This year, the church of Our Lady of Lourdes (OLL) will celebrate its parish feastday from Jan 31 to Feb 11, 2008 with the main theme Experiencing Jesus as the Word of God.
This year also marks the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
The parish of OLL under the shepherdship of Fr John Gnanapiragasam has printed leaflets to publicize the grand celebrations with daily Rosary/Novena, Liturgy of the Hours and Eucharist. Different preachers are expected for some of the daily Masses, with various daily sub-themes, all focusing on the Word.
Fr John ended it with "Lourdes is a place of pilgrimage because it shares in the life of the Church. A Church that itself on pilgrimage. Lourdes responds to the call of the Ho1y Spirit as it calls the Church today."

The Love & Life Programme 2007 (L&L), an inspiring programme organised by the Archdiocesan Single Adult & Youth Office (ASAYO) was held last December. This camp took place from Dec 11 to 17, 2007 at the Infant Jesus Convent. A group of 65 young individuals between the ages of 17 and 22 took part in what they would call "the most amazing experience in our lives". The theme, of course, coincided with the church's theme which was Deepening our Discipleship, and that is exactly what ASAYO did; they took the participants on a journey of deepening their discipleship.
First, the participants needed to discover themselves and learn how to accept themselves as they are. These young people were taught to appreciate their strengths as well as their weaknesses. An "advent themed mass was also celebrated.
The Love & Life Programme is held every year in the month of December.

A Mass for college and university students was celebrated at St John's Cathedral on Jan 13, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The Mass was organised by the Kuala Lumpur Coordinating Council (KLCC) and was presided by His Grace Archbishop Murphy Pakiam. The concelebrants were Fr Christopher Wee SJ and Fr Michael Raymond OFM Cap.
It was significant in a way as the Mass marked the commencing term of the new candidates who had just taken office in the KLCC. It somehow seemed to mark the beginning of their journey throughout this whole year in serving the campus ministry as Christ's ministry also began upon His baptism.
During the homily, His Grace, the Reverend Archbishop commended the students for the effort they had put into organising the event.
He also proceeded to elaborate on the magnitude of the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. Citing that the Epiphany was the manifestation or the "Making-known" of God the Son unto His people, the Baptism accentuated this.

The youths of Jesus Caritas Church recently got together to spend an insightful weekend away~ in MBS Training and Recreation Centre in Kundang as part of a ~youth re-activation camp.
Themed Recommitment to Faith, the camp, which was conducted by two fun and energetic trainers cum motivators, saw the youths taking part in obstacle
challenges, teamwork games, and even Taize Worship. All the different aspects of the camp taught the youth about leadership, teamwork and standing united.
Said one participant of the camp, "It Was indeed a great way to get us youths fired up about serving God and the church. We also had a chance to bond with everyone, so it was really good"
At the end of the camp, all youth committed to taking a pledge at an upcoming youth animated Mass as their way of announcing their newfound presence in the church community.

In line with the ever-growing congregation and increased number of Masses over the weekends, and also in preparation for the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, 100 extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion were commissioned during the weekend Masses of Jan 12 and 13 at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Parish priest, Fr John Gnanapiragasam, conducted the Rite of Commissioning for the group - professionals, non-professionals, support services from teenagers to the golden group.
Prior to that, a formation was conducted on Jan 10, with emphasis on the Word of God centering on the Eucharist.
Fr John led the participants through a series of relevant scripture texts, invoking responses from all present followed by an explanation of the respective synopses symbols assimilating holistic mediate prayers.
The formation was an ideal platform for exchange of ideas and experiences between the current and the newly appointed communion ministers.

Approximately 200 elderly citizens from several welfare homes were feted to a special luncheon fellowship held on Jan 8 in Dewan John Hsiong of the Church of the Holy Rosary (HRC).
The underprivileged and marginalised elderly persons came from King George V Jubilee Home, Little Sisters of the Poor, Yoke Peng Care Centre, Phyllis Caring Home, TiRatana Home, Salvation Army Joyhaven Home and Asrama Cahaya with 10 blind elderly from Brickfields.
The lunch was fully sponsored by the Parish's Centering Care for the Elderly (CCE) Ministry and held in conjunction with the Feast of the Epiphany.
Elena Chan, the secretary of CCE and chairperson of PIHD Ministry in her welcoming speech asked the guests, "Do you know why we invited you today?" She answered them, "Because we love you very much and we also love Jesus."
HRC parish priest, M, Daniel Lim who said the Opening Prayer and bless the food, explained that Jesus the Saviour came not only to the people of the Old and New Testament but to the people of the world.

All priests and their Archbishop from the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese were away for three days at the Le Paris Hotel for their annual assembly.
The priests attended sessions which would help them in the pastoral ministry.
Organised by the Council of Priests which is headed by Msgr James Gnanapiragasam, the topics for the assembly were decided based on feedback from the priests during the November recollection.
 “I am very happy to see a very high percentage of priests attending the assembly. It was also very good to see the coming together of priests to form the presbyterate. This is an intimate, sacramental brotherhood and we have to preserve it. Priests are not simply priests on their own but they are in union with the bishop which together is the presbyterate. That is what we are working out at CAPA, to have a corporate sense of priestly identity and mission." - Archbishop Murphy Pakiam.

The term `Allah' has been used before the advent of Islam. It has been the common term of reference to the Almighty for many centuries. The various communities using this common term of reference have had no problem in understanding this word and what it referred to.
As we have said before, languages are the common heritage of humanity. Because of this, the various languages developed and grew rich in expression. They absorbed words and expressions from one another and, in the process, languages became expressive, expanded and spread across the world.
This being the case, no community can claim monopoly on the use of any word. It would be an absurd claim. Further, the word `Allah' is not a local word derived from Bahasa Malaysia for anyone to lay claim to its exclusive usage.
While, in the past, certain individuals were involved in claiming exclusive right to the usage of the word `Allah', now it is the cabinet that has decided that, except for Muslims, others cannot utter this word or use it in their writings.

I would like to ask some Muslims in the Umno government about our national philosophy that is enshrined in what we know as the Rukun Negara. The opening line is Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan and I understand that to mean `Belief in God'.
Today, I am told by my government that the Muslims believe in `Allah' and `Allah' is the way Muslims refer to their God and this word can only be exclusively used by Muslims.
If that is correct, all the declaration and pledges by Malaysian using the Rukun  Negara are only applicable to non-Muslims and not Muslims. What will the government of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi do now? They cannot change the word `Tuhan' to `Allah' because this pledge for the national philosophy is taken by all Malaysians - Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
In such a confusing state of affairs, the last thing I want to do is offend the sensitivities of my Muslim friends. Christians in East Malaysia and the Sikhs who have been using `Allah' to describe their God now have to abandon this term.

The Internal Security Ministry has confiscated English language Christian children's books said to contain offensive caricatures of prophets from several bookshops in three states.
Malaysiakini learnt that these books have been seized from three MPH bookstores in Johor Bahru, Senawang in Negeri Sembilan and Ipoh, Perak. It is unclear if other book retailers have had similar raids.
The raids were conducted by state enforcement officials of the Publications and AI-Quran Texts Control Department under the Internal Security Ministry. Negeri Sembilan and Malacca department director Faizah Nor Sidek confirmed that a total of 29 books were seized in mid-December from the Senawang MPH outlet.
These confiscations come amidst other controversial restrictions towards Christian publications. Customs authorities seized six titles of Christian children's books last August on the grounds that the Bahasa Indonesia publications contained certain words that were exclusive to Islam.
The words in contention are `Allah' (God), `Baitullah' (House of God), `Solat' (prayer) and `Kaabah' (The Sacred House).
The ministry has since renewed the weekly paper's printing license after public outcry over the issue.
However, the paper will persist with its lawsuit against the government to challenge the prohibition from using the word `Allah'.

The Solemnity Feast of Mary, Mother of God was celebrated joyfully at the Chapel of Mary, Mother of God in Madonna Heights from Dec 30, 2007 to Jan l, 2008. Fr Christopher Wilvaraj from the Church of the Sacred Heart was the preacher and presider for the Triduum Eucharistic celebration that culminated on Jan 1, 2008, with the main theme being Mary Mother of God: Model of Discipleship.
Some 450 parishioners came early at 10.00am for the Novena to our Blessed Mother that was conducted around the outdoor statue of Mary, Mother of God, situated several metres below the road downhill from the chapel.
Fr Christopher quoted Pope Benedict XVI concerns that family life would be eroded if there is no peace among family members. He cautioned that if we run away, then the family will not grow. "We need to continue to move away from anger and love our brothers, sisters and parents alike.

Realizing the ignorant fear of the public of HIV/AIDS sufferers and treating them as outcasts, the Society of St Vincent De Paul (SSVP), five years ago, established Rumah Ozanam, as a HIV/AIDS centre.
The Home, 9km from Rawang, provides shelter for the most vulnerable and helpless of HIV/AIDS sufferers, the refugee/migrant women and their children. There are 12 women (refugees from Myanmar), children a 11-month-old baby who is HIV positive. Hugging the baby, Lucie Choussois, 26, M.E.P (Paris Foreign Missionary Society) volunteer nurse said, "He will need medication throughout his life to keep AIDS at bay." Lucie is attached to the home, and assists the house mother, Ms Rosely, a local, in the day-to-day running of the Home.
Rumah Ozanam is managed by the SSVP Conference of St Jude, Rawang. Sinnappan, President of the Conference, and administrator of the Home, says, "We need a minimum of RM40,000 annually to run the Home, and this is realised through various sources, including the general public."

Migrants joined local Catholics who thronged to Bukit Nanas for Christmas Vigil celebrations at three separate locations within the area
on Dec 24.
At the Community Service Centre (CSC), more than 400 Vietnamese migrants had their Christmas Vigil Mass in their own language, led by a Vietnamese priest at I0.OOpm. The CSC was decorated with a manger and Christmas tree. Put up by the Vietnamese migrants themselves.
A short distance away, the old parish hall of St John's Cathedral, saw a turnout of some 600 Myanmarese migrants who came an hour earlier at 10.00pm for the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Vigil Mass began at 11.OOpm, presided over by Bishop Felix from Myanmar.
The year 2007 was auspicious for the St John's Filipino Ministry as it was the first time they had been given full responsibility by the parish to conduct and perform the pageant play and to decorate the crib in the cathedral.

A Christmas presentation entitled A Long, Long Time Ago In Bethlehem was held on the evening of Dec 23, 2007 at Bangunan Dominic Vendargon of the Church of the Sacred Heart (SHC). Some 250 parishioners including SHC parish priest, Fr Anthony Thomas and Fr Christopher Wilvaraj were present.
The play consisting of eight scenes altogether had a cast of 40 youths from the English Youth Movement of the parish including a few Sunday School children. They demonstrated their talents and capabilities in their performance based on the gospel message of God's love and saving grace towards all humankind, through the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in this exciting nativity reenactment.
Monica said that when the idea was first mooted, the youths were enthusiastic wanting to take part in the play as it would be meaningful for them for Christmas. A simple fellowship was held after the hour-long play at the church grounds.

Be moderate and do not be influenced by any kind of extremism, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.
He also called on the people to uphold the spirit of tolerance and mutual respect they have been practicing in the multi-racial community.
"If moderation does not take centre stage, we will all be dragged into extremism, from the basis of religion, race or groups.
"This is what we should look out for, this is what gives us problems," said Abdullah in his speech when attending a Christmas tea party on Dec 25 hosted by the Christian Federation of Malaysia and KL Archbishop Datuk Murphy Pakiam.
Abdullah said he was very happy to be invited to the party, as he could see people of different religions, namely Buddhists, Hindus and Christians, getting together at the event.
The Prime Minister said Malaysians should continue to preserve the love, compassion, peace and stability that the country had taken 50 years to achieve.

"Yes," said Jesus, "if you yourself can! Everything is possible for the person who has faith." (Mark 9:23).
These words of Jesus formed the thrust of the one-day motivation camp for the parish's students in Forms 1-5. Themed Youth for Youth the day-long camp, held at the Visitation Hall of the Parish of the Visitation in Seremban, initiated by the parish Catechetical Ministry as part of its December 2007 school holidays programme, saw participation by close to 200 students representing all language groups.
The camp, known popularly as The YES - Youth Excelling and Succeeding - Camp, is said "to help teenagers gain personal power, build self-confidence and self-esteem while developing deep and lasting friendships".
Innovative ice-breaker activities helped participants develop a mindset to prepare themselves to get into the actual training programme planned for the day. Training areas included discovering and experiencing the options when there are seemingly unsolvable situations or problems, understanding and developing the concept of and attitude towards supporting one another.

The authorities should allow the use of Bahasa Malaysia. including the word "Allah", in all publications and not restrict it to Islamic usage, a federal minister said.
" B a h a s a Malaysia is the national language, irrespective of the racial groups or religious beliefs. It should be a matter of pride for all Malaysians, followers of all religions to use the national language for their worship, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.
The bumiputra Christians have been using "Allah" in reference to the Almighty for a long time, he said.
"For instance, the younger Kadazans, v ho cannot converse in their mother tongue, used "Allah" as do the Indonesian and Arab Christians." Dompok, who is in charge of keeping the rime Minister's Department abreast on issues aced by Christians, was asked to comment on cent cases involving the right use of the word Allah".
He said "Allah" was also part of the Bahasa alaysia vocabulary, and the Internal Security inistry's directive that the Catholic Weekly, ERALD, stop publishing its Bahasa Malaysia section, could jeopardize the government's effort promote the national language as the language of unity.

A total of 8 youths and two Seminarians, Bros. Andrew and Clement, responded to the invitation in experiencing `The Discipleship Adventure' conducted by a powerful team from the KL Archdiocese Vocation Promotion main committee comprising of Priests, Religious Brothers, Sisters from various congregations and Lay persons.
Day 1 started with dinner and a warm welcome by Fr Christopher Wilvaraj (Director, KL Archdiocese Vocation Promotions) and the team members.
The next morning everyone gathered at the beach at 7.00 am for an invigorating and unique prayer experience conducted by Sr Gertrude (IJS)
Sr Gertrude and Sr Clara (FMDM), then conducted Session1-Purpose of our Life, an individual and free exercise exposing one's thoughts and feelings.
Fr Larry Tan (SJ) took over the next session about Vocations.
The final session for the day was a role-play by Srs, Elisabeth (DSP), Franciska (Aux of Apostolate (Lay), Salome (RGS) and Clara about the call of Mary - "The Perfect Disciple'.
The final day session was about Discipleship with all the Religious and Clergy sharing their vocation stories.

A Sabah church's lawsuit against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the government for banning the importation of Christian children's books from Indonesia has been postponed to Jan 15. '
The suit which was filed on Dec 10 was scheduled for hearing on Dec 27 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in Jalan Duta.
Sabah Sidang lnjil Borneo Church's lawyer Lim Heng Sent,- had submitted a certificate of urgency to the court to obtain the hearing on Dec 27.
The church is seeking to nullify the ban to import four Bahasa Indonesia titles and the withholding of two other titles under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz had earlier told Parliament that the government prohibits the distribution of bibles in Bahasa Malaysia. The prime minister however stated that Bahasa Malaysia bibles are not banned but must be labelled with the words `Not for Muslims'.

Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya has launched the mobile charity clinic on Dec 15, 2007, thanks to UMW Toyota Motor's generous contribution of a Toyota Hiace van. The mobile medical clinic is in line with Assunta Hospital's commitment and philosophy to serve the community. Assunta Hospital, a not-for profit organisation founded in 1957, will use the mobile clinic as a platform for the hospital to reach out to the society.
The mobile charity clinic was graced by Klang MP Datin Paduka Dr Tan Yee Kew at a ceremony held at the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Klang. Tan extended great appreciation to Assunta Hospital for setting aside a certain portion of the organisation's profit for helping the needy.
Assunta Hospital chairperson Sr Assunta Leong said, that Assunta Hospital is continuing the legacy set forth in 1961 by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary sisters who devoted their lives in providing social and healthcare needs to the villages of Kampung Muniandy, Kampung Medan, and Sungai Way.

Some 200 Filipinos working in Malaysia were treated to an early Christmas party on Dec 9 organised by the St John's Filipino Ministry (SJFM) of the Cathedral of St John (SJC).
Held in the old parish hall, the event also marked the first anniversary of the Migrants Capability Enhancement (CAPE) programme. The CAPE programme targets mainly the migrant communities at SJC, helping them to enhance their skills and knowledge, while working here.
The event was graced by the Philippines Ambassador to Malaysia, H.E. Victoriano Lecaros, who surprised many by singing an English song You've got a friend while strumming a guitar.
"Only a handful of these Filipino migrant workers will be back for Christmas and the majority of them will be here, thus the Christmas celebration for the Filipino community was held," explained Corazon Moran, the Coordinator of SJFM. Cory, as she is fondly known, thanked Msgr James for his undivided support for the CAPE Programme and the Philippines Ambassador for being present at the CAPE graduation and for his support to SJFM thus far.

A Christmas party for the urban poor was organised by the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development (AOHD) staff led by Carl d'Cunha, on Dec 73 at the Community Services Centre in Bukit Nanas.
The spirit of Christmas was really in the air as about 150 poor and homeless people experienced the love of the volunteers and staff members who spent a lot of time decorating the hall and serving them a sumptuous Christmas meal, complete with fruit cake and ice cream.
A live band, LIGHTS entertained the crowds. Our special guests, who are of different races, faiths, age, gender, and social background danced and sang along with the band. Talents were unearthed as some of them sang and danced their hearts out, cheered on by their friends. Archbishop Murphy Pakiam, AOHD volunteers and staff mingled freely with them and served them joyfully. The special guests were also given a mini-hamper as a Christmas gift.