DRAW NEAR TO GOD

For the past two years, Covid-19 has halted many programmes, activities and rites for RCIA candidates at both the Church and Archdiocese levels. During this time, most parishes tried their level best to facilitate the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) classes to help candidates prepare for the Sacrament of Initiation - Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion on Easter Vigil.

On Wednesday, 30 March 2022, our Parish’s RCIA coordinator invited our candidates to be physically present for a 3-hour spiritual recollection in the Church. They spent the first two hours talking about their spiritual journey, while reflecting and finding their way to God, as well as discovering the importance of prayer life as they walk towards Catholicism. At the end of the session, the candidates were given several questions for their own reflection, and homework about their journey - whether they feel ready to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.

During the last one hour of their recollection, the candidates were taken into the church to spend a few minutes gazing in silence at the Blessed Sacrament. The Blessed Sacrament, which is Jesus “truly and really present in the Holy Eucharist” was exposed to them next to the baptismal font, which is where they will be baptised on Easter Vigil. The font at our Church is made of timber logs and has been a permanent fixture at the sanctuary since the 1970s. The candidates were then anointed with the Oil of Catechumens (also known as the Oil of Exorcism) which is traditionally applied before adult baptism takes place. The oil is believed to strengthen, help turn away from evil and to avoid temptation and sin.

When the spiritual recollection was over, the candidates were taken on a short tour inside the church while being briefed about the Stations of the Cross. They were also given a short lesson about our Parish and the religious items displayed in and around the church. Hopefully the tour has opened-up their eyes, hearts and minds as they gained insight into the rich history and significance of the Catholic Church and of our Parish.

The Rites of Election and Scrutinies have been held since the First Sunday of Lent, during the different Masses. The candidates were present at the different Masses to introduce them to the various language groups within our Parish. This way, all our Parishioners will get to know and welcome them into our community.

COME BACK TO ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART

Almost two months ago, we planned on meeting parishioners living in the interior areas of Kuantan, but, due to several unforeseen circumstances, our trips to oil palm plantations and Orang Asli settlements were delayed. However, with the assistance of Sr Theresa Petrus and Sr Anita Philip from the Franciscan Sisters of Immaculate Conception Sabah (FSICS) and the Parish Integral Human Development Ministry (PIHDM), we finally managed to visit them and celebrate the Eucharist with these communities. 

Last week - together with Sr Theresa and Sr Anita - we visited the Indonesian community living in an oil palm plantation at Sri Jaya (90kms from Kuantan). There were about 20 families and several young people from two different locations (Kampung Luit and Kampung Hobi) who came together for the Eucharistic celebration, which was held under a small tent in an open space. Last Sunday, we celebrated Mass in Batu 10 Gambang (25kms from Kuantan) at St Theresa’s Chapel for the army personnel, and this week we went to an indigenous village in Batu 3, Kuala Rompin (150kms from Kuantan) with two PIHDM members and Sr Maria (FMM). There were approximately 10 families in this village. We couldn’t make it to another kampung at Batu 8, Kuala Rompin, as some of them were placed under quarantine due to COVID-19 infection. Over the course of the next two weeks, we will endeavour to visit more Orang Asli villages and stations in order to celebrate Mass and to get to know these Parishioners.

 

In every location and in every village, Parishioners welcomed us with great enthusiasm and joy, as they were eager to finally have the opportunity to participate in the Eucharistic celebration. After Holy Week, we plan on visiting these places again to administer Sacraments such as baptism, 1^st Holy Communion and marriage, which have been pending or postponed since the start of the pandemic in 2020. We thank God for bringing us all together and may He continue to bestow His abundant gifts on these faithful Parishioners, as we journey together towards Easter.

We are already halfway through Lent and in our preparations for Easter. How have you lived out your Lenten practices? What have you learned about yourself, your faith and God? On the first day of Lent - Ash Wednesday - the Church invited us to arise and return to the Lord, which echoed from Prophet Joel about homecoming – “Come back to Me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, and mourning…” (Joel 2:12-13).

Lent reminds us to return to God. However, we often look at Lent as a season of “giving up something” instead of finding our way back to Him. For the rest of this season of Lent, let us strive each day to search for God deep inside our hearts and surrender to Him. Instead of pulling our lives away from God, let us arise and return to Him by saying, “Not as I will, but as You will.” (Matt 26: 39).

KEEP OUR SPIRITUAL VISION CLEAR

On Monday, 14 March 2022, an indigenous lady from Kuala Rompin came to Kuantan with three of her family members. She had cataracts in both eyes but didn’t know how she lost her eyesight until our Parish Integral of Human Development (PIHDM) members brought it to her attention. Our PIHDM then made arrangements with the hospital in Kuantan for her to have a minor procedure done, to remove and fix her cataracts. A cataract develops when the lens in the eyes become foggy, blurry and cloudy thus inhibiting vision.

It is the same thing when we have a nasal congestion due to blocked sinuses from a flu, where we have difficulty in breathing through the nose. This nasal congestion makes it difficult to breathe and we try to get some remedy to relieve the uneasiness. A recommended home remedy is doing a steam inhalation of vapour from hot water.

 

What have the above analogies got to do with our spiritual life? Well, we may sometimes encounter our spiritual life as a blurry and foggy experience. Therefore, we need to enhance our spirituality by taking certain steps to enable a distinct path - with a clearer vision and right direction. When our spiritual journey is blocked and walled with negativities, then everything in our lives will be folded in the darkness of sin.

 

Our spiritual life can be like a nasal congestion, where we have stumbling blocks and difficulty growing in holiness. We tend to experience meaningless spirituality because we have a blockage of sins. For instance, when we have a spirit of unforgiveness, then we slowly become bitter towards others and this may lead us on the path of revenge, hatred and wrath.

 

Sin creates poor spiritual vision and creates blockages filled with guilt and shame. We may face all kinds of distractions - experiencing poor spiritual vision as a result of our wrong doings. We need to take every precaution to protect our spiritual vision as much as we do to preserve our eyesight and physical wellbeing. The world is full of pride, envy, anger, lust, gluttony and laziness - which are the roots of all temptation. We must overcome these bad habits with the grace of God.

 

The Church has given us a 40-day journey of Lent - it is a period of repentance, renewal and preparation - to deepen our spiritual life through the three Lenten observances of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Let us keep our spiritual vision clear and unobstructed during this Holy Lent season so that we may  “permanently fix my eyes are on Yahweh, for He will free my feet from snares,” (Psalm25: 15).

GIVE ME GRACE AND STRENGTH

Anthony de Mello (an Indian Jesuit priest and psychotherapist) shared a story of Swami Vivekanadan entitled – ‘Change the World by changing Me’. A wise man said about himself: “I was a revolutionary when I was young, and all my prayer to God was: ‘Lord, give me the grace to change the world.’ As I approached middle age and realised that half of my life was gone without changing a single soul, I changed my prayer into: ‘Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come in contact with me. Just my family and friends and I shall be content.’ Now that I am an old man and my days are numbered, I have begun to see how foolish I have been. My one prayer now is: ‘Lord, give me the grace to change myself.’ If I had prayed for this right from the start I should not have wasted my life.”

We should not waste our time thinking about changing the world and others, but instead to change ourselves and begin transforming our lives. We cannot change another person no matter how hard we try, but we can change ourselves. God is willing to give us a second chance. When we take every opportunity to change ourselves, then there will be a brighter future in our spiritual journey. By pointing our fingers at the attitude of others, we are wasting energy and time, therefore, the only person we can change is ourself. We should avoid criticizing others, especially with destructive criticism because that is deliberately hurtful.

Looking at our country’s politics, we ask ourselves - what is happening? Our nation was once a blessed nation with many learned people. Now we are ruled by ignorant and corrupted leaders. Our country was once advancing in education, socio-politics and economic prosperity, but now it has a lack of far-sighted and honest leaders and we have fallen behind many other Asian countries. When leaders themselves have a change in mindset, surely that changes everything.

As for our spiritual aspect, it is never too late to change ourselves. It is time to ask God for His mercy and to repent for our sins. We don’t need to wait or ask for a sign from God to change or repent. The crucified Christ Jesus on the Cross, who came to redeem the world, is the only sign for the repentance of sinners. Our life can be tough and challenging, but our prayer should always be, “Lord, give me the grace and strength to change myself!”

 

On this second Sunday of Lent, the Church invites us to put extra effort into making a change, and making our spiritual journey a meaningful and significant one. We bring ourselves to our knees into the confessional to obey the will of the Father, as we pay attention to His voice which calls us to repent from our sins. Let’s continue to observe prayer, fasting, abstinence and almsgiving in order to encounter God in words and sacraments, as we prepare for the Resurrection of the Lord on Easter.

A HEART OF CONVERSION

Since Ash Wednesday (2 March 2022), the Holy Father Pope Francis, has invited all Catholics
throughout the world to pray for peace in the churches, in the communities and an end to war in Ukraine. When Russia invaded Ukraine, many Ukrainians started to leave their country or flee to the countryside with their families to save themselves. Some however, remained in the city to be with those who are unable to leave - to support and accompany them. The churches in Ukraine have opened to those who need shelter. We continue to pray that the Lord will calm everything in Ukraine, soften the hearts of all those within and outside the city, and for the conversion of Russia, during these difficult times.

It has already been two years since the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the world. In these two years, we have experienced several lockdowns and restrictions in crossing the states and international borders. We have not come to the end of this pandemic yet, but it has gone beyond our control now. Some of us personally have experienced the infection, and some have lost their loved ones, friends and relatives in this battle. We are slowly learning through bitter experiences of the past and present.

 

Presently, the numbers of Omicron cases are just spreading like wildfire among our families, working colleagues, students and children. Everyone is learning how to cope with this Omicron variant which symptoms are only visible after 4-6 days. The incubation period is approximately a week and those infected need self-isolation at once to stop spreading it to others. The experts have classified it as a normal flu but highly contagious. It seems like we all must live and accept it as part of our reality.

 

Everyone is trying their best to be more responsible and to ensure our health and safety is secure wherever we are, especially at our workplaces, markets, shops, places of worships, etc. We are aware that the more we are exposed to the surroundings, our chance of getting infected is higher. We are reminded to be at home or isolate ourselves regardless of how mild or severe our symptoms are so as to ensure we do not spread the Omicron variant. We hope and pray all of us to adhere to all the safety measures or SOPs wherever we are.

The Holy Father in His Lenten message reminded us to have a heart of generosity by “sowing the seeds and sharing goodness” abundantly in every person and to have a heart of conversion from the world of materialism. Our conversion may not occur overnight, but it is an ongoing process until to the end of our lives. We must have the desire to be transformed bit by bit every moment of our lives, especially during this Lent.

 

Evil is at work always, but we must not quit from observing the three pillars of Lent – prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Just remember the few key words from our Holy Father for this Lent which comes from St Paul’s letter to the Galatians (6: 9-10) – “let us not grow tired of doing good, do not give up”, and “do good to all” by making good use of present “opportunity” to patiently “sow seeds of goodness and kindness” and we will reap in due time.