By: Justine Tomon
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Kristen Tomaiolo
Everyone knows that the holiday season is a time to be with your loved ones. It is a period to reflect on the past year of gifts and prepare for another year filled with unexpected treasures. As the year winds down, department stores gear up for crazy shoppers and the university prepares for celebrations of peace. The most recent of which was the sixth annual Festival of Lights.
On Tuesday, November 27th members of the Salve community joined together in an evening of peaceful prayer. In this tumultuous time of war and unrest, an approximate 50 people gathered to pray for peace in an uncertain world. As one woman explained to the crowd, politics must be pushed aside in order to unite in the light of peace. During this seasonal time of charitable contributions and demeanors, people are more inclined to think of the world around them. Some are lucky to have families with them in their entirety, but some are not so lucky. Homes have been torn apart resulting from natural disasters. Some families have been devastated by violence. Some have been directly affected by the war. People plucked from those different lives sat intently in the grand ballroom of Ochre Court united as one community. If a bystander did not know that it was a celebration of assorted faiths, the celebration would have looked like a traditional festival of Christmas joy. The crushed red velvet carpet emphasized the deep crimson of the cloth draped over the ceremonious altar. That same red richness cascaded down the French doors leading to the ocean beyond the magnificence on Ochre Point Avenue. As the service unfolded, a smell of incense provided an authentic aromatic ambience. Light resonated from a collection of traditional candles endowing the cathedral-like room with a warm glow. Perhaps one of the most profound observations made throughout the ceremony was that, “The light from these candles in the darkness of winter rekindles hope and peace in our hearts.” That idea of relighting our hope in humanity was exemplified in Campus Ministry and the Multicultural Student Organization’s decision to incorporate prayer from major religions besides simply Catholicism. Salve’s mission has been integrated the universality of prayer through its acknowledgement of other major theologies, which was evident in Tuesday’s event. Prayers were recited in their original languages. Harmonies representative of Judaism were sung in Hebrew. Pillars of Islam were spoken in the native Muslim tongue. Buddhist mantras were accentuated by a ceremonial gong. And the melodic sounds of Our Lady of Guadalupe were recited in Spanish. It was an evening encompassing everybody, welcoming everyone, including all. The evening concluded with the blessing of the international table of sustenance. Edward Mutanguha of Rwanda led the group in a traditional prayer of thanks first in his native language, then in English. The room was hushed in awe at the peaceful conglomeration of various faiths and practices. That moment was the highest light of all the rays of harmony that were shooting from the altar. To survey the room and see faces from different countries, different religions, right down to the different classes at Salve one couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Why is the world a place ridden with such unrest and volatility?’ Before leaving the chamber of peace, students, faculty and Newport neighbors joined in a sampling of delicacies from different parts of the world. Smiles and laughter filled the room as the perfect complement to the cheerfulness of the holiday ambience and the flickering of the candles of serenity.
