KEEPING OUR FAITH FIRM THROUGH TRIALS

Easter is only four weeks away. However, everyone seems to be more concerned about the current Coronavirus pandemic and also the “backdoor government” that creeped in un-democratically to govern our nation. Personally, I am upset over this undemocratic party politics as they have done a great injustice to all voters of General Election 14. Unfortunately, life has to move on with all this political drama – until the next elections, that is. 

What is currently most troubling in the minds of the people is the COVID-19 virus outbreak. It has affected every nation and is the fastest-spreading virus detected thus far this century. It is shocking and scary when we look at the tremendous increase in cases throughout the world. It has wobbled global economies, affecting the travel, tourism, hotel industries, as well bringing disruption to large gatherings, conferences, meetings, offices and also places of worship.

For the time being, all Weekend and Weekday Masses beginning 14 & 15 March 2020 until 29 March 2020 will be suspended. On 12 March 2020, the Catholic Bishops of Peninsular Malaysia officially announced that all Catholics are exempted from fulfilling their Sunday obligation of attending Mass during this period due to the COVID-19 virus. 

Due to the risks faced and spike in the number of COVID-19 cases reported thus far, the Church has decided to cancel or postpone all spiritual formations and events. In our Parish, we have temporarily called-off several important formations and activities such as our 10 Weeks ALPHA and ALPHA Away Weekend Program, Tamil / English formations, RCIA Weekly programs, etc. For us Catholics, it appears that the weeks ahead are going to be rather  unsettling!

In a couple of weeks, we will be entering Holy Week. How it is going to be? As we continue on our Lenten journey towards Easter – with the suspension of Weekend and Weekday Masses, Penitential Services, and many other rituals – we should still get ourselves spiritually prepared. We should read and reflect on the daily readings given by the Church. The Lenten readings are different from Ordinary Time readings, where they progress each day according to the books or prophets or epistles as the 1^st or 2^nd readings. The Gospel progresses consecutively according to the A, B or C circles. During Lent, we notice the readings tend to jump from various books or prophets or epistle and we may be able to see patterns which lead us towards the Paschal Mystery – Jesus’ Passion, death and resurrection. The readings prepare us for our repentance and conversion.

While everyone anticipates that the number of COVID-19 cases will increase, we, Malaysians should give many thanks to our hospital personnel, doctors, nurses, health workers and volunteers who are working tirelessly, doing their best to help and protect everyone from this epidemic. These past weeks, the Catholic Church has continuously prayed for all these people and for those who are suffering from this virus.

On Thursday, 19 March 2020, the Church will celebrate the feast of St Joseph, the husband of Blessed Virgin Mary. He is also known as “a good and upright man”, inviting us to place our trust in God and not be afraid (Luke 12:5). 

From this weekend (14 -15 March) until the end of March 2020, the statutes of St Joseph and Mother Mary will be placed at the sanctuary in our Church. During this period of suspension of Masses and throughout the remaining days of Lent, we invite parishioners to come individually or with the family to venerate and pray to Mother Mary and St. Joseph for protection and healing from this COVID-19 crisis. 

 (This Prayer will be placed at the Sanctuary for your meditation)

Prayer to Mary during coronavirus pandemic

O Mary, you always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the Cross took part in Jesus' pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of the Roman People,
know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to feasting
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Under your protection, we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God. Do not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin. (Pope Francis, March 2020)

A SPIRITUAL THIRST

Jesus meets a woman at the well in Samaria, (Jn 4:5-42). This Samaritan woman was an outcast and she approaches Jesus asking Him to quench her thirst with the Living Water.

Jesus treats the Samaritan woman with great respect and evangelises her. When her real thirst been quenched, she in turns go out to tell others of her encounter with Jesus.

Jesus wants to give her the “living water” that comes from faith in Him. Living water – water that brings life and water that brings long lasting growth in our lives.

Jesus represents as a Living Water which brings us life and He alone can transcend and heal us. He is the only way to have our thirst satisfied eternally. He offers us living water but it is not going to be satisfying to us unless we confess and repent of our sin and desire for forgiveness.

Living water can be obtained only when we recognise that we are spiritually thirsty. During this Lent, let us look at ourselves as sinners. Let Jesus Christ meet our need for forgiveness, for fulfilment, and for a fresh start in life.

“If today you hear His Voice, harden not your hearts,” (Psalm 95).

https://www.stjosephsentul.org/keeping-our-faith-firm-through-trials-2/

LIVING LENT FAITHFULLY AND FRUITFULLY

Every year, when we begin the season of Lent, we are encouraged to draw closer to God by giving up all our negativity. Just before Ash Wednesday, most of us would have decided to be fully committed during the 40 days of Lent, by getting rid of our bad habits.

When we began Lent this year, our celebrations were dampened with the threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The virus slowed us down and diverted us a little from our focus on Lent. Right now, in Malaysia, new cases are emerging day by day. It is a nationwide threat, so the Churches in Malaysia and Singapore have come out with a few pastoral implications and guidelines to prevent the spreading the COVID-19 virus, by limiting our contact with each other.

On Ash Wednesday, instead of being marked with the blessed ash on our foreheads, it was sprinkled on the crown of our heads. Some may have found it difficult to accept this way of receiving the ash, because they wanted the ashes to be visible to others. Nevertheless, this is how the blessed ashes were also administered in Rome. Apart from that, Holy Water has been removed from all the entrances of the church and Holy Communion is only received by hand. This made a few people feel uncomfortable, as it was different from their traditional practices.

In relation to COVID-19, the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur has also immediately suspended Penitential Services in all churches and Mass centers within the Archdiocese, and the faithful have been advised not to attend Mass if they show signs and symptoms of the virus. Although we have been regularly carrying out our confession these past years during Advent and Lent, this year the changes due to the threat of the virus, has somewhat made it a struggle to find our state of grace. Sin has become habitual and we worry how God is going to free us from sin and lead us into the Paschal Mystery celebration – Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. If this viral infection prolongs, many might ask the question - will I celebrate Easter worthily and will I receive the mercy of God before the Easter celebration?

I still remember during my first year as a priest, while serving in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the Church faced a similar situation when the SARS-CoV affected many people in 2003. I had encountered an eight-year-old girl who died due to transmission of SARS and I presided at her funeral Mass. SARS was spreading nationwide and it happened during the Lent season too. Even at that time the Church took certain precautions by recommending a few pastoral implications and guidelines. Of course, the older generation was not happy when the Church brought certain restrictions to their traditions and beliefs with regards to not placing Holy Water at the respective church entrances, not shaking hands as the sign of peace, receiving the Holy Communion by hand, etc.

In addition to viruses, we also face a few other challenges in the form of attacks on or criticisms of our faith in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. There were a few movies, documentaries, books, articles, lectures in colleges/universities, which have distorted our faith in Christ Jesus. I remember all these being released or distributed during the season of Lent. These challenges try to shake our faith in Christ by challenging our belief, and I am sure there will be many more issues and circumstances which will give cause to tarnish, bring about confusion and create obstacles for us to practice our faith in Christ.

However, without all these hindrances, obstacles, difficulties, struggles and challenges, our faith would not make sense. Nothing will ever stop us from growing in our faith. When we persevere in faith, we will become more compassionate and stronger in our believe in Christ Jesus. During this time of Lent, be assured that the Lord goes before us. Trust in Him wholeheartedly and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him. He will be with you and make your paths straight (cf. Prov 3: 5 & 6). Let’s live our Lent faithfully and fruitfully!

GROW AND GLOW IN THE SPIRIT

Jesus climbed up a mountain. He took three of His friends – Peter, James and John. They spent time in the presence of God praying. The Apostles received a privileged transfiguration of Jesus’ divinity within His humanity. Jesus’s clothes became dazzlingly white on the top of the Mount of Transfiguration, (Mt 17: 1-9).

On this Second Sunday of Lent, we should begin to reflect God’s Glory. Jesus’ holiness and His divinity radiated from within Him. He didn’t keep secret His glory. He let it shine. Through His glory He gave His Apostles new understandings of Him as God.

It is really worth it to take time regularly to be with God. After years of spending time in God’s presence – praying, going to Church for Mass, being involved in various ministries in the Church, and with all our spiritual experiences, now is the time that they should have effects on us.

May this Lent we able to see the glory of God and all our spiritual experiences in our mission works so that His glory will glow and grow inwardly and outwardly.

“LORD, let Your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in You” (PS 33).

OPEN OUR HEARTS AND RECONCILE TO GOD

Pope Francis’ message for Lent this year, which was announced on 24 February 2020, is themed – “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God,” (2 Cor 5:20). He invites everyone to embrace the Mystery of Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection (the Paschal Mystery) – as the basis for conversion. The season of Lent is a time of preparation for the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, urging us to grow in our relationship with God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we are able “to see and touch with faith, the flesh of Christ in those who suffer.”

God is always engaged in a “dialogue of salvation with us” desiring to save us, despite our weaknesses and short comings. As we have begun this holiest season on Ash Wednesday, 26 February 2020, the Holy Father speaks about the “urgency of conversion” as individuals and as a community. Pope Francis wants us to keep our eyes fixed on the outstretched arms of Christ crucified, who was sinless, yet took on “the weight of our sins.” At this time of grace and on this day of salvation, you should not allow His grace to pass by in vain, but “let yourself be saved over and over again” and “let yourself be cleansed” as you firmly believe in His mercy.

He also speaks about the importance of prayer during Lent – that prayer is “more than a duty” as it is an expression of responding to God’s love “which always precedes and sustains us.” At this favourable time, we take every opportunity “to stop sleeping and wake up” (Roman 13:11) and enter into “a dialogue of heart with God” through prayer. We should always have a set time and place, to pray and contemplate Jesus’ Paschal Mystery, so that we may grow in true maturity in faith and have a sincere conversion of heart.

During Lent, the Holy Father wants us to place the Paschal Mystery at the “centre of our lives and feel compassion towards the wounds of the crucified Christ present in many innocent victims” from various forms of attack, violence, war, trafficking, ecological calamities and imbalanced distribution of natural resources. Lent is a time for us to grow in deeper dialogue with God through “renewed gratitude for God’s mercy and for increased compassion towards people whose lives are under attack.”

Every individual should participate in the building of a better world through almsgiving, fasting and prayer. These three traditional pillars of Lenten observances make us more human. We should be generous in sharing our goodwill, our richness and gifts from God, with those in most need, in order to make the world a better place for everyone, rather than just keeping these to ourselves. Lent is a time for us to purify our hearts again and again, rather than indulge in the spirit of the world, because worldliness is “the enemy of God.” (cf. James 4:4).

At the end of the Lenten message, the Holy Father urges for the intercession of Mother Mary “to pray that our Lenten celebration will open our hearts to hear God’s word to be reconciled to himself, to fix our gaze on the Paschal Mystery, and to be converted to an open and sincere dialogue with him.” May Our Mother encourage us to deny ourselves and we say “yes” to the Love of God by serving one another with generous and sincere hearts.

My best wishes and prayers that we, as a community will be resurrected to a new life, a new level of holiness and a new closeness with the Risen Lord this Easter.