At a time we Christians are compelled to witness to the crucified Christ resurrected in victory defeating the worldly powers of sin, I am inspired to write in awe the journey of Kithudana Pubuduwa over the past 53 years as part of the Catholic church renewing the lives of Catholics of Sri Lanka into a wholesome journey accepting Jesus as the Lord of their lives.
What does it mean to be in a renewal journey – Renewed in the faith is to accept Jesus Christ as the Lord of their life. The quality of a renewed life depends on their journey with the “Holy Spirit as the beloved of their souls” (Cardinal Mercier 1851-1926) renewing them in all aspects of their lives to follow Christ. This is what stands out with the community of Kithudana Pubuduwa.
They are rejuvenated through the yearly theme to live the apostolic journey as professed in the Apostles’ creed as the key of their faith life and experience the core values of the Sacraments offered by the Catholic church for a closer journey with Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reminding of every scriptural description of the gathering of God’s people, standing victoriously, the community of the Kithudana Pubuduwa gathers, dressed in white yearly to experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to renew them into a fresh journey of faith to proclaim Jesus as the Lord of their lives.
True Pentecost
A true Pentecost is what every member of Kithudana Pubuduwa aspires to on the night of the Rally, an overnight vigil held from 6pm on Saturday till 6am on Sunday.
This year, the Kithudana Pubuduwa community held their Pentecost Vigil on May 11 and 12.
The night of the Pentecost is a unique open air experience for the community, because it is undertaken in faith to face any weather that may prevail on the blessed night. Many a year it has experienced light and sometimes heavy showers of blessings which the community joyfully endure.
People are unperturbed, because of their faith journey in the Holy Spirit that they witness, whereby they will experience healing. This has been witnessed by many for the healing from all kinds of health conditions after participating in the night vigil.
Every participant of the vigil night awaits the ceremony of light, with their lit candles, awaiting the breathtaking moment of praise where the heavenly doors are open for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to anoint every participant in the prayer stadium. Many miracles take place during this time of praise.
This year’s theme, “Behold the womb that bore the word of God” is a deep study of the return to the manifestation of the incarnate word in the womb of the Blessed Mother. The community will unpack this message with meditations, discussions and witnessing through their life experiences throughout the year in their small praise communities spread throughout the country.
Revival of the word
We firmly believe that there will be a revival of the word in the community to live the word of God in Spirit and in Truth. What does renewal in the Kithudana Pubuduwa mean? It is a change of lifestyle in simplicity, community, and solidarity with the Lord and their neighbour. Therefore, respecting the core values of all the main religions of Sri Lanka has always been in the traditions of Kithudana Pubuduwa as advocated by the founder of Kithudana Pubuduwa, Rev. Fr. Siri Oscar Abeyratne from its inception 53 years ago.
Like the church is one body in Christ, the renewal advocated by the Second Vatican Council is to bring the church to the oneness of Christ through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Until 1996, there was only one renewal movement for the Catholic church in Sri Lanka, which was the Kithudana Pubuduwa. It continues to hold the members firm in the Catholic Values of the Mother Church.
Membership of the Kithudana Pubuduwa represents all walks of life, different economic strata, and all languages. What is seen as worldly differences do not matter in the community, because the Holy Spirit brings them to one mind as brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ.
