Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
AdB
Chiang Mai (Agenzia Fides) - "Creation is the first visible Word of God. Creation is the first legible sacred text: God said: Let there be light, and there was light. Let there be plants and animals, and there were plants and animals; even before the human being, on whose heart an indelible alliance will be engraved": says to Agenzia Fides Don Attilio De Battisti, Fidei donum missionary in Chiang Mai in view of Easter.
Describing the local situation, the missionary notes: "February-April is the hot season, which extends further in the following months including monsoons, rains and humidity, until October". "With a temperature of 40-50 degrees, trees give up and abandon each leaf, grass becomes straw and the clayey earth is covered with impressive wrinkles. It is the periods when there are lots of fires, sometimes caused to fertilize the rice fields. From 20 February to 20 April it is forbidden to light a small fire in the garden throughout the territory", says Don Attilio. "Until a few years ago, smoke, dust and smog also hindered aircraft towards Chiang Mai. Here our people are often busy extinguishing fires that threaten villages (made of wood and bamboo) and resources. Stripped and burned nature suggests only one word: death. But from this desolate panorama the wish for a Happy Easter explodes. This is in fact the season of flowers, flower festivals and international exhibitions. There is color not just in the parks or royal gardens but everywhere. Trees without leaves, apparently dull, have yellow (Ratchaphruek, Tree of gold), violet (Lilac tree), pink (Intanit) and orange (Jasmine tree) flowers; they run along the streets and embellish the hills". The missionary continues: "It looks like a demonstration of strength on human nonsense. Let there be life and there is life: for everyone, exaggerated, free. On nothing and on death, God whispers once more: let there be feast, joy and peace! It is what Christians today give to the country, celebrating the imminent Easter", concludes Don Attilio. The Catholic presence in the diocese of Chiang Mai is almost 66 thousand and only in 2016 were 1599. (ADB/AP) (Agenzia Fides, 23/3/2018)
AdB
