(St Ann) Churchgoers join Chinese brethren for CNY mass
Source : New Sarawak Tribune
St Anthony’s Bread (Jan 2022)
Journeying Together Towards a New Way of Being Church
With the launch of the Synodal process from 2021 to 2023, Pope Francis is addressing the systemic issues affecting the global Catholic Church.
Vatican Council II presented a vision of Church for the new era of Church life leading into the new millennium. Essentially, it invited the Church to a new way of being (self-understanding) and acting.
Following Vatican II, Pope Paul VI instituted the Synod of Bishops as a permanent vehicle for the Pope and Bishops to lead the Church in a more collegial and collaborative way. It was to recover a new balance to the role of the Papacy vis-à-vis the bishops of the world.
The genius of Pope Francis is in initiating the Synodal process for the global Church where every diocese in the world would embark on this Synodal process leading up to the Synod of Bishops together with the lay faithful in 2023. This essentially brings the Synodal process from Pope-Bishop to Pope-Bishop- Diocese; from global to local. This means that every bishop in the world will have to understand his role in leading and empowering in this new way of Church that Vatican II put forward in 1965.
This Synodal process has to be seen together with the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, which takes its title from the address of St Francis to his brothers.
In an article in 2020, Gerard O’Connell quotes Anna Rowlands, professor of Catholic Social Thought, saying at the launch of Fratelli Tutti that Pope Francis offers “an extraordinary example of thought leadership” in this encyclical. She said that Pope Francis has offered the world, in the midst of the profoundly disorienting global situation marked by the pandemic, thought leadership on a global stage.
Principally, I think the process of the Synodal Church and the encyclical Fratelli Tutti invite us to a new level of dialogue among ourselves, among church hierarchy and laity. Vatican II offered a new paradigm of being and working, and now this process is inviting us to put this into practice, and actively engage one another with new eyes.
One of the challenges I foresee confronting dioceses is what I call the “choke points” to a smooth journey for the Church. As the Catholic Church’s hierarchy is built around a clerical structure of Bishops-Priests-Deacons, much of the Synodal journey will meet “choke points” at parish and diocesan offices. As it stands now, many programmes and projects that a parish or diocese undertakes depend very much on the powers that be; be it parish priest, priest directors, priest spiritual directors or bishops.
Much has been said in the past about “collaboration” in churches. Often what this means is “Father says this and we people carry out!” This new process of the Synodal Church calls for a change in mindset from “collaboration” as we have known and practised in the past to being “co-responsible”.
Laity, as Vatican Council II taught, is called to the apostolate, not by the largess of a priest or a bishop but by Jesus Christ himself, who at our baptism confers upon us the triple roles of Priest, Prophet and King; correlating to the roles of Sanctification, Teaching and Service.
A gift of St Francis to the Church is the sense of what it means to be in “fraternitas” (fraternity). This vision of fraternity invites us to see each other as more than roles and functions.
John Paul Tan, ofm
Every baptised person is called to the apostolate, each in his or her own way and capacity within the understanding of Church. The exercise of these three roles with renewed insight and empowerment will equip the Church to address pressing issues of humanity. We are called to be Church not only to worship in fitting liturgical settings and music, but also as Church to collectively read the signs of the times to discern what the Word is calling us to be and how we are to respond to the yearnings and cries of the men and women of our times, and yes, even to the cry of creation.
A gift of St Francis to the Church is the sense of what it means to be in “fraternitas” (fraternity). This vision of fraternity invites us to see each other as more than roles and functions. Fraternitas presupposes blood kinship from the Latin “fratres” meaning “brothers”. This relationship that is based on blood kinship links us more profoundly to one another than functional relationships in a commune (society or community).
Fratelli Tutti invites us to embark on a journey to dialogue and to see each other differently. Coupled with the Synodal process, can this be a new way of being Church?
For the new to emerge, the old ways of being and doing will have to give way, to be acknowledged and recognised as models that need to be reformed. The overly privileged place of the clerical class with the propensity for arbitrary decisions will need to be relooked in terms of service, empowerment of the laity, co-responsibility, transparency and accountability. In other words, a cultural overhaul is in order.
St Francis was a model of reform during his time. Pope Francis is proposing a radical reform of sorts, one that puts into practice what the fathers of Vatican Council II called for. My hope is that this Synodal way of being Church will not be a short- lived excitement for the Church but the beginning of a new way of being Church in the new millennium.
Friar John Paul Tan OFM
A New Way of Looking at the World
St Francis of Assisi is well known for his love of poverty, but he was not born into poverty. In fact, he was born into wealth and privilege, and dreamt of glory on the battlefield. He thought these would bring him happiness. It was not until he encountered the leper that he realised that true happiness is found in God alone.
This was the key event that led Francis to his conversion. “And the Lord himself led me among them (the lepers) and I showed mercy towards them. And withdrawing from them, that which once seemed bitter to me was changed into sweetness of soul and body,” said Francis.
Wanting to imitate Christ, he embraced radical poverty. For Francis, that meant not only renouncing material goods but also putting on the attitude of Christ. It meant striving to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect, serving with humility and charity, being poor among the poor.
As the lepers helped him to overcome his revulsion, he began to show compassion to all, treating everyone as if they were Christ himself. Francis and the early brothers devoted themselves to the care of lepers, who were rejected by society, and to bringing God’s love, peace, joy and hope to those were desolate.
The brothers began to look beyond themselves and began to seek to comfort those who were suffering physically and emotionally. The more Francis immersed himself in serving others, in putting his faith in action, the more he was drawn to empty himself, to going the extra mile for the sake of others. He found his ability to love magnified every day, and this led him to strive to perpetually seek God’s will in his life. Francis’ quest led him to the knowledge that our God is the “Most High Glorious God”, a God who is love, mercy and compassion.
“What was bitter was changed into sweetness” for him for he was able to discover the dignity and beauty of each person, rich or poor, healthy or sick, strong or weak, young or old.
In steadfastly following the will of God in his life, Francis began to experience life to the full. He felt a strong sense of God in his daily life, and the awareness of God’s presence within him gave him a new way of looking at the world. He began to see God’s presence in others. “What was bitter was changed into sweetness” for him for he was able to discover the dignity and beauty of each person, rich or poor, healthy or sick, strong or weak, young or old. They were all God’s beloved children. He found that all of creation manifested the beauty of God. It was God’s gift to him. As Francis put it, “the Lord himself led me among them”.
Francis knew that God’s gifts were to be shared with others. As he experienced life to the full, he wanted others to also have meaningful lives. For he knew that it is in mutual sharing, in washing each other’s feet that God’s reign is manifested among us.
Five New Franciscan Deacons
The Franciscan Friars had reason to celebrate in November. On 26 November 2021, the friars in Singapore gathered at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd for the diaconal ordination of Brothers Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Terence, Robin Toha and Sixtus Pitah. Due to Covid restrictions, only about 120 people were able to be physically present at the 4pm ceremony, presided over by Singapore Archbishop William Goh.
In his homily, Archbishop Goh said the Scriptures indicate who deacons are. The Book of Numbers refers to them as the Levites designated to assist priests and attend to the community, and St Paul speaks of the kind of disposition deacons must have, their role and their virtues. “A deacon has to read, meditate and even break the word. He also assists the priest in the celebration of the Eucharist in the preparation of the altar,” Archbishop Goh said. “Deacons also minister to the families. They are to be a good reflection of God’s servants serving only one Master.”
The ordination rite saw Archbishop Goh laying hands on the five friars and presenting them with the Book of Gospels, while Friars John Wong, Derrick Yap, John Paul Tan, Clifford Augustine and Aiden Peter assisted in investing them with the stole and dalmatic (an outer liturgical vestment).
For the new deacons, this is a step closer to priestly ordination. For those on the path to priesthood, the diaconate ordination usually takes place several months to a year before priestly ordination.
Deacon Cosmas and Deacon Gerald are serving in Sabah, Deacon Crispus in Penang, Deacon Sixtus in Johor Bahru and Deacon Robin in Singapore. They have begun to proclaim and preach the Gospel, lead people in prayer, preside over baptisms and marriages and conduct funeral services.