From left, Fathers Peter Koh, Joseph Koh, OCD, Paul Staes, CICM and Brian D’ Souza concelebrate Mass with Archbishop Nicholas Chia at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. The Friday Jun 19 Mass marked the commencement of the Year for Priests.
Year For Priests begins with a Mass concelebrated by Archbishop Nicholas Chia and some 60 priests, and the commissioning of a statue of St. John Vianney, patron saint of priests.
SINGAPORE – Hundreds of Catholics gathered at the Cathedral of the Good
Shepherd on the evening of Jun 19 for the launch of the Year for
Priests in the Singapore archdiocese.
About 60 diocesan and Religious priests concelebrated Mass with
Archbishop Nicholas Chia of Singapore, who blessed a specially
commissioned statue of St. John Vianney, patron saint of priests,
during the liturgy.
The statue, about five feet or 1.5 metres tall, will be brought to all
31 Catholic parishes in Singapore for a week each during the special
year. Individual parishes are encouraged to use the statue to organise
a Holy Hour to pray for priests, seminarians and more vocations to the
priesthood.
“This is not a devotion to St. John Mary Vianney, but is to be a means
of drawing attention and inviting Catholics to a deeper appreciation of
the ministerial priesthood,” said Father Andrew Wong, chairman of the
Priestly Life Commission.
The commission and the Serra Club of Singapore, which promotes priestly
vocations in the archdiocese, are collaborating on the special
activities keyed to the celebration. Pope Benedict XVI set the Year for
Priests to run from the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this year
until the same feast next year, which will fall on Jun 19.
Father Andrew has asked that during the statue’s visit to each parish,
the parish priest and lay representatives increase awareness of St.
John Vianney’s exemplary life and how his example can inspire young men
today to consider the call to priesthood.
On the Sunday of that week, the parish priest is asked to preach on the
missionary dimension of the priesthood, with the priest as “Teacher of
the Word, Minister of the Sacraments and Leader of the Community”.
Each parish has received a package containing information, suggestions,
prayers and a Holy Hour instruction booklet, Father Andrew said.
Archbishop Chia asked in his Jun 19 homily that Catholics undertake
“spiritual and pastoral initiatives” during the special year to “delve
deeply into the mystery” of God’s gift of the priesthood.
He suggested that they organise and attend retreats, conferences and
study sessions on Church documents concerning the priesthood. He
specifically suggested the Second Vatican Council’s “Presbyterorum
Ordinis” (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests), Pope John Paul
II’s 1992 exhortation “Pastores Dabo Vobis” (I will give you shepherds)
and the letters Pope John Paul II addressed to priests every year on
Holy Thursday, ahead of Easter.
Archbishop Chia also offered words of encouragement for his fellow
priests. He urged them all to be like Christ, “the Good Shepherd who
gave his life for his flock” to “carry out the Father’s will and not
our own” and to be “detached from worldly preoccupations”.
Archbishop Chia exhorted all Catholics in Singapore to participate in
the various archdiocesan and parish programmes – holy hours, perpetual
adoration, promotion of priestly vocations – that will take place
during the year.
These “concerted efforts” will help priests to be “true shepherds” and
will bring about “a flowering of priestly vocations”, he said.
The prelate gave the current ratio of priests to laypeople as about
1-to-3,000. According to 2008 statistics of the archdiocese, the local
Church had 71 diocesan priests and 67 Religious priests.
The first Holy Hour as part of the Year for Priests activities will be held at the cathedral on Thursday Jun 25.
The Priestly Life Commission has also organised a 24-hour adoration of
the Blessed Sacrament to be held at the Catholic Spirituality Centre on
Aug 1-2, a weekend. Catholics will be invited to pray for the priests
and seminarians in the archdiocese, for more vocations to the
priesthood and in thanksgiving for priests’ ministry among God’s people.
In October, the month of the rosary, Catholics will be encouraged to
include the intentions of their priests and seminarians when reciting
the traditional Marian prayer.
Father Andrew explained that the idea is not to overtax parishioners by
organising too many new activities, but to incorporate the Year for
Priests into already-existing activities.
By Daniel Tay
