Faith Makes Things Happen

In today’s gospel, the apostles come to Jesus and say to him, “Lord, Increase our faith!” (LK 17: t-10). The apostles know that their faith is not adequate. They are men of little faith.

They take steps to improve their faith. What steps have we taken in these past years to develop our faith? How many retreats, formations, seminars and Bible study classes have we attended? How many homilies have we heard? How many books we have read? These are means through which the Lord increases our faith.

Faith makes things happen. Faith makes - Heaven real. God Real. Life Real. We are not in a dream world. Whenever we face crisis in our life we need to pray, "Lord, increase our faith."

We are afraid when we need not be afraid; we are discouraged when we need not be discourage. We do not use the little bit of faith that we have and trust in God to make things come out right. A faith that is rooted in Jesus can achieve the impossible things in our lives.

Celebrating Faith and Culture

Last weekend we had two joyful events during the 9.00 am Sunday Mass - Catechetical Sunday and Mooncake festival. The Catechetical team and the Chinese Apostolate animated the Mass.

The Church in Peninsular Malaysia has designated the third Sunday in September as Catechetical Sunday. It is a day when we specially honour our catechism teachers for being “teachers of faith and truth” (1 Tm 2: 7). The Church invites the community to celebrate and pray for their commitment to teach the Gospel of truth to our children. The catechists are the heart beat of our Church and they play a very important role in the mission of the Church sharing their gift of faith with our children as they deepen their own faith.

On behalf of the community of St Joseph, I would like to thank them for their involvement in the faith education of children and for their rededication to the mission of the Church as teachers of faith and truth. We take a moment to pray in thanksgiving for them for their service to our parish and for being witnesses of the Gospel. May the Lord guide them and inspire them as they continue to go forth to be commissioned for their ministry.

It is said that on the 15^th of the Lunar calendar of each month, the moon is at its roundest and brightest and this is when the celebration of the Mooncake festival (harvest festival) takes place. This festival is held in between the middle of September and early October. It symbolises togetherness and reunion in Chinese culture. It is a time for families get together and dine together to express their family love. Traditionally, the lantern has been used to symbolise fertility, and functioned mainly as a decoration.

Once again our Chinese apostolate celebrated the Mooncake festival with the St Joseph community during the 9.00 am Mass. They distributed mooncakes and lanterns to all our children and adults after the Mass. These past two years I noticed them celebrating and sharing the joy of this cultural celebration together with a larger community in St Joseph’s Church, which fosters great ties within the community.

This weekend our Catechetical team has organised a formation on the Theology of the Body (TOB) for Form 4 students and their parents at our formation hall. This session on TOB leads them to a deeper awareness of human dignity, identity, the beauty of each individual and the purpose of them being made male and female.

The TOB is St Pope John Paul II’s first major teaching assignment for the young people so that they may find joy, hope, freedom, a sense of reverence for oneself and others and to find fulfillment in life. The TOB also offers them to know better about their sexuality, their relationships, their joys and their struggles. I hope they have benefitted from the TOB sessions.

In a week’s time we will be celebrating the Month of the Rosary. Once again we shall have an opportunity to reflect and walk in the footsteps of Mary’s faith, obedient, hope, mercy and love.

Sharing the Grief of Death and Farewell

Saturday, 10^th September will be a day that I will never forget. After the Sunset Mass, Fr William Michael and I went out for a dinner. While we were having dinner I received a message via whatsapp saying that Rev Fr Phillips Muthu had passed away. I couldn't believe it. Consequently, two other text messages came in saying the same. I quickly called and spoke over the phone with some of the parishioners in Terengganu. After speaking to them and finding out certain details of his passing, I still I couldn't accept the fact of his death. I was shaken up and speechless for a few minutes.

Then, we were contacting some of the clergy to find out details on further arrangements especially in bringing the body back to Rawang. It was the weekend and all our priests had the Sunday Masses to celebrate as well as other pastoral commitments. After much discussion among our clergy, Frs Mitchell Anthony, William Michael and I decided to leave on Saturday midnight. We arrived early in the morning and met with some of Fr Phillips’ family members who were already there. That Sunday morning we went to Kemaman Police Station and obtained the necessary documentation in order to release his body from the hospital. It was very long waiting hours at the hospital mortuary and finally at about 2 pm we got the clearance from the hospital.

Fr Phillips Muthu had spent almost 5 fruitful years ministering not only to the Catholics but also the people of other faiths in the East Cost of Peninsular Malaysia. We had a very special thanksgiving Mass in honour of Fr Phillips at about 2.30pm on Sunday at the Chapel of St Philip Minh, before the coffin was to be taken to his home parish at Church of St Jude, Rawang. There were approximately 350 parishioners from Kuala Terengganu, Dungun, Kemaman and Kuantan including the University students at the Eucharistic celebration. The Mass was animated by the University and College Students from Sabah and Sarawak who are studying in the state of Terengganu.

Fr Philips always had a very special place in his heart for the varsity students and youths. He organised many programmes, spiritual formations, activities and outings for them. During their weekend or holidays these students will come and spend time with him and he never failed to look into their needs whenever they came to his house. He accommodated them well and made them happy.

The community of Terengganu has lost two shepherds who passed away while serving the community. The first was Fr John Wang who died in 1989 at the age of 61 and now Fr Phillips at the age of 56.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen!

Praise the Lord for Vocations

On Monday, 12^th September, Srs Amy Saminathan and Santhamary Ganapragasam from the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus (IJ) had their Final Profession. It was held at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Kampar, Perak at 10.30 am. I witnessed their Final Profession at the Eucharistic celebration officiated by Bishop Sebastian of Penang. It was a time of rejoicing for the Catholic community and the IJ congregation as they witnessed the two individuals who have committed themselves freely and forever to follow Jesus in proclaiming His love in the service of His people.

Let us continue to pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

The Rich Man and Steward

In the gospel (LK 16: 1-13), the main character is the steward and not the rich man. The steward acted shrewdly and smartly. Jesus does not ask us to be dishonest but He wants us to be shrewd, discerning and focusing on the road to salvation.

Jesus teaches the wrong attitudes about wealth and how are we dealing with what He has given to us.

I am accountable to God because everything that I have today is a God’s gift and I don’t own anything. Every good and perfect gift comes from God. He is the Owner. Your very breath is a gift from God. Your ability to walk and work is a gift from God. Every gift you have, He gave it to you. Every possession you have, He gave it to you. He is the Owner.

Everything that I have, my health, my life, my possessions, my family is not mine, but God owns it, I manage it.

Lives are destroyed over money or property issues. How do we use money? And how is it money uses us? How do we use our wealth?