Our Custody concluded our year by preparing for the new year. For five days from 29 Nov to 3 Dec 2021, the friars in Singapore and Malaysia gathered in person (appropriately socially distanced, of course) and via Zoom (for those in Malaysia) for our Custody retreat. Sr Linda Lizada, a Cenacle Sister, journeyed with us as we reflected on the theme, “Hunger Pangs of Love”, and listened to where God is leading us and challenging us individually and as a fraternity.
We took this time of retreat and resting in the Lord to ready our souls for two big events in 2022. In July, we will gather as brothers for our Custody Assembly to reflect on the journey thus far and discern what the Lord is inviting and challenging us to. In October, we have the Chapter where we will make concrete recommendations and resolutions for the Custody Council to act upon for the next three years. Thus, the tilling of hearts at the retreat makes us ready to receive, plant and grow the seeds of hope and mission at the Assembly and the Chapter.
The seeds of hope and mission were also planted in our hearts for those of us who participated in the ordination of five of our friars as deacons. Friars Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Terence Saimel, Robin Toha and Sixtus Pitah Amit were ordained by the Archbishop of Singapore, Most Rev William Goh on 26 Nov 2021 at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. The new deacons began their Franciscan formation journey in 2014, and have since matured as responsible, empathic and authentic religious. It has been such a joy for me personally to witness their growth through the years. Let us keep them in prayer as they go about their diaconate attachments.
“With God, we are not merely rotating round an axis, but we are journeying in movement, and borrowing St Bonaventure’s words, our souls “journey into God”.
Derrick Yap, ofm
During these times, I sometimes ask myself if I have moved forward, if I am back in the same place where I started, or worse, if I have regressed. But is regression all that bad? Could it be that in regressing I actually open space for more growth to take place? And I am not in the same exact spot where I was years ago. Sometimes our vision is rather 2D, and the circle of life looks like it is bringing us back to the same spot. It could be that we are triggered by the same people, words and actions, or we spiral into the same patterns of behaviour or thinking that are not life-giving. However if we are intentional in our growth and place this growth in God’s garden of grace, then this 2D vision can morph into 3D. With God, we are not merely rotating round an axis, but we are journeying in movement, and borrowing St Bonaventure’s words, our souls “journey into God”.
As we enter the new year, we may make similar resolutions and have similar desires as in the past, and we may think to ourselves that we have not moved at all. Perhaps if we put God in our life’s equation, or rather, put ourselves in God’s equation, we may find ourselves actually spiralling into the depths of God’s peaceful presence. May this peace of the Lord be always yours.
On a quiet night two thousand years ago, God sent us the gift of His Son — Jesus, His gift of selfless love to redeem mankind from sin. We invite you to receive Jesus into your hearts and homes as you watch this video of Silent Night.
Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas filled with Hope, Peace, Joy and Love and thank you for your generous friendship, continued prayers and unwavering support.
May the Lord bless you and keep you in the new year.
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know …
For some, that dream may come true this Christmas as more countries open up and Vaccinated Travel Lanes are established. Life appears to be normalising and we can look forward to freer movement and interacting in person a little more. I myself am looking forward to visiting the friars in Malaysia for I prefer a tactile and real encounter to meeting via virtual platforms.
Touch is the most intimate of senses, as St Bonaventure reminds us. Perhaps it was St Francis’ encounter with the leper that caught Bonaventure’s imagination. Some early biographies suggest that the leper was Christ, since the leper disappeared as Francis turned around to look for him after the encounter.
This is the human-ness of Franciscan spirituality, the continual enfleshment of the incarnation of Christ in our reality. The word “incarnate” is derived from the Latin word “caro”, meaning flesh.
This takes us to the question: Why did God become man? The divine nature took on human flesh with all its limitations and weaknesses to assure us that God does not leave us alone. He descended so that we can ascend.
God chose to come into the world in Bethlehem; to be born there in a manger, the dingy holding area for animals to rest and eat. In Hebrew, Bethlehem means “house of bread”, and manger in Italian is ”mangiare”, which means “to eat”. I hope you see this connection between the Eucharist, our Bread of Life, and the early signs revealed with Jesus’ birth. At the Eucharist, we touch the bread and we partake of it, making us one with it and one with all who partake of it: One Bread, One Body.
A modern complaint is that we do not know where we are going or to whom we belong. We long for a security that enfolds us in peace and nudges us forward in hope.
That’s what we, the Franciscan Friars, hope we can bring to those around us. We don’t pretend to have all the answers, but as we move around spreading the Good News of God’s Kingdom, we hope that those we encounter may feel centred in the Lord as they move about the world with all its victories and vicissitudes. And, in the spirit of poverty and humility of Francis, we allow the Good News to be preached by all creatures to us. That’s how St Francis saw his friars going about the world, to be channels and receptacles of God’s grace, peace and mercy. I hope this is how you experience us Franciscan friars!
That said, arriving at this state of being channels of God’s peace is no breeze. Just as we had to endure multiple restrictions and lockdowns during thepandemic in order to arrive at today’s freer state, our freer state of soul requires a similar rite of passage. There is a Latin adage “per angusta ad augusta” (through trials to triumph). Our pain can lead to glory if we dare journey the descent of God becoming man at Christmas, which ultimately leads to our ascent back to the Father at Easter.
Friars Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Terence, Robin Toha and Sixtus Pitah will be called to the Order of Deacons by Archbishop William Goh at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd on 26 November 2021. The 4pm mass will be live-streamed on the Franciscan Friars YouTube channel.
Friars Julian Chua, Sylvester Singh and Timothy Fong entered into the Novitiate at Greccio Friary, Singapore, in January. Novitiate is a period of intense formation for novices to know and experience the form of life of St Francis, to form their minds and hearts more deeply in his spirit, and to test their resolution and suitability for the Franciscan way of life.
The novices pray the Liturgy of the Hours and have an hour of meditation and a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament every day. They attend classes on everything Franciscan – from Constitutions and Statutes to the Order’s colourful history and the writings of Saints Francis and Clare. When they are not praying or studying, they can be found in the garden tending to the flowers and plants or caring for our cats and chickens.
As they near the end of their Novitiate, they each share one thing they have learnt from their first year of life in the Franciscan Order.
Please keep Friars Julian, Sylvester and Timothy in your prayers as they journey towards Temporary Profession in 2022.
