THE LIGHT ON OUR JOURNEY

2018 marks 110 years since the Church of St Joseph, Sentul was established. In conjunction with that, we scheduled a few spiritual formations, special events and activities in our parish, but the celebration came to a climax on Sunday, 18 November 2018, when we hosted a thanksgiving dinner as well as the 2nd World Day Of The Poor. 

We had throngs of past and present parishioners, families, friends and guests from near and far, as well as migrant families from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India, plus some underprivileged families from around our parish vicinity, who came to celebrate this special occasion with us. The 110th year anniversary dinner and the World Day of the Poor went smoothly, with pleasant weather throughout the night. The fun-filled evening began with prayer, music from a live band, a laser show, performances by various ministries, speeches and lucky draws.

The organising committee and the souvenir magazine committee worked tirelessly to make it a night to remember. They have been gathering, planning, organising, reading archives and collecting parish history details, for over three months, and their efforts really paid off that night, and for that I am truly grateful. I feel honoured to have worked alongside them to make our celebration a reality. Once again, with due respect, let me just say a big THANK YOU to the committee members for the work you have done in making sure this event was successful and memorable. Your hard work and dedication is truly appreciated.

I would also like to say a big thank you to past priests and parishioners who have served in our parish. Over the years, you have stood together to strengthen the Church of St Joseph, the Worker. You have endured many hardships to build a strong faith-community of Catholics able to spread the Good News in extraordinary ways and you have brought blessings to our Parish.

To my dear present parishioners, you are the best!  Your commitment, support and prayer make every spiritual formation, every event and every activity a success! In my past four and a half years of service at this parish, you have been faithful companions and collaborators, bringing our parish to great heights. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all parishioners, families and friends for your love, your prayers and your support.

It is now time for us to renew and re-energise our parish’s mission and vision “Committing Ourselves to New Evangelisation” by building bridges with everyone, including people of other faiths, respectfully and joyfully. Through the example of Mother Mary and our Patron, St Joseph, we shall continue to keep the spirit of evangelisation, and strengthen our mission and vision as we unite for a common purpose to serve Christ and His Church and to complete the mission Christ has mandated to us.

Let us work enthusiastically to build our relationships within the family and parish. Sometimes, when we become too exhausted, and we find ourselves becoming lukewarm in our relationship with God and one other, our life of faith withers. The higher our level of enthusiasm, the more we are living in God then we can redirect our energy to do more fruitful work, in His name.

Let us take the time to thank our Heavenly Father for all the blessings He has bestowed upon us. We thank and praise our Lord Jesus Christ for being the light on our journey these past 110years. May the good Lord be with us always and bless us and our families.

THE LORD IS KING

The Solemnity of Christ the King, which we celebrate today, was established in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. We always celebrate this feast on the last Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Sunday before the beginning of Advent.

We only see one absolute benevolent king in all of history that is the LORD JESUS Himself. He is the Only King. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ the King establishes His Kingdom of light upon earth. This kingdom comes first to our hearts when we accept Jesus as Lord of our lives. When we surrender our lives to Him and proclaim Him to be King in our lives then our hearts become an extension of His kingdom on earth.

The empty promises and false hope of wealth and material possessions are hanged in front of us. The King of kings is coming to conquer our true enemies: sin, death, the evil with His kingly power. Be ready, be prepared for His coming!

May the power of the Gospel change our hearts and our lives by Christ the King, who is our Ruler, our Victor and our Redeemer.

“The Lord is King, with majesty enrobed,” (Ps 93).

COMMEMORATING 110 YEARS BY CELEBRATING THE PRESENCE OF JESUS IN OUR MIDST

Sunday, 18 November 2018 will be a very memorable day for us, as we celebrate three significant milestones in our parish’s history. We will be celebrating:

1) Parish 110^thYear Anniversary

This year the Church of St. Joseph, Sentul, Kuala Lumpur is celebrating 110 years, since its establishment. In conjunction with this event, the committee, led by Joe Fernando, Leonard Paiva and Gabriel Moses, will be organising a Thanksgiving Dinnerinviting parishioners, their families and neighbours for this celebration. For the past two months, they have been working hard to ensure this event goes smoothly and successfully. They have sold 1010 tickets (10pax per table) for a delicious 8-course Chinese meal, which will be served by one of the famous seafood restaurants from Sekincan, Kuala Selangor. 

At this event, there will be a live band, laser show, dancing, raffle draws and other entertainment starting from 7.30pm to 10.30pm. It will take place at the Church’s backyard. We shall pray for pleasant weather, so that everyone can have a memorable time that night. 

2) 2^ndWorld Day of the Poor

Last year the Holy Father, Pope Francis invited the Catholic Church to set aside the 33^rdSunday in Ordinary Time each year as World Day of the Poor. This year, the Universal Church will celebrate the 2^ndWorld Day of the Pooron 18 November 2018 with the theme “This Poor Man Cried and the Lord heard him,” (Ps 34:6). The Holy Father, Pope Francis invites us to move with the spirit of human solidarity, and care for the poor by uprooting poverty, which is mainly caused by selfishness, pride, greed and injustice. The Holy Father says that we ought to draw ourselves near to the poor, listen to their cries, build relationship with them, get to know and honour them because they are a real presence of Jesus in our midst.

 

Last year, our Parish marked the First World Day of the Poorby inviting poor and under-privileged members of our community to various activities, a funfair, live band performances and meals together. To mark the 2^ndWorld Day of the Poor, we have invited 350 poor people - locals as well migrants - to come together and join in our Thanksgiving Dinneron 18 November 2018. The committee has managed to raise the sum of money required in order to sponsor tickets for them. We really appreciate for all those who have generously come forward with their donations. It is our way of giving tribute, honour and dignity to these most vulnerable people as we all come together to celebrate 110years since the establishment of our beautiful church.

3) Launching of our Parish Souvenir Magazine

The Parish of St Joseph, Sentul has had a very long, significant and successful history since it was founded in 1908. The 110^thYear Commemorative Magazinewill be launched on 18 November 2018 to mark the establishment of our church. As a community, we treasure every moment of our rich history (the past), we celebrate Jesus’ presence in words and sacraments every day (the present) and we walk in faith for every success (the promise of our future).

I would like to thank the Editorial Committee, led by Neubert Ambrose, the designers and printer, sponsors and well-wishers, for the contribution of articles and advertisements in the magazine. The magazine is available for purchase at only RM10 per book, so please get a copy (or two!) for yourself and for your family and friends.

My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all parishioners who have worked tirelessly and unfailingly to support and pray for the success of our projects. You are all superb! Thank you once again and I look forward to working with you on the next one, very soon!

THE END TIMES

The readings for the 33^rdSunday in Ordinary Time focus on the theme of living with the “end of the world.”

Jesus has given much details to the disciples regarding the end times and the signs. Jesus concludes with a challenge for the disciple and for us to be aware of the time, while diligently watching for His return.

No one has the knowledge to discern all that Jesus said about the end times and it remains “secret and sealed until the time of the End.” One thing is certain that His return is very near and we are supposed to watch and wait for His return.

We need to spend the rest our days and years on earth proactively seeking to do good works, keep a good conscience and do our best to live without spot or stain so that the Lord will find us at peace when He returns. We must be persistent in our work of evangelisation presenting Jesus to ALL as we continually watch for His return.

Are we living out our faith and fulfilling the work that the Lord has given us? How is your relationship with Christ?

Keep watching, working, waiting in prayers and stay close to Jesus!

GIVE CHEERFULLY

“Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury,” (MK 12:41).

A poor widow gave two small copper coins which she could have kept one copper coin but she gave everything she had to the temple. It is called “Give Sacrificially.” This widow’s sacrifice needs to be much-admired. Jesus measures our giving by watching how and what we give to God and others.

The value of a gift is determined by how much that gift costs the giver. The poor widow’s gift cost her everything. The widow’s offering was a costly sacrifice. That’s why Jesus says she gave more than all those who contributed.

God will bless what we do for Him, even if the world doesn’t recognise the value of our gift. It’s not just about money; we must give our very lives to the Lord sacrifically and cheerfully. We need to give of our time, our talents, and our financial gain. The Lord can use our giving to bless others beyond our understanding.

“My soul gives praise to the Lord,” (Ps 145)

PRAYER AS A SIGN OF HOPE, IN THE PROMISE OF GOD

The Catholic Church begins the month of November by remembering all the known and unknown saints collectively on the Solemnity of All Saints Day (1 November). We also remember the Commemoration of the faithful departed on All Souls Day (2 November). It is our duty to pray with gratitude for the departed souls and all Souls in Purgatory, who are still being purified of their sins, waiting to be in communion with the saints in heaven.

We place the Book Of Remembrance with 4500 names in it at the altar and offer all their names, including all the forgotten souls, continuously in our weekday and weekend Masses. On individual levels, we continue to pray on our own and make penance and indulgences, so that they may be purified from the punishments of sins, just as the Scriptures of the Old Testaments say: “Hence, he had this expiatory sacrifice offered for the dead, so that they might be released from their sin,” (2 Macc 12:45). We also obtain a partial indulgence by making a trip or two, together with our families, to the graves of our departed loved ones during this month. At the cemetery, we recite the Rosary or any other form of prayer, in the memory of them. These acts of prayer, penance and indulgence provide us consolation here on earth, till we meet them again in the world to come.

Most parishes hold special memorial Masses and prayers everyday throughout November, for the departed souls. I invite all individuals and families from our parish to come together on Friday, 9 November 2018 to pray for our loved ones’ souls to rest in peace. We will have a special Evening Prayer for all the departed souls, which will take place during Holy Hour at our Church. We will begin with the Eucharistic celebration followed by Evening Prayer at 7.30pm, and if time permits, we will have a fellowship in the courtyard, after mass.

It is important to pray for others, especially the dead. Praying for both the living and the dead is one of Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, which gives us a sign of hope, in the promise of God. The separation is only temporary, and when we extend our prayers for our deceased loved ones, we live in the words of St Paul, “May God who has begun a good work in you bring it to completion” (Phil 1:6). As we remember them with love, we pray that the Promised One will speed them along, to enter the gates of paradise.

Who are the departed souls, which we could pray for, during the month of November? We could pray for our parents, deceased family members, friends, relatives, clergy and religious, separated brethren, people of other faiths and all the forgotten souls. We could also include the recent 189 passengers who were onboard Lion Air Flight JT610, which crashed into the sea off Jakarta, the 239 passengers onboard MH370, which went missing on 8 March 2014 or the 289 passengers onboard MH17 that was shot down 17 July 2014.

As we count our blessings, let us be grateful for our departed souls and keep them always in our prayers, so that our God of Mercy forgives all the sins they committed during their lives, and grants them admittance into the kingdom of heaven.  Throughout this month of November, we pray ceaselessly for all those whom we dearly miss. We pray for their eternal happiness and peace, and for them to be in communion with God. We pray and hope that they will become personal patron saints for us and for our families.

Eternal Rest Grant Unto Them O Lord, and Let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Them.

May They Rest In Peace.

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENTS

In today’s Gospel a lawyer who wants to do his best and he asks Jesus which commandment is first of all. Jesus answers him with two commandments, repeating what is in book of Deuteronomy; “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second commandment is; you must love your neighbour as yourself, (MK 12: 28-34).

The nature of the Christian life is summed up on these two commandments. All the other commandments are expansions of these two and clues of how we are to put these two commandments into daily practice.

Without a love for God we will never love others. Our love for God must be the ultimate priority. We cannot love our neighbour without loving God and we cannot genuinely love God without loving our neighbour. They are the two sides of the one coin.

Our love must be genuine and real, not just an outward show. We must express our gratitude to God by serving him and people of God daily. Let’s live a life of love and ask God to pour out his love into our hearts through his Spirit.