Messaggio della Consigliera per le Missioni_14 may 2021 eng
International Feast
1. 1.2 Billion People 7 th Largest Country in the World Largest Democracy in the World 28 states and 7 union territories. 22 Languages 2000 Dialects&6 Religions
2. Hinduism: 82% Islam: 12% Christianity: 2.5% Sikhism: 2% Buddhism: 0.7% Jainism: 0.5% Portuguese missionaries reached the Malabar (Western) Coast in the late 15th century There are 24 Million Christians in India out of which 17 Million are Catholic <-Christian Map of India
3. Most Christians in India are Roman Catholics (Latin rite). Eastern Churches include the Syro- Malabar Catholic Church and the Malankara Churches which are prominent in Kerala. Major Protestant denominations include the Church of South India (CSI)(Anglican)
4. According to Indian Christian traditions, the apostle Thomas arrived in Kerala and evangelized in present day Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He is believed to be interred in the San Thome Basilica in Chennai(right)
6. Our Lady of Vailankanni, India (ca. 1550) Our Lady of Good Health Summary Without a shadow of a doubt it is the choice of Our Blessed Mother to make her apparitions in Vailankanni, that has transformed this place into a Marian Shrine of international repute, is popularly known as the 'Lourdes of the East'. It is an indisputable fact that God has always been eager to intervene in human history, especially during turbulent times, in a motherly way and so He comes to us through Mary. Mary is not only the Mother of Jesus, she is the Mother of all us, and it is the distinctive mark of a mother to be solicitous for the wellbeing of her children
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8. A few years after her apparition to the Shepherd boy, Vailankanni was privileged to be blessed with another apparition of the Blessed Mother, and this time, to a poor lame boy of the village. At the close of the 16th century, there was a poor widow in the village of Vailankanni with a son who was congenitally lame. In order to eke out their existence the lame boy would sell buttermilk at a place known as ‘Nadu Thittu’. It was a slightly elevated spot where there was a huge banyan tree with outstretched branches. The widow would carry the lame boy and leave at Nadu Thittu with a pot of buttermilk. The boy sold the butter milk to weary way-farers who would take shelter from the sweltering heat under the tree. On an extremely hot day the boy was waiting for his customers, but as no one turned up, he was a little disappointed. But his disappointment turned into joy when, in the twinkling of an eye, he saw a Lady of stunning beauty standing before him, holding a baby of dazzling beauty in her arms. The Lady looked at the boy with a charming smile and asked him for a cup of buttermilk for the child. Without a moment’s hesitation the lad gave her a cup of buttermilk as he considered it a great honor and privilege to render a little hospitality to his seemingly ethereal visitors. The Lady then cast a benevolent look at the lame boy and turned towards her Divine Child in her arms as if entreating him to heal the crippled lad. Without the boy realizing it, a miracle had been wrought on him, but he kept on gazing at his distinguished visitors as though entranced. The Lady gratefully acknowledged the youth’s generosity and requested another favor of him. The lad was to go to Nagapattinam and apprise a certain rich Catholic gentleman of the Lady’s appearance to him and to inform him of her desire to have a chapel built at Vailankanni in her honor. While he was eager to carry out the mission entrusted to him, his physical impairment rendered him incapable of carrying out the mission. But the Lady bade him get up and walk as he was no longer a cripple. Immediately, the lad leaped to his feet. His joy knew no bounds when he realized he could walk. He ran as fast as his leg could carry him, all the way to Nagapattinam. On the way he would pause a while to make sure that the miracle that had taken place in him was not a figment of his mind but a reality. On reaching Nagapattinam the boy, narrated to the gentleman of the apparition. He informed the gentleman that she had sent him as her emissary to ask him to build a chapel in her honour in Vailankanni. The gentleman had little doubt in believing the lad as he himself had a similar vision of Our Lady in his sleep the previous night, bidding him build a chapel in her honour. With the willing cooperation of the people of that locality whose enthusiasm had been kindled by the miraculous healing of the widow’s crippled son, the Catholic gentleman of Nagapattinam soon put up a small thatched chapel at Vailankanni.That marked the humble beginning of the Shrine of Our Lady of Vailankanni. .
9. The 16th century in particular was known for the atimagests made by European merchants to establish trading centres in India. The Portuguese were devout Catholics with a special devotion to Our Blessed Mother Mary, the ‘Star of the Sea’. In the 17th century a Portuguese merchant vessel was sailing to Colombo. While it was cruising towards the west to reach the Bay of Bengal, it was caught in a violent storm. The gale grew furious and the waves rose high and lashed violently at the ship and the fate of the vessel, with everyone on board was all but sealed. The helpless sailors instinctively fell on their knees and with all the fervour, their sinking souls could muster, besought Mary’s help. They vowed to build a church in her honour wherever she helped them land safely. Their earnest petition was instantly heard, for all on a sudden, there was a miraculous lull in the winds; the waves subsided and the sea became calm. Soon the battered ship was pushed to safety to the shores of Vailankanni. On landing, the first thing the sailors did was to fall on their knees and thank God and the Blessed Virgin Mary for having saved their lives. They set about immediately to remodel the thatched chapel. Remarkably, all these extraordinary events took place on September 8, the feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
