Golden jubilee celebration at SPH

This year, the feast of St Paul the Hermit was celebrated from Jan 9 to Jan 18, on a grand scale at the Church of St Paul the Hermit (SPH) as the parish turned 50.

Feb 06, 2015

By Bernard Anthony
This year, the feast of St Paul the Hermit was celebrated from Jan 9 to Jan 18, on a grand scale at the Church of St Paul the Hermit (SPH) as the parish turned 50.

On Jan 17, Bishop Emeritus Antony Selvanayagam was the presider. He preached on the sub-theme Incarnating God's Love. The prelate said that we are called to communicate God's love to others in a human way. We have received the Lord, been baptised and confirmed, so He is there for us. We need to give Him to others too.

Bishop Emeritus Selva said that people are searching for God, and to them, Jesus says, "Come and See." We, as baptised persons, need to give Jesus to others. If we truly love God and do His will, stay in touch with Him everyday, then we can love others without difficulty.


Bishop Selva asked these quesstions: "Do I allow God's word to penetrate into my heart, or do I only go to Him when I'm faced with problems? Am I in touch with my God everyday? Can I live without God?" He said that many are living worldly lives, but are dead to God.


Right after the Mass, an hour-long candlelight procession was held. The icon of St Paul the Hermit, mounted on a beautiful decorated carriage, led the way with banners of the various chapels under its jurisdiction.

At 9.45pm, the Golden Jubilee Spuvenier Magazine was launched by Bishop Emeritus Selva. It has information on the history and activities of SPH parish and the Holy Infant Jesus Chapel (which also celebrates its 50th anniversary). Limited copies were on sale at RM10/per copy.

On Sunday, Jan 18, the 9.OOam Multi-lingual feastday Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Julian Leow. Bishop Emeritus Selva and Fr Edwin were concelebrants. The subtheme was Sent Towards Transforming Humanitv. The main point of his homily was the need to have respect for each other to build a greater community.


The Ponggal celebration then took place right after Mass. Many stayed back to witness the `boiling of the ponggal'. Five big pots, representing the 5 Zones of the parish and 19 small pots representing the 19 BECs were used for the preparation of the ponggal. Archbishop Leow, Bishop Emeritus Selva and Fr Edwin were present.


SPH parish priest, Fr Edwin Paul said, "We celebrate our 50 years journey of being called to faith, chosen in love and sent in hope. We thank God for planting us here in this part of the world and making us into one community of faith as a parish. May St Paul the Hermit, our parish patron continue to pray for us."


Fr Edwin also thanked all those who had organized and participated in the year long Golden Jubilee programme and activities. He also welcomed all those, from far and near, who had come to the feast day celebrations.


The SPH parish was first established in 1965 at Jawa Selangor Estate, not far away from the present location. In 1988, it moved to its current location at the Fatima Centre till 2009. The new Church building was built and opened in 2010, and since then, has become a vibrant church for its parishioners

Total Comments:0

Name
Email
Comments