Ignatian Online, Website of St Ignatius Church, Petaling Jaya

Will you bring your children to attend Mass every Sunday? Can you attend Mass quietly and attentively? The first question from St Ignatius Church (SIC) Parish Priest Fr Andrew Wong CDD was addressed to parents of 70 children from SIC's Standard 3 First Holy Communion Class of 2017 towards the end of Sunset Mass on 21 October 2017. The second question was for the 34 boys and 36 girls who had received Jesus the Bread of Life for the first time from Fr Andrew and Assistant Parish Priest Fr Lawrence Ng CDD. Fr Andrew also reminded parents of their critical role as the first and primary catechists of the Christian faith – not Sunday school teachers. Fr Francis Ng CDD was the concelebrant at the Mass.

Incorporated into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church through Baptism while infants, receiving Christ in the Eucharist is the third Sacrament received by the children. In addition to the gifts of bread and wine, the children also offered up their First Holy Communion certificates – a symbol of remembrance of the first time they became one in the Body of Christ – and Camp Crafts Prayer Cards during the Offertory Procession. The children then sang Jesus, Lamb of God & Thank You Lord in dedication to the congregation followed by the Parents' Pledge led by Bernard & Caroline Tan. With their certificates in hand, each child happily posed for photographs with Fr Andrew and Fr Lawrence after Mass.

Photography: John Ragai 

More photos are available at . 

Click on Sunday School for more information on classes and activities to prepare children for the Sacraments of Baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. 

Apart from plenty of videos & displays of Marian apparitions, highlights of this weekend's programme include a rendition of Marian hymns by Family Life Ministry Singers, a movie on The Miracle of Fatima & talks by Fr Michael Chua (Acting Chancellor, Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur; Parish Priest, Church of Jesus Caritas; & Administrator, Chapel of Kristus Aman). Do not miss this opportunity as the exhibition will be coming to a close soon.

The exhibition will take place from 8-30 Oct 2017 with opening hours from 9 am to 5 pm from Monday-Friday. Those who intend to attend on weekdays need to contact SIC Office @ 03-7803 3512/14 for arrangements – a minimum of 20 persons is required for entry. Opening hours for Saturdays & Sundays are from 9 am to 10 pm. Please contact David Lim (012 302 0682) or Bernard Ng (019 330 9785) for enquiries. 

Just in the first hour alone, more than a hundred parishioners had already streamed into the Marian Exhibition held at the Rooftop of Costantini Comunity Centre in St Ignatius Church (SIC). The event was opened by SIC Parish Priest Fr Andrew Wong CDD and Assistant Parish Priest Fr Lawrence Ng CDD at 10 am on Sunday 8 Oct 2017. Also in attendance at the opening were Fr Martin Then CDD and Br Joseph Lim CDD together with event organisers comprising ministries and BECs. The exhibition was held in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the apparitions in a mountainous region in the middle of Portugal known as Fatima where the Mother of God appeared six times to three young children. 

Anchored by the theme Mother Mary is in the Heart of Every Disciple, the event will showcase the four Marian Dogmas (Perpetual Virginity, Mother of God, Immaculate Conception & Assumption) and 12 apparitions of which nine have been approved by the Catholic Church. Visitors will be able to attend talks on various Marian topics, view video screenings & movies, hand in prayer petitions, pray the rosary as a community and take in the beautiful decorations, artwork & figurines. A talk in Mandarin titled Mother Mary Navigates Us to Jesus Christ was given by Fr Martin at 1.30 pm.

Various groups also visited the exhibition including a delegation of 40 from the Chinese Apostolate of St Joseph Church in Plentong, Johor, on Sunday 15 Oct. In the afternoon, Fr VA Michael (Parish Priest, Church of St Paul the Hermit, Bestari Jaya) joined attendees in reciting the rosary, gave a talk on Mother Mary at 5 pm and celebrated the 6 pm Mass. Another group of 20 (including six priests & a nun) from Hualien Diocese, Taiwan, visited on Tuesday 17 Oct. Fr Francis Ng CDD, Fr Stephen Ng CDD and Fr Augustine Lee (Parish Priest, Sacred Heart Church, Bentong, Pahang) who were present mingled happily with the visitors.

The exhibition also received two groups of visitors on Thursday 19 Oct: 25 from Church of Jesus Caritas (JCC), Kepong & eight from Church of St Aloysius, Mantin, Negeri Sembilan. Another group from JCC who visited on Saturday 21 Oct got a bonus as they were able to catch up with Fr Lucas Ng CDD who was their Assistant Parish Priest for a short while recently. Fr Lucas had just returned from the Vatican as part of a delegation of Congregatio Discipulorum Domini (CDD) priests who met His Holiness Pope Francis on occasion of the 90th anniversary of the founding of CDD by Cardinal Celso Costantini in 1927 and the start of the process for his beatification. On the same day, the SIC Single Adult Ministry (SAM), Family Life Ministry (FLM) and a Bahasa Malaysia group led rosary prayers. FLM Singers also added a musical touch with renditions of various Marian hymns. On Sunday 22 Oct, a talk by Fr Michael Chua (Acting Chancellor, Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur; Parish Priest, Church of Jesus Caritas; Administrator, Chapel of Kristus Aman) on the Role of Mary in the Life of the Church & as First Disciple was attended by 250 persons.

Photography: John Ragai & Matthew Soo

Responding to a query as to why one should visit the exhibition when the information could be easily found on the Internet, organising committee chairman David Lim said visitors would be able to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and Our Blessed Mother which one would not be able to experience likewise by looking at the PC screen or smartphone. Furthermore, one can feel & touch the presentations as well as ask questions which friendly parishioners manning the booths would try their best to answer. 

More photos are available at . 

by Samantha Ho

"Children united by love for their mother" is how Brother Joseph Lim CDD described the joint effort by the parishioners of St Ignatius Church (SIC) in organising and coordinating the Marian Exhibition. "The hard work, cooperation and sacrifice of time by the various ministries and groups of SIC has shown results in the joy and satisfaction felt at the launch of the exhibition here last week", Brother Joseph said. He added that it was very exciting to be able to offer parishioners and visitors an opportunity to learn more about Mother Mary and the messages that she shared via her apparitions.

In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance at Fatima, SIC has organised the month-long exhibition on the life and apparitions of the Blessed Mother. It aims to give visitors a clearer understanding and deeper appreciation of Mother Mary and her role in the church, and includes scheduled movie and video screenings. Visitors begin their journey through the exhibition which is at the rooftop of the SIC Costantini Community Centre by viewing a timeline detailing events in the life of Mother Mary. The exhibition also showcases the four Marian Dogmas and booths which depict the nine approved Marian Apparitions and three other apparitions.

Colourfully decorated by various ministries, the booths have already received much attention on the first day from crowds of curious visitors and Sunday School students. Each booth provides information on the respective Marian Apparitions from various locations around the world. “I find it very educational, and I’ve definitely learnt a lot,” says Kenneth Legada, a pre-university student from Sabah. He added that one of his key takeaways from the exhibition is the variations in cultural elements based on the locations of the apparitions. For example, in the first apparition of Mother Mary at Guadalupe, Mexico in 1531, she was described as an ‘Aztec princess’, with the vision containing various symbols and references to ancient Aztec culture. “Meanwhile, Our Lady of Akita seems to have features and characteristics that are unique to Japan,” Kenneth added.

Charlotte D’Angelus, who is the leader of the SIC senior citizens group, was overwhelmed with joy at having successfully set up the booth for Our Lady of Akita. “I cannot explain how we managed to pull it off as we had very few helpers initially, but I praise and thank God that everything just seemed to fall into place,” she said. The exhibition will be open until 30 October 2017 from 9 am to 10 pm on Saturdays and Sundays and by appointment from 9 am to 5 pm from Mondays to Fridays. For more information on talks and programme updates, please click on Marian Exhibition. 

His Holiness Pope Francis met and blessed priests from Congregatio Discipulorum Domini (CDD) at the Vatican on occasion of the 90th anniversary of the founding of CDD by Cardinal Celso Costantini in 1927.

Cardinal Costantini was the first apostolic delegate in China and his process of beatification will begin next week. Our parish priests and religious brother are also in Rome for this special occasion and here is their message for St Ignatius Church (SIC) parishioners:

Greetings from the Vatican. Have offered prayers for all of my beloved SIC parishioners, may Papa Francis' blessing shine and remain upon all of you.

View a Video report on the event.

There was a big turnout for this year's Mid Autumn Festival held at the St Ignatius Church (SIC) covered car park on Saturday 7 October 2017 from 7.45 to 10.30 pm. Activities included a creative lantern-making competition, stage performances, lantern mini parade & tasty local food delights (especially different types of mooncakes) provided by stalls set up by ministries & BECs (Basic Ecclesial Communities) from both the English- and Mandarin-speaking communities. 

Young parishioners especially admired the colourful lanterns of various shapes & design on display and those made by talented participants in the lantern-making contest. There was also a contest for best-decorated stalls. SIC Parish Priest Fr Andrew Wong CDD, Assistant Parish Priest Fr Lawrence Ng CDD, Fr Francis Ng CDD, Fr Martin Then CDD and Br Joseph Lim CDD joined parishioners, friends & visitors to celebrate this joyous occasion.

Photography: Matthew Soo

More photos are available at . 

by Christine Chua, RCIA Facilitator

A team of 15 RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) Class of 2017-18 enquirers courageously said "Yes!" when the church asked for volunteers to set up food stalls for the Mid Autumn Festival. The event was held at the St Ignatius Church (SIC) covered car park on Saturday 7 October 2017 from 7.45 to 10.30 pm. Despite not having much experience of serving in church, they took on the challenge to set up two stalls and had them decorated in unconventional designs constructed with much effort and creativity. The team put their diverse talents in cooking, decorating, designing, drawing, assembling & serving to good use but most importantly outwardly demonstrate their love for the SIC community.

Their food stalls received lots of attention from our parishioners for the colour and warmth. The enquirers enthusiastically served their prepared candy floss and kacang kuda (steamed chick peas) with big smiles and much enthusiasm. Although they didn't win any prizes for the best-decorated stall competition, all had a great time bonding in the spirit of team work & cooperation. Hopefully they have won the hearts of our community!

Three boys and three girls – including three siblings – were baptised into the Catholic Church on Sunday 1 October 2017. Three of them then joined five others to receive their First Holy Communion (FHC) at the 6 pm Mass. This group comprised children who attended catechism class under the special programme conducted by the St Ignatius Church (SIC) Sunday school and their siblings. SIC Parish Priest Fr Andrew Wong CDD was the celebrant at the baptism rite which began at 4.45 pm and gave them their First Holy Communion witnessed by parents, godparents and friends.