KK cathedral celebrates vigil Mass for Malaysia

KOTA KINABALU – Sacred Heart Cathedral here celebrated a vigil Mass in response to the call of the Malaysian bishops for a day of prayer for Malaysia.

Over 300 people attended the liturgical celebration presided by Archbishop John Wong on 23 Feb 2017 beginning with vespers, the Eucharistic celebration, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, a time of silent prayer and listening to the Word.  The special readings,  composed prayers and the prayer of the faithful focused on the situation of the country and its people.

The pastoral letter of the bishops Stand Up For Your Faith was read out to the congregation, with a summary in Mandarin and BM.

Other parishes in the archdiocese observed the day of prayer on the day itself Feb 24.

The day of prayer was called forth by the bishops to coincide with the opening of the 5th session of the 13th Parliament on March 6 to Apr 6.

In this time of economic downturn and crisis, Malaysians are struggling with a high level of personal debt, reduction in public investment in various sectors and our currency, the ringgit, is sliding rapidly. Malaysia’s economy is growing more slowly and will continue to remain unstable. The top political leaders are the cause of this loss of confidence in Malaysia’s economy. The political scene has been equally unsettled and many are worried about which direction the country is heading.

Corruption and violence have become a major issue in the country. Now Malaysia is among the top ten in the list of corruption. At one time Malaysia was considered one of the safest countries in South East Asia but now it has become one of the most dangerous countries in this region especially Kuala Lumpur City, which has become a centre for criminal activities.

Schools and education systems hardly serve as channels for the development of peaceful societies. The poor quality of the school education system also causes the economic, political and social skills to weaken. Why is the Malaysian education system failing its students? Is it because of bad parents, bad teachers or bad administration? It is time to solve the problems within the education system to enable the students to succeed in the future and to bring the nation to success.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hindusim, Sikhism and Taosim (MCCBCHST),  being gravely concerned with Hadi’s Private Members Bill which will be coming up for debate soon in the Federal Parliament,  has issued an open letter dated 14 Oct 2016 to Members of Parliament to do their duty as required by their oath of office to protect the Federal Consitution.