Closing of the Year of Faith

Lord, thank you for giving me the gift of faith. 

Now fill me with your grace 

so that I may put my faith to work.

Last October 11, Pope Benedict XVI released Porta Fidei, an apostolic letter proclaiming the Year of Faith, which will begin on October 11, 2012, and the closing will be on the 24 November 2013, Sunday (Feast of Christ the King).

Solemn Profession of Faith unites the entire universal Church in giving witness to the ancient and apostolic faith of the Catholic Church.

I believe in one God, 

the Father, the Almighty, 

maker of heaven and earth, 

of all that is, 

seen and unseen. 

I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, 

the only Son of God, 

eternally begotten of the Father, 

God from God, 

Light from Light, 

true God from true God, 

begotten, not made, 

of one Being with the Father. 

Through him all things were made. 

For us men and for our salvation, 

he came down from heaven: 

by the power of the Holy Spirit 

he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, 

and became man. 

For our sake he was crucified 

under Pontius Pilate; 

he suffered death and was buried. 

On the third day he rose again 

in accordance with the Scriptures; 

he ascended into heaven 

and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 

He will come again in glory 

to judge the living and the dead, 

and his kingdom will have no end. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the Lord, the giver of life, 

who proceeds from the Father and the Son. 

With the Father and the Son 

he is worshipped and glorified. 

He has spoken through the Prophets. 

I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. 

I acknowledge one baptism 

for the forgiveness of sins. 

I look for the resurrection of the dead, 

and the life of the world to come. 

Amen.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, year of Faith pilgrimage to Church of the Most Holy Redeemer

On July 8, 2013 about 200 faithful from the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Butterworth, Penang made our pilgrimage to two of the Diocese of Penang designated Year of Faith pilgrimage churches. The pilgrimage journey was lead by parish priest Father Victor Louis himself. During our journey we recited the Rosary, watched the movie Mother Teresa of Calcutta and also manage to say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3.00pm (the hour of Divine Mercy).

1. Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

2. Church of the Holy Name of Mary, Pematang Tinggi, Simpang Ampat, Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia..

At the church of the Most Holy Redeemer, Tanjong Malim, we where greeted by father Anthony Pillai and several members of the parish, We later celebrate mass during which we renewed our baptismal vows. After the mass, we proceed for lunch arranged by Father Anthony Pillai. The lunch was great, we extend our sincere thank you to father Anthony Pillai, After lunch we left Tanjong Malim heading back north to our next pilgrimage church stop which is Church of the Most Holy Name of Mary, Pematang Tinggi. On our way there, we made a short stop over at Kampar to buy some famous chicken/mutton curry buns and Kampar Chicken biscuits. On arrival at Church of the Holy Name of Mary, Pematang Tinggi. we were greeted by father Augustine Wong and some members of the parish. We had a session of short prayer at Church of the Holy Name of Mary before heading back to our parish NBVM. I would like to thanks father Victor Louis and all who work hard to make this pilgrimage a successful one. My parents and myself definitely enjoyed the pilgrimage, it was full of spirit and worthwhile although my  parents and myself celebrated Easter Sunday mass, 2013 at the church of the Most Holy Redeemer, Tanjong Malim.

Prayer During Year Of Faith

O God our loving Father

I thank you for having called me

and blessed me with the gift of faith.

May this Year of Faith be a time

of renewing and deepening my faith

and to proclaim it with deep conviction

through my words and deeds.

May the celebration of the sacraments

help me to grow in love for you

and for my community

as I offer myself to serve you.

May my life be a manisfestation

of your continued presence in our world today.

As you open the door of faith to me, O Lord,

help me to grow in a personal

relationship with you

so that I may share the fruits of my prayer

in the building up of your Kingdom of love.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
AMEN.

"The obedience of faith is to be given to God ..

To make this act of faith, 

the grace of God and the interior help 

of the Holy Spirit must precede and assist, 

moving the heart and turning it to God, 

opening the eyes of the mind 

and giving joy and ease to everyone 

in assenting to the truth and believing it. 

To bring about an ever deeper 

understanding of revelation 

the same Holy Spirit 

constantly brings faith 

to completion by His gifts."

~~~ Dei Verbum 5 ~~~

Cherish the Rosary during the Year of Faith

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI asks and reminds the Faithful to Cherish the Rosary during the Year of Faith 11 October, 2012 till 24 November, 2013.

"As we too spiritually unite ourselves to that choral invocation, I would like to invite everyone to cherish the Rosary during the forthcoming Year of Faith. With the Rosary, in fact, we allow ourselves to be guided by Mary, the model of faith, in meditating upon the mysteries of Christ, and day after day we are helped to assimilate the Gospel so that it can shape our lives. Therefore, in the wake of my predecessors, and in particular Blessed John Paul II who ten years ago gave us his Apostolic Letter 'Rosarium Virginis Mariae', I invite people to pray the Rosary individually, in the family and in the community, placing themselves in the school of Mary who leads us to Christ, the living centre of our faith".
Source from Vatican Information Service.

Year of Faith leaflet (Diocese of Penang)

Year of Faith (11 Oct, 2012 till 24 Nov, 2012)

 Discipleship Through Deepening and Sharing Our FAITH

PROFESS + CELEBRATE + LIVE + PRAY

"…They called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith..."

(Acts 14:27)

The leaflet Year of Faith leaflet has been distributed to all parishes in the Diocese of Penang, which is then to distributed to their respective parishioners.

Bishop Sebastian Francis invites all Catholics of the Diocese of Penang to this time of grace, the Year of Faith.

Keep before you the One Image, the DOOR of FAITH.
Heed the One Invitation to OPEN and ENTER the Door of Faith.
Remember your One Identity, YOUR DISCIPLESHIP.

Pray this ONE Prayer:
Lord, Increase my Faith.
Matthew 17:14-23
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
¹⁴ When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

¹⁷ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” ¹⁸ Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” ^[21]

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time

²² When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. ²³ They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

It contains:

• Message from His Lordship Bishop Sebastian Francis.

• Prayers for the Renewal of Baptismal Promise.

• Information on the granting of Plenary Indulgence during this period of Year of Faith (11/10/12-24/11/13).

• Information and details of the Designated Churches of Pilgrimage in the Diocese of Penang.

~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~

Map of Diocese of Penang

 

 

Prayer for the Year of Faith (Oct. 11, 2012 - Nov. 24, 2013)

"…They called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith..."

(Acts 14:27)

 

THE LOGO

 The Boat, which is the Church;

The Mast of the Boat is a Cross;

The Trigram of Christ (IHS) is the Sails;

and The circle in the back is the Sun.

The Eucharist is represented by the association of Trigram of Christ and the Sun.

 

O God our Father,
in Jesus Christ You call us Christians
to be signs of living faith.
By the light of the Holy Spirit,
lead us to be thankful for the gift of faith,
and by that gift
may we grow in our relationship with Jesus, Your Son, and be courageous witnesses of Christian hope and joy in today’s world.

In this Year of Faith,
help us to grow
to be united but not closed;
humble but not fearful;
simple but not naïve;
thoughtful but not domineering;
contemporary but not superficial,
respectful of others, but boldly your disciples.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
AMEN.

 

 

 

"The 'door of faith' (Acts14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church."

Pope Benedict XVI

Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei

for the Indiction of the Year of Faith.