Fr Thomas Madanan explaining about the PMPC during group discussion
By SOCCOM CBSL
Nov 1 2022
LABUAN – Church of the Blessed Sacrament Labuan launched their journey towards Pan Malaysia Pastoral Convention (PMPC) 2026 Oct 22 which was the Feast Day of St Pope John Paul II.
Before the launching, Parish Priest as well as Chairman of PMPC 2026 of Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese, Fr Thomas Madanan, introduced four main points of PMPC as formation to the parishioners; a) what is PMPC 2026, b) the Vision and Mission of PMPC 2026, c) the orientation towards PMPC 2026 and finally the process and hopes towards PMPC 2026.
He explained that the PMPC is a process of building a united Malaysian Church, having one mind and heart to journey together as a Church in mission. Fr Madanan also shared on the timeline of historical development of the Catholic Church in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah.
As the parish is focusing her service on family life and faith formation, Fr Madanan encouraged the participants to read on the two letters by St Pope John Paul II, 1) Apostolic Exhortation: Familaris Consortio (The role of the Christian Family in the Modern World) and 2) Encyclical: Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth). These two documents he said help us to better understand the four documents issued by Pope Francis; Amoris Laetitia related to family issues, Evangelii Gaudium on issues concerning the Church, Fratelli Tutti related to social issues and Laudato Si on ecology. All these four areas are interconnected and affecting each other he said.
Another formation session was conducted by Jocelyn Yeo, Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council. She shared on the local Church history by citing the important milestones. She emphasized on the three significant milestones for the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu in 2022 namely, the 165 years of mission work (1857-2022), 45 years as a diocese (1977-2022) and 25 years of Vision and Mission (1997-2022). As a parish that is rich in mission history, we have to continue the mission of the missionaries, of saving souls, she said.
There are four aspects of the Church in fulfilling the mission as a Malaysian namely, the Church as the voice of the people, the Church communicating the fullness of life, the Church reaching out in mercy and the Church growing in holiness. A discussion on these four aspects was also held. As a Body of Christ, called to be salt and light of the world (Mt. 5:13-16), participants were asked to give their inputs on how they respond in today’s world as a family, society, church and ecology.
The participants were encouraged to respond freely as an individual or as parish communities. The representatives of the Ministry and Apostolates are to further discuss on these subjects in their respective groups and reports of the outcome would have to be submitted by the end of Nov. All responses will be included for further discussion in preparation for the Parish Pastoral Assembly 2023.
Fr Madanan launched CBSL journey towards PMPC 2026
The discussion ended with a Eucharistic celebration. After the Mass, Fr Madanan announced that the journey towards PMPC 2026 in the Blessed Sacrament Church has now begun. The celebration ended with a launch gimmick where Fr Madanan unveiling the plaque to commemorate the beginning of the four-year pastoral consultation in the Parish, “With thanksgiving in our hearts, we will serve the Lord”.
