Category Archives: Sept 2017

KOTA KINABALU – Sister Alphonsus Low of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (FSIC) was called to eternal life on 26 Sept 2017, a few days short of her 79th birthday.

She was admitted to KPJ on Monday Sept 25 due to breathing difficulty and died peacefully around 10:20 am the next day.

She was born in Singapore on 29 Sep 1938 as Daisy Low Cheng Neo.

She entered Postulancy on 5 Aug 1961 in Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu) and received the habit and the religious name of Sr M Alphonsus when she entered the novitiate on 11 Feb 1962.  After taking her first vows on 11 Feb 1964, she went for formal teachers’ training.

In her 53 years, she had been fully involved in education and caring for boarders, while at the same time giving much of her time in service to the Stella Maris Parish Tanjung Aru as Extraordinary Communion Minister, Spiritual Director of the Legion of Mary and the intercessory group.

She also played a proactive role as Secretary General of the Congregation in 1981 and as Councillor for two terms in 1987 and 1993 during which time she was entrusted in securing grants from the state government for various projects of the Congregation.

In 1999, Sr Low almost succumbed to Melioidosis.

It is not clear whether her infection had to do with her diabetic condition. According to doctors, the single most important risk factor for developing severe melioidosis is diabetes mellitus.

As she struggled with her life while on drug therapy at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the entire Congregation prayed for her recovery. God answered their prayers when the former Principal of SM Stella Maris sprang back to life, defying near death.

She lived on to celebrate her golden jubilee in October 2014.

The lying-in-state is at Stella Maris Hostel Tanjung Aru Monday-Thursday Sept 26-28.  The funeral will be on Friday Sept 29 at 10 am at Stella Maris Church Tg Aru before the body is brought for burial at Mile 4.5 Catholic cemetery Jalan Penampang Lama.

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

Every year in the month of September all the clergy (Cardinal, Archbishop, Bishops and Priests) in Peninsular Malaysia will make their annual retreat for six days starting from Sunday evening till Friday evening. There will always be three locations of retreat centers: two in Cameron Highlands, one in Penang Island and the other in Plentong, Johor. Every year I choose to go for my annual retreat in Penang – I love Penang for certain reasons.

This year the retreat was conducted by Bishop Mylo Hubert from the Diocese of Pasig, Philippines. I still remember having attended his retreat back in 1995 which was 22 years ago when I was in the seminary at the College General, Penang. He was then, a priest.

This year my annual retreat has offered me an opportunity to stop, listen and reflect on my priestly journey. This retreat was enjoyable, relaxing and uplifting. I had a very good prayerful experience and a truly uplifting retreat. Bishop Mylo’s lovely encouraging words and his personal priestly life stories have brought enlightenment to me. On the first day itself he spoke a lot on mercy and compassion and how we can reach out to one another. This provided me an opportunity to truly reflect on my own life as a priest and my ministry with wonderful people whom I work with now. I do ask myself from time to time in what way have I experienced God’s mercy and compassion? I found the insights to be thought provoking and these have enhanced my realization as to what my true calling is in my priestly life. I have emotionally felt a sense of peace within myself. I have enjoyed my time at the retreat and gained a lot from it, a lot of meaning and understanding of my gift of the priesthood and my personal prayer life.

At night, we were given some free time for personal reflection and relaxation. This is the time we meet each other and share our thoughts, feelings and reflections of the day. I too enjoyed meeting my priest friends from the other dioceses, whom I have not met for some time. On most nights some of us went out for supper. I enjoyed eating Penang Char Koay Teow which is a favourite of mine. It was a very joyful balance between sessions, sharing and fellowship.

This weekend (22nd – 24th September) we are having our Parish Retreat. The Parish Retreat committee has worked very hard these past two months to recruit more participants to register for this weekend’s retreat. We have about 570 participants. I would like to congratulate all of you for working so hard to make this event a very significant and memorable one for our parish. We hope all those who have registered for this weekend retreat will pray that you will receive more strength to grow in your faith. Some of the participants are from different parishes and I hope you have met new people and you have made new relationships with them.

As your retreat draws to a close make a few practical commitments to improve your prayer life daily. I pray and hope you will have a refreshing and revitalising weekend retreat and deepen your relationship with God and one another. For the next couple of weeks do make a point to write down those thoughts and commitments in your notebooks. I hope everyone has a wonderful retreat and I am sure all of you will be looking forward to the next one.

We thank God for the gift of our retreat masters, Rev. Frs. Jacob Arimpur and Arun Louis and we pray that the Lord grant them the wisdom, understanding and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

KUCHING: Kuching Archdiocese welcomed a new priest to its presbyterium on 22 Sept 2017.

Archbishop Simon Poh of Kuching ordained Deacon Galvin Richard Ngumbang, 34, to the priesthood at St Joseph’s Cathedral here.

Poh said this would be the beginning of Galvin’s ministry to serve and walk humbly with the people placed under his pastoral care.

“Parishioners will begin to call you ‘Father,’ but always keep in your heart that ‘Father’ is not a title, but a relationship with the people of God,” he said.

The service, witnessed by Galvin’s immediate family members and fellow Catholics, began with a traditional Orang Ulu dance.

In the ordination booklet, Galvin revealed that his journey to serve God began after Form 3 when he prayed to pass the Penilaian Menengah Rendah in 1998.

“I was very surprised that I passed the exam and questioned myself as to whether I was special and that God heard my prayer,” he said.

Galvin stated that his true call to serve God was after he attended Holy Hour at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Sibu, when he found his mind at peace and the will to serve God prevailed.

He began seminary studies in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in 2010 after resigning as assistant science officer with the Pepper Marketing Board Sibu.

Galvin obtained his Bachelor of Theology from Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome, on 25 Nov  2016 and graduated from St Peter’s College Major Seminary Kuching on 16 Dec 2016.

He was admitted to the candidacy for Holy Orders by Poh on 3 April 2017 and was ordained as deacon at St Jude’s Church, Bunan Gega Tebedu on April 23.

KUALA LUMPUR – Msgr Anthony Thomas of Kuala Lumpur had been called to eternal life on 24 Sept 2017.

In a chancery notice ref (chan/MC/02/2017) dated Sept 24, it said that Msgr Thomas, 80, died peacefully on Sunday at 2:30 pm at the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged Cheras where he had been residing since his retirement in 2005.

Among the deceased’s many qualities was his giftedness and proficiency in music which has contributed greatly to the repertoire of hymns, responsorial psalm musical settings and Mass Ordinaries widely used in the local Church.

He is well remembered by the parishioners of St Joseph Sentul, Visitation Church Seremban and Sacred Heart Church Peel Road where he had served as parish priest.  He was instrumental in the building of the respective parish community centres.

Wake Masses:
Mon Sept 25, 7 am Little Sisters of the Poor Cheras; 8 pm Sacred Heart Peel Road
Tue Sept 26, 8 pm Sacred Heart Peel Road

The funeral will be on Wed Sept 27 at 11 am at Sacred Heart Peel Road and burial at Kajang cemetery.

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

BUNDU TUHAN – Sixty-four catechists attended the third module of the BM catechists training course at the retreat centre here on 8-24 Sept 2017.

The course was organised jointly by the Archdiocesan Catechetical Commission and the Persatuan Katekis (PEKA) with the first module on June 12-July 7 and the second module on July 9-21.

Topics covered were human development (Sr Lucy Embayan fsic), psychology and counselling (Sr Lucy Embayan fsic), Pauline Letters (Fr Paul Lo), ecclesiology – Vatican II (Fr Mattheus Luta), Differences between RC, Orthodox & Protestant  Churches (Sr Dariah Ajap fsic & team),  bioethics/morality (Fr Michael Modoit), and i-chat seminar (Fr Larry Tan sj).

Other topics included team building by Terence Dolinting, homiletics by catechist Justin Dinsin, pedagogy by Mdm Lynette Justin, and adminstration by Dominic Lim.

Father Nicholas Stephen, organising team head, presided at the opening Mass Sept 8 while Msgr Primus Jouil celebrated the closing Mass Sept 22 and gave out the certificates of attendance to the participants.

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

PENAMPANG – St Theresa Tambunan held its first fundraising concert dinner for its building project at the KadazanDusun Cultural Association Centre here on 23 Sept 2017.

Over 800 people turned up in support of the event.  Among them were Father Anthony Mikat, the current pastor, Father William Poilis, former pastor, and several religious sisters.

The event organising committee was headed by Pontius Otigil.

In his speech, Building Committe head Daniel Kinsik explained that the inaugural fundraiser is to help build a new RM4.5m church as the existing church cannot be extended anymore to accommodate increasing members.  The target date for completion is 2019 in time for the centenary of the parish.  Once the building is completed, the existing church will be renovated to become the parish hall.

The Tambunan choir – past and present – gave many stirring performances in English, BM and Kadazan.  There were also performances from the Labuan youths.

Fr Mikat did his bit too with his rendition of “How Great Thou Art” to the delight of the diners.

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

KOTA KINABALU – The Couples for Christ – Handmaids of the Lord (CFC-HOLD)’s 8th echo conference focused on faith journey was held at the Sacred Heart Parish Centre on 23 Sept 2017.

An Echo Conference is a local duplication of the annual HOLD International Conference (ICON) held in April in Manila attended by some of the key members.  These members then return to their respective countries and organise similar conferences.

This year’s theme was My Heart in Your Hands (1 Cor 16:13-14).  The conference began with rosary recitation and Holy Mass at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel presided by Father Paul Lo, CFC Spiritual Adviser.

In the conference, divided into five sessions comprising talks, testimonies and creative expressions, the 160-strong participants were brought to awareness the different stages in the faith journey.

In Session 1: Journey of Faith, Teresa Michael-Majanil presented the different stages in the journey of faith using Thomas Cole’s four paintings entitled The Voyage of Life.

In the second session, Crisis in Faith, Wendy Chin elaborated on the many challenges faced by the Church in Corinth and in society today such as division, lax morality, power struggle, desire for self-aggrandisement, secularism, moral relativism, materialism, and rationalisation as well the reality of the culture of death and killing.

The third session, Staying the Course, Ivy Henry Majanil touched on spiritual warfare and the tactics used by Satan: deception, division, diversion, and discouragement.  She said the CFC theme of standing firm in faith points out the ways to counter the devilish tactics through understanding well the catechism lived and learnt through the basic prayers, sacraments, church and family traditions.

In the fourth session, Warriors on Our Knees, Karen Sigawal spelt out the vocation of the laity to holiness lived out in daily life.  She pointed out that courage/endurance is needed to do God’s will and to receive what He has promised.  The obstacles to courage are excessive fear, sloth or laziness, fatigue and loneliness and their antidotes are magnanimity, patience, humility and determination.

In the fifth and final session, My Heart in Your Hands, Anne Labadin-Majanil showed the participants how love is the weapon in God’s plan of attack in spiritual warfare – love for God and for others in concrete actions – as depicted in Joshua 6.  It was Joshua’s love for God that won the battle of Jericho – a love that trusted, did not question but simply obeyed.  She led the participants to place their hearts in God’s loving hands – wounded hands that will hold their hearts close to His own heart, entailing a deep prayer life, total obedience to Him, union with Him in Holy Communion, and a life of service to Him and others.

The one-day conference ended with a praise fest.

The Handmaids of the Lord (HOLD) target mature women, regardless of status, or situation, from ages forty-one (41) and above. The ministry has a three-fold mission: personal transformation, evangelisation to bring her family and others especially women to a renewed life in the Lord, and wholehearted service to bring glad tidings to the poor. It provides a strong teaching track, special teachings for women in different states of life, and a leadership programme to equip leaders to be more effective and better servants. The mission promotes the missionary spirit among leaders to realise its vision.

Article reproduced from Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu

Congratulations to our newly ordained priest, Rev. Fr. Galvin Richard Ngumbang on your sacerdotal ordination earlier this morning. To God be the Glory!

PENANG: Beautiful voices rang out at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on July 30. Those who attended the concert by the Magnificat Choir from Medan, Indonesia, were given a rare treat of songs and dances for nearly two hours. This amazing choir of more than 80 members from Paroki Santo Antonius, Medan is under the directorship of Pastor Redemptus Simamora, OFM (Capuchin), assisted by Kristin Ratnasari.

Pastor Redemptus shared, “After studying sacred music, vocals, instruments, composing and arrangement in Rome for five years, I returned to Medan, formed a parish based choir and was with it for 20 years. Since I had the knowledge and experience, I thought I would put together Magnificat. It was challenging as I had to travel to the surrounding Catholic schools to recruit the singers and carry out auditioning. The choir members need to be disciplined as we have practices on Saturdays and Sundays from 2.00pm to 6.00pm. With generous donors, we have been able to perform not only within Medan, but have ventured out to Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Singapore and now Penang. Our dream is to be given the opportunity to sing in front of the Pope!”–By Stephanie Cheong

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

PENANG: The Penang State Government, Stonyhurst College, and LAPIS announced on September 17 the development of Stonyhurst Penang International School in Seri Tanjung Pinang, Tanjong Tokong, Penang. It will attract both international and Malaysian students from the region to study in Malaysia, in line with the Penang State Government’s vision to develop Penang as an Education Hub.

The school, which will accommodate up to 1,200 local and international pupils aged 3 to 18, will be operated by Stonyhurst College upon completion in 2019. The school will offer both a British curriculum to prepare students for entry into the best UK and international universities and some Malaysian subjects for local students.

The Chief Minister of Penang, Mr Lim Guan Eng, witnessed the signing of the key agreements on this landmark collaboration involving the Penang State Government, LAPIS, and Stonyhurst.

Head Teacher of Stonyhurst, Mr John Browne commented, “Stonyhurst College was founded in 1593 and has a proud Jesuit heritage and culture. I am honoured and moved to be part of a new chapter in its history, by signing this agreement with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. The opening of Stonyhurst College in Malaysia is an historic milestone for the school and one which I sincerely hope will benefit both the community of the school and the wider community around it.”

Chairman of the Board of Governors of Stonyhurst College, Mr John Cowdall said, “As Chair of the Board of Governors, it gives me the most enormous pleasure to witness the signing of the agreement which will allow Stonyhurst College to have a presence in Malaysia. The Board of Governors has given this historic development a great deal of consideration and we are delighted to have reached this significant stage. We are all committed to seeing this extraordinary project come to fruition.”

Director of LAPIS, Mr Michael Sng added: “LAPIS is proud to build on its success with St Joseph’s Institution International School in Kuala Lumpur to form a partnership with Stonyhurst in Penang. This has tremendous potential as the Penang State Government continues to successfully attract high quality foreign investment.”

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online