 
|
July 2007 News
| Parishes urged to participate in Games |
KLANG: All parishes in the KL. Archdiocese are invited to participate in the Goodwill Games 2008, on April 5, 2008, at Panasonic Sports Complex, Shah Alam. All parish priests are invited to participate in the events together with your church members. Two buntings, will be given to each parish in the Archdiocese, to start off the preparations for the Goodwill games 2008. All details will be available on our website http://www.ollgwg2008.com
Please register online or call the Chairman, Richard Scully, tel 016-3791780 for more details. - Posted by Herald |
|
| A Fun Celebration For Gereja Katolik Fatima |
| BANTING: The St Benedict BEC of Gereja Katolik Fatima organised a Family Day on July 14 at the Morib beach. They were joined by seven students from the Banting, MARA College. The event proper commenced at 10.00am with prayers followed by breakfast. The sudden shower did not spoil the fun as immediately after the breakfast, indoor activities were conducted in which all present participated. After the showers of blessing sunshine, outdoor games were young and old participated in organised. The organisers wish to thank the youths, Roslin, Elizabeth and Sherlina for their effort in preparing the activities, the members for their contributions and all present for making this event a success. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Tamil CHOICE Follow-Up |
| KUALA LUMPUR: The Tamil Choice Kuala Lumpur had their follow-up at Benildus House, Klang recently. A total of 45 youths was pre¬sent. The purpose of this camp was to allow the participants to reflect on the changes that have taken place in their lives after the Choice Weekend and to encourage them to put into practice everything they had learnt from the Choice Weekend. The session helped them to motivate themselves to realise the importance of family values and the relationship with family members and people around them. After group sharing they had an idea how to have better relationship between their par¬ents and themselves. Also, the participants expressed that they enjoyed themselves and were strengthening their relationship with one another. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Confirmands Urged To Love One Another As Jesus Did |
KAJANG: Holy Spirit fills my heart on fire! That was the chorus sung by the 89 confirmands at their confir¬mation ceremony held at the Holy Family Church. As customary Archbishop Murphy Pakiam performed the rites, with the anointing of the chrism oil on the fore¬heads of the teenagers. The Holy Spirit indeed showered its grace, for it was a double celebration for the parishioners of Holy Family Church and the installa¬tion of Fr William Michael as the new parish priest.
Archbishop, Fr William and new assistant parish priest Fr George Harrison in their sermons (in English/Tamil, Malay and Mandarin respectively) said that it was `action that talked louder than words'. Thus keep the command¬ment of loving one another and our daily action should reflect Jesus.
Under the new steward¬ship of Fr William, the parishioners of HFC pray that the new confirmands will find new focus and purpose in their mission for Christ. March on Soldiers of Christ, your Captain leads you to God with the spirit of the Holy Spirit. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Home Away From Home |
| TAMPING: The parishioners of St B Vianney warmly welcomed the new batch of young people who have joined the National service into their community. The group made up of Catholics and Christians from other denominations comprised young people com¬ing from both Sahah and Sarawak. But, this new batch was considered luckier because of the presence of His Grace Archbishop Datuk Murphy Pakiatn, D.D who came to celebrate the Sacrament of Continuation on 24th June 2007, which coin¬cided with the Nativity of St John the Baptist. Alter mass, all the recruits gathered together at the entrance of the Church for a group photograph and then adjourned for lunch at the Church premises. During the lunch fellowship the Youth of SJBV entertained them while get¬ting to know them better. His Grace too took a little time to dialogue with them and blessed them for strength, courage and perseverance during their NS training experience. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Doctors organise retreat in Indonesia |
| KUALA LUMPUR: The Catholic Doctors' Association of Malaysia (CDAM) had their annual retreat in Bandung/Lembang, Indonesia. Sixteen doctors and their spouses attended the retreat conducted by Fr Justine Sudarminta SJ. The First CDAM president, Dr Gnanapiragasam, the current president Dr Anthonysamy and two past presidents, Dr Andew Choo and Dr Freddie Loh, were among the participants. Upon arrival, the doctors were taken to St Charles Borromeo Hospital run by the Sisters of Charity of Charles Borromeo. It is a big hospital, well managed by the Catholic doctors and nurses with all the modern equipment and facilities. The chairman of the Board of the hospital, Dr Widoyo gave a short briefing on the achievements despite not receiving any grants/subsidies from the government or organisations. Patients at the hospital are charged according to their financial standing. Many are given free treatment while there are also those who opt for the VIP or VVIP suites. After lunch, the doctors were taken to the retreat house in Lembang. The retreat themed Fellowship with Christ the Healer, was mainly asking God to strengthen their faith and bring spiritual renewal in their vocations as medical practitioners. There were a lot of topics discussed like abortion, pastoral care which should be an integral part in medical care in a Catholic hospital, euthanasia, and moral problems like in-vitro fertilisation, embryonic cloning and genetic engineering. The doctors also raised the issue of the rising cost of healthcare and how they could do their part and to avoid the temp¬tation of making patients undergo unnec¬essary procedures. The doctors also visited the Banding Cathedral for Mass followed by a Chinese dinner hosted by the President of the Indonesian Catholic Doctors, Dr Ignatius Harjadi and his colleagues, Dr Albert and Dr Miriam. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Bibles for the elderly at Home |
| CHERAS: In conjunction with Bible Sunday on July 8, three Holy Bibles, two in English and the other in Tamil were presented to the St Francis Xavier Home For The Elderly in a simple cere¬mony during an outreach there by 58 members of the Senior Citizen Ministry (SCM) from the St John's Cathedral. Sr Marie Jeanne LSP who represented Sr. Margaret Anne LSP, the superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor who man¬ages the home received the bibles from S.V. Culas, the vice-president of SCM. The residents numbering 68 were delighted to receive the visitation of the large entourage who came in a chartered school bus and several cars armed with foodstuff and were greeted by several Little Sisters of the Poor. The SCM members then went straight to interact with the elderly residents whose ages are between 60 to 100 years old. Several of the residents are wheelchair-bound or are partially disabled. They mingled with the residents and talked to them while sharing their con¬cern, love and care for the residents, especially those disabled or are too weak to move about. The SCM mem¬bers spent two hours before adjourning for lunch. Those on the first floor had their lunch - a `special diet' for some, - while several of SCM members helped two Sisters to feed those resi¬dents who needed assistance. The luncheon which was prepared and cooked by the home, was sponsored by the SCM members. Everyone including the able residents enjoyed the sumptu¬ous meal in the main dining hall at ground level. In his speech, Culas thanked the 13 Sisters including two or three retired Sisters at the home, where with the assistance of five Myamnarese workers, take care of the residents with unwaver¬ing love and care. He said that the aim of SCM outreach to the home was not just to have a fellowship with them but to pray with them and show our Christian care and concern by spending time with them. Sr Marie was glad and said that the residents were happy to see us. She said that the public (including the SCM members) come to visit the residents with provisions, donations, ete and their generosity helps to keep the home run¬ning On receiving the Bibles, Sr Marie said these will be kept in the library for the use of the residents. After lunch, SCM members held a sing-along session with the residents where song sheets were distributed to all. A variety of evergreen `oldies' in English, with the exception of `Rasa Sayang' in Bahasa Malaysia, were sung together and enjoyed by the residents. Apparently many of the residents are used to singing. The group then departed at 1.15pn for the cathedral at Bukit Nanas. The St Francis Xavier Home For The Elderly was officially opened in March 2004. The home depends largely on public donations and once a year a collection is made in every parish in the KL Archdiocese to operate. Sr Marie said that the LSP congregation built the new home to raise the dignity of the elderly. Various activities are organise (by LSP for the benefit of the residents The facilities include an auditorium chapel, dentist and doctor rooms, shop library, hall, physiotherapy, individual rooms, Sisters quarters and office. The majority of the residents are Chinese with some Indians and Eurasians. About 80 per cent of the residents are female many residents are either spinsters o bachelors, who previously lived alone with no immediate families, no income or with low income. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Why true love waits |
| CHERAS: A session for teens on Why True Love Waits was held at the Church of St Francis of Assisi (SFA) recently. The day covered many aspects of the teens and their lives in the world, their sexuali¬ty and relationships with others. The first speaker of the day was Fr Joe Matthews, OFM Cap. His was the more direct and for some, rather disconcert¬ing session. Touching on the insecurity of many teens when it came to the topic of sexuality, he carried forth a very direct message to them. He elaborated on the difference between men and women and their basic stimulations that they might experience in their lives as sex¬ual beings. Often, he would relate per¬sonal experiences to convey the message more clearly. He ended his session by saying, "If you have issues with your sexu¬ality, acknowledge the problem and ask the Lord for his spiritu¬al strength and guidance" also adding that alone, the teens were incapable of anything, but with the Lord, everything is possible. The next speaker was Melville Pereira of the Secular Franciscan Order of SFA. He touched on the more physical implications of premarital sex. He also illustrated the more illu¬sive topics on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) which some found informative but disturbing at the same time. He described the many dif¬ferent types of abortion and their roles in the various stages of pregnancy. Utilising visual aid and graphic stimulation, he opened the eyes of the teens to the cold-blooded cruelty they were about to face in the real world beyond their comfort zone. Then, he briefly discussed the law and legal aspects of rape and premarital sexual intercourse. He ended his talk with 10 questions in regards to sexuality and religion. Sr Salomi Cruz of the Good Shepherd Sisters, assisted by another counsellor, Magdalene Han, presented the last talk of the day. They are involved with the Good Shepherd Sisters Welfare for unwed mothers, raped and abused girls, teenage girls with pregnancy crisis, etc. In her talk, Sr Salomi narrat¬ed the true-life stories of many of the girls she had encountered over the years who are now in the centre. She helped portray the hurts and pains that they were experiencing and enlight¬ened those gathered as to the social implications of being sexually active at such a, young age. The session was organised by the Family Life ministry. Earlier, donations were collect¬ed and pro-life badges shaped in the exact size and shape of an unborn baby's feet aborted at 10 weeks were given out. Proceeds from the donations were to the Rose Virginie Crisis Centre, Ipoh in support of the Good Shepherd Sisters Welfare Ministry. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Parish feastday celebration at St. Thomas, Kuantan |
| KUANTAN: This year the parish feast of St Thomas was celebrated with daily Masses and special Novena prayers, beginning from June 27 till the actual Feastday on July 3. During the weekend of June 30 and July 1, Fr Jean-Claude from Mentakab was invited to celebrate the Eucharist. His ser¬mon was on the theme for July, Be the Word. According to him, to be the Word is to walk the road of challenge for which we have Mother Mary as our example. The let¬ter "M" signifies her mission as mother of the Word Incarnate, "A" for action when she got herself involved in her Son's work of redemption, "R" for responding to the will of the Father, and "Y" for saying `yes' to the hardships, joys and sorrows involved. Thus Mary became the Word. For us to recognise ourselves as the Word, we have to be aware of the sense of our mission. Fr Jean-Claude also touched on the cur¬rent shortage of priestly vocations, tracing the root of the problem to the affluence of society giving everyone so many options in life. He asks whether our families have ever spoken to the children about the shortage of priests and to reflect what we can do about this situation. Our agenda has to be the Agenda of God i.e. to submit to God's will. The entrance procession for the Sunday morning Mass was led by a group of dancers in their colourful East Malaysian traditional costumes. At 4.OOpm that afternoon, parishioners and their families gathered at the parish community centre for "potluck" tea, fol¬lowed by community games. The adult teams played volleyball while the youths had fun with Captain Ball. For those below nine years, a colouring contest was held and "Bingo" was open to all to have fun. Multilingual Masses were celebrated on July 2 and July 3 by Fr Anthony Thomas from Kuala Lumpur, who was born and educated in Kuantan. Concelebrating with him was Fr Eugene and joining them on the last day was Msgr James Gnanapiragasam from St John's Cathedral. The parish flag which was designed by Kenny Chong, a parishioner, and approved by the Parish Pastoral Council was launched by Fr Eugene before the Mass on July 3. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Empowering Student Action For Dialogue and Peace |
| Empowering Student Action for Dialogue and Peace was the theme for the recent International Committee 2007 (IC 2007) which was held from June 24 to July 7 at the (APC) Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre in KL. It was a two ¬week-long event of multicultural exchanges that proved to be an eye-¬opener and enriching experience for students from every continent in the world. On the first day, Mass was celebrated by Fr Michael Raymond OFM Cap the Director of ASAYO. In his sermon, Fr Michael shared a story of a girl who was sitting at the airport and was crying; she said she had been there for three days and couldn't find her air ticket. The man who was lis¬tening to her was filled with sympathy and told her he'll try to get her a ticket home. The girl stood up and followed him. Suddenly he heard the girl scream. She found her ticket. Guess where it was? She was sitting on it. He stressed that we have to get up and start moving if we want to make a difference. After Mass, John (India), Jules (Africa), Kevin (USA), Blaise (Senegal), Adeline (Malaysia), Cynthia (CAN-Malaysia) and Hermai (Peru) shared on the issues and struggles faced by the Catholic students in their own countries, ranging from woman issues and AIDS to privatisation of higher education, problems in their universities and poverty. BroVarghese, SJ, was the moderator. It was very clear that all over the world, students were in need of peace. Blaise shared on the issue of migration in his country. When asked about what he had to say about the issues, Blaise said that "there is no point in running away, we should stay back and be pillars of strength for the youth; to be messengers of peace." The following day, participants were brought for exposure trips to places such as Jinjang, Bidor, Sg Siput, PERCH, JERIT and Hope Community Centre. These places included the indigenous peo¬ple's settlements, HIV positive patient homes, urban poor housing estates and rural areas where foreign refugees seek shelter. It was indeed a down-to-earth experience to witness their shabby living conditions while leading a life of poverty and stung by a perpetual social stigma. After the exposure trips, they did a social analy¬sis to deepen their understanding about the injus¬tice and conflicts in those areas. The next day, there was an interfaith prayer by the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism (MCCBCHST). It was a deeply spiritual session. The room was lit with candles by the participants to symbolise peace, unity and solidarity. A kolam of a white dove was created in the heart of the hall and surrounded by candles, small lamps and rose petals. It was a indeed captivating sight to behold. Throughout the event, there were ice-breakers followed by study sessions that injected a great dose of information about the realities of human life in our respective countries and continents. The objective and spirit of the event was to empower students to be peace builders, and the action necessary was dialogue with neighbour, friends, family, other religions and government. They also discussed the role of media as a tool for peace building and linked faith with peace build¬ing. On June 30, there was a Cultural Mass, partici¬pants were dressed in their cultural clothes of unique designs and a myriad of colours. "Today we celebrate our many cultures, sharing the same Lord. We are one in Christ," said Fr Masawe, the presider in his introduction. The prayer of the faithful was said in a string of languages (Arabic, Spanish, French, Cantonese, Bahasa Indonesia, Tamil and English). Mass was followed by Cultural night. Everyone had a ball of a time as the "Saturday night fever" provoked a euphoria of joy and excitement. Blaise from Senegal was proclaimed as King of the Night and the petite and sweet Mary Grace from Myanmar was declared the Queen of the Night. On July 1, the participants were taken around KL for a day of outing. It was an great experience for the foreign participants as they were exposed to many different cultures and religions along their exciting journey. On July 7, there was also an African-Asian Student Forum which was held at the APC. One of the main issues was Democratic Space which included freedom of speech, media and religion, and privatisation of higher education. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Fr Antoine Henriot MEP Celebrated His 60 years as a priest |
| KAJANG: The much-awaited Diamond Jubilee Celebration of Fr Antoine Henriot MEP was celebrated on June 30 at the Church of the Holy Family and then at the Bukit Mewah Club in Kajang. The event which managed to attract parishioners from as far as France started off with the Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Fr Henriot himself. Archbishop Emeritus Soter Fernandez, Bishop Paul Tan SJ, Bishop Anthony Selvanayagam together with 11 other priests including Fr William Michael and Fr George Harrison, the Parish Priest and Assistant Parish Priest of Holy Family as well as the parishioners from various church¬es, joined together in this multi¬lingual celebration. Fr Henriot was presented with a papal blessing and a message from the Apostolic Delegate Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio which was read out by Archbishop Emeritus Soter. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Fr. Leo Chang Celebrates His Sacerdotal Golden Jubilee |
| SHAH ALAM: It was a small and intimate gathering for those who came to celebrate Fr Leo Chang's sacerdotal golden jubilee. Held at Montfort Boys' Town on June 29, Fr Leo was ferried in an open jeep from his residence and greeted with a lion dance, kompangs and Indian drums for the Eucharistic Celebration. Archbishop Murphy Pakiam was the presider with 19 other priests in attendance including Archbishop Emeritus Soter Fernandez. As it was also the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, Archbishop Pakiam in his homily connected the feastday readings with Fr Leo. "Fr Leo came from China to minister to the people here. He was sent to many parishes and worked with many people. Now that Fr Leo is based in Montfort to serve the young people here, he too is becoming younger," quipped Archbishop Pakiam. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Sr. Jane Koh celebrates Fifty Years of Religious Life |
| PETALING JAYA: Glorify The Lord With Me was the theme chosen by Sr Jane Koh, Franciscan Missionary of Mary (FMM) for her 50th Anniversary of Religious Life. The morning Eucharistic celebration was held on June 30 at the Church of the Assumption with Archbishop Murphy Pakiam as the presider. Also present were Archbishop Emeritus Anthony Soter Fernandez, Bishop Anthony Selvanayagam and Assumption parish priest, Fr Phillips Muthu and other priests. In his homily, Archbishop Pakiam said that, "We recognise the wonderful mile¬stones in our lives just as Sr Jane celebrates her 50 years of living and working in the service of the Lord." Sr Assunta Leong, the Sister Provincial FMM thanked all who came to share their joy and thanksgiving to God on the occasion of Sr Jane Koh’s 50th anniversary. She has been serving for more than 20 years at the parish and the packed church is a testimony of their love for Sr Jane,’’ she added. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Never Forsake Your Spiritual Lives |
| CHERAS: The second Archdiocesan level Kaamatan, Gawai and Panen celebrations were held with much pomp and splendour at the Church of St Francis of Assisi on July I 2007. More than 1,500 people came to join in the celebrations presided over by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam. The Mass, which was celebrated in seven languages - Dusun, Iban, Murut, Bidayuh, Kayan, Flores and Bahasa Malaysia - was colourful and a new experience for many of the West Malaysians. In the homily preached in Bahasa Malaysia, Fr Julius explained that the celebrations were a celebration of thanksgiving. "We have many rea¬sons to give thanks to God. These cel¬ebrations are for everyone. Always find ways to improve your lives and never forsake your spiritual life no matter where you are," he urged. The celebrations ended at 7.OOpm with the announcement that the Church of St Anthony would be the host for the celebrations in 2008. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Brickfields Students learn about the Mass |
| KUALA LUMPUR: On June 23, the Sunday School Secondary students of Church of Our Lady of Fatima Brickfields, came together on Saturday for a half-day activity besides their usual Sunday school lesson day. This special activity was con¬ducted by their Parish Priest Fr Clarence Devadass, followed by group dynamics by individual classes, with the help of their respective teachers. The topics chosen by the teachers were Eucharist, and the importance of Mass. The teachers felt that many stu¬dents didn't know the importance of Mass and the reverence needed to be given, when they come for Mass. The topic was very well presented by Fr Clarence. The session ended with the students presenting their work as a group, on manjong paper. When asked a handful of students said it was fun knowing about the Mass; some said they learned a lot about the Mass. Even the teachers had so much to share. The session ended with lunch and fellowship. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Bible Sunday and Word-Centred BEC’s |
| Today s a day to remind us of the significance and value of the Word of God in our daily lives. It is a day when the children of every parish should can get to know the Bible through games, quizzes, puzzles, colouring competi¬tions, biblical treasure hunt and a host of other activities. Sad to say, many of the parishes do not actively promote Bible Sunday for various reasons - some due to lack of finances, others due to lack of trained personnel. Hence, each has to do the best with whatever limited available resources. Parish priests and their teams have very little time to think and plan ahead activities that are beyond two.-weeks. This is the limitation many parishes encounter. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Mission accomplished! Syabas |
| KUALA LUMPUR: Parishioners of the Church of the Sacred Heart (SHC) in Allan Peel participated in a Thanksgiving Mass with the theme "Building To Share Christ" on June 23 morning to praise and thank the Lord, God Almighty for a mission accom¬plished, namely the completion of their newly built five-storey community cen¬tre. Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, His Grace Murphy Pakiam presided over the Eucharist. Bishop of Penang, Rt Rev Antony Selvanayagam and 12 priests including SHC parish priest Fr Thomas Anthony concelebrated. In his homily, Archbishop Pakiam said that those who come for daily Mass would notice that the past two weeks' readings were taken from the 2nd Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians which are relevant for the Christian community as it consisted of good teachings. The readings show a deep spiritual experience of God, said the Archbishop. He said that even if we endure great suffering, we should cling to God and pray to Him despite the great temptation of the flesh; in hardships and persecution Jesus is with us for `when I'm weak, I'm strong' as Paul echoed. "Be disci¬ples for Christ." The Archbishop went on to say that often, people tend to show off when they assume leadership and with their ideas and hearts turn to worldly ways. He asked if we turned Christianity into a `comfortable' religion, what would happen`? He reassured us that our Heavenly Father provides us with our basic needs, He wants us to seek the kingdom of God and all will be given unto us. "We need to gather in Church to hear the Word of God, to receive God him¬self who comes to us in the Holy Eucharist. We also need the facilities to help build the community of God's peo¬ple." Archbishop Pakiam then urged all to make full use of the new facilities for the greater glory of God and to serve the poor, sick and migrants. After Mass, the chairman of the SHC Building Project Committee, Peter Das thanked the bishops, priests, distin¬guished guests, benefactors and parish¬ioners who had in one way or another assisted to make `a mission possible' into `a mission accomplished.' "Today we are proud to stand in front of a mission accomplished - referring to the new Bangunan Dominic Vendargon - and you all made it possible, with Fr Thomas as the pillar of guidance and strength to us," he said. Two pioneers and faithful parishioners of SHC who had served whole¬heartedly, S. Margaret, the secretary of the parish office and Chan Chin Seon the Secretary of SHC Building Project Committee who contributed earnestly in the new building, were each honoured with a token of appreciation by the parish. Fr Thomas also thanked the SHC Building Project Committee members and showed a deep appreciation to the priests and archbishop for their interest and support in the building project. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Sex education begins at home |
| CHERAS: If sex in truly satisfying - and it can be - why should adolescents wait to enjoy it? Why shouldn't the young in heart and body explore this fascinating dimension of their humanness as soon as they feel the "urge to merge?" How do we tell our children to buck this trend of "get it now," and save sex until marriage, especially when no one else seems to be waiting? These were some of the soul-searching questions that parents grappled with when they attended the enlightening session Sex Education Begins at Home organised by the SFA Family Life Ministry on June 17, 2007. Conducted by Fr Joe Matthews, OEM Cap, pie, the session gave valuable insights to the 56 parents who attended. The session's broad theme was divided into six sub-topics ranging from How to Help Our Kids Wait for Sex to Fostering Open Communication with Your Child Equals Reduced Sexual Involvement, and Teach and Model Moral Values at Home, and ending with How to Communicate God's Perspective of Sex. Woven throughout these six topics was the importance of a good relationship and communication in the home. Asked to comment on the session, one couple (Paul and Frances) had this to say: "It has given us invaluable tips on how we can prepare ourselves and our children to discuss sexuality. It has changed our perception: sex should not be viewed as taboo. The issue has to be addressed as and when the need or opportunity arises." The session concluded with one of the parents sharing her view on the importance of early sex education and how this should begin at home. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Father’s Day celebration at SFA |
| CHERAS: Renowned veteran vocal per¬former Francisca Peters graced the Church of St Francis of Assisi on June 17 to perform for the parish's Fathers' Day celebration. The celebration was organised by the church youth music group, Musician Network. The performances included, Ain't no mountain high enough, Stand by Me and Chasing Cars. Each of these was chosen to convey special and unique meaning of their own to touch the hearts of the Fathers and everyone else present. Then Fr Valentine Gompok, OFM Cap wowed the crowd with some songs too. What was perhaps his most touch¬ing performance was the song You need¬ed me, which conveyed feelings of a father who feels the need to love his children and the interdependant relation¬ship between two souls. The crowd stood transfixed as they listened to some of their favourite songs of old being performed. The support and encouragement was overwhelming.Quoting one parent, "In comparison to the songs that our young are listening to these days, it is nice to hear some of these more meaningful songs. They may be old but they evoke feelings within us and they bear deep meaning. That is most important." After the performances, Francisca stayed to have a small photoshoot ses¬sion with anyone who chose to have their picture taken with her. It was truly a day that will remain etched upon the hearts of all gathered there. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Formation for Tamil Youth Apostolate & Choice leaders |
| KUALA LUMPUR: The Tamil Youth Apostolate leaders and Tamil Choice Leaders gathered in Asayo for reflection on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit recently. The session started about 8.OOam with opening prayer followed by an introduction of Gift of Holy Spirit. Then the objectives of the day were given. The session was on How do we "see" ourselves, How do others "see" us, What of ourselves do we allow others to "see", Do we allow some to "see" more than others? Are we honest with ourselves? Are we honest with others? The youths are the Church of today as well as the Church of the future, said Fr. George Harrison. The youths also must be witnesses to the Gospel in daily life. "Are we ready to respond and take the risk to come as we are to Jesus? he asked. Then there was a small group activity followed by praise and worship. The formation ended with Mass celebrated by Fr.George Harisson. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Alpha Youth Weekend Away |
| KLANG: The June 23-24 week¬end saw 15 youths from the Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes away camping at the La Salle Formation Centre for a Youth Alpha weekend away session. Participants started coming in from 5.OOpm onwards on Saturday and a dynamic Praise and Worship session by the Youth Alpha music ministry assisted by the Parish's music ministry, Warriors of Christ (WOC) started proceedings. There were two talks, How God Guides Us and Who Is the Holy Spirit which led the participants into a time of inner-healing to heal past hurts, rejections and wounds. The next morning the participants woke up to a powerful session of worship and were then led into the talks by the dynamic and exciting speakers accompanied by loads of games and group activities. The highlight of the camp was when the participants were touched by the Holy Spirit. Instead of being prayed over by prayer leaders the participants prayed over each other. The moral of this session is that all of us are filled with the Holy Spirit and all of us should pray and should be able to pray over our brothers and sisters in Christ as that is the privilege that God gives us. It was such a wonderful session as the partici¬pants felt so close to God and they literally could feel the immense presence of Jesus with¬in them. The session ended with a song of praise and a prayer to thank God for a good weekend. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Parishes register voters |
| KUALA LUMPUR: In responding to the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur's recent appeal for Catholics who have attained the age of 21 years and above to be registered as voters, several parishes have made arrangement to have their parishioners who have yet to register to do so conveniently at their churches. At the Cathedral of St John, the registration of new voters was held on June 17 from 9.OOam till 12 noon. A total of 124 parishioners registered themselves, while another 126 updated their cur¬rent addresses with the assistance of several Election Registering agents. Two laptops were used to check online the data of each applicants. Members of Parliament (MP) of Bukit Bintang, Cheras and Seputeh were also present for an hour to render their kind assistance to the parishioners. Two large tents were erected on the cathedral's grounds for this purpose. According to Michael Nair, the chairman of St John's Hospitality Ministry who assisted the parish to organise the event the response was very encouraging and they were planning to have another round of registration of voters soon, this time for the Sunday evening Mass. Meanwhile at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Jalan Peel, the registration of voters was held during the parish feastday celebration from June 15-17. A total of 151 parishioners, mainly young Catholics, seized the opportunity to regis¬ter themselves as new voters. According to Ann Savarimuthu, a parishioner, parish priest Fr Anthony Thomas was pleased with the response from his parishioners. She added that those wanting to change their address¬es could do so at any post office. At the Church of St Francis of Assisi, Cheras, the registration exercise was held on June 16 and 17. There were 34 new registrations while 66 per¬sons updated their addresses. There were 63 new eligible voters registered at the Church Of St Anne, Port Klang on June 17. The exercise was organised by the Parish Integral Human Development Ministry (PIHDM) of St Anne with the collaboration of the Holy Redeemer PIHDM Klang team led by Alan Leong. Earlier, parish administrator Fr Lawrence Andrew SJ reminded those who were eligible to hold their right, get themselves registered and execute their right to vote in the coming general elections. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Need to be reconciled with each other |
| KUALA LUMPUR: The solemnity feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus was celebrated from June 15 to 17 at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Jalan Peel with the theme being One Body In Christ. On the actual feastday itself, Friday, June 15 the church was packed for the evening Eucharist that was presided over by parish priest, Fr Anthony Thomas, pic. In his homily, Fr Thomas said that today's gospel speaks about the lost sheep, where the shepherd leaving the 99 in the wilderness goes searching for the missing one. "In today's modern society, referring to the city we lived in, we have no experi¬ence or opportunity to rear domestic ani¬mals be they sheep, goats or chickens. We nonetheless do experience losing some¬thing, about relationship, land, things around us...bringing back lost sheep and rejoice." Fr Thomas said by celebrating the feast of the Sacred Heart as we learn from the very example of Jesus who goes out looking for the lost sinner and when the Lord finds him or her, He embraces him/her. Fr Thomas added that in the history of church people who left but later came back to be reconciled with the Lord are welcome celebration. “Today’s feast is dedicated to Jesus, the Lord who said “Rejoice with Me”- a message for us. When a family member goes missing and then returns or someone we knew comes back into our lives, we will rejoice. Jesus does this every time a sinner comes back. He will embrace him and say he/she belongs here.” "When a penitent Catholic receives the Sacrament of Reconciliation, he feels a sense of belonging to the church after confessing. The same goes for us; we too need to be reconciled with one another because in everybody there are some good elements; despite whatever mistakes that person may have made," said Fr Thomas. As the feast of the Sacred Heart also marks the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests, a prayer for priests was recited by the assembly after the collection. Fr Thomas said that we should be praying for all the priests and not just for him. Before the Eucharistic prayer, Fr Thomas said that we are all one in the body of Christ, whether we are Chinese, Indian or Eurasian. As thanksgiving to God for offering up His Son for our lives, we continue to pray for His grace as we journey on to build-up our families, BECs and be open to the grace of the Spirit. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Keeping vigil for our freedom of faith |
| KUALA LUMPUR: More than 500 Malaysians professing different religions, from different ethnic back¬grounds gathered in unity on June 19 for a candlelight vigil in support of Revathi, and many others like her, who are unable to fully exercise their Constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of faith. The hour-long peaceful and silent vigil was held in Dataran Merdeka from 8.OOpm to 9.OOpm. It was initi¬ated by several civil society organisa¬tions including MCCBCHST (Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism), Catholic's Lawyers Society, Kuala Lumpur and various women's rights groups or NGOs like All Women's Action Society (AWAM), Sisters In Islam (SIS), Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), Penang Women's Centre for Change (WCC) and Women's Development Collective (WDC). Among those present were five priests namely Frs. Phillips Muthu, Mitchel Anthony Joseph, Eugene Benedict, Terrence Thomas and Raymond Michael OFM Cap and three religious sisters beside several leaders from the other religions and leaders of the NGOs. Many were holding candles while some held placards and posters which read Uphold The Federal Constitution, We are all Bangsa Malaysia, Promote freedom of Faith, Recognise Revathi as an Hindu, MCCBCHST in Solidarity with Revathi & Suresh, Secular in not anti-religion, Allah Maha Pengasih, kembalikan Revathi kepada keluar¬ganya, Separating a mother & child is inhuman. Ivy Josiah, WAO president said that Revathi is a prisoner of con¬science as she has been detained for the past several months, for not believing in the faith of her Indian parents, who had converted to Islam before her birth. "This peaceful gath¬ering is to create awareness, to stand to speak up not just about Revathi but for us Malaysians as well," she added. Meanwhile Fr Mitchel said that Malaysians of all faiths and races who gathered at the candlelight vigil came in solidarity and with responsi¬bility in wanting to uphold the Federal Constitution in affirming its supremacy and its protection of our fundamental liberties, including the freedom of belief. The vigil attracted several press¬men and there were at least 10 police personnel stationed to monitor the gathering. The peaceful candlelight vigil ended at 9.OOpm everyone dispersed in a civil and orderly manner. Revathi who claims to have been raised as a Hindu by her Hindu grandmother and was married to Suresh in 2004 according to Hindu rites is still being held in the Ulu Yam rehabilitation centre after 100 days. Her detention was extended for another 80 days, as she had not `repented' converting from Hinduism to Islam. She was detained after she made an application at the Melaka Syariah High Court to confirm her status as a Hindu. Meanwhile the family has been torn apart, where the mother is still in the Islamic rehabilitation cen¬tre, her husband in a state of limbo without his wife and child. Their 15¬ month-old baby is in the custody of Revathi's Muslim mother and Suresh is barred from visiting her. - Posted by Herald |
|
| Truly, rallying with Christ |
| SHAH ALAM: Youths of The Church of Divine Mercy and other participat¬ing churches in the Petaling district area saw the success of the first ever CDM YOUTH RALLY 2007. Carrying the theme Rallying With Jesus, Sharing his Love, this rally was the product of about 20 active youths with the undying support of their parish priest Fr Raymond Pereira and also Fr Paulino Miranda. Speaking at the rally were Fr Danny Mathews, Martin Jalleh and Mervyn Ratnasingam. The rally was at first intended to be simple exposure for the youths. However, led by their youth advisor, Rueben Nair, and youth leader, Valerie Michael, the rally turned out to be awesome and a great success for more than 200 youths. Day One presented the youths with a fun Ice-breaking session followed by a spiritually uplifting praise and worship slot. Reuben Dave, who is also in charge of the music ministry in the CDM youth, managed to turn sparks into bonfires of worship through songs of praise. With the youths left wanting more, they were introduced to their first speaker of the day, Martin Jalleh. His passion for God shone through and the topic Relationship with God & Self was not only motivating but also mov¬ing. Along with him were his group of trained youths from SIC (St Ignatius Church), who performed sketches and shared personal testimonies. Jalleh stressed that God was not a punishing God but a Loving One. Jalleh wanted them to share how the session had touched them and how God had touched them in their lives. Group facilitators were excellent as some groups expressed with laughter and others with sadness as stories began to flow. The day ended with the youths praising the Lord through the Rally's theme song. Day Two started off with the praise and worship session led by Valerie Michael. The youths then had a session on the topic of Peers by Jalleh. He spoke about how youths should know and realise the right group of people to mix with. It was soon followed by the action songs activity. Mervyn soon came on the scene and introduced his topic, Parents. He point¬ed out that the choice to understand parents better would only better the relationship. Youths did not allow themselves to be weighed down by lunch but were praising the Lord at the next praise and worship session led by Timothy Zarsadias. Mervyn then took the stage once again and spoke about his views on Boy-Girl Relationship and Growth & Transformation. After tea was the main session of the ally, Rallying with Jesus, sharing His love. In this session, Jalleh gave a recap of all the preceeding sessions and added on to the topic of Parents by saying that parents were people too and that we had to give them space for them to give us space. After dinner came one of the most important parts of the rally, the inner healing session. Before the sessions started, Martin Jalleh asked the youths to respect each other by not talking amongst themselves. Respect and silence were needed to make this ses¬sion a success. It started with the core members of the organising committee performing a sketch entitled Torn Hearts. Participants had to struggle to hold back tears at the story of how a girl had not shown any appreciation and respect to everyone around her, until Jesus came and healed and comforted her. Tears were flowing as the performance was an excellent and heart wrenching one. Jalleh then led the healing session. The dim lights, the paschal candle and a spiritual atmosphere contributed greatly to the experience. Halfway through the session, the Sacrament of Reconciliation was made available with Fr Danny and Fr Phillips Muthu at the back of the hall. They ended the day with an awesome theme song at around 11.OOpm. On the third and final day, the youths gathered in the afternoon to start off with the last praise and worship session for the day. Fr Danny then took over to begin the final session for the rally. He even brought along three coconuts to animate his topic, which was A Renewed Commitment. It was time for the main committee members of the youths of CDM to take the stage and answer any questions from the participants. Some of the questions were serious and others came from plain curiosity but the committee asnwered all with a smile. The rally ended with a Mass that was cele¬brated by Fr Danny and it was agreed by many to be the best Mass they had ever attended! Fr Danny included val¬ues from the rally and shared more of his viewpoints as he was directing his sermon mainly to the youths in the church. The rally was undoubtedly a success and the first one ever in CDM. God's grace allowed everything to run smoothly and ensured that every participant returned with a heart full of memories. - Posted by Herald |
|
|
|
|
|
