Discover your calling . . .The chosen one of God

KOTA KINABALU – This year, the Vocation Seminar for the Diocesan Priesthood drew over more than 140 young men from the three dioceses in Sabah.

The seminar was held from Jan 17-19, 2014 at Bundu Tuhan Retreat Centre, themed ‘The chosen one of God’.   In his homily during the Opening Mass, Archbishop John Wong reminisced about his younger days when he was energetic and full of desire to do something for the Church.

Referring to the first reading, he called on the participants, who were also eager to do something for the church, to be like Samuel in listening to the voice of the Lord and creating a relationship with him. He also encouraged them to make full use of their youth as they could not travel back in time.

The seminar included testimonies from seminarians on their vocation calling, inputs by the priests, video on life in the seminary, recitation of the divine office, Taize and Eucharistic adoration, games, music, and a forum for Q & A.

To help the participants in their discernment during the seminar, Fr Wilfred Atin presented a talk on Vocation and how it is different from a career. With the question ‘What does God want from my life?’ the participants were asked to reflect on their personal lives and to discover God’s plan for each one of them.

Fr Sunny Chung, on the other hand, ran through with everyone on the difference between the diocesan and the religious priesthood.

Frs Terry Burke and Philip Obaso from the Mill Hill Missionaries were also present to share about the work and life of missionary priests and their experience of working in foreign lands.

Many were impressed by their ability to speak in Bahasa Malaysia and quite a number were interested in getting to know more about missionary work.

At the concluding mass, the names of the candidates for the aspirancy were announced. This year, eleven young men were selected: three from the Diocese of Sandakan and four each from the Diocese of Keningau and the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu. – Joshua Liew