85/25 Celebrations Remind Us of Our Blessings During Trying Times
It was far from the grand celebrations that were planned, yet the pandemic could not steal the joy and enthusiasm of parishioners who came together to commemorate the 85/25 celebrations of NBVM and SCIC. Minus any pomp and fanfare, the 85th anniversary of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and 25th anniversary of Sts Chastan and Imbert Church turned out to be beautiful occasions of thanksgiving to God for the abundance of graces and blessings He has bestowed on us through His constant presence in our parish and community over the past decades and especially now amidst the challenges of the pandemic.
Both feast days were preceded by triduum Masses and saw visiting priests, including sons of the parish celebrating the liturgies. On 8th September, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a church at maximum capacity celebrated the birthday of our Blessed Mother together with main celebrant Msgr Aloysius Tan and concelebrants Fr Martin Arlando and Fr Dominic Santhiyagu.
In his homily, Msgr Aloysius said that celebrating birthdays has always been important in all cultures as a day of thanksgiving for the gift of life and to mark the importance of the person. In celebrating Our Lady’s birthday, the Church marks her importance for our salvation as Jesus was born because of Mary’s “yes”. Our Lady knew that her mission will not be easy yet was faithful to it all the way to the cross. Relating it to the theme of the celebration, ‘God is with us’, Msgr Aloysius asked the congregation to reflect on what it (Emmanuel) means. “Is the coming of Jesus to the world only an event in history or does it have relevance for us today?” He further asked if like Mary, we are faithful in saying yes to God, especially in difficult times.
Our Blessed Mother showed us an example of faithfulness to the Lord through her life. Today, we are asked to say yes to God in different ways. For example, returning to Masses during this time of pandemic may seem an inconvenience after getting comfortable with watching livestream Masses. However, the question to ask ourselves is, “What is important for our faith life?” The answer to this is the Eucharist, which we receive only when we return to church for Mass. We respond to God’s invitation to return to Him not because of the strength of our faith, but because God calls us and pursues us relentlessly.
Whenever we struggle to say yes to God, we must believe that God is with us. It is especially in our weaknesses and sufferings that God shows us that he is with us. He has made it known to us that He is always present in the Blessed Sacrament., and by receiving the Eucharist, we are given the strength to be faithful. Msgr Aloysius ended his homily with an invitation to the congregation to reflect on whether in its 85 years of existence, the parish has witnessed to God being with us to each other and to the surrounding community. He encouraged everyone to make a commitment as a parish to always bring God with us to our families and communities.
Slightly under 2 weeks later, on 20th September the parish commemorated the Feast of Sts Chastan and Imbert, French clergy who were martyred in Korea. Speaking on the theme of the celebration, ‘Mission to love generously’, Fr Dominic recalled the many ways the parish has been blessed by generous contributions in cash, kind and service from parishioners as well as well-wishers. The Gospel of the day (Matthew 20:1-16) spoke of God as a generous giver who wants to pour out His abundant graces and blessings upon any one who calls on him, even those we judge as without merit. Our patron saints, Chastan and Imbert have also shown us examples of generosity in love by giving up their lives for the Lord and the Church. Likewise, we are called to emulate them by giving generously in whatever ways we are called to.
One of the highlights of the celebrations was receiving apostolic blessings from His Holiness Pope Francis on the occasion of the 85th and 25th anniversaries of the founding of NBVM and SCIC, respectively. The blessings were imparted on the congregation during both feast day Masses by the celebrants.
At the end of the celebrations, a video presentation was played announcing that the grand anniversary celebrations scheduled for this year will be moved to next year, with plans including the opening of the Nativity Pastoral Centre and rededication of the newly renovated Church of the NBVM. We greatly look forward to the 86/26 celebrations. Through the intercessions of our Blessed Mother, St Chastan and St Imbert, we ask the Lord to bless our efforts as we prepare for a joyful and splendid celebration. – KA