Malacca Johore Diocese News Update #224
Local takes: Fatal accidents are never ending. Party strife and in-fighting continues. Broken promises claim doctors. More and more frauds and abuses are uncovered in government agencies. Illegal temples, 'gerai's' and extensions are under scrutiny. Factory workers struggle to make ends meet in Kulim, the heart of Silicon Malaysia. The Malay Muslim NGOs are calling for the 'May24Rally', claiming race and religion are under threat.
Interesting statements in our midst:
'The Spirit Is Here' Times: With two weeks under his belt as Pope, Leo XIV has already shown himself to be a mild yet focused bridge-builder, with a soft spot for the underdog and a passion for the poor. At his inaugural Mass, in the homily, he signalled his priorities:
A Thought For The Week: Three Bricklayers Three people were laying bricks. A passerby asked them what they were doing. The first one replied, 'Don't you see I am mixing the cement?' The second one said, 'Don't you see I am laying bricks?' The third one said, 'I am building a beautiful monument.' Here were three people doing the same thing who had totally different perspectives on what they were doing. They had three very different attitudes about their work. And would their attitude affect their performance? The answer is clearly yes. Lesson from the bricklayers: Excellence comes when the performer takes pride in doing his best. Every job is a selfportrait of the person who does it, regardless of what the job is, whether washing cars, sweeping the floor or painting a house. 'The quality of the work and the quality of the worker are inseparable.'
Something's Happening Near You:
Safeguarding of Minors Workshop
2. Two Pillars, One Mission: a stayin camp exclusively for single men and women, aged 18 and above. At the Church of St Philip, Segamat, from June 27 - 29. Contact: Kevin 017-7574490 or Clarence 017-7433817
3. Online programme on Ageing with grace - Living life to the fullest (John 10:10) with gerontologist Dr Cecilia Chan, counsellor-caregiver Justin Victor and psychiatrist Dr Fabian Dass, on July 13, 8.00pm-10.00pm.
QnQ! Q asks? 'WHAT IF' points us to another side of reality?
'Trials we go through and the blessings we receive are the same thing. Those trials are lessons you can learn from, and those learnings are blessings.' - Tyler Perry
'God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites so that you will have two wings to fly, not one.' -Rumi
The Holy Spirit @work: I would say it simply: No one can give that which he doesn't personally possess, which means we cannot transmit the Holy Spirit in an effective way, rendering the Spirit perceptible, if we ourselves aren't close to the Spirit. Pope Benedict XVI
Bishop Bernard Paul
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Herald Malaysia
12 hours ago
- Herald Malaysia
Pope Leo XIV announces dates for 2027 World Youth Day in South Korea
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday announced that the dates of the next World Youth Day, to be held in Seoul, South Korea, will be Aug. 3–8, 2027. Aug 04, 2025 Pope Leo XIV waves at pilgrims from South Korea before the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Youth at the University of Rome Tor Vergata on Aug. 3, 2025. | Credit: Vatican Media By Victoria Cardiel Pope Leo XIV on Sunday announced that the dates of the next World Youth Day, to be held in Seoul, South Korea, will be Aug. 3–8, 2027. 'After this jubilee, the 'pilgrimage of hope' of young people continues and will take us to Asia,' the pontiff said in a message before praying the Angelus at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, 10 miles east of Rome, where he had just celebrated Mass for 1 million participants from 146 countries. 'I renew the invitation that Pope Francis extended in Lisbon two years ago,' he added, referring to World Youth Day in Portugal in 2023. This new edition of World Youth Day, he said, will mark an important stage in the faith journey of the new generations. The theme will be: 'Take courage, I have overcome the world.' Leo XIV concluded his Angelus address with a powerful missionary call: 'You, young pilgrims of hope, will be witnesses of this to the ends of the earth! I look forward to seeing you in Seoul: Let us continue to dream together and to hope together.' The 2027 World Youth Day will be the first to be held in South Korea and the second in Asia, following the historic gathering of young people in Manila, Philippines, in 1995. The pontiff defined the Jubilee of Youth, held in Rome from July 28 to Aug. 3, as 'an outpouring of grace for the Church and for the whole world!' He also thanked the 1 million pilgrims who attended for their witness and enthusiasm. In English, the pope recalled the teens and young adults who suffer in 'every land bloodied by war' and mentioned in particular the young people of Gaza and Ukraine, whose lives are marked by the violence and uncertainty of war. Leo XIV also spoke in Spanish, telling those present they are 'the sign that a different world is possible.' He concluded in Italian with the affirmation that with Christ, faith is possible: 'with his love, with his forgiveness, and with the power of his Spirit.' Mass at Tor Vergata The pope could not contain his emotion at his second and final grand meeting with young people on the 237-acre grounds of Tor Vergata, where more than 1 million young pilgrims had spent the night following a prayer vigil and Eucharistic adoration led by Leo on Aug. 2. A burst of joy swept through the area upon seeing the pontiff descend from the helicopter on the morning of Aug. 3. After an intense night of vigil, marked by a moving moment of silent Eucharistic adoration, Leo XIV told the young people that they are not made for a life that is 'taken for granted and static, but for an existence that is constantly renewed through gift of self in love.' The Jubilee of Youth, part of the Catholic Church's yearlong Jubilee of Hope in 2025, has served as a bridge between the American pope and young people, with whom he has been able to strengthen a relationship thanks to his ability to speak three languages. In his homily, Pope Leo invited the pilgrims to open their hearts to God and venture with him 'towards eternity.' Most of the pontiff's homily was delivered in Italian, with short paragraphs in English and Spanish. The pope focused on the human desire for fulfillment and asked the young people not to satisfy the thirst of their hearts with 'cheap imitations.' 'There is a burning question in our hearts, a need for truth that we cannot ignore, which leads us to ask ourselves: What is true happiness? What is the true meaning of life? What can free us from being trapped in meaninglessness, boredom, and mediocrity?' he said. Thus, he invited everyone to turn their desire for more into 'a step stool, like children who stand on tiptoe, in order to peer through the window of encounter with God. We will then find ourselves before him, who is waiting for us, knocking gently on the window of our soul.' During the Mass, the pope also addressed the experience of the limits and finiteness of things that happen, saying that these topics should not be taboo or topics 'to be avoided.' 'The fragility they speak of is, in fact, part of the marvel of creation,' he emphasized, after quoting from the reading from Ecclesiastes. 'Think of the image of grass: Is not a field of flowers beautiful? Of course, it is delicate, made up of small, vulnerable stems, prone to drying out, to being bent and broken. Yet at the same time these flowers are immediately replaced by others that sprout up after them, generously nourished and fertilized by the first ones as they decay on the ground,' he said. He emphasized: 'We too, dear friends, are made this way, we are made for this.' Reflecting on the readings at Mass, the Holy Father made it clear that 'buying, hoarding, and consuming are not enough.' And he added: 'We need to lift our eyes, to look upwards, to the 'things that are above' (Col 3:2), to realize that everything in the world has meaning only insofar as it serves to unite us to God and to our brothers and sisters in charity, helping us to grow in 'compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience' (Col 3:12).' Evoking St. John Paul II, the founder of World Youth Days, he proclaimed: 'Jesus is our hope.' 'It is he, as St. John Paul II said, 'who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives ... to commit … to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal,'' Leo said.--CNA
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Young Catholics welcome Pope Leo XIV with rock star fervour at Rome vigil
ROME: Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics gave Pope Leo XIV a rock star reception at an open-air prayer vigil on the outskirts of Rome. The pontiff made a dramatic entrance by helicopter, descending to thunderous applause from an estimated crowd of up to one million pilgrims. Organisers described the gathering as part of the 'Jubilee of Youth,' drawing attendees from 146 countries. The event, reminiscent of a spiritual Woodstock, featured music, prayer, and shared faith under the summer sun. Pope Leo, the first American pope, waved to the enthusiastic crowds from his popemobile. 'Dear young people, after walking, praying and sharing these days of grace of the Jubilee dedicated to you, we now gather together in the light of the advancing evening to keep vigil together,' he told the assembly. French pilgrim Julie Mortier, 18, summed up the excitement: 'We're too happy to be here! Seeing the pope, that's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!' Many attendees planned to camp overnight for a Sunday mass led by the pontiff, the culmination of the week-long pilgrimage. Security was tight, with over 4,300 volunteers and 1,000 police officers ensuring safety. The event also included confession sessions at Circus Maximus, where 1,000 priests heard confessions under 200 white gazebos. The pilgrimage comes amid global challenges for young people, from economic struggles to climate concerns. Samarei Semos, 29, from Belize, hoped the pope would address issues facing developing nations. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the gathering in a video message, calling it an 'extraordinary party' of faith and unity. - AFP
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Pope Leo tells hundreds of thousands of young Catholics to build a better world
Pope Leo XIV attends a vigil for the Jubilee of Youth in Tor Vergata, in Rome, Italy, August 2, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi ROME (Reuters) -Hundreds of thousands of young people filled a vast field on the outskirts of Rome on Saturday to see Pope Leo, in the largest event yet of the new Catholic pontiff's tenure, as part of a special weekend aimed at energizing Catholic youth. Young people from more than 146 countries, some wearing colourful bandanas to ward off the hot summer sun, were pressed against fences in the Tor Vergata field as Leo toured the crowd in his white popemobile in late afternoon. The pope, smiling broadly, waved, offered blessings and occasionally caught small stuffed animals and national flags thrown by the youth as he passed by. "Dear young people ... my prayer for you is that you may persevere in faith, with joy and courage," Leo said in remarks later to the crowd. "Seek justice in order to build a more humane world," he said. "Serve the poor, and so bear witness to the good that we would always like to receive from our neighbours." Many of the youth attending the event with Leo spent all day waiting in the field in heat approaching 30 degrees Celsius (86°F) to see the pope. Organizers were using water cannons to help cool down people in the crowd. "For me, it is an incredible emotion because I had never been to an event like this before," said Maya Remorini, from Italy's Tuscany region. She said her group had arrived around 5 a.m. that morning. Many of the youth are expected to sleep in the field overnight, waiting for a second chance to see Leo on Sunday morning, when the pope is due to celebrate a Catholic mass. The weekend events are tied to the ongoing Catholic Holy Year, which the Vatican says has attracted some 17 million pilgrims to Rome since it started at the end of 2024. Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, was elected on May 8 by the world's cardinals to replace the late Pope Francis. (Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Additional reporting by Veronica Altimari and Roberto Mignucci; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
