STAY AT HOME AND STAY FIRM WITH THE LORD

When we began the season of Lent 2020, the Church reminded us about the sacred 40 days of the Liturgical Year when we prepare ourselves for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery – Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. However, since the Coronavirus outbreak, many activities, events and Masses have been suspended in our churches. Initially, we were just instructed and recommended to remove the Holy water at every entrance of the Church, sanitise our hands, and not shake hands during the greeting of peace. All these were to safeguard us against this virus. Unfortunately, as time went by, the World Health Organisation (WHO), government leaders, researchers and medical professionals have ordered us to stay at home, practice good hygiene and social distancing in order to reduce the possibility of contracting the Coronavirus.

Since 14 March 2020 and after the 2nd Sunday of Lent, the Church suspended all public Masses following the Movement Control Order (MCO) which was implemented on 18 March 2020. Now, the MCO has been extended till 14 April 2020 due to the increase in the number of Coronavirus cases in our country.

All of us felt disappointed when the extension of the MCO was announced, more so after reading the Pastoral Letter from the Catholic Bishops of Malaysia dated 25 March 2020, wherein we were informed of the suspension of the Holy Week and Easter Triduum celebrations, amongst other matters. We have never experienced the suspension of the most solemn and glorious celebration of the Church in our lifetime thus far. It is the heart of the Catholic Church’s celebration and I ask myself - how could this happen to our faith?

I would like to pen down some of my thoughts and reflections, which were also echoed by various researchers, spiritual and political leaders, medical professionals, entrepreneurs, etc. In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, the whole world is repeatedly pleading with us to lockdown, distance ourselves from others, to stay at home, to stay safe and healthy, etc. When we look at the current COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world, it makes us scared, anxious and heartbroken. The number of infected people and deaths due to the virus is skyrocketing all over the world. We ask ourselves - what is happening? Why is God silent?

The whole world was moving ahead so rapidly but all of a sudden, everything came to a complete halt. Ever since the pandemic occurred, all cities and towns have shut down their activities and enforced lockdowns. National leaders, social media, medical professionals and even random people are reminding us repeatedly to stay at home, maintain social distancing, isolation, as well as self-quarantine, so as to be safe and healthy. When we spiritualise these keywords – lockdown, social distancing, stay at home and stay safe and healthy - surely these will help us to stay connected with God and with our inner selves, so that we may experience a spiritually and a physically healthy life. But why do we find it so difficult to strictly follow these basic rules as required under the MCO, especially staying at home and keeping a distance from one another? Looking at the situation surrounding us now, it is expected that the situation will be worse by the middle of April. Is God warning humanity? 

All this while we have been driven by modern culture, science and technology. We have mis-used and abused our planet and all its resources. Since the beginning of 2020, God has been trying to teach humanity something through this Coronavirus pandemic. In the midst of our busy lives and our preoccupation with worldly matters, we have forgotten that God is in the midst of all this. Perhaps, this pandemic is an ‘interval’ period for us to be less self-indulgent and instead, it is meant for us to love and serve those around us.

Perhaps we have lost our human values due to selfishness, greed, egotism and  materialism. Perhaps we have neglected our family, resulting in breakdowns and social problems. During this interval period, we should all be more accountable and responsible for the choices we make. We should make a new resolution to respect Mother Earth and its inhabitants, especially to treat the people around us with love and compassion. Let’s remember that nothing is permanent in this world and we will be tested so that we “may discern for ourselves what is the Will of God – what is good and acceptable and mature,” (cf. Rom 12:2).

We see with our own eyes, the “great disaster” of COVID -19, and realise that “Earth is sick.” All nations on this planet are being affected. We will be tested in this time of trial and eventually, this too shall pass. We pray for the world, especially for the researchers, medical professionals, doctors, nurses and health care workers who tirelessly face this battle head on. May they know our deep gratitude for all they are doing to heal those who are affected by the Coronavirus. May the Lord bless them in these challenging days. Heavenly Father, “Send forth Your Spirit and renew the face of the Earth,” (Ps 104:30).

JOY AND CELEBRATION

In preparation for the Paschal Mystery, the 5th Sunday of Lent brings us to the story of the Raising of Lazarus (Jn 11:1-45) from the dead. Lazarus is a brother of Martha and Mary. Lazarus dies. By the time the Lord comes to Bethany, Lazarus has already been in the tomb for four days. When Martha and Mary met the Lord, they say, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Jesus says, “I Am the Resurrection and the Life” and He affirms that there is life beyond the grave because He has won the victory over death. He is the Life because He leads us to life eternal and gives us the hope for a life in communion with God.

We cannot stay in our tomb of sin and destruction. We need to come out and be loosened from spiritual bondage – jealousy, greedy, anger, hatred, hurt, laziness, etc. so that we may set our path on the discipleship. We need to hold our faith firm in Jesus’ Word and His promises of the resurrection and to understand the reality of death.

Since the Coronavirus outbreak, we are living in a time of uncertainty and crisis. Every day the death toll of COVID-19 is arising throughout the world. It is a time for us to pray, encourage and support one another as we stay at home and keep the social distancing orders at this time of trials. We hope this will pass soon and “joy and celebration” will return. Amen!

PRAY FOR JOY AND CELEBRATION TO RETURN

On Thursday, 19 March 2020, the Church celebrated the Solemnity of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Catholic Bishops of Peninsular Malaysia had designated this day as a day of prayer and fasting, beseeching St Joseph’s intercession and God’s intervention for an end to Coronavirus epidemic (Pastoral Letter, 12 March 2020). Some of you may wonder why the Church in Peninsular Malaysia designated this particular day as a day of prayer and fasting?

Plagues have a long history in Europe and Asia. When the plague (Black Death) devastated Europe from 1347-1348, one third of Europe’s population was estimated to have been killed in villages and towns. After that, there were a series of major pandemics in the 16th and 17th centuries (Black Plague) while a third pandemic (Bubonic Plague) occurred at the end of 19th century in Yunnan, China and India, with more than 12 million deaths. These were the worst catastrophes recorded in history.

During these times of crisis, the Catholic Church repeatedly turned to St Joseph, the Protector of the Church, for his intercession. The Church turned to St Joseph for the need of prayer during the pandemics because he has shown to be a powerful intercessor. This information about St Joseph is a new discovery for me, that he is seen as a great intercessor for plague victims. This is also the reason the Church in Peninsular Malaysia invites the faithful to pray and fast on 19 March 2020, so that St Joseph will intercede for the protection of the whole world during this current Coronavirus epidemic. We pray that he will intercede on our behalf, all our petitions, asking Jesus Christ to have mercy on us all, and keep up safe from the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19, as well as for the discovery of a cure and for the protection of individuals who are sick.

On 11 March 2020, the Holy Father prayed to Mother Mary, “Health of the Sick” for all hospital personnel, doctors, nurses, volunteers, for those who are suffering, and an end to the COVID pandemic. He composed a prayer to Mary during the coronavirus pandemic. Since the suspension of Masses in our Catholic Churches, I recite this prayer regularly. I have also placed a copy of this prayer - in three languages - at the sanctuary. In this prayer, the Holy Father said, “as you did at Cana of Galilee, we may return to joy and celebration after this moment of trial.” This phrase has really touched me and I just pray that we will return to a normal routine of life after this moment of Covid-19 trial.

As I reflect on this phrase, which echoes the first miracle at the wedding at Cana of Galilee, (Jn 2: 1-12), the newly wedded couple ran out of wine on their auspicious day. Seeing the difficult situation, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “they have no wine.” Jesus then changed water into wine and everyone was surprised to taste such good wine at the wedding celebration – “you have saved the best till now”. When the newly married couple was facing a difficult situation, through Mary’s request, Jesus turned a chaotic situation into a joyful one.

Today, we get updates of the gradual rise in confirmed Coronavirus cases and deaths caused by the virus. Due to this, our routine life has become irregular as we have been issued a Restricted Movement Order (RMO) till 31 March 2020. When will this pandemic end? Everyone just hopes and prays that “joy and celebration may return after this moment of trial.”

Catholics in various parts of the world are just waiting to return to their churches in order to celebrate the Eucharist, as soon as the suspension of Masses in the Church is lifted. Looking at the scenario now, the Coronavirus epidemic may not even allow us to return to our churches for the Easter or Paschal Triduumcelebration. However, we continue to seek the intercession of St Joseph and Mother Mary, to end this epidemic 

PRAYER TO MARY DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

O Mary, you always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the cross took part in Jesus' pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of the Roman People,
know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to celebrate
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Hail Mary, Health of the Sick, pray for us.

St Joseph, hope of the Sick, pray for us.

RECOGNISING OUR SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS

This Sunday is known as “Laetare Sunday” and the theme is on hope and rejoice that Easter is near. In our Gospel ( John 9:1-41) speaks about a man who has been physically blind from his birth and Jesus takes this opportunity to heal the blind man.

Among all the five senses, sight is most essential to us. When we lose our sight of God in relationship with Him, our life becomes devastated. We become spiritually and morally blind. Our heart and soul become blinded.

We are spiritually blind by our anger, prejudices, self-interest, gossip, greed, etc. Sin can be the essential cause of our spiritual blindness and it is a major stumbling block in our spiritual journey. Our interior lives has become harden heart and we are unable to see goodness in us. We become like the Pharisees who refuse to see the power and goodness in Jesus.

On this 4^th Sunday of Lent, Jesus invites us to take a closer look at those areas of our lives that we have failed to recognise our spiritual blindness. 

Let Jesus enlighten our spiritual blindness as we turn our sight to Him that He will grant us new sights and insights as well.

“The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” (Ps 23).

KEEPING OUR FAITH FIRM THROUGH TRIALS

Easter is only four weeks away. However, everyone seems to be more concerned about the current Coronavirus pandemic and also the “backdoor government” that creeped in un-democratically to govern our nation. Personally, I am upset over this undemocratic party politics as they have done a great injustice to all voters of General Election 14. Unfortunately, life has to move on with all this political drama – until the next elections, that is. 

What is currently most troubling in the minds of the people is the COVID-19 virus outbreak. It has affected every nation and is the fastest-spreading virus detected thus far this century. It is shocking and scary when we look at the tremendous increase in cases throughout the world. It has wobbled global economies, affecting the travel, tourism, hotel industries, as well bringing disruption to large gatherings, conferences, meetings, offices and also places of worship.

For the time being, all Weekend and Weekday Masses beginning 14 & 15 March 2020 until 29 March 2020 will be suspended. On 12 March 2020, the Catholic Bishops of Peninsular Malaysia officially announced that all Catholics are exempted from fulfilling their Sunday obligation of attending Mass during this period due to the COVID-19 virus. 

Due to the risks faced and spike in the number of COVID-19 cases reported thus far, the Church has decided to cancel or postpone all spiritual formations and events. In our Parish, we have temporarily called-off several important formations and activities such as our 10 Weeks ALPHA and ALPHA Away Weekend Program, Tamil / English formations, RCIA Weekly programs, etc. For us Catholics, it appears that the weeks ahead are going to be rather  unsettling!

In a couple of weeks, we will be entering Holy Week. How it is going to be? As we continue on our Lenten journey towards Easter – with the suspension of Weekend and Weekday Masses, Penitential Services, and many other rituals – we should still get ourselves spiritually prepared. We should read and reflect on the daily readings given by the Church. The Lenten readings are different from Ordinary Time readings, where they progress each day according to the books or prophets or epistles as the 1^st or 2^nd readings. The Gospel progresses consecutively according to the A, B or C circles. During Lent, we notice the readings tend to jump from various books or prophets or epistle and we may be able to see patterns which lead us towards the Paschal Mystery – Jesus’ Passion, death and resurrection. The readings prepare us for our repentance and conversion.

While everyone anticipates that the number of COVID-19 cases will increase, we, Malaysians should give many thanks to our hospital personnel, doctors, nurses, health workers and volunteers who are working tirelessly, doing their best to help and protect everyone from this epidemic. These past weeks, the Catholic Church has continuously prayed for all these people and for those who are suffering from this virus.

On Thursday, 19 March 2020, the Church will celebrate the feast of St Joseph, the husband of Blessed Virgin Mary. He is also known as “a good and upright man”, inviting us to place our trust in God and not be afraid (Luke 12:5). 

From this weekend (14 -15 March) until the end of March 2020, the statutes of St Joseph and Mother Mary will be placed at the sanctuary in our Church. During this period of suspension of Masses and throughout the remaining days of Lent, we invite parishioners to come individually or with the family to venerate and pray to Mother Mary and St. Joseph for protection and healing from this COVID-19 crisis. 

 (This Prayer will be placed at the Sanctuary for your meditation)

Prayer to Mary during coronavirus pandemic

O Mary, you always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the Cross took part in Jesus' pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of the Roman People,
know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to feasting
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Under your protection, we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God. Do not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin. (Pope Francis, March 2020)

A SPIRITUAL THIRST

Jesus meets a woman at the well in Samaria, (Jn 4:5-42). This Samaritan woman was an outcast and she approaches Jesus asking Him to quench her thirst with the Living Water.

Jesus treats the Samaritan woman with great respect and evangelises her. When her real thirst been quenched, she in turns go out to tell others of her encounter with Jesus.

Jesus wants to give her the “living water” that comes from faith in Him. Living water – water that brings life and water that brings long lasting growth in our lives.

Jesus represents as a Living Water which brings us life and He alone can transcend and heal us. He is the only way to have our thirst satisfied eternally. He offers us living water but it is not going to be satisfying to us unless we confess and repent of our sin and desire for forgiveness.

Living water can be obtained only when we recognise that we are spiritually thirsty. During this Lent, let us look at ourselves as sinners. Let Jesus Christ meet our need for forgiveness, for fulfilment, and for a fresh start in life.

“If today you hear His Voice, harden not your hearts,” (Psalm 95).

https://www.stjosephsentul.org/keeping-our-faith-firm-through-trials-2/

LIVING LENT FAITHFULLY AND FRUITFULLY

Every year, when we begin the season of Lent, we are encouraged to draw closer to God by giving up all our negativity. Just before Ash Wednesday, most of us would have decided to be fully committed during the 40 days of Lent, by getting rid of our bad habits.

When we began Lent this year, our celebrations were dampened with the threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The virus slowed us down and diverted us a little from our focus on Lent. Right now, in Malaysia, new cases are emerging day by day. It is a nationwide threat, so the Churches in Malaysia and Singapore have come out with a few pastoral implications and guidelines to prevent the spreading the COVID-19 virus, by limiting our contact with each other.

On Ash Wednesday, instead of being marked with the blessed ash on our foreheads, it was sprinkled on the crown of our heads. Some may have found it difficult to accept this way of receiving the ash, because they wanted the ashes to be visible to others. Nevertheless, this is how the blessed ashes were also administered in Rome. Apart from that, Holy Water has been removed from all the entrances of the church and Holy Communion is only received by hand. This made a few people feel uncomfortable, as it was different from their traditional practices.

In relation to COVID-19, the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur has also immediately suspended Penitential Services in all churches and Mass centers within the Archdiocese, and the faithful have been advised not to attend Mass if they show signs and symptoms of the virus. Although we have been regularly carrying out our confession these past years during Advent and Lent, this year the changes due to the threat of the virus, has somewhat made it a struggle to find our state of grace. Sin has become habitual and we worry how God is going to free us from sin and lead us into the Paschal Mystery celebration – Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. If this viral infection prolongs, many might ask the question - will I celebrate Easter worthily and will I receive the mercy of God before the Easter celebration?

I still remember during my first year as a priest, while serving in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the Church faced a similar situation when the SARS-CoV affected many people in 2003. I had encountered an eight-year-old girl who died due to transmission of SARS and I presided at her funeral Mass. SARS was spreading nationwide and it happened during the Lent season too. Even at that time the Church took certain precautions by recommending a few pastoral implications and guidelines. Of course, the older generation was not happy when the Church brought certain restrictions to their traditions and beliefs with regards to not placing Holy Water at the respective church entrances, not shaking hands as the sign of peace, receiving the Holy Communion by hand, etc.

In addition to viruses, we also face a few other challenges in the form of attacks on or criticisms of our faith in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. There were a few movies, documentaries, books, articles, lectures in colleges/universities, which have distorted our faith in Christ Jesus. I remember all these being released or distributed during the season of Lent. These challenges try to shake our faith in Christ by challenging our belief, and I am sure there will be many more issues and circumstances which will give cause to tarnish, bring about confusion and create obstacles for us to practice our faith in Christ.

However, without all these hindrances, obstacles, difficulties, struggles and challenges, our faith would not make sense. Nothing will ever stop us from growing in our faith. When we persevere in faith, we will become more compassionate and stronger in our believe in Christ Jesus. During this time of Lent, be assured that the Lord goes before us. Trust in Him wholeheartedly and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him. He will be with you and make your paths straight (cf. Prov 3: 5 & 6). Let’s live our Lent faithfully and fruitfully!

GROW AND GLOW IN THE SPIRIT

Jesus climbed up a mountain. He took three of His friends – Peter, James and John. They spent time in the presence of God praying. The Apostles received a privileged transfiguration of Jesus’ divinity within His humanity. Jesus’s clothes became dazzlingly white on the top of the Mount of Transfiguration, (Mt 17: 1-9).

On this Second Sunday of Lent, we should begin to reflect God’s Glory. Jesus’ holiness and His divinity radiated from within Him. He didn’t keep secret His glory. He let it shine. Through His glory He gave His Apostles new understandings of Him as God.

It is really worth it to take time regularly to be with God. After years of spending time in God’s presence – praying, going to Church for Mass, being involved in various ministries in the Church, and with all our spiritual experiences, now is the time that they should have effects on us.

May this Lent we able to see the glory of God and all our spiritual experiences in our mission works so that His glory will glow and grow inwardly and outwardly.

“LORD, let Your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in You” (PS 33).