Nov 15, 2008. The local Chinese church community became the first group to make the pilgrimage to St. Paul's church in Ulu Dusun after Bishop Julius had declared open the pilgrimage site earlier on 19 October 2008.
About a hundred parishioners joined in the celebration which started at 2.00 p.m. The mass began at the car park outside the church with briefings from the celebrant, Fr. Paul Lo on the origin of pilgrimage and the declaration by Pope Benedict that the year 2008 has been dedicated to the Jubilee of Apostle Paul.
After the readings taken from the Acts of the Apostles, Fr. Paul Lo led the congregation for a procession down the hill and up the steep steps back to the church.
In his homily, Fr. Paul Lo said the significance of the celebration is our ability to follow the role model of the Apostle Paul; whose great love for Jesus that he suffered persecutions and imprisonments. Yet all these did not deter him from spreading the good news to the point that he finally died for Christ.
He talked about lukewarm Christians. "When I mentioned lukewarm Christians, you will think that those who come to church once a year during Christmas fall into this category. No, I mean those of you who come to church half hearted, serving simply for the sake of serving." he said. "You may be in the choir, serving as a lector or as a warden helping in the collection. You must be serving with all the zeal like St. Paul." he added.
Before the end of the mass, Fr. Paul Lo made another appeal to the Chinese communities. He mentioned about the success of another denominational church which has attracted a large following of Chinese youths and adults. "It is not their pastor alone; it is the collective works of the whole church; living out their faith that speaks volume for Jesus." he said.
He throws the challenge to everyone that Sandakan is the core base of the Chinese community in the diocese. It must set an example for the other parishes like Lahad Datu and Tawau. They are looking forward to Sandakan as the leader in the development of the Church."There are still a lot of people who do not know God, who you expect to preach to them?" he said, falling short of saying if they expect the bishop or the parish priest to preach to the Chinese.
David Chung, on behalf of the Chinese Community of St. Mary presented a donation to the representative of the local church. Another donation was from a representative of St. Mark's church.
The mass ended with a prayer in front of the statue of St. Paul.
(Please refer to the photos on the fotopages and also from Youtube posted on the website.)
If you have any comments on the homily/appeal of Fr. Paul Lo on ways and means to improve or introduce meaningful reforms to the Chinese Coordinating Committee, you are welcome to post them on the comment section of the website or Youtube. Thank You.
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