Category Archives: Nov 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The moral duty to care for the vulnerable springs from our shared belief that we are all God’s creatures and, as a result, brothers and sisters, equal in dignity, with responsibility for one another. This was part of the message given by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in it

s Deepavali message released on October 31 with the theme Christians and Hindus: In Defence of the Vulnerable of Society.

Attentiveness and cooperation are needed, not only to defend the legitimate place and rights of the vulnerable in society, but also to cultivate a culture of care and concern in their regard. In our families too, every effort should be made to ensure that no one feels unwanted, unloved, ignored or left out.

–See below for the full text of the message.

Deepavali Message from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

Dear Hindu Friends, 
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue sends you most cordial greetings and prayerful good wishes as you celebrate Deepavali on November 6 this year.

May the celebrations surrounding this festival strengthen the spirit of friendship and fraternity among you and enhance peace and joy in your families and communities!

We know from news bulletins and web portals, as well as from direct experience, the daily hardships endured by the vulnerable members of our society: the poor, infirm, elderly, disabled, destitute, abandoned, migrants; those socially, religiously, culturally and linguistically marginalised and excluded; and the victims of abuse and violence, especially women and children.

Largely helpless and defenceless, discarded and ignored by a society increasingly indifferent and even callous in the face of human needs and sufferings, the vulnerable everywhere in our time suffer greatly. It is in this troubling context that we wish to share with you a reflection on how we, Hindus and Christians alike, can engage in efforts to defend, protect and assist them.

The moral duty to care for the vulnerable springs from our shared belief that we are all God’s creatures and, as a result, brothers and sisters, equal in dignity, with responsibility for one another. It also stems from the realisation that we too at times feel vulnerable, looking for someone to offer us a helping hand. A healthy awareness of our common human condition and our moral duty towards others inspires us to promote their cause by doing all that we can to alleviate their sufferings, defend their rights and restore their dignity.

There is no doubt that, in this regard, many praiseworthy efforts are being made by individuals, groups and communities in different parts of the world. Yet given the great numbers of the vulnerable, and the complexities often involved in meeting their needs, those efforts can appear no more than a few drops in a great ocean. Still, opportunities for service are all around us, since the vulnerable can be found in every community and society. Greater efforts, inspired by a sense of solidarity, are needed so that they can feel “the presence of brothers and sisters who are concerned for them, and, by opening the doors of their hearts and lives, make them feel like friends and family’” (Pope Francis, Message for the Second World Day of the Poor, November 18, 2018) In the end, the true measure of civilisation of any society is the way it treats its most vulnerable members.

Attentiveness and cooperation are needed, not only to defend the legitimate place and rights of the vulnerable in society, but also to cultivate a culture of care and concern in their regard. In our families too, every effort should be made to ensure that no one feels unwanted, unloved, ignored or left out. Every level of society — especially political and government leaders, and those best equipped to provide practical assistance — needs to display a human face and heart to the vulnerable of our society and to reach out to all those suffering marginalisation and oppression. Such generosity should not appear as a token gesture but as one divinely inspired and aimed at the true emancipation and welfare of the vulnerable and the defence of their cause.

As believers grounded in our own respective spiritual traditions, and as individuals with shared concerns for the wellbeing of all, may we join hands with the adherents of other religious traditions and all people of good will, and make collective and concerted efforts to secure a joyful present and a hopeful future for our vulnerable brothers and sisters!

We wish all of you a Happy Deepavali!

Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

Saint Michael Archangel, 
defend us in battle, 
be our protection against the
wickedness and snares of the devil; 

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; 
and do thou, O Prince of the 
heavenly host, by the power of God, 
cast into hell Satan and all the 
evil spirits who prowl through the world 
seeking the ruin of souls. 

Amen

About 2,000 Malaysians of all races and religions gathered at the Ponderosa Golf and Country Club for the Walk for Unity organised by the Malacca Johore Diocese Evangelical Commission, in collaboration with Ponderosa Golf and Country Club.

“It’s a walk of love,” said Bishop Bernard Paul in his welcoming speech, “love not only for ourselves, but also for those less fortunate. Harmony comes when you care for others.” His Lordship also thanked the co-organisers for coordinating the event and the participants. He ended his speech with a reminder to not only care for one another, but to walk together as the new Malaysia.

YB Andrew Chen Kah Eng, ADUN of Stulang said, “We, as policy makers, will make sure that all policies will benefit all races. “In this new Malaysia, let us walk together. We promote people’s engagement, people’s participation, we participate in all these social activities so that we can work together to build a better nation,” he added.

The participants then proceeded to the starting line of the walk and, at the sound of the air-horn by Bishop Bernard Paul, the walk began After the walk, the participants were treated to performances on stage, which included singing by children, Zumba and a sharing on family by Rev Moses Yap, the head of the Diocesan Evangelical Commission.

The carnival had food stalls, game stalls and corporate stalls from companies such as UOB Bank, Standard Chartered and Very Good Cereals.

The celebration continued in the evening with the Love, Peace and Joy Charity Dinner at the Ponderosa Golf and Country Club Trading Post hall. “We need organisations to help us in the journey to rebuild the country,” said YB Liow Cai Tung, ADUN of Johor Jaya in her opening speech.

“I hope that in the future, we have more programmes and policies for the country. Let us rebuild the country together.” The dinner guests were entertained with various performances which included a very passionate song by teenagers from Hope Garden Autism Home.

Bishop Bernard Paul too did not miss the opportunity to take the stage and sing a song. There were also lucky draws with the grand prize of a 32- inch LED TV. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of cheques by Bishop Bernard for three beneficiaries, Hope Garden Autism Home, Graceville Old Folks Home and Berkat Children’s Home.

The fund of RM100,000.00 was the result of generous contributions from the participants of the Charity Walk and Dinner, through the efforts of the Malacca Johor Diocese Evangelical Commission’s Evangelical Concert Ministry, chaired by Christine Honey Lee, and also Ponderosa Golf and Country Club. In his closing speech, Bishop Bernard Paul thanked the organisers, the volunteers and the participants who contributed to the fundraiser and made the day’s event a success.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

The BEC Coordinating Team (BECCOT) of St Theresa’s Parish held a Family Day at the IJ Centre, Port Dickson, October 12. The theme for our BEC Family Day was A journey of Hope and Joy. Each person received a booklet and we recited the morning prayer, the Rosary and sang hymns on our journey.

When we arrived, everyone said that they liked the atmosphere and peaceful surroundings, with the sea close by. After breakfast, we gathered to listen and share the Word of God (Gal 3:7- 14). During the group sharing, we discovered that the Lord was giving us two words ie ‘Faith’ and ‘Blessed.’

The activities which followed were creative, interesting, fun and everyone participated enthusiastically. We sat in a circle and two parcels were passed simultaneously. When the music stopped, we could feel the excitement/tension in the participants, whether the parcel which he/she was holding had a gift (chocolates) inside or a piece of paper to tell a joke, dance or make a funny face. We were also put into groups according to the coloured clips we had to pick. We had to remember the names of the seven other persons in our groups. Each person drew the face of the person he/she had picked. It was really hilarious when we saw our faces drawn by another person (amateur artist) in our group.

The outdoor activities were carried out at the beach and those who could not participate watched the activities. In the afternoon, we had a formation session based on Luke 15, with the help of four short video clips.

The participants were then placed in groups to discuss what they had learned. Andrew Pang, the only young person present (he came with his parents), worked with another adult to make a poster in plasticine representing 4E Catholics — Encountered, Enlightened, Empowered and Evangelising and ‘Communion of Families.’

At 5.30pm, we left for the Church of the Immaculate Conception, PD to join the parishioners for vespers at 6.15pm, followed by the Eucharist celebrated by Fr Terrance Thomas. It was a time for everyone to give thanks and praise to God for the gift of Faith and His blessings in our lives. We left Port Dickson after Mass. Everyone said that they had enjoyed the day.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

The theme Give the Gift of Life was indeed an unexpected coincidence with the Blood Donation Drive and the celebration of Migrant Sunday at the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The 60 successful blood donors from the parish and neighbouring areas of Puchong each received a token of appreciation in the form of a prayer card to assure them that their noble act was not mere donation of blood but it was a sign of hope given to those in need.

After the 11.30am Mass in Bahasa, the parishioners adjourned to the basement of the church for a ‘potluck’ fellowship with the many migrants of the parish.

Parish priest Fr Albet Arockiasamy graced the event with a speech and prayer which gave hope to the migrants who were present. He further elaborated that we can liken the lives of migrants to that of Mary and Joseph when they fled to Egypt with baby Jesus in search of safety and shelter. It was indeed a fellowship of love for our fellow brethren that day, with many parishioners bringing homemade dishes.

Parishioners also had much fun and laughter during the ‘poco-poco’ dance by the KUBM group. Both these events certainly created awareness to the community present to be witnesses of Christ in giving love and embracing those in need.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

KUALA LUMPUR: A court has reaffirmed that the conversions of minors to Islam can only be made with the consent of both parents and not just a single parent.

The ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Oct 16 was seen as testing the precedent set by the landmark ruling in January by the country’s supreme court that overturned the conversion to Islam of three children of Indira Gandhi, a Hindu mother, by her estranged husband.

In the latest case, the first similar case since the landmark verdict, Justice Azizah Nawawi said she was bound by the federal court’s decision and ruled in favour of the Buddhist father who had challenged the unilateral conversion of his two children by his Muslim convert ex-wife.

The ruling invalidates the certificates of conversion of his two children, who were born in a civil marriage when his now ex-wife was still a Buddhist, issued by Malaysia’s Islamic authorities in 2016.

Justice Azizah noted in her ruling that it was not in dispute that the children were converted without the consent of both parents and therefore the court was “bound by the decision in Indira Gandhi case”.

The ruling compels the state’s powerful Islamic authorities to immediately cancel the children’s registration as Muslim converts in their records or Muslim converts’ register, a crucial requirement to protect the children from any intrusion in their lives by Islamic authorities.

The court also rejected a request by their mother for a stay to quash the children’s conversion to Islam.

The two children are currently under the father’s custody.

The two children, then aged eight and three, were converted to Islam on May 11, 2016 without their father’s knowledge and consent. That was also the day that he had filed a fresh application for divorce at the high court.

Separately, the Buddhist father and Muslim convert mother have been locked in court disputes over the custody of the two children. On Sept 13, the court of appeal decided that the father would have sole guardianship and custody of the two children, reversing a lower court ruling.

The father was reunited with his children who he had been separated from since April.

A court order bars the media from naming the family members. The elder child is now aged 10, while the younger child is now 6 years old.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

Parishioners of Jesus Caritas Church (JCC) joined more than 100 migrant and expatriate Catholics in celebrating World Day of Migrants and Refugees at their Sunday morning Mass on Sept 30.

Many parishioners came dressed in their traditional clothes. The first and second readings were proclaimed by African and Filipino lectors in their native languages while the prayer of the faithful was offered in Malay by an Indonesian commentator. The offertory bearers were also expats.

Before the start of Mass, the congregation was enlightened on the importance of Welcoming, Protecting, Promoting, and Integrating migrants and refugees through the screening of a six-minute video.

In his homily, Fr Dominic Tan reflected on Apostle John’s concern over a stranger performing miracles in Jesus’ name. “In short, he was attempting to create boundaries — on who belongs to the group/who does not; how God’s power can work and be exercised. In other words, a desire to control others, and even God.

“It is almost as if to say that if other people are different (race, colour, upbringing, etc), they cannot be disciples of Jesus because they are not one of us. Does all this sound familiar? Do we not at times wish to control who can be in certain ministries in church and who cannot? Do we not also say that because so and so is not like us (perhaps they’re divorced, differently-abled, migrants?) they cannot serve in our churches? That God’s grace cannot work through them?”

What was Jesus’ response? ‘Anyone who is not against us is with us.’

“In essence, Jesus is inviting us to not be afraid of opening our borders,” said Fr Tan. This is because our identity is not found in our boundaries but in our relationship with God.”
Quoting German poet Goethe who wrote: “The dangers of life are many, and safety is one of those boundaries,” Fr Tan said “very often we create boundaries so that we can hide behind them. We create boundaries so that we can put our demons outside of those boundaries for it is easier to create an enemy that is outside of us than face the real enemy that is within us.
“In order to grow spiritually and in our identity as children of God, we need to confront the demons that are within us — to identify that which brings us closer to God, and that which draws us apart from God.

Building boundaries can become a means of avoiding our own personal demons.

“Jesus then exhorts us to look within and identify that which hinders us from entering the Kingdom of God. He tells us that if our hands/feet/eyes cause us to sin, we need to remove them lest we end up in hell.

“What makes it necessary for our hands/feet/eyes to be pruned or removed in order for us to be fruitful? Is it our prejudice? Our insecurities? Unforgiveness? Have we been dishonest in our dealings with others?

Have we paid our workers, especially migrant workers, a just wage? Otherwise God would accuse us of condemning the innocent and killing them.”

After Mass, the congregation took part in fellowship in the church canteen area. It was hosted by the Parish Integral Human Development (PIHD) chairman John Chiow and Migrant Ministry head Maria Ng.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

Staff members of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (NBVM) and the Chapel of Sts Chasten and Imbert (SCIC), along with parish priest, Fr Dominic Santhiyagu and Asst. parish priest, Fr Louis Loi, participated in a half-day Team Building Programme at the Sunway Carnival Mall on October 9.

The programme included the movie Small foot and lunch. The purpose of the programme was to foster a closer bond between staff and priests.

Over lunch, the discussion was on the values projected in the movie. A very meaningful discussion ensued and some salient points were shared. Among them was the search for truth, where one has to journey to find the truth. The truth is also knowing that there is a world outside of our own ‘world.’ The journey to find the truth is not an easy task but, rather, a challenging one because it challenges the norm. One needs to overcome one’s fears and acknowledge the truth. Another value was about breaking barriers to build better relationships. Misunderstandings should not be allowed to fester but be clarified in order for relationships to grow.

Overall, the staff and priests had a good bonding time and felt a sense of belonging. After that, they happily returned to work.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

KAJANG: The Mental Health Ministry of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur is on a mission to provide an avenue within the Archdiocese for individuals, couples and families to seek mental health services and obtain informative resources.

In line with its mission, it annually commemorates World Mental Health Day on October 10 with its own Archdiocesan Mental Health Day. This year, the Archdiocesan Mental Health Day was held on October 13 at the Church of the Holy Family, Kajang. A total of 122 participants were present at this event.

Archbishop Julian Leow officiated the event with an opening address, following the welcoming speech delivered by Fr Philip Chua, the Ecclesiastical Assistant. A live broadcast of the entire Archdiocesan Mental Health Day was available on http://TV.ArchKL.org.

Centring upon the theme United We Stand, Divided We Fall, the plenary session, four concurrent workshops and the forum aimed to promote understanding and strengthening of the bonds of being family, to stand united against current marriage and family life challenges.

The plenary session by Dr Johnben Loy, a US-licensed marriage and family therapist, provided insight on the process of therapy and some practical ideas on how to improve family relationships.

In Becoming a Better Parent: Journey and Grow with Our Kids, Dr Nicole Chen, who is skilled in counselling couples and families with traumatic experiences, emphasised the need for parents to always be curious and practise active listening when interacting with their children.

As a therapist experienced in addressing couple and marital concerns, Dr Yeo Pei Li’s workshop on Personal Space Enhances Family Relations highlighted the importance of personal space in promoting individual growth and cultivating healthy family and marital relationships.

In her workshop on Raising Awareness and Understanding of Mental Health Issues, Mrs Tan Ah Eng, a counsellor with Focus on the Family, spoke about creating a safe home environment where it is alright to talk about mental health issues and where each family member is valued.

Mr Warren Tan, who is experienced in marriage and family therapy, provided ideas on how families can preserve strong connections among its members amid the distractions of the internet and social media in his workshop on Sharing Lives – Connecting Family.

A forum provided participants with the opportunity to pose questions to the speakers, Fr Philip Chua, Dr Nicole Chen, Dr Yeo Pei Li, Mrs Tan Ah Eng and Mr Warren Tan. Dr Christiantine Della, was the moderator of this forum.

Feedback collected from among the participants indicated that Archdiocesan Mental Health Day 2018 has been truly informative and impactful.

For the year 2019, Mental Health Day will be commemorated by AMHM in a series of monthly workshops featuring areas such as using various therapies and counselling, marriage and family, parenting, grief and loss, fostering helping relationships and career.

For more information on upcoming events, workshops and counselling services offered by the Archdiocesan Mental Health Ministry, please call 017-3586188 or email mentalhealth@archkl.org.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

KUALA LUMPUR: Below are the times of cemetery blessings in the various cemeteries in the KL Archdiocese in conjunction with All Souls’ Day.

Negeri District

October 28
1. Marjorie Estate, Rantau at 4.30pm
2. Sagga, Rantau at 5.00pm.
3. Kampung Sebir at 6.00pm

October 31, 2018
1. Bukit Kepong and Palebar Baru at 3.00pm

November 1
1. Fairy Park at 9.00am
2. Titi at 4.30pm

November 2
1. Nilai (Xiao En Memorial) at 9.45am (followed by Mass)
2. Sikamat Christian Cemetery at 4.30pm
3. Port Dickson Town at 5.00pm
4. Mantin at 6.30pm
5. Tampin 6.30pm (followed by Mass)

November 3
1. Sungai Lui, Jempol at 10.00am
2. Lui Muda, Jempol at 11.00am
3. Gatco Estate, Jempol at 11.30am
4. Air Itam, Jempol 12.00pm
5. Gemas at 5.00pm
6. Sungai Pelek, Sepang at 6.00pm

November 4
1. Belihoi & Sungai Raya at 10.00am

Pahang /Terengganu District
1. Bentong at 9.00am with service followed by blessings on November 3.
2. Raub at 1.00pm with service followed by blessings on November 4.

Petaling District — November 2
1. Lutheran Garden Subang at 10.00am.
2. Nirvana and Seksyen 27 Shah Alam at 10.00am
3. Puchong Batu 14 at 10.00am.
4. Kg Tunku and Gui Yan columbarium at 10.00am.

KL South District — November 2

1. Cheras at 9.00am with Mass followed by blessings.
2. Semenyih at 3.00pm with service followed by blessings.
3. Kajang at 4.00pm with service and blessings.

KL Central District — November 2
1. Loke Yew at 11.00am.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online