Fr. Dom’s Dual Celebration
21 January will be etched in the hearts and minds of about 400 parishioners of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (NBVM) and Sts. Chastan and Imbert (SCIC) as they gathered for the dual celebration; the birthday and the 13th Anniversary of the priestly ordination of their beloved Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Dominic Santhiyagu. The mass was concelebrated by Rev. Fr. Dom and Rev. Fr. Louis Loi.
In his homily, Fr. Dom shared that he was named Dominic which meant “belonging to the Lord”. He said that the Psalm 110: 4 “you are a priest, a priest like Melchizedek of old” resonates deep within his heart as he celebrates his priestly anniversary. He chose 25 January as his ordination day because it coincided with the celebration of the Conversion of St. Paul. It is significant as it constantly reminds him to change himself to be a better priest. Here, he reiterated that there is not much difference between him and the parishioners; parishioners have their baptismal priesthood whereas his is a ministerial priesthood. He said that in the course of his duty at the office, he may need to make decisions that is not pleasing to all. He may have also inadvertently hurt some people by not responding to their greetings because he may have been deep in thought. He urged the parishioners to pray for their priests as priests are not perfect people. He also asserted that his motto for his ordination was, Jn2:5 “ do whatever he tells you” because of his love and devotion to Mother Mary. His logo was that of Jesus on a donkey riding into Jerusalem, where he is the donkey carrying Jesus and taking Jesus where He leads him. He hopes and prays that he will be faithful to his vocation till the end. He encouraged the parishioners to love life and live it.
After the Eucharistic celebration, there was a cake cutting ceremony. Fr. Dom invited Fr. Louis and all those born in the month of January to join him in cutting the cake made in the shape of a stole. After mass, parishioners queued up to wish him and present him with gifts. During the fellowship dinner at the NBVM hall, Fr. Dom warmed the hearts of the people by announcing that his ‘ang pows’ would go towards the Parish Building Project. Fr. Dom received dedication in songs, “You coloured ny life” and “You are a priest forever” and also a poem “Not for you but always for others”. A heartwarming video clip of his moments at the parish was played as a prayer.
Video clip
He was also garlanded and received a bouquet of flowers. There was a quiz on Fr. Dom and each successful participant walked away with a small prize. There was also the pouring and toasting of champagne, sponsored by his former parishioner, Mr. and Mrs Glen. Stephen Chin, the chairman of the PPC praised Fr. Dom for always taking the initiative in reaching out to everybody. There was much feasting and joyful celebration and the fellowship ended on a very high note with many including Frs. Dom and Louis taking to the floor. To conclude the night, Fr. Dom seized the opportunity to thank Fr. Louis for spearheading the celebration and for all those who have put in a lot of effort to make the occasion a joyful one. He said that this was the first time that his birthday was celebrated by his parishioners and he felt overwhelmed by their kind gesture. Then he gave a special blessing and a small token of appreciation to all present.
When asked about his vocation, Fr. Dom explained that he chose to become priest at a very young age when he was serving as an altar boy. He was inspired by his Parish Priest, the late Rev. Fr. Andrew Lau from the Sacred Heart Church at Kampar and visiting priest, Rev. Fr. Bernard Paul from St. Mary’s Church, Tapah, those days. He was touched by the simplicity and faithfulness of late Rev. Fr. Andrew Lau in carrying out his mundane duties- prayer, gardening and carrying out selfless service for his parishioners. Rev. Fr. Bernard Paul also had a great influence in his discerning on his vocation to priesthood. Although, he expressed his interest in priesthood to his parish priest at a very early age, Fr. Andrew Lau only called him to join the priesthood at the start of his prime years at the age of 24. He was ordained in 2006 at the Church of Sacred Heart, Kampar. Since then, he is thankful to God for his vocation. (by Anne Marie Yap and Sheila Rose Darmaraj)