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Pope prays for peace on New Year Day
I was a stranger and you welcomed me
“You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” Lk 3:22
今日教友
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第十六至二十二页
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CATHOLIC today’s
A monthly publication of the Archdiocese of Kuching, Sarawak
Permit No PPK 148/01/2013(031378)
Vol 24 No 10 January 2013 RM1.50
Sr Flora Tingang, SSFS elected Superior General KUCHING — The 11th General Chapter of the SSFS themed “Put out into the deep” (Lk 5:4) was successfully held at Convent of Mary Immaculate Hall, Padungan from 1-8 December. Also present at the Chapter was Archbishop John Ha. Being the Competent Ecclesiastical Authority, he was at the opening of the Chapter, throughout the election process on the Election Day and the closing. Prior to the General Chapter, a four day special retreat was conducted by Sr Inigo Joachim, SSA, from India on 26-29 November to discern God’s plan for the SSFS in the mission and prepare them for the Chapter. In his opening address at the General Chapter, Archbishop John Ha stressed
PLEDGING OBEDIENCE ... Newly elected Superior General, Sr Flora Tingang (right) and her General Councillors pledging obedience to Archbishop John Ha that as Consecrated Religious, Gospel by their lives as St they were set apart from the Francis said, “Preach the Gospel others, chosen by God and at all times, when necessary use commissioned to preach the words”.
The Chapter highlighted the priorities of the SSFS for the next six years: commitment to personal spiritual formation; cultivation of a greater sense of mission; attending to various needs in today’s society, in particular the migrants; and commitment to conservation of the nature. The newly elected Superior General and her General Councillors for 2013-2018 were installed during 8 December Sunset Mass celebrated by Archbishop John Ha. They are as follows: Superior General (SG): Sr Flora Tingang Assistant SG: Sr Agatha Ling 1st Councillor: Sr Marie Celine 2nd Councillor: Sr Irmina Peter
3rd Councillor: Sr Regina Lachau The Chapter would like to place on record the service rendered by Sr Adriana Tiong, the outgoing Superior General, in the past six years. In line with the command of the Lord to St Francis, “Go, repair my church”, many nurseries and kindergartens have been upgraded and the migrant ministry has been set up. The SSFS thanked Sr Inigo Joachim who guided them in the Delegates’ Retreat as well as during the Chapter, and Archbishop John Ha for his continual support for and journey with them in their ongoing mission. Sisters of St Francis of Sarawak
The 40th Priestly Anniversary of Archbishop John Ha KUCHING — A thanksgiving Mass was held at St Joseph’s Cathedral on 28 December to mark the 40th year of Priestly Ordination of Archbishop John Ha. The Mass was well attended by 3 bishops, 31 priests, family members of Archbishop John Ha and the faithful. What could be more inspiring and timely when His Grace first and foremost prayed to the Lord for more vocations and asked the congregation to join him in thanking the Lord for the gift of priesthood. Being the Feast of the Holy Innocents, Archbishop John Ha emphasised on the massacre of boys below two years of age by Herod as “senseless”. The demoralising scandals arising from priests abusing the innocent young are just as
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! ... Archbishop John Ha (centre) cutting the anniversary cake with his brother (right) and Archbishop Emeritus Peter Chung (left) senseless, he said. However, he the form of a very strong wake believed God’s light will shine up call to us priests and religious and bring salvation through to be true to our vocation,” said them. the Archbishop. “God’s light also comes in “We must not be like
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Herod, camouflaging all our own personal agenda with holy theological reasons,” but instead “be like the wise men seeking ways to respond to his call” and offer true worship to God, he said. Archbishop John Ha thanked everyone who has contributed in one way or another to making the celebration a success. He especially thanked Bishop Emeritus Dominic Su and Bishop Joseph Hii from the Diocese of Sibu, Fr Sonkiat from Thailand and his extended family from Singapore for their presence and support. Then, Fr Simon Poh thanked the family members of Archbishop John Ha for generously giving him to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Kuching. In conjunction with the Ruby Jubilee, a souvenir booklet
recording the vocation story of the Archbishop was made available to all. Entitled “Bodoh-bodoh saya masuk” is aptly put to mean that he entered the priesthood blindly. His ‘bodoh-bodoh’ attitude was instrumental in paving his path towards the priesthood. “While many chose to leave the seminary at one point or another, I moved on from day to day, enjoying life in the seminary: from philosophy and theology to bimonthly cycling round Penang Island, from spiritual exercises to participating in Penang Island softball league, from manual labour to community recreation. Everything, though generally a routine, was exciting; a lot of it was refreshing and enriching,” he wrote. Continued on p4
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