Understanding the meaning of God’s call to vocation

May 13, 2016

TAWAU: Vocation Sunday fell on April 17. The Holy Trinity Church Tawau, with the cooperation of Seminarians, Dafrinn Diwol and Raymond Lee, and assisted by the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception made early preparations for the celebration.

A short video presentation entitled, What is the Call and Living in the Seminary at St Peter’s College Kuching was shown by Dafrinn Diwal during the English and Bahasa Malaysia Masses. Raymond Lee played the same video during the Chinese Mass.

This short seminar was held on April 17. Around 70 participants, including parents and youth attended. One of the objectives of the seminar was to expose the participants to the possibility of vocations and to encourage the youth to have a better understanding of what it means if they hear the call.

The programme began with an opening prayer by Seminarian Dafrinn Diwol and was then followed by an ‘action song’ conducted by the Parish Youth Ministry. Dafrinn Diwol began his talk by explaining the meaning of being ‘called.’ It does not necessarily mean that a person being called becomes a priest or a religious, it is about life, in general. This was followed by a video on what life is like in the seminary at St Peter’s College.

The second session, also conducted by Dafrinn, was on Pope Francis’ message on the 53rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations, to reflect upon the apostolic community, and to give thanks for each person’s vocation journey. This was followed by a sharing session with Msgr Nicholas Ong, who was very pleased by the attendance and encouraged the youth not to be afraid to heed God’s call. He also called on parents to pray and to encourage their children to reflect if they feel that they have been called.

The third session, conducted by Sr Liza Anggie fsic, was on the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Congregation, followed by a video presentation about living as sisters in FSIC.

In her sharing, Sr Liza Anggie emphasized on the strength gained in living a life of prayer, as a religious, and in communal living. By living in a Christ-centred community, one receives strength in faith. “A Christian cannot live alone; we must live in a Christ-centred community and share as a community,” she added.

Sr Liza Augustine fsic in her sharing said, “Living as a religious is very encouraging. Even though there are many challenges, encouragement and love overcomes everything. Being a religious for the past 17 years, I have never had any regrets and I am thankful to God because my life is filled with love from the sisters and the community who have always supported and encouraged us.”

Many other activities were also held. There were exhibitions, talks, video presentations and sharings. The programme ended with a closing prayer by Seminarian Raymond Lee. -- By Sr Liza Augustine fsic dan Sem Dafrinn Diwol