 
Archive : March 2004
CLERGY RENEW PROMISES OF ORDINATION AT CHRISM MASS
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Kuala Lumpur : Archbishop Murphy Pakiam with the clergy of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur gathered for the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St John on March 17 in gratitude for the gift of the priesthood and to renew their promises of ordination. In his homily, Archbishop Pakiam expressed a sense of pride and gratitude to God for the gift of our priests in our Catholic community. "You are indispensable to the bishops, the Church and the mission," said the Archbishop. Following the homily, the priests stood and renewed their commitment to the priesthood and their bishop.
The Archbishop asked the congregation to pray for him and for the other priests. Unique to this Chrism Mass was the consecration of Chrism oils. Archbishop Pakiam first blessed the oil of the sick, then the oil of the catechumens and finally the chrism. The blessed oils will later be used to administer the sacraments. At the end of the service, Archbishop Pakiam thanked the congregation for their presence and for their prayers for the clergy. (Herald)
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A PLACE FOR THE ELDERLY IN ST FRANCIS XAVIER HOME
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Cheras : The Little Sisters of the Poor who have for years ministered to the elderly in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur and Penang continue to carry out their mission at the newly opened St Francis Xavier Home for the Aged. The new home and chapel was blessed and officially opened by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam on March 19. Also present at the blessing and opening ceremony were Archbishop Emeritus Soter Fernandez, Bishop Antony Selvanayagam, members of the clergy, religious, benefactors and friends of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Sr Elizabeth Anne, the superior of the home highlighted their mission, "It is to foster the dignity, well-being and happiness of the elderly in new and creative ways; always in view of the eternal good of their souls”. Currently, there are 43 residents at the
ultra-modern St Francis Xavier Home for the Aged which was built with the comforts of the elderly in mind. Although the home is run by Catholic nuns, its door is open to anyone regardless of race, colour or religion. (Herald)
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BENTONG YOUTH GROUP ORGANIZES CAMP
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Bentong : The relatively 'new' youth group of the Sacred Heart Church successfully organised a camp for the youths of the parish recently. The camp held from March 12 to 15 was the first major project of the year for the Sacred Accents Youth Group, which was formed late last year. The aim of the camp themed, Youths Alive in Ups and Downs was to deepen the relationship among the youths and to strengthen their commitment in the Church. A total of 51 youths whose ages ranged from 13 to 17 attended the camp. “We are happy with the number of youths who attended the camp and are grateful for the support we received from their parents,” said Helena Shalini, the Organising Committee Chairperson. Sacred Heart parish priest, Fr. Anthony Chan also dropped by during the camp and con-celebrated mass with Fr. Christopher Wilvaraj, one of the facilitators of the camp. Sacred Accents have activities every Sunday after mass and invites all youths between ages 13 to 35 to join them. (Herald)
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FUN CAMP FOR BANTING CHILDREN
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Banting : The Catechetical team of Gereja Katolik Fatima organised a camp for its Primary 1 to Primary 6 Sunday School students on March 13. The Catechetical team, headed by Ms Manikam Sinnappan, did a wonderful job in making the necessary preparations for the camp. The objective of the camp was to enhance closer relationships between students and also to foster better student-teacher relationships. Throughout the day, the students were involved with a series of outdoor and indoor games for the entire group. They later broke up into age groups for interactive games for the older students, story-telling and sing-a-long for the younger ones. Judging from the students' reaction, they were a happy lot with the majority feeling sad when the day came to an end as they had to part from their newly found friends. (Herald)
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KLANG YOUTHS CHALLENGED TO LIVE A CHRISTIAN LIFE IN TODAY’S WORLD
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Klang : More than 300 youths went home on March 13 ready and well equipped to face “the challenge” of living a Christian life in this chaotic world. Youths from all the parishes in the Klang district gathered at Our Lady of Lourdes Community Hall for a day long Youth Rally organized by the Klang District Service Team. “We are here to face the challenge to be who God wants us to be,” said Fr. Gerard Theraviam in his sermon during the mass which was the finale of the rally. Fr. Gerard challenged the youths saying, “Take up your cross and ‘follow him’. You can start by praying daily. The Lord has a unique path for each of you. You have to listen and be obedient to the spirit of God.” (Herald)
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BRIEFING FOR NATIONAL SERVICE CATHOLIC TRAINEES
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Petaling Jaya : Parents must do their part in strengthening their children’s faith, said Theresa Lee, a parent of a National Service (NS) trainee. Theresa, a faith educator at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes had taken the initiative to gather all the NS trainees from the parish for a short session with Parish Priest, Fr Gerard Theraviam and then Assistant Priest, Fr Danny Matthew prior to the trainees’ departure to the respective NS Centre. “Parents must be more open-minded about this programme. This can also be part of their children witnessing their faith. As National Service is a yearly affair, we as a community should start preparing our youths for it.” added Theresa. (Herald)
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OLL PARISHIONERS GIVEN INSIGHT ON VOTING RIGHTS
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Klang : In conjunction with the general election, the Klang District Pastoral Council (KPDC) organized a forum on Electoral Reform and the Right to Vote. The talk, held on March 7 at Our Lady of Lourdes community hall, was one of the measures taken to create awareness about the workings of our country’s election mechanism and the people’s voting rights. “Allowing the people to elect their government is one of the finest achievements of democracy. Elections are democracy’s most reasonable ‘showcase’,” said Prof Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, the speaker for the forum. “The Church should not only be a place where spirituality is preached but also for public affairs. This forum is ‘food for thought’ for our Catholic, “ commented a participant. The forum was a learning experience for many as they were unaware of the political aspect of the way things work and their rights as voters. (Herald)
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607 TO BE BAPTIZED
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Petaling Jaya : A total of 607 catechumens from the eight districts of the Archdiocese gathered with their sponsors and godparents for the Rite of Election ceremony held at the Cathedral of St John on February 29. For the first time, there were candidates from the Church of St John Vianney in Tampin as well as from the Terengganu district. It is also the first year where the choir was made up of RCIA team members and facilitators from various parishes. In his homily Archbishop Murphy Pakiam urged the catechumens to grow deeper into the meaning of Christian living in the Body of Christ – the Mystical Body of Christ. He invited the catechumens to grow in the life of the Church during this season of Lent and prepare themselves to receive the Sacraments of Initiation. (Herald)
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FAITH HAS THREE DIMENSIONS
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Petaling Jaya : Catechists from the PJ District held a one-day formation at the Assumption Family Hall on Feb 21. Two hundred catechists attended the session, which is the first part of a four-part series. There were also catechists from Visitation Church, Our Lady of Lourdes Church and Gereja Katholik Fatima. The introduction session on Faith was facilitated by Sr. Jane Koh, FMM from the Church of Assumption. Participants learnt that faith has three dimensions: Personal, Communal, and Institutional. From the reflection, it became clear that the role of the catechists is indispensable in the work of passing on the faith. The next formation module will be held on May 15 at the Church of St. Ignatius. (Herald)
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FORMATION FOR CKK YOUTH LEADERS
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Petaling Jaya : Youth leaders from BECs in Subang Jaya and USJ attended a fellowship and formation session in Port Dickson from Feb 22 – 23. This was part of an on-going effort to form the Youth Ministry in Kurnia Kristus Chapel (CKK). Participants reviewed their current strengths and weakness in the light of the Great Commandment (to love) and the Great Commission (to evangelize). Youth leaders were also encouraged to meet those from ages 13 – 30 in their BECs. In order to get more youths involved in CKK, there will be a Youth Mass once every three months. The first youth mass was held on 13 March 2004. (Herald)
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LSP NEW HOME FOR ELDERLY SCHEDULED FOR OPENING
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Cheras : The official opening and blessing of the Little Sisters of the Poor’s new home for the elderly – St Francis Xavier’s Home for the Aged and Chapel will be held on March 19. The ultra modern home, built with the comforts of the elderly in mind is equipped with facilities such as an auditorium, library, salon, recreation room, tranquility room, room for physiotherapy, clinic and others. Close to 100 elderly can be accommodated, inclusive of day care. There are also rooms for retired priests. (Herald)
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CARING FOR THE CATHOLIC NATIONAL SERVICE TRAINEES
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Petaling Jaya : Many of our Catholic youth are among those who are currently undergoing the National Service at the various centres throughout Malaysia. This is a formative period for our youth. Their values are being enhanced. Their religious values also need to be enhanced. The other religions are doing their part. It is good for us too to be involved. Measures are being taken by the authorities to ensure that the young people are allowed to fulfil their religious obligations. However transportation will only be provided if there are a large number of trainees from the same religion in the centre. On our part, we need to find out from the nearest National Service Centres the number of Catholic youth and if small in number, to provide transport. We have sourced the parishes closest to the National Service centres. Parishes in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur situated near National Service centres are listed here. Click Here
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SFA PARISH LEADERS BENEFIT FROM PRE
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Cheras : The parish of St Francis of Assisi (SFA) held its very first Parish Renewal Experience (PRE) from Feb 13 to 15. The first batch of 41 participants consisted of BEC leaders and representatives of the various ministries in the parish. Fr Ignatius Huan from College General, Penang and Ms Pauline Ong from Pulau Tikus, Penang, were the main presenters. They were assisted by a team of presenters from SFA, who had participated in the retreat before. The participants are not allowed to reveal the essence of PRE, but they are allowed to share their personal renewal experience gained after the three days. The three-day experience has revealed the true meaning of being a Catholic to Francis Kok; one of the BEC leaders, who now feels empowered to share the experience with others. Parish priest Fr Joe Matthews, OFM, Cap was also one of the participants. He has decided to make PRE an ongoing event for the benefit of the parishioners. (Herald)
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ST JOHN BIDS FAREWELL TO MSGR DANIEL LIM
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Kuala Lumpur : More than a thousand parishioners attended a Thanksgiving Mass at the Cathedral of St John on Feb 15 to bid farewell to Msgr Daniel Lim, who was their parish priest for the past thirteen years. Fr Daniel presided over the Eucharist with Fr A. Amalanathan as concelebrant. The celebrants were accompanied by altar boys and thirteen flower girls who represented each year of Fr Daniels’ tenure as parish priest. After the final blessing, Fr Amalanathan expressed his gratitude to Fr Daniel who had stood steadfastly by him during his illness and did not impose any specific duties during his recuperation, but gave him
encouragement and support. Msgr Daniel received a Souvenir Book of signatures, greetings and wishes and also a hand-painted framed picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. In thanking the parishioners for their support and understanding, Fr Daniel who assumes the post of parish priest at the Church of the Holy Rosary in Brickfields, called on all to give their best to the new parish priest. He also encouraged families to pray for more vocations. A fellowship was held after the Mass. (Herald)
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OLL BIDS FAREWELL TO FR DANNY AND WELCOME TO FR HARRISON
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Klang : The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes (OLL) received a new shepherd to guide the flock of the parish while having to release another one. Newly ordained Fr George Harrison has been posted to OLL as assistant priest, taking over from Fr Danny Mathews who is transferred to the parish of St John Vianney in Tampin, Negeri Sembilan. Hundreds of parishioners gathered on Feb 23 to bid farewell to their beloved Fr Danny and to
welcome Fr Harrison. A special Mass was celebrated at 10 am followed by a gathering at the community hall. Fr Danny has been in OLL parish since he was ordained two years ago. He is a favourite among parishioners as he is known for being 'down to earth' and humorous. In his speech Fr Danny expressed his gratitude very specially to the parishioners. He also thanked parish priest, Fr Gerard for being a "guide and a guard" throughout his stint at OLL. The new assistant priest Fr Harrison said, "I feel like laughing and crying. To laugh because it is good to be here, in this parish as it is amazing to see committed parishioners who treat the church like their own home. I feel like crying because I don't know if I am good enough. But, with your support and the grace of God, I know the Lord will make good use of me." (Herald)
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SHAH ALAM CHURCH TO BE NAMED CHURCH OF THE DIVINE MERCY
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Klang : The Shah Alam Church will be called the Church of the Divine Mercy, the first Catholic Church in the country bearing that name. Holy Redeemer parish priest Fr Raymond Pereira said Archbishop Murphy Pakiam had given his consent. On Feb 22, the Holy Redeemer Church (HRC) Family Carnival 2004 was held and the proceeds were channeled to the Shah Alam Church Building Fund. The event saw a gathering of about 3,000 people. The various BECs put up 20 food stalls and 15 game booths. A jogathon was also held right after the
morning Mass and officially opened by Selangor State Exco Member YB Dato Ir Lum Weng Keong. Fr Raymond said there was still a RM 2 million shortage and that a series of projects would be organised over the next few months. These include an Easter Dinner, a golf competition, Mothers’ and Fathers' Day Dinner and the Mooncake Festival. "We thank all those who have supported, donated and assisted in one way or another," he said. Besides cash pledges and donations, there is also the option of buying a brick at RM 1O and buying a square foot at RM 100.00. Forms can be obtained at HRC. (Herald)
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