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Huge crowd bid farewell to Fr Ki |
| Jan 19 2009 |
November 9, 2008
IPOH: The funeral Mass of Fr Matthias Ki, at St Michael’s Church on Oct 27 drew a huge crowd who wanted to pay their last respects to a simple but extraordinary man.
He was qualitatively different, so much of a “father” figure to many, as SMC parish priest Fr Michael Cheah so aptly put it during the homily in Mandarin. Yet, he was firm when confronted with people who were errant in their lives, always urging them to return to God.
The warmth and sparkling humour of Fr Ki was clearly evident. “As young seminarians, we often made mistakes. Instead of chiding us, he would call us sanpar low which means “jungle folk” in Cantonese,” Fr Cheah said.
“His generosity knew no bounds, and he was fair and caring to all, irrespective of race or religion.”
He mobilized the youth group at SMC, and started the Renewed Parish Project or RPP which was a precursor of the New Way of Being Church, at St Michael’s Church in Alor Setar and Ipoh.
Fr Ki, 81, passed away on Oct 24 after succumbing to cancer. During his illness he was cared for by the Little Sisters of the Poor in Kuala Lumpur. His body was brought first to the Holy Rosary Church in Kuala Lumpur and then to St Michael’s Church, Ipoh, for the funeral. His ashes will be interred at the columbarium at SMC.
Bishop Antony Selvanayagam, the bishop of Penang, celebrated the Mass in SMC with Archbishop Emeritus Soter Fernandez and Archbishop Murphy Pakiam, the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur. Priests from Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Melaka-Johor diocese were also present for the Eucharistic Celebration. Also present among the crowd were friends from China including Joseph Ho, from Kunming.
Bishop Selva drew a vivid and moving picture of Fr Ki, who despite physical suffering continued to talk about his church work in Kunming, or about people who needed help in some way.
“During the last month, he had gone through a “crucifixion, yet he never spoke about suffering, only about his work and others,” Bishop Selva said. And he did so with such deep insight and total acceptance, that his attitude could only be described as one of love.
“What are we celebrating here? Is it the death or the “new life” of Fr Ki, who has been faithful in good and bad times? Death is not the end. As St Paul says, am I killing my will to allow the Will of God to blossom?”
Fr Ki’s parish work was fraught with challenges. Ordained on Dec 8, 1953, he served in St Michael’s Church Alor Setar (1954-56), St Anthony’s in Teluk Intan (1956-70), St Michael’s Church Ipoh (1970-79), St Michael’s Alor Setar (1979-92), St Louis, Taiping (1992-95) before leaving for China (1995-99). Between 1999-2008 he had shuttled where he helped build a church. It was for this reason he returned to China to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the church, near Kunming. When he became ill, he returned to Malaysia to recuperate under the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Parishioners of St Michael’s Church in Alor Setar remember Fr Ki well. It was Fr Ki who toiled to raise funds for the present church, to replace a rustic chapel. The present church was blessed and opened by Archbishop Olcomendy on Sept 29, 1954. Later when he was posted again to the parish in 1980, Fr Ki started the Renewed Parish Project there and encouraged parishioners to serve in various organizations.
While at SMC Ipoh, Fr Ki showed deep concern for the Chinese-speaking families and the non-Christians. He built the new parochial house, among other building projects.
Bishop Anthony in his homily focused on the prayer of Jesus.
“St Paul speaks of this. When we are baptized, we are buried in the death of Jesus and we will rise with Him to share in his glory. As Christians we will journey as Jesus did, dying to every aspect in life, doing the Will of the Father.
“In that respect no “death” can occur as a person becomes “alive” in Christ. Today we express our solidarity with His will, to be part of the new life of Christ.
“We come to bid farewell to Fr Ki who continues to grow in each one of us, by the way he showed himself a Christian and a priest, a man who lived what he believed in faithfully. Fr Ki touched the clergy from Kuala Lumpur, Penang and the south who are here today.We give thanks to God for this, and ask God to accept him into His kingdom,” he said.
After Mass, Bishop Antony thanked all who came to pay their last respects to Fr Ki and to be part of the Eucharistic celebration.
Later, the cortege proceeded from SMC to the Bercham Crematorium.
Last changed: Jan 19 2009 at 3:54 PM
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