OLV sings praises to Mother Mary
Convent of Our Lady of Victories held their Annual Carol Service ‘Ave Maria’ on 2nd December in the School Hall. The Chief Guest was Rev. Fr. Gemunu Dias, Deputy General Manager of Catholic Private Schools.
The service began with an enactment of the Annunciation. It depicted the Good News brought to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel addressing ‘Ave Maria’ and that she was to bring forth God’s only Son to bring salvation to the whole world. With the strains of the Processional Hymn ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ the choir lined up on stage and the Advent Candle was lit. The Nativity was represented by students and the angels surrounding them presented a heavenly aura to the crib.
The Carols were presented in the tradition of Festival of Nine Lessons. The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah and the birth of Jesus was told in short Bible readings from Genesis, the Prophetic books and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns and choir music.
Carols and Hymns dedicated to Our Lady were specially sung to keep in line with the theme ‘Ave Maria’. Magnificat, the Blessed Virgin Mary’s hymn of praise to the Lord, was also sung.
The Chief Guest, Rev. Fr Gemunu Dias in his message said that the manger reminds us the message of Jesus and it reaches out alike to all the people in the world irrespective of all their differences. The singing of carols and the word shared should be a true moment of grace for everyone in the school community to feel the love of Jesus for a true transformation of lives.
In the Second Session the choir of St. Sebastian’s College sang Christmas Songs which included a popular hymn to Our Lady, ‘Namo Mariyani’. The medley of popular Christmas numbers presented by the OLV choir and the solo performances of favourite Christmas songs by two talented past pupils, Wasana Fernando and Karen de Silva brought back nostalgic memories. The audience enjoyed them very much.
The Vote of Thanks was delivered by the Principal, Rev. Sr. Chamila Ann Fernando. The finale was the well-loved carol that has been sung for 200 years- “Silent Night”.
The Annual Carol Service was a success due to the untiring efforts of the choir director, Mrs. Lihini Fernando, the Principal Rev. Sr Chamila Fernando and the teacher in charge Mrs. Sulari Hettiarachchi. The choir leader was Anagi Manukulasooriya.
The OLV choir has been successful in winning All Island Competitions and performing at many occasions on invitation. The overall performance by the choir at this carol service proved their hard work and dedication towards achieving excellence.
Mrs. Cherrylle Fernando Vice Principal