REJOICE AND BE GLAD!

“This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad,” (Ps 118: 24)

Today we rejoice and are glad that we have faithfully journeyed during the season of Lent and Holy Week. Today we rejoice and are glad to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, His Triumph over sin. Our preparation during these past weeks has helped us to enter into a spiritual preparation for the great Paschal Mystery. We rejoice and are glad because we have equipped the interior disposition of our hearts and Christ has empowered us, comforted us and snatched us out of the realm of sin.

These past few days have been an emotional one for me. I was saddened to have encountered two little kids who have been admitted for more than 10 days at IJN Kuala Lumpur due to hole in their hearts. One is only a month old baby from Sabah named Aaron Daniel whom I baptised in the hospital on 19 March at 10 pm in the presence of his parents. Another one is a three-year-old girl, Veronica from Jalan Ipoh, KL. Both are in a critical condition and I asked God, why allow these infants to suffer?

During the season of Lent this year, I visited 65 elderly and the sick, who are home-bound. Some of them are really in a state of discomforting illness and just waiting for the Lord to redeem them. I can feel how the family members are juggling their time looking after them, taking them to the hospital for regular medical check-ups, paying the medical bills, etc. It is not an easy task to provide round the clock care for the sick and the elderly. Continuous care-giving can cause depression / stress and prevent us from enjoying life like we used to.

Let’s move on with life. After the Easter celebrations we will be gearing up for our Novena to St Joseph, the Worker, our own parish patron saint. It will commence on 22 April till 1 May 2016. We are in the midst of working out the themes for Novena Masses and inviting priests for the celebrations. We will also be having two major fund raising projects namely “Food and Fun Fair” and “Ladies Day”. The funds raised will be channeled for the refurbishment of our SJC Community Centre.

Thus far, I am very glad to see that a majority of our BECs are progressing towards our parish vision and mission. I invite more parishioners to come forward to play an important role in leadership and to journey together as a community. My prayer for you, my dear parishioners, is that from Easter Sunday onwards we shall commit to continue our mission “Towards Strengthening Our Faith Community” and to bring the BEC members together and make ourselves one as we witness Jesus through corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

May you and your family experience the mercy of the glory of the Resurrection!

Christ is Risen! Truly, He has risen!

Alleluia!

HAVE A BLESSED EASTER!