A group of 25 boys and girls plan to plant a mango tree, symbol of young, unripe faith
By Melani Manel Perera
Feb 9 2021
At least 25 future confirmands from the Young Christian Students group (YCS) have joined the initiative. For them, this is double challenge: learning the role of godparent and taking take care of nature as Pope Francis asked. For the priest, it is also a way to pry them away from technology and get them to rediscover the environment.
COLOMBO – A group of 25 boys and girls from the Young Christian Students (YCS) movement at St Francis Xavier parish in Wewala will receive the sacrament of Confirmation in the coming weeks.
Led by their parish priest, they plan to plant a mango tree, symbol of young, unripe faith, to be nourished every day with prayers and works to grow in the future.
“It is a nice idea that pushes us to take care of this plant as much as our life” and then “enjoy the fruits,” said some of the kids, speaking to AsiaNews. For them, it is also a way to answer Pope Francis’ call “to take care of the environment.”
The plants arrived on 31 January during the first of many preparatory meetings for the sacrament of Confirmation in the Archdiocese of Colombo.
Such projects are aimed at the world of young people as part of a local “Green Revolution” and a response to the goals outlined by Pope Francis in the encyclical Laudato Sì.
In addition to saplings to take home, the students received some to plant in the parish gardens.
When asked by AsiaNews, parish priest Manoranjan De Silva explained that the students are about to receive the sacrament of Confirmation.
Afterwards they will be able to become godparents themselves and take on the responsibilities that come with that role. They will need to be able to look after their protégés, taking care of them in their growth process.
“Our first thought is to give them the opportunity to have an experience that will help them in the future,” said the clergyman. “They will do so by correctly taking care of what is entrusted to them.”
For Fr Manoranjan, a second reason underlies the project, namely “that people are rapidly destroying the world’s environment. Hence, putting these plants into the earth is an essential action” that contributes “to the production of oxygen, which is essential for life itself.”
If everyone “plants 10 seedlings in their own lifetime, it will be a great contribution to all of humanity”.
Finally, this is a way to “make a generation increasingly immersed in technology and little inclined towards nature rediscover the environment” so that they can build and live “a better future”.
Sashmitha Divayanjali, Sandeepa Mandakini, Sanduni Savindya, and Dinushi Ransirini are members of the YCS group that is taking part in the mango plant initiative.
“We never thought about taking part in events of this type, taking a plant home, taking care of it until it becomes a big tree,” they told AsiaNews. “We will have to nurture this plant with water and food” and “shelter it to prevent unwanted problems from hindering its growth.” – AsiaNews
