Love and Compassion Foster Peace and Harmony Among Humanity

For centuries, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, and followers of other faiths in Myanmar have coexisted peacefully, showing mutual respect, refraining from insults or discrimination, and fostering a strong spirit of national unity.

A CHRISTMAS thanksgiving and fellowship luncheon ceremony, or­ganized by federations of Christian churches in Myanmar, was held yester­day at Saint Mary’s Cathedral Catholic Church in Botahtaung Township, Yangon Region. The event was attended by Acting President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and State Security and Peace Commission Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

The ceremony was also attended by Daw Kyu Kyu Hla, wife of the Senior Gen­eral; Secretary of the Commission Gen­eral Ye Win Oo and his wife, commission members and their wives, Union ministers and their wives, the Yangon Region chief minister, senior Tatmadaw officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief and their wives, the commander of Yangon Command, the Yangon mayor, reverends from the Myanmar Council of Churches, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, Myanmar Evangelical Christian Alliance and Myanmar Christian Mission Coopera­tion, officials from the Myanmar Interfaith Dialogue Group, Christian communities in Myanmar, Catholic youth groups, and Christian township elders.

On arrival at the Saint Mary’s Cathedral Church, the Senior General, his wife and par­ty were welcomed by Archbishop Cardinal Charles Bo, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Confer­ence of Myanmar, and Christian youths performed the carols and dances.

The Senior General, his wife and Cardinal Charles Bo had doc­umentary photos taken together with those Christian youths.

The Senior General, his wife and party viewed round the ve­hicles used by Pope Francis on his tour of Myanmar, kept at the Saint Mary’s Cathedral Church, and watched a documentary vid­eos on the visit of Pope Francis to Myanmar in November 2017 and on the Christmas prayer services and fellowship events of Acting President of the Re­public of the Union of Myanmar and State Security and Peace Commission Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and Cardinal Charles Bo.

The Senior General, his wife and party arrived at the Church, where the second session of the ceremony followed. They were welcomed by reverends from the Myanmar Council of Churches, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, Myanmar Evangelical Christian Alliance and Myanmar Christian Mission Cooperation, officials from the Myanmar In­terfaith Dialogue Group.

An opening prayer was deliv­ered by U Pho Pho Hla, Rever­end of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Myanmar.

The Senior General and his wife, together with attendees at the ceremony, joined in singing the congregational hymn, “O Blessed Myanmar Land”.

Archbishop Steven Than My­int Oo, Chairman of the Myanmar Council of Churches, extended greetings. After that, singer Pan Yaung Chal performed a hymn of praise.

In his greetings, the Sen­ior General expressed his best wishes and prayers that, as this Christmas festival arrives at a time when seasons and occasions converge, Christians, the peo­ple of the nation, and all people around the world may live with love and peace under the shel­ter of religious compassion. He added that Christmas not only spreads love among humanity but also reflects one of the no­ble and essential values of the Christian faith.

The Senior General contin­ued that in today’s world, which is home to all humanity, there are many religions, and it is widely recognized that four major re­ligions – Buddhism, Christian­ity, Hinduism, and Islam – are generally identified as the prin­cipal faiths. Religion consists of teachings, beliefs and moral principles and should be under­stood as being founded on core principles such as love, compas­sion, and empathy. He further expressed his firm belief that it is the guidance of love and compas­sion inherent in each faith that can bring peace and harmony to humanity.

The Senior General stated that when the entire human community lives in peace and harmony, ultimately, the world itself becomes peaceful and prosperous. Conversely, hatred and resentment between indi­viduals lead only to evils such as domination, oppression, and violence within human commu­nities. He emphasized that it is only through the ultimate princi­ples of religion, such as love and compassion, that such evils can be overcome, creating a world imbued with love, peace, and harmony.

With regard to the faiths, the Senior General revealed that Section 34 of the Constitu­tion (2008) clearly states “Every citizen is equally entitled to free­dom of conscience and the right to freely profess and practise religion subject to public order, morality or health and to the oth­er provisions of this Constitu­tion”. Hence, everyone has been granted the right to freedom of conscience for any religion.

He noted that in Myanmar, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, and followers of other faiths have coexisted for many centuries. Regardless of differ­ences in religious beliefs, they have lived together without in­sulting, discriminating against, or harming one another, show­ing mutual respect and fostering a spirit of national unity while working with a sincere, cooper­ative attitude for the well-being and progress of the country.

He stressed the need for followers of different faiths to continue preserving these pos­itive traditions and urged them to jointly prevent any acts of in­terference or conflict — whether aimed at undermining unity or diminishing mutual respect and trust — by working together with a spirit of family-like cooperation.

He stated that all religions share common ethical principles and guidelines for conduct, which are fundamentally based on men­tal well-being. Such mental purity and clarity greatly support the physical peace, development, and progress of humanity, con­tributing to the prosperity and harmony of entire communities. Therefore, he affirmed a strong belief that religion represents a set of noble teachings.

He urged that, based on the principles of peace established by various religions, everyone should uphold these values to help create a stable, peaceful, modern and developed Union. He encouraged all citizens to work together to peacefully advance along the path of inclusive, multi­party democracy that the people aspire to.

He expressed his sincere wishes and prayers that, on this auspicious occasion of the Christ­mas celebration, all Christian clergy and believers leading the event, the attending guests, the citizens of the country, and Chris­tians around the world may each embrace the essence of peace from this festive day onward and live joyfully and harmoniously.

Chair of Myanmar Evan­gelical Christian Alliance Rev­erend Dr U Aye Min prayed for the Republic of the Union of Myanmar while the Methodist English Church choir performed and accompanied a Christmas choral hymn.

This was followed by the guests, led by Dr Myo Myint Oo, an ordained minister and Chair­man of the Myanmar Christian Mission Cooperation, who partic­ipated in reading responses for the birthday celebration. A Sister conducted a Bible reading, and Cardinal Charles Bo delivered a Christmas sermon.

Cardinal Charles Bo, Arch­bishop Steven Than Myint Oo and Reverend Dr Aye Min pre­sented a commemorative gift, a Christmas prayer for Christ­mas and a mosaic painting to the Senior General and his wife, who returned Christmas commemo­rative gifts.

Reverend Mahn Palmerston delivered a vote of thanks, and Dr Maurice Lyana offered a Christ­mas blessing for the fellowship meal and expressed gratitude to all those who participated.

After that, the audience sang the hymn “Silent Night” in harmony. Then, Cardinal Charles Bo delivered Christmas greetings, wishing that on this blessed Christmas occasion, not only Christians but all humanity around the world may be filled with the goodness and blessings of Christmas. He also wished that in the New Year, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar may enjoy peace and prosperity, and extended his blessings to the Act­ing President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and SSPC Chairman and his wife, and all the people of Myanmar.

The Senior General and his wife cordially greeted the attend­ees and had the luncheon togeth­er with the guests. — MNA/TTA