BRIDGING BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEOPLE OF OTHER FAITHS

Sometime in August 2018, a group of five from National Unity and National Integration department - Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional (JPNIN) Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur walked into my office. I was shocked at first and wondered what was the purpose of their visitation.  I welcomed them and we greeted each other.  The head of the group, En. Ramli bin Ngah explained the reason for the visit.  He and his department staff were then making plans to pay a visit to our Church and a few other religious places of worship in Sentul on 8 September 2018. 

Their main objectives were to forge a friendly and harmonious relationship with residents of the neighbourhood, initiate religious exposure programme for their staff and dialogue among the main religions in Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur.  This exposure programme is part of their department’s preparation for Malaysia Day celebration on September 16, 2018. They were quite happy when I agreed with their intentions and at once we set the time and date. They, then sent an official letter from the department and made a phone call to reconfirm their visit.  Our Parish Ministry of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs (PMEIA) took the responsibility to make the necessary arrangements under the leadership of Eleanor, the chairperson of PMEIA.

En. Sukri, the head of the JPNIN of Wilayah Persekutuan department and his assistant En. Ramli together with their convoy consisting of 50 persons (Malays, Indians and Chinese) came to St. Joseph’s Church on Saturday, 8 September 2018 at 11.30am.  Prior to this they had paid their visits to Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu temples in Sentul.  After welcoming them with some refreshment at our church hall we immediately adjourned for a dialogue and Q&A session. 

I briefed them about our Church establishments and their history and they asked a few questions pertaining to Christianity and our beliefs. Among the issues raised were: “why are there so many different denominations and sects of Christianity, who is Jesus Christ, why is there a Pope and what is the role of Vatican?” 

During this session they also questioned on the works of charity undertaken in our parish.  I explained the role of our Parish Integral Human Development Ministry (PIHDM) especially on our fortnightly outreach to the poor and the annual School Uniform campaign.  I emphasised that our outreach includes all races, the migrants and refugees. 

 After this dialogue session, they invited a few of our representatives to be present at Masjid Al-Hidayah Mosque, Sentul which is situated 500 meters away from St. Joseph’s church. The Ustaz, political leaders and priests from Hindu,  Taoist and Buddhist temples were also present  at the mosque. After the speeches by various guests, all were invited to fellowship and lunch.

 The PMEIA was formed a couple of months ago in our parish and this meeting with the JPNIN is their second project.  The JPNIN’s team’s focus is to build unity, friendship and harmony among residents of neighbourhoods within our nation. Next year our parish mission will be on Ecumenical and Inter-religious Dialogue as part of our mission towards New Evangelisation 2020.  I am glad that our PMEIA has started off on the right foot, having established the necessary connections and must now continue to build the unity bridge with people of other Faiths in our vicinity.

 

So far we have only 5 members in this ministry and I encourage more of our parishioners to participate. We welcome you parishioners to join in this ministry and to work together towards next year’s vision and mission of our parish.

“Interreligious dialogue is a necessary condition for peace in the world, so it is a duty for Christians as well as other religious communities.” (Pope Francis)

REKINDLING THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST

These past two months, the Spiritual Retreat Working Committee 2018, has gone all-out to recruit parishioners and non-parishioners to register for the Spiritual Retreat. In total, they recruited 221 people (156 from our parish and 75 from other parishes). Despite a long weekend break, I am really happy to hear the total number of people who have signed up for this three-day Spiritual Retreat, which commenced on 31 August - 2 September 2018.

Oh yes, we all ought to take our hats off to the organising committee led by Alan Jong for their tireless effort and excellent commitment. I personally take pleasure in congratulating all the participants who have showed their interest in attending the retreat. Our Retreat Master, Rev Fr Roni George and his companion Bro Milen from Divine Retreat Center in Sydney, Australia were both pleased to guide us during this spiritual retreat, and they were happy with the well-planned coordination of the whole event.

I didn't sit through the entire retreat, but I was fascinated with the Eucharistic Adoration, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick, which were added into the programme. The Eucharistic Adoration was held for three days at the respective hour, and it helped participants to listen with their hearts, intercede for their many needs and for encourage transformation in their personal lives. The adoration was a time of grace, a time of repentance and a time of renewing their hearts.

On the second day, there was time set aside for individual confession. Six priests were available to hear confessions – Fr Roni George, Fr Eugene Benedict, Fr Mari Arokiam, Fr Michael Chua, Fr Dominic Tan and I. We managed to hear the confessions of all participants within 2 hours. Most of the penitents came with deep regrets at how they have failed to live their Christian lives and after confession they felt much relief and they have come to realise how much God loves them.

On the third day, Fr Roni administered the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick for the participants as a closing of the retreat. It was a special moment to experience the elimination of anxiety, abolishing fear, inspiring confidence in the Lord Jesus and healing of physical body, mind, body and spirit. For me, these three spiritual activities were undoubtedly the most touching and inspiring.

Many participants have personally shared with me that the retreat has enriched their faith and rekindled their relationship with Christ. It has given our participants the discipline to create a time for prayer, every day in their lives and be focused on the presence of God. I hope all of them will enthusiastically carry out the mission of Christ in their particular circumstances, and remain faithful to Him.

Once again, a big thank you to all who attended and participated in our parish retreat. Thank you also to the team of helpers, including Altar Servers and Youth, who contributed to the success of the retreat.

We thank God for His guidance and blessings. May He continue to bless the participants, organising committee and in particular, the preachers of our retreat - Fr Roni and his companion, Bro Milen - abundantly!

EPHPHATA - BE OPENED

In today’s scripture (MK 7:31-37) is the story of the healing of a hearing impaired man. Jesus reaches out His hand to touch him and it has changed his life.

These friends of deaf and mute man love him enough to make a special effort to bring him to Jesus. They have faith, they have trust in Jesus. Jesus touched this deaf and dumb ears, placed the spittle on his tongue and He says this word EPHPHATHA and he could hear and speak. Because of Jesus, his life is forever changed. He experiences God’s grace in a powerful way in his life.

Whatever the brokenness or suffering is, Jesus meets our needs. Jesus meets us at our point of need, be it frustration, fear, failure, sin, guilt, sorrow, broken relationships, whatever is our burden, Jesus meets us with His grace. Everything will be all right for us if we surrender to Him.

When we are touched by Jesus we will be changed for ever. If you haven’t experienced His healing touch please do come to Him. He provides what is best for you.

PRAYING FOR THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

One of the most significant feast days that we celebrated in August was Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, which falls on 15 August. A week later, the Church celebrated the memorial of the Queenship of Mary as Queen of heaven and earth. After the Solemnity of the Assumption, there was a serious issue on clerical sexual abuse, which rocked the Roman Catholic Church. A Pennsylvania grand jury released a report in August 2018 that in six Pennsylvania Catholic Dioceses identified, more than 1000 children were abused over the past seven decades by 300 priests and these were covered-up by bishops.

For the first time in history, the Pope released a letter to the entire Catholic population on the topic of sexual abuse. On 20 August 2018, Pope Francis issued a 2000-word letter to the people of God, directly addressing the US scandal and acknowledging that the Church must act immediately. He describes the “heart-wrenching pain of these victims” that were “long ignored, kept in quiet or silenced”. In his message, he says, “if one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor 12:26) and he invites the Church to come to grips with the reality of what has happened in a “comprehensive and communal way”. The Holy Father realises the greatest crisis of his papacy and the failure of the Church to deal with abuse and ask for forgiveness. In his letter to all the Catholic population, the Pope also promised that there will be “no more cover ups” of sexual abuse in the Church.

Pope Francis visited Ireland for the 9^th World Meeting of Families (WMOF), which took place from 21 – 26 August, 2018 in Dublin. The WMOF is a celebration of faith, bringing together a large number of Catholic families from all over the world, to pray and reflect on the central importance of marriage and the family as the cornerstone of our lives, society and the Church. On his two-day apostolic visit (25 & 26 August), he “begged for God’s forgiveness” when the Church failed to offer compassion to “survivors of any kind of abuse.” The Holy Father also spoke of the protection of human life at all stages, including the unborn, deprived of the very right to life.

The Catholic Church continues to struggle with these issues on sexual abuse. The Church will continue to have a self-reflection about this. Many people criticised the Roman Catholic Church after the sexual abuse of minors in Pennsylvania, asking how the Church handles sexual abuse cases? The priest, a man of God, is also a human being. He has a sexual identity, like all human beings. The Church has promised to follow the Pope’s apology to victims of clerical abuse with concrete action to ensure children are protected and offenders are held accountable.

These past few weeks, I have been really perturbed while reading articles pertaining to sexual scandals in the Church. I am praying silently for the Roman Catholic Church and all the Church authorities - Cardinals, Bishops, Religious Superiors, Priests and others, who are involved in the sexual abuse. While I celebrate Mass and during my personal prayers, I remember with sorrow asking the Lord for guidance and forgiveness of our sins and the sins of others. We shall pray for the end of child abuse. I invite everyone to pray the Rosary for the Catholic Church, priests and most importantly, the innocent children which include the abused, neglected, lost, lonely, abandoned, orphaned and those suffering with illness.