Dialogue is a responsibility and duty of all Christians, not just to learn from one another, but also to share our faith with others, said Fr Michael Chua at the Malaysian Institute Management (MIM) Managers' Renewal Programme on July 25.
Fr Chua, who is the Ecclesiastical Assistant for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, was invited by the MIM to speak in a forum on Living in a Multi-Faith Society.
Fr Chua elaborated the Catholic Christian perspective on what it meant to live in a multi-faith society by engaging in dialogue. He began by encouraging the audience to recognise how ethnocentric people really were. Firstly, this could be observed in the manner in which they usually sought company among others with whom they had common similarities rather than giving positive attention to people who were different from themselves.
Secondly, the general inclination to stereotype and make broad generalizations about people. Thirdly, the way people utterly ignored the importance of differences by claiming, for example, that all religions were the same (in which case dialogue would be rendered absolutely unnecessary.)

Bible Sunday was celebrated at the Church of the Holy Family on July 13. Before the Mass, a video presentation on the relevance of the Bible in today's world was projected. Parish priest, Fr William Michael, related the gospel reading on the parable of the seed, with the story of a young cradle-born Catholic, who struggles with his faith conviction, even though he practices the tradition of the church.
Fr William explained that it is internalising the Word that will help us face the challenges of the present world with Jesus as our guide. He stressed three steps that are required to attain this; Firstly, by hearing God's word attentively or the head step. Secondly, the hardest part, that is treasuring God's Word by taking to heart and consider how it can make our life better. Thirdly, by practising the Word of God as mentioned in St Paul's letter to the Romans, "The Word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword."

The power of God through the intercession of St Anne was evident at the church of St Anne as many came forward to share their testimony and experiences of miracles and healing happening daily in their lives through the intercession of St Anne. This faith brought thousands of pilgrims and devotees to the week-long feast day celebrations.
This prayerful journey with daily themes centred around the Word oj God went on from July 17 to July 27. The main celebration this year was extra special as it fell on the actual feastday of St Anne, July 26. The faith and presence of the thousands o1 pilgrims and devotees was not tempered by the gloomy weather and drops of drizzle that began as soon as mass started.
Parish priest Fr Lawrence Andrew SJ celebrated the Mass together with Fr Joe Stephens CSsR. Fr.Joe concluded his homily with a short plea, We ask God to help us struggle with our weakness, and St Anne will continue to intercede for as we live in this modern world.

In an endeavor to assist parents and teens understand each other, the Catholic Counsellors and Therapists Malaysia (CCTM), the KL Archdiocesan Family Life Commission (KLAFLC) and the Church of the Divine Mercy (CDM), Shah Alam, conducted a Seminar Workshop on July 12.
The Seminar-Workshop was titled Understanding Teens, Understanding Parents and was held at CDM. About 60 adults and 25 teenagers participated. The speakers were Dr Brendan J. Gomez, Developmental & Counseling Psychologist, Lecturer at HELP University College and Director, Asian Research Centre for Child & Adolescent Development (ARCCADE), and Dr Xavier V Pereira, Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, Senior Lecturer, International Medical University and Chair of Catholic Counsellors and Therapists Malaysia.
Dr Brendan conducted the session Understanding Teen Development with his wife Patricia. Dr Xavier conducted the sessions, Understanding Parent-Teen Relationships and Understanding Teen Sexuality with the help of the CCTM and CDM teams.
The participants responded well to the input sessions and discussed topics openly during Break-Out sessions.

An Open Day was organised at the Rumah Ozanam Batu Arang (a Home for Women and Children inflicted with HIV/AIDS), a shelter run by the Society of St Vincent De Paul.
This was done to raise awareness among the community. Among those who attended were members of SSVP, UNHCR, Malaysia AIDS Council and doctors and nurses from Sg. Buloh Hospital.
There was a video presentation of activities of the residents of the Home, which
was an eye-opener to those present.
The Guests were treated to Hi-Tea and they mingled freely with the residents. They were also given a tour of the Home by the residents. It was a wonderful sight to see the guests and their children interacting well with the women and children of the Home.
One of the residents thanked all the volunteers and staff for restoring her dignity and bringing her much joy. Although she is a Muslim, she said she was treated with kindness and respect.

On July 26 the Church of St Thomas played host to a group of residents from Eunos, Singapore who were on their "harmony trail" to Malaysia".
More than 300 of them came in 12 coaches led by their adviser, Mayor Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and MP for Aljunied GRC, Singapore.
Fr Eugene Benedict, the Parish priest, in welcoming the guests, said it was an honour for St Thomas' Church to have been included in their itinerary. He spoke about the strong connection of the Kuantan parish with Singapore.
From the early part of last century, Catholic priests from Singapore, in particular from the Church in Serangoon, travelled to provide pastoral care for the Catholic Community in Kuantan. He made mention of the fact that in 1907 the priest from Serangoon brought a small group of Chinese Hakka-speaking tin-miners to the Sungai Lembing tin mine in Kuantan.
He also acknowledged the growing ties with the many visitors from Singapore to the parish during the holidays. He concurred with the visitors that efforts for inter-religious dialogue and mutual respect are of importance.