Tens of thousands celebrated Easter Sunday Mass in the UAE after two years of restrictions on attendance caused by the pandemic.
There were thousands of worshippers at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dubai on Sunday morning alone to celebrate the Holy Day.
Parish Priest Fr Lennie Connully used the occasion to urge churchgoers to dedicate their prayers to Ukrainians after their home country was invaded by Russia.
“The world is not a peaceful place right now. There are a lot of countries that are experiencing suffering and turmoil,” he said.
People have been very patient over the past two years when they were not able to worship in church. That patience is paying off
Father Lennie Connully,
St Mary’s Catholic Church
“The UAE is an example of a country where there is peace and we have to pray that same peace spreads to other places.
“There are so many places that don’t have the peace we have, especially those suffering in Ukraine right now.”
He called on his parish to pray for all the refugees across the world.
“Mankind is mankind and we are all brothers and sisters at the end of the day,” said Fr Connully.
“We pray for those living in countries where war is raging and who are not lucky enough to be celebrating mass today.”
On Sunday, 10 services were taking place in various languages throughout the day.
The authorities in Dubai also came in for special praise from Fr Connully for allowing worshippers to return in increased numbers on Easter Sunday.
“The authorities were very generous in accepting our proposal for Easter Sunday attendance at Mass,” he said.
“They did not question anything and it feels like it did in pre-Covid times, apart from wearing masks and social distancing.
“People have been very patient over the past two years when they were not able to worship in church, however, it looks like that patience is paying off.”
Fr Connully said this was a vital part of his church’s proposal to allow an increased attendance on Sunday.
St Mary’s reopened last year with attendance limited to only 230 people who had to register in advance.
However, the church’s website now carried a notification stating registration was no longer required.
Among those attending mass in St Mary’s was Filipina receptionist Joanne Victorio, 32.
“Easter Sunday Mass is a tradition that we really missed. It’s great to have it back,” she said.
Jason Vaz, 40, was equally delighted to be able to celebrate Easter Sunday in a church again with others.
“It’s very important we have it back and are able to share the experience with the Catholic community here in Dubai,” said the retail worker from India.
“While you could watch Mass online during the pandemic, it just wasn’t the same.”
Irishman John McGee, 81, also attended Mass on Sunday morning, after visiting Dubai for the weekend with his daughter, who lives in nearby Saudi Arabia.
“Easter Sunday is very important to me because it’s at the very centre of the Christian faith,” said Mr McGee.
“It’s the celebration of Christ rising from the dead and being able to celebrate that in person again with others is fantastic.”
Edna Cariaga, 44, from the Philippines, said being able to celebrate Easter Mass in church was vital to many members of her community.
“It brings families together and you get a big sense of the community coming together,” the housemaid said.
“We’ve really missed it.”
One of her compatriots, also attending the service, shared her sentiment.
“We really missed it because it just wasn’t the same when the churches were closed,” said housemaid Mary Jane Labitan, 52.
“You can see people are so happy just to be here again.”
Dubai was not the only emirate with a huge turnout of worshippers, as hundreds attended Easter Sunday Mass at St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Abu Dhabi.
“It was so important to have people back to celebrate Easter in the church,” said Rev Christine Trainor.
“It was glorious to see so many celebrating this sacred holiday.
“It was a really joyous occasion and people were so glad to be back together.”
Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
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Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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