With praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God, the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of St Anthony in Malaysia and Singapore joyfully announce the Presbyteral Ordination of Friars Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Saimel, Robin Toha and Sixtus Pitah, OFM.
Friar Robin Toha will be called to the Order of the Presbyterate by Archbishop William Goh on the 21st June 2022, 4 pm at Church of St Mary of the Angels, Singapore. Booking of seats for the Ordination Mass are now open (30 May 2022). Note: The ordination Mass is a VDS Mass (attendees must be fully vaccinated). Walk-ins for the Mass will be subject to availability. Please book your seats in ?????? ??? at https://mycatholic.sg
Meanwhile, Friars Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Terence and Sixtus Pitah will be called by Archbishop John Wong of Kota Kinabalu on the 2nd July 2022, 10 AM at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sabah. Note: For estimation of guests, please click here to RSVP.
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.
On Feb 27th we had our first vocation evening for the 2022 called “Hanging Out with the Friars”.
A total of 19 young men turned up. They came from all walks of life and locations around Singapore.
The objective of this evening, is not so much about recruiting men to join the Friars.
Rather, following the last words of St Francis to his brothers, “I have done what was mine to do. May Christ teach you what is yours”, this evening was to invite young men to discover where God could be nudging them towards in the first place.
Could it be married, single, Religious or Diocesan life?
More important than the numbers, the vocation team feels that one must first know where could God be inviting them to, before they take the next steps.
This was why being the first gathering for the year, and with Lent approaching in a few days time (2 Mar), the theme chosen was on “Listening”.
The evening began with the Friars getting to know the participants. For safety, friars and participants were grouped in 5’s. This also allowed both friars and the participants to get to know each other better over the course of the evening.
Subsequently, the session continued with a short input on “Listening”, inviting the participants to listen not just with our ears, but also with the rest of our body such as our eyes and our hearts.
After the short input, our novice; Friar Sylvester Singh, shared his personal vocation journey to the Franciscan Order, before they resumed into their groups for further sharing.
The evening then ended with night prayer.
We hope through such opportunities, many would make use of this to first know where could God be asking of them.
Our next session will be held on May 8th from 6.30pm to 9.00pm. It will be on both “in person” and “virtual” to cater to anyone from Malaysia who would be interested to participate.
For further information, please contact the Vocation Office at: Vocations.ofms@gmail.com
This video was screened on 11 February 2022 during the World Day of Consecrated Life celebration through ZOOM organised by the Conference of Religious Major Superiors (Singapore).
Put together by the formandi of various religious orders and congregations, you will see them praying for consecrated persons and expressing their hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the future ahead!
Special thanks to:
Congregation of the Disciples of the Lord Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Vice Province of Malaysia-Singapore) Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (Malaysia-Singapore Province) Good Shepherd Sisters (Province of Singapore-Malaysia) Order of Discalced Carmelites Friars Order of Friars Minor – Custody of St Anthony (Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei)
Sambutan Misa Hari Hidup Bakti Sedunia peringkat Keuskupan Melaka Johor telah diadakan pada 12 Februari 2022 bertempat di Skudai Catholic Centre. Misa kudus tersebut dihadiri oleh para religious wanita dan lelaki yang datang dari pelbagai kongregasi lokal serta antarabangsa.
Pada masa sekarang, Friar Claurence Motoyou, ofm mengetuai Conference of Religious Major Superiors (CRMS) di peringkat Keuskupan Melaka-Johor.
Franciscan formation is a gradual process of growth, in which the friar opens his heart to the Gospel and commits himself fully to being continually converted. It is based upon a personal encounter with the Lord, and begins with the call of God and the individual’s decision to walk with St Francis in the footsteps of the crucified Christ as His disciple under the action of the Holy Spirit.
In his Rule and Life of the Friars Minor, St Francis wrote: “If there are any who wish to accept this life and come to our brothers, let them send them to their Ministers provincial, to whom alone, and to no other is permission granted for receiving brothers.” From this Rule and Life, formation into the Order of Friars Minor today falls into several progressive stages, each of which involves the whole person, in his Human, Christian and Franciscan dimensions, and the radical living of the Holy Gospel, in prayer and devotion, in fraternity and minority.
On 12 February, the Franciscan Friars will welcome two men in their 30s into the Postulancy programme for 2022.
Postulancy, also called Pre-Novitiate, is the first stage of formation into Religious and Franciscan life. It is a full-time live-in programme that lasts about a year. The candidate (called a postulant) is not considered a friar, but is able to participate in the life of the Franciscan brotherhood. He is involved in the prayer, studies, ministry and life of the friary community. Through this, he is led to deepen his relationship with Christ and into a greater understanding of the Franciscan charism and life. He is also given opportunities for service and work with people who are in different kinds of poverty.
This transitional stage brings the candidate gradually from his secular lifestyle into a religious lifestyle, allowing him to verify his desire to follow Jesus Christ according to the example of St Francis. At the end of Postulancy, the candidate considers whether he would like to continue in the life of the fraternity. If so, he can apply to the Order for acceptance into the Novitiate.
We invited the candidates to share with you their requests to the brotherhood of friars.
Please keep Jorgerson and Nicholas in your prayers as they begin their discernment process.
