Special Ministry: The Joy of Serving God

In his first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis offers his vision of our Universal Church with a call to action.

Feb 27, 2015

By Joshua Sam Yangus
In his first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis offers his vision of our Universal Church with a call to action. At the heart of his 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 in his Church.

Based on this, 23 members of the Special Ministry of Stella Maris Church, Tanjung Aru, gathered for a retreat with the theme, The Joy of Serving God at Pace Bene Retreat Centre, Purak, Papar, February 6 – 7. The Special Ministry is in charge of the choirs and liturgies for weddings and funeral Masses at the Stella Maris Parish.

Fr Jeffri Gumu of Sacred Heart Cathedral, Kota Kinabalu was the retreat master.

The main objectives of this retreat were:

• To understand the roles and spirituality in this ministry
• To show what our duties as catholics are
• To share and give in love

The retreat began with Mass. Fr Jeffri, said that we are called to love one another regardless of status and background and must always welcome strangers in our communities. We are not only called to be angels to others, we are also called to holiness by being modern day saints and to serve one another in Christ. Fr Jeffri also pointed out that there are a lot of temptations and challenges in serving the Church. “There are many forms of distractions to stop us from serving, such as gossiping, jealousy and envy. Without humility, it is impossible to serve in this ministry.” He ended his homily by reminding us that this retreat is a means for us to reflect on our journey in this ministry and to encounter christ.

The first session was the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The members of the ministry must exemplify Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. Jesus tells us in John 10:11: I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know my father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. “There is no meaning in serving in the ministry, if we do not know who we actually serve. It can be ourselves, people or God Almighty who drives us to serve in this ministry,” he said. He continued further by explaining the foundation of understanding the Lordship of Jesus Christ as follows: (1) the price that Jesus paid — He bought us with His precious blood by dying on the cross, thus He has become the Lord of our lives. (2) Jesus humbled Himself to die on the cross and this was an obedience unto death, and lastly (3) Jesus demands loyalty, He said in very strong language: ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple’ (Luke 14:26-27). “That means we cannot love our loved ones more than we love God!” Fr Jeffri emphasized.

The second session was about Self-Discovery and our Roles in One Body of Christ (Church). “All of us have our own mission in this world. this is why God created us. We are united into one spiritual body called the Church,” Fr Jeffri said. Christ is the Head of the Body (Church) and all of us, the believers, are His body. Each of us plays certain and specific role in the Church. As Catholics, our main mission is to evangelize to those who do not know Christ. There are two sources of evangelization. Firstly, we can evangelize only because God loves us (John 4:19) and secondly, it depends on whether we are able to accept the Gospel into our lives. Fr Jeffri ended his session with a reflection on the qualities of being disciples of Christ which are, to follow, listen and obey His words. The Church herself is a missionary disciple, which refers to all us.

Understanding the Liturgies of Wedding and Funeral Masses was the third session of the retreat. This understanding is important as the ministry is mainly involved in the Masses for these occasions. In this session, the liturgies and rites for both wedding and funeral Masses were explained.

The retreat ended with Mass. Through all the fellowship, conversations, sharing and prayers during the retreat, the members are now equipped to serve in the ministry. Indeed, the retreat had served its objectives as all of us are reminded that whoever wants to be first must be slave of all, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10: 44 - 45).

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