giving up our own interests in order to help others.
"The true meaning of sacrifice is to make ourselves available for those who seek our quality time, kind attention and patient listening. To be at the service of others is more important than doling out material things. God’s love, which is part of the motivation behind self-sacrifice, is the hallmark of true disciples of Jesus. We need to practice the spiritual discipline of sacrifice so that we learn to rely on God's provision rather than the things we have built for ourselves. Sacrifice is not easy, and it requires effort and practice on our part. God knows our limits, but that does not mean He won't challenge us to step outside our comfort zones," he said.
"I wish the celebrations of Good Friday and Easter may bring in us the spiritual renewal that fills our hearts with the gifts of love, forgiveness, sacrifice and joy, and also help us lead a genuine and meaningful human life. It is with great joy I invoke God’s abundant blessings upon all the people of the city and the State," Archbishop Moras said.