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  • 11 months ago
Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, Father's Martin Sirju reflects on the state of society as the Holy Lenten season begins.

He says there is a lot to appreciate about Carnival but there must be some level of control over one's self.

More from Nicole M Romany.
Transcript
00:00Today, Ash Wednesday, is the opening of the Lenten period, and the Vicar General explains
00:06that the Catholic Church is celebrating another Jubilee this year.
00:10He says the Jubilee comes every 25 years.
00:14Father Serju adds that while the revelry is understandable, we must not yield to excess.
00:20So a certain amount of excess, we can't control it, it's understandable, but a huge amount
00:27of excess, of course, is not in the spirit of the Catholic understanding of Carnival.
00:32And then a third thing we can say is it teaches us what detachment is.
00:36So for us right now, there are boundaries, and so the Carnival is finished, and so we
00:42move on to Lent.
00:43One must know how to let it go at midnight and not party till 4 a.m. in the morning.
00:48He further notes the call from the opposition leader for greater police presence at churches.
00:54He admits that while there is no such call by churches themselves right now, in recent
01:00times, many churches, mandirs, and temples have fallen prey to criminals.
01:06So there is an argument to have security in churches, and perhaps in some areas more than
01:14others.
01:15So we at the cathedral, we have security, a security guard, and when we have big events,
01:20we will ask for about two more.
01:24So yes, there is that danger, because people will presume that a big crowd is a big collection,
01:31and therefore there might be that temptation to rob and so on.
01:36Father Serju also weighs in on the Helan Francis winning Calypso Monarch song for 2025, titled
01:43To Whom It May Concern.
01:45I think his calypso is almost like a hymn in some of the things he's talking about.
01:52He's talking about, you know, having power without ego.
01:57He's talking about getting up on your knees and pray to the father before you pick up
02:02important office and so on.
02:05And sometimes these things might remain on the level of political or social commentary,
02:10but they're very much related to religion.
02:13He says Lent is an intensification period to develop persons spiritually and to build
02:19their characters, to learn to make hard decisions and to treat others well.
02:25And he believes this is the same message in the song To Whom It May Concern.
02:30Nicole M Romany, TV6 News.
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