KOTA KINABALU: The shepherd of the Catholic archdiocese here celebrated a four-in-one event with the St Simon Catholic Church Likas community, recently.
Archbishop John Wong in his sermon at the Mass which was concelebrated with parish priest Rev Fr Cosmas Lee, highlighted the four events: Confirmation of 37 young Catholics, visitation of the Archbishop, the parish feast day celebration and the resurrection day of the Lord.
“If someone were to ask you, which one is the most important, I hope you will say the day of the resurrection. Without it, other celebrations have no meaning,” Archbishop Wong said.
If there were no day of the resurrection, he said, there will be no Sacrament of Confirmation, visitation of the archbishop or even feast day.
He cited the reading on the feast day of Saints Simon and Jude, on the account of Jesus finding a lonely place to pray on the hill and after doing so, finds Himself surrounded by crowds of people longing to listen to his words and to be cured of their diseases.
“This should be our approach to the Risen Lord,” the prelate told members of the congregation.
“That is the very reason the Lord asks us to come and receive Him, to encounter him, every Sunday.”
He added that only having encountered God’s presence can the faithful go out and proclaim the goodness of God.
To the confirmands, he reminded them that their role now is to become soldiers of Christ.
“What is the role of a soldier? To defend your faith,” he told them, adding that they need the Holy Spirit to guide them to become soldiers and witnesses of Christ wherever they are, especially in a secularised world.
The attendees were later treated to a brunch at the parish hall. – by Audrey J Ansibin
St Simon Catholic Church Likas 