Church of St Joseph (1882)
Jalan Changkat, 31000 Batu Gajah, Perak
T: 05-3662727
Parish Priest : Rev. Robin Andrews
Sat. Sunset Mass: 6.00 pm
Sunday Mass : 8.30 am
Mass Centres:
St. Jude\'s Chapel, Gopeng : 4.30 pm (2nd & 4th Sunday)
Holy Family, Kinta Valley : 5.00 pm (3rd Sunday)
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Feast of St Jude, Gopeng, draws 1,500 |
| Posted by Diocese of Penang (pgdiocese) on Nov 17 2009 |
GOPENG : Over 1,500 people from all over Malaysia and Singapore, gathered at St Jude’s Chapel, to celebrate the feast of Apostles Sts Simon and Jude on Oct 25.
As in past years, many of the devotees came a day earlier to make sure they were able to attend Mass, celebrated by Fr Robin Andrews, parish priest of St Joseph’s Church.
It was heartwarming to hear the youthful 15- member St Jude’s Choir, comprising children aged ten and eleven and several teenagers, singing angelically for the Mass, in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Tamil.
Many of the children had come from faraway Kota Baru estate, some 11 km from Gopeng, to practise for the feastday Mass, since a month ago. Even more heartwarming to hear was that the children have been coming faithfully for the past seven years to sing in the choir, when all the adults left for various reasons.
In his homily, Fr Robin said St Jude went to Mesopotamia (Iraq) to preach and had to contend with magicians and sorcerers, who put obstacles in his way. He was martyred when he was clubbed to death.
“As a boy, he had the privilege of being associated with the boy Jesus, and his life was dominated and filled with a tremendous love of God. Later, people began to ask for St Jude’s intercession in matters that seemed hopeless, and had their favours granted.
“That is why we are here today, to honour God, and that through St Jude’s intercession, we may have our favours granted,” he said.
“In the Gospel, Bartimaeus the blind beggar, tells us a lot about Jesus. Though Jesus was a great leader, his power and position did not make him arrogant, but loving. His response to the blind beggar shows us how often we close our eyes to so many things happening around us. We are just observers,” he said.
Jesus did not ignore Bartimaeus and did not allow the crowd to manipulate the beggar, as Bartimaeus was precious to him. Instead, Jesus gave the people the responsibility of bringing the man to him.
“It is a lesson to us, that when we pray for someone, our faith demands that we do something for him too. Jesus’ attitude has an effect on the crowd, and they become instrumental in bringing Bartimaeus to Jesus.
Jesus also treated Bartimaeus with dignity, and allowed his response, before healing him. In doing so, he affirmed the faith of the blind man, who followed him.
“Jesus is not there to show off his popularity, but is a friend of the poor. Ask ourselves if our popularity affects our treatment of others. Many of us are quiet when others are treated unjustly, yet all of us are anointed with the Holy Spirit and should be the voice for the voiceless and powerless.”
“Jesus comes to feed us with his body and blood, ready to listen and help us. Let us ask for the grace to follow him everyday and to be faithful to the end,” he said.
After Communion, Fr Robin said a prayer and gave a blessing for the sick over the whole congregation, followed by sprinkling of holy water.
The procession with the statue of St Jude, carried by hospitality ministers, was preceded by six flower girls. The crowd led by Fr Robin Andrews followed in procession around the chapel grounds.
Before the final blessing, Fr Robin thanked the committee of St Jude’s in Gopeng for organizing the feastday celebrations. Nathan Murugesu, the organizing chairman, spoke in Tamil, and also thanked everyone who came from far and near.
“There are only 30 Catholic families in Gopeng who organize this feastday every year, and we managed to do it because of your help and generosity,” he said, adding that the feastday was preceded by two days of prayers and Masses.
The crowd then mingled as they enjoyed a lunch sponsored by donors towards the feastday.
Last changed: Nov 17 2009 at 11:06 AM
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