Category Archives: Oct 2017

More than 1,000 parishioners of St Michael’s Church (SMC) celebrated their parish feastday with a bilingual Mass and lunch, welcoming and sharing their joy with their greater “extended” family, including the poor and the marginalised from their monthly soup kitchen.

IPOH (Herald Malaysia): More than 1,000 parishioners of St Michael’s Church (SMC) celebrated their parish feastday with a bilingual Mass and lunch, welcoming and sharing their joy with their greater “extended” family, including the poor and the marginalised from their monthly soup kitchen.

Over 220 of them were invited to participate.

The feastday Mass of Archangels St Michael, Gabriel and Raphael was celebrated by Fr Fabian Dicom, with SMC parish priest Fr Stephen Liew concelebrating. The theme was St Michael, defender of our faith.

Based on the day’s readings, Fr Fabian said there is a tendency to focus on practising religosity rather than embracing spirituality. “When our faith is all about following laws, then our faith is equated with religosity. We are only governed by fear, following rituals and rites.

“These rituals should be a means to our worship but, often, we just follow, until we become “exclusive” Christians. Working in the vineyard means that God loves us unconditionally, and going (into the vineyard) means translating all our worship in Mass into action.

“There must be openness and love of the outcast. It takes courage to step out and to be at the service of humanity. It is also to care about the vineyard, and to stand up in the quest for social justice.

“We have to do our part instead of just criticising others on social media, he said. “That is the image given by the washing of the feet of the disciples by Jesus.

“As for the parable, we all have a bit of both sons in us, so we have to pray to God, St Michael, and the archangels, to help us.”

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

PETALING JAYA: A month-long Marian Exhibition with the Theme Mother Mary is in the Heart of Every Disciple will be held at St Ignatius Church (SIC) to honour our Blessed Mother and in conjunction with the 100th Anniversary of the Apparition at Fatima.

The Exhibition showcases The Life of Mother Mary, the four Marian Dogmas, the nine approved Marian Apparitions and three unverified apparitions.

The former occurred at Guadalupe, Mexico (1531), Rue du Bac, Paris (1830), La Salette, France (1846), Lourdes, France (1858), Pontmain, France (1871), Knock, Ireland (1879), Fatima, Portugal (1917), Beauraing, Belgium (1932-1933), and Banneux, Belgium (1933).

Also highlighted are the three unverified apparitions of Velankanni, India (16th–17th Century), Lavang, Vietnam (1798) and Akita, Japan (1973).

The organisers hope that visiting the Marian Exhibition will bring about a clearer understanding and a deeper appreciation of Mother Mary and the role that she plays in the life of the Church.

Those visiting from outstation or in groups may request a special viewing of the Exhibition at their convenience. This is available from Monday to Friday. Please call the Parish Office (03-78033512) for enquiry and booking.

There are various activities which include Movie screening in the Church, Talks, Video Clips, Rosary Recitation, and presentation of Songs, all with a Marian theme. The team has also prepared articles for sale which include statues, handicrafts, books and DVDs related to Mother Mary.

The exhibition at SIC Costantini Community Centre Roof Top, will be held from Oct 8 to 30. On weekdays, the viewings will be by appointment from 9.00am to 5.00pm. It is open from 9.00am to 10.00pm on weekends.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

The God of the Bible is a God who sometimes nudges his people in order to refresh them into a new realisation that life is more than what is being presented by the world, especially the world we are living in today.

Bishop Bernard Paul from Melaka-Johor Diocese said, as God’s people, Catholics must realise that our God never leaves His children behind, no matter what the circumstances are.

“Just like the people of Israel, when God nudged them, they realised where God was in their lives.” He said the faithful must always hold God at the highest place in their lives because, without God, in one’s life, nothing is meaningful.

“God is in everything. Everything is from Him and for Him. He comforts us. He gives meaning to everything. We are able to shoulder everything because God is with us.

“Without the light of God, we feel helpless and that is why He should be everything to us. This essence must be the focus of the faith of Christians today, in order for us to grasp the meaning of life,” he said.

He continued, saying that God builds His temple throughout the world, but inspite of that, Christians also need to remember that their physical bodies are God’s temple too.

“In the reading, God urges us to rebuild his temple, meaning, to build a better temple. That is why, in the Mass, we go beyond where we were before. Where we rebuild ourselves, rebuild our faith.

“Before we attempt to rebuild God’s temple, we need to begin with rebuilding ourselves. For this, we need to listen, to love and to live the life God wants us to live, which we learn through these seminars,” he said.

“Build your Christian life on a solid foundation and not on sand. We strengthen our lives so we can strengthen others, regardless of their background. Through this, we rebuild our hopes of salvation for a better future in Christ,” he said.

Bishop Bernard Paul was speaking during the opening Mass of the Ruby Jubilee Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) in St Peter Claver Church Sep 28-30.

About 600 Catholics participated in the three-day event which, among others, included talks on related subjects, worship and healings.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

The St John’s Charismatic Fellowship (SJCF) marked its 35th anniversary with a Thanksgiving Mass celebrated by Msgr Leonard Lexson on September 26, 2017.

Some 80-odd SJCF members and former members were present.

In his homily, Msgr Leonard said when the Lord constructs anything, he will see it is completed.

Msgr Leonard added that God also constructs relationships. He knows the problems in the break-up of relationships. Jesus asks the crowd, “Who is my mother, brother and sister? My mother, brother and sister are the ones who keep the Word of God, listen and practise it.

“We have come here as a family of God. We need to go beyond our own family and love others and build a loving community.”

The parish priest went on to say that we are rejoicing for a purpose. We are celebrating life. Not only are we celebrating the 35th anniversary of SJCF, we are also celebrating 35 years of faithfulness to God. We must see everyone as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Msgr Leonard said we need to be affiliated like SJCF, a ministry that is a sign of a united community. We are called by the Holy Spirit as he opens us to the

Word of God. He wants to use us for the glory of the Lord. Whatever our affiliations, we thank God for the 35 years of being faithful and witnessing to others that Jesus is the Saviour of the world.

After Mass, all adjourned to the Community Centre for a light dinner fellowship.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

“The Church has always felt the need for change and inclusivity since the time of the Apostles, when the first Council at Jerusalem was called by St Paul on the issue of circumcision,” said Fr Fabian Dicom.

“Later, Rome had to respond to various issues, in a Church encompassing different cultures, languages and peoples in a changing world,” he added, during the Study Day at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on Sept 9, to rediscover the soul of the parish and to refocus and see what they wanted their parish to be like in the next 10 years and beyond..

“The mission of Jesus is primarily entrusted to the Holy Spirit and, therefore, we are assured of continuity in the Church,” said Bishop Sebastian Francis in his opening address. It does not matter if some of us might not be around in 2026 to participate in the next PMPC. That should not stop us from planning and taking full responsibility for the future of the Church. “What is the Holy Spirit saying to the Church today? That is the fundamental question. So we come together to dialogue, discern and move into action,” he added.

The Prelate spelt out 12 points taken from the Scriptures to describe the vision of the Church, guided by three principles namely:

a) Purity of intention,
b) Faith in prayer and
c) Fidelity in action.

Without the personal conversion of the leaders, there could be no true vision and reform. He concluded, saying that we should be Christ-centred.

Since the Aggiornamento in 1976, eight needs were identified and reaffirmed at the Synod at St Anne’s Church.

The Core Need is the Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC).

The Pastoral Needs are:

a) Unity,
b) Formation,
c) Integral Human Development,
d) Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue,
e) Youth,
f) Family, and
g) Social Communications.

The next speaker, Deacon Clement said that they received more than 7,000 responses to the questionnaire that had been given to all Catholics in the Diocese in December 2015. At the Synod workshops of the respective Arch/ dioceses, the inputs from the questionnaires were analysed and synthesised in preparation for the PMPC IV.

Fr Jude Miranda, Chairman of the PMPT, revisited PMPC IV, saying that there was only one keynote address by the Arch/bishops, but it had three dimensions:

a) a need to be creative,
b) inclusive and
c) bridge-builders.

Of greatest concern were Islamisation, globalisation, secularisation and corruption. He also referred to the eight challenges mentioned by Dr Francis Low: the new poor, small politics, youth, education, foreign labour, labour movement, dialogue and the Bumiputra majority church.

The last speaker, Mr Ramesh, said that PMPC IV was acclaimed as a new Pentecost which moved everyone towards mission. We are called to be missionary disciples of hope with renewed vision and mission in a changing world. We cannot be content within the walls of the church.

At the conclusion of the Study Day, Fr Fabian, who was the coordinator, assured the participants that the Animating Team would return to provide support and help chart a direction for the parish in preparation for the CHS Parish Pastoral Assembly on 3 December.

This was the first roadshow conducted by the Penang Diocesan Animating Team, to explain the purpose and processes of the Penang Diocesan Synod at the Church of St Anne, Bukit Mertajam and leading up to the PMPC IV (Peninsular Malaysian Pastoral Convention) at Plentong, Johor.

After Vatican Council II and Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), the Peninsular Malaysian Church followed up with the Aggiornamento, Diocesan Assemblies, RPPs, PMPC I, II, II and finally PMPC IV in 2016.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

IPOH (herald Malaysia): The triduum Masses at the Church of St Michael, leading up to the feast of St Michael, St Gabriel and St Raphael, highlighted the trend of Catholics becoming casual Christians, why Catholics believe in angels, and transmitting our faith to others.

Fr Jude Miranda, Fr Stanley Antoni and Fr Simon Anand were the preachers Sept 28-Sept 30.

Fr Jude outlined three ways of discarding our attitude of becoming casual Christians.

This should be done by breaking the mirror of self and seeing others to follow Christ. Secondly, listen to Jesus and renounce our selves to follow the will of God. Lastly, we are called to follow Christ by giving out the same mercy, love and compassion of God which we have experienced ourselves, through forgiveness.

“Keep our eyes on Jesus and we will value what God wants. Don’t be distracted by other things,” he said.

Fr Stanley, the rector of the main seminary, challenged the people to reflect and name their cardinal sins, and explained how the Archangels play a great role in helping us overcome our cardinal sins.

He said, based on Scripture readings, we understand why angels are given to us.

We are called to grow in spiritual warfare, since the world today is in turmoil. The root cause lies in the seven cardinal sins — anger, envy, lust, pride, gluttony, sloth and covetousness. They are the ones we are so often warned against by theologians.

These capital or cardinal sins hold very real consequences for us, our progress in our faith, and our happiness in this world and hereafter.

“Ask St Michael to help us engage in battle with our cardinal sins because, as Christians, we know the truth resides in God,” he said.

Fr Simon Anand spoke on how we can become effective witnesses and transmit our Catholic faith by staying connected to the Church’s desires.

“We talk about our faith, and this must be followed by action with passion. There must be credibility in us, meaning others must see in us Jesus Christ,living in our lives,” he said.

He added that St Michael gives us that direction in our life. “We glorify God by our full consciousness, that is, we are fully alive and awake in our faith,” he said.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

KOTA KINABALU – Rosary recitation and Mass marked the Pilgrim Virgin’s visit to Taman Sinar Luyang here on 12 Oct 2017.

In May and October, the Parish Family Pastoral Network (PFPN) of Sacred Heart Cathedral Kota Kinabalu organises daily block rosary and weekly Friday Mass in the different tamans or housing estates within the boundaries of Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish.

Another activity is the two-week Advent Family Visits in early December.

Being the centenary of the Fatima apparitions (1917-2017), the Pilgrim Virgin statue visits different families each night (except the weekends) in the different housing estates in October.

At each visit, the parishioners staying around that area gather in one house, praying the rosary for peace and conversion of sinners.  Sometimes, it culminates with a Mass by one of the pastors of the parish.

Father Joshua Liew presided at the Mass following the recitation of the rosary at the home of Agatha Yap in Taman Sinar.

Several parishioners staying within the vicinity as well as friends participated in the event and joined in the fellowship after Mass.

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

SANDAKAN –  Thirty members of the St Teresa of Calcutta Taman Indah Jaya  Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC)  here went on a five-day pilgrimage to Manila Philippines on 20 – 24 Sept 2017 with Father Thomas Makajil as spiritual director.

The pilgrims prepared themselves spiritually through a nine-day novena prayer.

The BEC was formed in 2010 with some 30 active families. Since its inception, the members have made two pilgrimages: one to St Anne Bukit Mertajam and another to the Diocese of Keningau.

This time around, the BEC responded to the call of Bishop Julius Gitom to establish links with other BECs in the diocese or beyond in order to learn from one another. With that in mind, the BEC decided to make a pilgrimage to the Philippines and twin up with one of the local BECs in Quezon City. The committee got down to preparatory work in 2016.

Aleona Natalio, a formator at the Institute of Formation Fondacio, (IFFAsia) was on hand to greet and welcome the pilgrims at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sept 20.  IFFAsia trains Asian Christian youth leaders who are willing to commit and participate in the revival of the Church and the civil society.

Upon arrival at the Institute, housed at Radio Veritas Asia in Fairview, Quezon City, the pilgrims feasted on a variety of traditional cuisines prepared by the students, including lechon the popular local roasted pig. We were briefed on the organisation structure of the Institute and were introduced to their formators as well as the students coming from the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and China.

They were briefed on the organisational structure of the institute and were introduced to their formators as well as the students coming from the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and China.

IFFAsia is well connected to the Diocese of Sandakan as four youths from Sandakan have graduated from the institute. In 2011, the Sandakan cathedral parish hosted their mission project comprising 23 participants: students and formators. A part of their exposure was an encounter with St Teresa of Calcutta BEC.

Apart from the warm welcome and good food, the pilgrims were also entertained with presentations from the students. The event was interactive providing a platform to get to know one another.  In support of their upcoming mission project in Thailand, the pilgrims bought souvenir items prepared by the students.

The pilgrims were housed at the Franciscan Sisters of St Elizabeth Retreat House across the road, opposite IFFAsia. Surprisingly, there were several Indonesian sisters in the congregation so they had no problem communicating in Bahasa Indonesia. The retreat house offered comfortable twin sharing air- conditioned rooms with toilet attached, serene setting and a beautiful chapel where Fr Thomas celebrated daily Mass at  6:00 am.

The pilgrims divided into three groups of 10 people.  They visited seven cathedrals and churches with significant historical and architectural values: St Agustin, Manila Cathedral, San Sebastian, Baclaran Church, Quiapo Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, Espirito Santo, and Good Shepherd Cathedral Shrine Fairview.

Fr Thomas was a good guide as he had done his master’s in pastoral theology at Santo Tomas University Manila.

One profound experience was the visit to Baclaran Church – the National Shrine of Our Mother Perpetual Help run by the Redemptorist Fathers. They were welcomed by a priest in charge of pilgrims. They were honoured to take the Cross in procession to the altar where the pilgrimage prayer was said at the sanctuary.

Another memorable visit was to the Daughters of St Paul Media Centre and their convent in Pasay City. Sister Rosalie Lojiu, the niece of Fr Thomas, briefed the pilgrims on the Pauline apostolate and provided light refreshments for them.

During the visit, Fr Thomas took time to visit the three surviving pioneers who started the congregation in Sabah in the 1960s. All of them are now in their mid-90s and have to depend on walking aids. These sisters used to visit Fr Thomas’ family when they were in Penampang, he was in primary school then.

It was rather nostalgic and emotional for them as they shared their fond memories of North Borneo/Sabah.  They surprised the pilgrims when some of them could still remember the popular Malay lullaby, Burung Kakak Tua.

The highlight of the pilgrimage was to enter into an understanding between BEC of St Teresa of Calcutta Indah Jaya Sandakan and the BEC of Cathedral Shrine and Parish of the Good Shepherd (CSPGS), Fairview Park, Quezon City, Philippines, with the following objectives:

1. Share resources on the development, sustenance and advancement of BECs
2. Share information regarding events happening in the BECs
3. Share on similarities and differences
4. Foster good relationship bond among members, especially the youth of the twinned BECs

On hand to welcome the BEC members were the parish priest Father Mario Sanchez and his two assistants, Father Bong and Father Sanders, together with the members of BEC-CSPGS.

In his welcoming address, Fr Sanchez encouraged the twinned BECs to propagate and promote BEC. He said that through sharing, it will prompt learning from each other and will bring growth in their relationship with the Lord. He said that BEC is one of the ways to reach out to more people and through BEC they will get closer to God and to others in the community.

The visit was important as it coincided with the Filipino year-long celebration of  2017 as the Year of the Parish as a “Communion of Communities, Participation and Mission” with emphasis on BECs.

In response, Fr Thomas expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome rendered and he said that the similarities of the guests and host made them feel at home. He said that the BECs in the Sandakan Diocese is in its infancy stage as the diocese is merely 10 years old and has much to learn from them.

Clarita Salvan, the team animator, briefed the visitors on their history while Francis Tan provided an insight into the BEC of St Teresa of Calcutta,  followed by a group discussion on the way forward for BECs.

After Sunset Mass at the cathedral, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was sealed between the two BECs by the respective chairpersons at the parish hall, witnessed by the priests.

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

LIMBAHAU – Limbahau Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) chairman requested for a residential pastor during the annual pastoral visit by the archbishop on 8 Oct 2017 to Holy Rosary Parish here.

In his speech after the Mass wherein 95 boys and girls were confirmed by Archbishop John Wong, Sylvester Joseph conveyed the longing of the parishioners for a residential pastor.  He also urged the parishioners to pray for this request to be granted.

He said that the proceeds from the day’s bazaar would be for the Catholic Centre building project fund as the parish has pledged to contribute RM220,000.00 towards it.  Other fundraisers have been initiated as well.

Joseph then touched on the parish’s two-year family programme which he hoped would be fruitful.

Earlier at 8 am, Abp Wong had a breakfast meeting with the two pastors, Father Thomas Yip and Father Rayner Bisius, and PPC members who presented reports under their various portfolios, present and future programmes such as KKG-ku (Keluarga [family], KKD [BEC], Gereja [church]), Belia Masuk Kampung (youth enter village), and altar servers camp, in response to the Archdiocesan Pastoral Thrust.

In his turn, Abp Wong encouraged the parishioners to deepen their faith, the confirmands to be active church members, and married couples to have more children despite various challenges.

He pointed out that small families mean reduction in the overall Catholic population and challenged the parishioners to have trust in God to provide for their needs.

After the speeches, the prelate launched the new parish logo.

After Mass, all went in procession to the Fr A Amandus Hall, accompanied by traditional toggungak music, for lunch, cake-cutting commemorating Abp Wong’s 7th episcopal anniversary, choral presentations, prize presentations for sports and recreational activities, and lucky draws.

The prelate, accompanied by parish leaders, toured all the stalls selling food, drinks, local produce, meeting the people where they were.

Later, the PPC presented Abp Wong with a mock cheque of RM40,000 as proceeds from the bazaar.

Representing the state government, Datuk Johnny Mositun presented several units of PA systems to Limbahau and  Papar parishes, and to some outstation chapels.

The evening before, Oct 7, Abp Wong celebrated Sunset Mass at St Sabina Titimbongon Papar, the first time the chapel was visited by a bishop. – William Charles Mindus

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

BONGKUD, Ranau – The Catholic Community of St Victor Chapel here organised a vocation programme for the youths of Bongkud and Kibbas on 8 Oct 2017.

The programme began with a Mass wherein Pauline Sister Laura Anggie was invited to share her vocation story.

After lunch, several Sunday School children gave a presentation dressed in religious habits of the congregations present in Sabah.

Then the religious congregations were given time to introduce their respective congregation: (1) Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (FSIC), Daughters of St Paul (FSP), Marist Brothers (FMS), Putri Karmel (PKarm), Carmelitae Sancti Elias Brothers (CSE), Carmelite Nuns (OCD) by the Secular Carmelites (OCDS), and Order of Friars Minor (OFM).

All the congregations were given tokens of appreciation.

The programme ended with the youths visiting the different booths set up by the religious.

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu