KOTA KINABALU – New aspirants and seminarians have been accepted for year 2015. A Mass was celebrated Feb 12 in the chapel of IY Formation House to mark the opening of the academic calendar for 2015. The Mass was presided by Archbishop John Wong and concelebrated by Fr Rayner Bisius, Fr Wilfred Atin, Fr Jalius Sading, Fr Paul Lo and Fr Jeffri Gumu.
“Bah, mula sudah SYD4 KITA..” that is the word printed on the new T-shirt of the 4th Sabah Youth Day event which was officially launched in Holy Cross Toboh, Tambunan Feb 13-15.
The launching was officiated by Bishop Julius Gitom from Sandakan diocese, witnessed by Archbishop John Wong and Bishop Cornelius Piong, priests, religious and 146 heads of youth contingents from all 3 Arch/dioceses.
How long have you been serving as a Religious Brother?
Took First Profession on 7 April 1981 and Final Profession on 14 December 1987… altogether 14 years.
Are you happy being a Religious Brother?
Definitely. My happiest moments were living with the poor community in Kg Sonsogon Magandai and Kg Nalapak Kota Marudu in 1997-2007. The poor taught me a lot about the ‘University of Life’ and whilst living with them, I learned to live as they lived, which was ‘from hand to mouth’.
Towards my last year in school, there was a Vocation Exhibition. As I was looking for a direction in life, I took the opportunity to visit the exhibition with the hope that I could find something there that would speak to me in a meaningful way. At one of the stalls, I picked up a small booklet on the life of Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier. The saint’s life was very captivating and her words about herself were very inspiring – “I had no great talents, nor have I done anything great … I only loved.
KOTA KINABALU – Parish priests of all parishes in the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu have been urged to set up Mission Tadika (Mission Kindergartens) in their respective parishes without further delay.
They are being encouraged to work closely with their Parish Pastoral Committees (PPC) to set up the Mission Tadika so as to ensure that the Catholic faith can be inculcated in the children as from a very young age.
The gut feeling is, the time is about right. With all living things of which we are a part, we instinctively feel the need for a yearly renewal. And Lent is here, a timely and precious gift of new life from God. As the world becomes more fascinated and engrossed in the culture of death, the inner alarm for conversion and renewal is also being heard with greater urgency and need.
TANJUNG ARU – Twenty-three members of the Special Ministry of Stella Maris Church gathered for a retreat on the joy of serving God, guided by Fr Jeffri Gumu, at Pace Bene Retreat Centre, Purak, on 6-7 Feb 2015.
In his first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis offers his sweeping vision of the Universal Church called to action. At the heart of this vision is a powerful invitation to all of us to embrace Christ’s love to spread the good news of the Gospel through the joy of serving His Church.
KOTA BELUD – Despite heavy rain, some 1,000 lay faithful gathered with joy and oneness of heart at the Thanksgiving Mass to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the priestly ordination of Fr Ambrose Atang at St Edmund’s Church Feb 16. The Mass was presided by Fr Ambrose himself, and at the altar with him were Archbishop John Wong, Msgr Primus Jouil, Msgr Gilbert Engan, Fr Bruno Yasun, Fr Cosmas Lee, and 14 other priests from parishes around the Arch/dioceses of Kota Kinabalu and Keningau.
TAWAU/KOTA KINABALU – The Chinese community of Holy Trinity Parish Tawau experienced double blessings for the Year of the Goat. Not only were they privileged to have Bishop Julius Gitom presiding over the Chinese New Year Thanksgiving Mass on Feb 19, but also to have him making his rounds visiting the homes of a few Chinese parishioners.
QUEZON CITY – Fifteen students of IFFAsia Batch 9, coming from across Asia, attended the Launching Mass for the School Year 2015 at the Chapel, Radio Varitas Asia Feb 14. The new batch consists of students from eight countries: China, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. On this day, the Rite of Commitment to the Lord was made by the students, and witnessed by more than 50 people who came to lend support.
The theme for the launching is ‘Live Christ! Share Christ.’ It is the call taken from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Pastoral Exhortation on the Era of New Evangelization for the Year of the Poor, 2015.