All five decades were prayed, followed by hymns in five different languages — English, Mandarin, Tamil, Tagalog and Bahasa,. The Eucharistic Celebration (also in multilanguage), which followed was celebrated by Bishop Antony Selvanayagam. Joining him as concelebrants were assistant parish priest, Fr Michael Thoo, Fr Maiccal Sinnappan, Fr Martin Thien, Fr Andrew Stephen and Fr Edmund Woon. The Bishop gave the homily in English and Tamil, while Fr Martin Thien gave the homily in Mandarin.

The Bishop remarked that when Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Assumption of Mary as a dogma of our faith, three things surfaced: (1) God loves Mary (2) We love Mary and (3) Mary loves the Father. “Yes, God loves Mary. God looks upon the lowliness of Mary and pays attention to her,” said Bishop Selva. “We love Mary, because we believe that Mary is with the Father. We believe that Mary is not corrupted and she is assumed into heaven, both body and soul. Finally, Mary loves God the Father. In the Magnificat, she stated, ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.’”

“Today, we are not only celebrating Mary’s assumption but we are celebrating our faith,” continued the Bishop, “We know we will die one day but that is not the end of it. We believe, like Mary, we will also be with Jesus. Are you listening to God, like Mary? Will you be willing to give up everything and say ‘yes’ to God, like Mary did when she responded ‘May it be done to me according to your will?’” He ended his homily by telling everyone to imitate Mary as she listened to God and make this a prayer in our daily life — “Mary, my Mother, pray for me that I will do as what you do, in my life.”

After the Mass, a huge cake with the picture of the Church and the slogan 225 years of faith and still growing was brought in for the cake-cutting ceremony. The Bishop, Fr Michael Thoo and a parishioner, Geraldine Cutter (whose family had donated the land where the church stands) were given the honour to cut the cake. Finally, the congregation adjourned for the fellowship dinner. — By Lucia Lai