A FEAST DAY TO REMEMBER

Our parish’s feast day of St. Joseph, the Worker went well and everyone was happy. We prepared for the feast day with novenas for nine days, which started on 22 April to 1 May 2018.

The first day was celebrated by Nuncio Archbishop Marino Joseph and concelebrated by both Fr. William Michael and I. His Excellency blessed the 110th anniversary (1908-2018) of our parish flag and officiated the celebration on 22 April 2018. Then, for the next three days, Fr. Robert Daniel from the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Silibin, Ipoh celebrated the novenas. Subsequent days were celebrated by Fr. Clarence Dass, Fr. Edwin Peter, Fr. Putti Martin, Fr. John Gnanapragasam, Fr. Sebastian OFM and Fr. Alan Pereira.

Despite the rainy days, there was an increase in the number of devotees each day. On the first day of Novena we were supposed to have a flag raising ceremony at the Church car park but due to a heavy downpour, we only had the flag raising after Mass. His Excellency Marino Joseph apologised for not being present at the flag raising ceremony, as he had to leave directly after Mass, to attend prior appointments. However, it was indeed a blessing to have him with us during the opening celebration of our Patron Saint.

On Tuesday, 1 May 2018, Fr. John Gnanapragasam celebrated Mass and Anointing of the Sick for the elderly and the infirmed, at 11.00am. Fr. Putti Martin and I concelebrated with him. Our closing feast day celebration was celebrated by Archbishop Julian Leow in the evening on 1 May 2018. After the Eucharistic celebration, he led a procession with the Blessed Sacrament and concluded our Feast Day with the Benediction.

Approximately 1500 parishioners and pilgrims participated in our feast day celebrations. It was raining non-stop and I was worried and anxious that we would not make the procession with the Blessed Sacrament. However, the Lord blessed us with fine weather that night. Every one of us was able to walk prayerfully, in a beautiful candlelight procession.

On Monday, 30 April, there was a heavy downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning. This then affected the electricity supply and the PA System in the Church. Thankfully, Tenaga National Berhad (TNB) technicians were able to successfully rectify the problem the very next day. Shaun Paiva and his team also managed to rectify the Church sound system problems just before we began the feast day celebration.

A series of hiccups and problems occurred throughout our celebrations. Frankly speaking, I was so anxious and agitated at times. However, the Lord challenged me to encounter them without being afraid, and to stand firm, move forward and put my trust in Him. He will guide us continually (Isaiah 58:11), and do not be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6) because He is our strength and power (2 Samuel 22:33) and for He has promised to “repay two blessings for each of your troubles.” (Zechariah 9:12).

As your parish priest, I would like to take an opportunity to thank our Feast Day Committee 2018, under the leadership of Leonard Paiva. They worked hard around the clock, to make the 110th Anniversary celebrations a memorable one. Everything turned out well, and I could not have been more pleased.

Thumbs up to all of you my dear parishioners! Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!