Christmas sermons focus on fighting intolerance, Omicron

Kolkata: Heads of the Catholic Church and the Church of North India (CNI) prayed the Omicron scare be over soon and not turn into a horror experienced not too long ago. Addressing the Christmas midnight mass, they also spoke about the need to fight against intolerance that was dividing people.
“We pray for deliverance from coronavirus. Though the new variant is here and is spreading panic, may the Lord bless us that it be a phase that is soon over without causing any damage to lives and livelihoods.Though I am not a man of science, I hear that Omicron may be heavily contagious but may not be very harsh on human lives. I pray to God on Christmas that he take us within his fold and protect us from this scare. May this Christmas be one of peace, prosperity and everlasting hope,” said Archbishop Thomas D Souza. He read Midnight Mass at The Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary and said special prayers for Christmas on Saturday morning at the chapel of the Archbishop House.
“Intolerance of different points of view is on the rise, creating a rift between people. This is damaging our social fabric. I spoke about staying united in the face of all adversity,” said Reverend Swarup Bar of St Andrew’s Church.
City churches opened early on Saturday as the faithful braved the chill and arrived in their Christmas finery to attend the special prayer service and the sermon which presents the guidelines on one’s duties towards the society and fellow citizens. In most churches, the sermon centred around the teachings from Jesus Christ’s life and the Bible and were contextualised for present times.
At Duff Church, where the authorities had requested those above 60 to follow the proceedings online from home, Reverend Father Biswajit Biswas spoke of how important it was to safeguard everybody against the pandemic and its new variant. “Being compassionate to a fellow human not only means helping them with food or resources. It also means we take all precautionary measures against the pandemic so it doesn’t spread because of our callousness. We might be strong to fight the virus, but somebody else might not be so. The Omicron variant is concerning,” he said.
Bishop Paritosh Canning prayed the fear of Omicron passes quickly and the pandemic be over soon at the midnight mass at St Paul’s Cathedral and other churches where he read mass in the morning. He used the symbol of the Christmas Tree, saying, “The Christmas Tree never dies. Even in the midst of heavy snow that threatens to snuff out lives, it stands tall and remains evergreen. Human life in care of the Lord remains like a Christmas Tree, the scare of coronavirus and Omicron notwithstanding. May the Lord lead us to light, leaving darkness behind.”
The vicar general of the Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, Father Dominic Gomes, said Omicron will soon be a thing of the past with fervent prayers. He spoke at a heavily attended Christmas mass at St Anthony’s Church on Saturday morning.