Every Lent, we journey through the desert landscape of our souls endeavouring to strip ourselves of all that burdens, oppresses and encumbers us. This is so that we can free our hearts to welcome the graces of Easter, the greatest event of Salvation history.
Some of us enter into the Good Friday liturgy more wholeheartedly than for the Easter Sunday Mass. The Good Friday service seems to move our hearts more. It shows us that deep in our souls, we connect with the self-emptying act of Jesus Christ – Jesus stripped and tortured, cruelly crucified on the cross, the emblem and epitome of shame and pain. Somehow what Jesus went through resonates with our own pain and distress.
As we hear that “it is always darkest before the dawn”, we know that our spiritual dawn is ushered in by our God who never abandons us. Jesus’ painful passion and death are overcome by spiritual grace and new life. This is what Easter is all about! The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the realm of the dead so that suffering and death have no hold on us anymore.
Jesus rose to new life in a glorified state. Our destiny is also to enjoy this amazing resurrection of our own bodies! We profess this every time we say the creed, but have we given enough thought and reflection to this reality and destiny of our Christian journey?
Many of us struggle to free our hearts to welcome the graces promised to us. We struggle to free our hearts from sin, from unforgiveness, from doubts, from insecurities. So where and how do we begin journeying into greater freedom?
Our Lord Jesus shows us the way for he is The Way. He overcame the triple temptation that tripped Adam and Eve. They ate the forbidden fruit because they saw that it was
1. good for food (lust of the flesh = pleasure),
2. a delight for the eyes (lust of the eyes = possession), and
3. good for knowledge to be like gods (pride of life = pride).
The devil tried to get Jesus to turn stone into bread (pleasure), to take possession of the kingdoms of the earth (possession) and to throw himself off the temple to prove that he was the Son of God (pride). To no avail.
To have this same power over temptation, Jesus commanded us to fast, give alms and pray, and to do all these in secret. Fasting is the antidote to pleasure, almsgiving is the reverse of possession, and prayer is the remedy against pride. What incisive wisdom from our Lord who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Lent is a good time to take stock and prioritise what the Lord has shown us is the way towards a life that is freer and more life- giving, and to reflect on how we can integrate these practices wholistically in our lives.
For the friars, the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience we profess as Religious can be seen as addressing the three temptations of possession, pleasure and pride respectively. For Franciscan Religious, our appreciation of the vow of poverty is “to have nothing of our own”. St Francis used the term “sine proprio” (without appropriation, without the need to possess) to remind his friars that we are not to cling to even the little that we have so that our hearts are free. If our hearts need to cling, to possess and to hoard, then our hearts are not free to love generously, and we may be too self- absorbed and self-preserving to be attuned to the needs around us.
Many of you have integrated almsgiving into your spiritual life. You practise almsgiving not only during Lent, but throughout the year.
We Franciscan Friars are grateful beneficiaries of your practice of almsgiving. Your contributions support the formation of our student friars, and the efforts of our vocation promotion team to journey with young men who are aspiring to our Franciscan way of life. They support the ongoing formation of our Professed Friars through training conferences and formative opportunities, even post-graduate degrees.
I myself have benefitted from your generosity which helped make possible my studies in Dogmatics and Master’s degree in Formation at the Antonianum, the Franciscan University in Rome. Other friars have done studies in Franciscan Spirituality, Canon Law, Sacraments, Liturgy, Spiritual Direction and Psychology, and two friars are currently pursuing their Master’s degree in Psychology and Counselling to better equip our Custody in the areas of pastoral care and healing.
We are truly grateful that you have chosen to be part of our mission and ministry. It is because of your support that we have also been able to begin new ministries, maintain the places we live in as well as meet our obligations as a Religious entity and charity in both Singapore and Malaysia.
As we journey from the graced season of Lent into the liberating effects of Easter, may we truly allow Jesus our Risen Lord to set us free through the practices of fasting, prayer and almsgiving. And thus truly live life to the full, and accompany others in their journey towards fullness of faith and love.
Christ is risen, He is truly risen! This is the Easter cry, a shout of joy from the heart that darkness and death are overcome by light and life. This is the mystery we celebrate at Easter, the Paschal Mystery that God who became man out of love for us has passed over from death to new life. We carry this same mystery within our lives throughout the year. What difficulties and distress we experience are part of the journey into deeper and greater freedom and faith.
These post-pandemic days can be likened to the liberating Easter experience as we come out of the painful tomb-like isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic. We take the opportunity to reconnect in person, and to reach out to the poor who struggled alone because of the movement restrictions.
During the pandemic, the Franciscan Friars, together with the parish team of St Mary of the Angels, did our best to maintain connection by reaching out through videos for Sunday Mass, Daily Liturgy of the Word, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and many other occasions. These we did out of our desire to nourish seeking souls and lighten heavy hearts, even dancing and singing, which was out of the comfort zone of several friars, in the hope of bringing a smile to your faces.
Now that we can gather without restriction, the Franciscan Friars have resumed in-person activities. Our Devotion to St Anthony is back in the Church of St Mary of the Angels. Also returning is our Mother’s Day Concert, our once a year event to all who are “mothers” to us. Many of you have stood by us these many years contributing in many different ways, through prayers, ideas, volunteering your time and effort, regular financial support and the like. We will be sharing with you how you have sustained our friars, and helped to build our presence and ministries in Singapore and Malaysia. See the News section for more on this.
And we have our first Conference on Franciscan Spirituality coming up. Through the talks by Friar Wayne Hellmann OFM Conventual, we hope to deepen our knowledge of Franciscan Spirituality, and so be recharged and renewed for mission and fraternal relations! That’s in April and all are welcome, especially for the evening sessions!
April is a month for great celebration for us – Easter of course, and on 25 April, our Custody officially becomes autonomous. We are grateful that God has blessed us and guided us to this point where as a Franciscan Religious entity, we are now “mature” enough to be on our own, and can in turn care for other entities. We owe this journey to you, our steadfast friends and benefactors. You stayed together with us through the storms, and gave us the strength and resources to weather through the vicissitudes of life.
It is with deep gratitude that I pen these words of acknowledgement and appreciation. Let us pray that together we may journey authentically and audaciously on this sacred pilgrimage we call Life.
Friar Cruzender mengoles abu di dahi salah satu kanak-kanak
KINARUT – Lebih 600 umat memenuhi gereja Paroki St Augustine, Kinarut dalam Misa Kudus Rabu Abu jam 7.30 pm pada 22 Feb lalu di yang dipimpin oleh Friar Cruzander Alex, OFM.
Friar Cruzander dalam homilinya, menyeru umat untuk berani mengutamakan Tuhan untuk melawan arus dunia yang berlawanan dengan arus kasih.
Dia juga berkata kemajuan dunia memisahkan kita daripada Tuhan kerana kecanggihan alat telekomunikasi menyebabkan manusia mudah jatuh ke dalam dosa.
Hal ini demikian kerana, manusia berpelajaran cenderung untuk meninggalkan nilai moral dan akhlak sehingga ia semakin jauh daripada Tuhan.
Friar meminta umat Katolik merenung dan bertaubat mulai pada hari pertama masa Pra-paska dengan berpuasa, berpantang, berdoa dan beramal.
Tambahnya, banyak kesempatan yang boleh digunakan untuk mengasihi dan berbuat baik agar bebas daripada dosa dengan mengakui dosa serta menerima pengampunan daripada Tuhan.
Br. John Wong, Definitor General of the Conferences of Asia and Oceania, is visiting the fraternities of South-East Asia. The Curia OFM receive and publish his story from Laos.
Lao People’s Democratic Republic is a socialist state that embraces communist values. This land has the oldest recorded human settlement in South East Asia, and it has been inhabited since at least 46000 BC. It was once part of an ancient Hindu Empire. Today, it has a firmly established Buddhist local culture, with a majority Buddhist population.
The Catholic Church in Laos originally was part of Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Siam. Today there are 4 Apostolic Vicariates in Laos, with a total of around 60,000 Catholics in the entire country. Since 1979 it’s officially recognised by the Lao Front for National Development, and the relationship between the Church and the government has been gradually improving.
The Order of Friars Minor have been present in the southernmost Apostolic Vicariate of Pakse since 2012. There are around 22,000 Catholics spread over 57 parishes across 60,000 square kilometers. There are 8 diocesan priests, with 2 candidates for ordination, and the Franciscans are among the very few male religious in the Vicariate. The Franciscan fraternity in Laos currently comprises 4 missionary friars from the Province of St Francis in Vietnam, 2 of whom are ordained priests, with 1 deacon and 1 lay brother.
The main community house is outside of city of Pakse, in a mostly Catholic village that was originally founded by a French missionary priest as a leper colony, around 40km from the border with Thailand. The work of the friars is very much one of restoring and building the local Church, including construction of physical church structures, building up the people of God, developing the future of Church on Laos. The friars directly care for 5 mission villages and are responsible for the pastoral support of 4 missions in indigenous villages around 180km away towards the border with Vietnam. They also provide pastoral assistance for 10 other parishes.
Over the past 10 years, the friars have completed the construction of 5 concrete and brick churches and an additional 4 wooden chapels, as well as the main Retreat and Training Centre, all for the Vicariate. They are currently constructing another 2 new churches and 1 wooden chapel. In addition, they have completed a number of electricity and clean water projects for poor rural communities and are assisting the local Bishop to develop a plantation property for the Apostolic Vicariate.
The friars presently run 2 student hostels to provide education and mentorship for 15 boys from poor villages, as well as around 50 scholarships of students in need from primary school level to university. They also assist at the local diocesan seminary and in 2 migrant ministries. The friars in Pakse enjoy an excellent relationship with clergy and religious in local church, and Bishop Andrew Souksavath has expressed the high regard that he and the local people have towards this small community of friars, for their poor and simple lifestyle, and for their humble and hardworking nature at the service of the people of God.
My visit from 11-14 February 2023, together with the Secretary for Missions and Provincial Definitor of the Vietnam Province, Br. Gioan B. (John Baptist) Đậu Quang Luật, was the first visit of a member of the General Curia to the Franciscan presence in Laos since its inception.
Friar John Wong is currently serving as one of the OFM General Definitors since 2021 and will end his term in 2027. He is overseeing and taking care of the friars in Asia and Oceania.
Br John Wong meets the new Definitory of the Province of St Francis in Vietnam.
On 9 February Br John Wong, General Definitor for the Conferences of Asia and Oceania, met the new Provincial Definitory of St Francis Province in Vietnam. The Provincial Chapter, in which the former Provincial Minister Br Inhaxiô Nguyễn Duy Lam and the Visitator General Br Rufino Lim Han-Wook took part, was held in Ho Chi Minh City and elected Br Gioan Thiên Chúa Nguyễn Phước as the new Provincial Minister.
At their special meeting on 9 February, the new provincial government affirmed their commitment to Fraternity, Formation (with special emphasis on the formation of future formators), Mission (in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and abroad), and to the continuous updating and implementation of their Province’s Security Plan for the Safeguarding of Minors and Vulnerable Adults.
Since 2019, the Province of St Francis has initiated 7 new local missionary communities, most of them initiated by the Province in response to invitations from local Bishops. All Franciscans live among the isolated poor and ethnic minority communities. The missionary presence in Vinh Chau began in 2021, has 3 friars and covers a 50 km stretch along the southern Mekong Delta; it is a 2,5 hour drive from the nearest friary, which is in An Phuc Can Tho. Most of the population in the area is ethnic Khmer and the prevailing culture is strongly Buddhist; the people are simple, kind and very friendly. The main mission of the friars in Vinh Chau is to be with the people. There are about 250 Catholics in the whole area and most of them are Vietnamese.
Before the arrival of the friars three years ago, there were no priests, no other religious, and no chapel to pray in. A Vietnamese Catholic family that runs a small restaurant has built a small chapel on their property so that the friars can celebrate Mass with the locals. The brothers simply live among God’s people and witness to the Gospel with their life as lesser brothers among the poor. Besides celebrating daily Masses, they perform pastoral and social services, give music lessons to children and adults and help poor students: all freely, joyfully and without discrimination.
The An Phuc (‘Grace’) Social Service House, on the outskirts of Can Tho city in the Mekong Delta, is a Franciscan Conventual community and ministry located 160 km southwest of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Here, the fraternity was founded in 2013 to serve patients with mental illness. Today nine brothers live in this community and serve a residential facility of 50 male patients that is part of a foundation administered by the Bishop of Can Tho. The youngest patient is 16 years old and the oldest is 60. The friars also provide free tuition to poor local students, and the convent grounds provide a safe environment for local youth to play sports. In addition, with the support of the local church, the friars run a small ‘supermarket’ that provides free food to the poor. This presence and mission of the Franciscans is an opportunity for inter-religious dialogue and evangelisation through living the Gospel in daily life, through humble service and hospitality.
Most of the residents in the surrounding area are believers of a traditional religion of South Vietnam, but all are very supportive of the work of the friars, whom they recognise as serving today’s ‘lepers’ in the spirit of the Poverello of Assisi, who is the patron of the Province of St Francis in Vietnam.
The new Provincial Definitory is composed by: Gioan Thiên Chúa (John of God) Nguyễn Phước (Provincial Minister) Giuse (Joseph) Phạm Văn Bình (Provincial Vicar) Gioan B. (John the Baptist) Trần Khắc Du Vinh Sơn (Vincenzo) Trần Đức Hạnh Đaminh (Damian) Phạm Văn Đổng Giuse (Joseph) Ngô Ngọc Khanh Gioan B. (John the Baptist) Đậu Quang Luật
An Phuc Can Tho friary community meeting with Br John WongAn Phuc Can Tho friary community meeting with Br John Wong
Did you know that there is a rich Franciscan Intellectual Tradition?
The Franciscan Friars of the Custody of St Anthony (Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei) are pleased to be able to offer in April an opportunity to learn from Friar Wayne Hellmann OFM Conventual, a distinguished Franciscan academic and scholar.
Friar Wayne Hellmann OFM Conv
Friar Wayne will speak about his latest insights and scholarly research on Franciscan Spirituality in Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.
Register here :
For Sabah 12 & 13 April 2023: Email to fsicsabah@yahoo.com (Sr Lilian Unsoh, FSIC)
For Sarawak 15 & 16 April 2023 : Email to genssfs@gmail.com (Sr Rose Wong, SSFS)
For Singapore 19 & 20 April 2023 : Sign up using Google Form.
We invite you to come and listen with your head and with your heart, to learn how Franciscan Spirituality can impact your life of prayer and your perspective on faith and living.
Conference on Franciscan Spirituality in SingaporeConference on Franciscan Spirituality in Singapore
