The Investiture of Pallium

This year Pope Francis changed the way in which palliums were distributed to new metropolitan Archbishops. The pallium is a liturgical vestment comprised of strips of white wool embroidered with black crosses, held together with pins and worn over the shoulders of Archbishops at solemn events (see the image above).

About 40 new archbishops traveled to Rome to receive their pallium from Pope Francis who presided over the Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica on 29 June, 2015, the feast of Ss Peter and Paul.

 The pallium symbolizes the sheep which the Good Shepherd bore on His shoulder and the bond between the Archbishops and the Pope. When worn by the Pope, the pallium signifies the fullness of his office and authority. When worn by Archbishops, it symbolises their unity with the Pope and their role as shepherds and their ties to one another and to the Pope.

Every year the Pope places the pallium around the neck of each new Archbishop, but this year the Holy Father simply blessed them and presented it to them. The Archbishops take their pallium back home to their region or Archdiocese and the imposition will be done by the papal Nuncio in the presence of the faithful as well as bishops from the neighbouring diocese.

As for our Archbishop Julian Leow, the investiture of the pallium will be held during the Mass at St John’s Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur when he is back from Rome. We may then have an opportunity to witness this rare and significant ceremony which will take place on Sunday, 2 August, 2015.

As a faith community, let us pray and join our Holy Father in his aspiration that the new Archbishops will be faithful witnesses and be men of prayer to care for the flock entrusted to them.

"Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you" (Jn 21:17).

Making Space For Others

The Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Team (PMPT) has chosen a theme for this month of June:

“Making Space For Others” 

Our vision is to Strengthen Our Faith Community and it takes everyone’s effort. When it comes to serving the Lord, we need to make space for others, to acknowledge their presence, their individuality, to regard them with kindness and compassion. Many of us find it difficult to relinquish our hold on positions, whether it is at the workplace, within the family institution or within the Church. We think that, because we have been chosen or appointed, even more, when we have been in that particular position for a long time, we can call the shots! Please think about this –     making space for others is necessary for progression.

The moment we offer our services to God, we should leave behind  all our egos, pride and selfishness at the door and take on a humble mantle. To truly support the other’s growth, we need to keep our ego out of it and create a space where others can have the opportunity to grow and learn.  So why is it that we let our pride and ego get in the way of serving our God? Are we truly serving Him or are we serving our pride and ego?

Good leaders make space for others to succeed and to bring their skills to build community. It is all right to make mistakes. We learn from our mistakes. None of us came into this world fully equipped. We should use our knowledge to teach the young blood. When they make mistakes, instead of chiding them and belittling them, we should gently guide and help them in the right direction. We need to trust the Lord and to have faith in Him. As we make space for others, we make space for God’s love and His power to reign. We make it possible for God to share the result of goodness and our good works with everyone. Making space for others involves sacrifices on our part. Let’s make that sacrifice and let the Kingdom of God grow!

Jesus: The Heart of the Family Part I & II

This week we shall recap and reflect on the “Homilies on Family” shared by “sons of our parish” during the Novena and Feast of St Joseph, the Worker  (24th April – 3rd May, 2015).

We long to live in a perfect family setting but families today are facing major challenges, trials and tests of faith. The institution of the family is in danger today. Many families are finding themselves fragmented, hurting,  depressed and in danger of breaking up. Divorce is on the rise, affecting society and the community. Family members are hurting in silence.

Why do today’s families go off-track? Some areas to ponder and re-examine:-

* Are we committed to slow down, to listen, to reflect on the Word of God, to re-examine our conscience; to take time to come together as a family to pray?
* What is our identity as a Christian family? There are times we lose our identity as children of God. We forget our Christ-centred roles as husbands and wives, parents and children to build up family, church and the community; may lead to rebellious tendencies and even separation!  * Family members find it increasingly hard to talk and to enjoy each other’s presence; not even during meal times (be it only once a week!), as the use of modern day gadgets has crept into family life, threatening to disrupt the bond and sanctity of family life.
* Lack of charity, compassion and understanding. We gossip and point out the wrongdoings within family members and neighbours to justify ourselves. It is hard to love our spouses, our children, our neighbours when we insist on being right; we react, with dire consequences!
* Married couples are not serious when it comes to marriage promises. Spouses fail to be content with the ten good qualities they see in their spouses and children and are tempted to be unfaithful.
* Many of our families do not take their faith seriously – e.g. parents of Catechism students are not serious in ensuring  proper attendance during Catechism classes; Ensuring family participation in the Eucharist will help uphold the sanctity of the family.

Today, more than ever, the Church needs “genuine Christian families” as role models and examples of Hope and Perseverance to weather these challenging times. We must stay together as a church (BEC) community rooted in Christ - for today’s family to emerge strong and purified in these trying times.

Even though there was a special grace about them, the Holy Family themselves were not perfect. They too had their share of troubled moments, doubts and    misunderstandings.  Being human, Joseph and Mary also failed in some way as parents but they remained faithful.  We can’t expect to be a perfect family, but like the Holy Family, we can pick ourselves up again and journey on.

Because of Joseph’s and Mary’s love for Jesus, they went against all odds,    suffering and persecutions and  yet lived a holy life. Let us never tire to follow in the footsteps of the Holy Family and make our families to be truly strong and holy today.


Part II:

A challenging question:  Do we agree with the title, “Jesus, the Heart of the Family”?

For many of us, going to church has become routine. Is Jesus the one attracting you to church? Why do you go to church? There’ll be many varied answers because each one has his/her own reason.

Has Jesus become personal to me, or is He just a ‘weekend Jesus’? To be in church means to be in touch with Jesus. I am living a cut-off life if I only live secure in the comfort of my home. To be fully alive in Christ, I must live within the family of Church. The challenge for     families/communities today is this – Jesus says, “If you are Mine, I want to break your walls.” I want you to make me known to all peoples around you. Let them know what you believe in, what you are prepared to give. When we begin to isolate ourselves as individual families, we cannot experience the fullness and joy of what it means to be truly family, to belong to the family of God.

Most of us do not know what Jesus said, because we are reluctant to read the Word of God. If we ignore God’s Word, then what do we live by? Is this what God called us to? We come to church but do we know what Jesus said in the Gospel, what St. Paul said in the Readings? What is Jesus asking me to do and not to do? The Word of God is meant to touch me, to re-examine my life within the family. Our religious practices have become routine and we do what we want to our satisfaction. Then, we complain: God, why are you not listening to me?  Why is it that we are resisting to read, reflect and internalize the Word of God? What is holding us back from listening and knowing God more intimately.

Vatican II says, “A family is a mini Church” – yes, we must be open to other families, to give and to receive with love. For families to find joy, Jesus must be the centre of that family. The family unit is the best institution God has created. Jesus asks: Am I there in your family? Bishop J. Fulton Sheen wrote the book, “Three To Get Married”. Is Jesus part of our good times and bad times? See what sufferings  Joseph and Mary had to go through because of their love for Jesus.

What is important is the Person whom we believe in. Do we allow Jesus to emerge as the central figure in my life? Why do we feel   perturbed when our world seems to be crumbling? We ask: Why are these things happening in my life? Where is our faith? Remember always that Jesus’ total trust and abandonment to His Father gave us salvation and new life!

We should not allow the world to tell us how to live as family.  We must allow Jesus the Word, to be Life in us and through us. Let us pray and ask God for the grace and strength to say, “Thy Will Be Done.”

The Installation of the New Statue of St Joseph

Ever since I started my ministry in this parish of St Joseph, Sentul my objective was not to make major changes but more to reorganise, restructure and revive the various ministries in the Church and to give a new uplift to the Church of St Joseph. In the midst of planning for the refurbishment and renovation of the community hall and meeting rooms, I was ‘inspired’ to restructure the Shrine of St Joseph situated next to the parochial house.

Early this year, I was looking around to purchase a 5-foot statue of St Joseph from one of our neighbouring countries but it didn’t materialise at all. So the idea was temporarily dropped. Then in March, something triggered me again to purchase a new statue in order to replace the old fading and deteriorating one. Finally, a manufacturer in Jakarta was contacted and the work of constructing the new 6-foot high custom-made statue of St Joseph commenced. It was expected to be completed by end of April and to be delivered to our doorstep just before 1st May, 2015 for the feast of St Joseph, the Worker.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the work was delayed and because of this all the plans for the launching and blessing of the statue were postponed to the end of May to commemorate the closing of the Rosary Month and novena to St Joseph. Together we prayed as one community for the safe arrival of the statue to our Church and it finally found its new home on 4th of June, 2015.

While waiting for the arrival of statue from Jakarta by ship I was once again inspired to do up the shrine of St Joseph which was erected 7 years ago. And so a “Gazebo” (new wooden house for St Joseph’s statue) was ordered and it took almost 3 weeks to complete.

In the meantime, a contractor was assigned to remove the existing tiles and to replace them with some ‘very very’ old tiles with three different beautiful patterns on the sanctuary of St Joseph. If I’m not mistaken, these tiles were laid in 1928 during the time of the late Fr Victor Antoine Herman who took the initiative to extend and rebuild the Church. These 87 year old tiles were taken out from the floor when the existing Church was under renovation in 2013 and they were sadly relegated to an unseen corner of the church compound. I noticed them ever since I came to this parish and was wondering what to do with them.

While waiting for the arrival of the new “Gazebo” and the new statue of St Joseph from Jakarta, we started work of renovation and refurbishment of the Shrine of St Joseph. We erected a new shrine by placing the 87 year old tiles according to the patterns designed. The renovation on the old shrine commenced on 27th of May and was completed on 6th of June.

The new gazebo-shaped hut arrived on 4th June.  Before installing it we blessed the 4 legs and the centre - where lies the new statue of St. Joseph - with Chrism oil and placed 5 prayer cards in the holes, to signify the 5 wounds of Christ!

The inauguration of this statue finally took place in conjunction with the first time ever open-air Mass on the feast of Corpus Christi (7th June) at 6.00 pm at the car park area in front of the parish house. We commenced our celebration with the the unveiling and blessing of the new St Joseph statue, followed by a solemn novena to St Joseph, the Worker. We ended the whole celebration with a procession with the Blessed Sacrament.

Now that we have given a new facelift to the Shrine of St Joseph, let us give a ‘facelift’ to our own faith life. Saint Joseph is the Patron Saint of the Universal Church. He watches over the Church as carefully as he watched over Jesus and Mary.  Together let us journey towards strengthening our faith community by praying to St Joseph, the Worker, our Patronage.

Corpus Christi

The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ or in Latin “Corpus Christi” commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist.

 The celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ is at the very centre and heart of our faith, of our church, and of our parish; it is at the centre and heart of our families and the lives of each of us. The Eucharist is at the centre of Catholic spiritual life.

The feast was introduced in the late 13th century by Pope Urban IV in 1264 to encourage the people of God to give special honor to the institution of the Holy Eucharist and to the Blessed Sacrament. Our worship of Jesus in His Body and Blood, calls us to offer God our Father, a pledge of our undivided love and an offering of   ourselves in service of others.

Some find it difficult to believe that bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus and understandably so. Jesus comes to us at every Mass. At every Mass our attention is called to the Eucharist and the Real Presence of Christ in it. It is a celebration of the love of Jesus for us. We need to add faith to our reason and intellect. As Paul says, in the Christian life, we go by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).

Jesus is really with us in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the gift of God’s love for us. When we submit to God we will not lose anything, we will gain everything. We add faith to our reasoning and receive the love of God with faith. We need to be humble enough to add faith to our intellect by trusting, surrendering, believing and receiving the Holy Eucharist in faith. We express our unworthiness, “Lord I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed.” When we receive Jesus, Jesus is in us and we are with Jesus. “He who eats my flesh abides in me and I in him.” (John 6: 57).