GREAT HOPE THROUGH PRAYER

The month of July has come to an end. We are in the midst of the second half of the year. The remaining months will move fast and we can’t control the passing days. Perhaps you have not done enough in the first half of the year but there is always the opportunity to re-adjust the second half in the light of Christ.

When we look around, there are many things that may cause us to lose hope in life. However, when we look at Jesus and His promises, there is great hope for the future. St Paul says that we should do something each day in order to get closer to our goal of life(cf. Ephesians 5:15-16) so make the best of the present time till the end of 2019!

During the feast of St Joseph, our Patron Saint (1May 2019), our Parish Catechetical Team was meant to declare a day off for the catechism students. However, classes continued on as usual. So in lieu of that, we have carried forward this day off to Sunday, 28 July 2019, so that our students may spend time with their families or go for St Anne and St Joachim’s Feast.

Generally, many Catholics throughout Peninsular Malaysia make their pilgrimage to the Shrines of St Anne and St Joachim either in Bukit Mertajam, Port Klang, Alor Gajah or Semenyih. The devotion to St Anne and St Joachim has always drawn throngs of people from all over. This feast of St Anne and St Joachim falls on 26 July 2019 and their novenas and celebrations go on for 10 days. St Anne and St Joachim are parents to Mother Mary and grandparents to Jesus. Although we know very little about them, they are truly remarkable people because they nurtured a wonderful daughter, Mary - who played a very important role in the work of the Redemption.The Feast of St Anne and St Joachim is well known feast which precedes three other feasts, namely, St Anthony, St Jude and Our Lady in our nation.

Prior to our parish being dedicated to St Joseph, the Worker, it was a chapel named after St Anne – built by Rev Fr Louis Duvelle. In 1908, the chapel was rededicated under the patronage of St Joseph, the Worker. Our neighbour, the Tamil School was named after him too, because the majority of parishioners and its surrounding residents were railways workers. If the name St Anne remained till the present, I believe it would have been another pilgrim shrine in Kuala Lumpur. But it was wise of the priests and parishioners in Sentul to keep the wonderful name of St Joseph, the Worker so as to remember not only railway employees but workers in general, who toil tirelessly everyday.

 

Last year, we celebrated the 110th anniversary of our Parish, faithfully honouring St Joseph, the Worker as our Patron. It is the only Church named after St Joseph, the Worker in the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese.

Next weekend (3-4 August 2019) we will have a Durian & Mangosteen Fiesta in our Church grounds. We have ordered about 300kgs of durian, including Musang Kingand 150kgs of mangosteen from Raub, Pahang. Prices start from RM10 onwards. If you plan to do a take  away, please bring your own containers and bags. This fun-filled event is being organised as form of fellowship among parishioners and of course, the profits from the sale will be utilised for the needy. We invite all durian lovers to join us next week, and if the response is good, we shall have this Fiesta every yummy season!

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING

Our Gospel reading (Luke 11: 1-13) this Sunday Jesus teaches us how to pray with faith.

In all our sins we often find it most difficult to seek God but He waits for us, worries about us, and is eager to respond with His mercy. 

When we ask, He always answers our prayer – “On the day I called, You answered me, O Lord,” (Psalm 137). Whenever we pray, the Holy Spirit connects us to the Father and to Jesus. Therefore, we have to pray persistently, identify our sins and repent. Every prayer increases our holiness, brings us closer to God and empowers us to be more like Him. 

The life of discipleship is a life of constant and persistent prayer. As Paul say: “Pray without ceasing,” (1 Thessalonian 5:17). We must continually rely on God’s Spirit in order to grow in faith and holiness.

Prayer should lead us into a life of radical discipleship. Even in the worst of our troubles, Jesus is with us.

How often do we humble ourselves before Jesus in prayer and ask for an increase of faith?

http://www.stjosephsentul.org/great-hope-through-prayer-1/

HOPE CHANGES OUR LIVES

Jesus Christ is our hope. He brings forgiveness and hope for the future. He changes our lives and He will give you a new heart with renewed strength. He will give you the strength to live a dynamic life of faith. The Great God who lives amongst us will bring hope through the Word and Sacrament.

Certain things in life are absolutely necessary. Air is one of them. We need air to breathe. We need water, too. Humans can only live about three days without water. We also need hope. Life without hope is difficult. 

We are in difficulties on all sides, we see no answer to our problems, we have been persecuted - but they never corner you, never knock you down or kill you - because the life of Jesus is still alive in your body. Death is at work in us but life is in us because Christ lives in us! (cf. 2 Cor 4:7-15).

One of my favourite lecturers in the seminary was the late Fr. Regis (passed away in 2002). During my philosophy year in 1996, he recommended a book entitled “Man’s Search for Meaning”written by psychiatrist Dr. Victor Frankl - whoseparents, brother and pregnant wife were all killed in the Nazi camps in Auswitz, Poland in 1944. He lost everything. Some asked him, “Why do you not commit suicide?” So in his book “Man’s Search for Meaning”, he said that a “loss of hope and loss of courage can have a deadly effect on man.”

As a result of his experience in a Nazi concentration camp, he said that when a man no longer possesses a purpose for living, no future to look toward to, he would usually curl up in a corner and die. But for him, he restored his inner strength in the camp and that was his first step towards building courage and hope.

Dr Victor Frankl wrote a total of 33 books. He became the first non-American to be awarded the prestigious Oskar Pfister Award by the American Psychiatric Association. Victor Frankl was correct when he said that to restore or to bring back a person’s inner strength or peace, he or she must first have hope of attaining some future goal. 

Even St Paul stated that the only goal that cannot be crushed by this fallen world is the living hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. We may face all kinds of difficulties in life with seemingly no answer to our problems, but Christ lives in us and that gives us hope.

Hope is necessary for our well-being. In a fallen world where pain, suffering and injustice are the norm, hope gives significance to life’s choices and enables us to endure them. Troubles, suffering, physical health, illness and eventually death comes like a thief and robs a person’s live. During suffering, pain or illness, we often focus on what we have lost, rather than on what we still have.

The Holy Father, Pope Francis has released an Apostolic Exhortation entitled “Christus Vivit”– CHRIST IS ALIVE, on 25 March 2019- for our young people.In this document, the Holy Father encourages the youth not to abandon the Church. He reminds the young people to stand beside the Church because “Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world.”He wants them to be alive since Christ is alive!

As only 20% of youth stay in the Church, and as a commitment to their personal vocation, the Holy Father encourages the youth “to discern their pathway”, “to grow in holiness”, “to make an effort to grow spiritually” and “to seek righteousness, faith, love and peace, (2 Tim. 2:22).”

He also warns them on the use of modern technology which can lead them to isolation, selfishness, lack communitarian aspects and expose them to the worst evils. Instead, he encourages them to pray in silence - discern and listen to God.Finally, Pope Francis wishes that young people “keep running the race”. The Church “needs your momentum, your energy, your intuitions/insights, your faith.”Find your faith and lead our Church to new life! And bring new hope.

We live in a world where people are really afraid about the future. Parents worry about the future of their children. We hope our kids and grandkids will grow up well. How many parents hope that their kids will live as disciples of Jesus? Unfortunately, I don't think we worry too much about  their spiritual aspects.

One day, Jesus is going to return to this earth. This is a truth that is taught in the Bible. And the return of Jesus is not just wishful thinking. As in the Gospel reading (Mt 20:20-28), we have James and John asking to have the privileged positions in the final kingdom. The disciples are indignant because they feel they deserve the position.But Jesus asked them – “can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” The cup that Jesus offers is the cup of service – willing service in the way of Jesus and Mary. Service all the way to death. Through service and suffering, we will make our Jesus’s will to come true.

When we look around us, there are many things that perhaps causes us to lose hope. But when we look at God and his promises, there is great hope for the future. As you keep your hope high, St Paul says “do something each day that gets you closer to your goal of life.”(Ephesians 5:15-16). Make the best of the present time.

Hope changes our lives. The hope that we have through Christ transforms how we think and how we act. This living hope helps us to see the world with the eyes of Christ. As long as we have faith in Jesus Christ, we will always have hope. Other people see only a hopeless end, but we Christians rejoice in an endless hope.

(Homily on 25 July 2019 @ 7.30 pm at Church of St Anne, Port Klang)

FAITHFUL SERVANTS OF CHRIST

On Sunday, 14 July 2019 during the 6pm Mass, Archbishop Julian Leow administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 51 candidates. There were 28 students from the Form Five catechism class, 5 candidates from RCIA (Rite of the Christian Initiation of Adults) and 18 from the Myanmar Zomi community. This is the first time we have had the Myanmarese candidates join the Sacrament of Confirmation with our own students.

After a long period of preparation, learning, sharing, serving, fellowship and through their commitment of attending classes regularly – they have come forward with promising hearts to be faithful servants and ambassadors of Christ. By the laying of hands and anointment with the Oil of Sacred Chrism, they received the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Catechism of the Catholic Church: # 1300-1301).

Today, they have become spiritually matured adults. This Sacrament has brought them deeper into communion with the Catholic Church. They have the opportunity to learn more about the Catholic faith and put into practice their faith in order to be Disciples of Christ.

My dear confirmands and also young people, a great future awaits you if you focus on the bright side of life and identify your real value. When your faith sparks in the life of others - that is the day your faith becomes alive. Once you go out and seek for people who need your help and make these people’s lives better and beautiful, then you will know that you have changed someone’s life. That is the day you can proudly say that your faith in Christ is alive and you are alive in Christ! Let’s “seek the Lord; your faith will revive,” (Ps 69: 32).

Godparents, you have a significant role to play in the life of your spiritual sons and daughters, in order for them to be living examples of faith. I am happy that the candidates have chosen you to be their sponsors and I hope and pray that you will offer your support and encouragement in their faith journey.

As parishioners, we need to serve as role models to our confirmands and RCIA candidates. We need to encourage them to learn more about the Catholic faith and welcome them into our community. It is our duty to look after their faith and share the joy of Christ, which we have experienced ourselves.

The Holy Father, Pope Francis said that the Sacrament of Confirmation “strengthens our relationship with the Church and gives us special strength from the Holy Spirit to defend the faith”and “it unites us more firmly to Christ.”The Church will continue to be responsible for their regular Mass attendance and for their growth in spiritual life. The Church will also continuously offer formations, so that they may increase their faith and be united firmly in the Catholic Church.

We will be inviting RCIA candidates who have been baptised and confirmed in recent years to come together for the “RCIA REUNION 2019”on 18 August 2019 at 7.30pm. We realise that many of them have not come back to our Church after receiving their sacraments. The Church has taken so much initiative to prepare them for the sacraments and it is the duty of the Church to assist them in their faith life for the rest of their lives.

I would like to express many thanks to the Form 5 teachers and Catechism coordinators: Priscilla, Matilda, Puspa Rakini and Monica, the RCIA coordinators:  Christina and Veronica, as well as the many others who have played their part in preparing our students and candidates for the Sacrament of Baptism and Confirmation. God bless you all!

The visit of Jesus to the home of Mary and Martha (LK 10:38-42) reminds us that hard work is a Christian ethic but sometimes we just need to sit and listen.

In our daily lives we can become so busy and stress with our every day things of life that we lose our focus. We rush here and we rush there. We are like Martha when Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things.”

The best thing we can do is stop rushing and start resting in Jesus. We need to stop worrying about “so many things” and refocus on those things that are really important.

Martha said to Jesus: “Lord, do You not care....” At time we accuse Jesus that He is not caring us. We can become so distracted and disturbed by what is going on in our lives.

God always takes care of us. As we go through this busy world - let our focus always be on Jesus.

“He will make His dwelling with those who keep His Word and practice justice.” (PS 135).

http://www.stjosephsentul.org/faithful-servants-of-christ-1/

SIT AND LISTEN

The visit of Jesus to the home of Mary and Martha (LK 10:38-42) reminds us that hard work is a Christian ethic but sometimes we just need to sit and listen.

In our daily lives we can become so busy and stress with our every day things of life that we lose our focus. We rush here and we rush there. We are like Martha when Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things.”

The best thing we can do is stop rushing and start resting in Jesus. We need to stop worrying about “so many things” and refocus on those things that are really important.

Martha said to Jesus: “Lord, do You not care....” At time we accuse Jesus that He is not caring us. We can become so distracted and disturbed by what is going on in our lives.

God always takes care of us. As we go through this busy world - let our focus always be on Jesus.

“He will make His dwelling with those who keep His Word and practice justice.” (PS 135).

THE LIVING WORD

On the 15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate Bible Sunday with the theme – “Strengthening the Family through Word and Eucharist”. Once again we renew our commitment to make the Living Word alive in us, as we live and share the knowledge of God with one another.

Two important things always occur when a family gets together – meal and talk. Why do we need to eat food and what is the significance of talking? God has provided two most precious graces - Eucharist (meal) and Bible (talk). 

The Eucharist has its origin in the Passover Meal (it was a ritual meal held before Moses delivered the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt to the Promise Land – Exodus 11-12). The Bible (talk) is described as a love letter from Heaven for us. God the Father “shows forth his great, patient and unfailing love throughout history of humankind”in his love letter. He hopes that we may inherit eternal happiness by paying attention to his message, but often we fail to heed his advise.

The Bible is the “Family Book”. It describes the relationship of the human family, family crises, love stories, and it contains great wisdom and spiritually. In the Bible, God helps us with practical advice and wisdom for each family member in order to build relationships with one another. In our family, we encounter “hope and disappointment, love and betrayal, joy and despair, triumph and failure”. We cannot run away from these realities of life. Thus, the Family Book “ As a family, we should cultivate reading the Bible together prayerfully and meditatively, and make the words “active and alive” (Heb 4:12). So a family that prays and eats together, always stays together and indeed this family is very strong in the Eucharist.

Jesus practiced what He preached. In the Eucharistic celebration, we encounter the Real Presence of Jesus in the Word (Liturgy of the Word) and in the Sacrament (the Liturgy of the Eucharist). The Word and the Eucharist complement each other as how the word and action go hand-in-hand. Without action, the word remains meaningless. Each time we celebrate and participate in the Eucharist, we remember and re-enact “the self-giving act of Jesus” and his commandment of “Do this in memory of Me,” (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-26).

The Eucharist gives us strength and grace to bear witness to Christ and His Church by living together in love and harmony. What we have learned and received from the Eucharist is what we should become in the Church community and society. At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, we are reminded that through this Sacrament we are to “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,”or “Go and announce the Good News of the Lord.”

Either on your personal level or BEC level, please spare a couple of minutes on the questions below and write down or share your reflection:

1.    God’s word has power. Our words too have power to heal or to hurt, especially those closest to us. How aware are we of that? How often do we put our words to good use?

2.    The bread-provider of the family is the one who exercises the power, but he/she is also called to make sacrifices, even to the extent of laying down his/her own life (like Christ in the Eucharist) in order to provide for the family. Are we convinced that with greater power comes greater responsibility and servanthood?

(An abstract from the Bible Sunday Message 2019 by Regional Biblical Commission of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei).

BE KIND AND GOOD

A very well-known Gospel from the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37). The parable takes place on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. The Gospel lesson is giving us a list of the things we can do in order to get into heaven. That is what the Jewish lawyer is asking Jesus – “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

What we can learn from this Good Samaritan as an example of loving our neighbour. Jesus teaches us the importance of caring for others. The reality is you never know how much caring can do until you do it.

The priest and Levite were both busy men, but they were too busy if they couldn’t spare the time to help a fellow traveller in need. The Samaritan gave freely his service to the wounded traveller.

We need to show our interest in our friends and neighbours and open our hearts and care for those in need. Speak a kind word to others. Bring hope to the hopeless, compassion to the crushed, and healing to the injured. Let us be kind and share the goodness to our neighbours always.

http://www.stjosephsentul.org/the-living-word-2/

BRINGING THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL

As Jesus traveled to Jerusalem from Galilee for the last time, He commissioned seventy-two disciples whom He sent ahead of Him in pairs to every town. It reminds us about our responsibility to join the task of sharing the good news with those who have not yet heard.

Jesus instructed these seventy disciples, and to all all of us, to ask God to send out more laborers. Why must we pray because this is the Lord’s work. It is through prayer that we will see that there is great potential in the harvest. It is through prayer that we will ask for the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers.

The need for reaching many people as quickly as possible with the gospel is urgent. We have the capacity to make God rejoice by our faithful ministry. We must remember that when carry the message of the gospel to others and do a favour for Jesus, we bring joy to the heart of Jesus. Are we ready to do a favour for Jesus by bringing the joy of the Gospel to ALL?

“Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.” (Psalm 65)

REFRESHED AND RENEWED

A pilgrimage is a spiritual journey, spending time in prayer in holy shrines and exploring new sites. It is also a kind of internal journey of self-discovery, as it provides the opportunity to take a step closer to God and to grow deeper in relationship with Him. 

Recently, I went for a 15-day pilgrimage with 39 other pilgrims to Eastern Europe. We visited Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. It was my second pilgrimage to these countries, after 15 years. All these countries have experienced war in the recent past, being subjected to communist regimes for ages. Poland seems to be the only country which has come out of those wars successfully. Now they are new members of the European Union, adding to its richness of culture, religious traditions and churches.

We landed at Zagreb, the capital of Croatia and began our road trip pilgrimage. A wonderful panoramic scene welcomed us, winding roads along the loveliest shores. I was reminded about the FIFA World Cup 2018, where Croatia came close to winning their first ever World Cup. 

 

After Croatia, we travelled to the Shrine of Our Lady of Medjugorje - meaning the “Queen of Peace” - located in Medjugorje, a town in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Medjugorje is a place where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to six children in June 1981. It is the next well-known Marian pilgrim center in Europe after Our Lady of Lourdes, in France and Our Lady of Fatima, in Portugal. We had a wonderful spiritual experience praying the Rosary while climbing Apparition Hill, at an altitude of 200 meters above sea level and also spending an hour with the Blessed Sacrament at the square in the Church of St James, Medjugorje. St James the Apostle is the Patron Saint of Pilgrims.

In May 2019, the Holy Father, Pope Francis gave the “green light for priests and bishops to lead pilgrimages” to our Lady of Medjugorje but the Vatican said “studies into the authenticity of the alleged apparitions are still ongoing” and “still require an examination by the Church.”

As we traveled up north to Hungary and the Czech Republic, we visited two historical cities – Budapest and Prague – known for their two prominent kings who are saints of the Church today – St Stephen of Hungary (975-1038AD) and St Wenceslaus, Martyr from the Czech Republic (921AD). Both saints were just and charitable towards their people and religious kings during their time.

St Wenceslaus’ monument can be found in the Cathedral of St Vitus in Prague Castle. He encountered many challenges in ruling his kingdom and in promoting the Christian faith. We celebrate his feast on 29 September every year. St Stephen of Hungary’s feast falls on 16 August. He established many dioceses and strengthened the life of the Church. His right arm is still intact and kept in St Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest.

Our last destination in the Czech Republic was at the Infant Jesus of Prague, a well-known statue in Europe. It is a 16th century wax-coated wooden statue of baby Jesus holding an orb and cross or globus cruciger. The statue is kept at the Carmelite Church, where we had a wonderful Eucharistic celebration with the Christmas readings and liturgy.

Among all the places we visited, Poland was the most enthralling place for me. We were in Krakow, Wadowice (birth place of St John Paul II) and we visited the Divine Mercy Shrine as well as the Auschwitz Concentration Camp site.

Saint Pope John Paul II, who became one of the longest reigning and most charismatic Pope in history, had strengthened the faith of Christians in Poland as well as the Universal Church through his leadership, teachings and writing. He was the first Pope to initiate World Youth Day and World Day of the Sick. During his papacy, the devotions of Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Luminous Mystery of the Rosary were introduced in the Church.

The first time I was in Poland in 2004, my pilgrims and I prayed for his health. This time around, my group and I asked St John Paul II to send God’s blessing down upon us all from heaven’s window. I admire Pope John Paul II and his zeal.I thank God for this fruitful and wonderful experience, and to have my spirits refreshed and renewed once again.