‘Extend the scope of your tent’
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
1. Fr Ferdinand and I have just returned from our Clergy Annual Pastoral Assembly. We have
completed a year in the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Klang. During this time, we have
experienced a parish where people are so warm, passionate and full of joy.
2. Our CAPA experience was matched by a theme taken from a document from the Synodal
Continental Stage. It was entitled, ‘Extend the scope of your tent.’
3. This follows very nicely from last year’s theme for our Parish, ‘Rebuild my Church.’ As repairs
and renovations are taking place in our church, it is important that we have a spiritual renewal
as well, embrace a new paradigm of being church, a centre where pilgrims may come for shelter
from the storms of life. Safe haven.
4. During CAPA, we reflected and deliberated on what this document was saying to us.. We used ‘tent’ to convey a variety of meanings. It could mean tabernacle, church, vocation, calling in life
and even, our world-view.
5. At the Solemnity of the Epiphany, regarded as the manifestation of the child Jesus to the Magi,
we looked at how we would manifest Jesus to the world. Indeed the next few celebrations would
underscore the way we celebrate. Jesus is always the focal point for the celebrations.
6. We celebrated Punggal last week, we discovered why the harvest festival is important, because
it tells us, in working the fields, we ought not to forget the Lord of the Harvest.
7. At the Epiphany, we had preached about how Jesus manifested himself. And in turn, we speak
about how we in turn, manifest Jesus to others. The point of our respective homily was on how
we present Jesus to others. At Punggal last week, we spoke about how we present to God our
finest in our harvest. But the Gospel reminds us of how Jesus gives himself to us. “Behold, the
lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He is the perfect sacrifice, who washes away
the sin of the world, over all the sacrifices which man may offer to God.
8. On CNY, the question remains the same. How do we present Jesus? Even in the Rite of
Veneration of Ancestors. We should not forget, when we pray for our ancestors, we are
celebrating that they are deserving of heaven, and that Jesus’ is the door to that salvation. To our
ancestors who lived without knowing Christ, we pray that they too may come to know his
salvation, his love, his mercy. And that is why we pray for them.
9. At CAPA, we looked at extending the scope of our tent. We needed to give up our old hang
ups, our previous world views, and embrace inclusivity. Extending the scope of our tent means
to leave behind mistrust, suspicion, and fear. For me, it stood for so much more. Moreover, we
read in Fr. Mallon’s book, “Divine Renovation” that we have to go beyond maintenance mode,
but to embrace mission.
10. The way forward is to have a new mindset, a broader view, abandoning our old prejudices
and bias. The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Klang, is coming to it’s 100th year. Surely, it does
not stand for parochialism. We have a new pastoral paradigm. Let us open wide our arms and
minds to embrace it! We believe we are called to consider what model of church we have in
mind. True, there is no one perfect model, but we are ultimately called to discern the way, with
the Holy Spirit providing us with the impetus for change.
May the Holy Spirit inspire us to unity, peace wisdom and understanding. May Jesus continue to
be the focus of our lives. May Mother Mary intercede for us.
Wishing you all a very blessed Chinese New Year. Xin nian quai Le.
Given on Saturday, the eve of Chinese New Year in 2023.
Yours faithfully,
Fr Gregory Chan
Fr Ferdinand Magimay