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 (6.30pm Tamil):
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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Migrant Sunday celebration at OLOL |
| Posted by Diocese of Penang (pgdiocese) on Oct 31 2008 |
19 October 2008
IPOH: Over 100 migrants from Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Nepal and Vietnam gathered in solidarity with parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, in Silibin here, to celebrate Migrant Sunday on Sept 28 on a grand scale.
The migrants, who are mostly factory and contract workers, made their way to OLOL church, to participate in the bilingual Eucharistic celebration and then for fellowship and a cultural mix of dances, songs and games at the parish hall, followed by lunch of delicious nasi kandar and cakes.
What was really exciting was to see the beauty of the different cultures intertwined as they came together to make the event a memorable and enjoyable experience for all.
It drove home the point made by OLOL parish priest Fr Bernard Paul of how God was making one people of all the different races - even when people cross borders to work elsewhere.
Filipina Blessy Lipata, livened up things when she did the cha-cha and put everyone in the mood.
Indonesian Gregorius Anggo, invited 16-year-old D. Magdalen, from OLOL choir to sing along with him a hymn, Mujizat itu nyata.
Filipinos joined in when the Indonesians were performing the Batak dance.
When Filipina Linda Palomar sang nervously, Filipinos and Indonesians danced along to give her moral support. Even the shy Myanmar and Nepalese migrants joined in. Filipina Maribel Sungang, overcame her timidness to recite a poem, “My Wish”. The “ice-breaker” balloon game was one of the highlights as both men and women joined in.
Indonesians Intan Juliana, 21, and Ruth Bernaria, 25, who work in a factory, were very happy to join in the celebrations, which they described as joyful. They come to Mass once every two weeks, whenever their work permits them. Prizes were presented by OLOL parish priest Fr Bernard Paul.
The event was organized by the OLOL and St Michael’s Church Migrant ministry.
OLOL Migrant ministry leader Anthony Rodgers, said this year’s district level celebrations was held individually at Sitiawan, Batu Gajah and Ipoh.
Rodgers who has been with the Migrant ministry for the past 12 years at OLOL, is assisted by Doris John, Catherine John and Pauline Sinnappan. Together they help see to the needs of the migrant workers and sometimes visit them to see their living conditions.
“Migrants often come here from as far as Sitiawan, Taiping and Batu Gajah to hear the Word of God, at Mass, in Bahasa Malaysia,” he said.
Good Shepherd sister Lucy Ng, who heads the Migrant ministry at SMC, said copies of Bahasa Malaysia translations of the Word of God, were printed and distributed to migrants each Sunday. There was a short discussion on it after Mass, led by Anjelica Morris, a teacher and parishioner of SMC.
With the growing number of migrants in the country, the Migrant ministry faces a lack of volunteers. Another important challenge is to create more awareness amongst Catholics of the needs of migrant workers and for all parishes to be open towards also using Bahasa Malaysia in reading the Word of God. This is because it is the most used language among them.
Earlier in his homily, Fr Bernard said the reality was that migrants are everywhere whether for work or study.
He asked parishioners to be aware that this “social tsunami” of different peoples was God’s way of uniting people of all races.
His homily on what sin is, how it breaks up a community, and later leads to disunity, was pertinent to all races.
“Sin, according to Matthew, means not obeying the divine law, the Scriptures. When we resist what God wants us to do, or a calling, or when our words and actions are not equal, we are living a lie,” he said.
Ezekiel, as well as St Paul and Matthew, all recognized a problem of sin destroying the community. Ezekiel shows everyone has a personal responsibility, instead of hiding behind others, for sin has a social dimension. St Paul says a Christian community must reflect something of Christ, as the community then was lacking in character, and there was no self-emptying or humility.
“Recognise every moment as God touching you, and God’s grace being present. Secondly God is present in people. When we see and recognize the signs of transformation of people who were considered to have ‘sinful’ behaviour, then we should be willing to respond positively. Don’t condemn the person, as transformation comes as a healing grace from God,”
Last changed: Oct 31 2008 at 10:25 AM
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