Category Archives: Nov 2017

Will you bring your children to attend Mass every Sunday? Can you attend Mass quietly and attentively? The first question from St Ignatius Church (SIC) Parish Priest Fr Andrew Wong CDD was addressed to the parents of 70 children from SIC’s Standard 3 First Holy Communion Class of 2017 towards the end of Sunset Mass on October 21. The second question was meant for the 34 boys and 36 girls who had received Jesus, the Bread of Life, for the first time from Fr Wong and Assistant Parish Priest Fr Lawrence Ng CDD.

Fr Wong also reminded the parents of their critical role as the first and primary catechists of the Christian faith — not Sunday school teachers.

The first communicants were reminded that they had been incorporated into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church through Baptism, the first sacrament, while infants. On this day, the children received their third sacrament, the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. In addition to the gifts of bread and wine, the children also offered up their First Holy Communion certificates – a symbol of remembrance of the first time they became one in the Body of Christ – as well as the Camp Crafts Prayer Cards.

The children then sang Jesus, Lamb of God and Thank You Lord in dedication to the congregation, followed by the Parents’ Pledge led by Bernard and Caroline Tan. With their certificates in hand, each child happily posed for photographs with Fr Wong, Fr Lawrence and Fr Francis after Mass.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

This year’s feast of St Jude Thaddeus attracted an estimated 26,000 faithful to the Church of St Jude for ten days (October 20-29).

This year was special as the parishioners also celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Church of St Jude (1957 to 2017). The feast culminated on October 28, the actual feastday. At the evening Mass, approximately 3,000 faithful joined a candlelight procession around parts of Rawang town in honour of St Jude.

Fr Kenneth Gopal OCD presided at the 6.30pm multilingual Mass, assisted by Deacon Xavier Andrew and Deacon Nicholas OCD.

In his homily in English and Mandarin, Fr Kenneth spoke on the theme Jesus Triumphs over Evil. Jesus is victorious over evil and will come again as the victorious King. Fr Kenneth continued, saying that the wicked will be condemned to hell with Satan and the fallen angels. Who will be the righteous ones? The people who keep the commandments of God and love Him.

Fr Kenneth said to the faithful, “Keep our faith in Jesus and, with Him, we will triumph over evil.”

Touching on the Gospel text (Matthew 22:34-40):Love God and neighbour, Fr Kenneth said, it is easier said but difficult to practice. We need these two virtues, namely, humility and generosity to keep these two commandments.

“A proud person will not have God or grace, as God gives His grace to the humble. Also, a proud person cannot accept the faults of others and is always judging others. A selfish person only cares for himself and has no time for God or others. Sometimes, we are selfish when we don’t see value in others. Our ego makes us proud.”

He said a humble person goes on his knees and asks God for forgiveness. A humble person is compassionate and able to forgive. A generous person has a big heart and uses what he has to help others.

In concluding, Fr Kenneth said the Gospel reading for the day fulfills the whole law, to love God and neighbour. “It is only through humility and generosity, that we are able to love God and neighbour.”

Parish priest Fr David Arulanatham gave the homily in Tamil.

After the procession, the faithful returned to the church where the Litany to St Jude was recited, followed by a closing hymn. Many visited the grotto of St Jude, asking the saint to intercede for them to the Lord.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

Sandakan: All Soul’s Day is a day where the church offers prayers to the faithful departed. Some do the cleaning at the cemetery and some having prayers at home.

St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish has three locations where members of the Catholic faith are buried. The century-old cemetery at Kam Jai Yen with burials dated back to pre-war where no more burials are allowed to be carried out at this particular cemetery. The present Sibuga Cemetery is located along the Sibuga Road and planned in various phases for burials. The cemetery at Mile 12 off Labuk Road is the inter-church combined cemetery where all Christian brothers and sisters from all denominations are buried. It is managed by the Sandakan Christian Burial Ground Committee a registered entity where all Christian Churches based in Sandakan are members.

A large gathering attended the service held on the morning of 2nd Nov. 2017 at Sibuga, led by Sister Appolonia with the assistance of some Eucharistic Minister of Holy Communion and a small choir group led the singing of hymns. The service began at 9 am. Sister welcomed all those present followed by the opening prayer. Readings from the scripture were then read with the Responsorial Psalm followed by the proclamation of the Gospel. Sister then gave a reflection on the gospel reading.

Sister reminded all those present to offer our prayers to the departed loved ones as prayers will not wither, but the flowers and candles we offer will wither and dies off in due time. She also touched on the three states of life: firstly, the Saints in heaven, which was celebrated a day earlier and the second, the souls in purgatory, being purified before entering into heaven and lastly, on our lives on earth, where these three states of life united with the cross of Jesus and His resurrection by praying for one another. She also emphasized on the readiness on ourselves being ready to meet our Savior. After the final blessing and with the concluding hymn, the parishioners then proceeded to the various tombs of their loved ones where the blessing and sprinkling of holy water were conducted.

The service at Kam Jai Yen was also conducted by Sister Lillian, with the assistance of EM’s, held also at the same time. This is an old cemetery where no more burials are to be carried out but with many of the parishioners loved ones laid permanently in this cemetery.

The same service was also held in the Sandakan Christian Burial Ground situated at Mile 12 off Labuk Road. It was conducted by Father Sunny Chung with some EM’s from St. Mark Church assisting him.

Article reproduced from Diocese of Sandakan

BUKIT PADANG – A Sign Language Mass was celebrated at the Church of Mary Immaculate here on 10 Sept 2017.

It was organised by the Sacred Heart Ministry to Deaf People (SHMDP) of the Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish Kota Kinabalu.

Franciscan Friar Rowland Yeo of Singapore, a deaf priest, presided at the Mass using sign language.

Around 60 hearing-impaired and 30 hearing parishioners turned up for the Mass.  Among them was Javier, who was new to the sign language.

“It’s such a new interactive way to experience Mass,” he said.

A deaf student from SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin said, “Friar Rowland used a lot of gestures, facial expressions, and body language apart from hand signs to convey his messages, which is the way deaf people communicate,” she said.

The deaf members in the ministry hoped that they would be able to experience more integration with hearing parishioners in all pastoral and non-pastoral activities.

SHDMP hoped that with integration, more hearing parishioners will be encouraged and inspired to get to know the deaf community, their culture and their special needs, especially religious needs.

In conjunction with the International Deaf Day, the Deaf Ministry will also be organising a Thanksgiving Mass in October.

This day is celebrated worldwide on the initiative of the UN on the last Sunday of September, in honour of the establishment in 1951 of the International Federation of the deaf.

The beginning of the formation and development of societies of deaf people in many countries has been made possible thanks to the meetings and associations of graduates of schools for the deaf.

Charles-Michel de l’Epee (1712-1789) founded the first public school for the hearing-impaired in France. He devoted his life to developing the world’s first sign alphabet for the deaf. Epee is also credited with creating a systematic method of teaching the hearing-impaired. His manual alphabet, which he called French Sign Language, was adapted into American Sign Language a few decades after his death.

On the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of the great Frenchman in 1912, many deaf people from different countries were invited, and it became the first international meeting of the communities that initiated the contact.

One of the upcoming events will be the 2nd Asian Catholic Deaf Conference (ADCC) to be held in Tagaytay City Philippines on 27 Nov-2 Dec 2018 under Father Min Seo Park of South Korea, the first deaf priest in Asia.

Fr Park was one of the three deaf delegates appointed to the Steering Committee to look into the spiritual needs of the Asian Deaf Community at the 6th South East Asian Conference for Pastoral Workers for the Deaf held in Kota Kinabalu in October 2010. The other two were Melina Sylvia Ann of Kuala Lumpur and Patrick Anthony of Singapore.

In March 2014, Pope Francis held an audience with the Deaf and the Blind. He encouraged them to be witnesses of Christ and asked them to build a culture of encounter. Pope Francis is also urging more and more that we make an inclusive Church, welcoming the people who are on the margins: and the deaf people truly are on the margins. (Source: CNA/Asia’s first conference for deaf Catholics*)

As to the Asian Conference, Father Peter Teerapong Kanpigul, chaplain of the Deaf Catholic Association in Thailand explained during the 1st ADCC “The aim is to promote better understanding and network with dioceses, interpreters, and sign languages, which vary from country to country, so as to foster and strengthen the apostolate of a participatory Asian Church to bolster the new evangelisation”. (Source: CNA*) – Charlton Gomes

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

PENAMPANG – Eighteen long-time married couples convalidated their marriages on 26 Sept 2017 at St Michael’s Church here.

Father Wiandigool Runsab,  the assistant pastor, officiated the convalidation ceremony.

“We have been married for 29 years with five children, and now expecting a grandchild.  As a Catholic, I am very happy because we have finally convalidated our marriage in the Church.  It has been my longing to receive the Body of Jesus Christ again. My husband is now a catechumen in the RCIA class,” said Laminin Tambaukung, 53, after the ceremony.   Her husband, Indom Baulon, is 67 years old.

Jidi Suhai, 46, said,  “I am so happy because I can now receive Holy Communion.  For 19 years I was not able to receive the Body of Christ. Thanks to God and to the teachers who guided us towards this blessing.”  He has been married to Rozi Marius, 42, for 21 years with seven children.

The process towards marriage convalidation is facilitated by the Penampang Parish Pastoral Committee on Family Life. It includes talks and seminars where couples are led to understand the Christian marriage, the roles of husbands and wives, effective communication, spiritual healing in marriage, and  building up the family for God.

Canon law – the law of the Church – requires that Catholics enter into marriage by free mutual consent that is witnessed in a church by an authorised bishop, priest, or deacon and at least two other witnesses. Marriages in which one or both parties are Catholic and which are not witnessed by an authorised bishop, priest, or deacon, or which do not receive proper permission to take place in another forum, are considered invalid in the eyes of the Church. – Soccom Penampang

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

PENAMPANG – The Family Life Committee of the St Michael Parish here organised a two-day conference on family life on 23-24 Sept 2017.

The inaugural conference was held at Jud’s Hall at St Aloysius Limbanak on the first day and continued at St Michael Parish Hall on the second day.

The conference drew 162 participants – mainly married couples.

The main speaker was Romo (Father) Bernadinus Agung of Indonesia.

In his talk, Romo Agung said that the Gospels “help us to understand that every Christian family can become a privileged place to experience love and the joy of forgiveness…where there is love, there is also understanding and forgiveness.”

Among the topics were 1) Originality of Man and Woman; 2) Meaning of Faith in Life; 3) Faith: Source of Life in Marriage; 4) Faith Parenting for Children; and 5) Family as the Domestic Church.

The talks were followed by workshops.

Retired nurse Vinicah Unsoh, 56, from Ranau, shared her experience that comes from understanding the importance of a strong husband and wife relationship born out of a communion of faith.

“As the couples were invited to embrace and renew their vows, I could not hold back my tears,” she said.

Dennis Dahangat, 60, a retired teacher with two grown-up children, from Kg Terian, Penampang believed that the seminar has fulfilled its objectives through the many inputs on strengthening the family institution with the emphasis on faith.

“I am so taken up by the role of the family as the domestic church in evangelising our own family, … the source for building up a strong Catholic Christ-centred community bearing the fruits of unity, humility, love, and forgiveness,” said Dahangat.

The conference concluded on a positive note that encouraged the committee to plan for a similar seminar on an annual basis. – Soccom Penampang

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

DONTOZIDON – St Paul Parish here culminated its almost eight-month long parish family life celebration on  17 Sept 2017.

In its fourth year, 72 Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) from St Paul Dontozidon, Our Lady Queen of Peace Kobusak, and St John the Baptist Kopungit took part in the celebration.

Based on the theme Christ, the Joy of My Family, the observance began with a recollection on Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia on Feb 11, BEC formation in March, My Family and I seminars between April and September, family reconciliation with Mass, renewal of marriage vows, and closing dinner at the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association Centre Penampang on Sept 17.

At the dinner, Archbishop John Wong reminded all present that when a family life is centred on Christ and offers all their joys and sorrows to Jesus, they will experience peace in their hearts as promised by Jesus to those who believe in Him.

The prelate hoped the Family Day celebration would spur every family in the parish to deepen their faith in Jesus.

Since its inception in 2008, the Dontozidon Family Life Ministry has tried in various ways to reach out to the families in the parish to strengthen their faith and family relationships so as to stand firm and counter challenges to their Catholic faith.

Visits to Catholic communities in 2012 were spearheaded by then pastor Msgr Primus Jouil and the Family Life Ministry.

This first grass-root community outreach paved the way to the more personalised home visits in the following years, reviving the missionary spirit of the founding fathers of the early church where families gathered as one community and later to celebrate the Eucharist together on their home ground.

The “My Family and I” seminars were conducted at BEC level, targeting parents, youths and young children.  These seminars were aimed to bring about understanding of each other, the importance of communication and the need for reconciliation in order to create a peaceful, loving and resilient family environment.

All these led to the inaugural Parish Family Day celebration on 23 Sept 2013 with participation from the youth and children.

The home visits, also coined as ‘Jelajah Iman Keluarga’ (Family Faith Reconnoitre) become the platform for the parish family life ministry to strengthen family ties and unity, with full support from the pastoral leaders.

The Parish Family Day gave the parishioners the opportunity to rediscover the true meaning and purpose of family life in the midst of silent suffering, brokenness, struggle, division, and the many uncertainties assaulting the domestic church.

Although only nine couples responded to the call to renew their marriage vows, they took centre stage at the beginning of the celebration alongside the pastors and religious as a sign of hope to remain faithful to their marriage vocation.

The evening concluded with the song “We are the world” led by Fr Maxmillianno Hontor.  – Jenifer Majalap

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

LIMBANAK – St Aloysius here transformed its ancient graveyard with a columbarium.

Community leaders and parishioners turned up to witness the blessing of the columbarium by Archbishop John Wong on 4 Oct 2017 at the Limbanak cemetery.

The idea of a columbarium was mooted when space for tombs became critical, leaving only a small patch of steep hill at the roadside. The pastoral, finance and property committee sought advice from the archbishop and the late pastor Father Fundes Motiung, and proposed to build a columbarium.  It was accepted and completed in September 2017.

The columbarium can accommodate 136 units for bones that could be exhumed from 400 old graves and 128 units for ashes. The cost of these units ranges from RM1,000 to RM1,200.

The acquisition of the present grounds for use as a cemetery dates back to the time of Father August Watcher in 1910 when he built a school on a small hill overlooking Kampung Limbanak.

The parcel of land on which the school and the church stand today was bought by Msgr Wachter from Madam Molini Tongginal and Motiung Matalang. In recent years the adjoining land from Peter Jaua and Johnson Sua were also purchased by the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu.

The school cum church was a one-classroom shed with roof made of sago palm leaves and was partially walled with hand sawn planks sourced from the neighbouring hills. The shed was 120 feet long and 50 feet wide and its floor was bare earth. The school was named after St Aloysius Gonzaga, the patron saint of youth.

Another piece of hilly land of about an acre behind the church was subsequently acquired. Villagers seldom ventured into this jungle, not because of the thick foliage therein but because of the existence of several ancient graves with claims of strange sightings.

Over the years the jungle was cleared and became a burial ground. The cemetery became popular and terraces were made in the late 1970s with the intention to maximise utilization of the land. Within a span of 20 years, there was hardly any space left. The caretakers then, Bestan John and Benedict Puvok, declared that the cemetery was full except for the steep part of the hill.

A landslide occurred in 2014 which affected over 10 graves. The PFPC activated a cemetery committee headed by Winston Sibinil. Guided by Fr Fundes, permission from the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu was obtained to restore the affected graves.

The landslide prompted the church elders to consider the possibility of building concrete tombs along the steep hill. The cemetery committee worked very hard to promote burial in concrete tombs, a totally new concept in Limbanak. The initial lukewarm response was very challenging. There was literally no fund and the project suddenly appeared to be massive with no previous experience in building concrete tombs.

With prayers and moral support from Fr Fundes and the PFPC, by late 2015 the number of potential bookings indicated that the project was viable. Over 100 concrete tombs were constructed and offered to the parishioners residing around Kg Limbanak. Funds generated covered the cost of construction and the tombs were snapped up in no time.

Sibinil in his briefing said, “We have been receiving bookings for the tombs and we are planning to build more in the second phase in the same area.”  He added that in order to make way for the next phase of concrete tombs his committee plans to contact the relatives of those buried in the 30-year old graves to use the columbarium for the bones exhumed.

Also present among others to witness the transformation of an ancient graveyard to that of a friendly and graceful park were Father Wilfred Atin, pastor of St Michael’s Parish, and Luvita Koisun of the District Office Penampang.

Abp Wong commended the committee for their commitment and hard work in managing and developing the cemetery.

Fr Atin also thanked all generous donors and parishioners for supporting the cemetery and columbarium project in Limbanak. He added that being new in the Penampang parish, he hoped to be able to immerse with the people to learn more about their needs and to enable him to serve more effectively in the parish. – Blasius Binjua

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

PUTATAN  – The 11 Oct 2017 site visit by Archbishop John Wong revealed a marked progress in the construction works of the new St Catherine Laboure Church here.

The prelate was accompanied by Father Wilfred Atin, pastor of St Michael Penampang.

Since the visit two months ago, the brick walls have been put up, the beam that needed to be knocked down has been done, the arches and outside columns have been completed, and the columns, beams and brickwork for the bell tower have been cast.

Due to cash constraint, architect  Tan Jun Kwang said that the works have taken a conservative and priority-based approach.

As the priority is to complete the church, works are prioritised according to needs.

Tan added that in terms of structure, all that was needed to be done was done.

The next two immediate priorities would involve the finishing of the brick and glass walls, followed by performance works involving the water gutters, the electrical and mechanical trades.

To a question raised by Abp Wong, Tan gave the assurance that the following would receive his immediate attention: the need to simplify the electrical drawings and to call for tender, and the need to study the roofing structure in order to accommodate the proposal for an uncovered ceiling. The Smart ones make sure to use Quality Built Exteriors for renovation purposes.

Tan further reported that the beams and brick walls, scheduled to be up in a month’s time, necessitate the wiring works to be in place beforehand.

The architect assured his client that the cash-strapped project, which has taken a long period to reach to the present stage, would be completed regardless of cash difficulty.

Present at the site meeting were Datuk Stephen Sondoh, chairman of the Steering Committee and his team.

Also present were members of Penampang Parish Finance and Property Committee: Ernest Mojikon, Hector Jintoni, Richard Jomiji and Donald Malinggang.

Abp Wong has brought in the Penampang team, led by Fr Atin, to assist the Steering Committee in coordinating the project.

“We are not here to take over, but to help,” Fr Atin told the Steering Committee and asked for communication and cooperation from all quarters. The ultimate aim was to bring to completion the long overdue project.

Matters pertaining to sourcing for donations of church pews, road access, the update on the building of a two-way bridge, and requirement of SESB would be tabled at the next steering committee meeting in October.

Sondoh also told those present that the current fund they have in hand is roughly a million to stretch over the necessary works. – CS

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

Under the theme East West Encounter in Spirituality, Fr Sebastian Painadath undertook a three evening exploration of themes in the Bhagavad Gita and St. John’s Gospel.

Attended by about thirty participants, these sessions were held under the auspices of Insaf (Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship) at the Pure Life Society Auditorium in Puchong, Kuala Lumpur.

Over the first two evenings, the group was led into reflections on verses from both of these texts. On the third evening, we explored convergences between them.

Fr Sebastian Painadath, a Jesuit Priest, heads the Samecksha Ashram in Kaladi, Kerala. He has been an annual visitor to Malaysia for over a decade, sharing ideas on interfaith expressions. His latest book, The Power of Silence has been well received.

In expressing the spirituality (after reading from Powered by Mercurynews.com) of the Gospel according to John, he outlined that the inner journey of Jesus has been described using poetic symbols. Three symbols were taken for a meditative reflection. These were the Tree, the Well and the Word.

He then outlined how, in each of these symbols, three dimensions of the divine reality could be seen. These were:

i) The Father as the Mystery
ii) The Son as the word
iii) The Spirit as Power

“The inner journey of Jesus offers the light to look into the abysmal mystery of the Divine and realise the Trinitarian process therein. In his light, we see light. In his experience, we experience the Divine. Other religions do have other ways of entering into the mystery of the Divine, and these must be respected as valid ways of God-experience. The ineffable mystery of the Divine manifests itself in diverse ways. God is within and beyond all religions. There is no last word on God, there is no absolute religion”.

On the second evening, he led us into an exploration of verses in the Gita by outlining an integrated approach to Yoga or union. He considered Bakthi (devotion), Jnana (knowledge) and Karma (action) as part of integral Yoga. In exploring these, he drew on several verses from the Gita. All these requires an inner journey to the core of one’s being and then, through such contact, express the same in reality in the external world. All these are inter-twined and represent elements of anyone’s spiritual journey.

He presented the Gita as a process of connecting with the depths of one’s being and then going out into the world of reality. It represents a dialogue between the human and the divine. Using a diagram, he presented a paradigm and used this to describe the inner journey from the mind through the psyche to the intellect and heart and how, as a result, we can be open to the grace of God working in our lives.

On the third evening he spoke of the Divinisation of the Human in John’s Gospel. The group examined some of these stages in spiritual self realisation namely;

i) Alertness to God.
ii) Trust in the Lord.
iii) Work of the Spirit.
iv) Life in the divine light.
v) United with Christ.
vi) Divinisation of the Human
vii) Christ as the true subject.
viii) The world as Christophany
ix) Doing God’s work.

In considering the Divinisation of the Human as in the Bhagavad Gita, he similarly examined some of the following stages which leads the seeker to this realisation.

1. Listening to the Word.
2. Surrendering to the Lord.
3. Work of divine grace.
4. Inner enlightenment.
5. Attaining the Divine.
6. Dwelling in the Divine.
7. Divinisation of the Human.
8. The Divine as the true subject.
9. Seeing God in all.
10. Participation in the divine work.
11. Compassion.

In conclusion, considering the stages of spiritual transformation in John’s Gospel and in the Gita, both Scriptures uphold four dimension namely;

i) Human seeker being alert to the Divine.
ii) Divine grace that grants the true graces.
iii) The experience of the divinisation of the human.
iv) Life imbibed with Love.

He concludes by saying, “We live in a new epoch of the spiritual evolution of humanity. There is a growing awareness of the unity of humanity and the inter-connectedness of peoples of diverse cultures and religions. The whole world is shrinking to a global village. Inter-continental communication, inter-national coorperation, inter-cultural exchange and inter-religious dialogue have become the order of the day.”

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online