Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
I pray that each one of you is able to cope with this imposed isolation. Our communication channels are such that even though we are apart, we can easily reach out to each other. You would have, by now, read of the unfortunate arrest of our seminarians. We live in a country where sometimes the rules are unevenly enforced. Getting angry is not a solution but praying that the rules may be equally and compassionately applied might be a good start. We pray for our seminarians that this regrettable episode will only strengthen their resolve in pursuing the vocation to the priesthood. Even before Holy Week has begun, seeing them in handcuffs and chains, they are already identifying with their Lord in His passion.
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord. From the pictures below, you see quite a lot of palms have been sent to the Church for blessing. Just a thought for next year, we might be able to source our palms locally. Mind you, these palms were cleaned before they were sent to the parish.
I learnt something from an old priest who told me that seminarians were given a formula to live by and it is this: "Keep the rule and the rule will keep you". What this means is that early in one's formative years, learn to keep the rule, that is, be disciplined in establishing a routine in life so that in later life, one would have developed a habit, a good one, that carries one amidst the hustle and bustle of life. You would have noticed in these pandemic days, how easy it is that one is distracted by the "latest" news. We scour the internet hoping to catch the latest or the most up-to-date news about Covid-19. Have you found yourselves wasting too much time trying to keep abreast with news? It can be a form of addiction. Establishing a habitual routine helps us to avoid this trap of aimless clicking from one website to another. So, I hope many of you are still praying the rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy thus allowing them to flow in a rhythm that marks our days of waiting for God to grant our prayers.
As promised these are the times for the ENGLISH live-streamed Masses for Holy Week beginning with Palm Sunday.
Palm Sunday at 8 am
Holy Thursday at 6 pm
Good Friday Service at 3 pm
Easter Vigil at 8 pm.
The link is this: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1k4OvY-vmnkdrCfqvssQmw/featured?view_as=public
For the Mandarin live-streamed Masses, we ran into some technical difficulties. They will not be live-streamed from St Theresa's Church, Malacca. Instead, we have found an alternative source, that is, St Mary's Church, Air Salak.
Palm Sunday at 8:30 am
Holy Thursday at 8:30 pm
Good Friday Service at 3:00 pm
Easter Vigil at 8:30 pm
The link is this: https://www.facebook.com/422079758165712/posts/1056405631399785/
Finally, thank you for responding to the appeal for donation to upkeep the Church as well to help the poor. Also a big thanks for feeding the priests in the parish. We have been receiving food and fruits. Thank you. Have a blessed Holy Week and to those who have sent your palms to be blessed, you will hear from me soon.
God Bless
Padre
The array of palms that will be blessed on Sunday.
The cutest bunch of palms. The Jacob's Biscuit tin shows you how small the bunch is.