He Lived as a good shepherd
HE WAS ORDAINED priest in 1951 and was Bishop of Penang for nine years and Archbishop of Singapore for 23 years. In all these years he lived as a good shepherd, living a simple and exemplary life and serving his flocks, deepening their faith though the Word of God and the sacraments. He was close to the Lord especially through the celebration of the Eucharist.He has contributed much to the growth of the church in Malaysia and Singapore. We are very grateful to him for all his contributions and pray that the Lord will reward him with eternal life,
us to carry on his mission of spreading the faith.
HE WAS A real man according to what the Bible says in Mt 5:19: "Therefore, the man who infringes
even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven."
This is exactly the way it describes the life of the archbishop. He practised what he preached. He taught not only by words and homilies but by example. He was an example to his people.
I see in him how to live the eight beatitudes.
For him, he’s really living up to the spirit of poverty. He was "poor in spirit" – (it was) his whole concept of life. He lived humbly, satisfied with what he had and not longing for more. Do with whatever he had and be satisfied.
He inherited his car from the previous archbishop, Michael Olcomendy. Msgr Noel Goh and I gave him a newer car – a secondhand Toyota DX. He used it for so many years. It was a good car but consumed much petrol. When it was not functioning well, I gave him mine – a Hyundai. He drove it till he retired. He was a member of the Council on Minority Rights, which included the President of Singapore – drove a car like that to meetings and then the battery couldn’t start! We actually got him a brand new car, but he never got to drive it. He never demanded, as an archbishop, to have a new car.
He loved durians and bought them in a big heap. Good and bad, he would eat them.
When buttons fell from his own clothes, he would sew them back himself – not so easy for an older man to thread a needle. I bought him a "witch" to thread his needles. He was very happy (so he could continue mending his own clothes).
He loved the poor. No poor man came here and went away empty-handed. We called them his clients. He would collect a pile of $2 notes and hand them out. Those days, $2 could get them a decent meal. Practically every morning they would come to the door, one by one. If he was not around they would sit and wait. He cared for them and saw to it that they got something to eat.
I highlight only one beatitude because that’s something we all must learn, especially in Singapore.
He loved music, specially classical music, which he listened to on his AKAI stereo set.
That was his life. He read books, listened to music. TV, there’s one in his room, a small one – 14 inches.
Nine words make up the whole of his lifestyle:"Make it do (anything goes)", "Use it up (don’t waste)", "Wear it out (until it cannot be used)".
As for me, I see his life as the most eloquent sermon he gave to us because he lived it, not preached it.
He followed the words of his master – the opening words of Acts: "Jesus began to do and teach". That’s what exactly Archbishop Yong did. He acted, like his master; examples speak louder than words.
This type of lifestyle is very hard to imitate.
Msgr. Francis Lau knew the late Archbishop Gregory Yong well. Msgr Lau was appointed Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Singapore in May 1983 and moved to
Church of Sts. Peter and Paul to be physically nearer
to the archbishop. He resided at Archbishop’s House from 1993 till 2000. On Oct 19, 2000, he was elected
Archdiocesan Administrator by the Board of Consultators
after it was announced that the pope had accepted Archbishop Gregory Yong’s resignation. He held that responsibility until the ordination and installation of Nicholas Chia as Archbishop of Singapore on Oct 7, 2001.
