Church of Our Lady of Fatima (1959)
Jalan Raja Syed Safi
01000 Kangar, Perlis
Tel: 09-7481994
Administrator : Rev. Vincent Paul
Sunday Mass : 8.30am
Chapel:
Holy Cross Chapel, Arau, Perlis
Mass: 10.00 am (1st & 3rd Sun.)
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Bringing God's light to others |
| Posted by Diocese of Penang (pgdiocese) on Feb 22 2011 |
20 February 2011
KANGAR: The challenges of being God’s light to others in a small town where Christians are a minority, is great but can be overcome if each one does his part. Parish priest of Our Lady of Fatima Church Fr Vincent Paul, said this during his homily at Mass on Feb 6. “Jesus asks us to keep our family faithful to God for generations to come.
Start within your family, by becoming a light to them. Preserving family life is important, because nowadays, this is going out of date,” he said. “If we want to become the salt of the earth, we must never lose our saltiness, meaning we must not lose the taste of Jesus in our lives. It is easy to become complacent here, thinking nothing will happen to us and we go through the routine of being a Sunday Catholic for many years.
But Jesus has called us to be something more in our family and the outside world. Like salt, we are supposed to be original and pure, in our thought, word and deed, as in the creed.” Fr Vincent said it was easy to curse others whenever something went wrong, such as during a power cut. When we speak, we often use words that bear some negative connotation.
During a power cut, many of us realize the importance of light, but we seldom become or bring a light to the lives of others in the darkness around us. That is the reason why Jesus chose us through baptism, and the other Sacraments, to bring light to others. In families, he said, there were cases where the parents or children are the “light”. But in some cases, there is little light in their family life.
“Some families want to remain in darkness. It is good if each one of us be a “candle” bringing light to others who need them. Reflect on this whenever you use salt or light,” he said. After communion Fr Vincent blessed some oranges, and as the congregation sang Chinese New Year songs, he handed them to the congregation and wished each one ‘Happy Chinese New Year.’ Many of the people, who were visitors to the parish, stopped to chat with Fr Vincent after Mass.
This small parish numbers only about 100 people, mainly students of Universiti Malaysia Perlis (Unimap). The others are retired senior citizens and housewives. The parishioners are very welcoming and work together to help students to fit into their new environment. Fr Vincent Paul and assistant parish priest Fr Marshall Fernandez from Alor Setar, take it in turns to celebrate Mass here. The church which was also among the buildings affected by the recent floods in Perlis, was cleaned up with the help of Catholic students from Unimap.
Last changed: Feb 22 2011 at 2:38 PM
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