Church of Our Lady of Lourdes (1905)
45 Jalan Silibin, 30100 Ipoh, Perak
T: 05-5279349
F: 05-5276671
Email: ololsilibin@catholic.org
Parish Priest : Rev. Bernard Paul
Assistant Parish Priest: Rev. Stanley Antoni
Sunday Masses : 7.00 am Tamil; 9.00 am English
Chapels:
Chapel of St. Sebastian, Buntong
Chapel of Christ the King, Buntong Tiga
Chapel of Our Lady of Velangkanni, Jelapang
Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi, Tasek
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Learn from St Paul about grace, faith and the Spirit |
| Posted by Diocese of Penang (pgdiocese) on Jan 19 2009 |
December 28, 2008
IPOH: A visiting Bible scholar and educator, Fr Dr Peter A. Abir, gave Ipoh Catholics a brief session on the Spirituality of St Paul, at the Bernadette Centre of Our Lady of Lourdes Church OLOL).
The event organized by the Bible Ministry of OLOL was held in conjunction with the Year of St Paul. Participants had the choice of attending the session in English or Tamil.
The two-hour session outlined Paul’s background, his life, his duty consciousness as a Christian, and his personal spirituality. It especially focused on his acceptance of suffering for Christ.
Capturing the essence of St Paul through his letters, Fr Abir explained Paul’s stance toward his inner conflict, suffering, fruit-bearing, and his call for consolidation and constancy among Christians.
“Many neglect to read the Pauline writings on prayer and spirituality,” he said.
Fortunately, today many can turn to Paul and learn from him, about the importance of faith, grace and the Holy Spirit in a truly Christian and Catholic Spirituality. It can be a source for prayer and reflection, he said.
At the start of the session, a litany in honour of St Paul was said, followed by a short Scripture reading and a response, concluding with a prayer for the Year of St Paul.
“Since this year is the Year of St Paul, we should try to read the Pauline letters twice to get the full benefit and to capture the spirit and essence of St Paul,” he said.
Paul’s teaching about justification by grace through faith, is a great comfort. Indeed many topics that Paul writes of can be used or adapted to modern day problems, and can be used for renewal, or to revitalize our faith, he added.
“Even reading the letters, is useful because it is as if Paul is addressing us, as a father. He always compared himself as a father, mother and shepherd. The application of his ideas can be a source for meditation or for reforming one’s life.”
Fr Abir also spoke of Paul’s life and character, as an evangelist. “To decipher what was puzzling in Paul’s life, the most unlikely witness to Christ, only made sense when seen in the whole perspective.
Paul’s epistles was just as much the written Word of God, like the Gospels, because he was already telling about the resurrected Christ during his missionary journeys.
He starts the New Testament, bringing God’s Gospels to all peoples.
Christians should therefore be encouraged to read Paul’s letters to help shape their spiritual lives, he said.
Fr Abir quoted many passages in Scripture where Paul’s spirituality is seen, his prayerfulness, and suffering for the Gospel, his struggle as an apostle and his message to all Christians that they too should suffer for Christ.
At the end of the sessions, many of the participants were eager to put forward questions about St Paul, which Fr Abir clarified.
(Fr Dr Peter Abir lectured on the New Testament for several years at St Paul's Bible Institute in Chennai, India. In 1993, he obtained the Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome. He did his doctoral thesis on the Book of Revelation and defended his doctoral dissertation at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1995. He was the director of St Paul’s Bible Institute in Chennai for a number of years. He also authored several books and articles in English and Tamil.)
Last changed: Jan 19 2009 at 5:16 PM
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