Category Archives: Oct 2018

The parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (NBVM) celebrated their 83rd Feastday with a novena which began on August 31 and culminated on September 9. The procession of our lady took place on her birthday, September 8. The theme was Blessed Mother Mary, Disciples of Hope.

Each day, the focus was on diverse groups, beginning with children, followed by youth, migrants, married couples, ministries, healing, BEC, single parents, vocation and, finally, family.

The Novena focused on our being alert to temptations because it is destructive. Parish priest Fr Dominic Santhiyagu urged the faithful to focus on the cross because the cross symbolises our salvation and our promise of paradise. Fr Dom gently warned the congregation of the threats of relativism, which has no absolute truth, permeating our society. He said that true happiness only comes from Jesus because Jesus is the Way, the Truth and Life.

Assistant parish priest Fr Louis Loi said that we are called to nurture our souls and live the life of Christ. His sermon focused on being true to ourselves and the person we are called to be. He also urged the parishioners to be involved in the church. He gently warned that if we do not use our gifts they will be taken back. Our gifts, multiply when we use them for the glory of God. We are not to judge others because only God is our judge.

When the focus came to married couples, Fr Leo Elias explained that God’s love is manifested in the sufferings and sacrifices couples make for each other. He also explained that all gifts are from God.

Priests are instruments of God and only God heals, explained Fr Michael Teng OFM Cap. Explaining the 1st reading, 1 Cor 3: 1-9, he said St Paul addressed the newly baptised Christians telling them that “neither the planter nor the waterer matters: only God makes things grow.” Therefore, he told the congregation not to focus on the priest because they are just instruments of God to bring healing. We are all God’s temples and God heals everything and reconciles with broken people.

Fr James Pitchay said that Mary epitomises the faithful disciple who remained faithful from conception till his death. It is men who have been unfaithful but God is always faithful.

Fr Julius Paul pointed to Mary as a model of purity, humility and Christianity. Purity because she came from a humble beginning and remained pure and chaste. Humility because Jesus is the son of God and even though she is the mother of God and she could have enjoyed privileges, authority and power, she did not use her position for herself but, instead, humbly accepted her role in the background. Christianity because she accepted instructions and lived according to the teachings of Jesus. She kept everything in her heart and dedicated her life to the will of God. He urged all to keep Mary as a model if they want to follow God.

Fr Julius explained the story of the deaf man in the Gospel of Mark 7: 31-37. He said that God is giving us three things: hope, help and healing. If you believe in the power and person of Jesus, there is always hope. Fr Julius explained that even if we are like lost sheep, Jesus is the answer, our solution and our saviour. God always sends us a helping hand, like the friends of the deaf man who brought him to Jesus. We are not alone, Jesus always helps and redeems us. On this feastday, Mary serves as the model of hope, help and healing.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) Class of 2018-19 from the Church of St Ignaitus (SIC) participated in a bonding event in Villamaria Good Shepherd Kindergarten and Nursery, on Sept 22.

The programme started at 8.30am with an opening prayer. The lively praise and worship session warmed up the group. They enjoyed a series of team building games, which enriched them. There were acknowledgement of God’s creation, fellowship building, and recognition of Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness through the enactment of a few parables.

There was a group of past-journey RCIA mates who came along to help promote homemade bottled food and beverage products by the Good Shepherd sisters. There was truly a spirit of serving and sharing among all participants. The bonding event ended around 3.30pm with much joy and laughter.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

KOTA KINABALU: Arch/bishops, clergy and deacons from the three arch/dioceses of Sabah were given a rare treat for their mid-year retreat with a barefoot priest from Tamil Nadu, India who was their retreat master at Bundu Tuhan retreat centre from Sept 10-14.

Natives going barefoot is not rare in the villages, but to have one barefoot Catholic priest walking and ministering amongst his peers, albeit from overseas, is a rare occurrence. Fr Jerry Rosario, SJ has earned his accolade as the “barefoot priest” internationally, not for his personal gratification but because he has willingly and lovingly accepted to live like this – embracing poverty and extending solidarity with the marginalised.

Fr Jerry has just two shirts and two slacks, walks barefoot, sleeps on a mat and travels only by public transport. For short distances, he rides his bicycle. He has no TV, no mobile phone, no computer, no bank account and not even a wrist-watch. He is a living legend. He has written 76 books and numerous articles.

(Foreword by Fr Antony Pancras in Perspectives, Possibilities, Practicalities of Leadership in the Light of the Life of Jesus)

This being his fifth retreat for Malaysian clergy, the Jesuit priest, who is also a professor, lawyer and social activist, finds Sabah unique and declares that he has put his “heart and soul” in facilitating the retreat exercises for the Sabah clergy.

Given the traditions, the clergy have got into a certain comfort zone. There is nothing wrong with that, he was quick to add, “but when comfort and conveniences consume the life of the ordained and consecrated, they need to be looked into,” underlined Fr Jerry.

He invited the clergy to respond to this concern in a pragmatic way – to say ‘no’ in their personal life, to be ready to go beyond themselves to “make a difference”, to be at the service of the people of God, particularly the least and the poorest.

To concretise their response, Fr Jerry suggested that they make an analysis of society crossing the boundary of Christianity, to read the signs of the times in terms of socio, economic, political, cultural, religious and ideological systems of the State, based on which they should monitor the pastoral responses in order to make their ministries relevant and radical.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

Seminarians were reminded by Archbishop William Goh of the three leadership qualities they must have as they prepare for their formation to the priesthood, namely humility, compassion and collaboration.

He acknowledged the many challenges that the Church faces today to attract young men and women to serve God as priests or Religious. The community has high expectations of the clergy, and the recent sex abuse scandals involving the clerics did not help. Archbishop Goh made these points in his homily to celebrate the opening and blessing of the newly completed St Francis Xavier Seminary on Aug 22. The seminary sits on freehold land next to St Joseph’s Church (Bukit Timah).

One way to combat the challenges is for Church leaders to be “good role models and examples” for future generations of leaders, he said. The real vocation promotion is through “living a life of joy and humble service” for Christ, he added.

Archbishop Goh said that because the seminary now shares its premises with the Catholic Theological Institute of Singapore (CTIS) for the formation of lay people, “there should be more collaborative efforts for the work of evangelisation for the growth of the Archdiocese.” He said laity and clergy must be co-responsible for teaching and sharing the Good News.

He reminded the seminarians to take their formation seriously and responsibly and this means working with everyone, including lay people when it comes to formation.

Seminary Rector Fr Valerian Cheong expressed his gratitude to all involved in building the seminary and hopes that “the seminary will continue being that beacon of light for the faith of the people of God here in Singapore. Also, that it brings about a renewal and a growth of vocations to the priesthood in these challenging times.”

Bro Timothy Soo, a second-year seminarian, said the official blessing of the seminary represented “a renewal of life” for him.

He is looking forward to continuing to build a fraternal bond with his fellow seminarians and “to bring this brotherhood to the Church”.

Bro Shaun Lim, who is in his fourth year regency programme, expressed his joy and happiness as “we seminarians now have a place we can call our own”.

He said he hopes that the community spirit and the shared experiences of Christ within the seminary can be a place to produce shepherds for the Church.

There are currently 10 seminarians living in the four-storey seminary building, which has a basement. It is shared with CTIS whenever laypeople come for their formation and studies.

The two upper floors of the building are dedicated to the seminary. There are living quarters for seminarians and priests, a dining room and kitchen, gym, prayer room and chapel with an open-to-sky courtyard and a Marian water feature.

The CTIS office is on the first floor, while the second floor houses the seminary offices and quarters for priests.

The first floor and basement are for common use by the seminary, CTIS, and other Church groups on an availability basis.

There are 10 classrooms, a multi-purpose hall, a meeting room, a canteen and a two-storey library that is managed by CTIS.

The topics covered in the eight years of seminary studies are:

1st year – Initiation Year.
2nd year – Philosophy Studies.
3rd year – Philosophy Studies.
4th year – Regency year (usually in the parish, but not necessarily).
5th-8th years – Theology Studies.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

KOTA KINABALU: “Each time I visit Malaysia, I can vibrate with the Malaysian Church and Society because of the various similarities that exist between India and Malaysia,” said Fr Jerry Rosario, SJ.

He threw the spotlight on two related issues; a certain amount of “majority complex” happens in any country (religion, culture, language) and creates tension for the minorities. However, attempts to understand should be made so that response could be made. For example, certain dialogues (religious, cultural, inter-lingual, etc) between majorities and minorities should be freely done in view of a new future where all can live in harmony.

Meanwhile, the emerging and young generations should be encouraged to “think out of the box” in order to enter into a Malaysian Church and Society based on a culture of solidarity.

Secondly, “If you inwardly look at Malaysia or India, we are not going to solve any problems. We need to widen our horizon,” said Fr Jerry, drawing from his sociological inspirations. When looking at the bigger picture, the problems within the smaller confines will diminish.

Moving on to the Christian commitment in the political arena, Fr Jerry, founder-director of the Manitham movement in India for political analysis and action, sees it as two-fold: religion and politics. He said, “In order to be an authentic and matured Christian, one should not be churchy. In other words, we need to be launching out to bring into politics the values of the Gospel of Jesus – justice, freedom and love.” (In political language, these values are highlighted as equality, liberty and fraternity.)

He added, “If we keep away from politics by just saying that ‘that is unjust’ without doing anything about it, it would amount to a sin of omission. God’s kingdom has to be ushered in the totality of society.”

Since we have a new government and lots of expectation on the part of the people, the Malaysian Church can render its service in three ways: 1) It can continue to conscientise people at large, as well as the government, that the policies and programmes must respond to the needs of people who are at the periphery of Malaysia; 2) As and when the government does well, the Malaysian Church should extend its appreciation, thereby accelerating the process of progress. Likewise, when the government does a disservice, the Church must not hesitate to raise its voice in protest; and 3) The Malaysian Church can organise workshops and seminars at both parish and diocesan levels, focusing on the political commitment of our Christian faith.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

KOTA KINABALU: Fr Jerry has spoken, as well as written, on the fast-emerging concern of eco-protection and eco-promotion. In agreement and support of Pope Francis’ contribution to this eco-call in his apostolic encyclical Laudato Si’, the green activist said “We need to promote Nature, preserve Nature, and protect Nature because God sustains our life through Nature, through Creation.”

He offered three suggestions to live Creation Justice in our life: 1) We should stop throwing away anything that could be reused; 2) We need to learn to recycle the materials that we use on a daily basis; and 3) We need to replant whenever we have to cut a plant so as to maintain the balance in Creation. Imbalance means injustice. We need to plant justice.”

As he strives to respond to God beckoning him to be His Co-Missioner and entering into a new covenant with humanity and Creation, he has taken the lowest step in the ladder of the Indian caste system, that is to live in solidarity with the poorest of the poor and those who are side-lined in society, the Dalits or the ‘untouchables’. They are not permitted to wear shoes in public places, hence Fr Jerry’s philosophy of going barefoot to be in solidarity with them is in order to labour with them for their integral development.

In Malaysia, the Church can be one of simplicity, spontaneity and sensitivity, and as such be in solidarity with the poorest of the poor who are the migrants, the internally displaced, the uneducated, the unemployed, the vulnerable elderly, the widowed, the orphaned, and the natives.

The Vision Statements of the Sabah dioceses emphasise “communion of communities”. In order to concretise that, we first need to be in communion with the abovementioned “poorest of the poor” or the marginalised sections. This would then snowball into the other sections of the community. Fr Jerry believes that a preferential option for priority service to the poorest of the poor is the need of the hour. 

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

For the past ten days, hundreds of the faithful converged at the Chapel of Our Lady of Good Health for the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Good Health. The theme this year was Mary, Intercessor of Good Health. Many who came were praying for good health for their families, friends and for their own well-being.

The evening Mass on Sept 8 was presided by Fr Xavier Andrew.

Fr Xavier focused his sermon on Power — a Power that is special (1 Corinthians 4:20.) ‘For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power’.

Touching on the role of Mary, he said, Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. The Power of God was already in her. “You and I were conceived in our mother’s womb. You have the power. You have to ask like Mother Mary, who is full of grace; you have the power within you to help others,” he said.

Fr Xavier then gave the assembly some practical tips on how they can acquire the power from God:

1. Knowledge. We need to know God first.

2. Time. Have you wisely used your time?

3. Thoughts. Use your thoughts wisely.

4. Touch. Many people, especially your parents and grandparents, long for your touch. Bless everyone with your hands, but not the wrong touch.

5. Words. Use words to praise God.

7. Devotions. Devotions help to raise your spiritual level.

8. Laughter. Learn to laugh and smile, especially at home. If God is inside your heart, you will be filled with joy.

9. Music. Learn to appreciate music. Let your life become like music.

10. Silence. God comes to you in silence, especially during meditation.

Fr Xavier invited the assembly to adopt all these so that they could live an empowered life in the Spirit.
After Communion, Fr Xavier led the assembly into a moment of reflection.

After Mass, there was a candlelight procession around the vicinity of the parish. Archbishop Emeritus Murphy Pakiam, Fr Xavier Andrew and Msgr Daniel Lim, with some 2,300 faithful, took part. A float carried the statute of Our Lady of Good Health.

Benediction was held after that in the chapel. Dinner fellowship followed at the chapel’s grounds and the adjacent Tamil school field.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

The Parish of St Anthony celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the 43rd time at the Chapel in Kuala Bernam Estate on September 8.

The chapel, located in this coconut estate is named after Our Lady of Velanganni, also known as Our Lady of Good Health.

The celebration started with Novena Prayers and Mass, including the installation of six new extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. The theme was Mary, Our hope in the promise of good things.

Visiting priest from Johor, Fr Moses Lui shared a story: there was a man who wanted to do good things but ended up with a lot of problems until he met a Guru who advised him to pray the Magnificat once or twice a day. He obediently prayed the prayer every day and, to his amazement, all his sufferings disappeared. Through the Magnificat, we give Praise and Thanks to God through Mother Mary.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

The theme for this year’s convention was Arise, Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. (Isa 60:1).

Anthony Lim, the Chairperson of FMCC shared inspired words of exhortations by Pope Francis. He said that the Charismatic Renewal is a “current of grace for the whole Church”; The Charismatic Renewal is born “Ecumenical”; it is the Holy Spirit drawing all Christians to proclaim together that “Jesus is Lord!” and “the Father’s Love for all His children”.

The work of the Holy Spirit is always towards “unity” – Pope Francis calls for a greater openness towards Christian Unity, using the term “Reconciled Diversity”.

Again quoting from the Holy Father, Lim shared Four expectations of the Church with regards to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) over the next five decades; 1) Share the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ with the whole Church. 2) Praise the Lord without ceasing!; 3) Work towards unity within the Church and work towards Ecumenism with other Christians and 4) Serve all men, particularly to the poor and the needy.

Archbishop John Wong, who graced the convention, not only presided in the opening and closing of the Eucharist Celebration, but also gave the talks. Based on the theme, Arise, Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. (Isa 60:1), he expounded the spirituality of individual calling versus universal calling. He exhorted the participants facing constant struggle to live to the charisms of the Covenant Community, and to be “the Light and Salt in the world”. Charisms are free gifts given to us without our asking for them, through His Son Jesus Christ, in and through the Holy Spirit, as in the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.

The 200 participants were from Servants of Yahweh (SOY) Kuala Lumpur; Bread Of Life (BOL), Kuching; Holy Trinity (HTC), Sibu; Star of Yahweh (SYCC), Sandakan; Light Of Jesus Christ (LJCC), Kota Kinabalu; Emmaus, Penampang; Servants Of the Lord (SOL), Papar; and the host, Marvellous Light Of Yahweh (MLYCC), Labuan.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

TAWAU: In conjunction with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, some 225 parishioners from various communities, ministries and groups combined their efforts in using an eco-friendly workout of 3K Run, Walk and Plog Programme. Plog or plogging simply means picking up trash while jogging. The name combines the Swedish term, plokka upp, or “to pick up”, and jogging, which started in Sweden in 2016. The programme was organised by the Parish Human Development Committee (PHDC) and held on September 1 from 6.30am to 10.00am.

The objective of this programme was to raise the awareness on the importance of caring and protecting the environment as parishioners and as individuals. It was an inspiration from Gen. 1:29-31: Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the groundeverything that has the breath of life in it. I give every green plant for food.” And it was good. God indeed created the universe as a gift to man but also for us to look after and care for it.

Another objective is to create a sense of responsibility in living out our understanding of the social teaching of the Church, in line with the Sandakan Diocesan Mission, to go deeper into the Gospel values. Respecting all of God’s creation, we must re-engage with our environment and take responsibility for it; we must live sustainably so that there are enough resources for everyone.

This first ever organised programme attracted parishioners from the four main communities, namely Filipino Pastoral Community (FPC), Chinese Pastoral Community (CPC), Komuniti Pastoral Indonesia (KPI) and Tinimungan Umat Kadazandusun/Murut (TUKAD) and other ministries or groups, including Parish Pastoral Councils (PPC), Society of St Vincent De Paul (SSVP), Extraordinary Ministers of Communion (EMC), the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), Neocatechumenal Way, Parish Youth Apostolate (PYA), Altar Boys, Legion of Mary (LOM), Hostel of St Clare’s Convent, CLC Holy Trinity School, Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) Megah Jaya and outstation chapels from St Stephen Tass, St Paul Balung and St Francis of Asisi, Gudang 4.

Some 315 kgs of rubbish were collected, mostly in the form of plastic bottles and bags, styrofoam containers, and packets. There were also unused car tyres dumped by members of the public along the Holy Trinity Church area, namely the Kuhara, Guru, Mawar and Melati Roads. For the safety and emergency care of all participants, the PHDC was assisted by the traffic policemen from the Tawau District Police Department and The Catholic Nurses Guild (CNG) of Holy Trinity Church.

“Over 2 billion Christians are praying for the care of creation, which shows how important it is for us to protect and care for our home, not only for the present moment but our future generations, and this is what God wants us to do.” Msgr Nicholas Ong said in his short address to the participants.

Msgr Ong called on the parishioners to take the opportunity to pray and take part in caring for the environment during the Season of Creations that began Sept 1, as well as the Day of Prayer for Creation, which runs through to Oct 4, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, who is the patron saint of ecology. He also called on the parishioners not to wait for others but to start making it a practice of saving energy, and water and use organic fertilisers by making their own fertiliser from kitchen waste.

He also shared that 16 parishes in the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu are doing their part by using solar energy. Msgr Ong announced that the Holy Trinity Church will be getting water tanks to collect rain water for watering purposes to save the usage of treated water and urged the parishioners to attend Laudato Si’ and the Climate Crisis Workshop, which will be held at Holy Trinity Church from Oct 26 to 28 and learn about how to care for the environment.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online