We began the month of February 2022 with Mass for three important festivities – the Chinese Lunar New Year, celebrating the Year of Tiger on 1 February, as well as the Feast of
the Presentation of the Lord which also marks the World Day of Consecrated Life (WDCL) on 2 February.
With strict SOPs in place to combat the risk of Covid19, the Chinese New Year Thanksgiving Mass was celebrated at 8:30am with approximately 250 parishioners present. We had a wonderful celebration, which brought Parishioners together in unity and prayer. After Mass, we gave out red angpow packets and oranges to everyone before gathering at St Thomas Square (car park area) to watch a lion dance and light some firecrackers.
Days before the Thanksgiving Mass, the Parish youth started their preparation by decorating the Church and the premises with red cloth, lanterns, banners, red angpau packets and flowers as a sign of longevity, honour, wealth, luck and prosperity. The youth choir also rehearsed for a few hours and the lectors and commentators practised for the Mass. In the last two days before Chinese New Year, everyone was working around the clock to make sure everything went well on the day of celebration. Congratulations and thank you to everyone for the collaboration, dedication and hard work in making our celebration
meaningful and enjoyable.
On the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we celebrated the WDCL during morning Mass. Six Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM) Sisters and two Franciscan Sisters of Immaculate Conception (FSIC) came forward after the homily to renew their vows of evangelical counsel – poverty, obedience and chastity. They renewed their evangelical counsels while holding lit candles and after that, the candles were placed at the grotto.
The vows they make are so important in order to stay committed and to live the charism of the particular order, society or congregation. These Sisters have been doing amazing ministerial work in the East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia with the underprivileged, migrants and indigenous communities as well as parishioners. We have extended the celebration of WDCL to Friday, 4 February with Holy Hour and adoration, especially for all young people and single adults to discern God’s will and respond to His call.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis’ intention for the month of February 2022 focuses on Religious Sisters and Consecrated Women. He invites us to pray for all religious sisters and consecrated women - thanking them for their mission and their courage, and praying that they find new responses to the challenges and crises of our times. The Pope encourages them “to show the beauty of God’s love and compassion” to the poor, with the marginalised, with all those who are enslaves by traffickers” and also “to continue in their vocation of service to the Church.”
During this month of February, let us pray especially for the young people in our community to discern God’s call, respond to the challenges of our times and continuously contribute to the mission of the Church.
