Thy will be done Malaysian Catholic Campus Students’ Day 3

Jun 28, 2019

KOTA KINABALU, Sabah: The Third Malaysian Catholic Campus Students’ Day (MCCSD-3) was held in Kota Kinabalu June 3-8. About 350 campus students and 24 clergy from the nine Arch/dioceses of Malaysia participated in this event themed Thy will Be Done (Luke 1:38).

Upon registration, the campus students were welcomed by 91 foster families.

The following day, Archbishop John Wong celebrated the welcoming Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. The Mass began with a banner parade by the nine Arch/ dioceses.

The programme continued with the welcoming night with the theme Let us bring JOY.

There were dances, sing-alongs, video sharings and also traditional dance to add to the joy of the night. There were two workshops the next day. The first Mind: Your Business, touched on depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and relationships with family.

The next workshop was about Understanding Our Neighbour with the aim of deepening the faith among Catholic students. After the workshop, all the participants were asked to write in their journals their reflections on the two workshops.

On the fourth day, all the participants were divided into their mission groups based on their mission work. There were 15 allocated mission locations namely;

a. Zone Sacred Heart Cathedral, Kota Kinabalu: BeFrienders, Green Borneo Nursery, Care Haven Likas, Hope Village and Kg Sinulihan

b. Zone St Paul Dontozidon: Kayu Madang, Kg Gentisan Karambunai, Stairway to Hope, Youth-Prep Centre and Pacos Trust.

c. Zone St Aloysius Limbanak: Holy Family Residence, Ara Dinawan Research Education & Conservation Centre (ADRECC), Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Rumah Bakti Harapan and Babagon Dam.

The night after the mission, all participants were asked to reflect on their personal experiences of God’s presence during their mission work and to share this in their groups.

On June 7, the programme continued with a dialogue on faith, discernment and vocation. The speakers were Archbishop Simon Poh, Sr Shanti FDCC, Dominic Lim (Family Life), Christina David (Family Life) and Walton Wider (Single Aduts). This dialogue session inspired and helped the students to know more about vocation to the religious life, married life and single life.

It was a great opportunity for the students to have a counselling and sharing session with the “caregiver” namely Sister, Counsellor and a few youth ministers.

Confession and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was led by Bishop Cornelius Piong.

The final night was Thematic Night with the theme My Soul Glorifies the Lord. There were performances from the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, Diocese of Penang, Diocese of Malacca Johore and Diocese of Sibu.

The sending-off Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Poh at St Michael’s Church, Penampang. In his homily, Archbishop Poh used the words of Pope Francis at WYD 2019: “You are the NOW of God. You are the present; even now, you are helping to enrich it.” (Christus Vivit No. 64). — MCCSD-3 team & kchadyouth 

Sharings from the participants in the next week.