Features
Reimagining the soldier, seeker, and shepherd

In 1491, a child named Iñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola was born in the Basque region of Spain. This child would later be known as Ignatius of Loyola, the esteemed founder of the Jesuit order. The place name Loyola means ‘of the earth or clay’. Thus, St. Ignatius’ life vividly embodies the transformative journey of the ‘clay in the hands of the Master Potter’. The molding is from ‘soldier, seeker, to shepherd’, illustrating a profound evolution fueled by faith, self-discovery, and a steadfast commitment to the greater glory of God. It was a resolute journey of ‘ab imo ad astra, ‘from the mud to the stars’. Let us delve into reimagining the spiritual dimensions of soldier, seeker, and shepherd evident in the life of Ignatius of Loyola and their relevance to present-day founders in the making.
The Soldier
The concept of the Soldier of Christ is a compelling metaphor for Christian vocation. It challenges the faithful to embrace a life marked by spiritual discipline, courage, and unwavering adherence to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Just as historical soldiers demonstrated valor and dedication, and served their emperors with utmost commitment, Christians are called to serve with similar fervor and devotion, seeking to serve in all aspects of life. As the famous adage of military regiments boldly claim, ‘service before self.’ In his early years, Ignatius of Loyola was driven by a fervent desire for military acclaim and reputation. Serving initially as a page to Juan Velázquez de Cuéllar, treasurer of the kingdom of Castile, he later took up arms. His primary aim was to defend and honor his earthly king, prepared to sacrifice his life for the cause. No wonder, Ignatius’ valor and strategic military expertise earned him significant recognition and respect. Even without war he walked about and went on horseback dressed in uniform. However, his life took a decisive turn during the Battle of Pamplona in 1521. A cannonball shattered his right leg, leaving him grievously wounded and confined to bed for several months. This period of recovery prompted him to reflect deeply on the nature, meaning, and purpose of life and personal ambitions. We are soldiers under the banner of His Cross. A few lines extracted from the lyrics thus go.
“Noble knight, leader of the brave array, Lead us on, O lead us on; We will fight ’Neath thy sway, ‘neath thy sway; Lead us on gallantly, ever more valiantly, Neath thy banner to fight, for the Church and its rights. “All for God’s own greater glory” is our cry, our battle cry.
The Seeker
The biblical reference to ‘seek the Lord while He may be found’ emphasizes a profound call to pursue God earnestly. This is the essence of being a seeker: a relentless quest for deeper meaning and spiritual awakening, leading to innermost fulfillment. The amazing God of Ignatius is not lost to be found, rather it is a comprehensive interior knowledge of being found by Him. This is immensely open to all the seekers and Ignatian pathfinders.
During his recovery, Ignatius of Loyola underwent a significant spiritual awakening. He was a staunch seeker. His soul-seeking inner journey commenced after the battle in Pamplona. This period of awakening, seeking, and seizing culminated in a vision at the river Cardoner in 1522, where he was gifted a new vision for mission and felt a divine calling to serve God and humanity. I believe Ignatius had that defining moment of Eureka experience. It is not to say that ‘I have found God.’, rather I am found by God.
The Shepherd
The concept of a shepherd as a model of leadership is often found in religious texts, literature, and historical figures. For the Christians and Catholics, the person of Jesus Christ is described as the ‘Good Shepherd’ who cares for his flock. He wanted to be the noblest knight of the array. He wanted to be served. Yet, God indeed had another plan for him. The paradigm shift occurred when Ignatius was confirmed in his mission at La Storta. La Storta means a ‘bend’. Truly a spiritual bend occurred in the lives of Ignatius, Faber, and Laynez. La Storta is situated about sixteen and a half kilometers from Rome. In the vision the Eternal Father said to Christ, ‘I wish you take this man as your servant.’ Jesus addressing Inigo said: I wish that you be my servant” And the Father added, I will be propitious to you in Rome”. Thus, Inigo was confirmed of his divine anointing as Shepherd. In 1534, Ignatius and a small group of companions, including Francis Xavier and Peter Faber, took vows of poverty and chastity, dedicating themselves to the service of the Church. This group would eventually establish the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits, and it was formally recognized by Pope Paul III in 1540.
Ignatius did not want to be elected as General of the Society of Jesus. He prioritized education, missionary work, and adaptability in serving diverse communities. Under his shepherding leadership, the Jesuits founded schools, colleges, and missions worldwide, making a profound impact on the Catholic Church and society. They ventured to the ends of the earth for the greater glory of God.
Our former Pope Francis frequently talked about the role of the shepherd in pastoral care and leadership within the Church. His reflections offered valuable insights into the shepherd’s role:
1. Compassionate Closeness to the Mercy-Needed Flock: Pope Francis emphasizeed the importance of shepherds being intimately involved with their people. Shepherds should be deeply engaged in the lives of those they lead, understanding their struggles and joys. He famously remarked, “Shepherds should smell like their sheep,” highlighting the need for deep involvement in their communities.
2. Accompaniment: The Pope underscored the importance of guiding people on their spiritual journey with patience and love, walking alongside them without judgment or condemnation.
3. Vigilance and Protection: Shepherds are called to be vigilant, safeguarding their flock from harm. This includes protecting against worldly allurements and addressing social injustices and other threats to the community’s well-being.
These themes reflect Pope Francis’s vision of pastoral shepherding leadership.
In reimagining Ignatius, one finds that his life illustrates a seamless integration of these roles: as a soldier, he exhibited discipline and courage on the battlefield, qualities he later channeled into spiritual warfare; a soldier of Christ, fighting under the banner of the Cross. As a seeker, Ignatius’ quest for deeper understanding led to the creation of the Spiritual Exercises. As a shepherd, Ignatius founded the Jesuit order, guiding his followers with wisdom and compassion. St. Ignatius’ life serves as a model to the holistic integration and radical transformation of the above roles. The challenge is now offered to the reader: to become today’s relentless seeker, resilient shepherd, and robust soldier of Christ as the master potter continues to mold in His ways.
The present-day leaders, founders, or any human who thinks out of the box, need to venture into reimagining. In brief, when you put up a good spiritual battle, you are becoming an enthusiastic soldier of Christ. Whenever you persevere to finish the race with His grace, you are a progressive seeker, and whenever you keep the faith alive and let the fire burn within, enkindling the fire in others, you are a good shepherd after the heart of Jesus our Lord. Therefore, buckle up contemporary founders, and let us allow God to reimagine us, restructure us, mold us, and fashion us into His true soldiers, seekers, and good shepherds.
by Fr. Prabath Sanjeeva Fernando, S.J. ✍️
Features
The iconic Roger Federer: The Full Measure of a GOAT

There is an unending debate about the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) of the global sport of tennis. The debate is on, as to which one is the GOAT of the players of the “Big Three” era. Those three are Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. All three were very prominent figures in that period. Their intense rivalries pushed the sport to new heights and captivated millions of people in a global audience, thereby significantly increasing tennis’s popularity. However, of the three, Roger Federer was a rather central figure.
Federer’s list of tennis accolades is staggering, and his greatness is often reduced to headlines and statistics: 20 Grand Slam titles, including a record eight Wimbledon singles crowns, 103 Association of Tennis Professionals Tour Singles titles, and 237 consecutive weeks atop the world rankings. He is well-known for his fabulous all-court game, and he is one of only four players to have won a career Grand Slam on three different surfaces: hard, grass, and clay.
His career is marked by remarkable consistency, including reaching 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals and 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. Federer’s game was often described as graceful, effortless, and artistic. His fluid movement, powerful forehand, and elegant one-handed backhand made him a joy to watch for fans worldwide. He redefined modern tennis with his blend of power and finesse. Yet for all that, beneath the elegance of his backhand and the sheen of trophies lies a deeper heritage; one that elevates him from tennis legend to a true Great Of All Time.
Federer views these achievements as milestones, not the destination. He has always emphasised relationships, gratitude, and giving back, values instilled by his South African mother, Lynette, and nurtured over a lifetime of turning success into service. His effortless finesse and mental fortitude created ballet on grass and clay; moments etched forever in sporting memory. But narrowing Federer’s story to courts and scores does him a disservice.
Federer’s South African heritage cultivated a profound connection to the continent. He holds dual Swiss and South African citizenship and has frequently returned to support earlychildhood education via the Roger Federer Foundation, impacting over two million children across Southern Africa. More than just funding, Federer has rolled up his sleeves, visiting rural schools, launching coaching clinics, and advocating for play-based learning. Philanthropy is woven into Federer’s identity just as deeply as tennis. As he once said, “greatness is not confined to silverware; it lives through the lives we touch“.
Among his lesser-known acts of compassion is one of the most profound. It was in 2005 when Federer was fast turning into a tennis sensation, that he found twin infant girls abandoned outside a health clinic during a charity trip to a remote village in South Africa. The man did not walk away. Moved by their vulnerability, he quietly ensured their care and education, funding their essentials through a foundation partner. He did this without fanfare or media attention, and no publicity followed.
Fast forward to July 11, 2025. At a gala event in Geneva celebrating Federer’s stellar career, two young women took to the stage. It was the same pair of South African twins, now in their early 20s, returning to honour the man who saved them.
The sisters spoke with composed gratitude: “We do not remember being abandoned as infants. But we remember being saved. And the man who saved us is sitting right here tonight.”
Then came their own act of generosity. They said, launching a scholarship fund under Roger Federer’s name, to support rural children, “It is dedicated to helping underprivileged children in rural areas gain access to sports and education, the very things Roger had given us. It is our turn to give back, just as Roger gave to us, without expecting anything in return.” A visibly emotional Federer was left speechless before he gathered himself and said in a shaky voice, “I thought I was just helping two lives.
I had no idea they would come back and inspire the world.” That moment, a twin act of kindness born and returned, was described as “grander than all the 20 Grand Slam titles… one of the most powerful moments in tennis history“. That evening rippled globally, it flew virally across social media, confirming that character can outrank championship counts.
Off the court, Federer’s family life is rich and intentional. Married since 2009 to former player Mirka Vavrinec, they have four children: twin daughters Myla Rose and Charlene Riva (born in 2009) and twin sons Leo and Lenny (born in 2014). Their household, brimming with two sets of twins, reflects unity, resilience, and love, values the Father and Mother Federer’s cherish.
If tennis is art, then Federer’s philanthropy is impact. His “Match for Africa” series: exhibition matches featuring Nadal, Murray, and Gates, has generated over 12 million US dollars to support education in Africa. Beyond big events, his foundation has supported earlychildhood programmes in six countries, deployed digital teaching tools and training tablets for educators, and engaged communities and governments to bolster preschool readiness. These are not just token gestures; they are sustained efforts that aim to change systems, not just headlines. He privately supports coaching and education in African villages: a lyrical service that mirrors his gameplay: smooth, reliable, and deeply invested.
In his understated way, Federer has consistently reinforced kindness and integrity. He funds an elderly couple every Australian Open; the parents of his first coach, late Peter Carter, covering flights, hospitality, and box seats, every year, since 2005. Federer has never forgotten the Carter family’s role in his life and career.
These gestures resonate because they are personal, respectful, and ongoing. They speak of a man who remembers where he came from, on and off the court, and who sees grand gestures in the small, consistent acts of humanity.
When discussing Federer as the GOAT, numbers will take you so far. But greatness also measures intangible things: compassion, humility, and legacy. What Federer did for those abandoned twins, and how they returned that grace, reveals more about his character than any gold trophy could. It is easy to point to “trophies won” as the final verdict. But Federer’s life story adds nuance: identity, empathy, and generosity, which truly elevate his accomplishments to a celestial level. His Wimbledon stamps, Swiss coins, and honorary degrees are symbols. The real trophy is the networks of lives he has touched: the rescued twins, African children on new educational pathways, and the families of those who supported him along the way.
Roger Federer’s journey from a junior champion to a record-breaking legend serves as a benchmark for aspiring tennis players and inspires millions around the world to aim for greatness while remaining grounded. In essence, his legacy celebrates not just a phenomenal tennis player but a true sporting icon who left an indelible mark on the game through his achievements, style, character, and humanitarian efforts.
In the court of moral measure, Federer is undisputed. His twin daughters and twin sons will grow up knowing that their father is more than a record-holder. He is a man defined by action. The twins in South Africa, now embroidering his legacy with their own generosity, complete a cycle: champions saved, and champions paid forward.
Yes, Roger Federer is the tennis GOAT. But he’s also the GOAT of genuine kindness, empathy, and impact. That, ultimately, is why the story of greatness cannot, and should not, be limited to statistics alone.
Role models are remembered, not just for what they win… but for the gratitude they inspire, the opportunities they create, and the kindness they live out.
The story of the South African abandoned twins was garnered from the News Arena Network – Geneva through News Arena India on 14th July 2025.
by Dr B. J. C. Perera ✍️
(Tennis Player)
Features
A book on iconic Sri Lankan poems

Lakdasa Wikkramasinha
(1941-1978) has been acknowledged as one of the finest Sri Lankan poets writing in English. The Sri Lankan born Booker Prize winner Michael Ondaatje says Wikkramasinha has written “some of the most permanent and iconic poems of this country”.
In a period spanning only thirteen years before his untimely death, Wikkramasinha published six collections of his English poems (and two collections of Sinhala poems as well).
Rage and Heartbreak fulfills the pressing need for a collection of critical writings on Wikkramasinha’s poetry. Essays authored by Gamini Haththotuwegama, Lilani Jayatilaka, Annemari de Silva, Nihal Fernando, Vihanga Perera, Madri Kalugala, Chandana Dissanayake, Nipuni Ranaweera, and George Braine are followed by Indrakanthi Perera’s brief memorial.
Most authors are practicing or retired academics, mainly in English literature. Some are published poets.
Rage and Heartbreak is published by Tambapanni Academic Press and priced at Rs. 3000/.
Vihanga Perera (Ph.D., Australian National University) is an academic and researcher working at the Department of English, University of Sri Jayawardenapura. He is also a poet and novelist, an arts critic, and editor of creative work. He is a recipient of the Gratiaen Prize and the State Literary Award.
George Braine (Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin) taught English in four countries before retiring from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He was acquainted with Lakdasa Wikkramasinha in the 1970s.
Features
Babies made using three people’s DNA are born free of hereditary disease

Eight babies have been born in the UK using genetic material from three people to prevent devastating and often fatal conditions, doctors say.
The method, pioneered by UK scientists, combines the egg and sperm from a mum and dad with a second egg from a donor woman.
The technique has been legal here for a decade but we now have the first proof it is leading to children born free of incurable mitochondrial disease.
These conditions are normally passed from mother to child, starving the body of energy.
This can cause severe disability and some babies die within days of being born. Couples know they are at risk if previous children, family members or the mother has been affected.
Children born through the three-person technique inherit most of their DNA, their genetic blueprint, from their parents, but also get a tiny amount, about 0.1%, from the second woman. This is a change that is passed down the generations.
None of the families who have been through the process are speaking publicly to protect their privacy, but have issued anonymous statements through the Newcastle Fertility Centre where the procedures took place.
“After years of uncertainty this treatment gave us hope – and then it gave us our baby,” said the mother of a baby girl. “We look at them now, full of life and possibility, and we’re overwhelmed with gratitude.”
The mother of a baby boy added: “Thanks to this incredible advancement and the support we received, our little family is complete. “The emotional burden of mitochondrial disease has been lifted, and in its place is hope, joy, and deep gratitude.”
Mitochondria are tiny structures inside nearly every one of our cells. They are the reason we breathe as they use oxygen to convert food into the form of energy our bodies use as fuel.
Defective mitochondria can leave the body with insufficient energy to keep the heart beating as well as causing brain damage, seizures, blindness, muscle weakness and organ failure.
About one in 5,000 babies are born with mitochondrial disease. The team in Newcastle anticipate there is demand for 20 to 30 babies born through the three-person method each year.
Some parents have faced the agony of having multiple children die from these diseases.
Mitochondria are passed down only from mother to child. So this pioneering fertility technique uses both parents and a woman who donates her healthy mitochondria.
The science was developed more than a decade ago at Newcastle University and the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a specialist service opened within the NHS in 2017.

There was a case of epilepsy, which cleared up by itself and one child has an abnormal heart rhythm which is being successfully treated.
These are not thought to be connected to defective mitochondria. It is not known whether this is part of the known risks of IVF, something specific to the three-person method or something that has been detected only because the health of all babies born through this technique is monitored intensely.
Another key question hanging over the approach has been whether defective mitochondria would be transferred into the healthy embryo and what the consequences could be.
The results show that in five cases the diseased mitochondria were undetectable. In the other three, between 5% and 20% of mitochondria were defective in blood and urine samples.
This is below the 80% level thought to cause disease. It will take further work to understand why this occurred and if it can be prevented.

Prof Mary Herbert, from Newcastle University and Monash University, said: “The findings give grounds for optimism. However, research to better understand the limitations of mitochondrial donation technologies, will be essential to further improve treatment outcomes.”
The breakthrough gives hope to the Kitto family.
Kat’s youngest daughter Poppy, 14, has the disease. Her eldest Lily, 16, may pass it onto her children.
Poppy is in a wheelchair, is non-verbal and is fed through a tube.
“It’s impacted a huge part of her life,” says Kat, “we have a lovely time as she is, but there are the moments where you realize how devastating mitochondrial disease is”.

Despite decades of work there is still no cure for mitochondrial disease, but the chance to prevent it being passed on gives hope to Lily.
“It’s the future generations like myself, or my children, or my cousins, who can have that outlook of a normal life,” she says.
The UK not only developed the science of three-person babies, but it also became the first country in the world to introduce laws to allow their creation after a vote in Parliament in 2015.
There was controversy as mitochondria have DNA of their own, which controls how they function.
It means the children have inherited DNA from their parents and around 0.1% from the donor woman.
Any girls born through this technique would pass this onto their own children, so it is a permanent alteration of human genetic inheritance.
This was a step too far for some when the technology was debated, raising fears it would open the doors to genetically-modified “designer” babies.
Prof Sir Doug Turnbull, from Newcastle University, told me: “I think this is the only place in the world this could have happened, there’s been first class science to get us to where we are, there been legislation to allow it to move into clinical treatment, the NHS to help support it and now we’ve got eight children that seem to free of mitochondrial disease, what a wonderful result.”
Liz Curtis, the founder of the Lily Foundation charity said: “After years of waiting, we now know that eight babies have been born using this technique, all showing no signs of mito.
“For many affected families, it’s the first real hope of breaking the cycle of this inherited condition.”
[BBC]
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