INSTRUMENTS OF THE WORD OF GOD

Pope Francis invites the Church to observe the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time each year as the Sunday of the Word of God like our annual “Bible Sunday”. When the Holy Father published his Apostolic Letter, Mottu Proprio “Aperuit Illis” (AI) on 30 September 2019 (on the inauguration of the 1600^th anniversary of St Jerome’s death), he invited every Catholic “to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God,” (AI, no. 3). The Church will celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God on 26 January 2020 with the theme from Luke’s Gospel (24:45), which describes how the disciples on the Road to Emmaus encountered the Risen Lord and how “He opened (Aperuit) their minds to understand the Scriptures.” As we reflect on this text, we realise that without the Risen Lord, it is impossible for us “to understand Scripture in depth” (AI, no. 1).

The Universal Church will celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God worldwide, to give all Catholics an opportunity to “concentrate on the great value that the Word of God occupies in its daily existence” and “the inexhaustible richness contained in the constant dialogues between the Lord and His people,” (AI, no.2). The Church encourages Bible reading among Catholics regularly and prayerfully, and to listen to the Word attentively. The Bible is not the privilege of a few but the Church emphasises that every home and every individual should possess at least a copy of the Bible, (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, Vatican Council II, 1965). After 55 years of celebrating this dogma on the Divine Revelation, Pope Francis wants to “stimulate all Christians not to just place the Bible on a shelf as one of many books,  perhaps filled with dust - but as an instrument that awakes our faith,” (AI, no.4).

When we read the familiar text on the road to Emmaus, the scene of the Risen Lord and the disciples demonstrates “the unbreakable bond  between Sacred Scripture and the Eucharist”. The Holy Father reminds us that the Sunday of the Word of God should not just be celebrated as a yearly event but as an urgent need for us “to grow in our knowledge and love of the scriptures and of the Risen Lord, who continues to speak his word and to break bread in the community of  believers,” (AI, no. 8). In the last paragraph, the Holy Father hopes that the Sunday of the Word of God will help every one of us “grow in religious and intimate familiarity with the Sacred Scriptures,” (AI, no. 15).

The Holy Father has also highlighted the responsibilities of pastors, preachers and catechists “to read the Bible often,” “to take time to pray” and “meditate the sacred text” so that one “can speak from the heart and thus reach the hearts of those who hear us, conveying what is essential and capable of bearing fruit.” (AI, no. 5).

The Holy Father urges us to read the Bible using the “lectio divina” method - to pray daily with the Sacred Scriptures (AI, no. 13), share the word of God with others (AI, no. 12), listen to the Word and practice the mercy (AI, no. 13). Mother Mary kept the word and witnessed it in her life - humbly, faithfully, hopefully and lovingly (AI, no. 15). On this  Sunday of the Word of God, let’s make Scripture a part of our everyday lives and renew our commitment to be living instruments of transmission of the Word of God.

“Your word, O Lord, is lamp for my feet and a light for my path” (Ps 119:105).

BEING DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

Today is the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, now the Pope Francis has dedicated to the Sunday of the Word of God.

Jesus began His ministry teaching, preaching and healing. Jesus wanted to begin His preaching ministry:  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand,” (Matt 4:17). This is the voice that calls us to be back to God.

There are many voices in this world, telling us to go different ways and choose different things but God’s voice comes from the Word of God. On this Sunday of the Word of God is calling us to come to Him to do His will. His Word is calling to be His disciples and to bring His love and His light into this dark world.

What kind of disciples are we? Are we truly following Jesus? 

We seek to understand and apply God’s Word in our daily lives as we love and serve God by loving and serving each other.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (Ps 26)

GROWING IN UNITY AND COMMUNION

The Christmas season has passed with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and has left us with sweet and perhaps some bitter memories.  Now, we are in the Sundays of Ordinary Time, and have two interesting cultural and traditional celebrations to revel in – Ponggal (harvest festival) and the Lunar New Year.

Eventhough Ponggal was actually celebrated from 14-17 January 2020, our Parish Tamil-speaking community will be celebrating it this Sunday (19 January) during the 7am Mass (Tamil). The Tamil Apostolate will be coordinating a few traditional games at the Parish courtyard after the 7.00am mass, afterwhich, they will serve a vegetarian banana leaf lunch to all Parishioners. Our Tamil-speaking community celebrates Ponggal with the church community annually, to keep their bond of identity, language and culture. Ponggal is a cultural celebration of thanksgiving to God for the fruits of the harvest, similar to the Gawai and Keamatan festivals in East Malaysia.

On Saturday, 24 January 2020, we will celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year – the Year of the Rat, and during the 9am Mass (English), we will have the blessing of oranges and distribution of angpows (red envelopes) to those present on that day. We will also have a lion dance and the lighting of firecrackers after Mass. The Lunar New Year is celebrated culturally in our Catholic Church with a Mass of thanksgiving and blessing, as well as fellowship. 

Traditionally, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated from 18–25 January 2020, between the feasts of St Peter’s Chair and St Paul’s Conversion. The theme this year is “They Showed Us Unusual Kindness…” (Acts 28:2) which instills the importance of unusual kindness in our dialogues within the church, and to show unusual kindness towards one another so that we grow in unity.

The Universal Church has been observing the Week of Prayer since 1908, to celebrate our diversity with the ecumenical churches and to be faithful to Jesus’ call for unity – “That They May Be One, just as, Father, you are in Me and I am in You,” (John 17:21). The Church invites all Christian leaders to reunite and to bring together “the diversity and separated church members, into one Body of Christ” and “to be loyal to Christ and His Church.” The Church hopes that all Christians have the right attitude and bear in mind that “The Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church” and is governed by the successor of St. Peter, (Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution of the Church - Lumen Gentium, no. 8), which we profess in the Creed as “One, Holy, Apostolic and Catholic Church”.  

During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we will continue to pray that we belong to “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism,” (Eph 4:5) and One Church (One Body of Christ). The Universal Church encourages us to make every effort in persevering unity to experience one baptism, to share the one faith in Jesus, to serve the One Lord Jesus Christ and to keep the four inseparable marks of the Church – “One, Holy, Apostolic and Catholic Church” in our hearts.

Let us strive for “unity in diversity” as we share prayers, reflections and fellowship among Christians, to enhance our relationship as we witness Christ in our lives. I invite all Parishioners to offer at least one decade of Rosary each day for the eight days (18-25 January) to show our “unusual kindness” towards the members of other churches through our words and deeds, so that it leads us to grow in communion.  

             

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD

John the Baptist says “Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29), as he points out Jesus to his disciples.

“Behold” means taking a deep, long reflective and contemplative look at the Consecrated Host. "To “take away” means to free and to pardon our sins. Jesus, the Lamb of God, took away our sins by willingly sacrificed his life on the Cross. We should behold the Lamb of God and ask him to take away our sins and lead us not into temptations.

Through our Baptism, we have promised ourselves closely bound to Jesus Christ and carefully listen to Jesus as we travel on our life journey. The Lord Jesus is constantly speaking to us, trying to guide us on our journey. Our first task is to listen deeply, to discern and response to His call for a change in how we live, or in how we think and behave.

As we are baptised into Jesus, by water and the Holy Spirit and as God’s Servant we should embrace His will unswervingly and say: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do Your will,” (Ps 39).

https://www.stjosephsentul.org/growing-in-unity-and-communion/

RENEWING OUR COMMITMENT TO FAITH EDUCATION

On Sunday, 5 January 2020, Catechism for the year 2020 resumed in most parishes. In our Parish of St. Joseph, faith education session for our catechism children commenced with a 30-minute adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by Benediction at Dewan Monsignor Anthony Thomas after the 9.00 am mass. Following this, we had the renewal of commitment and commissioning of our catechists and RCIA facilitators for the year 2020. 

The commissioning for catechists, parents and students is usually carried out on Catechetical Sunday, which falls on the 3rd Sunday of January. However, for the past two years, in our Parish, we have carried out the commissioning on the first Sunday of the year, – on the day of registration for catechism classes and a special blessing given to all of them before the registration. The commissioning is conducted at this time instead of during a weekend mass as all catechists, facilitators, parents and students are present at the hall.

On behalf of the catechists, I would like to thank all of you once again, especially the parents of our catechism students for recommitting to sending your children regularly and faithfully to catechism classes. As primary faith educators, I hope you take on your role seriously and act responsibly through your words and actions within the community and at home. We also expect parents to send children to their classes early so that the kids will have time to settle in. Send your children to class with warm smiles and trace their foreheads with the Sign of the Cross before leaving them at their respective classes. If possible, greet the other children and teachers too with a smile as well because after all, we are one parish community, one family.

The same goes for the children – you too have your role to play in your faith formation. Last Sunday, you renewed your commitment with your parents and teachers. First and foremost, you promised to be present and punctual for your classes. Punctuality is a habit of doing things at the right time and it is a key to success in your studies and in your life. If you are punctual and disciplined students, you will earn the respect, acceptance and admiration of your peers, teachers as well as your parents. I want you to be present on time so that you will not miss any part of the lesson.

I was happy to see all the catechists, facilitators, parents and students come forward to renew their commitment once again. I am sure that there will be many challenges ahead, but let us stand firm together in our faith in Christ and make a real, lasting impact in our own lives as we grow in holistic spirituality. The start of a new year is a good time for us to reflect on how Jesus grew in wisdom, in age, in stature, in maturity, in favour with God and people, (cf. Luke 2:52), so that one day when we meet the Lord, we will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” (Matt 25:23).

This year, our Parish will be more focused on the spiritual growth of every individual. For the first quarter of the year, we have prepared an Alpha programme for adults who want to dive deeper into their Catholic faith. This programme will be a tool for you to become evangelisers. It is a series of sessions over 9 consecutive Saturdays and a weekend away from the Parish. I hope you will make use of this opportunity to deepen your faith as you continue to commit yourselves into New Evangelisation. We encourage every member of our Parish to participate. May our spiritual formations and faith education help us to grow stronger in our Catholic faith and in our lives through prayer, scripture reading, Holy Eucharist and fellowship with one another (cf. Acts 2:42).