The Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help at OMPH Church
It was the annual Feast day of Our Mother of
Perpetual Help Church, Ipoh Garden held on 23 June 2018.
Bright sunshine at the start of the Mass
The weather
had been dicey throughout the week but the mass on the feast day was held in
its entirety though with adjustments.
.... getting ready ... plan B is an option at 6.30 pm
All the girls are Sarawakian. Presenting the Crown is Jacqueline John
Priests and Parishoners are rearing to go ......
Parish
Priest Fr Joseph Stephen in anticipation of the rain spoiling the entire
celebration had ordered only the main portions of the ceremony be held, and it
was a right decision.
bright evening and all was ready ......
Vice Provincial Fr Eugene Fernandez was the main celebrant
The start of
the mass began with bright sunshine. It held true with confidence that the
weather would hold. But during Fr Paul Kee saying the homily the weather slowly
began to threaten and the sky became darker.
...... had an attendance of over 2,000 devotees
Fr Paul Kee said the Homily on the theme 'Hope ' .......
during which time the weather began to turn ...
Immediately
after the Homily Fr Joseph Stephen announced that under advisement the scheduled
program would have to be shortened and speeded up in anticipation of the impending
rain and initiate 'Plan B' an alternative option.
The
Eucharistic Celebration was held quickly followed by the Communion during which
the various language choirs performed.
After
communion the Thanksgiving Letter was read followed by the crowning of the Icon and the Consecration of Families.
All are ready..Thanksgiving letter, the Crowning of the Icon and the book of Consecration of Names
It was
followed by the Procession but it was shortened from the outdoor stage to the
altar in Church forgoing the regular procession around the Parish neighborhood.
The Annual procession .... into the Church
..being greeted by children to lead the Icon into the Church
Flower girls
and page boys were ushered to the front of the church to greet the float of the
Icon.
and placed on the Sacristy signalling the start of Benediction
Pall bearers
carrying the Icon of Mary brought it to the altar where Fr Paul Kee was waiting
to start the Benediction.
......and the ever faithful devotees eager to offer homage to their Mother
The mass was
completed while outside the skies had opened up and steady drizzle had begun causing
some inconvenience for the fellowship.
Pilgrims from Singapore .....
OMPH Youth
The decision
to expedite the Mass was a brave decision but it could not have been carried
through smoothly without the prayers and teamwork of the various Ministries.
Rev Fr
Joseph Stephen attended the funeral of Fr. John Martin. The funeral was held at
the Redemptorist Monastery, North Perth, Australia.
Fr Joe who said
that he represented the Redemptorist community of Malaysia and Singapore departed
for Perth on Tuesday 13 was back at OMPH Church by Friday 15th.
"Fr. John
Martin was sent to the parish of Ipoh in Malaysia in 1970 to begin his missions
to both the Tamil and English speaking communities. Dave Anthony and Eugene
Fernandez CSsR. became his lifelong friends. He was appointed Leader of the
Ipoh Community at the age of 32.
John's
ability to accompany younger students in their vocational journey was noticed
and from 1974-75 he was appointed the Prefect of Students in the major seminary
in Singapore.
Upon
completing that special appointment, he returned to the missions and parish
work for the next 14 years in both Singapore and Ipoh.
From 1986 -
1989, John was appointed the leader of the Redemptorist Vice-Province of
Malaysia-Singapore, as well as the Regional Superior of the Redemptorist
communities in Sri Lanka.
It was a
challenging task offering leadership and vision to a community that spanned
three countries, several languages and many cultures, and it was a struggle
that formed and shaped much of the next half of his life.
In the last
15 years of his life, John carried an illness which he knew would one day claim
his life prematurely.
May Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help, Mother of Christ, pray him home.
The nine
days of preached Novena began on Friday 15 June.
The theme
for this year is “Mary: A Model Disciple of Hope”
Time table for the 9 days of preached Novena
Time table for the language groups
The highlight
is the Eucharistic Celebration on the 9th day on 23 June when
Parishioners will see the Crowning of the ICON followed with a Candlelight Procession.
Mass at BEC St Michael was held in Tamil by Fr Elango in the home Madame Lourdemarie
BEC (Basic
Ecclesiastical Community) of a Parish are the grassroots of a Parish.
The Parish
of Our Mother of Perpetual Help is now 46 years in existence with a population
over 5,000 parishoners.
These are
then divided into Basic Ecclesiastical groups and OMPH Parish has 26 BEC’s.
Each year
just before the start of OMPH’s Feast Day the Parish goes round the 26 BEC’s
celebrating Mass in individual homes. The community of that BEC then congregates
to celebrate with a Mass and have meal for fellowship thereafter.
Mass at BEC St.
Simon was held in Chinese with Fr Paul Kee at the home of Madam Lilian Foo.
The masses
are said in the various languages of Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese, Tamil and
English. While it is religious it does show up our multi-racial
composition which I find very interesting.
The
communities gather and exchange updates of their families, health and other
issues over a meal.
The priests
that participated in the BEC celebrations
this year were Rev Fr Joseph Stephen and Fr Paul Kee while Frs. Staney and Elongo
are Redemptorist Priests from Province of Bangalore, India. The BEC gatherings
were held from 4 June until the 13th.
Mass at BEC St.
Joseph was held in English with Fr. Staney at the home of Irene and Peter Choong.
The preached
Novena starts on 15th June with the theme “Mary: A Model Disciple of
Hope” and culminates on 23 June the Feast Day of OMPH Parish.
