GIVING IN THE SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY

Our Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammed announced on 30 May 2018, the setting up of Tabung Harapan Malaysia, a fund to encourage all Malaysians to contribute what they can, to ease the burden of the country’s RM1 trillion debt. Since then, all Malaysians have come together in the spirit of solidarity, to reduce the burden of our national debt, and as at this week, donations have surpassed RM130 million.

The three dioceses in Peninsular Malaysia decided to contribute towards this fund by donating the weekend mass collection towards Tabung Harapan Malaysia. Last weekend (23-24 June 2018) the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur pledged all its weekend mass collections towards the fund, and the Archdiocesan Finance Committee will present the total sum to the Finance Ministry in Putrajaya.

The generous parishioners of St Joseph’s Church contributed a whopping RM11,445.55 to Tabung Harapan Malaysia. I was astonished and pleasantly surprised at this sum, as it is considered double the usual amount collected weekly. I would like to thank each and every one of you for showing your solidarity and commitment as Malaysians. It truly was a momentous community effort, as many parishes reported a record high, in their weekly collection. From here we can see that the spirit of patriotism and generosity is prevalent in our Catholic community.

If you have missed out on contributing towards Tabung Harapan Malaysia during mass last weekend, you can always bank-in your contribution to Maybank account number 5660-1062-6452, before 31 August 2018.

Jesus’ response when the Pharisees were trying to trap Him, by asking whether it was right for them to pay taxes to the Roman Empire, comes to mind. If Jesus had said, “don't pay taxes” then He would have been labelled rebellious, and the Pharisees would have arrested Him sooner. Instead, Jesus took a Roman coin that would have been used to pay the taxes, and asked whose face and name was on it. They answered, “Ceasar”. Jesus then went on to say, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God," (LK 20:25).

Likewise, your contribution last weekend was to support our present government, and repair damage that was done towards the people and nation by their unjust predecessor. Therefore, it is only right that each of us contribute an affordable amount towards Tabung Harapan Malaysia.

The Gospel also goes on to say to give to God what belongs to God. The Church’s responsibility is to remind us of the distinction between political and religious sphere. As members of the Catholic Church, we should not lose our identity as Children of God, and to work and support our Church. These past four years, I have noticed your genuine support towards all our parish fund raising projects and events, and for that, I am truly grateful.

The Church also invites us to support generously and give additional offerings to those in need. Embrace and be thankful for the privilege of giving generously to God, and remember that it is God who gives us the ability to share. God is interested in your heart, giving in the spirit of generosity and God promises to bless the cheerful givers. St. Paul says, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver,” (2 Cor 9:7).