Saturday 29 March 2014

Lenten Penitential Service

Yesterday, Friday 28th March 2014, Three priests from the Northern States of Penang Diocese were on hand to assist in hearing confessions in preparation for Easter.  They were Fr. Mark Michael from St. Michael's Alor Setar, Fr. Henry Rajoo from St. Anne's Bukit Mertajam and Fr. Nelson Joseph form Christ the King, Sungei Petani. They concelebrated the Week-end Mass of the 4th Sunday of Lent, together with Fr. Robert Daniel. Also present was Deacon Anthony Liew who gave the homily in 3 languages. Bahasa, English and Mandarin.
Deacon Anthony Liew assisting  during the Mass concelebrated by the 3 visiting priests and Fr. Robert.

Reading the Gospel of the 4th Sundya of Lent

Deacon Anthony Liew, delivering his homily in 3 languages

The 7 catechumens being prayed for at the 2nd Scrutiny.

Tuesday 25 March 2014

LENT AND DISCERNMENT

A SHARING DURING HOLY HOUR on the FEAST OF ANNUNCIATION
by Sr. Regina Ho, fmm


Good Evening,  + Peace and Shalom, my good people.


LENT as you know is a period of 40 days starting from ASH Wednesday. It is a time of INTENSIVE preparation for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ at EASTER, through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. How can we avoid mere routine and ritualistic Lenten practice so that we can grow to the fullness of Christ?

KNOWLEDGE AND ART OF DISCERNMENT  is vital.
To start with, I like to emphasize the great NEED of drawing special nourishment from the WORD OF GOD by reading, reflecting and praying the scriptures on a daily basis, not occasionally. This will help us to make Scripture come alive as well as making Scripture to become our WAY OF LIFE.
Let us learn DISCERNMENT from JESUS. 
How? By reading and reflecting on the Scripture readings, for example, Let’s take the Gospel Readings from the First three Sundays of Lent.
+ 1st Sunday of Lent. The Gospel reading was on the Temptations of Jesus. (Matthew 4:1-11)
The Gospel describes the INNER STRUGGLES of Jesus in the desert and How He uses Scripture as his guide.
·         “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every world that comes from the mouth of God” (v.4)
·         “You must not put the Lord your God to the test” (v.7)
·         “Your must worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone” (v.10)
It is a clear indication that one can discover direction and discernment of the course of our action in life through Scripture.

+2nd Sunday of Lent. The Transfiguration (Matthew 17: 1-9)
Jesus led Peter, James and John up a high mountain where they could be alone. But Peter got distracted... “It is wonderful for us to be here... I will make 3 tents here.”
But a voice from the cloud said to Peter: “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him”
(Don’t cling on to your comfort zone. Learn to listen to the VOICE of Jesus...)
Here we see how Jesus was teaching His disciples on true Discipleship.  In following Jesus, don’t be busy running around, ‘building tents’! ...but rather we are to sit quietly and LISTEN to Jesus.

+3rd Sunday of Lent:  The Samaritan Woman (John 4: 5-42) 
The enlightening conversation  between Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the well.
At the beginning, the woman has no idea who Jesus is. Let us see how Jesus leads her in her faith journey:
·         At first she was rather annoyed and rude... “What? You are a Jew and you ask me a Samaritan, for a drink?” (v.9)
·         After Jesus offers her living water, she answered, “You have no bucket, Sir,..... and the well is deep; how would you get this living water?” (v.11)
·         When Jesus touches her personal life, saying: “Go and call your husband. ..” (v.16) she realizes that Jesus is a Prophet.
·         Then she wanted to know more about worship and the coming of the Messiah. (v. 24)
·         After Jesus explains to her, she put down her water jar and rushes back to her town to share the Good News of her personal encounter with the Saviour of the world.
From Jew to Sir, Prophet, Messiah, Saviour..., note how the Samaritan Woman grows in her Faith and relationship with Jesus through this ENCOUNTER!
SAINTS
Besides the Scriptures, we have the examples of Saints.  We can learn much from Mother Mary and the Saints on HOW to DISCERN  the WILL OF GOD in daily life.

·         Today is the Feast of Annunciation. What are we celebrating?
We are celebrating the Great Day of Decision: Mary’s acceptance of the role that God has chosen for her in His plan of redemption.
A young lady struggling to accept God’s plan for her. What an enormous mission to be the Mother of the Son of God! She responded with a prayerful and discerning heart: “YES,  Lord, May your Will be done!”   (Gospel Reading: Luke 1:26-38)

·         Last Wednesday, 19th March was the Feast of St. Joseph. He too went through discernment  to take Mary home as his wife under unusual and mysterious circumstances. Later, Joseph had to make another drastic decision: to take the infant Jesus and Mary and escape to Egypt in the night!
Decisions are not to be made/taken according to whims and fancies, but through prayer and discernment

·         ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
A fun-loving youngster was deeply touched one day by the Gospel reading at Mass, where Jesus sent His disciples , instructing them:  “Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim the Good News: “ The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment, give without payment. Take no gold or silver..” (Matthew 10:6 –ff)
Francis then consulted his parish priest and soon after, he changed his wild luxurious lifestyle to live in simplicity and poverty for the rest of his life!

IMPORTANCE OF SCRIPTURES  (= WORD OF GOD and WORD OF LIFE)
The Word of God is a cornerstone of our Catholic Faith. It nourishes and governs the whole of Christian life.
The Gospels in particular, are the principle sources of life and teachings of Jesus Christ. St. Jerome once exclaimed, “ Ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ!”
So how can I make the Word of God, “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path?” (Psalm 119:105) and how can I cherish and relish the Word of God as the “joy and delight of my heart? (Jeremiah 15:11)
The only way is to Read,  Reflect and Pray

Lent is a Time for a great spiritual Experience.

GUIDELINES ON DISCERNMENT AS A WAY OF LIFE
In summary, here are a few guidelines on Discernment as a way of life. You need to:
1.      Have Deep faith in God’s active involvement in your unique history from Day One of my life. He desires to communicate with you very personally.
2.      Pray for special Freedom from unhealthy attachments to enable us always to choose what is right and good according to God’s Will.
3.      Spent ‘quiet time’ with God regularly.
4.      Keep your hidden/ulterior motives in check.
5.      Look for a wise and prayerful Spiritual guide to journey with you.


(The above sharing was delivered by Sr. Regina Ho, fmm at the beginning of Holy Hour on the evening of the Feast of The Annunciation 2014 at our Lady of Fatima Church Kota Bharu)

Friday 21 March 2014

Rite of Election-Blood Donation Campaign-Jalan Kuala Krai BEC

Today, the Third Sunday of Lent was a busy day.  During the Weekend Mass, immediately after the homily, 6 RCIA candidates being prepared for baptism and/or confirmation by Fr. Robert were introduced to congregation in the Rite of Election. The Elect was then prayed over during the 1st Scrutiny. The candidates are Carolyn, Junita, Dylan Ting, Naidi,  Jenny Teo and her daughter, Felicia Ong. They will be receiving the sacraments of Baptism and/confirmation this coming Easter.

After mass at 10.15 am, the parish human development committee under the leadership of Dr. Angeline Peter, organized a Blood Donation Campaign in conjuction with Lent. Quite a number of young and also veteran blood donors cheerfully donated their blood for the USM Blood Bank.

In the evening at 8.00 pm., members of the Jalan Kuala Krai BEC held their first monthly Meeting at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. Hady. They had a fruitful reflection by watching a video of the Korean Road of Hope Programme in Uganda, Africa which depicted the effects of poverty and diseases on the poor suffering children and their families.

RITE OF ELECTION AND FIRST SCURITIY
Fr. Robert, presiding at the Rite of Election for the RCIA candidates.

Praying over the candidates after the First Scrutiny



 LENTEN BLOOD DONATION CAMPAIGN

Parishioners signing up for the Blood Donation
Two of our Kem Desa parishioners give the thumbs up during their blood donation


Cheerfully doing their part to replenish the Blood Bank

Our future doctor, Eleanor,  as the first woman donor from the parish.


JALAN KUALA KRAI B.E.C. MEETING

Marianne Lim, BEC Coordinator introduces the host, Dr. Hady to guests and members.

Our gracious hostess, Mrs. Hady and other members listening in rapt attention to the coordinator.

Catherine Lee, Sr. Carol, Marianne Lim, Shirley Bates, Celestine Chong, Sr. Stella, during the discussion on the video.

Members exchanging opinions during the discussion

Enjoying the fellowship meal after the meeting



Saturday 8 March 2014

Happy Birthday Fr. Robert!









  After the weekend mass on Friday, 7th March 2014, the congregation got together to celebrate Fr. Robert's 45th Birthday which happened to be on last Tuesday,  4th March.

In his short speech, The Parish Pastoral Council Chairman, Mr. Alex Poh, on behalf of the community wished Fr. Robert a belated birthday. "Fr. Robert, you have given so much of yourself to build this Church physically and spiritually. You have brought our parishioners closer together in love and respect for one another" "Some people entertain ideas, others put them to work" he added. "Do not let little problems affect the progress of your life or mission for our Church.. May your dreams, your vision and your goals come true! Wishing you a happy 45th Birthday, Father!"

A special Birthday banner made by the little children was given to Fr. Robert and also a birthday cake. "For health reasons, I won't blow the candles". With that he 'fanned' out the candles to the singing of "Happy Birthday to You" by the congregation. Fr. Robert was presented with a birthday "Ang Pow" from the parishioners by Alex Poh. Afterwards, the community was treated to a sumptious 'birthday breakfast'

Mr. Alex Poh giving his speech

Fr. Robert receiving the 'Birthday Banner' from the children


The birthday candles being lighted up by Patrick Tiau

Fr. Robert 'fanning' out the lighted candles

Father being congratulated by Mr. Alex Poh after receiving his birthday 'Ang Pow'