Archbishop Julian Leow celebrating Mass as Fr Michael Chua intreprets for the congregation
By Herald Malaysia
Oct 17 2022
KAJANG – The Catholic Ministry for the Deaf (CMfD) celebrated International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) 2022 on October 2, at the Church of the Holy Family.
The theme for this year is Ephphatha, Be Opened (Mark 7:34).
It was a momentous occasion for the community to meet physically and celebrate IDSL, after spending the last two years in isolation due to the pandemic.
The event began with interpreted Mass at 9.30am. Archbishop Julian Leow, was the main celebrant with Ecclesiastical Assistant for CMfD Fr Michael Chua concelebrating and interpreting.
In his homily, Archbishop Julian spoke about the importance of being more open and welcoming towards the deaf and differently-abled in the church. He encouraged the congregation to consider learning a new language.
Learn the languages of the migrant communities and also the languages of the differently-abled, for example, the Malaysian Sign Language (BIM) – the official sign language used by the deaf in Malaysia, and Braille for the blind, so we can communicate with them, said the prelate.
Towards the end of Mass, there was a video presentation about IDSL 2022, CMfD’s vision and mission, and photos of events and activities carried out over the last few years.
Max Lim, a deaf member of the community, came forward to share his story and provide a glimpse of what it is like to be a deaf person.
After Mass, Archbishop Julian, Fr Michael with the congregation and CMfD members, adjourned to the hall where booths were set up for deaf entrepreneurs to display and sell their products and/or services. It included handmade religious statues, homemade bakes, Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM) books, and Henna art paintings. There was an activity corner for Children of Deaf Adults (CODA) and also an activity booth “Ask me Anything” for visitors to ask the deaf how to sign certain words or sentences.
While the exhibition was going on, a brief introductory session was held for parishioners and catechism children on understanding deaf culture and learning BIM. BIM is the official sign language used by the Malaysian government to communicate with the deaf community. It was officially recognised by the Malaysian government in 2008 as a means to communicate with and among the deaf, particularly on official broadcasts and announcements.
CMfD members and friends later gathered to listen to a short faith formation by Fr Michael based on the theme ‘Call to Leadership’.
Iverson Peter began the session by signing the story from the Gospel of Luke 5:1-11 on “the call of Peter”. Then, Fr Michael explained that leaders are — called by God, willing to grow with God, called to serve, and called to cooperate with others.
In the Gospel of Luke, Peter was a simple fisherman, and Jesus called Peter to follow Him and be his disciple. Peter started from zero but he was willing to grow. Similarly, those called to be leaders must empty themselves and depend on God, not on their abilities. A leader needs to be a servant leader and humble, willing to work together with others and accept support from one another.
Participants were then placed in small groups and tasked to reflect and discuss the following: What do you expect of your leaders? What can your leaders expect from you? And What can I contribute to CMfD?
After the reflection session, Melina Fair was elected as the new chief coordinator. The deaf and hearing members of CMfD were invited to volunteer and join the new core team for the year 2022-2023, to assist the current team.
The day ended with a lunch fellowship. It was encouraging to see the deaf and hearing members mingling in fellowship. The experience of meeting virtually for the last couple of years made us more appreciative of the people in our lives.
Language is not a barrier when there is love. Love brings people together to serve one another and encourage each other to grow in faith and community. – Herald Malaysia
