SIMPLICITY, HUMILITY AND HOLINESS

The memorial of Saint John Paul II is celebrated each year on 22nd October. The Dioceses of United States of America inscribed St John Paul II as an Optional Memorial into their Proper Liturgical Calendar in 2012. Then, Pope Francis ordered the inscription of St John Paul II into the General Roman Calendar in 2014, as a Memorial of the Common of Saints.

In 2020, the Church will celebrate the 100th anniversary of St John Paul II’s birthday and the 15th anniversary of his death. In conjunction with these anniversaries, the President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, requested Pope Francis to declare St John Paul II as a Doctor of the Church and Patron of Europe. The Bishops’ Conference saw the richness of the pontificate St John Paul II and his personality as poet, philosopher and theologian who led the Universal Church to great heights. He changed the face of the Papacy through his personal testimony of holiness, his writings and his contribution towards the restoration of unity in Europe, after more than fifty years of division.

Last Tuesday (22 October 2019) the Church commemorated the Memorial of St. John Paul II. I remembered how influential Pope John Paul II was to the Church and to the world. He brought about a New Evangelisation in the Church. The greatest gift of John Paul II to the Universal Church was the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) which was published in 1993. With this CCC, many of us are certain about the doctrines and teachings of the Church. At times, I pray to him for guidance to understand my life as a priest. He encouraged priests to remain faithful in their vocation through his message, especially on Holy Thursdays and through his experiences as a priest in his book on “Gift and Mystery”.

After his death, many wanted the Vatican to speed up his sainthood (“Santo Subito” means Sainthood now). On 27 April 2014 (Divine Mercy Sunday), Pope Francis canonised Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) together with Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) who initiated the Second Vatican Council. (St John XXIII’s memorial is celebrated on 11th October).

I was reading two articles this week pertaining on St. John Paul II and I recalled my pilgrimage to the cities of Wadowice and Krakow in Poland in August 2005. My pilgrims and I had the opportunity to meet Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz at Church of the Mother of Perpetual Help, Wadowice, Poland (where John Paul was born, baptised and raised). Cardinal Stanislaw was the long-time personal secretary of Pope John Paul II then, however now he is retired. We had few minutes of conversation with him and then we dedicated a Malay Song to him – “Betapa Hati Ku”. Before leaving he gave us his blessing.

I feel blessed to have visited his hometown and also his tomb at Vatican. I am fascinated by his pastoral zeal, his teachings and writings. He impacted me a lot during my initial stage as a priest. He has become the Pope that so importantly influenced my priestly ministry.

After John Paul II’s death, the Church started to give him a title of “John Paul the Great.” He is labelled as the “Great” because he possessed the extraordinary ability to imitate the example and teaching of Jesus Christ. Three other virtues that make him worthy to be called the “Great” are simplicity, humility and holiness.

Oh St. John Paul II, from heaven's window, where we see you next to Mary, send God's blessing down upon us all!

HUMBLE OUR HEARTS

In today’s Gospel (LK 18:9-14), Jesus introduces two characters: a Pharisee and a tax collector. Jesus says that the Pharisee’s prayer was not heard. The motive of our prayer is not to impress God. When we put down others and brag about our own accomplishments, these kind of behaviours doesn’t impress God who sees right to the heart.

When it comes to our prayer life, guard against comparing ourselves with someone else because it can lead to pride. If we want to compare ourselves then we should compare with Jesus. 

The tax collector stands at a distance. He will not even look up to heaven. He communicates with God with humility instead of pride. 

When we approach God, approach Him with humble and contrite heart and also in great reverence. God is great. God is good all the time.

Let us promise God that we will never look down on our fellow brothers and sisters but we look out to them the way God does.

“Lord, humble our hearts and give us your eyes.”

RESPOND GENEROUSLY TO THE CALL

World Mission Sunday was instituted in 1926 by Pope Pius XI. This annual celebration is marked with prayers, and it motivates every Baptised Christian to live and practise the Church’s mission. Every year, the Pope reminds the Church to be aware of its missionary character and its fundamentals, through his message on World Mission Sunday. He chooses a different theme each year and assists every member of the Church to reflect on his or her own encounter with Jesus and how he or she has to respond, as missionary disciples.

On the Solemnity of Pentecost (9 June 2019), the Holy Father Pope Francis, released his message for World Mission Sunday 2019 with the theme “Baptist and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World.” He set the month of October as an Extraordinary Missionary Month, as the Church celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XV (30 November 1919), “Maximum IIIud”, which means that momentous. Pope Francis invites “all Catholics and the Church to revive missionary awareness and commitment” in order to reveal the salvation of Jesus Christ to all nations.

This Extraordinary Missionary Month helps every one of us to discover and rediscover the missionary aspect of our faith in Jesus Christ. We receive the “gift freely” and “share it freely” (cf.MT 10:8) as we communicate and proclaim the message of Christ that everyone be saved as they come “to know the truth and experiencing his mercy through the ministry of the Church,” (cf. 1 Tim 2:4; Lumen Gentium, no.48). The Church moves across the boundaries, demanding “a constant and ongoing missionary conversion” taking the examples of Saints, holy men and women.

Each of us has been given a mission to give oneself “to others and build relationships that are life-giving” as a part of our Christian identity, which is “rooted in the fatherhood of God and the motherhood of the Church.” By virtue of our baptism, the Church needs us to “respond generously to the call to leave behind home, family, country, language and local Church, and to be sent forth to the nations, to a world not yet transformed…” The whole evangelising mission of the Church is to proclaim the Word of God, witness the Gospel and celebrate the life of the spirit in dialogue with cultures and religions of the peoples at the very ends of the earth.

(Extract from the message of the Holy Father, Pope Francis on World Mission Sunday 2019)

As we celebrate the Extraordinary Missionary Month – on the first day of Clergy Recollection (15 October 2019), about 40 of us from the KL Archdiocese (the Cardinal, Archbishop, Bishop Emeritus, priests and Deacon) made a pilgrimage to Church of St. Theresa of Lisieux, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. This Church has been designated a Mission Parish in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. We had our afternoon prayer, celebration of Sacrament of Reconciliation, reflection and spiritual walk, following the footstep of St Theresa. Rev Fr Eugene Benedict, who is the Parish Priest, explained about St Theresa’s spiritual journey and her family life in detail, as we walked each station. We ended our walk with adoration and benediction. 

This pilgrimage has given us a great opportunity to revive and re-live our baptismal call and how we can commit ourselves into the Church’s mission as ordained ministers. As Pope Francis’s message, “I am a mission, always; you are a mission, always; every baptised man and woman is a mission.” We are together on mission, let us join in the mission of the Church in prayers - sharing the stories of mission and charity. May the whole Church be guided by the Holy Spirit and be led into the way of truth.

BE PERSISTENT IN PRAYER

The parable in today’s Gospel (LK 18:1-8), is often called the Parable of the Persistent Widow. She came day and night before the judge, pleading and begging that her case to be heard. The judge did not care about the widow’s pestering. He continually refused to “hear” her case. Finally, he decided to give her justice just to get rid of her.

Jesus uses the account of the widow to teach what our attitude should be in prayer. It shows us that we should always pray and not give up. Pray and do not lose heart. St Luke encourages us to be persistence and steadfast in our faith.

It is a habit to be cultivated, discipline to be developed and a skill to be practiced in prayer. It is in this spirit that helps us to relate to God and will live forever with Him.

When our prayers are done in persistence, God will hear and answer. God is on your side, always. We as His disciples should always pray and not give up. Keep on praying!

“Our help is from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” (Ps 121)

https://www.stjosephsentul.org/respond-generously-to-the-call/ 

CARRYING OUT OUR CATHOLIC COMMITMENTS

During this Extraordinary Missionary Month, we continue to dedicate ourselves praying the Rosary as individuals, families and BECs every day. The Rosary guides us on our journey to holiness and “blends easily into the spiritual journey of the Christian life.” It is “destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness,” (The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, No. 1). The Rosary serves as a constant reminder of how our lives must be shaped by our desire to be more and more like Christ, until we attain true holiness.

On 10 October 2019, during the morning prayer (Lauds) of Thursday, Week III, I was so inspired by the Benedictus antiphon which invites us to “serve the Lord in holiness, and He will deliver us from the hands of our enemies.” This inspirational verse reminded me of the Universal call to holiness. Holiness is our vocation, and it invites all Christians to be holy (MT 5:48) as it is the fullness of Christian life. It has been discussed by Pope Paul VI in the Second Vatican Council of the  Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium #40, 21 November 1964 and by Pope Francis in Gaudete Et Exsultate, on the Call to Holiness in Today’s World, 2018.

St. John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae (The Rosary of the Virgin Mary), which was promulgated on 16 October 2002, referred to the devotion of the Rosary as a “genuine training in holiness.” Sometimes we may experience diluted and disrupted values taking over the sanctity and beauty of family. The Rosary is a unique weapon in our spiritual warfare and a great  defender of family life. 

Praying the Rosary makes a profound impact on our lives, especially on those seeking personal conversion. It is a powerful instrument for conversion and an armour to decrease our sins. Through our fervent prayers “Hail Mary…”will help us to grow in holiness by avoiding sin. In the midst of all our trials and tribulations, we are encouraged to pray the Rosary because it serves as a means to achieve personal peace and holiness.

We, Catholics realise it is actually quite an easy type of prayer and we all have learnt it in a great way. It is actually a mixture of both vocal and mental prayer. It can become a part of our daily lives and we should pray without ceasing (1 Thes 5:17).

We should set a time for our family rosary. We pray the rosary and ask Our Lady to obtain for us a remedy for our biggest issues and problems. Most young people do not have the patience for five decades of the Rosary everyday. So if you think you cannot pray the entire rosary at one time, pray at least a decade or perhaps break into five different times in a day. We pray the Rosary to honour Mary and it is the best way of honouring her, as our Spiritual Mother.

In this Extraordinary Missionary Month, the Holy Father Pope Francis, reminds us that we have been given a mandate to evangelise the Good News to all nations (Mt 28:18-20). All of us are invited to “go out” as missionary disciples to offer our talents, creativity, wisdom and experiences in order to bring the message of Christ to the entire human family. 

We have been organising many events, activities and formations on various topics such as spiritual development, family and community life, physical health and good works at parish level, and I believe many of you have participated and were fully involved in these. Hopefully this has helped to motivate you in discerning God’s purpose, talents, gifts and insights in your lives (Eph 2: 8-10 and Rom 12:4-8).

We also use social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp, Text Messages, etc. to share our spiritual experiences and devotion to Mother Mary. We use these tools as instruments in evangelising and promoting her during the entire Extraordinary Missionary Month of October, and it should  continue on throughout the year too.

So let’s continue to be missionary disciples – carrying out our commitments by bringing love into our homes, unity in our parish community and joy to the people that we meet daily. May Mother Mary be close at our side always during this Month of Rosary and Extraordinary Missionary Month.

Our Lady of the Rosary, PRAY FOR US! 

A GRATEFUL HEART

“Were not all ten made clean, the other nine, where are they?” (LK 17:17).

Don’t forget to thank God. If there is one sin that is most indecency today, it is the sin of ingratitude.

In today's Gospel ten men bound together by a common misery – leprosy and utterly unable to save themselves. They shared a common misfortune. They all were healed as they were going away.

There was one leper, the one least expected to do so, who had the decency to return and thank the Lord. This pleased our Lord and led Him to remark on the ingratitude of the others. They missed greater graces through this lack of appreciation and gratitude.

Gratitude should be a part of our nature. The lack of the spirit of gratitude is the reason that we fail to act with thankfulness for the things that we have. We all need to be more grateful to God every day of our lives, more grateful than we have been.

“The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations” (Ps 97).

https://www.stjosephsentul.org/carrying-out-our-catholic-commitments/

A CHURCH ON A MISSION

The Holy Father, Pope Francis has dedicated the month of October 2019 as an Extraordinary Missionary Month, with the theme “Baptised and Sent: The Church of Christ on a Mission in the World.” In a “month of the missions”, once again the Church reminds us of our duty and obligation to preach the gospel and to make disciples of all nations, (MT 28: 19-20).

On 21 October 2018, the Holy Father - in his message for World Mission Sunday 2018 - established the month of October 2019 as an “Extraordinary Missionary Month”. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict XV’s writing on mission entitled “Maximum Illud” which means that momentous. Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922) was known as a “Missionary Pope”. He highlighted the essential task of every Christian to “go into the whole world and preach the gospel to all creation,” (Mark 16:15).

The Archbishop and Bishops of Peninsula Malaysia has announced this year as an Extraordinary Year of Mission 2019, inviting every baptised Catholic to play prominent roles in missionary activity and to redevelop a sense of duty towards the mission of the Church in Malaysia and pastoral care towards people. On the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (5 & 6 January 2019), all the parishes in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur officially launched the Year of Mission 2019 and it will end on 31 December 2019.

 

The Extraordinary Missionary Month of October coincides with the Month of the Rosary and the feast of a remarkable saint – Saint Therese of Lisieux, France. She is known as a Patroness of Mission and Missionaries because she felt a call to support the missionary activity of the Church with her daily prayer and life of quiet fidelity. 

When we began the Extraordinary Month of October and the month of the most Holy Rosary, I invited parishioners of St Joseph’s Church (via a text message sent through the BECCOT Chairperson – Mary Bernadette) to start off the BEC rosary prayers with the Evening Vespers on the first day (Tuesday, 1 October 2019) in their respective BECs. I also enclosed the Church’s mission prayer, as proposed by Pope Francis for the Extraordinary Missionary Month, to be prayed either individually or communally throughout the month.

Every one of us should commit ourselves to the spirit of New Evangelisation and revitalise our faith, as we remain permanently in a state of mission. From now till December 2019, I hope our parishioners will take every opportunity to discern further our ministries, leadership roles and commitments as a church on mission. It is crucial for us to renew our baptismal call to be missionary disciples by presenting Jesus to the needy and underprivileged.

We have two important events ahead of us before the year end –  3rd  World Day of the Poor cum Parish Family Day on Sunday , 17 November 2019 and the distribution of free school uniforms to the underprivileged school children, which will be held on Saturday, 14 December 2019. It is not through the work of individuals, but through the collaboration of the entire parish that we can add value and blessings to these people. I invite you to pray always for the heartfelt generosity in serving and embracing the poorest and helpless.

As missionary disciples, let us walk the same path Christ walked - to live the life of holiness and to do good deeds. It is the Holy Spirit who sends, accompanies and encourages us to be on mission, “… you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which come on you, and then you will be my witnesses to earth’s remotest end,” (Acts 1:8).

INCREASE OUR FAITH

The Apostles ask Jesus to “Increase our faith,” (Lk 17: 5). 

The most tiny “faith like a mustard seed”, if exercised, can accomplish the seemingly impossible. The smallest amount of faith can accomplish great things. If we have fervent, ardent faith, even though it seemed to be small, you would accomplish great things.

Without faith we underestimate our own abilities. Without faith we end up giving up and blaming God. Faith empowers us to hold on as it deals with every problem we face in life. 

In this Extraordinary Missionary Month – October 2019 – Church is on Mission in the world. In this month we shall find ways to help to make Christ Jesus known to one another without going on the foreign mission. 

The Church invites every baptised and confirmed Catholic to get into a basic duty and obligation to live our faith, to grow in holiness and to do good deeds. If we are fail to live our faith then we are incomplete in living our faith in Christ and His Church.

“O that today you would listen his voice! Harden not your hearts,” (Ps 95).

http://www.stjosephsentul.org/a-church-on-a-mission/