THE SPIRIT AND JOY OF CHRISTMAS

We have come to the last Sunday of Advent. Once again, the Fourth week of Advent is quite a short one and we have only two days to pray and reflect about it, before celebrating a beautiful Christmas! During the four weeks of Advent as we approached Christmas, we have been preparing for the Child Jesus to born again in our hearts and in our homes. 

There are groups of people who simply do not want to sing or listen to Christmas music and Christmas carols until 25 December. However, I was listening to Advent hymns as well as carols since the First Sunday of Advent. They have brought me a kind of joy and pleasure as I prepared for the Big Day. I believe this form of listening to Christmas music and carols has allowed me to experience the joy of the Christmas season.

St. Paul advises that we should rejoice always and rejoice in the Lord. We share the ideal gift of joy to everyone we meet during Christmas. It is also the kind of gift that everyone needs. The gift of joy may dismiss their worries and anxieties and the peace of God will be experienced in their hearts and minds, (cf. Philippians 4:4-7).

We will be entering into Christmastide as we echo, “Christ has been born for us; come let us adore him.” The reason for the season is celebrating the most greatest birthday of Our Lord and Saviour on Christmas Day – Christ was born of the Virgin Mary and placed in the manger for all of us to adore Him. As the glory of the Lord shines on the entire world, and let our lips, our hearts, minds, and souls are filled with praises and glory all the day of our lives (cf. Ps 70).

During this Advent, we have reached out to seventy infirmed elderly and sick at their homes. These people are unable to encounter Jesus in the Sacraments regularly due to their inabilities, age or illnesses. Some of them are going through a kind of spiritual war and others are undergoing emotional problems, loneliness, depression and rejection. They need our companionship, our visits, our prayers and support.

 “Is anyone among you suffering? Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him or her with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him or her up. And if he or she has committed sin, he or she will be forgiven,” (James 5:13-15). St. James emphasises that the Church has always cared for her sick and dying, and always rejoices with the gifts of healing and forgiveness.

Through our recent visits to their homes and through the administration of the Sacraments of Holy Anointing, Holy Communion and Confession, these surely would have brought a kind of comfort and strength - physically and spiritually. Let’s always remember the elderly, sick and dying members of our parish in a special way during this season and pray that Jesus’ birth once again brings joy in the depths of their hearts this Christmas.

May the light of joy, love and happiness shine on us, and our lives be filled with blessings this Christmas season. We pray that the spirit of Christmas be kept alive in our hearts and our homes always.

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE! 

HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON, 

AND ALL THE BEST IN THE NEW YEAR 2020! 

MAY YOU AND YOUR FAMILY BE BLESSED 

WITH PEACE, LOVE AND JOY.

JESUS, THE EMMANUEL

God came into the world like the rest of us and He truly wanted to be with us. Our Gospel (Matt 1: 18-24) illustrates He was true God and true man. He was true - man because he was born of a woman, the Virgin Mother.

The early Church understood Jesus to be the Emmanuel which means God-with-us. Jesus lived a human life so He can understand our human life. He understands our joys, our happiness, our heartaches, our sorrow, our pain and our suffering. 

The divine life can reach into our lives with his saving grace and peace. So through the spirit, Jesus as God can walk with us, can be with us and can give us the affirmation, if we trust in Him.

The gift of Christmas is that we have a God that is both human and divine who understands the human conditions so as God He can walk with us and give us a measure of his peace and love.

“Let the Lord enter! He is the King of glory.” (Psalm 23)

BUILDING OUR MISSION OF RELATIONSHIPS

On Saturday, 7 December 2019, we had our Parish Pastoral Assembly (PPA) for the year 2019 at the Formation House. There were approximately 65 attendees, which was a slight decrease compared to previous years. Nevertheless, the PPA went well, with the presence of Archbishop Julian Leow, together with Monsignor Mitchel Anthony and his Pastoral team.

The Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur Pastoral Team led by Msgr. Mitchel had earlier on given us survey forms to discuss three of eight cluster findings, actions, plans and strategies in our Parish. The three clusters are – Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC), Ecumenical and Inter-religious Dialogue (EIRD) and Parish Youth. First of all, I would like to thank the three clusters for taking the time to come together to discuss, reflect and share before the PPA 2019. I believe you would have been enriched, and learned more about your areas of concerns which included your strengths and weaknesses.

The Archdiocese Pastoral Team divided the participants into 10 groups, and gave us four questions related to missions – i) Mission on Relationships, ii) Mission on Outreach, iii) Mission on Unity and iv) Mission on Social Media. The purpose of the group discussions and sharing was to find out what our Parish, as well as the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, need to focus on, for the coming year. Nine out of the ten groups chose to discuss the need of Mission on Relationships.

On the 1st Sunday of Advent 2019/2020, we, as parishioners of St Joseph’s Church decided our strategies for our Parish mission with focus being on the 5Ls (Lost, Little, Last, Least and Lonely). We have geared ourselves on mission for the year 2020 with the 5Ls, and we will strive to build relationships with them without qualms. At every mass during the weekends, we recite our mission statement: We as parishioners of St Joseph’s Church are sent forth joyfully to embrace, to care for and to heal the 5Ls. In this statement we clearly state the three “verbs” as our “values” to embrace, to care for and to heal in building strong and successful relationships with the 5Ls. Our ultimate goal is to ensure our parishioners build ties and foster healthy relationships with people of 5Ls.

In his speech, Archbishop Julian Leow highlighted that the various ministries and clusters should work collectively and take their roles seriously in the Parish. He invited us to engage with everyone, to have dialogues with people of other Faiths, and for the youth and leaders to be rooted in community life and use social media wisely. His Grace was quite happy with the various outreach programs we had in the past, particularly the success of the Third World Day of the Poor.

This past one year, I realised that our Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) and Parish Council Coordinators (PCC) together with the leaders from the various ministries in our Parish, chose to be actively involved in the life of our Parish. I admire the characteristics of our leaders and committee members because whenever I assign them specific tasks, they do it wholeheartedly and with full commitment. Thank you for your time, effort and desire to serve in our Parish. Once again I would like to thank our PPC and PCC for all the preparations made in ensuring a successful and enriching PPA 2019.

Let us strive to build our Parish with shared leadership and feelings of connectedness with one another, as we build our Mission on Relationships, keeping in mind the 5Ls.

MAKE OUR HEARTS REJOICE

In the Gospel, we meet a discouraged and dejected John the Baptist, (MT 11: 2-11). He sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” 

Even though John the Baptist would not be released from Herod’s prison, the Kingdom of God was still advancing. With patience, we can be sure that God will not disappoint us. We are rejoice to know a day is coming when “sorrow and mourning will flee.”

Our situation in life may not have changed but, by the grace of God, all our sorrow and mourning will become something beautiful.

St. James gives us helpful instruction in our Advent time of waiting for God to keep all His promises: “Be patient, until the coming of the Lord.” We need patience in order for our faith not to fail us and “make our hearts firm” in our waiting and to seek virtue.

There is no better way to get ready for Christmas. The Lord who is about to come will make all things possible and will make us happy.

“Lord, come and save us” (Psalm 145).

https://www.stjosephsentul.org/building-our-mission-of-relationships/

THE KING WHO IS TO COME

The New Liturgical Year 2019/2020 has already begun with the first Sunday of Advent. At the end of this month, we will celebrate New Year’s Eve and then, of course, New Year’s Day. The season of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ordinary Time and all the other annual feast days mark our day-to-day lives with Christ and His Church. Every time we celebrate each season, we have an opportunity “to let the mystery of time become His-story of time.”

It is already the Second Sunday of Advent and Christmas and New Year will soon be upon us. The liturgy leads us to celebrate Jesus’ birth and to walk together towards the Lord and fulfil the words of Prophet Isaiah, “come, let us walk in Yahweh’s light,” (Isaiah 2:5). As Advent prepares us for the Nativity of Our Lord, we are reminded of the calling of all people, “Let us adore the Lord, the King who is to come,” (Invitatory Antiphon of Morning Prayer - Lauds).

Many homes, offices, hospitals and shopping malls excitedly set up Christmas trees, Christmas lights and decorations, but it is very hard to see people setting up nativity scene. This custom has slowly faded off from our generation. Pope Francis has published an Apostolic Letter on 1 December 2019 (1st Sunday of Advent) entitled “Admirable Signum,” on the meaning and importance of the Nativity Scene. The Pope hopes this Letter encourages families to carry out this admirable tradition of preparing the nativity scene. He hopes “this custom will never be lost and that, wherever it has fallen into disuse, it can be rediscovered and revived.”

Our Church purchased two beautiful nativity sets (1 foot and 4 feet in height) in December 2014. The one-foot size nativity set is always displayed at the parish office whereas the 4-foot size nativity set is at the Church. As far I know, we are the only Church that has the 4-foot size nativity set in the whole of Peninsular Malaysia. Initially, we placed this scene at the sanctuary of our Church but these past two years I placed them outside the Church because I noticed that many are only interested of taking photographs rather than spending time praying and adoring Baby Jesus in the manger.

I purchased it for the purpose of praying at the nativity scene and for evangelisation – “joyful proclamation of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God.” The Holy Father says that “the nativity scene is like a living Gospel, rising up from the pages of sacred Scripture.” Each time we gaze at the nativity scene and contemplate the Christmas story (the Infancy narrative), we are “drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter” us and “we come to realise that so great is his love for us that he became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with him.”

It is good to set up the crib in our homes, offices or churches, as the Pope says that “it helps us to re-live the history of what took place in Bethlehem” and “it touches our hearts and makes us enter into salvation history” in order to experience God’s love and to believe that God is with us and finally “we find true happiness.” As we “feel and touch” the simplicity, humility and poverty of Infant Jesus, we are invited to imitate him in our lives by showing mercy and compassion to those in greatest need (cf. MT 25:31-46).

As we gaze at the nativity scene this year, especially figures of Mary and Joseph, let us respond to God as Mary responded with obedience, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). In this manner, we should submit ourselves in faith to the will of God and commit ourselves faithfully in spreading the Gospel. St Joseph has “entrusted himself always to God’s will” and stood next to Mary, “protecting the Child and His Mother.”

St. Francis of Assisi, who created the first crib scene in 1223 to commemorate the birth of Jesus, will pray for us so that we may open our hearts and pray with gratitude and thanksgiving. 

“The Lord has made known to us” (LK 2:15).