JOY COMES FROM CHRIST

The 3rd Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday. We rejoice that Jesus is going to be reborn in our lives, deepening in us His gifts of love, mercy and forgiveness during this Christmas season. Let us joyfully share God’s bountiful grace, forgiveness, and mercy with others especially among our families.

The first step to become joyful is to give up our sins. By committing sins we only feel remorse and guilt. During this season of Advent and always, we can rejoice in repentance. We must prepare our hearts to recognise and welcome Jesus. God is present among us, in our everyday lives. Let us believe in our hearts that the Holy Spirit will create a metánoia, a change of heart during Advent.

We need to open our hearts and let God transform our lives. Patient is one of the greatest challenge for us. Our lives can be transformed, if we are patient and place our trust in God, (James 5: 7-10).

"Lord, Come and Save Us"

2017 TOWARDS STRENGTHENING OUR FAITH COMMUNITY

We the parishioners of Church of St Joseph have committed ourselves to journey the next three years through our Vision 2015 – 2017, “TOWARDS STRENGTHENING OUR FAITH COMMUNITY.” These past two years (2015 and 2016) we have been journeying with our parish Vision 2017 by setting our missions and goals to achieve our parish vision in the Year 2017.

I just want to recap our past two years journey towards 2017 as a parish. I hope you still remember our journey in the first year 2015 where the mission of our parish was on Jesus: the Heart of our Family. Our second year mission was on BEC (Basic Ecclesia Community): Witnessing Jesus Through the Works of Mercy and Spiritual Works of Mercy.” Our third year mission will be “Celebrating Jesus”.

 As we were engaging every member of our parish to journey towards strengthening our faith as individuals and also as a community we have organised many events, activities and formations, etc. basically to enhance our spiritual life and community living. We the leaders from the various ministries together with each member from the BECs have worked tirelessly towards making our vision and missions into reality these two years. It was not an easy task. Along the way we had a lot of battles, arguments, back-biting, disagreements over issues, failures in carrying out our mission into realities, and many other unaccounted causes. Despite all these I truly admire your enthusiasm and the spirit of “let’s move” in the right direction and working hand in hand with your committees, ministries and me.

I personally felt these were necessary obstacles and hiccups for strengthening and building up a parish community. There were some members who backed out from being in the forefront of our parish commitments and missions. As for me this is really disheartening. On the contrary, I very much appreciated that although our members argued and disagreed with me on issues, they have however, always been on my side to ensure all things are possible for all parishioners and the parish as well. Our past two years missions on families and BECs are the most vital marks of strengthening our faith community. These missions have helped us to increase our commitments to live more productively and successfully for our coming mission in the year 2017.

For the year 2017 we have set our Vision: “STRENTGHENING OUR FAITH COMMUNITY”. To make this Vision 2017 a reality, we have identified relevant strategies as we commit ourselves to walk effectively in this coming year. To realise our vision we shall commit ourselves to celebrate Jesus by:

•   DEEPENING OUR PRAYER LIFE;

•   BEING DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE WORD OF GOD

•   EXPERIENCING THE SACRAMENTS AS A TOUCH OF GOD, AND

•   COMMITTING OURSELVES TO NEW EVANGELISATION (ACT 1:8).

Each of you have something to contribute towards our vision this coming year. “Do not lose your heart in the ministry which is entrusted to you,” but in humility and simplicity let us discern each other’s gift and responsibility as we connect ourselves in the parish vision and mission.

Fr. George Packiasamy

PREPARE FOR TRUE PEACE

John the Baptist was an honest and truthful man. He demanded the people for a change of life and conversion because their hearts were hard and provided no room for God and neighbours. The people were sinful and unfaithful to the covenant of God.

The Second Sunday of Advent invites us to turn away from our former way of life towards a new attitude of openness, an attitude that will enable us to welcome the Promised Messiah.

Don't Give Up on Prayer. God does answer our prayers. For Zechariah and Elizabeth it was God answered with a miracle boy - John the Baptist - the preacher that prepared the way for Jesus the Messiah.

From time to time we need to build our lives on the foundation of faith. When we believe and only then all things are possible. Transformations come when you believe that "With God all things are possible".

Jesus came to bring hope, forgiveness and change of heart that involves our will and our total being as a person.

When you understand the true meaning of Christmas it brings about conversion and to live a committed life to God.

WELCOMING ADVENT

This year the season of Advent and Christmas is going to be very different from that of the previous years for our parishioners of St Joseph, Sentul. These past three months we have worked hard as one parish community to raise RM150,000 for our “Christmas Get Together 2016” on 18 December. We started with a very good spirit - a spirit of philanthropy and a spirit of reaching out to the poor without looking at any race, religion and nationality. There were so many hiccups in our early planning but now we the committee, have full confidence that we will be able to successfully organise this event because of your great support and prayers.

We have couple of weeks to celebrate the great event by uniting ourselves with the spirit of joy of Christmas with the expected crowds of 2500 – 3000 including the poor children and their families. Many exciting events will be taking place on this Christmas Get Together event such as distribution of school uniforms for 320 poor students, provision of groceries for 250 low-income families, lunch for all comers on that day, raffle draws with more than 200 prizes for the lucky ones, entertainment and thrilling games.

We are at the season of Advent now. I believe you have promised yourselves that this Advent would be different. You may have great intentions to make this Advent season and Christmas celebration very different from the last. We as parishioners must start making it happen now by slowly cutting down on all our busy schedules and embracing the spirit of Advent and more importantly remember its purpose and meaning of preparing for the coming of Christ.

The season invites us to prepare room in our hearts for Christ and not just to sit back and do nothing. Jesus has a time and place for everything and He invites us to prepare for His Coming on Christmas especially in our families, our workplace, our schools and our community. During this season let us stay close to Christ in prayers and deeds and when we do these He takes over our lives little by little. Our selfishness fades. Our heart grows. We die to ourselves. “He must increase; I must decrease”, (John 3:30).

A lot of efforts have been taken to prepare for the Christmas Get Together event. As parishioners and as Catholics, let’s make known our identity by uniting ourselves to entertain our distinguished guests, the poor and needy and also one another who will be coming for this upcoming event. By welcoming these friends of ours we shall see how these experiences will provide us well to our groundwork for this Advent to invite Christ Jesus to dwell within our hearts and our parish community.

Our heart is where Christ wishes to dwell and it is this season is the perfect time to make room in it for His presence. We will have our Advent Penitential service in our parish on 2 December. If our heart is not ready for forgiveness then there is no room for Christ. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important part of preparing your heart for Jesus.

WATCHFUL IN PRAYER

Advent is a Season of Preparing for the Coming of the Messiah. You may have great intentions to make this Advent season and Christmas celebration very different from the last.

Our Advent Gospel warns us not to get caught in the routine of life and slowly cutting down on all our busy schedules and embracing the spirit of Advent.

The season invites us to prepare room in our hearts for Christ and not just to sit back and do nothing. Advent is not Christmas and we must be careful not to turn our four weeks of Advent preparation into a long celebration of Christmas. Our heart is where Christ wishes to dwell and Advent is the perfect time to make room in it for His presence. If our heart is filled with unforgiveness, it has no room for Christ. Remember that as God has forgiven us, we are also asked to forgive others.

"The Lord is on His way!” The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important part of preparing our heart for Jesus. We are to be an “Advent People,” vigilant, watchful, be prepared. 

My best wishes and prayers on this Advent. May you have a spirit-filled Advent.