In light of the new Covid19 clusters that have emerged throughout the country following the return of people to the Peninsular after the Sabah polls, our Parish has decided to put on hold all activities and programs scheduled for October 2020. The recent spike in the number of cases in Peninsular Malaysia is alarming, with the daily toll of new cases breaching the 3-digit mark.
Activities that will be put on hold include our Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) meeting, the resumption of in-person Catechism classes which was scheduled to start this weekend (4 October) as well as the ALPHA program.
On 13 September, the Form 5 students preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, participated in an online course on the Theology of the Body (TOB). They have also been actively participating in a Spiritual Recollection, theme: “A Call to Translate Faith into Action.” These recollections, conducted in-person by Ms Cheryle Lee over two Sundays thus far (20 and 27 September) have been beneficial to the students, as they journey towards receiving their Sacrament of Confirmation on 11 October 2020 at 2.00 pm. A third session scheduled to be held on 4 October 2020 has been put on hold due to the COVID-19 situation. The Parish has scheduled a Post-Confirmation session, with the theme, “Success and Significance of Life” to be held on the day when we present them with their certificates.
The month of October is also referred to as the month of Rosary and Mission. During this month, Catholics are invited to dedicate ourselves in praying the Rosary and to recommit ourselves on a mission of sharing the Good News of Christ Jesus with those around us. We invite BECs, families and individuals to pray the rosary together or individually. For your information, the weekday morning Mass participants recite the Rosary immediately after Mass at 7.10am, before leaving for home or office, and you are welcome to join this session. All parishioners are encouraged to keep the spirit of praying the Rosary throughout this month, especially for the COVID-19 pandemic to end. If everything goes well and as planned, we will have a Thanksgiving Mass on 31 October to honour of the Month of Rosary.
This year, World Mission Sunday will be celebrated on 18 October 2020. The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has chosen a theme in response to God’s question, “Whom Shall I Send” and expects us to respond with a generous and convincing heart: “Here am I, send me,” (Is 6: 8). Starting this month, we invite our children to participate in the works of mission – “Children Helping Children” by creating a special collection box at home. We encourage them to start saving their daily pocket money, to help poor children who are in need of help. The boxes may be returned to the Church during the Christmas season or on the Feast of the Solemnity of Epiphany 2021. Last year we collected approximately RM2500 from our children. We encourage all the children in our Parish to fully participate in this act of kindness and generosity.
Just to remind you once again, our Parish’s vision theme for the years 1998-2020 is Committing Ourselves into New Evangelisation, and the mission theme for this year is Embracing the 5Ls (Last, Lost, Least, Little and Lonely). Since the start of the MCO, we have not done much, however as missionary disciples of Christ, we must somehow strive to carry out our mission with zeal, in any little way possible.
Most Blessed Virgin Mary, who was a missionary disciple of her Son, Jesus Christ, will continue to pray for us as we fully commit ourselves in the work of mission in our home and work place. We also pray to St Theresa of Lisieux - who is a Patroness of all Missionaries and whose feast day we celebrated on 1 October 2020 – that she will intercede for our mission works throughout this month. Let us respond with a generous and convincing heart to the message of Christ in words and actions, “Here I am, Lord, send me!”
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