The Catholic Youth Games a resounding Success

Oct 01, 2015

By Percy D’Cruz
The three-day Catholic Youth Games organised by the youth group of the Gajah Berang parish St Theresa attracted 425 participants representing a dozen teams from the Melaka-Johore Diocese and was a resounding success in all respects. Furthermore, the games certainly subscribed to ideals and rationales incorporated in pre-games messages from the Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia, Archbishop Joseph Salvador Marino and Bishop Paul Tan.

With six sports, namely badminton, futsal, bowling, table tennis, basketball and athletics, Melaka’ s Chapel of Immaculate Conception, Pokok Mangga emerged as the overall champions with a haul of nine golds, eight silvers and seven bronze medals. Johor’s Mandarin-speaking group came in second with six gold, five silver, five bronze and Melaka’s St Mary’s Church of Ayer Salak in third place with three gold, seven silver and five bronze medals.

Participating teams included Melaka’s Sacred Heart Chapel of Bachang, Holy Rosary Chapel of Batu Berendam, Chapel of St Francis, Lorong Pandan, Immaculate Conception Chapel, Pokok Mangga, Catholic Fraternity Movement of St Theresa’s, St Francis Xavier Church, St Peter’s Church, St Mary’s, Ayer Salak and Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel in Krubong. The Johor teams in action were the English, Tamil and Bahasa- speaking group and the Mandarin-speaking group of joint parishes.

Themed Joining Hands With Others, the parish priest of St Theresa’s, Fr Peter Ng and his organising committee coordinator, Dominic Ng, agreed that the inaugural games which is expected to be an annual affair, certainly raked in a very encouraging number of youths from all over the southern diocese. Speaking various languages and participating in team as well as individual events, the sense of overall camaraderie, sporting spirit and gamesmanship were encouraging.

Another interesting aspect was the attendance of several priests and religious who lent all round support and cheers. They included Frs Peter Ng, Paul Wong, Anthony Heng, Patrick Tyoh, Deacons Adrian Matthews and Anthony Chua as well as Bro Joseph Lim. The religious who turned up included Srs Andrea Tan, Barnabas Sim, Theresa Yong, and Gorreti Heng.

In his message, Archbishop Marino noted that competitive sports is the basic formula for eventual success and victory in line with the theme Joining Hands With Others. He added, “Experience has shown that team competition fails when sides forgo unity and stop working together. The ‘joining of hands’ attains the common good of enjoying the sweetness of victory. This basic principle translates into all areas of life, society at large, places of work and communities of religion. Yes ‘joining hands’ is also a fundamental rule of life and faith.”

Bishop Paul quoted Ephesians (2:19-22) “So then, you are no strangers but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are built together spiritually into a dwelling place of God in the Holy Spirit.”

He added, “Through the competition between the teams from the various parishes and groups, the young Catholics are always taught the importance of working and playing together. It is the value of competition that pushes each one to do better.”