REACHING OUT THROUGH MISSION

The East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia (Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan) is expected to face some of its worst floods in the coming monsoon season. We have been receiving information from trusted sources on weather forecasts, predicting that this year, we can expect to be badly hit by torrential rain in the coming weeks and months. 

In response to this, the Parish of St Thomas, Kuantan, is in the midst of forming a Parish Flood Relief Ministry (PFRM) under the umbrella of the Parish Integral of Human Development Ministry (PIHDM). The objective of this ministry is to assist flood victims during the upcoming monsoon season, which is expected to start at the end of October onwards.

 

We need to start our groundwork in planning for the floods and the recovery from the aftermath. We encourage Parishioners and friends within our vicinity to volunteer their services for this ministry. We want to plan ahead and organise ourselves as best we can, before any disaster occurs in our areas. Once the PFRM is formed and volunteers secured, we will then conduct training and other activities to prepare them, before the heavy rain and floods begin.

 

We are sure that there will be NGOs, armed forces and individual volunteers who will come forward to assist the flood victims too. However, as a Church institution, we have to be mission-oriented, so that we may able to reach out and make a difference during tough times. I am sure that all our efforts will not go to waste during dire times, when natural disasters occur, so we must strive to keep up our good works and spirits alive.

 

Early this month, we started a Family Day Project to raise funds for the poor and also for the anticipated flood victims. As part of this project, we have planned a Family Day, which will take place on Sunday, 13 November 2022 in our Church premises. This event is in conjunction with the 6th World Day of the Poor. We plan to invite the underprivileged members of our community, regardless of nationality, to celebrate with us as one family. There will be many activities taking place on that day - such as games, food stalls, stage shows etc.

 

Proceeds from the Family Day Project will be distributed to those who truly need it - equally and without prejudice. We hope to receive as much support from our Parishioners and from the community - to work hand-in-hand with the PFRM, so that we are able to carry out the required works.

 

During this month of the Rosary, we continue to pray for volunteers to come forward to join our Parish Flood Relief Ministry (PFRM) so that our preparations and effort would not be futile. Through Our Lady’s maternal care and protection, we pray all would participate in the mission of the Church as a family of God, working together to face all and any difficulties ahead of us with steadfast hearts and unwavering faith.

 

Our Lady of the Rosary, PRAY FOR US!

EVANGELISING MARY THROUGH THE ROSARY

The month of October, the Month of the Rosary has arrived. The best way of celebrating and honouring our Spiritual Mother during this beautiful month is by praying the Rosary in the Church, with families at home and in the religious community.

The Rosary is a powerful weapon and instrument for conversion and armour to protect us from all evil. We are living in a more challenging time. Our sufferings and miseries, trials and tribulations, humiliation and dishonour will drag us towards the end of our tale. They will dissuade us and challenge us to divert us from the path towards God. The evils continuously strike against us in trying to make us betray and abandon Our Lord Jesus Christ. When we persistently pray the Rosary and have unwavering faith in the Rosary, Our Lady will obtain for us our countless graces and blessings through her Son, Jesus Christ in our spiritual life.

 

We use the Rosary as a tool to promote and evangelise Mary’s FIAT (Mary’s YES) to take her footsteps and to follow God’s will in our own lives. (Mary’s Yes – “I am the Servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word,” Lk 1:38). Mary surrendered herself to the will of God and to the salvation plan of God. As we pray the Rosary, her humble trust in God will teach us to say ‘Yes’ to God by submitting ourselves to His will. Each time when we pray the Rosary, we pray that we will respond our ‘Yes’ to God enthusiastically and persevere in our faith following the example of Mary courageously.

 

Praying the Rosary is not an easy prayer and it can be rather monotonous too. We find ourselves distracted by many other things and at times we may doze off the moment we start praying the Rosary. The older generations find it more comfortable in praying this traditional prayer compared to the younger generations. All our families are facing all kinds of crises and we so regret the life of the past and the freedom that we have abused in our family life. Let’s bring our families together to pray the Rosary daily seeking renewal in our families and persevere in all our challenges and difficulties.

 

In this month of October, the Church invites us to unite in prayer, especially through the Rosary in our respective BECs, families or as individuals. Every time we say a Hail Mary, we offer her a pretty rose and when we complete the five decades of the Rosary, we render her a crown of roses. In return, we would receive graces and blessings through her intercessions. Our fervent devotion to her will help us to grow in holiness and peace. Let us together increase our special devotion to her from now.

 

TOWARDS BECOMING SYNODAL PRIESTS

We, the clergy of Peninsular Malaysia have been having our directed annual spiritual retreat on a rotational basis during this month of September for 6 six days from Sunday evening till Friday noon. The retreat is organised over four consecutive weeks throughout the month in three different centres – Cameron Highlands (1st and 4th week), Penang Island (2nd week) and Plentong, Johor (3rd week). During the COVID-19 pandemic, for two years there wasn’t any directed retreat organised for us but we carried it out on our personal level. This year once again we had an opportunity to be physically present in our respective retreat centres.

All clergy (Cardinals, Bishops, Priests and Deacons), religious and seminarians are required canonically “to observe the period of the annual retreat.” We take time off from our parish ministry and administration to attend spiritual retreats not just to fulfil the Canon Law’s requirement but to make time for ourselves to re-energise, re-examine and recharge our spiritual batteries. Jesus himself withdrew from His public ministry and spent time in solitude in the desert for forty days, (Lk 4:1-3). Hence, we are strongly encouraged to step away from our daily routine and hectic schedules and enter into the depths of our souls.

 

Every year in the past, I preferred to attend my yearly retreat in Stella Maris, Penang Island no matter who, the retreat master. I specifically choose to be in Penang Island in the past because of the coastal environment of the retreat centre and furthermore, Penang, is a foodie’s paradise. This year, however, I opted instead to be in MAJODI Center, Plentong for my spiritual retreat due to certain circumstances.  Altogether 30 of us were together in this retreat centre (7 Permanent Deacons and 24 Priests) from 18-23 September 2022.

 

Our Retreat Master was Auxiliary Bishop Midyphil Billones from the Archdiocese of Cebu, Philippines. He obtained his doctorate in Theology from the Loyola School of Theology of the Ateneo de Manila University. His episcopal ordination was on 26 September 2019. He guided us in our retreat with the theme, “Towards Becoming Synodal Shepherds for Renewal in the Church.” He developed the retreat on “synodality of re-awakening”, and “synodality of conversion” towards “presbyteral synodality and sacramental brotherhood.” It is basically about living our priestly identity and journeying together as companions to be in communion as a Church and to work collaboratively in the mission of the Church. He reminded us over and over again that in this process of synodality, we should not push God aside in our priestly ministry but open a doorway to synodality - a greater communion, participation and mission.

 

Bishop Midyphil is a very young, wise, learned, prayerful and spiritual man. His reflections, his personal priestly experiences and sharing were deemed more conducive to obtain in-depth insights. Furthermore, the choicest of his philosophical and theological terms offer lessons worth learning for me. He gave a few scriptural passages including the Holy Father's encyclical texts for my further studies and reflections to engage in prayerful mediations in the future. It was an enriching retreat and I have gained new insights in the depth of my soul. I am grateful to Bishop Midyphil and most of all to God for blessing us with a wonderful and knowledgeable retreat master.

BUILDING THE FUTURE WITH MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

Since 1914 the Universal Church has been celebrating World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) a few months before the outbreak of World War I. Pope Pius X (a Pope 1903-1914) invited Christians to pray for migrants and refugees after millions of Italians had migrated abroad. In 1985, Saint John Paul II was the first Pontiff to release a yearly message for the WDMR and initiate the Church to pray ceaselessly for migrants and refugees, that they overcome the harsh realities and difficulties they face daily.

The WDMR was initially celebrated on the 2^nd Sunday after Epiphany. Pope Francis has shifted this annual celebration from January to the last Sunday of every September. This year the 108^th anniversary of WDMR falls on 23 September 2022 with the theme entitled: “Building the Future with Migrants and Refugees.” The Church invites us to pray for these migrants and refugees “as they face various kinds of challenges,” and “to increase awareness about the opportunities that migrant offer.”

 

We as a Church should pay attention to and support migrants and refugees who have left or been forced to flee their homes for many reasons. The Holy Father called us “to renew our commitment to building a future that conforms ever more fully to God’s plan of a world in which everyone can live in peace and dignity.”  

 

Righteousness and justice are very important virtues and values that need to be cultivated in the present world as a part of our contribution towards building the future for migrants and refugees. The presence of migrants and refugees in our community creates “a great challenge” and “an immense opportunity” for us to grow culturally and spiritually. “Their work, their youth, their enthusiasm and their willingness to sacrifice, enrich” the growth of the social and economy of our society today and in the future.

This year as we celebrate the WDMR, we take every effort to revitalise and cheer our celebrations with them as we “share our different expressions of faith and devotions” as people of God. It may open an opportunity “in our common humanity and build together an ever-greater sense of togetherness” for the future of the Kingdom of justice, fraternity and peace that is yet to come.

Let us build our future today! The future begins today and it begins in each one of us.

              

PRAYER FOR THE 108^TH WDMR:

 

Lord, make us bearers of hope,

Go that where there is darkness,

Your light may shine,

And where there is discouragement,

Confidence in the future may be reborn.

 

Lord, make us instruments of your justice, 

so that where there is exclusion, fraternity may flourish,

and where there is greed, a spirit of sharing may grow.

 

Lord, make us builders of your kingdom,

together with migrants and refugees

and with all who dwell on the peripheries.

 

Lord, let us learn how beautiful it is 

to live together as brothers and sisters. Amen.

 

(AN EXTRACT OF THE MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR THE WDMR 20220)

 

FOLLOW HER EXAMPLE IN FAITH

The Universal Church celebrates three birthdays in the liturgical calendar – the birthday of Jesus Christ (25 December), John the Baptist (24 June) and Blessed Virgin Mary (8 September).  Before Mary was born, her parents - Joachim and Anne - were unable to conceive. They were deeply saddened by this, yet prayed and fasted fervently, until one day an angel appeared to Anne and prophesied that all generations would honour their future child: “The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth, and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.” Her parents offered Mary to God as a consecrated Virgin for the rest of her life. 

The moment she was born, Mary became a future Mother of Our Lord Jesus, the Saviour of the World. Her birth was exactly nine months after the Solemnity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which falls on 8 December. The Bible does not record her infancy nor her early childhood, but traditionally the Church has celebrated her nativity since the sixth century.

 

On Thursday, 8 September 2022, our Parish celebrated our Spiritual Mother’s birthday in our Church. About 300 Parishioners gathered in front of the grotto to recite the Luminous Mystery of the Rosary. Unfortunately, we couldn’t complete all five decades at the grotto as it started to drizzle. The remaining two decades were recited inside the Church and the prayer concluded with the Litany to Our Lady. This was followed by the Eucharistic celebration. After Mass, the Legion of Mary members had a cake cutting ceremony and served some light refreshments. It was a pleasant celebration in honour of the BVM- reminding us to follow her example in faith.

In the months of August and September, there are several Chapels and a Parish in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur celebrating the feast of the BVM and her birthday. The Parish of Our Mother of the Perpetual Help in Mentakab, Pahang celebrated their feast day on her Queenship as Queen of Heaven and Earth (22 August 2022). Three other chapels will celebrate their feast days of Our Lady of Annai Velangkani (Our Lady of Good Health) this weekend (10 September 2022). These chapels are situated in Gadong (Seremban), Assam Jawa (Kuala Selangor) and Kampung Pandan (Ampang). The chapels are well-known and believed to have healing powers, drawing over 2000 people every year during their feast days.

 

Mother Mary is a very special Spiritual Mother and dear to Catholics - and even to others of different faiths. Many of our elderly faithful recite the Rosary without fail as they believe strongly that she gives them her care and protection from all anguish, struggle, distress and illness. When we pray the Rosary, she intercedes for our needs and protects us against all harm, evil and danger.

 

As we journey together, let us embrace her as our Mother and learn to be obedient to the will of God by saying, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done according to Your word,” (Luke 1: 38).