PRAY FOR JOY AND CELEBRATION TO RETURN

On Thursday, 19 March 2020, the Church celebrated the Solemnity of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Catholic Bishops of Peninsular Malaysia had designated this day as a day of prayer and fasting, beseeching St Joseph’s intercession and God’s intervention for an end to Coronavirus epidemic (Pastoral Letter, 12 March 2020). Some of you may wonder why the Church in Peninsular Malaysia designated this particular day as a day of prayer and fasting?

Plagues have a long history in Europe and Asia. When the plague (Black Death) devastated Europe from 1347-1348, one third of Europe’s population was estimated to have been killed in villages and towns. After that, there were a series of major pandemics in the 16th and 17th centuries (Black Plague) while a third pandemic (Bubonic Plague) occurred at the end of 19th century in Yunnan, China and India, with more than 12 million deaths. These were the worst catastrophes recorded in history.

During these times of crisis, the Catholic Church repeatedly turned to St Joseph, the Protector of the Church, for his intercession. The Church turned to St Joseph for the need of prayer during the pandemics because he has shown to be a powerful intercessor. This information about St Joseph is a new discovery for me, that he is seen as a great intercessor for plague victims. This is also the reason the Church in Peninsular Malaysia invites the faithful to pray and fast on 19 March 2020, so that St Joseph will intercede for the protection of the whole world during this current Coronavirus epidemic. We pray that he will intercede on our behalf, all our petitions, asking Jesus Christ to have mercy on us all, and keep up safe from the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19, as well as for the discovery of a cure and for the protection of individuals who are sick.

On 11 March 2020, the Holy Father prayed to Mother Mary, “Health of the Sick” for all hospital personnel, doctors, nurses, volunteers, for those who are suffering, and an end to the COVID pandemic. He composed a prayer to Mary during the coronavirus pandemic. Since the suspension of Masses in our Catholic Churches, I recite this prayer regularly. I have also placed a copy of this prayer - in three languages - at the sanctuary. In this prayer, the Holy Father said, “as you did at Cana of Galilee, we may return to joy and celebration after this moment of trial.” This phrase has really touched me and I just pray that we will return to a normal routine of life after this moment of Covid-19 trial.

As I reflect on this phrase, which echoes the first miracle at the wedding at Cana of Galilee, (Jn 2: 1-12), the newly wedded couple ran out of wine on their auspicious day. Seeing the difficult situation, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “they have no wine.” Jesus then changed water into wine and everyone was surprised to taste such good wine at the wedding celebration – “you have saved the best till now”. When the newly married couple was facing a difficult situation, through Mary’s request, Jesus turned a chaotic situation into a joyful one.

Today, we get updates of the gradual rise in confirmed Coronavirus cases and deaths caused by the virus. Due to this, our routine life has become irregular as we have been issued a Restricted Movement Order (RMO) till 31 March 2020. When will this pandemic end? Everyone just hopes and prays that “joy and celebration may return after this moment of trial.”

Catholics in various parts of the world are just waiting to return to their churches in order to celebrate the Eucharist, as soon as the suspension of Masses in the Church is lifted. Looking at the scenario now, the Coronavirus epidemic may not even allow us to return to our churches for the Easter or Paschal Triduumcelebration. However, we continue to seek the intercession of St Joseph and Mother Mary, to end this epidemic 

PRAYER TO MARY DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

O Mary, you always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the cross took part in Jesus' pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of the Roman People,
know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to celebrate
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Hail Mary, Health of the Sick, pray for us.

St Joseph, hope of the Sick, pray for us.

RECOGNISING OUR SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS

This Sunday is known as “Laetare Sunday” and the theme is on hope and rejoice that Easter is near. In our Gospel ( John 9:1-41) speaks about a man who has been physically blind from his birth and Jesus takes this opportunity to heal the blind man.

Among all the five senses, sight is most essential to us. When we lose our sight of God in relationship with Him, our life becomes devastated. We become spiritually and morally blind. Our heart and soul become blinded.

We are spiritually blind by our anger, prejudices, self-interest, gossip, greed, etc. Sin can be the essential cause of our spiritual blindness and it is a major stumbling block in our spiritual journey. Our interior lives has become harden heart and we are unable to see goodness in us. We become like the Pharisees who refuse to see the power and goodness in Jesus.

On this 4^th Sunday of Lent, Jesus invites us to take a closer look at those areas of our lives that we have failed to recognise our spiritual blindness. 

Let Jesus enlighten our spiritual blindness as we turn our sight to Him that He will grant us new sights and insights as well.

“The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” (Ps 23).

KEEPING OUR FAITH FIRM THROUGH TRIALS

Easter is only four weeks away. However, everyone seems to be more concerned about the current Coronavirus pandemic and also the “backdoor government” that creeped in un-democratically to govern our nation. Personally, I am upset over this undemocratic party politics as they have done a great injustice to all voters of General Election 14. Unfortunately, life has to move on with all this political drama – until the next elections, that is. 

What is currently most troubling in the minds of the people is the COVID-19 virus outbreak. It has affected every nation and is the fastest-spreading virus detected thus far this century. It is shocking and scary when we look at the tremendous increase in cases throughout the world. It has wobbled global economies, affecting the travel, tourism, hotel industries, as well bringing disruption to large gatherings, conferences, meetings, offices and also places of worship.

For the time being, all Weekend and Weekday Masses beginning 14 & 15 March 2020 until 29 March 2020 will be suspended. On 12 March 2020, the Catholic Bishops of Peninsular Malaysia officially announced that all Catholics are exempted from fulfilling their Sunday obligation of attending Mass during this period due to the COVID-19 virus. 

Due to the risks faced and spike in the number of COVID-19 cases reported thus far, the Church has decided to cancel or postpone all spiritual formations and events. In our Parish, we have temporarily called-off several important formations and activities such as our 10 Weeks ALPHA and ALPHA Away Weekend Program, Tamil / English formations, RCIA Weekly programs, etc. For us Catholics, it appears that the weeks ahead are going to be rather  unsettling!

In a couple of weeks, we will be entering Holy Week. How it is going to be? As we continue on our Lenten journey towards Easter – with the suspension of Weekend and Weekday Masses, Penitential Services, and many other rituals – we should still get ourselves spiritually prepared. We should read and reflect on the daily readings given by the Church. The Lenten readings are different from Ordinary Time readings, where they progress each day according to the books or prophets or epistles as the 1^st or 2^nd readings. The Gospel progresses consecutively according to the A, B or C circles. During Lent, we notice the readings tend to jump from various books or prophets or epistle and we may be able to see patterns which lead us towards the Paschal Mystery – Jesus’ Passion, death and resurrection. The readings prepare us for our repentance and conversion.

While everyone anticipates that the number of COVID-19 cases will increase, we, Malaysians should give many thanks to our hospital personnel, doctors, nurses, health workers and volunteers who are working tirelessly, doing their best to help and protect everyone from this epidemic. These past weeks, the Catholic Church has continuously prayed for all these people and for those who are suffering from this virus.

On Thursday, 19 March 2020, the Church will celebrate the feast of St Joseph, the husband of Blessed Virgin Mary. He is also known as “a good and upright man”, inviting us to place our trust in God and not be afraid (Luke 12:5). 

From this weekend (14 -15 March) until the end of March 2020, the statutes of St Joseph and Mother Mary will be placed at the sanctuary in our Church. During this period of suspension of Masses and throughout the remaining days of Lent, we invite parishioners to come individually or with the family to venerate and pray to Mother Mary and St. Joseph for protection and healing from this COVID-19 crisis. 

 (This Prayer will be placed at the Sanctuary for your meditation)

Prayer to Mary during coronavirus pandemic

O Mary, you always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the Cross took part in Jesus' pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of the Roman People,
know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to feasting
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Under your protection, we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God. Do not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin. (Pope Francis, March 2020)

A SPIRITUAL THIRST

Jesus meets a woman at the well in Samaria, (Jn 4:5-42). This Samaritan woman was an outcast and she approaches Jesus asking Him to quench her thirst with the Living Water.

Jesus treats the Samaritan woman with great respect and evangelises her. When her real thirst been quenched, she in turns go out to tell others of her encounter with Jesus.

Jesus wants to give her the “living water” that comes from faith in Him. Living water – water that brings life and water that brings long lasting growth in our lives.

Jesus represents as a Living Water which brings us life and He alone can transcend and heal us. He is the only way to have our thirst satisfied eternally. He offers us living water but it is not going to be satisfying to us unless we confess and repent of our sin and desire for forgiveness.

Living water can be obtained only when we recognise that we are spiritually thirsty. During this Lent, let us look at ourselves as sinners. Let Jesus Christ meet our need for forgiveness, for fulfilment, and for a fresh start in life.

“If today you hear His Voice, harden not your hearts,” (Psalm 95).

https://www.stjosephsentul.org/keeping-our-faith-firm-through-trials-2/

LIVING LENT FAITHFULLY AND FRUITFULLY

Every year, when we begin the season of Lent, we are encouraged to draw closer to God by giving up all our negativity. Just before Ash Wednesday, most of us would have decided to be fully committed during the 40 days of Lent, by getting rid of our bad habits.

When we began Lent this year, our celebrations were dampened with the threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The virus slowed us down and diverted us a little from our focus on Lent. Right now, in Malaysia, new cases are emerging day by day. It is a nationwide threat, so the Churches in Malaysia and Singapore have come out with a few pastoral implications and guidelines to prevent the spreading the COVID-19 virus, by limiting our contact with each other.

On Ash Wednesday, instead of being marked with the blessed ash on our foreheads, it was sprinkled on the crown of our heads. Some may have found it difficult to accept this way of receiving the ash, because they wanted the ashes to be visible to others. Nevertheless, this is how the blessed ashes were also administered in Rome. Apart from that, Holy Water has been removed from all the entrances of the church and Holy Communion is only received by hand. This made a few people feel uncomfortable, as it was different from their traditional practices.

In relation to COVID-19, the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur has also immediately suspended Penitential Services in all churches and Mass centers within the Archdiocese, and the faithful have been advised not to attend Mass if they show signs and symptoms of the virus. Although we have been regularly carrying out our confession these past years during Advent and Lent, this year the changes due to the threat of the virus, has somewhat made it a struggle to find our state of grace. Sin has become habitual and we worry how God is going to free us from sin and lead us into the Paschal Mystery celebration – Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. If this viral infection prolongs, many might ask the question - will I celebrate Easter worthily and will I receive the mercy of God before the Easter celebration?

I still remember during my first year as a priest, while serving in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the Church faced a similar situation when the SARS-CoV affected many people in 2003. I had encountered an eight-year-old girl who died due to transmission of SARS and I presided at her funeral Mass. SARS was spreading nationwide and it happened during the Lent season too. Even at that time the Church took certain precautions by recommending a few pastoral implications and guidelines. Of course, the older generation was not happy when the Church brought certain restrictions to their traditions and beliefs with regards to not placing Holy Water at the respective church entrances, not shaking hands as the sign of peace, receiving the Holy Communion by hand, etc.

In addition to viruses, we also face a few other challenges in the form of attacks on or criticisms of our faith in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. There were a few movies, documentaries, books, articles, lectures in colleges/universities, which have distorted our faith in Christ Jesus. I remember all these being released or distributed during the season of Lent. These challenges try to shake our faith in Christ by challenging our belief, and I am sure there will be many more issues and circumstances which will give cause to tarnish, bring about confusion and create obstacles for us to practice our faith in Christ.

However, without all these hindrances, obstacles, difficulties, struggles and challenges, our faith would not make sense. Nothing will ever stop us from growing in our faith. When we persevere in faith, we will become more compassionate and stronger in our believe in Christ Jesus. During this time of Lent, be assured that the Lord goes before us. Trust in Him wholeheartedly and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him. He will be with you and make your paths straight (cf. Prov 3: 5 & 6). Let’s live our Lent faithfully and fruitfully!