The Post Pandemic Man

The Catholic Men’s Group of the Malacca Johore Diocesan Commission for Family, Laity and Life, organised a webinar entitled ‘The Post Pandemic Man’. The presenter, Deacon Prof Dr Sherman Kuek, shares a summary of his talk presented on April 24, 2022.

Apr 29, 2022


The purpose of this talk is to share informally the impact that I experienced from the pandemic and how I responded to this impact. It is not meant to prescribe one particular way of response, since all our lives have their own particularities and we have to respond creatively, based on the uniqueness of our circumstances and respective roles.

Like everybody else, my first worry was financial in nature, since I have had no other source of income except from the apostolate activities that I have been running for the past years, the income from these activities have supported my family and my mission companions. I had to find creative ways to sustain myself, my family, and my mission community by looking for ways to tide over. One way was to explore platforms for online entrepreneurship by selling little things that could inspire people’s faith but which were cheap enough for people to buy.

The other way was to look for avenues to make short-term investments with average returns to provide sufficient cash flow. I was also concerned for the financial predicaments suffered by people around me. I tried to use as much of my financial resources as possible to help families that were suffering and to support the business endeavours of friends who were trying to survive. The lesson that I learned from this experience is that we cannot take God’s financial providence for granted. All that we have comes from God, and we have to be good stewards of His gifts and resources.

My next concern was how to sustain myself, my family, and my family spiritually, since we were in a major lockdown and there were no sacraments accessible. I did not want my family to be watching Masses celebrated online because I wanted to avoid a possible misperception that we were actually participating in Masses just because we were watching them in front of the television. But I made it a point to keep talking to my family, especially my young son, about God and about the Church. When there were opportunities and requests, I brought the Eucharist from the Church to people’s homes, prayed with them, gave them an opportunity to adore the Blessed Sacrament, and gave them communion.

I devoted many days to this work during the worst parts of the pandemic. I did this for my family as well. I also spent a lot of time reflecting and praying to discern what God was saying to us/me about the pandemic. The lesson I learnt from this is the importance of spiritual discernment in recognising God’s timing and guidance when responding to crises.

The other worry was about my role as a deacon as well as a teacher of the faith. Being very much in touch with the people, I was concerned when many of them expressed how they were missing the Eucharist. I discussed it with the parish priest and received his blessing to bring the Eucharist from door to door. Standing outside the gates of people’s homes (sometimes in the hot sun, and sometimes in the rain), people would adore the Blessed Sacrament as I held the monstrance up before them. I would usually end with the Benediction and gave them Communion if they asked for it. The other aspect that many people were missing was the breaking of the Word. In immediate response to this need, I wrote a few booklets of about 5,000 words each and started disseminating them in soft copy, so that people could read them and be uplifted. These booklets were meant to guide them on how to keep themselves spiritually alive through the pandemic. I also began several series of faith formations using online platforms, beginning with YouTube. I started teaching the Catholic faith systematically by producing an ongoing series of monthly videos uploaded onto an e-learning interface. I also started conducting monthly reflections on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary using Zoom.

For the parish, I organised RCIA lessons and also monthly faith formation for BEC coordinators, through Zoom. In addition to that, I spent an intensive two months writing an entire catechetical book for parents at home, so that they could study it and teach the faith to their children. The book is an expansion of the Malaysian Catechetical Series and covers topics in greater detail. This book is now a standard text for our catechism ministry and is also used for the RCIA. In addition to that, I spent several hours every week meeting people online to listen to their problems and gave counsel to the best of my ability.

As a deacon and a brother in the faith to people in our Catholic community, another lesson I learned from this pandemic was that it is important to look outside ourselves and to be available to love and reach people, even during troubled times. We need to find practical ways to do something using the talents and resources that God has given us.

Another aspect which I think was a challenge for many during the pandemic was the relationships in our families. Being in lockdown meant that we had to share confined spaces with one another, and bear with one another’s habits. This unprecedented proximity meant that we got agitated more easily, and because of the stress of change and adjustment, family members were more sensitive and edgy.

On top of that, I realised that my elevenyear- old son was watching me around the clock because there was nowhere else for me or him to go! He was scrutinising how I was responding to the pandemic and whether I was living a good and responsible life. This challenged me to constantly examine the example that I was to my son. Our time together also meant that we had ample opportunity for fruitful conversations about his life, his development, his faith, and about the world and life in general. I am certain that he appreciated our time together over the two years.

The critical lesson I have learned from this aspect of the pandemic was that as a husband and a father, as well as a son and a brother, I must intentionally and consciously be the leader of my household, and that this obligation is especially important during critical times in the life of my family.

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