Four-in-one celebration on Feast of the Holy Family at St Simon Church
LIKAS: The Rector of St Simon Catholic Church Likas, Rev Fr Cosmas Lee, blessed all families during the parish’s end of year celebration to mark four important events in conjunction with the Feast of the Holy Family on Dec 28, last year.
Dubbed the “four-in-one” celebration, the parish community celebrated Fr Cosmas’ 38th sacerdotal ordination anniversary, Feast of the Holy Family, thanksgiving of all ministries and groups as well as children’s Christmas party.
During Mass, Fr Cosmas recalled a prayer he wrote for the family which he said was inspired by “God and the Holy Spirit”. The rector highlighted a line of the prayer, which is centred on the importance of the family as a building block of society:
“Abba, Father, where would we be without our family – where life, where love, where faith in Your Son, Jesus. Without the family, there’s no life, no love, no faith in Jesus our Lord and Saviour.”
He said that the “family in the eternal plan and wisdom of God is truly the building block of all that is good, that is beautiful”, adding that “the readings of the Most Holy Family seem to focus on the role and duties of parents”.
“Little, almost nothing is said about the child. So it is about parenting, putting before us a question: Who truly is a Godly father or mother? What’s their role? What should they be doing?”
Fr Cosmas said the role model of faith for parents is Abraham, who trusted in the Lord’s Divine Providence (Genesis 15:1-6, 21:1-3), which was portrayed in the first reading on the Feast of the Holy Family.
Later at the parish hall event, the rector highlighted the importance of family again when he blessed all the families: “Bless you families!” He said without the family, “I wouldn’t be here”.
“Today we focus on God and his wondrous gifts of his vocation for each one of us,” he said, adding that those who have served faithfully in the church should set their eyes on heavenly treasures.
Meanwhile, the Parish Pastoral Council Chairperson Vera Chin thanked the Rector for his tireless service for the community: “On behalf of all of us here at St Simon Catholic Church, I want to thank you for being our pastor and spiritual guide. We wish you a happy and blessed 38th anniversary and we offer our prayers that God will continue to give you good health and shower you with abundant blessings. And many, many more years in the service of the Lord!
“I also want to thank all those in the ministries and groups who had been faithfully serving and also a special thanks to all those who helped prepare this celebration and children’s party,” she said.
Vera also thanked all those who had offered prayers to Fr Cosmas that were hanged as spiritual gifts on a “prayer tree”, to which the rector expressed his heartfelt gratitude for.
Among the highlights of the event include a children’s Christmas party which saw children taking part in face painting, hand-printing and pass-the-parcel game.
Sunday School head, Anne Wong, said: “The difference of our pass-the-parcel game is that the parcel is passed whenever the word ‘left’ or ‘right’ is heard from the narration of the Nativity Story. When the story ends, the person holding the parcel keeps it!”
She said the children also left their handprints on the banner to present to Fr Cosmas along with a message on his 38th anniversary on stage. “Not forgetting the clown and popcorn machine which gave off a welcoming aroma to the hall,” Anne added.
St Simon Catholic Church Likas 