Priestly formation – to fall in love with Jesus

KOTA KINABALU (CS) – The statistics for this year is 7 more students than last year.  This year saw 12 young men being accepted for aspirancy at the Catholic Archdiocesan Centre (CAC), which is also known as the Intensive English Year, while 12 were accepted for the Initiation Formation House at the IY (Initiation Year).

As is the tradition, the opening of the Academic Calendar for both the CAC and IY Year 2014 was marked with a concelebrated Mass at the IYFH Chapel Feb 17, presided by Archbishop John Wong.

In his homily, the prelate began by asking for God’s blessing to guide the path to be undertaken by the students at both levels of IY and Aspirancy.

He remarked that we are today no different from the pharisees of the Gospel who demanded of Jesus a sign from heaven, in that we too are constantly asking for a sign in our life but fail to see it because we are busy looking for our own “sign”.

Signs would be given in our life’s journey which would not be without challenges.  Trials come but are to be treated as happy privileges.  Our patience would be tested but it is necessary in order to become fully developed and complete.  If we accept testing and molding, we would become more like Him, fully developed and lacking nothing.

His Grace emphatically concluded that the sign has been given in the Risen Jesus and that there would no longer be any need to ask for a sign.

Later in his short address to the students after the Mass, he succinctly told the students that they should have no worries in responding to the call; they would be ably guided by full-time teachers and there would be no lack of food and physical to keep them well and healthy!       He however offered them a proposal to respond to the call, which is, to “fall in love with Jesus”!  Falling in love with Jesus would earn them “full marks” for they would then be able to fulfill exactly what He asks of them.

As IY Director, Fr Michael Modoit pointed out that without the undivided support of teachers, parents, friends and benefactors, it would be impossible to run both formation houses in order to achieve holy and good priests.

The journey towards priestly life begins from these formation houses where the students are guided to develop spiritually, as well as to discern and nurture the seed of vocation for effective priestly ministry.  He called for all hands to join together to form holy and good priests for the local Church.