Visitation Celebrates Year of the Priest - PCC Chairman's Speech

By Jerome Selva Retnam
Parish Coordinating Council Chairman

Today we are here for the thanks giving Mass, thanking God for giving us three wonderful priest.

The dedication (by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI) of the period June 2009 to June 2010 as the Year of Priests is indeed a tremendous and an inspired move that helps us give due recognition and appreciation to the priests of the universal Catholic Church most or all of whom are wholly committed to the mission of Jesus in the many nations, dioceses and parish communities of the world.

It is (to my mind) a call to us as the People of God to give thanks to God for these chosen people who have given their lives (as it were) to serving full time in the priesthood of Jesus in the many facets of mission of Jesus. The decision to give their lives to serving in mission (as we all would know) is a decision that calls for courage to a readiness to serve God in whatever the ministry might be after eight years of intensive study and pastoral training. It is an answer to a calling by God to each one in some special way. They do not know what the circumstances of their journey would be.

We have vivid instances of God’s calling to people in both the old and new testaments. They just respond without looking back or subjecting God to terms and conditions of service. They just go out into the wilderness (the world) trusting in God’s continued presence with them. Divine providence is their way of life. They enjoy support in their new found communities and they also face criticism and rejection. We are touched as we read about their persistence and determination (in their missionary callings).

This is the same of the priests in today’s time. Their journey in mission is never something that spells of comfort and peace. It is fraught with challenges and diverse community needs. The diocesan priests (like those attached to parishes throughout the world), by and large face the greatest challenges. Many have stood the test of time and many still struggle. The consolation is that God is with them. He stands by them in all circumstances.

We too need to stand by them. We (as the people of God) need to accept them, appreciate them and affirm their mission among us. We strive to remain one with them.

In the beautiful words of St. John Marie Vianney – the patron saint for all priests – “IF WE HAD NO PRIEST, WE SHOULD NOT HAVE THE LORD IN THE EUCHARIST. WHAT WOULD BE THE USE OF A HOUSE FULL OF GOLD, IF YOU HAD NOBODY TO OPEN YOU THE DOOR! THE PRIEST HAS THE KEY OF THE HEAVENLY TREASURES.”

This historical parish of the Visitation (established in 1848) has been served by so many priests since its founding. We thank God for the journeying with the priests that He has sent to us. They have come and they have gone. We can only remember them and pray for them.

Today as we focus on the Year of Priests in our parish, we remember that we have (in our parish today) three dynamic priests – Fr. Michael Chua, our Parish Priest, Fr. George Packiasamy our Assistant Parish Priest and the newly ordained Fr. Clement Lim.

In this Year of Priests we (in a personal way) express of gratitude to God for placing them here to journey with us towards our spiritual goals. We ask God to bless them each day as they strive to live out their mission in our diverse communities. We love them and we keep them in prayer.

Later this month we would lose one to (to be gained) by a neighbouring parish. Father Clement Lim who has been with us for hardly a year would move to the parish of the Immaculate Conception in Port Dickson after Christmas – taking on the responsibilies of a Parish Priest. Though we would miss him, we are also happy for him on his elevation in this new posting. We place on record our sincere appreciation to him for being so much a part of our lives here at the Visitation. We thank you, Fr. Clement and we love you.

On this same note I place on record, on behalf of the Parishioners of Visitation, our deep appreciation to Fr. Michael Chua and Fr. George Packiasamy as we continue to affirm them in the mission among us. We thank you and we love you.

That Catholic Show - I Confess

As penitential service for Visitation is just around the corner (December 16), it would be good to reflect on the significance of this sacrament.

Visitation Celebrates Year of the Priest and Bids Farewell to Fr. Clement

The parish of Visitation, Seremban, officially celebrated the Year of the Priest at sunset mass,December 12. At the same celebration, the parish also bid farewell to Fr. Clement Lim, Assistant Parish Priest, who will be taking up the position of Parish Priest in the Church of Immaculate Conception, Port Dickson from the 26th of December 2009. The event was organised by the Parish Pastoral Council led by its chairman, Mr. John Lim.

Christmas Campaign for the Poor - Car Wash

Our parish youth hard at work washing cars for the Christmas Campaign for the Poor.

The Joy of Giving

Third Sunday of Advent Year C

The Third Sunday of Advent is also called Gaudete Sunday. The theme of joy is more pronounced this week. For many of us, we too are feeling the joy of the season as we approach Christmas. We are joyful not because all our problems have been solved. We are joyful not because life is perfect. We are joyful not because we think that Santa Claus is coming to give us a big present. No. Our joy is based on the fact that the Lord is very near; our salvation is near. St. Paul exhorts us to be happy in the second reading for this very reason: “I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near.”

Waiting for the coming of the Lord does not mean that we should just sit down and wait for death. This expectation calls for action and conversion. In today’s gospel, three groups of people ask John the Baptist what must they do. John exhorts them to share with those who are needy, be just and fair in our dealings; to refrain from intimidation and extortion to acquire what we want and finally to be satisfied with what we have. In other words, as we await the coming of Christ, we should not be selfish or greedy and think only of our own needs and wants. On the contrary, as Christians we are called to put others first before ourselves.

Many people find it hard to be generous. It is much easier to be selfish than to share our belongings with someone else. The most likely reason for this is that we are worried that what we have is not enough if it is shared between two or more persons. Again, St. Paul reminds us “that there is no need for worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.”

Therefore it is hard to be happy and joyful when you are greedy and ambitious. When you are never satisfied with what you have, when you are always afraid of losing what you have, when you are jealous of other’s prosperity – it’s really hard to be happy. It is only the man who has discovered God as fulfilling his every heart’s desire who will be happy. Only God can fill the emptiness in our hearts. Only God can satisfy our deepest longings. Only God can be the source of everlasting joy.

Let us then welcome our Lord and God. As the prophet Zephaniah tells us in the first reading, our God is “a victorious warrior. He will exult with joy over you, he will renew you by his love; he will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival.” When we allow the God of joy to fill our lives with his love, joy and peace, nothing can take away these things. Life need not be perfect and our problems may not be solved, but with God as the Lord and center of our lives, nothing can take away the joy of being his son and daughter.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception - December 8

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain (macula in Latin) of original sin. It is one of the four dogmas in Roman Catholic Mariology.

The dogma states that, from the first moment of her existence (conception in St. Anne's womb), she was preserved by God from the lack of sanctifying grace that afflicts mankind, and that she was instead filled with divine grace. We Catholics also believe that she lived a life completely free from sin. Her immaculate conception in the womb of her mother, through sexual intercourse, should not be confused with the doctrine of the virginal conception of her son Jesus, known as the Annunciation, and followed by the Virgin Birth.

The Dogma

"We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which asserts that the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from every stain of original sin is a doctrine revealed by God and, for this reason, must be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful."

With these words, spoken in 1854, Pope Pius IX, in the Papal Bull ineffabilis Dei, declared Mary's Immaculate Conception to be dogma. Pius did not invent the concept. Rather, he was affirming a belief held by many Christians that came before him, from East and West, that Mary was conceived free of the stain of original sin, on account of Christ's work. God caused this immaculate conception in order to render Mary a pure vessel to bear God-made-flesh.

Mary, the one who is "full of grace" and the one whom "all generations will called 'blessed'" has been viewed as unique since the earliest days of the Christian faith. Just as Christ has been called the "new Adam," the Church Fathers, especially Saints Justin (AD 150) and Irenaeus (AD 180), saw Mary as the "new Eve," who humbly obeyed God, even though Eve disobeyed. The Church Fathers also called Mary the "new ark of the covenant" and theotokos, God-bearer. It is from these titles that the doctrine of Mary's Immaculate Conception and sinlessness unfolded. Thus St. Ephrem the Syrian (d. AD 373) spoke of Mary as without stain or blemish, calling her "all-pure, all-immaculate, all-stainless, all-undefiled, all-incorrupt, all-inviolate" (see Nisibine Hymns, and "Precationes ad Deiparam"). St. Ambrose (d. AD 397) wrote "lift me up not from Sarah, but from Mary, a Virgin not only undefiled, but a Virgin whom grace has made inviolate, free of every stain of sin" (Commentary on Psalm 118). Augustine left open the possibility of Mary's sinlessness, even using language similar to the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception:

We must except the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom I wish to raise no question when it touches the subject of sins, out of honour to the Lord; for from Him we know what abundance of grace for overcoming sin in every particular was conferred upon her who had the merit to conceive and bear Him who undoubtedly had no sin (On Nature and Grace, 42).

Later Fathers, such as St. John of Damascus (d. AD 755) and St. Andrew of Crete (d. AD 740) continued this emphasis on Mary's sinlessness as bearer of God. John of Damascus wrote:

The Father's...sanctifying power overshadowed her, cleansed and made her holy, and, as it were, predestined her. Then Thou, Word of the Father...didst take flesh of the Blessed Virgin, vivified by a reasoning soul, having first abided in her undefiled and immaculate womb...(Sermon I: On the Assumption)

John also spoke of Mary's "holy, undefiled, and stainless soul" (Sermon II: On the Assumption). However, there was no official dogma of the Immaculate Conception as of this period. Most Church Fathers agreed that Mary was sinless at the time she gave birth to Christ. They disagreed as to whether Mary was made sinless at conception, birth, or when she said "yes" to God's call. Even some prominent medieval Western theologians (notably St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas*) denied Mary's Immaculate Conception, although not her sinlessness. Even today, Catholic and Orthodox theologians agree that Mary is the all-holy, blameless, "new ark"; the debate is not about Mary being sinless, but about when Mary was made sinless. Part of this disagreement is because the East does not believe in original sin as the Western Church defines it. Orthodox theologian John Myendorff, in Byzantine Theology, has suggested the East would likely accept the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception if they had a Western understanding of Original Sin. The East and West nonetheless seem to be getting at the same "mystery": Mary's sinlessness and holiness in her role as theotokos.

St. Thomas believed, like most at the time, in the entire personal sinlessness of Mary, and believed that Mary was made immaculate before her birth; His writings place this sanctification somewhere between conception and birth, at the time when her soul and body were joined, an event some medieval theologians believed occurred a short time after conception.

History of the Feast

The Feast of Mary's Conception is clearly known as early as the 7th century in the East, and may even date to as early as the 5th century in the Churches of Syria. The feast spread to the West, at least by the 9th century. The feast and doctrine initially were opposed by the Dominicans, while the Franciscans argued in favor of the Immaculate Conception and its feast. For awhile, a great debate raged about the doctrine, even up until the 19th century. The Council of Basle in 1439 affirmed that the Immaculate Conception was a pious belief in accord with the Catholic faith. In 1476 Pope Sixtus IV approved the feast with its own Mass and Office, and in 1708, Pope Clement XI extended the feast to the universal Church, making it a holy day of obligation. In 1847, Pope Pius IX proclaimed Mary as patroness of the United States, under the title of her immaculate conception. Thus, to this day, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is the patronal feast of the United States.

The Orthodox and many Eastern Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Conception of Mary on December 9. This places Mary's conception 9 months, minus a day, from her birth (celebrated September 8). This apparently symbolizes that while Christ had a perfect humanity, even though Mary was the Mother of God, she did not (since Christ spent 9 full months in the womb, from March 25-December 25). However, the Orthodox do not celebrate Mary's immaculate conception on December 9 as Eastern Catholics do. The West observes the feast on December 8. While this dogma took centuries to develop and unfold, as did the dogma of the Trinity, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is certainly fitting for one whom the Eastern Christians call panagia, i.e. "all-holy," and who bore God-Made-Man, Jesus Christ.

Confirmation Camp with Martin Jalleh: December 4-6

100 over confirmation candidates from 3 language groups of the parish were challenged by Martin Jalleh to "Make a Difference." They were led to explore and reflect on their faith life, relationships with others, and their personal dreams for the future.

The camp began on Friday evening with icebreakers by the Y2Y youth followed by the opening orientation by Martin. The Y2Y youth also animated several games and group dynamics on the following day. On Saturday night, the whole group was led into a period of prayer and healing where many experienced healing of memories, especially of past hurts and disappointments. Fr. Michael Chua celebrated eucharist with the group that very same night after the Inner Healing Session.

The two and half days camp concluded with an open session on Sunday afternoon between Martin and the parents of the students. He explained some of the teenage challenges their children were facing and challenged them to provide wholistic options to their children as well as to ensure that their children's future is established on firm foundation, faith rather than things of the world. At the end of the talk, the students came in to present a song dedicated to their parents followed by a special moment of reconciliation.

Thanks to all the catechists, the Y2Y youth advisors and members, the parents' committee who cooked, prepared the food and logistics and chaperoned the children at night!

Here are some photos. More photos can be obtained from Facebook.