As we are in this New Year, I would like to wish you once again compliments of the season and Happy New Year. Our children are back to their respective schools and colleges. Most of us have started our daily routine after a long holiday season. At your work places, you may be updating one another on what has taken place during the holiday season. The life momentum has slowly picked up in our lives as we move forward with our daily routine.
The season of Christmas will come to an end on Monday, 8 January 2018 with the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Unlike in the past years, this Christmas season ends a week earlier, after which we will be entering into Ordinary Time for six weeks until we begin the season of Lenten which commences on Ash Wednesday, 14 February 2018.
Many countries began decorating for Christmas even before the month of November, and it is amazing to see these decorations all over the place. Every year, I admire how beautifully hotels, malls and sometimes even streets, are decorated. As for our parish, we have decorated our church compound and parish office quite well with Christmas lights, displayed nativity sets and Christmas trees. All these will be taken off early next week. In fact, many of the shopping malls have removed their decorations immediately after Christmas and they have slowly started to put up Chinese New Year decorations.
Last year our parish was so blessed and united, as we completed all our work and events successfully. This year we will be celebrating 110 years since the establishment of our Church. It is so exciting to see Jesus move in our parish. Ever since I came to St. Joseph’s Church, I have seen great spiritual growth in many of you. On my part, I too can proudly say that I have grown in maturity in my priesthood. All of us have in one way or another shown our spiritual progress. God has been very gracious to us all this while and we hope He will continue to empower us and guide us in our faith journey, so that we may remain faithful in His calling to be His disciples of hope.
For the next three years (2018-2020) our parish has set a vision to journey in faith towards New Evangelisation. It is in invitation to ALL parishioners to commit ourselves to share the Light of Christ and to build bridges with every member of other social strata. We will be shining the Light and building bridges in three main clusters, namely the Youth of our parish, Inter-Religious Dialogue with the Ecumenical Churches and Other Religions as well as in Outreach with the poor and marginalized (through PIHD). We shall put ourselves, our lives and the future of our parish to be transformed according to God’s will. As we engage with EVERYONE, in full commitment of love, we shall become stewards of patience, kindness and gentleness.
We shall continue to pray that God will guide in achieving our goals and that our parishioners will truly have the desire to grow in Christ Jesus. No matter the challenges that come along our way, we shall devote ourselves to be disciples of hope to Pray Together, to Celebrate Together, to Fellowship Together, to Serve Together and Stay Together as we bring our parish mission and vision into reality. As we move forward, may the Lord bless us with His presence.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others,” (Philippians 2:3-4).
Fr. George Packiasamy