The resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday marks the ultimate triumph of life over death. For Catholics, it marks the end of our Lenten journey of repentance and conversion towards a new life of love by the dying of our old and sinful selves. Lent and Easter give us grace-filled opportunities to move on with God, despite our reticence.
“Do not be afraid” is the message of the Risen Christ to his apostles. Today, there is an urgent need for this message to be preached. As I write this, the world is experiencing senseless killing of men, women and children because of poverty, violence and disease. As I write this, some, or many of us, are experiencing difficulties in our own lives. I am writing this and wondering how we are to preach the message of the Resurrection without being pessimistic. How convinced are we about the victory of Jesus?
We read the scriptures and we see that the Resurrection stories do not give us answers in a scientific and systematic way. In fact, some of the stories leave us with more questions than answers. These stories close the chapter on sin and evil that marked the death of Jesus, but the same stories open for us endless possibilities of a life with God, in the here and now. They give us opportunities!
Perhaps, the closing of chapters – so much part of the stories of scriptures – are also part of our lives. Not only do we close the doors to sin, fear and anxiety, but we also close the doors that prevent us from experiencing newness and new possibilities. It is not easy to close doors in our lives. We are afraid to leave the comfort, the security and the known ways of doing things. But, without closing the doors, we will not be able to open new doors. And that would be a tragedy.
In the readings of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the Lord calls us through the Prophet Isaiah: “Remember not the events of the past, . . . for see, I am doing something new!” (Isaiah 43:18) And St Paul reminds us that there is one thing necessary for us: “Forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead.” (Philippians 3:13) Yes, the reign of God is “not yet”, but the Risen Jesus is breaking through the locked doors of our insecurities and fears, (Cf. John 20:19) inviting us to join Him on the road. We are being called by the Risen Lord to renew our lives, to go to Him who offers life, and to listen to His voice, to allow God to reconstruct within us His vision of what it means to be sons and daughters of God, committed to helping to renew the face of the earth, through a conversion of our personal lives.
As sons and daughters of God, we are called to spread the vibrant Gospel message in an age of division, violence, and the tendency to promote a politics and culture of exclusion. We are called to become living examples of the vision to which Pope Francis is calling us: “Disinterested concern for others, and the rejection of every form of self-centredness and self-absorption, are essential if we truly wish to care for our brothers and sisters and for the natural environment. These attitudes also attune us to the moral imperative of assessing the impact of our every action and personal decision on the world around us. If we can overcome individualism, we will truly be able to develop a different lifestyle and bring about significant changes in society.” (Laudato Si, # 208)
Isaiah’s assurance that “we will eat well and delight in rich fare” (Isaiah 55:2) can be an image of new and transformed relationships, just as the Resurrection is a promise of newness and transformation. While not forgetting the past, we rediscover the source of our true identity in Christ, and the need and responsibility to seek life and not death, to seek forgiveness and mercy, not retribution and revenge, to seek reconciliation with one another, with the wider Church community, with all of humanity, and with all of Creation. This is what it means to “come to the water, without money, without price”. (Isaiah 55:1)
Biblical scholar Gerhard Lohfink wrote: “Being a Resurrection community means anticipating that at every hour the Spirit of Christ will show the community new paths, expecting new doors to open at any moment, counting on it that at any hour the Spirit can transform evil into good, hoping that every hour the impossible will become possible, and never saying ‘later!’ but always ‘now!’” (Jesus of Nazareth, Collegeville, 2012, p 306).
Brothers and sisters, that “now” is upon us! Let us allow the word of God to take root within us and seek what is above. Let us also remember those who are suffering, those who are grieving, those who are distressed in mind and heart that they too may experience new life.
How do I say how I feel on my journey? For seven years, I have been listening and discerning during this part of my life. I have had great insights, and experienced moments of frustration and fear. I have a sense of hope, and the certainty that Christ is with me, and inviting me to live and be a herald of the Gospel. As a friar, I am working at ensuring Christ is my centre always, and not myself. I am moving beyond fear, beyond looking at the unknown blankly, beyond my comforts. I am moving deeper into the reality that the joy of the Gospel calls me to.
Friar Nelson posing at Greccio Friary’s staircase.
I know I must embrace this time with hope as this is a key sign of joy. I must embrace this time with faith as this is central to the Gospel. I must embrace this time with love as love is the face of Christ I meet in each of my brother friars, and in creation and every place the friars live.
As I prepare for my Solemn Profession, I am glad to have this time to go back to the moment when I was first called to this journey. In reflecting on the call of Moses, Abraham, Mother Mary, John the Baptist and St Francis, I realised that we are called in different and unique ways.
I will promise the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and now I know that these formidable– sounding promises are meant to be liberating and not restrictive, even though they mean living within certain boundaries.
Bread freshly baked by Friar Nelson.
For me, poverty is best expressed in trying to live modestly, in not getting attached to or obsessed with material possessions, and in attempting to live a life of generous service to others, putting their needs before mine. I see celibate chastity as sharing generously with the people with whom I live and work, and promoting the idea that the deepest kind of intimacy involves reverencing and respecting others as whole persons, not just an exchange of bodily fluids.
As for obedience, there was a time when I defined obedience in a very narrow way, thinking that becoming a friar meant giving up my own will, and regarding the directives of the community’s leaders as the will of God. I have come to understand that the Franciscan vow of obedience is about giving public witness to the importance of listening and responding to God’s call. In other words, the vow of obedience expresses our Christian conviction that it’s not about me. Being a follower of Jesus means dying to ourselves and living for God.
The journey towards Easter at St Ann’s Mission in Sarawak is part of the ongoing Franciscan celebration of simplicity, goodness and beauty. The liturgies enhance the experience of prayer, contemplation and community in this large parish where the Franciscan community, comprising two priests, serves the pastoral and sacramental needs of about 25,000 parishioners in 40 villages spread over a land area approximately the size of Singapore.
The faithful are mostly indigenous Dayan people of Bidayuh heritage. Masses are celebrated in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin in the main mission centre, and in Bidayuh in the village chapels that serve the sacramental needs of the rural communities.
Over the course of Lent, the mission centre and village chapels were active centres for communal gathering and prayer. Prayer leaders in the individual villages led the Stations of the Cross every Friday, and monthly Praise and Worship sessions were adapted for the Lenten season. The Sacrament of Reconciliation was celebrated over two consecutive weeks with the help of visiting priests.
For the Easter Triduum, the parish friars and a visiting friar-priest will celebrate masses and services from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday in five locations.
In Singapore, the Church of St Mary of the Angels celebrates Lent this year with the theme “From Cosmic Dust to an Easter Garden”. Parishioners have been invited to make amends for their sins against God’s creation and to take time to pray for our common home and for those who depend on it. As a community of faith, we treasure God’s creation and seek to protect those who share it, our vulnerable brothers and sisters above all.
We recognise that our misuse of creation has led to tragic and unjust suffering for people around the globe. Hence, this Lent, parishioners have been invited to turn away from harming the good gift of creation, and take actions that will bring us into a new relationship with God, our world and one another. The parish team has prepared a booklet of weekly reflections focusing on creation, and a Lenten Kit for use in Lenten preparations. Details can be found at stmary.sg/lent and the parish YouTube channel.
Our Seraphic Father Francis composed a psalm for his Office of the Passion which he recited every day during the Easter season: “Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous deeds. The Lord has made his salvation known. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Office of the Passion, Psalm 9). What strikes me about this prayer is that St Francis is calling himself and us to sing a “new song” because “this is the day the Lord has made”, to make His salvation known today in ever-new ways.
In the first quarter of 2022, the Franciscan Friars in Malaysia- Singapore-Brunei celebrated the gift of fraternity in several ways. In January, two of our student- brothers resumed their full-time studies in Philosophy and Theology at the Major Seminary in Upper Bukit Timah. They were joined by our novices. The studies at the seminary, supplemented by in- house formation programmes, will equip our brothers for their future ministries in sharing the message of life of the Gospel in this region and beyond.
On 11 February, we celebrated World Day of Consecrated Life together with other religious orders and congregations. Approximately 90 religiousbrothers and sisters participated in the online event organised by the Conference of Religious Major Superiors. Formandees (students) in the various religious orders also shared their hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the future in a video which you can watch in the Franciscan Friars YouTube channel.
The next day, 12 February, two postulants, Jorgerson Japar and Nicholas Ambrose Lee, entered the pre-novitiate programme that, due to Covid border restrictions, has to take place in two locations – Penang (Jorgerson) and Singapore (Nicholas). We are grateful for the continued gift of vocations. We are also grateful that our Vocation Evening on 27 February drew a sizeable group of young men who had the opportunity to meet friars who have served as pastors, missionaries, chaplains, administrators and other roles within our Custody.
In June and July, we have the Sacerdotal Ordinations of five friars – Friar Robin Toha on 21 June at the Church of St Mary of the Angels, and Friars Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Terence Saimel and Sixtus Pitah on 2 July at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Then on 9 July, Friar Nelson Evarinus will make his Solemn Profession at the Church of St Aloysius in Kota Kinabalu.
Also in July is our Custody Assembly. Preparations have already begun, and during the Assembly, to be held from 4 to 8 July, we will review the last three years and discuss possibilities for the way ahead. This lays the ground for the Custody Chapter in October when we will decide on the Custody leadership for the next three years, install the Custos and his Council, and set out our commitments to action for the next few years.
Brothers and sisters, please pray for us as we discern how we can sing a new song to the Lord and make known His salvation across Malaysia, Singapore and beyond.
As we journey towards Easter, may a new springtime of faith, hope and love take root in us all. On behalf of the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of St Anthony, may Peace and all Good be yours!
