ETHIOPIA: Catholics Light the Bonfire as Sign of a Light and Peace from Christ
By Makeda Yohannes, CBCE Communications and Public Relation Officer
Catholics in Ethiopia celebrate ‘Meskel’ the feast of finding the True Cross. The faithful from the different Parishes in Addis Ababa gathered at the Parish of Our Lady of Zion to celebrate the feast together.
On the occasion Rev. Fr. Tesfay Woldemariam, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Addis Ababa said the Cross is the light of the world and the foundation for the Church. “In our Church we always remember the passion of the Cross; we begin everything with the sign of the Cross in the name of the Holy Trinity. We are called to reflect on the mystery of the Holy Trinity and our Baptism and imitate the Mercifulness of the Holy Trinity in our lives,” he said.
He said we celebrate the feast because the Cross is the emblem for Christians; it gives us love, peace and strength to answer to our calling. “As Our Lord carried his Cross, we also have to carry our earthy cross every day and looking at Our Lord’s True Cross gives us strength, thus we must celebrate the feast of the Cross with great spirituality and Love for God and our neighbors,” said Fr. Tesfay.
He recalled that the Catholic Church in Ethiopia is dedicating the month of September for peace prayers in all the Parishes throughout the country and asked the faithful to actively participate in the prayers.
The Choirs sang praising the Lord while Fr. Tesfay and other priests lit the bon fire in commemoration of the finding of the True Cross by St. Elena and as a sign of Light and Peace.
The traditional celebration of the Feast of ‘Meskel’ in Ethiopia is registered by UNESCO as an intangible heritage of the country.
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