IS THERE A CATHOLIC WAY TO PARENT?

This weekend (24/25 Jan) 80 of our forms 4 and 5 students (from RCC and SJC) are attending a 2-day formation on the THEOLOGY OF THE BODY (TOB) at SJC Community Hall. TOB is the topic of a series of 129 lectures given by the late Pope John Paul II between 5 September, 1979 and 28      November, 1984.

IS THERE A CATHOLIC WAY TO PARENT?

“Is there an approved list of parenting methods the Church requires that we use for child rearing?”  “Certainly not!”

Does the Church tell parents exactly how many activities to let their kids participate in, or what discipline methods to choose, or how much time parents and kids need together? Of course not.

The Church never says to parents, “Parent this way.” Instead, the Church does say, As Catholic parents, you may have a unique vision of family life, and please keep that vision in mind when making decisions about parenting ,so, that vision may be fulfilled and you can be the witness the Church calls you to be.

In fact, the parenting methods we choose are actually a kind-of catechism. The way we interact with our children – even more than what we say to them – teaches them how to think about relationship, life, faith, priorities, and morality.

God gives moms and dads bodies so they can hug and hold and carry and cuddle their children so that their children can feel God’s immense love in real and tangible ways. Our children first encounter the reality of God’s love through our loving touch. The more physical we are with our kids, the more they develop the capacity to feel love and be loving.

TOB teaches that God gave us our bodies so that we could express love for one another. It isn’t enough to have warm feelings for someone. To be truly meaningful, love must be expressed with our body and experienced by another body through words, and acts of service, presence, and affection. The more bodily an expression of love is, the more senses it uses to communicate itself, the more intimate that expression of love is.

The entire point of the Gospel is loving, intimate, eternal union with God and the Communion of Saints. Think of intimacy as a unit of measure for love. TOB tells us that families are to be “Schools of Love” that help us experience, as much aspossible, the ocean of love God has for us. Catholic families are encouraged to choose those styles of relating, organising their priorities, and disciplining their children that foster the deepest level of intimacy possible.

"Let the Little Children Come to Me..."

We conducted the Sunday school registration in our Community Hall. I was very pleased to have met most of the catechism students and their parents, as I could share with them pointers on how they, the parents, should engage with their children in Faith education.

Catechism classes commence from this week onwards. So parents, don’t forget your primary obligation. As the first educators of faith, you should, by your word and example, pave the way for the salvation of the children God has entrusted to you.

Every Sunday, bring your children to be with Jesus at every Eucharistic celebration and make sure they attend the catechism classes held after mass. Please note that we have approximately 35 weeks of faith classes only in a year and so we cannot afford to be complacent about the long standing problem of absenteeism!

Each week it is your responsibility and obligation as parents, to bring them to Church, to be with God, the Blessed Virgin Mary and to praise and thank God in the company of all the angels and saints in heaven. “Let the little children come to me because as such is the kingdom of heaven,” (Mt 19:14).

To be successful and good Catholic parents, it isn’t enough just to send your children for catechism classes; you should also work towards growing in your own faith in Jesus in the Eucharist. As parents, you should not only pray for your children but also pray with your children in order to teach them how to pray. You must also strive with all your heart, mind and soul to foster mutual respect, humility, love and harmony among the children.

God bless you and your children.

It is nice to see the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes placed at the grotto again. Just to recall:

In October, 2014 we brought down the statue of Mary and replaced it with a similar looking one (new statue). It was then kept in the parish house for 2 months. After Christmas day it was sent  to a factory for repainting and touch-up works, after which it was placed in the  sanctuary of our Church for two days (January 8th and 9th). Many had a closer look and came to pray, asking for our Lady’s intercession. 

On January 10th, we re-positioned her back to the grotto site where she now stands, watching round the clock. Her eyes are now ‘opened’ and she looks impressive, majestic and serene. Seeing the statue of Mary reminds us that we have not exactly been faithful in our prayer life and that we are overdue in   making our commitment to visit her and recite the rosary at the grotto.

Prayer requests:

We invite all parishioners to pray that the Church's application for review in the Herald case, (which is to be heard in the  Federal Court on January 21st, 2015), will find favour and bring about a constructive solution for the good of the nation.

Pray for the efforts of the Church in Malaysia in its pursuit of truth and justice. 

Pray for the panel of judges who will be hearing the Review Application, that they be loyal to their oath of office in upholding the constitution.

Pray for the many people of different religious groups in our country so that with them, we may take the bold step of   reaching out to each other in friendship and fraternal love.

May the Lord continue to guide us – the Church in Malaysia, as we carry out the mission He has entrusted to us all. God bless.

The Solemnity of Christ the King

The first reading from Ezekiel talks about God as the shepherd of Israel. “As a shepherd I am going to look after my flock myself… I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice (Ez 34:16).

That’s why God raised up prophets, like Ezekiel, to warn the kings. When they failed to listen, God decided to get rid of the bad leadership, royalty and nobility by sending them to exile. 

Who is the next? Finally, God has promised to rule His people Himself. We see that this promise is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ whose kingship we celebrate today. Jesus who is our Good Shepherd lays down His life for His people.” He looks after us even today with tender love and care. There are 6 specific actions mentioned in the Gospel (i) feeding the hungry, (ii) giving drink to the thirsty, (iii) clothing the naked, (iv) sheltering the homeless, (v) visiting those in prison, and (vi) taking care of the sick. And these are the works of mercy. 

Today, it is still to some extent these works of mercy, “Out of sight, out of mind”.

Well done, my good and faithful servant!

We all have so many fine qualities given freely to us by God. They are like the talents handed by the master to his servants before he left on his trip as in the parable today (MT 25:14-30). God expects us to develop the talents and gifts. He expects us to put them maximum use for God and for the entire humanity.

The art of loving and developing of any talent requires discipline, concentration, patience and supreme concern for the mastery of the particular talent. Growing and progressing with our talents are never easy. We make progress and then fall back. But we should never give up because the end is so very worthwhile. Tensions come from dull and monotonous routine of looking after family and earning our daily living may not bring much personal fulfillment and satisfaction. When we do with enthusiasm and willing heart and God will make a way for you. In this way we can offer back to God the Father the life given to us more fulfilled and more enriched.

We should not compare our gifts with others jealously and resentfully. Each of us receives God’s gifts in different measures. Each of us born into a different family and different situation and background. But God gave sufficient to all according to our ability. The way to preserve the faith, or any our talent that God has given us, is to put it to work and make it bear fruit.