Mangaluru, Dec 19: The cutting of cake and singing of Christmas carols symbolically marked the beginning of Christmas celebrations for the year 2014 in the presence of Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese and others in a programme organised by the Catholic Sabha Mangalore Pradesh at Bishop's House, Kodialbail here on Friday.
Conveying the message of Christmas to the gathering, Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese Aloysius Paul D'Souza said that peace was not the absence of conflicts and quarrels. Peace is realizing the hardships faced by others and sharing and caring with them. What happened in Peshawar where 140 children and innocents were slayed such cruel acts continue to occur. The message of peace should reach all humanity to put an end to all cruelty and killing in the world, he said.
œAs humans, we should build a world filled with love. All philosophies each us that God has given bestowed us with, we should share it with the unprivileged. Being a son of God, Jesus was born in a manger and first visited by shepherds, signifying that he was sent on earth for the sake of the poor and unprivileged. Only when we have a humble demeanor can we see God, he reminded.
Speaking on the occasion, Mayor of Mangaluru City Corporation Mahabala Marla said that the society and its people would be seen living with harmony if we followed the principles by which Jesus led his life. For the growth of our society, we should implement a few of the values from the life of Jesus and recognize his contributions. We should indulge in things such as social service, providing aid to victims, helping others, caring for the poor and giving charity towards the needy. We should be able to build the country with unity and compassion, he said.
President of South Canara District Central Cooperative (SCDCC) Bank M N Rajendra Kumar said that the special message of peace given by Jesus was relevant in the present scenario in the entire world at a time when people were regressing away from the philosophy of'live and let live'. œWhen we see the lives of innocent children being snuffed out, our prayers should reach out to the children all over the world for their future to be full of hope, he said.
Principal of Al-Badriya Educational Institution, Krishnapura, Zohra Abbas said that along with drugs, communalism was spoiling majority of the youth in the country. œDespite being intelligent beings, we kill people of our kind in the name of religion and votes. We should contemplate on our actions and find a solution to live in peace and harmony, leaving aside aspects of communalism that divide us, she said.
œWhile we are proud to be identified as Indians abroad, we develop a narrow mindset of belonging to a particular community in our own country, which should be overcome, she added.
Fr Denis Moras Prabhu, M P Noronha, Sushil Noronha, Victor Vas, Flavie D'Souza and several others participated in the celebrations.
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