MJD News Update #62

The One Spirit hovers over the world, flows in through open windows, makes us hear what outside voices are saying, the hard questions they ask that disturb the hierarchy and the Church leadership.

Oct 22, 2021

Greetings and Peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you, dear People of God.

The Synodal Process has begun. Mission Sunday is here. Melaka and Johor National Recovery Plan Phase 3 & 4 are in effect. The crowds are out, unconcerned. The unvaccinated continue to present their case. The vulnerable are the elderly, the children and those with chronic ailments. Some doctors believe the efficacy of the vaccine wears out because of the heavy medications we are on. Be different. Don’t be indifferent. Protect yourself. Protect others.

Time to Unite: Unity government? Unite for the nation? Unite for survival? Marriage of convenience? These are the versions of unity we hear. I told a batch of first Holy Communicants that the Eucharistic host is a call to unity. What is UNITY? With large cards and four volunteers, they saw “U-N-I-TY (You and I tie). That’s what “unity” is all about. We tie, not tear.

The Synodal Process has begun. The One Spirit hovers over the world, flows in through open windows, makes us hear what outside voices are saying, the hard questions they ask that disturb the hierarchy and the Church leadership. Colossians 4:5 reminds us of the seven ones: “there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all”

Pope Francis calls us to unity in diversity, by GOING BACK to the Vatican Two, the Baptism, the Spirit, the Gospel, and to the Synodal Process of encounter, listening and discerning. It is time to “listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches. In unity and docility to the Spirit, let us discern “a different Church, not another Church” as appealed by Pope Francis.

A Thought for the Week: Doubting Friends
Fr Quixote, an aging parish priest in a little town in La Mancha, Spain, vacations with his best friend. Sancho is the retired ex-mayor of the town and a committed communist. Both characters are men of very different but deep faith. But what ultimately binds them together are the ways in which they share doubt. At one point, Fr Quixote and Sancho had this conversation:

“I hope — friend — that you sometimes doubt too. It’s human to doubt.”

“I try not to doubt,” the mayor said.

“Oh, so do I. So do I. In that we are certainly alike.” Something to think about: Graham Greene, the narrator, commented: it’s odd how sharing a sense of doubt can bring men together perhaps even more than sharing a faith. The believer will fight another believer over a shade of difference: the doubter fights only with himself.” They embrace their doubts, and their doubts cause them to re-imagine their beliefs. Graham Greene added: As I see it, doubt shows a person wrestling God. What could be more important than that?

Announcements for this Week:

1. Melaka and Johor have moved into NRP PHASE 4 and PHASE 3 respectively. There are guidelines for full capacity. Be cautious. Be prepared. Be understanding and be pastoral to the unvaccinated. There is no need for more division and judgements. Just count your blessings and try to be a blessing to one another.

2. The first phase of the Synod Process has taken off at MJD level. The survey questions are to help us sense what the Spirit is saying to the Churches through the participation of the People of God. All are invited to share — church goers and non- churchgoers, the loud and the voiceless, the familiar and the forgotten; those at the centre and those at the peripheries.

3. On Oct 23, 47 members of the Kursus Evangelisasi Peribadi (KEP) 2020-2021 batch will be commissioned to serve their parishes and ministries.

4. Mission Sunday 2021 falls on Oct 24, with the theme We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard.

5. All Souls’ Day Masses will be celebrated in the parishes. Only the blessings of cemeteries will take place outdoors. The programme will be out soon.

6. The parish of St Theresa Masai will be selling candles, incense and refreshment on Oct 30, 31 and Nov 2 to raise funds for their new church building.

This week’s Question and Query
People say that there is a culture of despair. Is it true?

The CULTURE OF DESPAIR, is where the strong are against the weak. These are the signs: Dignity means being in control: seeing vulnerability and weakness as liabilities.

Suffering and death are meaningless: suffering robs me of pleasure and autonomy.

I only matter if I’m productive: measuring myself by what I can do, produce and achieve.

But there is a CULTURE OF HOPE, where the strong help to carry the weak. The signs of this culture of hope:

Dignity is not control. Love is the most important thing in life, that I am made in the image and likeness of God.

Suffering and death have meaning. It can be a powerful encounter with God Himself, one which brings me closer to others, and allows me to be a grace for the world.

I am a GIFT not a burden. Humans are never to be used to achieve an end. We are His delight and are loved by Him. When we are weak, He is with us.

Thank you for reading. Only a human person marvels, ponders, creates and adores. Only a human person can look upon the beauty of creation and worship God for what He has made. Let us continue building His Kingdom together.

Bishop Bernard Paul
October 22, 2021

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