It is not surprising to see friars singing and dancing. You may have seen performances in various Franciscan Jam productions and in the Jerusalema Dance video. Truly, what sets a Franciscan friar apart is his sense of creativity and openness to bringing alive the word of God and the spirit of Francis in timeless ways. Magic fills the air when brothers pool their gifts and charisms together on stage. The recent Mother’s Day concert also paid tribute to the manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit among the people. It was a splendid evening of Franciscan joy.
One thing Franciscan formation seeks to do is develop a friar’s innate talents especially those of artistic expression. The Friars in Formation (FIF) are given opportunities to try different art forms and allow these experiences to shape their sense of Franciscan spirit. This aspect of formation enables them to explore their individual creative and affective capacity. It also helps them learn to blend and support each other in a fraternal environment. Hence, besides studying in the seminary and ministerial work, the FIF also put on concerts and other performances.
In early August, the FIF will present a soul-provoking theatre production to celebrate the gift of life and vocation. This original play is co-written and produced by the FIF. As part of their formation programme, the FIF took a speech and drama programme with the University of West London. Producing this play enables them to put into practice what they learnt, and it takes them out of their comfort zone. Our hope is that this experience will help form them to share the creative and joyful spirit of Francis with everyone they meet.
My heart is full as I look back on the first half of the year. I feel like I have been running non-stop especially from April onwards with the Spirituality Conference by Friar Wayne Hellmann, followed almost immediately by the declaration of our Custody as autonomous on 25 April, and the quick trip Friar John Wong and I made to Kota Kinabalu to show our Minister General Friar Massimo Fusarelli our latest mission. Then, with only a few days to catch my breath, I found myself in the thick of the Franciscan Conference of Asia-Oceania meeting in Bali, which you can read about in the News section.
In most of these trips, there was prior discernment and preparation to be done, work work work during, and follow-up action and more discernment after. But what anchored all this labouring was fraternal dialogue and intentional relating.
With Friar Wayne Hellmann for example, well, he and I have been in contact since he conducted a retreat for us in 2015. When I was in Rome for studies, Wayne made it a point to have a meal with me whenever he was there to find out how I was doing. This relationship and trust made planning the Spirituality Conference together so much easier. Accompanying him to each location was a joy. I felt I had a spiritual father and brother guiding and teaching me as we shared deeply about our prayer life and all things Franciscan.
I also found connecting with Friar Massimo very refreshing. It has never been clear to me how to relate to people in top positions, but Massimo was very brotherly and genuinely concerned about how I was doing and how the Custody was doing. There were several light[1]hearted moments in Kota Kinabalu where I saw a very human side of the man in charge of the entire Franciscan Order. He is my brother in Christ and in Francis, and I related to him from the authentic core of who I am, as Derrick. This is part of a deepening of my discovery of who I am and how I am to relate to those around me, simply as a brother, like Francis did.
Now that our Custody is autonomous, I am fully aware of the greater responsibility I have. The buck now stops at me, so to speak; no longer can I refer to the Australia Provincial for decisions and approvals. Fortunately I have a team of Councillors and office bearers who also desire a more authentic expression of Franciscan living.
I pray that this Franciscan spirit of fraternal dialogue and intentional relating can be experienced by everyone, especially those we friars encounter. We all journey together with St Francis who knew that these earthly fraternal encounters spark a deathless hope in our hearts.
So with these graced encounters in the past months, how can my heart not be full?
Have you wondered why St Anthony is associated with bread? It is the power of his intercession. One legend is that when a boy drowned near the Basilica of St Anthony in Padua, his mother in her desperation called out to her beloved saint to restore her son’s life, promising a gift of grain to the poor equal to her son’s weight. We know how this story ends: restoration of life and the beginning of a beautiful tradition of giving to the poor because of graces received.
Blessings of God are everywhere if the eyes of our heart are open to them. We do not need dramatic stories to remind us that God is looking out for us and for those who are suffering and need a helping hand.
After the example of our father Francis, Franciscan Friars look out for those in the peripheries, and those who fall through the cracks. We have friars on the ground working with the people, knowing their pain and their desire for a better life.
When our Custody become autonomous on 25 April 2023, we wanted to underscore our commitment towards living out our mission and evangelisation, while promoting justice and peace among all.
So, we revived our Poor and Mission Fund which, remembering the origin story of St Anthony’s bread, we call “St Anthony’s Touch”. There is a new tick box in the tear-out slip that comes with this newsletter, and we hope you, our friends, donors and benefactors, will partner with us in reaching out to those in need and in bringing them the Gospel of love and hope. In addition to touching the lives of those in need within the Custody boundaries of Malaysia and Singapore, we hope to use this fund to respond directly to crisis needs on the ground via the Franciscan network.
We announced our first St Anthony’s Touch commitment during the Thanksgiving Mass for our new autonomous status. The Custody has pledged a sum of RM50,000 (SGD14,500) in support of Projek Sentuhan Murni, a project of our Franciscan parish of St Ann’s in Kuching to provide decent housing for the poor and marginalised in the kampungs in which we serve.
St Ann’s parish launched Projek Sentuhan Murni (which translates loosely to “A Touch of Blessing”) in 2021 as a direct response to the hardships faced by the people during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the lockdown, the parish provided food aid to more than 70 families.
Following feedback from the community, the parish began looking for a more permanent way of assisting the poor and marginalised. After much prayer and discernment, it decided that the project’s primary focus would be the building and renovating of homes. The permanence of a home would allow for the continual witness of God’s care and providence not only to the direct beneficiaries, but also to the community at large. Building homes would also provide jobs as village carpenters and workmen would be employed for the work.
In May 2022, the parish embarked on a pilot project to build two houses. The first house was for a family of seven living in a cramped wooden house perched on a precarious ledge. The head of the household had suffered an accident which had left him unable to work. The second house was for a destitute young man living in squalor.
Work began in mid-June, and six weeks later, the two single-storey houses were completed at a cost of RM58,000 (SGD16,800). A house blessing and simple handover ceremony took place on 6 August.
In 2023, the parish has allocated a budget of RM120,000 (SGD34,800) for Projek Sentuhan Murni. The commitment from St Anthony’s Touch will go towards this. Already, five applications have been received and more are likely.
The friars in our other parishes and ministries know to alert us of any dire and pressing needs that we can help alleviate through St Anthony’s Touch. I am certain more opportunities will present themselves as we open our hearts to those in need and collectively discern the voice of the Lord.
Please join us in praying that through this humble effort, the Lord’s presence and care may become more incarnate in the lives of the poor.
The celebration of the Easter season is a time when we reflect on the mystery of Jesus’ supreme sacrifice. He gave his life to win us our salvation. The empty tomb fulfils his mission on earth. What joy we all experience in the knowledge that we have been saved and, as faithful disciples, will one day share in his resurrection!
The Easter season concludes on the feast of Pentecost, often referred to as the birthday of the church. From the Gospels we know that after a time of despair and fear, the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit of God, left the security of their hidden life to courageously proclaim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour and the teachings that he had shared with them.
They faced much opposition from the established religious leaders but, accepting their mission to preach Christ Crucified, they were not deterred.
Over countless generations, men and women have heard the message of Christ anew, and like the early disciples have been compelled to preach the Gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth.
The Holy Spirit has inspired many Franciscan Friars to go beyond the security of their homelands to live and preach the Gospel as instructed by our Holy Father St Francis.
The feast of Pentecost has special significance for my province as it is under the patronage of the Holy Spirit. Franciscan Friars from Ireland established a community in Sydney in 1879. Then in 1970, the Australian friars assumed responsibility for the mission in Singapore. As more young men joined, it was declared a dependant custody of the Province of the Holy Spirit. It was my privilege to serve as the first Custos.
On 25 April, we celebrated the establishment of the Custody of St Anthony as an autonomous entity in the Order of Friars Minor. It was a momentous moment in the life of the friars in Singapore and Malaysia and for the entire Order.
The friars at the Thanksgiving Mass in commemoration of the establishment of the Custody of St Anthony as an autonomous entity in the Order of Friars Minor.
We give thanks to God for the courage of our brothers from Singapore and Malaysia and pray that they will, by their faithful living of the Gospel life, inspire others to join in the mission of proclaiming the Gospel, just as the early Franciscans did, just as the first disciples did – free from all fear and despair, but full of trust and faith in the Paschal Mystery of Salvation.
May we always be inspired by Pentecost and marvel in the Spirit’s action in proclaiming the story of our Salvation. May we always be willing to accept our mission to proclaim the Risen Lord. May the Holy Spirit of God be alive and active in all we do.
