Keningau Bishop Accepts New Institutes Of Consecrated Life
KENINGAU(CS).- Bishop Cornelius Piong of Keningau accepted two new institutes of consecrated life into his diocese recently.
He established the Komuniti Betania (Bethany Community), a group of lay women who choose to remain single for life in the service of the Church, July 27 and accepted Putri Karmel, an Indonesian-based congregation to serve in his diocese Aug 10. Both rites were conducted during a Eucharistic celebration at the St Francis Xavier's Cathedral here.
Currently, Komuniti Betania has 22 members under formation including three (Rita Titing, Loisa Tumpangon and Anita Uliti) who have made their first commitment before the bishop during the establishment of their community.
On the other hand, the Putri Karmel (Daughters of Carmel) is a semi-contemplative institute. Besides prayer and meditation, the members conduct seminars, retreats, recollections, counseling and inner healing sessions.
Putri Karmel was founded by Fr Yohannes Indrakusuma, an Indonesian Carmelite priest and a medical doctor popular for his gifts of healing and ability to conduct good retreats, in Malang, East Java, in 1982.
The sisters with their dark brown habit, were granted a temporary base at the diocesan house at Tipoh, a small village situated between Keningau and Tenom while the Komuniti Betania has yet to get a house as well as a venue for the formation of new members so temporarily the three committed members will live in their own homes.
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Five FSIC Novices Take First Vows
PENAMPANG(CS).- Five novices of the Franciscan Sisters of theImmaculate Conception (FSIC) took their first vows at the Loreto Convent Chapel here Aug 6.
Novices Winne Tuaran of Kota Belud, Frances William Laitam of Tuaran, Tina Basil of Tambunan, Mary Ann Dunung of Penampang and Angela Gadius of Kuala Penyu made their first profession of the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience before Mother General Sister Mary Aquainas Voon.
In his homily the bishop gave an anecdote on how his father taught him to plough paddy fields. "When I was nine years old, my dad asked me to plough the field and in the olden days we used buffaloes. How do we train the buffaloes?" he asked.
"First, we pierced a hole through the buffalo's nose for the ring where the rope would be tied on," he said, "then we put the yoke on its neck and initially, we have to use bamboo stick so that we can better direct the buffalo."
Similarly, he said, training humans are the same "for you need the ring, bamboo stick, rope and others. Now you (the newly professed) have reached the stage where you do not need the bamboo stick anymore. However the yoke [vows] is still there so that you know which direction to go."
He urged the five to live faithfully their vows: "Good buffalo will help you plough very well but bad buffalo will walk in such a way that the soil is ploughed very little," he said.
After Communion, the Mother General announced that Tuaran will be stationed in Telipok, Laitam in Penampang, Basil in Tuaran, Dunung in Kudat and Gadius in Tanjung Aru.
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Blessing Felt In First Singles Event
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- God's blessing was felt abundantly in the First Sabah Catholic Single Adults Conference at the Church of Mary Immaculate (CMI) near here recently.
Attended by over 70 participants mostly from Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak and Australia, the July 16-20 event proved to be an eye-opener for many.
Organised by the Single People Prayer Group of Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish, it was facilitated by Fr Bart Pastor of the Philippines, and assisted by his compatriots, Annie Corpin and Rodney Esperas.
The talks presented centred on Jesus our Teacher, Jesus our Christ, Being Single and Serving God and Discernment in Choosing a Mate.
The highlight of the conference was the concluding Mass presided over by Bishop John Lee who reminded the participants about the basics of discipleship.
One of the participants remarked, "On the first day a rainbow appeared in front of the church. That to many of us, signified God's blessing upon the conference? There was never a dull moment: action songs, the many inputs, praise and worship?enlivened the atmosphere and enriched our lives."
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CCR Supports DOPP Implementation
PENAMPANG(CS).- Leaders of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) in Kota Kinabalu Diocese pledged their support for the implementation of the diocesan plan recently.
Held at the Catholic Pastoral Centre here June 29, the event was held in conjunction with its annual council meeting during which a leadership seminar and election of new office bearers of the Diocesan Service Team (DST) were also conducted.
"There were about 100 of us, representing prayer groups and covenant communities from all over the diocese," said re-elected DST Chairman Anthony Lim.
Lim said they "pledged our undivided support to the bishop [Bishop John Lee] in the implementation of the Diocesan Organisational Pastoral Plan (DOPP). We made a commitment to lay down the gifts and resources of the CCR at the service of the diocese."
Among the services pledged were "to establish and run Schools of Evangelisation to train Catholics for effective spreading of the Good News" and to "conduct seminars and programmes on Christian Marriage and Family Life."
The bishop urged them to "deepen their roots in faith and traditions and place our undivided loyalty to the Seat of Peter" and to "strive for charity and unity" in their service in the CCR.
Aside from listening to the inputs given by Frs Francis Tsen and Louis Kessels, the delegates spent time to go through the DST guidelines and subsequently passed a motion with majority votes to re-elect the outgoing team for another team (1997-2000).
The other re-elected members are Daniel Kong, Anthony Yen, John Wong, Philip Yen, Gasarin Sintom, Flora Teo, Donald Malinggang, Vitales Makajil and Maurice Awit.
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Sonsogon Folks Respond Well To Developments, Says Religious Brother
PENAMPANG(CS).- The people of Kg Sonsogon Magandai, one of the most remote villages in Sabah, are responding well to the many developments being introduced to them, said a religious brother.
"They may be very backward in almost all aspects of development but their willingness to improve on the quality of life is evident. Yes, they are doing all right. Slow but steady," said De La Salle Br Herbertus Gampok.
He has visited the village for about five weeks since June, teaming up with Alpheus Andrew of the Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community (LJCCC) who has been there for the last three years.
"I remember feeling sad the moment I saw the village but with full cooperation from the kampung folks, we were able to further share day-to-day knowledge with them," Gampok continued.
Located 88 km from Kota Marudu, the 202 villagers from 38 families "have adopted, among others, the idea that it is good to live in a clean surrounding. They have started to wash their clothes everyday and their houses are now much tidier and cleaner than before," said the brother.
Twenty-two land owners have cleared their land to be planted with hill paddy, rubber and fruit trees, and a nearby pond is filled with fish, Gampok added.
During their stay there, Gampok and Andrew also visited nearby villages like Kgs Sungoi Magandai, Tonggilan, Makatol, Gana, Minisulang, Limansat and Gouton.
Donated clothings were distributed and they "took turns to teach the children to read, write, count" and to "tell them bible stories," said Gampok.
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