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.
The Franciscan Friars had reason to celebrate in November. On 26 November 2021, the friars in Singapore gathered at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd for the diaconal ordination of Brothers Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Terence, Robin Toha and Sixtus Pitah. Due to Covid restrictions, only about 120 people were able to be physically present at the 4pm ceremony, presided over by Singapore Archbishop William Goh.
In his homily, Archbishop Goh said the Scriptures indicate who deacons are. The Book of Numbers refers to them as the Levites designated to assist priests and attend to the community, and St Paul speaks of the kind of disposition deacons must have, their role and their virtues. “A deacon has to read, meditate and even break the word. He also assists the priest in the celebration of the Eucharist in the preparation of the altar,” Archbishop Goh said. “Deacons also minister to the families. They are to be a good reflection of God’s servants serving only one Master.”
The ordination rite saw Archbishop Goh laying hands on the five friars and presenting them with the Book of Gospels, while Friars John Wong, Derrick Yap, John Paul Tan, Clifford Augustine and Aiden Peter assisted in investing them with the stole and dalmatic (an outer liturgical vestment).
For the new deacons, this is a step closer to priestly ordination. For those on the path to priesthood, the diaconate ordination usually takes place several months to a year before priestly ordination.
Deacon Cosmas and Deacon Gerald are serving in Sabah, Deacon Crispus in Penang, Deacon Sixtus in Johor Bahru and Deacon Robin in Singapore. They have begun to proclaim and preach the Gospel, lead people in prayer, preside over baptisms and marriages and conduct funeral services.
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.
*The mass booklet can be downloaded here.
They each share with us one thing that drew them to the priesthood.
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.