Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1935)
3972 Jalan New Ferry, 12100 Butterworth, Penang
T: 012-5227233, 04-3249635
F: 04-3243067
Email: nbvmpg@yahoo.com
Parish Priest: Fr. Victor Louis
Sunday Masses :
8.30 am (English)
5.00 pm (1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays in Tamil)
5.00 pm (2nd & 4th Sundays in Mandarin)
(Cp) Chapel of Sts Jacques Chastan & Laurent Imbert (1995)
106A Jalan Kurau, Taman Chai Leng,
13700 Perai
T: 04-3249635
Sat. Sunset Mass : 6.30 pm
Monday: 6.30 pm
Wednesdays :6.30 pm
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Bible Sunday cum Family Day at Butterworth parish |
| Posted by Diocese of Penang (pgdiocese) on Sep 12 2008 |
10 August 2008
BUTTERWORTH: There was an air of excitement and joy as the Parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrated Bible Sunday together with Family Day in a beautiful and meaningful way.
“When you read the Bible, don’t behave as if you are in a restaurant. You pick and choose what you want. What is difficult, you throw away. We cannot do that when it comes to reading the Word of God,” said Fr Nelson Chitty after explaining the Parable of the Sower. He then continued to say, “The essence of the whole Christian living is centred on the Word of God.
“From the parable, it can be seen that since the outcome of the seed that is sown depends on the appropriateness of the soil, so for the word of God to take root, one must read and pray the Bible so as to be transformed. The Bible is where God speaks to us. Are you listening to the Living Word of God that is Jesus. He is the Word of God made flesh and lives among men. It is by reading the Word of God and allowing God to speak to us that the Word will become flesh in us. He spoke practically of how, if we dislike and cannot forgive someone, and if we read the Word of God and allow God to speak to us, then after several attempts at praying for forgiveness, we will be able to forgive and become a forgiving person.”
He further exhorted “the family to read the Word of God together and to pray together so that you will all witness powerfully to the Love of God. Pray with your family. You can only be transformed with the family, in the family and through the family.”
After the homily, the Tamil-speaking youths presented an offertory dance as gifts of sugar, fruits, books, a musical instrument, a football, flowers and bread and wine were brought to the altar.
After communion, there was a dance of thanksgiving by the migrant workers. Then Fr Nelson Chitty thanked the Catechism teachers, the BEC leaders, the PPC members, the Hospitality Ministers, altar servers and those who had worked very hard to organise the Bible Sunday cum Family Day celebrations.
Last to speak was Fr Edmund Woon, the former parish priest, who is currently pursuing a course in pastoral counselling. He shared that “after studying some of the psychological disorders that people experience, he realized that he too has a bit of some of these disorders in himself. “Don’t we all? It is humbling to realise that all of us are a broken people who need the Word of God to transform us.” Fr Woon also thanked Fr Nelson for inviting him, thus giving him an opportunity to catch up with many of the parishioners.
After the Mass, the parishioners gathered for the opening ceremony and then were off to a potluck breakfast at the stalls allocated. There was food galore. Many, like Jayamary from Bagan Lebai Tahir Tamil speaking BEC, were full of praises for the organization. What many were happy about was that everyone was free to mingle and to visit any “zone stall” and eat of whatever was offered. There was also a free flow of drinks.
The children had a colouring competition while others were encouraged to take part in the table tennis competition. There were games for children and the ‘tug-of war’ for the young and not-so-young parishioners.
Roslin, a parishioner, said, “I was happy to see children, youths and adults working together as a team to win. Even our assistant parish priest, Fr Robert Daniel, took part in the tug-of-war, with Fr Nelson Chitty cheering us on.” The day came to an end at about 2.00pm.
Jason Thevaraj hopes that all the parishioners “will not only bond for today but today will be a starting point for all to work together to form God’s family.”
Patricia Pasqual, the acting PPC chairman, said, “Today is the result of the hard work and cooperation of the BEC leaders, the Catechism teachers, the Mandarin and Tamil Apostolates, the support of the priests and the many generous donors in the parish. In fact we started preparing for the Family Day from February and I am happy to hear positive comments about the Family Day cum Bible Sunday.”
— By Anne Marie Teh
Last changed: Sep 12 2008 at 5:44 PM
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