Eight hundred years ago, in 1205, Francis of Assisi received the call from the Lord to “Rebuild the Church”. Francis responded to this call throughout his life. He began by rebuilding physical churches – San Damiano, Portiuncula (St Mary of the Angels), and San Pietro della Spina.
As Francis rebuilt these churches, he rebuilt his life. From the desire to seek worldly glory, he slowly transformed his life until all he desired was to seek God and God alone.
Francis’ love for the Gospel grew over the years after his conversion. The selfish love that he had for himself was transformed into self-denial and love of God. This transformation might not have come about if he had not gone through defeat, imprisonment, rejection, doubt, sickness, and other suffering. It was through the experience of God’s mercy that he moved towards the freedom to be who he was meant to be as a human. The mercy of God set him free, free to love God, to love himself, and to love others. The mercy of God allowed him to see goodness in everyone and everything. We are God’s creation, and thus, it is only right that we love and care for everyone and everything God created.
Towards the end of his life, Francis understood that the call to rebuild the church was to rebuild the inner life of the Church, to journey towards full conformity with Christ himself.
Eight hundred years later, the Franciscan Friars continue Francis’ work of rebuilding in their mission and evangelisation. Following the Gospel faithfully remains at the heart of our mission and evangelisation, and the Franciscan Friars have identified specific areas of pastoral care – education, parishes, sanctuaries, and ecumenical and interreligious dialogue – for renewed attention globally this decade.
In response, the Custody’s Office of Mission and Evangelisation embarked on the journey of renewal in 2023 with formation sessions in the parishes cared for by the Franciscan Friars in Singapore and Malaysia, and through the formation of aspirants to the Order in the two countries.
The focus of these formation sessions was to introduce the life and mission of St Francis and what this means in the context of our time.
Our world is very different from what it was during Francis’ time, but some issues remain and new ones have arisen through our own actions. Francis served lepers, and we have another kind of leprosy today. Francis dealt with different classes within society, and class and discrimination remain very real issues in society today. Today, we talk too about mental health issues: the causes, the prevalence and how these can be addressed. We are concerned now about issues that have arisen from the prevalence and widespread use of social media. We need to recognise our context today, and find new ways to renew and rebuild the way we live our faith as well as the way we share the Good News.
Pope Francis has invited us, as a Church, to renew ourselves. In Evangelii Gaudium (EG), he wrote: “Small yet strong in the love of God, like Saint Francis of Assisi, all of us, as Christians, are called to watch over and protect the fragile world in which we live, and all its peoples. (EG 216)
The Holy Father expanded on his vision in the encyclical letter Laudato Si (On Care for Our Common Home) in 2015. Care for the environment is urgent, and what we do is a reflection of our moral and spiritual responsibility as stewards and carers of God’s creation.
In 2019, Pope Francis signed a document on Human Fraternity (For World Peace and Living Together) with Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb, and in 2020, the pope published another encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship) in which he states how urgent and important it is for us to watch over and protect human fraternity. The pope calls the world to live in solidarity and social love. He calls for everyone to have a change of heart.
Learning from St Francis’ experience, we invited the ministry leaders in the formation sessions within the parishes to reflect on two questions: (1) How can the people of God experience mercy today? (2) What kind of renewal and rebuilding is needed in each individual and as a community of believers?
In 2024, the Custody’s Office of Mission and Evangelisation will hold more formation sessions in order to reach out to more audiences in Singapore and Malaysia. We want to share the common vision, and foster deeper understanding of the need for renewal in the way we care for and serve one another, within the Church and beyond. With God’s blessing, this work will help Franciscan parishes to renew and rebuild.
Autonomy? Many have asked me what is different now that the Custody of St Anthony Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei is no longer under the Province of the Holy Spirit in Australia.
Honestly, nothing much has changed as the Australian Province gave us a high level of independence and self-management. The main difference is that now the Custos makes the final decision about legal and finance matters, and safeguarding issues, approvals for Professions and Ordinations, and more. Taking on this responsibility has been a journey of deep learning and serious discernment for me, both purifying and illuminating at the same time!
The new year ushers a new beginning for many, and for us friars, one of these is that we have a brother, Friar Nelson Evarinus, beginning the new year as a deacon. Diakonia means service and it is a beautiful time of exploring the grace of service at the table of the word, the table of the eucharist and the table of the poor.
Nelson’s attachment in Penang will enable him to deepen his self-knowledge and accompaniment of God’s people with the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Programme. He will be guided and supervised in his accompaniment of the people he meets in the hospital and in the parish of the Risen Christ which is under our care.
Speaking of formation, I am happy to report that an Asian Franciscan Formators Training Course is slated to begin in mid-2024. This course is designed to train those who will be forming young men and women in the Franciscan Religious Life in Asia. The idea was mooted at the Asian Franciscan Provincials Meeting in May last year, and I found myself raising my hand to volunteer to develop this course. I had no programme in mind, no professors, no students, no money, no venue, but I raised my hand in faith, trusting that the Lord would provide, as he always has.
In May, our Custody will host the Franciscan Lay Brothers’ Gathering for the South Asia, Australia and Oceania Conference (SAAOC) in Singapore. Lay brothers are friars who feel called to profess their lives into the Franciscan brotherhood, and do not feel called to be ordained as priests. Many exercise their ministries and craft in fields such as spiritual direction and retreat giving, arts and culture, teaching and forming lives and young religious. Many of our formators in the Custody are lay brothers. This gathering is meant to strengthen their identity as lay brothers and to envision the future ahead in the life and mission of lay brothers in this part of the world.
We often enter into the new year with excitement at the possibilities and yes, with a touch of uncertainty too, but we know we navigate the waters of our adventure together with you, and with God! Thank you dear friends and benefactors for your constant support and prayers!
The Custody of St Anthony Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei is blessed to have a good number of young brothers in various stages of formation in 2024.
Two candidates – Jonathan Ng from Singapore and Maximillian Alexson from Kuching, Sarawak – joined the postulancy programme on 14 January this year. Postulancy is the initial stage of the formation journey in the long process of discernment to religious life. (Click here for photos of the event)
Brother Jorgerson Japar, who is from Sarawak, has completed his novitiate. He made his First Profession of Simple Vows on 6 January at St Anthony Friary, and begins his first year in philosophy at St Francis Xavier Major Seminary. (Click here for photos of the event)
Brother Julian Chua has completed his philosophy studies, and will begin his Franciscan year soon. The Franciscan year is when friars in formation are sent to a Franciscan entity beyond their Custody to experience community and mission work in a different culture and environment. Brother Julian will go to the Pakistan Province for his Franciscan year.
Having completed his Franciscan year in Indonesia last year, Brother Marvin Voo returns to the formation house at Greccio Friary in Singapore to continue his formation and studies.
Finally, Brother Nelson Evarinus has completed his priestly formation studies, and was ordained as a deacon on 14 January 2024 at St Ann’s Church, Kuching, Sarawak. He has been assigned to the Church of the Risen Christ, Penang for his diaconate ministry. Whilst in Penang, he will also do a course on Clinical Pastoral Experience at Mount Miriam Hospital. (Click here for photos of the event)
For the Franciscan friar, formation begins the moment God calls, and continues through the various stages of formation that deepen the call to community life, to ministry, and finally to embracing the evangelical vows for life. We thank God for these brothers in formation, for their openness to the Holy Spirit, who is the ultimate formator, guiding them in the footsteps of St Francis, to be at service to Christ and his Church. Please join us in praying that they may continue to grow in their love and commitment as friars minor.
The path to the diaconate has been a transformative journey marked by self-discovery, spiritual growth and commitment to the teachings of Christ. As I prepared for my diaconate ordination on 14 January 2024 at St Ann’s Church, Kuching, Sarawak, the verses from Matthew 23:11-12 were a guiding light. “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humble, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
This is the essence of what it means to be a deacon – to be a servant, to embrace humility, and to find greatness in selfless acts of love and compassion.
I reflected on these words with a deep sense of gratitude and responsibility. They are a call to emulate the humility of Christ who washed the feet of his disciples, exemplifying the essence of servant leadership. They are a reminder that humility is not a virtue reserved for the cloistered halls of a monastery, but an indispensable quality for anyone aspiring to follow Christ’s teachings. The measure of greatness lies not in the accolades we receive but in the lives we touch and the burdens we help carry.
Following my ordination, I will be posted to the Church of the Risen Christ in Penang for six months. This opportunity to serve in a different community is a chance to embody the teachings of Matthew 23:11- 12 in a practical way by walking alongside the people of Penang, sharing in their joys and sorrows, and offering the comforting presence of a servant-leader.
While in Penang, I will also be taking Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) studies, which will help to refine my pastoral skills, deepen my understanding of human suffering, and enhance my ability to offer compassionate care to those in need.
The journey ahead in Penang promises to be a time of profound learning and growth. May the footsteps of this humble servant leave an indelible mark on the hearts of those I am called to serve, as I strive to show Christ’s love in every act of kindness and compassion.
On the day of our Custody’s autonomy, 25 April 2023, OFM Minister General Friar Massimo Fusarelli presented me with a relic of Blessed Gabriele Allegra, who was named as the copatron of our Custody, together with St Anthony of Padua. It was such a precious gift. This Blessed stepped on our humble shores and actually lived intermittently at St Anthony Friary from 1960 to 1963.
The Franciscan Friars in Singapore owe our existence to him as it was he who saw that Singapore was the ideal location for a sociological centre to offer the Church’s Social Teaching as an alternative to the Communist ideas then gaining popularity in the Far East.
His biblical spirituality is well-known, having established the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (Franciscan Biblical Centre). Bl Allegra responded “yes” to God’s personal call to him to translate the bible into the Chinese language, despite not knowing Chinese and not being a specialist in Sacred Scripture. He set his heart and mind completely on God’s work, and he was known to have said that “the most enviable fate for a Franciscan who does not obtain the grace of martyrdom is to die while he is working!”
Bl Allegra was also respected in theological circles. He participated in international theological congresses, and championed the Franciscan vision of Christology and Mariology, after the likes of other Franciscan theologians such as St Bonaventure, Bl John Duns Scotus and St Bernardine of Siena. Bl Allegra paid special attention to the subject of the Primacy of Christ and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to whom he had a special devotion.
Less known is his love of the poor and the attention he paid to them. Whilst living in Hong Kong, he often visited the leper colony in Macau during Easter and Christmas, deliberately choosing to celebrate these special days with lepers. His deep love for the Franciscan Order is evident in his desire to renew the Order especially after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) when the Church herself was being renewed. He connected this renewal with his theological insights about Christ (Christology) and about Mary (Mariology). This is the genius of this man: knowing how to use his intellect and making real his insights into practical liveable values.
On his feast day, 26 January, especially, we remember this wonderful holy man and friar. There is so much more to learn about him, and so much we can learn from his radical following of Christ in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi.
