Views from the Pulpit

Born in Selangor, Malaysia, in 1963. I completed my priestly education at College General in Penang Seminary, where I studied Philosophy and Sacred Theology and obtained a baccalaureate. On 12 February 2003, I was ordained as a Catholic Priest. Since then, I have been serving as a Priest in the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese. In 2010, I pursued further studies and obtained a Master’s degree in Systematic Theology at JDV in Pune, India. My priestly ordination motto is "TO LIVE A LIFE OF LOVE" (2 Jn 6).

Thursday, 27 August 2015

WITNESSING TO CHRIST : Through Service to Country

Come August 31, we will be celebrating our country’s Independence Day. There is much to thank God for our beloved nation as we see how Malaysia has emerged in the last 58 years of her development. However the rakyat is experiencing an unprecedented troubling time. Many groups and individuals have expressed their sentiments and grievances towards the present ruling government being oppressive, corrupt and unfair.

Our country is blessed with a multi-religious, multi-racial and multi-cultural population and as Christians we need to take the lead in interacting more with people of other faiths, traditions and cultures. The Church always invites everyone to aspire towards “unity in diversity” through dialogue, mutual respect, tolerance and understanding in order to bring about unity and harmony.

Since 1976, the Church in Peninsula Malaysia has been promoting dialogue with people of other faiths as a continuation of the work of Christ. It is our commitment therefore to continue His labour of love in our land, in gratitude to God for the gift of faith and in gratitude to all missionaries, men and women, religious and priests who tirelessly build the kingdom of justice, peace and love.

When we bring the message of the Gospel to people in our communities, work places, etc. we establish personal relationships with them just as how Jesus was in relationship with the poor and the rich, the oppressed and marginalised, the ostracised and outcast. We are invited to identify ourselves with suffering humanity and live the reality of communion by being in solidarity with them. What is our individual response? How can we motivate a strong patriotic spirit in the present generation?

Let’s pursue with the Vision and Mission of our Parish by strengthening our own faith community in the way of confessing and witnessing Jesus in our nation today. The time has come for us to rediscover the richness of engaging with one another as we work together for justice and peace in our country.

Let us come together on August 29^th in a spirit of prayer and fasting for all forms of respect of humanity, integrity and transparency to be exercised. Let’s stand up for justice and truth, reconciliation and peace.

“May the Lady of All Nations, the Blessed Virgin Mary, be our Advocate. Amen.”

7 PRACTICAL WAYS TO HAVE A GOOD LENT

Lent is a season of penance and spiritual warfare. The goal is pure hearts so that we can joyfully celebrate the resurrection of our Lord at Easter, the greatest feast of the liturgical year.

7 PRACTICAL WAYS TO HAVE A GOOD LENT.

1. HAVE A PLAN:

All our good intentions which we set right from the beginning of Lent begin to vanish because we don’t have plans. For an example, “I’m going to pray more” but this just remains as an intention. My advice, once you have determined what you are going to do, stick to it every single day. Often, we are overly ambitious and when we fail in our Lenten goals, we become discouraged and give up completely. This is a victory for the devil. Make your commitments practical, and your Lent will be the better for it.

2. READ A GOOD BOOK:

Do read good spiritual books, and there is no better time to begin this practice than during Lent. Reading Scripture or the writings of the saints is a great place to start.

3.EXAMINE YOURSELF:

Lent is an excellent time to take an inventory of the state of your soul. What are your predominant faults? What is keeping you from following the will of God with all your heart? Thorough examination of conscience helps you assess your spiritual health. Remember, Lent is not ultimately about giving up sweets or other things we enjoy. It is first and foremost about repentance, which means giving up sin and returning to God.

4.CONFESS YOUR SINS:

Lent is a great time to go for confession. Do remember the five requirements for a good confession:

1 Examination of conscience

2 True contrition for having offended God

3 Firm resolution to sin no more

4 Clear confession (don’t hold any sins back)

5 Penance for the sins you have committed

5.PRAY:

During this season we should especially focus our daily prayer on repentance and contrition for our sins that can guide us for rest of the year. Some suggestions for Lenten prayer –The Seven Penitential Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143, the Stations of the Cross, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Rosary.

6.FAST:

During Lent, we especially remember the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. This is the greatest act of generosity in history, for Jesus who died for all. The generosity of God in Christ should impel us to be generous and merciful to others, especially those poor and in need.

This Lent, do your best. Strive to root out sin and cultivate holiness. “For though the upright falls seven times, he gets up again; the wicked are the ones who stumble in adversity,” (Prov. 24:16).

7 Tips on How to Confess Well

Lent is a season of penance and spiritual warfare. The goal is pure hearts so that we can joyfully celebrate the resurrection of our Lord at Easter, the greatest feast of the liturgical year.

7 PRACTICAL WAYS TO HAVE A GOOD LENT.

1. HAVE A PLAN:

2. READ A GOOD BOOK:

Do read good spiritual books, and there is no better time to begin this practice than during Lent. Reading Scripture or the writings of the saints is a great place to start.

3.EXAMINE YOURSELF:

4.CONFESS YOUR SINS:

Lent is a great time to go for confession. Do remember the five requirements for a good confession:

1 Examination of conscience

2 True contrition for having offended God

3 Firm resolution to sin no more

4 Clear confession (don’t hold any sins back)

5 Penance for the sins you have committed

5.PRAY:

6.FAST:

Jogathon and Gala Dinner

What a joy it is for me to see the unfolding and culmination of the recent Jogathon and Easter Gala Dinner - two major fund-raising events organized this year towards the refurbishment of the St Joseph Community Centre. First of all in a special way, I would like to say a big Thank You to my beloved fund raising committee who worked around the clock to make both events truly memorable ones.

On 11th April, they successfully organised the Jogathon event which saw approximately 400 participants including Archbishop Julian Leow and myself.On 18th April, we witnessed once again the hard work and efforts of the committee which saw through the Easter Gala Dinner – a fine 8-course Chinese dinner with class entertainment and lucky draw prizes. They were determined and succeeded in reaching their target of 100% ticket sales!A special ‘Thank You’ to Joe Fernando (chairman), Leonard Paiva, Charles Francis & Michelle, Gabriel, June Wong, Alex, Gloria, Nelson, Arulnathan, Margaret, Joseph Jambu, Stanley, Shaun, Sharon and Amanda and the many others, young and old who have worked behind the scenes. Syabas to our beloved Fund Raising Committee!I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to you, my own St Joseph Parishioners for making every effort to ensure the success of these two events and making these memorable for all of us.

As many of you are aware, the St Joseph Community Centre was built in 1987 by Rev Fr Anthony Thomas. After all these years of wear and tear, the time has come for some renovation and refurbishment works to be undertaken to ensure that our community hall, formation and meeting rooms are in excellent condition for years to come. The construction of a brand new Funeral Parlour and Adoration Room is also in the pipeline.

Once again, and on behalf of the Fund Raising Committee and the various ministries involved, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to all Parishioners, friends and guests for your moral support and encouragement in aid of this restoration project.

May Jesus, Heart of our Families bless you and your families always!

Patience is the Companion of Wisdom

We need to grow in patience. Our impatience tends to cross over into our relationships with others. We often expect others to follow or “kow-tow” to our standards, our prejudices and to our schedules. There are even times when impatience can surface in our relationship with God: “When will this Mass be over?” “How long does God expect me to put up with this?” “Why isn’t the Lord answering my prayer?”

We are called to be patient with other people, but that’s not always easy. In terms of our relationships with others, we shouldn’t allow someone else’s faults to cause us to sin through impatience. The people who get on our nerves are in fact the ones to whom we need to show acceptance and understanding. They may not “deserve” to be treated as such, but we must try to extend these attributes of patience and understanding to them if we wish to please God. God is infinitely patient with each one of us, so it’s not too much for Him to ask that we try to show a little patience toward others.

St. Sylvester said, “Patience is the companion of wisdom.”