Lahore: April 29, 2014. (Pervez Yousaf) On the day of Canonization of two Saints; John Paul II and John XXIII a special thanksgiving Mass was celebrated at St. Joseph’s Church Lahore Cantt. His Grace Msgr. Sebastian Francis Shaw OFM was the main celebrant while parish priest Rev. Fr. Francis Nadeem OFM Cap along with Rev. Frs. Morris Jalal, Qaisar Feroze (from Karachi), Shahzada Khurram, Shahzad Khokhar, Fr. Ashfaq Anthony OFM Caps were also present during the thanksgiving service. Except these Capuchin friars Rev. Fr. Pascal Paulus O.P., superior of the Dominican fathers in Pakistan, Rev. Fr. Inayat Bernard, Rector of St. Mary’s Seminary Lahore and Rev. Fr. Younas Shahzad O.P. (from Karachi) were also accompanied by the Archbishop. The thanksgiving Mass began with unveiling of a large size portrait of two new Saints by His Grace Sebastian Francis Shaw and the priests who were present in this celebration. In his homily the Archbishop said, “God has given us freedom either to fulfill His will or to accomplish our own desires. Even though if one chooses to obey the worldly commands at the end fulfills the Will of God. These two towering figures of the 20th century Church, who are going to be declared Saints within couple of hours today by the Holy Father Pope Francis, chose to fulfill the Will of God, like Holy Mother Mary. They followed the path of St. Peter who was chosen by Jesus to build His Church, and we are gathered here to offer thanksgiving Mass for them. They were like us but chose the right path towards the Kingdom of God.” He continued saying, “Adam and Eve were also free to choose between good and bad but they were beguiled by Satan. They desired to be like God and to use their might. Therefore, they ate the forbidden fruit and faced the wrath of God and expelled from the Garden of Eden. It teaches us that if we do not follow the commandment of God we get apart from God. Worldly things create hatred and distance among human being while obedience of God grows peace and eradicates distances between human being.” Focusing on the significance of love he said that Jesus Christ was the gift of Love from God. He taught us to love our neighbor. He made his disciples the envoys of love and not the warriors. But, unfortunately today, hatred and differences are ruling in our families, how can we love our neighbor? He urged all to promote peace and tolerance within the families so that peace may spread in our neighborhood. He appealed all the parents to teach their children according to the Word of God so that the culture of tolerance may grow and peace may prevail all around us. He extended greetings of the canonization of two Saints to all the faithful. Earlier, Fr. Inayat Bernard presented an introduction about the graceful celebration of thanksgiving Mass for the two Saints. At the end parish priest Fr. Francis Nadeem OFM Cap thanked Archbishop, all the fathers, sisters and faithful for sharing their joy with their participation in this special thanksgiving Mass.