Seven baptised at Mass in prison

The Herald, Apr 04, 2016

While Catholics around the world were preparing to celebrate Easter, priests celebrated Mass in Kajang prison on March 10.

By Herbert John Gomez

While Catholics around the world were preparing to celebrate Easter, priests celebrated Mass in Kajang prison 
on March 10, with a tagline for their homily for the prison inmates, Jesus loves you in spite of your 
incarceration in prison and forgives you for your wrong doings as the Father is Merciful. 

Every year, the prison authorities grant permission for two Masses to be celebrated for the prisoners, one for Christmas (which is celebrated in the season of Advent) and another for Easter (which is celebrated during Lent). Collaboration with the prison authorities has been good and this is the fourth year the Catholic Prison Ministry has been organizing Mass in Kajang prison. 

This message of the priests moved many of the prison inmates to pray for repentance and for God’s mercy, for a conversion to renew their lives. Mass was celebrated at five different blocks in the prison. They included the men’s prison, men’s death row cell blocks and Drug Rehabilitation Centre while the ladies’ prison was specially prepared for Mass and the baptism ceremony. 

In the women’s prison, seven foreign nationals from Thailand, China, India and Morocco agreed to accept Jesus as their Saviour and for a conversion to renew their lives. They have been attending the Sunday pastoral care programmes and counselling sessions conducted by the Prison Ministry volunteers for the past few months to learn about Jesus through the sharing and interaction with the inmates. 

Prison Ministry spiritual chaplain, Fr Surain Durai Raj, celebrated Mass and the Sacrament of Baptism together with Fr Philip Chua who chose beautiful names for the newly baptized inmates, who accepted the names of Mary, Josephine, Catherine, Theresa, Agnes, Catherina and Margaret. 

The biggest challenge for the Ministry in getting inmates prepared for baptism in prison is the time constraint and the difficulties in making early preparations. A brief baptism course was conducted by both priests in the English, Chinese and Tamil languages before the ceremony. 

Their consent to embrace the Catholic faith and to receive baptism was formally carried out with a letter of consent from the individual inmates. 

The baptism ceremony was followed by the Sacrament of Confirmation and the celebration of the Eucharist where the baptised received Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. The priests prayed for them and advised them to stay focused on Jesus and to draw strength from Him to move on. 

One of the baptized inmates expressed quietly, “My acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Saviour will mark an important step in my life.” 

It is a milestone for the Catholic Prison Ministry to note that on this occasion, a record number of seven persons were baptized. 

The Ministry volunteers will keep them in prayer and help them with their RCIA sessions and to make progress on their spiritual paths. 

In the meantime, Masses were also celebrated in the other blocks and cells. In the Death Row block, Fr Simon Labrooy commenced Mass with greetings from Archbishop Julian Leow. Many of the inmates still remembered when His Grace celebrated the Eucharist at Christmas. “You are not alone, for Jesus loves each one of you. We will pray for your wellbeing as you pray for your families back home,” he added. 

After Mass, the inmates exchanged the sign of peace with a warm hug to demonstrate their Christian love for one another with praises of Alleluia to the Lord. 

Speaking to 63 prison inmates at the Main Block, Fr Albet Ariokiasamy encouraged them to use their time in prison to get their lives back on track and to rehabilitate themselves spiritually. “Do not feel discouraged by the challenges faced while in prison, as some of the saints and apostles were also imprisoned for doing the right thing and preaching the Word of God,” he added. 

Prison inmates in the main Death Row Cell experienced a sense of hope and promise of a new life in Christ when Fr Edwin Peter spoke to them of Jesus who is always forgiving. “He loves each one of us to the point that He gave his life for us.” 

Fr Gregory Chan, too, shared with the inmates on Jesus’ love for sinners and how He cared for them when he celebrated the Eucharist at the Rawatan Permulihan Dadah (Drug Rehabilitation Centre) section. Mass is celebrated during the Easter and Christmas seasons in seven other prisons in Selangor, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan. Priests also visit the inmates monthly to hear confessions and for pastoral care duties. 

Currently, 25 priests and 182 volunteers (ladies and men) from the Catholic Prison Ministry Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese visit the prisons weekly for pastoral care programmess and spiritual counselling .

The Ministry has extended its services to the inmates in the prisons in the northern and southern states of Penang and Melaka/ Johore Diocese through their respective Prison Ministries.

Merdeka Carnival 31 August 2012 at Holy Family Kajang

The Holy Family Church Kajang held it's Merdeka Carnival on 31 August 2012. As usual, they were many activities planned through out the day.

The turnout was very good and there were a number of non Catholics who came for the food and fun too. The Carnival statted with the mass at 9 am and the official opening was done after the mass.

There were lots of food and drinks for the whole day.

There were games for the children and children at heart. These include the giant  slide, mechanical horse, horse ride, water dunk and other games. There were also carnival games which offered prizes.

 

There were also perfomances the whole day with lots of singing (solo, group and bands). Performances by the various migrants and language group were also staged. There were also line dances performed.

There was also a special appearance by Francesca Peters who wowed the more matured crowds with her hits and even performed a number of songs with Father George Harrison and a group of children. She later took photos with her fans.

 

There were also coloring contests for the children and various games such as futsal, captain ball and telematch held. The turn out and response was very encouraging to see so many young people taking part.

The carnival was supposed to finish at 6.30 pm but due to the games and the crowds, it was delayed to dusk. Overall, it was a fun day for many people and I must salute those who worked so hard to make this a success.

Until the next time, cheers.

Well done and wishing them great success in the new home.

Until the next time, cheers.
 

The Star, Thursday August 2, 2012

Phase 1 of children’s new home begins with much fanfare

THE foundation work for the first phase of Rumah Keluarga Kami’s additional building in Jalan Bukit, Kajang has finally begun.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held recently and was attended by Kuala Lumpur Catholic Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam, Rev Fr George Harrison, Rev Fr Peter Betradeau, Holy Family Church members, well-wishers and donors. The project will be carried out in two phases.

As reported in StarMetro (“New complex for home”, Jan 19, 2011), the construction was supposed to be completed last year.

Impressive: The children from the home looking at the model of the two-phase project.

According to Rumah Keluarga Kami board of directors president Emmanuel Culas, the delay was due to a lack of funds.

“The home currently houses 36 children but with the new building, the home can accommodate 60 children,” he said.

St Vincent De Paul (SVDP) Society of Malaysia national president Datuk Watson Peters said the home was still in need of funds.

“We have collected a substantial amount but still need approximately RM400,000.

“The first phase will take about a year to complete. After that, we will start the second phase,” he said.

Phase 2 will see one of the two buildings demolished and a two-storey building built in its place.

For details, email rumahkkm@gmail.com or call 03-8736 7877 (Rumah Keluarga Kami).

The Star ran a news article on our own Rev Father George Harrison of the Holy Family Church Kajang.

Until the next time, cheers.

The Star, Tuesday December 27, 2011

Rev George Harrison reaches out to the faithful

KAJANG: His name has elicited all sorts of responses, including a teacher who thought he was trying to be cheeky.

 

Catholic priest Rev George Har­rison (pic), who was named after a famous member of The Beatles, said he was once reprimanded during his PMR examinations by an examiner, who was suspicious of his name.

“The examiner even asked me to show him my identity card. When he realised that it was my real name, he was taken aback and started laughing,” said the 38-year-old, who is a parish priest at the Holy Family Church here.

True to his namesake, George, who was named by his uncle, also has a musical side and said he loved to sing for charity.

“When I sing at events, I tell the audience that their donations will go to the less fortunate,” he said, adding that he sang and preached in four languages – English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.

“I learnt Mandarin when I was in Taiwan for two years. Learning many languages is one way I can reach out to more people. The Beatles too reached out to people with their music and I admire that,” said George, whose favourite song by The Beatles is Let It Be.

For his Christmas wish, George said he hoped Malaysians would be more giving and help those in need.

Holy Family Parish Pastoral Assembly 2011

The Holy Family church in Kajang held it annual Parish Pastoral Assembly on Sunday, 23 October 2011. For this year, we have a new format for the assembly which is to have a sharing.

The assembly started off at around 11.15 am after the 9 am community mass and a good breakfast which was provided for all. Father Peter Bretaudeau, our resident priest led us in the opening prayer.

Father Peter during the opening prayer.

Father George Harrison, our parish priest then gave his opening address and report.

Father George's speech.

A briefing on the sharing was given by Robert Tan. A short explanations on the questions to be shared.

Robert Tan explaining.

Some of the participants sharing

The particpants were given almost 1 hour to share on 2 questions i.e. being Word rooted and Mission driven BECs. So, the particpants shared in their respective BECs and Zones.

From what I saw, the sharing were very good and while I felt sceptical at first, I think our community has grown tremendously and this made the sharing much more meaningful.

Deep in sharing.

When the sharing was over and while waiting for all to return, the church choir led in some songs for all.

The reports by the PCC Chairperson, Deborah Gurdial, BECCOT Chairman, Jude Benjamin and PPC Chairman, Francis Ooi was then presented.

Deborah's speech.

Jude giving his report

Francis giving his report.

This year's crowd was more than last year and there was a mark increase in the presence of our University and College students. I hope we can see more in the future. Thanks also to the hard work of our Sister Margaret Pereira.

A section of the crowd.

Another section of the crowd.

Robert Tan later delivered the report of the sharing. Unfortunately, I had to go off before the end of the report and the address by Rev Dr Clarence Dass who represented our Archbishop. It was unfortune that his Grace was unable to attend our assembly.

Overall, I think it was a successful assembly and hope that the numbers who come will increase further next year.

Until the next time, cheers.

Magnificent Magnificat Choir from Medan

Last Sunday evening (7 August 2011), some of us had the opportunity to watch an amazing group of young people from Medan, Indonesia perform at the Holy Family Church Kajang. The performance was organised by the St Francis of Assisi and the St Thomas More church. They performed at the Divine Mercy Church on the Friday.

The group is 80 strong and is led a Capuchin priest, Fr Redemptus Benedictus Simamora. He started the choir in 1998 and the youngest to perform that night was 13 years old. We were promised a good performance but I believe most of us were overwelmed by their sheer talent and dedication. The church that night was full although I believe the majority were from outside Kajang.

Sections of the crowd before the concert

Another section of the crowd

The concert started with a rendition of two songs by Father Valentine Gompok of St Francis of Assisi. he too has a good voice and was well received by the crowd.

The choir coming taking their place

The choir performed some classical songs such as Bach's Ave Maria and compositions by Vivaldi and Tom Fettke. They also performed folk songs from the island of Sumatera, Indonesia where they come from.

A very fascinating dance

The traditional dances which they perform is also of very high quality. There is one dance from Acheh which warrants special mention and it is very very hard to do. Kudos to them for doing it so well. Apart from this, there were many other dances.

A group singing some modern songs

There were also modern gospel songs and a performance by Maria, a member of the group who won a national singing contest in Indonesia.

Maria, a member singing

An unfortunate incident happened to the group and a number of members lost their belongings such as mobile phones and cameras. There were appeals of donations to the crowd to assist them. I hope the appeal was successful.

The group is mainly made up of Batak people who is known to love singing. Most of them come from humble background and for them, this is a tough sacrifice for them as they have to undergo so much hardship to be part of the group. The determination and pride in their performance can be clearly seen and I hope that they will continue to achieve greater success.

When speaking of the group, one cannot ignore the contribution of Father Redemptus. When he leads the choir, one can see the passion and love that he has for the music as well as for his members. It is strange how God makes his calling sometimes.

For the final performance, they did Handel's Messiah, a difficult piece but executed well. It is no wonder, they received a standing ovation from the crowd. For the encore, the did Abba's Mama Mia.

Standing ovation given to them

Group photo

It was a truly amazing evening and those who did not attend have missed a great performance. It is their first performance outside of Indonesia and I get guarantee that it will not be their last. I managed to get  a clip from Youtube of their performance. The sound quality does not do justice to them. 

The clip can be watched here, http://youtu.be/-9BVOcRp4Mo.

Until the next time, cheers.