Holy Week Highlights God's Love, Says Bishop
KOTA KINABALU(CS Online).- Holy Week (from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday) highlighted God's love for humanity, said Bishop John Lee of Kota Kinabalu Diocese.
In all the services starting from Palm/Passion Sunday (the Lord's entry into Jerusalem) through Easter Vigil/ Easter Sunday, the bishop used the example of the differences between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea to illustrate the nature of God's love which is self-giving unto death and the nature of selfish love.
"The Sea of Galilee is full of life because it does not keep the water to itself but shares it with the Dead Sea through the Jordan River, while the Dead Sea is dead because it has no outlets and does not share its water with others. Similarly, if we do not share our love with others, we will become like the Dead Sea," he ended each homily with this illustration.
He presided over the Palm Sunday liturgy at the Church of Mary Immaculate during which he blessed the palms brought by the faithful at the entrance of the church. The Passion narrative according to Luke was used this year.
However, he presided over the liturgies during the Easter Triduum at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Kota Kinabalu. On Holy Thursday April 5 he washed the feet of 12 representatives from the different parish groups and transferred the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of repose at the chapel.
On Good Friday April 6 he introduced the three- step genuflection before the cross and this caught the faithful by surprise as they have been so used to just one genuflection by the presider for years. The once-a-year Good Friday crowd was estimated to be 7,000.
The Elect (the catechumens who would be baptized during the Vigil) had their preparatory rites (Rite of Ephata, Rite of Profession of Faith, Rite of Anointing) in the morning of Holy Saturday April 7.
The Easter Vigil started with the Service of the Light in front of the parish centre. Bishop Lee was assisted by Assistant Rector Father Wilfred Atin. Around 33 Elect (including 12 children) had their baptism of immersion at the cross-shaped baptismal pool in front of the sanctuary while two were accepted into full communion with the Catholic Church. After their baptism the bishop confirmed the adults. The initiation of the neophytes (newly baptized) was completed with their First Holy Communion. The rest of the faithful renewed their baptismal promises and were sprinkled with the newly-blessed water by the bishop.
On Easter Sunday April 8, around 60 Elect received the Sacraments of Initiation during the Chinese Mass presided over by the bishop, assisted by Father John Wong.
TOP
Human Development Committees Meet To Discuss Issues
PENAMPANG(CS Online).- The Human Development Committees (HDC) of both dioceses in Sabah met on April 21 at the Catholic Diocesan Centre here to discuss ways and means to help fellow Sabahans studying or working in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.
More than 90 participants from the different parishes of Kota Kinabalu and Keningau Dioceses took part in the meeting, including Bishop Cornelius Piong and Bishop John Lee.
Msgr Gilbert Egan, vicar general of Keningau Diocese gave a short reflection at the start of the meeting before a brief backgrounder was given in powerpoint by KK-HDC Coordinator Dominic Lim.
The participants then listened to Felix Enjuin of Dontozidon who recounted how he was recruited to work in Singapore and to Mesikata Sito Raymond of Keningau who worked in a gold factory in Penang. Both had the experience of being "herded" into cramped quarters with minimum facilities with other nationals (of Myanmar, Bangladesh, etc.) which made them realise their situation. Both then left their workplace. It was, however, in Johor that Enjuin experienced being drugged and robbed.
Franciscan Capuchin Father Valentine Gompok of Tambunan then shared with the participants his experience of helping fellow Sabahans in the peninsula. He categorized them into four: students, professionals, factory workers and the unemployed.
Most of them, he said, lack solid faith foundation and some have forgotten their cultural roots. He called on the participants to help parents provide solid faith formation to their children before sending them for further studies or work.
Sister Anita James fsic facilitated the open forum which led to some interesting dialogue. After lunch, the participants broke into groups for discussion on how to meet the challenges posed by such migration at both diocesan and parish levels.
One result would be the formation of a Cultural/Customs/Tradition Committee in Keningau to help young parishioners understand their own cultural roots and identity. Another would be a roadshow by the KK-HDC at parish level.
Helpful materials on hand for distribution were the KSB (Kita Sedia Bantu or 'Ready To Help') pocket directory, SITA (Stay-In-Touch-Always) forms for would-be students, and YouthPREPLink forms, a six-week programme organized by the Good Shepherd Sisters for rural youths thinking of studying or working in urban centres.
TOP
Pastoral Care Of The Family Needs To Be More Integrated
PENAMPANG(CS).- Members of the Diocesan Commissions on Family Life, Youth, Catechetics and the Human Development Committee agreed that pastoral care of the family needs to be more integrated in their second joint meeting March 8 at the Catholic Pastoral Centre here.
The meeting was a follow up to the first held on 14 Feb 2006 which was initiated by Bishop John Lee. There was no representative from the Commission on Women.
Among the many concerns highligted was the issue of participation of men in seminars and discussions on the family. It was felt that without the cooperation of men as husband and head of the family, pastoral efforts to reach out to the family would end up in frustration. The participants felt that seemingly only the women are actively pursuing ways to keep the family intact. The members highlighted the need to have programmes for men, and proposed to organise a forum for men on the family situation today.
Similarly, it was observed that leadership in many church groups is dominated by men. The question they asked is: how would such leadership composition contribute to better family life if women were not represented?
Another aspect deliberated was the need to have access to information on the actual situation of the family today in Malaysia. The participants felt that crucial family-related statistics and data should be made available to pastoral workers.
It was observed that issues and problems of families published in the secular papers are often not cited in homilies. Hence, the participants hoped to formulate ways to make family-related resources available to pastoral workers as a way of updating them on the situation of the family. They reasoned that if "information is power," then sharing of information is a process of "empowerment."
The participants also discussed the issue of marriage tribunal in detail. It was observed that most, if not all, of the marriage tribunals set up by the government in Sabah does not have Christian representation. The participants felt that since such tribunals are handling cases of non-Muslim couples, Christians should be given the chance to assist.
It was obvious to the participants that the issues affecting today's family could not be handled by a single group or church ministry alone. They have to be addressed wholistically. In some cases, our sectoral approach in ministry is not helping the individuals to integrate well with their family due to conflicting priorities.
Therefore, the participants unanimously felt that it is time to develop an integral approach in pastoring and treat the entire parish and diocesan community as a "family."
TOP
KK Diocese Organises Seminar On Church Teaching On Marriage And Family
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- Around 300 people took part in the seminar on Church teachings on marriage and family jointly organised by the Commissions on Family Life, Women and Catechetics March 17 at the Sacred Heart Parish Centre here.
The participants were from the different parishes in the diocese and the seminar was conducted bilingually in English and Bahasa Melayu.
After the Opening Mass by Sacred Heart Cathedral Rector, Msgr Primus Jouil, the participants went to the parish centre for the talks.
The topics addressed were: (1) Church Teaching on Marriage and Family by Stella Maris Parish Rector Father Fundes Motiung; (2) Challenges Faced by the Families in Sabah, Malaysia by Janet Chee; (3) The Splendour of Prolife by Anthony and Monica Kong; and (4) Restoration of Christian Marriage by Anthony Lim.
Each talk was given in powerpoint.
In his talk Father Motiung cited from Canon Law on the meaning and purpose of Christian marriage and impediments to it. He also took time out for questions from the floor.
Chee, who is deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Community Development and Consumer Affairs, revealed statistics on the stark reality of the family situation in Malaysia, particularly in Sabah in both rural and urban areas (population,household, marriage, domestic violence, divorce, social ills, youth, etc).
The scenario, she said, was bleak and unless we take action now, it will be bleaker still in a few years' time.
The husband and wife team touched on what is meant by a "fruitful life" for married couples, drawing from Genesis and Humanae Vitae.
They touched on the main purpose of sex in marriage, responsible parenthood, natural family planning, birth control, abortion and contraception.
In his turn, Lim said the only way we can turn the tide against the culture of death is to return to the original plan of God for marriage since God is the designer of marriage and family life.
He then spelt out the steps to restoration of marriage and family, that is, to
- recognise our need for Jesus Christ and invite him to be the Lord of the marriage and family;
- recognise and accept the teachings of the Church established by Jesus;
- recognise personal sins and repent before the Lord;
- draw graces from the sacraments of the Church especially the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist;
- recognise the power of prayer;
- be docile to the Holy Spirit; and
- the need for a personal decision to come out into the Light and allow God to heal our brokenness.
All the points were succintly summed up by Bishop John Lee in his closing remarks when he told the participants to "root" their marriage and family life in Jesus Christ who will give them the strength and grace to face and overcome the challenges facing them.
TOP
Filipino Archbishop Facilitates Annual Clergy Retreat
BUNDU TUHAN(CS).- This year the annual clergy retreat for both dioceses was facilitated by Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato omi, Philippines.
The retreat, held March 4-9 at the Bundu Tuhan Retreat Centre here, was also attended by those seminarians currently in pastoral immersion. Overall, there were 56 participants.
The archbishop touched on the following themes: God's love for us in our life history on three levels - personal, Christian and priestly; vocational calling and immersion into Christ's life; the priest as teacher and prophet, liturgy and the eucharist; the priestly life as a life of undivided love and the priest as shepherd after the heart of The Good Shepherd; and lastly, on priestly spirituality which should manifest itself in pastoral charity.
Archbishop Quevedo was born on 11 March 1939 at Laoag, Ilocos Norte. After high school he entered the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Novitiate in Texas USA in 1956. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1964 in Washington DC, USA.
In 1980 he was ordained bishop of Kidapawan and was appointed archbishop of Nueva Segovia in 1986. In 1990-94 he was a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. In 1994 he was elected as a member in the General Council of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops Rome. Currently he is the secretary of the Federation of the Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC).
TOP
Catechists To Focus On Family As Nursery Of Disciples On Catechetical Sunday
PENAMPANG(CS).- Some 38 participants of the Parish Catechetical Coordinators Meeting March 3 agreed to have the theme Family: A Nursery of Disciples for Catechetical Sunday this year. Catechetical Sunday falls on September 16 this year.
The KK Commission on Catechetics (CCKK) will outline a programme for this celebration for all parish catechetical ministries to organise this event within the week or during the weekend. The emphasis is on the family because the family/parents are the first catechists and prime teachers to their children.
The coordinators meeting is a biannual event whereby commission members, parish coordinators and representatives meet to plan and discuss activities throughout the year. CCKK Spiritual Adviser Father Ambrose Atang was also present during the meeting.
Aside from the discussion on Catechetical Sunday theme, the participants presented reports on past year's activities and planning for this year. Scheduling of ongoing catechists' formation programme was done and the commission will also give imput on the implementation of the Malaysian Catechetical Series (MCS). The annual retreat for this year was scheduled on August 17-19 at the Bundu Tuhan Retreat Centre.
During this meeting the participants were encouraged to pray for each other daily with different days for different parishes. It was, they said, one way of uniting in spirit and journeying togehter in prayer and ministry. The meeting adjourned with a fellowship lunch.
TOP
Two Well-known Scripture Scholars Facilitate Lenten Bible Seminar
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- Two well-known scripture scholars facilitated a lenten bible seminar organised by the Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community (LJCCC) at the Sacred Heart Parish Centre here March 5-9.
Born on 2 Feb 1944, Father Fiorello "Fio" Mascarenhas was ordained a Jesuit priest on 5 April 1975 and professed as a Jesuit on 5 Nov 1979. He was the resident director of the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS) in Rome from 1981-1984 and its resident chairman from 1984-88. He is currently the chairman of the Catholic Bible Institute in Mumbai.
Father Fio, who is a well-known international speaker and retreat master, has authored several articles and books. The books brought by him to KK were all sold out during the seminar.
His companion, Sister Renu Rita Silvano belongs to the diocesan Order of Consecrated Virgins (OCV). Born on 21 Feb 1956, Sister Renu has a doctorate in Sacred Theology from The Angelicum Rome in 1991. She has authored several articles and books and is currently the director of the Catholic Bible Institue Mumbai.
The bible course proper (actually a crash course) was held during the day at the parish centre which saw around 80 participants while the night sessions - open to all - were held at the cathedral.
Father Fio lectured on Biblical Inspiration and the Gospel of John as a sacramental gospel (baptism, eucharist) while Sister Renu touched on the Prophets (Amos, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah) and Luke's Gospel during the day.
The night sessions were thematic with lectio divina (divine reading) to conclude each session.
For those interested, the Catholic Bible Institute (founded in 1979) conducts 7-week residential courses for the laity on the bible, evening certificate courses on biblical theology and publishes Bible Aglow (a free magazine) and several other biblical books.
TOP
SHC Organises Lenten Recollection For Its Extraordinary Ministers
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- Around 87 extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion took part in the lenten recollection organised by the Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish at the parish centre here March 3.
The participants were from the parish and the subparishes of Church of Mary Immaculate and St Simon.
The recollection started with the Stations of the Cross outside at the centenary monuments. The participants had breakfast together before the session. Input was on the role and function of the extraordinary ministers in three languages (Chinese by Father John Wong, English by Father Wilfred Atin and BM by Father Michael Modoit) after the opening address by Rector Msgr Primus Jouil. The participants were given time for reflection, examination of conscience and confession.
The half-day event concluded with a Mass followed by lunch.
TOP