Widow’s only son ordained a priest – Catholic News Singapore
“My heart is full of joy, and I’m so proud of him,” said the mother of Franciscan Friar Robin Toha, Mrs Elsie Toha, with tears in her eyes. “I pray he will be a humble and good priest working in God’s Vineyard.” Forty-year-old Fra Robin was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal-elect William Goh on June 21, 2022 at the Church of Saint Mary of the Angels.
During the Mass, Cardinal-elect Goh reminded Fra Robin to always be grateful for God’s blessings. “Without gratitude, one becomes arrogant and proud. We must remain humble before the Lord, recognising that He supplies us with the necessary graces for our ministry. The life of a priest is not without suffering and requires dying to self. But I can assure you that you will find great peace and joy if you continue to give yourself generously to God and His people,” he said.
Fra Robin was born the only son to a Buddhist-Taoist family in Palembang, Indonesia. When his father passed away, his mother found comfort in the Catholic Church, and the family was soon baptised. But Fra Robin found it challenging to have faith in God when it seemed that He had ‘taken away’ his father, causing his family much hardship. When he came to Singapore for studies, it was his new Catholic friends and the Franciscan Friars who ministered to the Catholic Student Apostolate at his university that reignited his faith.
Having become a Singapore citizen, Fra Robin felt prompted to seriously consider joining the religious life after miraculously recovering from an illness where doctors only gave him a year to live. Looking back on his faith journey, Fra Robin understood that it was always God who loved him first. “The Lord can never be outdone in generosity. I pray I may always be like the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep.”
His advice to those discerning their vocation, “Do not make decisions based on other people’s influence or pressure from others. Be open and honest in your discernment – our vocation should lead us to be free to be who God means us to be.”
Archbishop John Wong of Kota Kinabalu Diocese also ordained four Franciscan friars from the Custody of St Anthony, Franciscan Friars of Singapore and Malaysia on July 2, 2022 at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The four friar priests are Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Saimel, Cosmas Francis and Sixtus Pitah, OFM. All of them are graduates from the St Francis Xavier Major Seminary in Singapore. Many Singaporeans from various parishes went to celebrate the occasion with the friar priests.
Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese gains four new Franciscan Friars – Herald Malaysia
Answering The Call – Herald Malaysia
Proud moment for four Sabahan Friars called to the priesthood – The Star Newspaper
KOTA KINABALU: A group of Kadazan Dusun men made their community proud when all four were ordained as priests at the same time on Saturday.
Cosmas Francis, Gerald Terence Saimel, Crispus Mosinoh and Sixtus Pitah Amit – all Friars from the Catholic Church’s Franciscan order – took their vocations as priests in front of their proud family members and the faithful at the Sacred Heart Cathedral here.
The ceremony was celebrated by the Most Reverend Datuk John Wong Soo Kau, the Archbishop of the Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese.
The men had promising careers before joining the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), a mendicant religious order.
Cosmas, 47, was previously in the hospitality line while Gerald, 35, who has a Masters degree in counselling psychology, had worked as a tutor in Universiti Malaysia Sabah and also served as a professional counsellor at the Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Crispus, 36, and Sixtus, 35, were both English teachers, having taught in Sabah’s east coast Beluran and Sandakan districts respectively before they answered their vocation.
All four had gone through their formation for eight years in Singapore, attending the St Francis Xavier Major Seminary there.
“Yes, it’s a historical moment for us because it’s not often that four Sabahans are ordained as priests simultaneously and all are from the OFM,” said Gerald.
“I am excited but also a bit nervous,” he said, adding he had journeyed with the order since he was 19 years old but only decided to join the Franciscan Order of the Custody of St Anthony in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei in 2014 when he was 27.
He and Cosmas took their final vows as Friars, known in the church as a Solemn Profession, in Singapore last year which afforded them the title as religious brothers. Crispus and Sixtus took theirs in 2020.
After their priestly ordination, which now makes them Friar Priests, all four will continue serving in the respective parishes within Sabah and other parts of Malaysia they were earlier assigned to, at least until the end of the year.
But because the Franciscans are an international order, Gerald said they could be sent anywhere in Malaysia or around the world to serve, adding that there were only 11 Friars from Sabah, with only five ordained as priests before the four of them.
