Inter-Denominational Groups Pray at the Tomb of Mother Teresa for Peace in Manipur

By Isaac Gomes –

On 27th June an inter-denominational prayer meet was organised under the auspices of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) Commission for Ecumenism at Missionaries of Charity headquarters in Kolkata. The prayer was held for peace in Manipur which has been going through almost two months of unprecedented violence and arson because of which more than 120 innocent persons have lost their lives and more than 60,000 Manipuris have been displaced. Many of these Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are in makeshift refugee camps and whoever could, have fled the state.

The peace prayer meeting was held in the ground floor hall where lies the tomb of St Teresa of Calcutta (an epitome of love and peace), to invoke God’s blessing and peace on Manipur – without casting any aspersions on either the Meiteis and the Kukis, the two main fighting communities. The logic was simple – both sides have suffered beyond description, both have lost their near and dear ones, including irreparable loss to properties and all important documents. So, all the organisers prayed fervently and in one voice was: Let the peace of Christ reign among all Manipuris, irrespective of whichever of the 34 tribal communities they belong to.

Fr Baptist Pais (from Bangalore), national executive secretary, Commission for Ecumenism, CCBI, began the prayer service. He summed up the current situation in Manipur with a famous quote of Charles Caleb Colton: “Power intoxicates the best hearts as wine does the best heads. No one (man or woman) is wise enough or good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.” This he said is the present phenomenon in several parts of the world where some leaders are shamelessly confiscating all power to themselves. He indicated it is also happening in India and Manipur is just a test case / reflection of a well-concerted power game.

After Fr Pais, Rev. Asis Sarkar – Kalinga Baptist Church, Rev Patrick Joseph, Assembly of God Church, and Rev. Rathin Chatterjee from New Life Ministries also prayed and read relevant passages on suffering and deliverance from the Gospel. Then they explained in short their thoughts on the violence and displacement from one’s roots in Manipur. Rev. Fr George A. Gomes from Bangladesh also present.

Fr Francis Sunil Rosario, secretary for Dialogue & Ecumenism Commission, Archdiocese of Calcutta while expressing his deep grief for the suffering the rudderless people of Manipur, said there are so many perplexing versions of the Manipur mayhem that at times it becomes very difficult to judge who is telling the Truth and who is not. Fr Sunil also took the harmonium and sang in Bengali “Dhanya Jaara Atmatay Dinoheen, kaaron swargo-rajya taaderi…. Dhanya Jaara shoke koray, kaaron taara shantona paabay. ” It means “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:3-10).
Lay persons from various parts of Kolkata and Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny- Lavinia House, from Sisters from Missionaries of Charity, FMA sisters from Auxilium Convent, Barasat and Sisters of Charity from Beadon Street, Kolkata attended the Prayer Meet. One of the pastors said that firmly believes that all the 200+ churches which have been razed to the ground, would one day be rebuilt in Manipur. He added that precious blood shed to defend Christ would never go in vain.

Alexis Badal Gomes, a well-known professional from the Hospitality Sector, a faculty member in several Hotel Management Institutes in Kolkata, and also a great singer, said that the lives laid down by Christ’s faithful in Manipur would multiply tenfold with phenomenal growth of believers and the spread of the Church in Manipur. He also said that mere prayer and petitions to God sitting in armchair conferences would not suffice. Christian leaders must have the courage to visit Manipur to experience first-hand the suffering of their brothers and sisters and do whatever they can to alleviate their excruciating agony.

The talks and prayers were interspersed with devotional songs. The Bengali songs were sung with great devotion by Ms Saswati Basu Mullick and her group and the English hymns by the girls from Lavinia House – St Joseph of Cluny. The programme ended with “Make Me a Channel of your Peace”, Lavinia House girls were at their best when they took up this most favourite song of St Teresa of Calcutta, “peace” being the keyword.

The whole event was coordinated and conducted very well by Fr Francis Sunil Rosario, Regional Secretary for Dialogue & Ecumenism Commission, Bengal.