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.