KL ARCHDIOCESE CELEBRATED CHRISM MASS

On Wednesday, 21^st March 2018, the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur celebrated the Chrism Mass at the Church of St Ignatius, Petaling Jaya at 7.00pm. The presence of a large number of individual and families from the various parishes to celebrate together the Chrism Mass was an expression and gesture of solidarity with Bishops, priests, deacons and religious. There were also those who couldn’t make it in person, but instead viewed the live stream telecast on their electronic devices.

Archbishop Julian Leow celebrated the Mass with his deacons and priests, inviting them to reaffirm their commitment to the Church once again. It is one of the most significant moments for priests to come together recommitting and rededicating ourselves to our priestly ministry. Just as the laity renew their baptismal promises and their Christian commitment on Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, priests and deacons renew their priestly commitment during the Chrism Mass, in order to obey our Archbishop and serve God’s people faithfully.

The Archbishop blessed the Oils (Oil of the Sick, Oil of Catechumens and Oil of Sacred Chrism) which will be used in the administration of sacraments throughout the year. These mixture of olive oil and balsam fragrance are symbols of richness and fullness of God’s grace and spiritual strength. These Oils are given the grace of the Sacraments to nurture our relationships with God.

In many Arch/Dioceses of the world, the Chrism Mass often takes place on Holy Thursday morning and after the celebration, the priests and deacons return to their respective parishes for Holy Thursday celebration in the evening. At some other Arch/Dioceses however, the Chrism Mass takes place days or weeks in advance, as travelling is inconvenient. For us, we have the Chrism Mass within a week before Holy Thursday, at the discretion of the Archbishop.

As preparation for this renewal and recommitment, priest from the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese gathered for our monthly Recollection on 20 and 21 March 2018, where we were given input, reflections and prayers. It is a reminder for us to be of service to the Church and its people, and to be faithful stewards of God. During the Chrism Mass in the presence of the Archbishop and the people of God, priests and deacons renewed our dedication to Christ when we responded, “I AM.”

We united ourselves with one voice, promising to carry out Christ’s work in more effective ways, as we witness the Lord’s presence throughout our ministries. This response and renewal of commitment to our priestly ministry, is the same as when we were ordained. We believe that as the Lord began His good work in us, He will bring it to fulfilment, though us.

My dear parishioners, we are in the Holy Week, a very sacred time of the year and an important week for all Christians. Once again we are going to commemorate and remember the last week of Jesus’ life on this Earth, leading us to the great Easter celebration – the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. During this week, fix our minds and hearts on the final week of Jesus’ life - his betrayal, his trials, his suffering, his crucifixion and his death on the cross. This Holy Week, lets put aside our busy schedules and make time to read and pray the last two chapters from any of the four Gospels, in order to enact the suffering, passion and death of Jesus.

Blessings, healing, joy and peace await you and for your family this Easter. Let’s open ourselves to God, and turn our hearts and words into actions, so that it makes a difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLY WEEK!

JESUS' PROCESSION INTO JERUSALEM

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. It is a day that we look at the final week of Jesus ministry before He goes up to Calvary. In our celebration of Palm Sunday, the same crowds that had sung “Hosannas” would shout, “Crucify Him” on Good Friday.

Jesus knew that the end of his earthly ministry was near. It was time to do what he had come to do. He was ready to be obedient to God the Father, and to accomplish the purpose set out for Him.

Now, as we start Holy Week, it is time to decide once again to love God with all our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves. We are given a chance to look at our lives and our relationship with God and become disciples of Jesus.

As we move to the most holy time of our Christian faith, take time to discern where Jesus is in our lives. If we are too far from Jesus, move a step closer to Him and make Him the center of our life.

Holy Week has begun – the most wonderful 7 days of the liturgical year, beginning with Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday) and ending with Easter Sunday (the Lord’s Resurrection).

Have a wonderful Holy Week!

AN EARTH-FRIENDLY LENT

We are drawing closer to Holy Week. It is a week where we place ourselves nearer to the suffering servant, Jesus Christ. His Life, Passion and Death will bridge us to Easter and the joy of resurrection. He willingly sacrificed His life to save us from sin. He paid the price to heal and liberate us. As St Peter says, “He was bearing our sins and live for uprightness; through his bruises, you have healed,” (1 Peter 2:24).

Lent is a time where we focus and reflect on repentance, and about giving up an item or two that we consider as sacrifice and penance. These past 5 weeks, we have been examining, reflecting, contemplating and practicing the Lenten observances – prayer, penance and almsgiving. These three pillars are for purification and strengthening of our love for God and our neighbours. The Lenten season encourages us to live our lives with humility and simplicity.

We need a praying life. Our prayer life connects us with Jesus Christ and helps us to stay connected to Him. We need to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). Fasting and penance purifies our hearts to live the value of the Gospel and to restore our broken lives. Almsgiving magnifies our concern for neighbours’ needs (Matt 25: 35-36) and it gives us an opportunity to see Christ in the poor, the suffering and dying, and embracing the 5Ls (lost, last, least, little and lonely).

The Holy Father in his recent encyclical, “On Care of Our Common Home (Laudato Si’) asked everyone around the world to “take good care of creation” and to care for our common home as “our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience,” (Paragraph 217).

The Church urges us to learn and practice earth care issues and take action that will honour Christ’s teachings about caring for creation. Thus, the Church  invites us to be stewards of God’s Creation and pray for the environment. We Christians, have a unique opportunity and responsibility to make efforts and be challenged to take action on the issues affecting the environment, especially on matters of water, energy, consumption and food. During this Lent, take time to reflect on creation and care, in order to bring greater Ecological harmony with all living creatures of God.

Few things we can give up, starting this Lent and for the rest of our lives, which will help the environment, include:

Ø  Reduce using plastic and paper bags but reusable shopping bags. Just keep few of them in your car.

Ø  Put a stop to receiving unwanted catalogues.

Ø  Cut down the amount of food we throw away.

Ø  Go green by using recycled and earth friendly materials. Teach our kids to reused and recycled products. 

Ø Send your recycled products to our parish and put them in the prepared containers. We collect them and the income goes to the poor. Just for your info, every month we gain RM200-400 from these products.

Each of us has a duty to care for God’s Creation. As Lent draws to a close with Holy Week around the corner, it is good for us to reflect and contemplate what we buy, what we waste, how we preserve and how we spend our time during Lent. These things impact the environment and us. It is also a way of preparing for Easter, celebrating a New Creation by glorifying the goodness of our Creator through our words and deeds.

A NEW GROWTH IN FAITH

“...unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yeilds a rich harvest,” (John 12: 24).

The seed planted in the ground is a beautiful symbolism of growing in new life. Jesus announces his hour has come and He will suffer and die to gain abundant life for all.

Jesus is the grain of wheat. He was planted in the ground in death at Calvary, but rose to new life, a divinised life. His passion, death and resurrection have brought all for salvation and all to bear fruits of the Spirit in us: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” (Gal. 5:22).

Jesus tells us that only those who trust in Him, only those who let change and transformation come into life during this Lent, will ultimately experience a new meaning in life which opens a new opportunity for growth and maturity in faith.


The Responsorial Psalm today says, “Create a clean heart in me, O God,” (Ps 51) and invites us for a renewal that will restore us to a life at peace with God.

LOOKING AT FAMILY LIFE DURING LENT

We have now completed the first half of Lent. As we enter into this Fourth Week of Lent, the second half of the season, leading up to Holy Week, we are invited to reflect on how our Lenten penances and good work has helped us in our family conversion, and built upon our relationship with one another. How are we allowing the grace of God to be at work, as we prepare to renew our baptismal promises at Easter?

Lent is an ideal time to look at marriage and family life. How does our Lenten Season shape what we are called to do in marriage and family life? During the next three weeks of Lent and before Easter Sunday, we should take time to examine our marriage and family. As spouses, do we love as deeply as we did at the beginning of our marriage?

As Lent is a season of renewal, it is an appropriate time for families to pray together, if they haven’t already been doing so. Realise that our families are in need of conversion, especially when it comes to our relationship with one another. Families should make it a point to get together for meals and prayer time, perhaps even to talk about their Lenten reflection. Our commitment and our relationship within the family unit should deepen through unconditional love.

Unconditional love transforms us not only as spouses and parents, but more importantly – it transforms us a person. For those of us who are parents, do we put the needs of our children first? Do we think about our spouse before making a decision that could affect the family? We should strive to put the needs of others ahead of our own, so that we may grow in love. We should care for each other and pray for the grace to be less selfish in our family life.

Is there something you can do in order to make your family life better? Could you help out and share the workload within the family? Could you hold back the sarcastic comments and complaints, which hurt and sadden your spouse and children? How about choosing to say something positive and loving instead? Wouldn’t that make a wonderful and meaningful Lenten experience!

Sometimes, the simple and ordinary changes we make for the sake of our families can draw us closer to each other. The Lord will show us His grace, mercy and love, and that will lead us to patience, forgiveness and reconciliation.

“We all stumble in many ways,” (James 3:2) which is why we need to be patient in our relationships. Without patience, we may face friction and division in our homes. Be patient - constantly loving one another, and cultivate a forgiving attitude in the same way God forgives us. Learn and teach ourselves to be patient, loving and forgiving as it will strengthen our family bonds and lead to peace in our homes.