Prayer, respect, and the return of hugs in the pews

As Trinidad and Tobago marks its 63rd Independence anniversary, Vicar General Fr Martin Sirju reflected on the significance of this year’s change from a national parade to a National Day of Prayer and Reflection, and the Archbishop’s call for the return of hugs and handshakes during the Sign of Peace at Mass.

Independence without the parade

Traditionally, thousands gather in Port of Spain and other locations for the Independence Day parade, a spectacle broadcast across the nation. The government’s decision to replace it with a National Day of Prayer and Reflection raised questions.

Fr Sirju acknowledged that many citizens were “generally disappointed” by the absence of the parade. “People naturally look to celebrations—Emancipation, Independence and so on—to give them some hope to look beyond their present circumstances,” he explained. He noted that these “rough times” include rising food prices, crime, and international trade pressures such as the US’ 15 per cent tax on imported goods.

While affirming that security concerns must be respected, Fr Sirju suggested that the cancellation removed a cathartic moment of unity. “I thought the first Independence celebration for the new government would have been symbolic and important,” he said, though adding that “security matters are security matters, and we churchmen won’t know much about that.”

From ritualism to living ritual

The Vicar General cautioned against reducing independence to a single spectacle. “It shows that there is a mentality that the whole understanding of independence is reduced to the parade and also to the actions of putting these decorations on different buildings,” he said. Such actions, if treated superficially, risk becoming “ritualism”, which “doesn’t have any life”.

Instead, he encouraged citizens to see the day as a national ritual with values that endure “even if the parade does not take place.”

When asked about the role of prayer in addressing national crises, Fr Sirju again warned against empty gestures. “Prayer also can be ritualism, as opposed to important ritual,” he said. He recalled a workshop two decades ago where a Muslim scholar described Trinidad and Tobago as having “the highest density of mosques in the Western hemisphere, but so little spirituality”.

The concern, he explained, is whether “plenty spiritual actions and activity” are actually “translating into moral responsibility.”

For him, prayer must move beyond the vertical— “something you offer up to God”—to also embrace the horizontal: “What is my responsibility in the world? And how does prayer inform that responsibility?”

A National Prayer for Respect

If he had to choose one prayer intention for the country, Fr Sirju’s answer was simple: respect. “I would like to see a more comprehensive expression of respect because I think that is missing at every level,” he said. Too often, he observed, people are treated differently “according to how they look [or] the status they have”.

He argued that basic politeness and patience are the foundation of peace, compromise, and progress. “There’s a statement that people go where they feel welcomed and they stay where they feel valued. And so, if we convey to people that they are welcomed and that they are valued, I think it will raise the moral standard of the country and the dedication and commitment we give to our various causes.”

Hugs, kisses, and the Sign of Peace

Turning to the Archbishop’s recent appeal to reintroduce physical signs of peace in the liturgy, Fr Sirju reminded the faithful that Christianity is an “in-flesh religion”.

“Our sign of peace… it’s good to hug, to kiss, to shake hands, especially the person next to you or behind or in front of you,” he said, contrasting this with the pandemic-era bow. “We have reduced the sign of grace… to the Asian bow, which also is very sacred, but our religion speaks of sanctified flesh”.

He warned, however, that the sacredness of the liturgy must be preserved. Overly casual exchanges—such as greeting someone across the church with a “long time I ent see you”—risk undermining the moment. The peace shared in Mass, he stressed, “is not a human peace, but a peace that Christ bequeathed us. And He said, the world cannot give it, only He can give it. So how we express that must convey that biblical teaching.”

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