Diocese of Malacca Johore: MJD News Update #9

Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said “virtual” services cannot compare to, and cannot replace, personal participation in the liturgy.

Sep 26, 2020

The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

1.0 A Thought for the Week:  Called to Participation, Called to Community Worship
Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said “virtual” services cannot compare to, and cannot replace, personal participation in the liturgy. He reminded the faithful to ‘return to the Eucharist with joy’, with proper safety protocols during this pandemic. This is a return to the normality of Christian Life, where the church building is recognised as HOME; the liturgy as summit and font of all power; the return from fasting to rediscovering the Eucharist. This return must be accompanied by purified hearts, renewed amazement, increased desire to meet the Lord, and a wish to be with the Lord and to witness the Lord. The message is simple: Come Home! Return to the Community! Celebrate His Mercy!

2.0 Announcements for the Week:
2.1 On Sept 27, the world and the Church will be celebrating World Day for Migrants and Refugees. The challenge before us is to “wel come”. Any pastoral or social action must begin with a gesture of “including”. A caring Christian or a Church is warm and welcoming.  Welcome the forced, the fleeing and the forgotten. They are Jesus, forced to flee. This weekend’s second collection is for the pastoral care of migrants and refugees.

2.2. Next Sunday, Oct 4 is the Launch of the five-year plan,
with the theme Protect Our Earth, Protect Our Children, initiated by the Creation Justice Commission. There will be a live broadcast from St James Chapel, MAJODI Centre at 8:00am. While we keep safe and stay safe, it is also time to SAVE.

2.3 Let the BECs begin with the October Rosary Month, may our FOCUS be “to humble ourselves and pray” for peace in the world and peace in our hearts.

2.4 The 2020 Sabah state election takes place tomorrow, Sept 26. Pray for the people of Sabah to elect a government that is clean, just and inclusive.

3.0 Questions & Queries? 
Why is the Malacca Johore Diocese Headquarters located in Johor and not in Melaka, the site of first Catholic presence, resting  place of St Francis Xavier, with Church of St Peter being the oldest church?

From the year 1558 till 1972, the Malacca Johore Diocese (MJD), in name, as a territory and as a diocese was so different from what it is today. MJD was governed by foreign bishops, apostolic prefects and apostolic vicars from Goa, Macau, Siam and Singapore under the Portuguese and French Missionaries. It was only in 1972, when Singapore split from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore, that the local DIOCESE OF MALACCA JOHORE with the first local bishop, Rt Rev James Chan, was established. (By then, KL and Penang were already dioceses in 1955). So, the choice of Johor Bahru, with Church of the Immaculate Conception (CIC) as the first cathedral, by the first local bishop was a strategic consideration, not a historical one.  

God bless you.

Bishop Bernard Paul
September 25, 2020

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