Institute for New Evangelisation conducts first formation for leaders

PLENTONG: The newly formed Institute for New Evangelisation (INE) conducted its inaugural Catholic Leaders Evangelisation Seminar (CLES) from July 25 to 29 at MAJODI Centre. Thirtyfour participants came from the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur and the Dioceses of Penang and Malacca Johore, together with two priests from the Diocese of Sibu.

The INE is an initiative by the three Arch/Dioceses of Peninsular Malaysia to set up a School of Mission dedicated to advancing the skills of Catholic leaders and lay people so that they may become more effective Evangelisers and train others to do the same. The CLES is a five-day stayin seminar designed to equip and inspire Catholic Lay Leaders — as Catholic faculty, trainers and evangelisers. These leaders are trained in advanced evangelistic communications and techniques. They are trained to pass on these techniques in training sessions which they conduct in their parishes.

Topics covered include Evangelisation: An Imperative or An Option, The Path of Disciples, Teachings of the Church — Evangeli Gaudium and Evangelii Nutiandi, Mary, Mother of Evangelisation, The Art of an Evangeliser, Evangelisation: From Matthew 28 to Evangelii Gaudium, Parish School of Mission, Planned, Purpose-Driven, Projected Evangelisation and Holy Spirit, Principle Agent of Evangelisation.

Bishop Sebastian Francis, Bishop of the Diocese of Penang and the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, celebrated the opening Mass. In his homily, he encouraged the participants to continue telling the story of Jesus and to be part of the winning team together with the Holy Spirit so that others will feel drawn to desire a personal encounter with Christ.

“The greatest tragedy, according to Pope Francis in his latest document, is when we do not use the opportunity in our situation to be a Saint,” remarked Bishop Sebastian. He reminded that the only empowerment we all need is to fan the flames of the Holy Spirit which we have received through the laying of hands in the Sacraments.”

Simon Wong, Chairperson of INE’s Core team, said, “I am glad that the inaugural seminar has taken place. Evangelising is the Church’s mission and she begins by evangelising herself. The Institute for New Evangelisation aspires to develop a mission mentality among our Catholics by equipping them with the necessary tools, skills and knowledge. We encourage the seminar participants to return to their parishes and engage in their Evangelisation Ministry and missionary activities. I am personally encouraged and motivated by the outcome of this seminar. Overall, the seminar has met its objectives and we look forward to conducting more seminars, both in English and other languages.”

Sr Margarete Sta Maria FdCC, who was instrumental in pushing for this initiative, came from Jakarta where she is now based as one of the facilitators. She had this to say, “It gives me great joy to be present at this first INE programme. It has been almost a year of preparations and discussions of putting this programme together with a team of Bishops, clergy, religious and laity. I am glad that the launching of the programme went well, with God’s grace. Working together as a Peninsular Malaysia team of various professions gave me a sense of being Church in Malaysia. The only aim and desire of each of us was to equip and inspire others to recognise our common mission of evangelisation.

Recognising the importance of a shared wisdom led us to be re-evangelised in the process. When we give importance to God in our lives, He uses us and our skills for His own glory. Though the programme is not perfect and still needs improvement, I trust it will develop because of our common vision and mission.”

The participants, aged between 22 and 66, were endorsed by their parish priests when they submitted their applications.

Bishop Bernard Paul, Bishop of Malacca Johore, who is also the Bishops’ Delegate to INE and himself a facilitator, celebrated the closing Mass and commissioning. Quoting Pope Francis’ message to the international political and business representatives in 2015, “God always forgives, men sometimes forgive, but nature never forgives,” Bishop Bernard remarked that the spirit of giving is in our nature, built into our DNA but when we go against natural law, nature fights back. He posed questions to the participants: Firstly, what and who do we see? He encouraged the participants to use their eyes to see and ears to hear the needs — to have the intention to respond to the people around us. Secondly, what do I have? For God, nothing is too small or too little.

Bishop Bernard shared how his personal slogan of “take, bless, break, give” of offering his ‘5 loaves and 2 fishes’ has sustained him through the 29 years of priestly life. And finally, what do you really need? Whatever we do in our ministry and the evangelisation, we have to ensure that we point to the Giver as it is not the material ‘food’ that satisfies but only Jesus, the Giver.

There will be a second intake in November 2018

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online