By Audrey J Ansibin
The chief shepherd of the archdiocese here, Tuesday, ordained Wilson Francis as a Deacon in front of some 150 priests, religious, guests and parishioners held at the St Simon Catholic Church Likas.
Archbishop John Wong said, if he recalled correctly, it was the first such ordination in the history of the archdiocese that had to be scaled down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In view of the health protocol, the prelate in his brief speech congratulated Deacon Wilson “for his courage and generosity to come forward to ask to be ordained a deacon”.
Archbishop John also thanked Wilson’s parents for their faith and support towards their newly-ordained son, adding that the blessing is shared by the family as well.
KOTA KINABALU: The rector of St Simon Catholic Church, Tuesday, said with the implementation of Movement Control Order phase 2 (MCO 2.0), all parish activities are cancelled until further notice.
“When we cannot physically fulfill our Sunday and other days of obligation, we can consider the obligation dispensed,” Fr Cosmas Lee said in the statement, adding that the 8.30am Sunday Mass will continue to be live-streamed on YouTube.
“However, there is certainly a spiritual obligation to watch the live-streamed Mass of the parish every Sunday so that we are spiritually and to some extent physically, gathered together in worship as a community of believers. Let no one lose the sense of Sunday, the Day of the Lord.”
By Catherine Wan
Not even the pandemic could hinder the Carmelite community from celebrating their triple joys on the occasion of the Feast of St John of the Cross Dec 14.
Joining Archbishop John Wong, who presided the Mass, were Carmelite chaplain Fr Mattheus Luta, Fr Cosmas Lee, Fr David Sham and 30 other members of the Carmelite community.
The triple joys of celebration comprised the Feast day of St John of the Cross, who is the Father of the Discalced Carmelite Order, the 90
th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Therese of the Child Jesus (1930-2020) and the 60
By Audrey Ansibin
The first of a two-part “Advent-Christmas Caroling Together 2020” at St Simon Catholic Church Likas saw some 700 households joining on both Zoom and YouTube on Dec 13.
Its rector, Fr Cosmas Lee, said the idea of holding the virtual carolling, themed “Celebrating the Birth of Christ, God-with-us in the pandemic”, was first mooted when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the traditional house-to-house caroling norm.
“We’re better focused on the Word of God… on what we’re actually singing and praying,” he said on the virtual caroling, in contrast to physical gathering where some people could get distracted by appearances, among others.
Published on: Wednesday, December 16, 2020
By: Audrey J Ansibin
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This screenshot taken from the virtual event shows Fr Cosmas displaying the two sets of statues from the rectory. Parishioners who were not able to join the session on Zoom were also able to interact with each other via the Live Chat on YouTube Live.
Kota Kinabalu: The first of a two-part “Advent-Christmas Carolling Together 2020” at St Simon Catholic Church Likas saw some 700 households joining on both Zoom and YouTube on Dec 13.
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Its rector, Fr Cosmas Lee, said the idea of holding the virtual carolling, themed “Celebrating the Birth of Christ, God-with-us in the pandemic”, was first mooted when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the traditional house-to-house caroling norm.