2019 - MOVING AHEAD WITH THE SPIRIT

The Christmas season will last until the Baptism of the Lord on 13 January 2019. That is the time when we remove our Christmas trees and cribs, take down the decorations and get ready for the ordinary daily routine. Till then however, we can still enjoy our Christmas festivities.

Christmas and the New Year’s Eve celebrations are the best part of the season. Christmas and New Year’s Eve are considered to be the last holidays of the year, and we usually have non-stop parties with family, relatives and friends. We get dressed up in our fanciest clothes and enjoy the company of those nearest and dearest to us. Festivals are always a source of joy and happiness for everyone. Living in a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious nation, everyone enjoys the festivities and holiday season, as it is full of fun events.

As we desire to start the year 2019 on the right foot, let us forget the mistakes and failures of the past and move ahead with the spirit of enthusiasm and determination. It is a time for us to cherish the pleasant and unpleasant memories and opportunities that 2018 has brought us, and attempt to improve our lives in a positive way by supporting one another. We also thank the Lord for all the marvelous things He has done for us and may He bring joy, good health and prosperity to us all.

1 January 2019 will mark the 52nd World Day of Peace with the theme “Good Politics is at the Service of Peace”. Pope Francis emphasises the importance of political leadership in building a culture of peace and not damage the cause of peace. The Holy Father compels everyone to be “engaged in the work of advocating for and with those whose voices are marginalised, and to ensure the protection for future life and of planet - for the youngest and smallest - in their thirst for fulfillment.”

The Pope emphasises the responsibility and commitment of each person in politics, to protect and govern their nations by safeguarding the rights and encouraging dialogue between people and cultures. As Christians, we are invited to contribute towards the peace and human rights in order to build a more just society. We all need to be reminded of the words of Blessed Pope Paul Vl (1968), who said, “The world must be educated to love peace, to build it up and defend it”. Let everyone, including politicians, engage courageously to build a just and moral society.

Since the Pakatan Harapan government has been the new ruling party in Malaysia, we, the citizens, should work hand in hand with them to build mutual trust and respect with each other, in order to build our nation in apeaceful and just society. The new government under the leadership of Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Muhammad, are doing their very best to stabiliseand improve political corruption, economic inequality and social illnesses at all levels in our country. Every person including politicians should feel the duty to respect the rights of all citizens, not to mistreat migrants, and prevent the degradation of the environment. We hope to see the fruits of our labour one day.

MY DEAR PARISHIONERS, MAY THIS NEW YEAR 2019 BRING PEACE, HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS IN YOUR LIFE. HAPPY NEW YEAR AND GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS.

FAMILY LIFE IN THE LORD

No family is perfect. In the case of imperfections and dysfunction we have to seek holiness in our families. Present days our families are facing challenges. Regardless of our family’s situation, all families are called to holiness. Despite our failures and imperfections, always cling on to hope because our family is in the Lord’s design.

The members of the family may get frustrated with each other. They may occasionally argue but ultimately, each of members should strive to love each other, humbly serve and be Christ for each other. Always remember family that learns together stays together.

Saint Pope John Paul II, “Familiaris Consortio” (Christian Family in the Modern World - 1981), reminds parents that their first task is to implant in each child a deep love for God. Parents are the primary teachers in the family, especially in matters of faith and morals. It’s so important and a powerful parents’ vocation.

With the Holy Family of Nazareth as our model and as we approach the New Year, let us resolve sincerely to act with love that binds life together and makes them perfect.

We can say together, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us.”

BRING GOD’S GIFT OF CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE

Christmas is a season of gifts - and giving gifts is an important part of our celebration. Gifts are a way of telling others that we love and care for them. Christmas started with a gift. It was God who started it – “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life,” (John 3:16).

I am sure by now we would have decorated our homes with Christmas lights and ornaments, and purchased gifts for those who are dear to us. While waiting for Christmas, I hope you are not overwhelmed by Christmas parties, baking and cooking, buying gifts, and making sure you don’t forget to send Christmas greetings.

We live in a world that is so fixated by schedules and agendas. We sometimes forget the simple gesture of appreciating one another by being kind to the people we meet everyday. At times, our conversations and actions, perhaps even our jokes, have become unkind and cynical - be it at home, at work or even at church. We forget to say a kind or helpful word to our parents, spouse, children, siblings and friends. We seem to be unable to make eye contact or even smile. We are unwilling to make another person feel better. St Paul says, “Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you,” (Eph 4:9).

In today’s world, the use of harmful or bad words has become common. We hear it every where. How could the use of harmful or foul words be used so casually? When you utter them, you can never take them back. The unkind things we communicate can spoil the best of relationships. Is it possible to tell ourselves not to use them? Can we remind ourselves that every time we misuse the gift of speech, it affects the other person in a negative way. When we speak harmful or vulgar words, we then fail to respect others. We should avoid saying anything that degrades or condemns another person. Harsh and hurtful words can leave scars for many years. They can leave us feeling empty, betrayed and lost.

 

There are so many people in need at Christmas time – people wanting love, needing comfort, assurance, a little company and a little friendship. Perhaps there is someone we have not forgiven. Or whose forgiveness we must seek. Our hearts are full of many gifts we can give - love, kindness, peace, joy, patience, forgiveness, etc., (Gal 5:21).

Don’t forget Jesus this Christmas forHe is the reason for the season. Let us start each and every day as if it were Christmas and celebrate the joy, peace, happiness and goodwill with everyone in our lives. Let us make every day like Christmas and live the spirit in our hearts at every moment. Just remember the gift of Jesus in our lives, and thank Him because He is the best gift that we could ever receive. God reaches out to us in peace and we should start each day with joy, peace and happiness as we reach out to one another. Our gift to God is to bring God’s gift of Christmas – Jesus, to everyone.

As we rejoice and celebrate this wonderful season of Christmas, let us thank baby Jesus for coming into our lives and let us prepare ourselves to welcome Him into the homes of our hearts.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES!

WELCOME JESUS

After the Annunciation, Mary goes to her cousin Elisabeth’s home in the hill country of Judah. As soon as Mary’s greeting reaches Elizabeth’s ears, the baby in her womb “leaped for joy,” and she was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” (LK 1:39-49).

It is in Elizabeth’s final words to Mary that we find the key to understanding why she is honored, namely, because of her faith, humility and courage. Mary encourages us to submit to God’s

will and to be committed in the mission of the Church by presenting Jesus to others.

Today is the fourth and last Sunday of Advent. We will be celebrating Christmas soon. We have a living example of how to best receive our Lord Jesus when He comes once again this Christmas. In order to welcome Him, we need to be in a state of grace, and willing to stop sinning that turns us away from God’s love.

Are we ready now, after four weeks of Advent to welcome Jesus and Mary afresh into our lives this Christmas?

“Lord, make us turn to You, and let us see Your face and we shall be saved,” (Ps 79).

SEEK JESUS IN SILENCE THIS ADVENT

Advent is a season that goes quick, unlike Lent. This year, Advent ends earlier because immediately after the 4th Sunday of Advent, we celebrate Christmas Eve Mass. December is always a busy and fascinating month of the year because of the holidays and Christmas festivities.

We often fail to slow down and take time from the rush of life to be with the Lord. We do not have time to contemplate the reason the Church sets aside four weeks of Advent preparations for Christmas. Advent is the way the Catholic Church prepares us spiritually for the Christmas celebration. Every year, we find ourselves busy with Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, putting up Christmas decorations and planning for parties, that we distract ourselves from having a truly meaningful Christmas. Then before you know it, Christmas has come and gone.

Did you spend time truly preparing your heart for Christ’s coming this Christmas? Have you prepared a timetable for prayer and mediation during Advent? Did you give at least 15-20 minutes a day to prayer and meditation? Have we strived to cultivate certain attitudes to welcome Christ in our hearts and home on Christmas morning?

Over the weeks we have been listening Christmas music in our homes, cars and at the malls. It is so easy for us to lose sight of the beauty of the four-week Advent. I like the readings selected by the Catholic Church during this season, highlighting Jesus’ arrival as a baby on Christmas as well as His second coming. Sometimes we get too bogged down with our worldly preparations that we forget to look into our spiritual preparations. On Christmas Eve we will sing the hymn - Silent Night.It is very important to cultivate silence in the midst of a world so immersed in noise. It is crucial to truly connect ourselves with God, who gives us a sense of peace.

We know there are many positive fruits that come from silence, but we sometimes fail to appreciate silence. God will speak to us in the depths of our hearts when we set an attitude of prayer in silence. Many people went through the process of discernment in silent prayer - either individually or with spiritual directors - in order to choose one’s vocation – married life or single life or religious life. Some of them have pursued their own personal conversion and purification in silent prayer.

Honestly speaking, during this Advent season, I have been weary with my daily priestly commitments in the parish. These past 3 weeks I have assisted in hearing confession at various parishes around the Klang Valley. I have visited the homebound and administered the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and Eucharist to about 80 parishioners at home and at hospitals. It was pleasant to visit the elderly and sick of our community to affirm them that Jesus is still in charge, as the Lord of Life.

Even as I find that I haven’t spent much time in silent prayer, I sense that God is always present in mysterious ways as I exercise my daily priestly duties. For me, this Advent has been a fruitful time reaching out the homebound and carrying out my commitments faithfully for the spiritual well-being of my parishioners and others.

This Advent, let us seek Jesus in silence, in the Eucharist and in the Bible. May Christ Jesus bless us all and fill our hearts with joy, as we enter into the second half of our Advent season! God bless.

REJOICE IN THE LORD!

Third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday, focuses our attention on the spirit of rejoicing.We rejoice in our heart because Christmas is near. The prophet Zephaniah, centuries before the birth of Christ, calls God’s people to prepare for the coming of “the King of Israel, the Lord!” He tells the nation of Israel to rejoice and sing songs that God is in their midst. God has come, God is in their midst – “Rejoice, exult with all your heart,” (Zeph 3: 14-18).

In the Gospel reading, John the Baptist preaches good news to the people of his time and they are filled with joyful anticipation for God is near. In the midst of all our hardships, struggles, anxieties, sorrow, loneliness, illness, heartache, personal hurts, despair, and guilt, He is near and we shall see the salvation of Godwhen we turn to Him.

Always remember, even though we are facing a lot of crosses in our lives but at the end they produce joyful results. If we know that Jesus is the reason for our joy, He will indeed act for our own benefit, our own good.

“Sing and shout for joy for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 12).

A Mentor And A Friend - REV FR IGNATIUS HUAN (1941-2018)

On 3 December 2018, after morning Mass, I received a text message from my Clergy group about the demise of Rev Fr Ignatius Huan Kin Kwang, a priest from the Melaka-Johor Diocese of Malaysia. I was saddened by the news, but I understood that he was cancer stricken suffered very much as a result, for a year, and now his suffering has ended. He returned to the Lord at 3.28am on 3 December 2018, which is also the feast of Saint Francis Xavier.

Fr Ignatius was born on 23 November 1941. Prior to joining the seminary, he was a secondary school Science teacher in Segamat and Kulai, Johor. He started his seminary formation when he was 35 years old, and was ordained as a priest on 28 March 1985. After serving for a couple of years in the Melaka-Johor Diocese, he was sent to further his studies, in Rome.

Upon completing his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in Rome, Fr Ignatius was assigned to teach Spirituality and Psycho-Spirituality at the College General Major Seminary, Penang in 1995. He was also appointed as an Initiation Year Director (1stYear) for my class, during my first year in the seminary. He was a professor and Spiritual Director of College General Major Seminary in Penang (1995-2007) and St Francis Xavier Major Seminary in Singapore (2008-2010).

During my seminary life, I had a personal Spiritual Father, but I met with Fr Ignatius for spiritual direction and advice, at least two or three times a month. While I was completing my eight-year journey in the seminary, we established a relationship of mutual respect and appreciation, especially as I was the only one who survived the 1995 batch, while four other classmates dropped out within the first three years. Fr Ignatius was a source of guidance, as he mentored in the seminary.

When I was ministering in Kuantan and Terengganu, I was going through a tough time in my priesthood. I drove to Penang to seek spiritual directions from Fr Ignatius and I spent three days in silent retreat staying in the College General. Fr Ignatius told me that I was facing a mid-life crisis and he assisted and enlightened my priesthood and my life’s journey. He also recommended books for my spiritual reading and they were really helpful in my soul-searching.

The last time I met Fr Ignatius was during our Malaysian Clergy Convention in Plentong, Johor in July 2018. During this convention I purchased a copy of his book “The Mass: We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe”published in 2018. Eventhough I have not started reading it, the book is precious to me because Fr Ignatius signed and wrote on it, “Dear George Packia, Shalom, by Huan”, dated 18 July 2018.

Fr Ignatius always showed special affection for people. Everyone looked up to him because of his simplicity. He spent most of his time praying, reading, preparing lectures, sessions and formations. He valued time and spent most of his priestly ministry lecturing in the seminaries forming priests. He also directed many priests, religious, seminarians and lay people through retreats and formations. He was always available if anyone wanted to meet him for spiritual guidance. He was a great preacher. 

There were almost 60 bishops and priests from Peninsula Malaysia and Singapore who attended his funeral on Wednesday, 5 December 2018 at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Johor Bharu. He will be missed dearly and he will never be forgotten. May God rest his soul in peace.

REPENT, GET READY AND BE PREPARED

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,” (Luke 1:4).

John Baptist’s message today, “Repent!” He is asking the people of his time, and us as well, to “repent, get ready, prepare the way of the Lord.” 

How do we prepare to meet our God? We face sins and we need to repent from sins. Repentance is not a once in a lifetime event, but through our daily action to stay closer with God.

A spiritual preparation is necessary for the coming of Jesus into our hearts. Sins need to be made clean by repentance. “Winding roads” and “rough ways” need to be “made straight” and “made smooth.” It is also our work in Advent, a season for our own preparation as we await the coming of Jesus this Christmas.

Advent reminds of our need for spiritual preparation in the midst of our busyness with decorating our homes, shopping for Christmas gifts and planning parties. 

Advent can be the time when we, as individuals, as a family of God, should turn away from our sins and balance our busy schedules with prayers, mediation and reflection because it allows us to rise up in our hearts. 

“The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.” (Ps 126)

CARRYING OUT THE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST

“It’s time for Christmas shopping!” - this comes to mind the moment we enter into the season of Advent. Advent is “a time of vigilant waiting, conversion and of hope.”The next couple of weeks we will be waiting for the coming of Jesus once again into our hearts and our homes on Christmas Day, and also prepare for His final glorious coming on Judgment Day. 

To welcome the mystery of the Word Incarnate (cf. John 1:1) and to incarnate it in our lives this Christmas, we need to have conversion of our hearts. We ought to tune our mind and heart to live and re-live the spirit of Advent, hoping the Lord will bestow His grace upon us, as we grow in holiness and peace. To come to the true meaning of Christmas - the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus, we should spend time in pray, meditation and daily reading of Scripture throughout Advent. As we are striving to be closer to Jesus, may His Grace free us from sins and from its evil consequences. May the New liturgical year and Advent bring many blessings and graces to you and your families.

To prepare for the new liturgical year 2018/2019, twelve of us from various head of ministries, came together on Saturday, 24 November 2018 to revise our parish mission statements and pastoral priorities. We began with a silent adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour before entering into our discussions and sharing.

First, we discuss why the Church wants the New Evangelisation? The word Evangelisation has a similar meaning to missionary efforts in proclaiming Jesus to everyone. The term New Evangelisation was first used by Saint Pope John Paul II, when he was addressing the Latin American Bishops in 1983. He invited every Christian to make known Christ and His Gospel to everyone, to the baptised who have lost the sense of faith and those who live a life far detached from Christ and His Church.

In the year of Jubilee 2000, Saint John Paul challenged the Church to leave behind the shallow waters by not just maintaining the Church institution, but to go to the deeper waters of Evangelisation. We, as a Church, are invited today to “put into the deep” or Duc in Altum, and lower our nets for more catch (Luke 5:4), which means to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ to every corner of the world and to every culture.

Dear Parishioners, I hope you still remember our parish vision for the year 2018-2020, which is “Committing Ourselves to New Evangelisation” and our parish pastoral priority for the year 2019, which will be on Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue (EIRD). Our discussion on our pastoral priority for 2019 focuses on EIRD and the issues, which arise with our fellow brethren from other churches and people of other faiths as well. Next, how can we guide our various ministries, clusters and parish community and what are the events we may think of, in order to achieve our vision and mission? 

Hence, we want each parishioner to build respectful relationships with everyone, get in touch with each other in the parish and with those whom have distance themselves from our faith, and to communicate with people of other faiths for the common good of all. Let’s work together to set a path of love and fraternity, by promoting ecumenical and inter-faith harmony, mutual understanding and friendship. The Holy Spirit will guide us on our journey, as we work towards our vision and mission in the coming year, 2019.

VISION: COMMITTING OURSELVES TO NEW EVANGELISATION

MISSION: As disciples of hope, we, the Parishioners of Saint Joseph’s Church, commit into the spirit of New Evangelisation by building friendship with EVERYONE, including people of other faiths, respectfully and joyfully

RESET OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE

Advent starts a new liturgical year inviting us to deepen our spiritual perspectives and closeness with God. Advent can be a season of healing through deeper awareness that the Child Jesus desires to be born anew in us once again. Advent is an opportunity to renew our commitment to Christ as Lord of our life.

In preparing for Christmas we have four weeks in Advent season to reset our spiritual life. We worry about the sin of others rather than our own sin.With Christ, we can live in safety, grow in holiness and be prepared for the Christmas. Advent is considered a penitential time with an opportunity to turn away from any darkness of sins in our lives. It is the coming of Christ as the light of the world that dispels our darkness of sins.

Advent gives us a fresh start and we shall use the season wisely.Silence, prayer, Eucharist, Confession and reading the scripturecan lead us to inner healing. Let us prepare well that our joy may be complete when we receive our newborn King, and celebrate His birth on Christmas Day.

“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul,” (Ps 25).