SUNDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2018
SINGAPORE $0.70 CENTS / WEST MALAYSIA RM$2.10
MCI (P) 010/08/2017
PPS 201/04/2013 (022940)
Religious life has its roots in family values ... said Redemptorist Fr Francis Vijayan during the World Day for Consecrated Life Mass By Christopher Khoo The Religious vows of chastity, poverty and obedience are all rooted in family life, and Religious life will never die as long as it remains relevant to the present. Redemptorist Fr Francis Vijayan made these observations during his homily during the World Day for Consecrated Life Mass on Feb 2. Fr Vijayan, who was ordained in 2016, acknowledged that he was one of the youngest among the crowd of 200 or so Religious priests, nuns and Brothers gathered at Novena Church, but nevertheless was chosen to speak to them. “I have up to now lived Religious life for about seven years since y first rofession ut the strange thing is that the deeper I dig for wisdom in living out my Reli ious life, find the ans ers in family,” he said. Elaborating on the parallels between the Religious vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and family living, he noted that chastity in the married state “is the glue that keeps the family together”. “The moment children cannot see their parents’ love for each other, their security and esteem weakens. A child’s identity is found in his parents before anything else.” Furthermore, without husband and wife listening to each other, and parent and child listening to one another in mutual dialogue, there can be no real harmony. “This is obedience,” he said. Poverty is also most evident in any family. Everything that a father and mother owns does not just belong to them alone. “It has to be shared in such a way that the hole fa ily enefits and ideally even their larger community around them,” he said.
VOL 68
NO. 04
INSIDE HOME
CNY cheer for foreign workers Caritas staff, volunteers bring them festive goodies n Page 9
ASIA
Vatican, China nearing agreement on bishops Decision made for Church unity n Page 12
WORLD
Special Valentine’s Day cards With a focus on migrants n Page 13
POPE FRANCIS Religious hold lighted candles during the World Day for Consecrated Life Mass at Novena Church.
‘Family life inspires Religious life and Religious living in turn witnesses to family living.
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– Fr Francis Vijayan in his homily
“In this way, family life inspires Religious life and Religious living in turn witnesses to family living. We are taking the ideals in family as the foundation for loving the wider community in the world.” Addressing the perceived decline in Religious vocations today, he felt that “we are far from the death of Religious life”.
“It will always have its witness value ecause it finds its inspiration at the heart of any family. It will never die as long as it remains relevant to the present.” The Mass saw representatives from the various Religious congregations in Singapore praying Prayers of the Faithful that are connected to their charisms.
For example, a Missionaries of Charity nun prayed for the abandoned, the poor and the sick; a Franciscan friar prayed for respect for the environment; while a Daughters of St Paul nun prayed for media practitioners. A video of newly-ordained Malaysian Carmelite priest, Fr Nicholas Hoh, was also shown before Mass, in which he and his father shared about his vocation. Religious that Catholic News spoke to said they fully agreed with Fr Vijayan making the connection between the family and Religious life. “The family releases the person, frees him to be a Religious,” said De La Salle Br Collin Wee. “In return, the Religious also serve the family. So it’s a two-way process.” n Continued on Page 9
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