Light..... BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ (The Patron of Goa, the Apostle of Kanara and Sri Lanka) 25 facts!!! by Fr. Romualdo Robin Rodrigues 1. Joseph Vaz was born on a Friday (21st April 1651*Benaulim-Goa), baptised on a Friday and died on a Friday (16th January 1711*Kandy-Sri Lanka). 2. The day Joseph Vaz was born, Cristovam Vaz, his father saw a star in the Sky during mid-day and wrote in his personal diary that his son would become a great man. 3. The Doors of Cortalim Church, the neighbouring church, opened on its own when he went to visit the Blessed Sacrament during the Nights from his paternal home at Sancoale. As a young boy he was called “the little saint” in his Paternal and Maternal Village. He recited the rosary on his way to the Church and the school. 4. He wrote “the Letter of Captivity “ or “ the Deed of Bondage “to Mother Mary on 5th August 1677.The first letter ever written to Mother Mary by a priest soon after his ordination, whereby, he dedicated his life to the Mother of Jesus. 5. He resolved to eat kanji (Rice broil) for his food (the food of the poor) throughout his life. He rarely even ate this meagre meal. 6. After returning from South kanara, having brought peace between the warring factions of the propaganda and padroado, he started the first indigenous order in Asia, the “Milagristas “or the “Oratorians”. The oratorians served the Church of Sri Lanka and other countries for 150 years. 7. When he got the permission to go to Sri Lanka, his long awaited call, he dressed as a coolie, a real beggar; he wore a lungi or a loin cloth around his waist and entered Sri Lanka under disguise as no priest was allowed on this Island for 30 years. He was wheatish brown in colour and that is why he could easily slip into the Island. The Dutch persecuted the Roman Catholic Church for 30 endless years. 8. He hid the Mass-Kit under his loincloth and wore a rosary round his neck. He later built the first church in Sri Lanka and dedicated it to Mother Mary. 9. He worked alone in Sri Lanka for 10 years and gave life to the persecuted Church .The next 14 years he was accompanied by the Goan oratorians. He learnt their culture, sang their songs, built their own local Church, he never imposed the western Church on the faithful. Sri Lanka is now divided in 12 dioceses and has Eleven Bishops. 10. He baptised, catechised and built 300 chapels, churches and especially built homes for the old, sick and the needy next to the Churches. 11. He always kept a sack of Rice to be distributed after Mass to the poor. And that sack was never empty! He loved the poor. He did all he could for the Poor and the needy that came to him. 12. Established lay leaders, catechists, the “Muppus “and “Annavis”, small human communities, inculturation, that too much before the Vatican II. A man who thought ahead of his times. 13. Disguised as a Baker man, dhobi, coolie, servant, businessman, porter, fisherwoman, etc served the hidden church of Sri Lanka (The Catacombs) for the fear of being caught by the Dutch. He was a proteus, a master of disguise. No one could ever catch him. God protected him. He worked during the nights by the light of the Silvery moon. A Letter addressed to his nephew Deacon says “Be like the moon, face JESUS ☼THE SUN” 14. Imprisoned in Sri Lanka as a Portuguese spy for 2 years, he was dragged into the City of Kandy bound in chains. 15. He issued a command over snakes that they would never bite a priest. To date, a snake in Sri Lanka has bitten no priest. He loved animals. 16. While in Prison he learnt their languages, he translated the Catechism books in Tamil and Sinhalese, wrote the Stations of the Cross in the languages of Sri Lanka and taught his companion John all that was required to become a priest. By his exemplary life he won the heart of the Buddhist king and all the religious communities. 17. When the drought ravaged the Island, he was requested by the Buddhist King to pray for rain. He performed the “miracle of Rain” in Kandy; the Buddhists record this Miracle in their Archives. It rained everywhere except on Bles
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 16:34:08 +0000
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