A Christmas Message 2011

Christmas celebrates the Word of God becoming flesh in Jesus Christ (cf. Jn. 1:14) and being born of the Virgin Mary. The Word of God was made flesh to dwell among us. His presence among us is not just external – just being in our midst – but internal as well. He is in each one of us and because of this every disciple lives in Him too. Theology calls this “mutual indwelling”. With this mutual indwelling, an intimate union exists between Jesus Christ and every disciple of His. On such grounds, St. Paul is able to assert very confidently and convincingly, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). His life is Christ’s life.

Taken to its logical conclusion, this mutual indwelling between Christ and His disciples draws them into an indivisible unity which He asserts through the metaphor of the vine and the branches (cf. Jn. 15:1-7). Evidently, Christ is the agent and driving force of this unity for all His disciples. It is He who has chosen all of them. In union with Him all disciples are brought into union with each other. This common union is what we call communion.

The communion of the disciples of Jesus, the Word made flesh, is what theology calls “the Church”. It exists at different levels – the family, the parish, the diocese and the universal Church. Communion has been our focus in the Archdiocese of Kuching. In order to foster it, we went down to the most basic unit of the Church, that is, the family. In a couple of weeks’ time, our five-year pastoral focus on the family will draw to its close. But this closure opens up to a new phase in which we take our focus on communion to the next level – which is the parish and the Archdiocese as a particular Church.

All this means we need to move on. The first step in this move is for families to open up and reach out to one another. This evidently touches on the parish which is a communion of the faithful with their families and eventually on the diocese which is a communion of parishes. Moving in order to reach out to others with love is what Christ commands His disciples to do. Love is the fruit He appoints them to “go out and bear” (Jn. 15:16). This is the mission He gives to them. If love is the fruit of mission, the communion of disciples is a pre-requisite for mission.

The citation from Jesus’ farewell discourse to His disciples that opens this message is the inspiration for what we in the Archdiocese of Kuching intend to do as a follow-up of our pastoral focus on the family. The Archdiocesan Pastoral Congress scheduled for August 18-22 2012 seeks to chart the direction for the Archdiocese in the years ahead. The same citation is the undergirding text for the theme of the Congress: “Church: Disciples of the Word in Communion for Mission”.

The road leading up to the Congress has been paved. It includes a substantial study of the Gospel of John and a presentation of the Congress’ theme. An important exercise on this road is the parish review of the five-year focus on the family. For this, evaluation by families of how much they have been impacted by the five-year pastoral focus will be sought. It is my hope that all families will be forthcoming in their contribution and all parishes will do a thorough job. Surely, we need to know where we are before we can be clear about where we are to head as a particular Church. I ask for prayers for God’s guidance through His Spirit to lead us on in our pastoral endeavour to build His kingdom for His glory.

Jesus Christ was born in very humble conditions – in a manger in Bethlehem, because “there was no room for them in the inn” (Lk. 2:7). He wants a room in our hearts and in our families. Let us make room for Him, even though we may be tempted to think that our sinfulness makes us unworthy to host Him. He came precisely to dwell in our midst – indeed, to dwell within us. He took this initiative to come to dwell within us precisely because of our sinfulness. Let us respond to His initiative and live in Him as He lives in us and, in our union with Him, be in communion with one another in the family, in the parish, in the Archdiocese. This communion will certainly bear the fruit of love.

Following His discourse on the vine and the branches, Jesus clarifies, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (Jn. 15:11). May this joy be ours in its fullness as we celebrate Christmas. To close, I wish every Catholic in the Archdiocese of Kuching and every reader of Today’s Catholic: A joyous Christmas and a blessed New Year 2012.

Archbishop John Ha

Faith can not be destroyed

St Ignatius Church, Shanghai

I visited Shanghai and Hangzhou in China from 9-19 October this year. In both cities I had the privilege of seeing the Cathedrals there – St. Ignatius in Shanghai and Immaculate Conception in Hangzhou.

St. Ignatius Cathedral was built by French Jesuits between 1905 and 1910 and was vandalized by the Red Guards during the cultural revolution that began in 1966. Returned later to the Catholic Church, the Cathedral went through restoration. It now stands tall and proud as a testimony to the faith of the Chinese Catholics in Shanghai.

The Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Hangzhou was built in 1659 by the Italian Jesuit, Martino Martini, from Trent (Italy). The Cathedral faced several storms in its history. When a royal edict prohibited the propagation of the Catholic faith in 1723, the building was converted into a temple for ancestral worship. Later it was turned into the “Temple of the Celestial Empress”. In 1862, it was occupied by rebels known as the Taiping Army. Returned in 1864 to the Catholic Bishop, Louis Gabriel Delaplace from France, the Cathedral underwent expansion. In November 1912, it was damaged by fire, but very quickly restored. During the cultural revolution it was used for housing and prison cells. In May 1982, it was returned to the Diocese of Hangzhou. Now it is the bastion of faith for all Catholics in the Diocese.

Among the many thoughts that struck me as I visited these two Cathedrals, the faith of the Catholics in China made the deepest cut. This faith survived all persecution that came from the powers-that-be including the communist regime. Many suffered martyrdom. Such faith could only come from the Holy Spirit. Indeed, physical life could be terminated; freedom could be restricted; but faith could not be destroyed. That is because faith is relationship with God and in this relationship eternal life is found.

Archbishop John Ha

[Bits & Pieces] Extraordinary Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Biblical Federation

The Catholic Biblical Federation held an Extraordinary Plenary Assembly in Arricia (near Rome) from 15 to 19 June 2011. The purpose was to revise the Federation’s Constitution. There were about 170 delegates from all over the world. I represented the Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. It was very heartening and edifying to hear about the enthusiasm of countless ministers of the Lord’s Word in different dioceses throughout the world.

FAMILY CONFERENCE – “FAMILY SENT ON MISSION” 

The Archdiocese of Kuching is well into the final year of its five-year pastoral focus on the family. The theme for the year is “Family Sent On Mission”. An archdiocesan-wide Conference was held simultaneously in English and Chinese at the Christian Ecumenical and Worship Centre over the weekend of 16 and 17 July 2011. I need to clarify that the same Conference will be taken to all the rural parishes and given in BM (Malay).

Between the two languages there were nearly 500 participants. Their interest and enthusiasm were encouraging. Faith sharers gave wonderful testimony of how couples and families put into practice the Word of God in their lives and in this way built up their families. I thank God for these life testimonies.

What is the Archdiocese of Kuching that we have drawn the attention of some people elsewhere? The Bishop of Ratchaburi (Thailand), Bishop John Bosco Panya Kitcharoen, with five of his priests, a religious brother and two married couples came to attend the Family Conference and study our pastoral focus on the family. After the Conference, they visited two kampongs – one in St. Stephen’s Parish, Bau, and the other in St. Ann’s Parish, Kota Padawan. They wanted to see how the pastoral focus on the family was carried out at the grassroots. At the end of their visit, we had a discussion with questions and answers as well as sharings of their experience. In general, they had a fruitful time here and I was pleasantly surprised that their experience of our pastoral focus was very positive.

VERBUM DOMINI – The Pope’s Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation 

The XII Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops was held in Rome from 5 to 26 October 2008. The 253 Bishops gathered for it looked at the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church. Following the Synod, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI issued an Exhortation entitled VERBUM DOMINI (= WORD OF THE LORD). This very rich document presents the theology of the Word of God which comprises Sacred Scripture and the Living Tradition of the Church. It then touches on the various areas of the Church’s life inspired and charged by the Word of God as well as the mission to proclaim this Word to the world.

The Synod was a very good experience for me. There Bishops shared the ups and downs of their pastoral and missionary efforts in building up the faith of their faithful on the Word of God and drawing others to it.

St. Peter’s College, Kuching, organized and hosted a refresher course for its alumni to study this Apostolic Exhortation. There were over 50 priests who came from both Sarawak and Sabah – including five of us Bishops. We went through the document and shared our own little efforts in promoting the Word of the Lord – each one in a little corner of the Lord’s vineyard. The study and sharing were enriching and motivating. Hopefully, every one left the course with at least one more idea of how to enhance and enrich our priestly ministry with the Word of the Lord.

May the Church in East Malaysia be on fire with the Word of the Lord!

Archbishop John Ha 

22 July 2011