Mystery Solved - OMPH Church Catches A Pair Of ‘Musangs /Civet Cats’

It was the Musang  that had been littering the church not the rat.

In fact it was a pair of Musang’s (civet cats) thus solving the case of the ‘Mysterious Litter’ found at the choir loft, sacristy and other parts of the church.

Fr Joe’ suspicion was confirmed when alerted of the sightings recently. He set a trap using mangoes as bait which he hooked to inside of the large cage.

But the Musang was smart. It took down the fruit then peeled off the skin and ate the fruit leaving behind the empty cage.

Thinking that the cage was old and the trap door was not functioning well Fr Joe bought another cage.

This time he bought ripe mangoes and secured it firmly to the roof of both the cages making sure it triggered the trap door.

It worked. This morning, trapped in the cages were two ‘Musangs’ and by the look of them were well fattened.

A call to PERHILITAN or the Department of Wildlife and National Parks came and took them away thus solving a long standing mystery.

JAG

National Day Of Prayer

The Malaysian Catholic Bishops are deeply concerned that this country’s multi-cultural and multi-religious vales are being eroded.

They have called on all the faithful to pray for our lawmakers for when Parliament reopens on the 6th of March 2017 that they may be guided in their wisdom for the good of the people and the nation.

They also asked to pray for harmony, respect for one another and justice.

Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church 

Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

St Michael's Church

All the three Parishes in Ipoh, Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, St Michael’s Church and Our Mother of Perpetual Help held this special prayer event from 7.30pm till 10.30 on the Friday 24th 2017.

It ended with Benediction

JAG

This Is Pedra Branca

Pedra Branca (formerly referred to by Malaysia as Pulau Batu Puteh and now as Batu Puteh) is an outlying island and also the easternmost point of Singapore.

It is currently under dispute between Singapore and Malaysia both claiming it as belonging to their territory.

The island consists of a small outcrop of granite rocks with an area of about 8,560 square metres (92,100 sq ft).

Pedra Branca was known to sailors for centuries. It was originally within the territory of the Johor Sultanate, which was founded in 1528, and remained under the new Sultanate of Johor under the British sphere of influence following the signing of the Anglo–Dutch Treaty of 1824 between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Between 1850 and 1851, the British built Horsburgh Lighthouse on the island without seeking the consent of the Johor authorities, or even informing them of the decision.

From that time, the Straits Settlements administered the island; Singapore then assumed responsibility in 1946 after the dissolution of the Straits Settlements.

On 21 September 1953, the Acting State Secretary of Johor, responding to a query from the Colonial Secretary of Singapore about the status of the island, stated that "the Johore Government does not claim ownership of Pedra Branca".

On 21 December 1979, Malaysia published a map that showed the island to be within its territorial waters. This ignited a 29-year territorial dispute which, together with the issue of sovereignty over the nearby maritime features of Middle Rocks and South Ledge, the disputants presented to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for resolution.

On 23 May 2008 the ICJ ruled that Pedra Branca was under Singapore's sovereignty. Although the island had originally been under the sovereignty of the Johor Sultanate, the United Kingdom and Singapore had carried out various acts of sovereignty in respect of the island.

The failure of Malaysia and its predecessors to respond to these acts, and other actions that demonstrated their acknowledgment of Singapore's sovereignty over the island, meant that Singapore had gained sovereignty over Pedra Branca.

On the other hand, Middle Rocks remains part of Malaysian territory as Singapore had not manifested any acts of sovereignty in respect of it. 

Will we get it back......

Ronnie And Benny – A Father And Son’s Shared Love Of Horses

Just over 100 days ago Ronald Woodworth passed away from a heart attack at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur.

At his side was his son Benny, an international jockey, who brought his father back to Ipoh to the funeral parlor for the wake.

He then took a flight from Penang to Singapore to honour all his engagements that he lined up that weekend at the Singapore Turf Club where he rode a winner in Race 2 astride Cavatina. 

"This win is for you Dad” his eyes cast upwards as he held back the tears. He then returned for the funeral.

“I wanted to finish the race and try and ride as many winners as I could. He was always proud of me whenever I won and I dedicated the win to him” said Benny after the funeral.

Ronald Woodworth had always been around horses. His ambition was to become a professional jockey but he was too tall and too heavy.

But in his son Benny he saw that he was small built and he loved being around horses.

He has since been named Champion Jockey several times having earned the honour in Singapore, Malaysia and Mauritius.

 “I remember him taking me to the Iskandar Polo Club. I was 8 years old at the time and used to help warm up the horses. I used to look forward to that and would be disappointed if I didn’t get a ride that day.

“He is the one who trained me and taught me the basics until I joined Malcolm Thwaites stable.

“Dad used to take part in amateur races, very common in those day whenever there was a public holiday. In fact one year he was the top Amateur Jockey.

“Later on during the Pro-Amateur races, when I had turned professional, my father and me both rode winners on the same day.

 “Actually he is still teaching me cause in horse racing you never stop learning cause every horse is different.

“We spoke all the time before and after the race even with disagreement. We were super close.

“I am going to miss my father very much as I won’t have anyone to mentor me anymore. I am on own and I have to think the way he thinks”

JAG

Christians Pray For Unity

Christians of various denominations gathered together at Our Mother of Perpetual Help (OMPH) Church to Pray for Unity.

OMPH Parish Priest Fr Joseph Stephen

Nine denominations participated in the prayer event among them the Elim Gospel Hall, the Presbyterian Church, Methodist Church, Anglican Church, Gideon Bible Service, Four Square Church, Golden Lampstand, Baptist Church and OMPH.

OMPH Parish Priest Father Joseph Stephen said that the history of Praying for Unity began after Vatican II. 

“Since 1964 the third week in January is set aside for Christian Unity where the church prays for 1week period .

“As it was the Chinese New Year this year the organizing committee of Christian Brothers postponed it to a later date”.

“Let us pray in this time together that we Christians will aspire and long that the truth will be part of our evangelical passion to really embrace the truth and live it”

The various Pastors then took turns to pray for the family, the country and the Christians and missionaries.

The session ended when the congregation lit a candle symbolizing the Flame of Unity among all the Churches.

JAG

Senior Citizens Chinese New Year Get Together

The Senior Citizens held their own get together Chinese New Year function at the Pusat Aktviti Warge Emas (PAWE) centre at UTC Perak today.

Led by their Chairwoman Datuk Tan Lian Hoe it was a joyous occasion with Lion Dances and the tossing of Yee Sang before they were served with a delicious brunch.

The event was limited to 100 of their members due to the space constraint at their at the Urban Transformation Centre but it was a wonderful time had by all.

JAG

The Church And Weddings Like This.

It’s always nice when a child gets married in the church where they grew up. 

They were baptized, attended their catechism classes then took their sacraments of communion and confirmation and now as they have grown up get married.

Such was the case of Joanne Loh a Parishoner of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church and daughter of Anna and Joseph Loh when she got married to Aaron Kong on the morning of 4 February 2017.

It was nothing outlandish just family, friends and guests who came together on a Saturday weekend to see Joanne and Aaron start a new life together as man and wife. 

And it was beautiful.... as the bride arrived early and waited outside in the limo while the groom waited inside anxiously as the congregation took their seats. 

At occasions as this one old friend’s come together again to meet and reacquaint each other and join in partaking of the joy in seeing Joanne and Aaron getting married.

JAG