An Invitation To All... A Thanksgiving Celebration
KOTA KINABALU(CS Online).-
On Monday, September 1, everyone is invited to come...
* For the Elevation of KK Diocese to Archdiocese,
* For the Appointment of Most Rev John Lee as Metropolitan Archbishop.
In a spirit of gratitude and joy to God for this milestone in our salvation history, let us all come together for a Eucharistic Celebration at 10:00 am at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Karamunsing. A simple reception will be held at the parish centre after the Mass. All are welcome.
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LJCCC Marks Silver Jubilee With Seminar, Youth Praise Rally
KOTA KINABALU(CS Online).- The Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community (LJCCC) marked its silver jubilee with a special seminar Aug 14-16, Youth Praise Rally Aug 15, Anniversary Mass Aug 16 and concluded its celebration with the Anniversary Dinner Aug 17.
"It's not just a time to remember the marvellous deeds of God but also a reminder to us that God is forever faithful to his covenant," said Daniel Kong, one of the founding members of LJCCC.
The seminar itself was a refresher course for the English Pastoral Unit members at the Sacred Heart Parish Centre.
There were also representatives from Sandakan, Papar, Labuan, Kuching, Sibu and Kuala Lumpur.
The main speaker, Father Steve Tynan of the Missionaries of God's Love Australia, led the members to remember why they chose to commit themselves to live in a covenant community 25 years ago.
He gave pointers on what it means to be disciples of Christ (based on 1 Peter), focusing on the necessity of renewal of one's mind and warned the participants of the danger of complacency - a point which Archbishop John Lee also stressed in his homily during the Anniversary Mass at St Simon's Church Likas.
The Chinese and BM Pastoral Units joined in the Anniversary Mass and Dinner, making it truly a family affair.
But what stood out clearly was the call to start nurturing and training the next generation of leaders.
Tynan pointed out in answer to a question posed by Presiding Elder Joseph Chee that the Youth Praise Rally organised by the Royal Ambassadors Youth (RAY) indicated that the time has come to start to train the young leaders in the charism of the community - the work of evangelisation.
The Anniversary Dinner at a leading KK hotel was truly a night of praise and worship, song and dance, and sharing of testimony as members (young and old) cheerfully took turns to give their best performances for the occasion.
There was also a special exhibit on the LJCCC history at the lobby
Special guests were Archbishop Lee, Fr Tobias Chi, Fr Cosmas Lee, former CM Tan Sri Peter Lo and YB Melanie Chia of Luyang.
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Theme For Catechetical Sunday: Make The Word Your Home
TOBOH, TAMBUNAN(CS Online).- In his reflection for Catechetical Sunday, which falls on Sept 21, Malaysian Catechetical Commission Chairman Father Boniface Kimsin (pix) elaborated on the theme: Make the Word Your Home.
"As Christians, we believe that the Bible is the book of life, it is the book of our faith and it is the Word of God," Kimsin wrote.
The Second Vatican Council, said the reflection released in early August, asks all Christians to "read, reflect and pray the Bible always" in order to build up "an intimate relationship with the Lord."
Therefore, Kimsin wrote, Christians "must" make the Word of God their "home" so that God's Word becomes "the fundamental part" of our daily life."
The chairman added that in John's gospel, Jesus tells the Jews who believed in him that if they make his word their home, "you will indeed be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
In other words, we must centred our life on the Word of God so that we may live according to God's will and become the true disciples of Jesus, Kimsin wrote.
He added, "...if we want to express our love for Jesus and experience God's presence in our lives, we must read and reflect, learn to listen deeply, understand with an open heart and mind, and live the Word of God daily."
The communique then gave some suggestions for activities to be organised on Catechetical Sunday:
1. Distribute leaflets on the catechesis of the theme to every family in the parish.
2. Family gives testimony on the importance of the Word of God in their family on Catechetical Sunday gathering.
3. Nine- or eight- day novena on the Word of God (given quotations) in the family or BEC as a preparation for the Catechetical Sunday celebration.
4. Organise speech competition on the theme among the Sunday School students.
5. Conduct Lectio Divina workshop at parish or BEC level.
6. Give special appreciation or token to those catechists who have served in the parish catechetical ministry for more than 10 years.
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COR Organises Second Gathering For Religious
BUNDU TUHAN(CS Online).- This year the theme of the inter-congregational gathering organised by the Kota Kinabalu Archdiocesan Council of Religious (COR) was The Church in the Modern World Today.
The gathering, held July 20-22 at the Bundu Tuhan Retreat Centre, was the second one attended by almost 40 consecrated men and women from the KK Archdiocese and Keningau Diocese.
The first, held last year, was facilitated by Montfort Brother Dominic Yeoh-Koh of Singapore.
The congregations represented were Brothers of St Gabriel (Montfort Brothers) Daughters of St Paul, Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Good Shepherd Sisters and La Salle Brothers.
Diocesan Priest Fr Michael Modoit was present as well.
Jesuit Father Joseph (Jojo) Fung facilitated the sessions.
The sessions dealt with the situation of the world today (as shown by Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth on global warming), [ita>New Horizons in Malaysia, New Directions in Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) and Papacy and Implications for Changes in Ministryg.
The religious, Fung told the participants, are called to be icons of solidarity, a solidarity that is "actually social love in action, encouraging 'practical recognition, and therefore respect of the other."
In so doing, "the concrete dedication of consecrated persons to God and to their brethren becomes an eloquent sign for today's world of the presence of God's Kingdom," according to Benedict XVI.
In the last session, the participants came out with some proposals on how to work together as a body in their ministry to the faithful, particularly to the Native Poor.
The annual gathering came out because the COR felt the need for consecrated persons in the archdiocese to pool their resources together for better and more effective collective ministry to the faithful as a whole.
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SH Biblical Apostolate Organises First Bible Seminar In BM
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- In conjunction with the Pauline Year, the Sacred Heart Biblical Apostolate organised the first Bible Seminar in the national language July 18-20.
Divine Word Father Lukas Jua of Flores, Indonesia, facilitated the sessions at the Sacred Heart Parish Centre Karamunsing.
The seminar was organised with the objectives of helping the faithful to (1) deepen their understanding of the Word of God (2) enable them to build a community rooted in the Word (3) strengthen their faith in God through reading and sharing on the Word and (4) let the Word give meaning to their life and help them to do the will of God.
Born on 9 March 1956, Jua was ordained a priest on 7 July 1985. He obtained his licentiate in Scriptures from the Pontifical Biblicum Institute in Rome in 1991. Earlier he studied Hebrew at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (Overseas Programme) in 1988.
He finished his doctorate in Biblical Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome in 2005.
He has been a member of the Indonesian Bible Association since 1992 and is actively involved in giving retreats and bible courses in Flores, Timor and Bali.
The seminar touched on salvation history and the background of the different books of the Bible.
Around 160 people participated in the seminar. Aside from the talks, the participants had small group sharings.
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Private School Students Score In ICAS
LIKAS(CS).- Archdiocesan private school Maktab Nasional students are taking part again in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) this year.
The ICAS is conducted by the Educational Assessment Australia (EAA), a non-profit organisation wholly owned by the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia.
The ICAS covers four subjects, namely, Science, Mathematics, English and Computer Skills at different months of the year.
The results for Science category has just been released.
Maktab Nasional is proud that one of its students, Karen Lui, scored credit while Arthur Ong and Dexter Lee scored distinction.
A communique from the school said July 31 that many of the students are happy to have the chance to participate in the ICAS because it improves their general knowledge.
The press release said that it is very interesting to join the ICAS because the students get the chance to compare their marks with students from all over Malaysia, and it motivates them to improve themselves in order to achieve better in the future.
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LJCCC Organises Mini-bazaar To Mark Silver Jubilee
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- In conjunction with its forthcoming silver jubilee celebration, the Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community (LJCCC) organised a mini-bazaar July 20 at the two wings of the Sacred Heart Parish Centre.
Food, toys, books and magazines, clothes, bags, trinkets, DVDs, etc were sold by the members to the parishioners from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm.
There was a also a bone-checking corner for all those interested at the end corner of the right wing of the parish centre.
Formed on 31 July 1983, the LJCCC is a Catholic Charismatic Covenant Community dedicated to praise and worship, lifestyle and evangelisation. It is also a member community of the Catholic Fraternity of pontifical right.
Since its establishment it has regular cell group meetings for its members (married, single, youth and children) and conducts the monthly Devotion to the Holy Spirit at the parish centre on the last Sunday of the month.
The Devotion is a special gathering held to give honour to the person of the Holy Spirit in the Blessed Trinity through praise, worship, proclamation of the Word, ministry and fellowship.
It is conducted in three languages: English, BM and Chinese separately.
The LJCCC also publishes The Light, a quarterly Scripture Diary.
To commemorate the silver jubilee of the LJCCC, a special seminar was held Aug 14-17 at the parish centre.
The main speaker was Fr Steve Tynan, a charismatic priest from Australia working in the Philippines.
Tynan grew up in the Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community in Canberra.
After his priestly ordination, he was sent out as a missionary from the community's Missionaries of God's Love Congregation to the Philippines where he is currently serving.
He is the spiritual director of the LJCCC and of the Elim Communities in Manila.
Tynan spoke on the theme of discipleship focusing on the depth of conversion in our lives and on the means by which to get deeper into it in the context of covenant community living.
Special features during the celebration included a Youth Praise Rally on Aug 15 at the parish centre, the Anniversary Mass on Aug 16 at St Simon's Church Likas at 6:30 pm and a grand Anniversary Dinner Aug 17 at the Magellan Sutera Resort to conclude the celebration.
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PFKK-SCC-KKCH To Organise 3rd KK City Heritage Walk
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- The Pastors Fellowship of Kota Kinabalu (PFKK) and the Sabah Council of Churches (SCC) will organise the third heritage walk in Kota Kinabalu (KK) in partnership with Kota Kinabalu City Hall (KKCH) at the Padang Merdeka Aug 24.
Held in conjunction with the Merdeka month celebration, the event has three objectives: (1) to create awareness of the city's historical legacy; (2) to encourage participation and care for ongoing development and wellness of the city; and (3) to pray for God's blessing on the city, state and nation.
Expecting a crowd of more than a thousand, the participation will be from City Hall officials, various Christian Churches in and around KK, the general public and tourists.
All participants will gather at Padang Merdeka at 3:00 pm.
The opening ceremony will include singing of the national and state anthems and speeches from government and church officials.
A special dance performance depicting the unity and blessing of God upon Malaysia will be put up by dancers from the various churches.
Participants are encouraged to buy a special 'walk pack' consisting of a T-shirt, national flag, various historical and tourist sites in the city and a promotional CD of the Prison Fellowship.
Proceeds from the walk packs will be donated to the Prison Fellowship. A cheque presentation will be included in the programme.
Prison Fellowship is a ministry that assists in the rehabilitation of prisoners during their time in prison.
It also provides support services to the families of the prisoners.
Participants will be led to a warm-up session before the walk.
The walk covers a distance of 3.1 km along the Padang-Merdeka-Australian Place-Community Centre-Tong Hing Road-Jalan Pantai-Jalan Laiman Diki (Kg Air)-Bandaran Berjaya-Jalan Padang-Padang Merdeka.
The Royal Malaysian Police Band will lead the walk.
During the walk, participants will pray for the various facets of the state and nation: good governance, education, tourism, justice, financial development and prosperity, etc.
Participants will also pick up rubbish along the way in support of City Hall's zero rubbish cleanliness campaign.
Light refreshments will be served after the walk.
The first heritage walk was in 2006. It was well received and participated so it became an annual event during the Merdeka month celebration in the state.
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CSG-UMS Organises Welcoming Gathering For Freshies
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- The Catholic Student Group (CSG) of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) organised a welcoming gathering for new Catholic students July 20.
The event took place at the CSG Centre (former Shan Tao Primary School) Kota Kinabalu.
The objective was to get the new students acquainted with life in the university and to help them spiritually through the invitation to join the CSG.
Sister Dora Obod fsic of the Archdiocesan Campus Ministry was on hand to welcome the freshies.
The gathering is one of the annual events organised by the CSG. The other is the Hari Warga Kampus.
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New SHC/CMI PPC Members Take Their Pledge
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- Most of the new Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) members of Sacred Heart Cathedral (SHC) and Church of Mary Immaculate (CMI) took their pledge of service for the term 2008-2010 during the Mass Aug 3 before presider Msgr Primus Jouil.
It was also the first time for the CMI-PPC members to take their pledge at the cathedral.
All previous PPCs in the archdiocese dissolved on June 1 and new PPC members were to be commissioned by Aug 3.
The first meeting (election of office-bearers) was scheduled to take place on Aug 12 for CMI-PPC and on Aug 13 for SHC-PPC.
In his homily the presider appealed to leaders of the BM speaking community to come forward to fill up the quota intended for them.
The following are the names of the newly appointed members:
Sacred Heart Cathedral: Anita Tunggolou, Catherine Yong, Desmond Ng, Dr Damian Lee, Dr Jeffrey Soon,
Francis Yong Tek Foh, Jason Soon, Justin Cula, Martin Vincent Funk, Melissa Nicholas, Monica Chua, Peter Thien, Philip Yen
Church of Mary Immaculate: Arthur Lim, Beatrice Ekol, Betty Chong, Catherine Engsun, Claric Irine Moiji, Elizabeth Palencia, Francis Lo, John Dingon, Maurice Clouitto, Michael Chung, Michael Wan, Patrick Chin, Robert Chung, Victoria Voon Manggala.
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The Carmelite Family Grows Bigger With 12 New Members
KAINGARAN, TAMBUNAN(CS).- The diocesan Carmelite Family of Puteri Karmel and Carmelitae Sancti Elia (CSE) Brothers grew larger with the first profession of four novices (three Puteri Karmel and one CSE Brother) and final profession of four Puteri Karmel Juniors and four CSE Juniors July 16 at St Magdalene's Chapel, Kaingaran in the presence of around 300 people.
Founder and Father General Yohanes Indrakusama OCarm accepted the vows of the Brothers while Local Superior Sister Marieta accepted the vows of the Sisters.
Indrakusama concelebrated the Mass with five local priests.
It was also a historic occasion in the history of the CSE Brothers as its first four members took their final vows.
In his homily, the presider reminded the neo-professed that their mission is to bring the gift of God's love to the world around them but first they themselves must have experienced it.
The choir enlivened the ceremony with their singing while the dancers added a native touch to the celebration with their traditional dances.
Reception was held in the hall below after the three-hourlong ceremony.
The day before, July 15, the two branches accepted seven candidates into postulancy: four for Puteri Karmel and three for CSE . At the same time, four candidates were accepted into the novitiate: three for the female branch and one for the male branch.
The Puteri Karmel Congregation was founded by Indrakusama in the Diocese of Malang, Indonesia, on 19 March 1982 while its male branch, the CSE Brothers, was founded in 1986.
The Puteri Karmel Congregation took root on Keningau soil on 10 Aug 1997.
On 2 Feb 2002 the Puteri Karmel was raised to diocesan status by Bishop HJS Pandoyo OCarm of Malang.
The apostolate of this semi-contemplative Carmelite Family is mainly to conduct retreats and seminars through the use of charismatic gifts.
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Year Of St Paul Kicks Off With A Bible Seminar On 1 Corinthians
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- In the Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese, the Pauline Year kicked off with a seminar on the First Letter to the Corinthians July 11-13.
The seminar, organised jointly by the Bible Commission and Sacred Heart Biblical Apostolate, was facilitated by Dr Jeffrey Goh and wife Angelina Lim of Kuching.
Goh is a barrister-at-law who has a STD/PhD degree in Sacred Theology and a JCL in Canon Law from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, where Lim has also a STB degree in Sacred Theology and a MA in Religious Studies.
Both of them teach theology at St Peter's College Kuching and conduct retreats and seminars throughout the Conference of Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei.
Around 70 people turned up for the seminar which was held at St Simon Likas (July 11 & 13) and at the Sacred Heart Parish Centre (July 12).
The seminar focused exclusively on St Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians in five sessions.
The participants were introduced to the nature of ten problems facing the young Church in Corinth 2,000 years ago, and which are still facing the Church today.
Adopting an approach useful for bible study and reflection, Goh took the participants through three steps in relation to each problem: (1) nature of the problem (2) Paul's solution and (3) its relevance for us today.
The seminar was based on the book Living the Gospel: St Paul's Call to Match Words with Actions in First Corinthians by Goh and Lim.
The book, in turn, originated from a series of lectures the couple gave to various groups within and without Kuching over a period of a few years.
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Pauline Family Launches Pauline Year At Dontozidon
DONTOZIDON(CS).- The Pauline Family (Daughters of St Paul and Association of Pauline Cooperators) launched the opening of the Pauline Year in a simple ceremony June 29 at St Paul's Church Dontozidon.
After the Mass, presider Father Michael Modoit unveiled the framed portrait of St Paul and blessed more than 100 sets of Kadazan Bible Stories and bookmarks to be given away free to each family of the parish.
The Pauline Sisters and Cooperators also held a book mission at the same time.
Pope Benedict XVI had announced a special jubilee year dedicated to St Paul to commemorate his 2,000 birth anniversary last year.
The Pauline Year runs from June 28 this year to June 29 next year.
The pope said during the announcement that the Church needs modern Christians who will imitate the apostle's missionary energy and spirit of sacrifice.
The Pauline Year was opened in Rome at St Paul's Outside the Walls by the pope June 28 with an ecumenical vespers.
A special indulgence has been granted by the pope to all the faithful who take part in activities organised in conjunction with the Pauline Year.
As a homage to the Apostle, the Pauline Family in Sabah has organised a series of reachouts to the remote villages throughout the year.
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Pauline Sisters' Offering To St Paul
KOTA KINABALU(CS).- In homage to St Paul, two Daughters of St Paul have been appointed to the nascent mission in Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia by Provincial Superior Sister Yolanda Dionisio early this year.
Sister Rosalie Lojiu (based in Kuala Lumpur) and Sister Jennifer Han left for Manado July 2 after obtaining their visas from the Indonesian Consulate.
Born on 12 April 1951 in Kg Tanaki Penampang, Lojiu made her first profession in 1976 and took her final vows in 1981. On the other hand, Han was born on 4 Dec 1971 in Kinarut. She took her first vows in 2000 and made her final profession in 2006.
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Tombovo Celebrates Feastday
TOMBOVO, PENAMPANG(CS).- The Catholic community of St Peter Tombovo celebrated its feastday June 28 with a Mass presided by Assistant Rector Father Jalius Sading.
During the Mass, 13 candidates received their first Holy Communion.
After the Mass, the faithful trooped to the community hall for the programme prepared by Yusnita Draily.
In his address to the community, Sading gave a short history of Sts Peter and Paul.
He said that St Peter was the first pope chosen by our Lord while St Paul was the great evangelist.
He stressed that "we should maintain our faith, hope and love in our Church" and also to "safeguard and protect our identity and dignity as Christians."
Prior to the event, the community had organised a fundraising dinner at a local restaurant in Penampang on June 14 in aid of the new church building in Tombovo.
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KK Archdiocese Collects More Than RM100,000 For China Earthquake Victims
PENAMPANG(CS).- A communique from the Kota Kinabalu Archdiocesan Finance Office says that more than RM100,000 has been collected from the parishes in the diocese.
The communique, released July 17, states that a total amount of RM110,909.75 has been sent to the office by the 15 parishes by the end of June.
On May 26, the archdiocese had issued an appeal to the parishes to have one Sunday collection specifically in aid of the Chinese victims.
Archbishop John Lee would like to thank those (parishes, groups, individuals) who have contributed to the fund.
The collection was sent to Caritas Hong Kong July 15 which will distribute it to the affected people.
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80 Children Take Part In Annual Children's Retreat
BUNDU TUHAN(CS).- Around 80 children participated in the annual children's retreat June 5-7 organised by the Sacred Heart Children's Liturgy Ministry at the Bundu Tuhan Retreat Centre.
The objective of the retreat was to help the children to experience the joy of journeying together as one family of God.
Neil Mah, the retreat facilitator, led the children into praising and singing together through various action songs.
The topics covered during the sessions were also very inspirational, based on the theme Family of God, which Mah explained.
He emphasised on the importance of family life and the unity of family members.
One of the sessions was a nature walk which entailed moving around the village for the participants to understand and learn a bit of the way of life of the people there.
Aside from the participants, the rest were helpers who were either teenagers or young adults.
All in, there were just over 100 participants in this retreat.
At the end of the retreat, most of the children voiced out that they wished they could stay at the centre for a whole week rather than just two nights.
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