INSTRUMENTS OF THE WORD OF GOD

Pope Francis invites the Church to observe the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time each year as the Sunday of the Word of God like our annual “Bible Sunday”. When the Holy Father published his Apostolic Letter, Mottu Proprio “Aperuit Illis” (AI) on 30 September 2019 (on the inauguration of the 1600^th anniversary of St Jerome’s death), he invited every Catholic “to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God,” (AI, no. 3). The Church will celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God on 26 January 2020 with the theme from Luke’s Gospel (24:45), which describes how the disciples on the Road to Emmaus encountered the Risen Lord and how “He opened (Aperuit) their minds to understand the Scriptures.” As we reflect on this text, we realise that without the Risen Lord, it is impossible for us “to understand Scripture in depth” (AI, no. 1).

The Universal Church will celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God worldwide, to give all Catholics an opportunity to “concentrate on the great value that the Word of God occupies in its daily existence” and “the inexhaustible richness contained in the constant dialogues between the Lord and His people,” (AI, no.2). The Church encourages Bible reading among Catholics regularly and prayerfully, and to listen to the Word attentively. The Bible is not the privilege of a few but the Church emphasises that every home and every individual should possess at least a copy of the Bible, (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, Vatican Council II, 1965). After 55 years of celebrating this dogma on the Divine Revelation, Pope Francis wants to “stimulate all Christians not to just place the Bible on a shelf as one of many books,  perhaps filled with dust - but as an instrument that awakes our faith,” (AI, no.4).

When we read the familiar text on the road to Emmaus, the scene of the Risen Lord and the disciples demonstrates “the unbreakable bond  between Sacred Scripture and the Eucharist”. The Holy Father reminds us that the Sunday of the Word of God should not just be celebrated as a yearly event but as an urgent need for us “to grow in our knowledge and love of the scriptures and of the Risen Lord, who continues to speak his word and to break bread in the community of  believers,” (AI, no. 8). In the last paragraph, the Holy Father hopes that the Sunday of the Word of God will help every one of us “grow in religious and intimate familiarity with the Sacred Scriptures,” (AI, no. 15).

The Holy Father has also highlighted the responsibilities of pastors, preachers and catechists “to read the Bible often,” “to take time to pray” and “meditate the sacred text” so that one “can speak from the heart and thus reach the hearts of those who hear us, conveying what is essential and capable of bearing fruit.” (AI, no. 5).

The Holy Father urges us to read the Bible using the “lectio divina” method - to pray daily with the Sacred Scriptures (AI, no. 13), share the word of God with others (AI, no. 12), listen to the Word and practice the mercy (AI, no. 13). Mother Mary kept the word and witnessed it in her life - humbly, faithfully, hopefully and lovingly (AI, no. 15). On this  Sunday of the Word of God, let’s make Scripture a part of our everyday lives and renew our commitment to be living instruments of transmission of the Word of God.

“Your word, O Lord, is lamp for my feet and a light for my path” (Ps 119:105).

BEING DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

Today is the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, now the Pope Francis has dedicated to the Sunday of the Word of God.

Jesus began His ministry teaching, preaching and healing. Jesus wanted to begin His preaching ministry:  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand,” (Matt 4:17). This is the voice that calls us to be back to God.

There are many voices in this world, telling us to go different ways and choose different things but God’s voice comes from the Word of God. On this Sunday of the Word of God is calling us to come to Him to do His will. His Word is calling to be His disciples and to bring His love and His light into this dark world.

What kind of disciples are we? Are we truly following Jesus? 

We seek to understand and apply God’s Word in our daily lives as we love and serve God by loving and serving each other.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (Ps 26)

GROWING IN UNITY AND COMMUNION

The Christmas season has passed with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and has left us with sweet and perhaps some bitter memories.  Now, we are in the Sundays of Ordinary Time, and have two interesting cultural and traditional celebrations to revel in – Ponggal (harvest festival) and the Lunar New Year.

Eventhough Ponggal was actually celebrated from 14-17 January 2020, our Parish Tamil-speaking community will be celebrating it this Sunday (19 January) during the 7am Mass (Tamil). The Tamil Apostolate will be coordinating a few traditional games at the Parish courtyard after the 7.00am mass, afterwhich, they will serve a vegetarian banana leaf lunch to all Parishioners. Our Tamil-speaking community celebrates Ponggal with the church community annually, to keep their bond of identity, language and culture. Ponggal is a cultural celebration of thanksgiving to God for the fruits of the harvest, similar to the Gawai and Keamatan festivals in East Malaysia.

On Saturday, 24 January 2020, we will celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year – the Year of the Rat, and during the 9am Mass (English), we will have the blessing of oranges and distribution of angpows (red envelopes) to those present on that day. We will also have a lion dance and the lighting of firecrackers after Mass. The Lunar New Year is celebrated culturally in our Catholic Church with a Mass of thanksgiving and blessing, as well as fellowship. 

Traditionally, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated from 18–25 January 2020, between the feasts of St Peter’s Chair and St Paul’s Conversion. The theme this year is “They Showed Us Unusual Kindness…” (Acts 28:2) which instills the importance of unusual kindness in our dialogues within the church, and to show unusual kindness towards one another so that we grow in unity.

The Universal Church has been observing the Week of Prayer since 1908, to celebrate our diversity with the ecumenical churches and to be faithful to Jesus’ call for unity – “That They May Be One, just as, Father, you are in Me and I am in You,” (John 17:21). The Church invites all Christian leaders to reunite and to bring together “the diversity and separated church members, into one Body of Christ” and “to be loyal to Christ and His Church.” The Church hopes that all Christians have the right attitude and bear in mind that “The Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church” and is governed by the successor of St. Peter, (Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution of the Church - Lumen Gentium, no. 8), which we profess in the Creed as “One, Holy, Apostolic and Catholic Church”.  

During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we will continue to pray that we belong to “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism,” (Eph 4:5) and One Church (One Body of Christ). The Universal Church encourages us to make every effort in persevering unity to experience one baptism, to share the one faith in Jesus, to serve the One Lord Jesus Christ and to keep the four inseparable marks of the Church – “One, Holy, Apostolic and Catholic Church” in our hearts.

Let us strive for “unity in diversity” as we share prayers, reflections and fellowship among Christians, to enhance our relationship as we witness Christ in our lives. I invite all Parishioners to offer at least one decade of Rosary each day for the eight days (18-25 January) to show our “unusual kindness” towards the members of other churches through our words and deeds, so that it leads us to grow in communion.  

             

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD

John the Baptist says “Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29), as he points out Jesus to his disciples.

“Behold” means taking a deep, long reflective and contemplative look at the Consecrated Host. "To “take away” means to free and to pardon our sins. Jesus, the Lamb of God, took away our sins by willingly sacrificed his life on the Cross. We should behold the Lamb of God and ask him to take away our sins and lead us not into temptations.

Through our Baptism, we have promised ourselves closely bound to Jesus Christ and carefully listen to Jesus as we travel on our life journey. The Lord Jesus is constantly speaking to us, trying to guide us on our journey. Our first task is to listen deeply, to discern and response to His call for a change in how we live, or in how we think and behave.

As we are baptised into Jesus, by water and the Holy Spirit and as God’s Servant we should embrace His will unswervingly and say: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do Your will,” (Ps 39).

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RENEWING OUR COMMITMENT TO FAITH EDUCATION

On Sunday, 5 January 2020, Catechism for the year 2020 resumed in most parishes. In our Parish of St. Joseph, faith education session for our catechism children commenced with a 30-minute adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by Benediction at Dewan Monsignor Anthony Thomas after the 9.00 am mass. Following this, we had the renewal of commitment and commissioning of our catechists and RCIA facilitators for the year 2020. 

The commissioning for catechists, parents and students is usually carried out on Catechetical Sunday, which falls on the 3rd Sunday of January. However, for the past two years, in our Parish, we have carried out the commissioning on the first Sunday of the year, – on the day of registration for catechism classes and a special blessing given to all of them before the registration. The commissioning is conducted at this time instead of during a weekend mass as all catechists, facilitators, parents and students are present at the hall.

On behalf of the catechists, I would like to thank all of you once again, especially the parents of our catechism students for recommitting to sending your children regularly and faithfully to catechism classes. As primary faith educators, I hope you take on your role seriously and act responsibly through your words and actions within the community and at home. We also expect parents to send children to their classes early so that the kids will have time to settle in. Send your children to class with warm smiles and trace their foreheads with the Sign of the Cross before leaving them at their respective classes. If possible, greet the other children and teachers too with a smile as well because after all, we are one parish community, one family.

The same goes for the children – you too have your role to play in your faith formation. Last Sunday, you renewed your commitment with your parents and teachers. First and foremost, you promised to be present and punctual for your classes. Punctuality is a habit of doing things at the right time and it is a key to success in your studies and in your life. If you are punctual and disciplined students, you will earn the respect, acceptance and admiration of your peers, teachers as well as your parents. I want you to be present on time so that you will not miss any part of the lesson.

I was happy to see all the catechists, facilitators, parents and students come forward to renew their commitment once again. I am sure that there will be many challenges ahead, but let us stand firm together in our faith in Christ and make a real, lasting impact in our own lives as we grow in holistic spirituality. The start of a new year is a good time for us to reflect on how Jesus grew in wisdom, in age, in stature, in maturity, in favour with God and people, (cf. Luke 2:52), so that one day when we meet the Lord, we will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” (Matt 25:23).

This year, our Parish will be more focused on the spiritual growth of every individual. For the first quarter of the year, we have prepared an Alpha programme for adults who want to dive deeper into their Catholic faith. This programme will be a tool for you to become evangelisers. It is a series of sessions over 9 consecutive Saturdays and a weekend away from the Parish. I hope you will make use of this opportunity to deepen your faith as you continue to commit yourselves into New Evangelisation. We encourage every member of our Parish to participate. May our spiritual formations and faith education help us to grow stronger in our Catholic faith and in our lives through prayer, scripture reading, Holy Eucharist and fellowship with one another (cf. Acts 2:42).

NEW BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS

The holidays have come to end. Most of you would have already gone back to work and school children have already started their new academic year on Thursday, 2 January 2020. Christmas parties too would have ended early and most likely all your Christmas cookies, finished by now.

I hope you have not taken down your Nativity Scene (crib), Christmas tree and Christmas ornaments, even though many shopping malls and shops have already put up their Chinese New Year decorations. For us, the Christmas season doesn’t end until after the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (5 January 2020) and the Baptism of the Lord (12 January 2020). Christmas time is important as it gives us a way of reflecting on what Incarnation means in our lives: “The word became Flesh, He lived among us,” (John 1:14).

The awaiting months, decade and year 2020 are at hand! We have celebrated the New Year countdown with lots of anxiety and hope that this year will be much better and brighter than previous years. Before the dawn of the New Year, we would have spent time making lists with all kinds of resolutions, although I am sure most of us will forget about them by the end of January. However, what we really need to ask ourselves is, “What is the one most important thing that I want different in my life this New Year?” Instead of cracking our heads about so many things, we need to focus on just one thing, and seek God’s help to make this progress fully and completely. If we want to progress spiritually in the next 12 months, we need to keep our spirits high with hope and aspiration - let the Psalmist’s prayer become our prayer: “O Lord give success to the work of our hands,” (Ps 90:17).

We are saddened to hear about our Parishioners from the Myanmar Zomi community who lost a mother and two sons on the first day of the year 2020. Lucy Cing Sian Huai (31yo, mother) and her two sons – Mathias Thang Sian Sang (4yo) and Philip Pau Khan Lian (2yo) died on the spot when a car hit them while they were waiting at the shoulder of the road around 8.00am in Balakong, Kajang. Her husband, David En Khen Sing (39yo) was asleep at home after returning from night duty. It is surely devastating for the husband who now grieves over the deaths of his wife and his two young sons. The family has been staying in Malaysia for almost 10 years and they were faithful in attending the Myanmar Mass on Sundays, in our Parish.

I met the husband and the Zomi community when we gathered at their home for the memorial prayers in Balakong. Once the bodies are released from the hospital mortuary, the bodies will then lie in wake at St Joseph’s funeral parlour until arrangements to repatriate the bodies to Myanmar are finalised. The leaders of the Zomi community are currently working on the relevant documentation with the Myanmar Embassy and making all other necessary arrangements for the repatriation. We will have the wake services at the parlour and the funeral Mass will be held sometime next week at the church, before sending them to the airport.

I hope our Parishioners will come together to pay their last respects and give support to the husband as well as the Zomi community. We may not know the deceased persons personally, but this tragedy and loss bring profound grief and sadness to all of us. It is not easy to accept this kind of tragic death, especially just after Christmas. Grief is so overpowering, consuming and uncontrollable.

Accepting their loss will be truly difficult and painful. The deceased will be missed and never forgotten. As a remembrance, we will display a photo of the family, which was taken on Christmas Day 2019 at our Nativity Scene, until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. After that, the photo will be hung in our Parish office. We shall continue to remember them in our prayers. We shall also continue to prayer for the Zomi community and for the deceased family members during this time of grief. May their souls rest in peace.

JESUS IS A GREATEST GIFT FOR US

Coming for Sunday Mass as a family on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord is the best way to make both real and holy our family. The Christmas story in Matthew’s gospel (Mt 2:1-12), is about the wise men came to Bethlehem after the birth of Child Jesus.

The Wise Men brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh in order to pay homage to the Child Jesus and they are so important for the entire. The Epiphany is the idea of the light of Christ coming into the world. The light of the star led the wise men to Jesus so the light of Christ lead us to His salvation.

Epiphany is a time that God calls on us to wake up and recognise the light of Christ to see that He is really the Saviour of the world. The light of salvation of Jesus is shining on us! Let the light of Christ shine in the world. Let us give Jesus the greatest gift we can, the gift of our lives, the gift of total surrender.

“All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord!

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