Bishop Cornelius Piong
By Herald Malaysia
Jan 23 2021
Bishop Cornelius Piong has urged the faithful to appreciate and witness to the Word of God daily by reading, listening to and meditating on it.
KENINGAU – Bishop Cornelius Piong has urged the faithful to appreciate and witness to the Word of God daily by reading, listening to and meditating on it. “It is a necessity for us, His people, to build a unity, faithfulness and holiness with Him,” he said in a pastoral letter released January 24 in conjunction with Sunday of the Word of God.
“Celebrating the Word of God at the beginning of the year is very important, in fact, essential for us in our journey of life and faith throughout the year. We hope that by celebrating Sunday of the Word of God at the beginning of the year, we will be able to organise our journey of life and faith, and be inspired by the Word of God throughout the year.”
Please see below for the full text of his message.
Brother and Sisters in Christ,
Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter, Aperuit Illis invites us to celebrate the Sunday the Word of God on the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time. This year it falls on Jan 24. In the past, this Sunday was knwon as Bible Sunday and celebrated annually in July.
Perhaps, all this while we had celebrated the Word of God merely as one of the pastoral activities for the day, get it over with and wait for the coming year!
Celebrating the Word of God at the beginning of the year is a very important, in fact, essential start for us in our journey of life and faith throughout the year. We hope that by celebrating Sunday of the Word of God at the beginning of the year, we will be able to organise our journey of faith and life, and be inspired by the Word of God throughout the year (Ps 119:105).
Realising, appreciating and witnessing the Word of God daily by reading, listening to and meditating on it, is a necessity for us, His people, to build a unity, faithfulness and holiness with Him. Do we take note and spend time every day to do what Jesus said, “Whoever comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, they are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock” (Luke 6:47-48).
Brothers and sisters, throughout our lives as followers and disciples of Jesus, we must always strive for freshness, testimony and perseverance of our faith. In Malaysia, we Christians live together in a society of various races, cultures and religions. It is true that this situation is unique and good but there are challenges as well, especially to our Christian faith. But we also need to realise that faith without challenges is weak.
We are thankful that in whatever circumstances we face, Jesus has given His assurance to us, “I am with you always until the end of time” (Matt. 28:20). With the power of the Holy Spirit, as His people, we are giv en the strength to live in unity, enlighten our conscience, every time we face challenges and choices, so as to be able to choose and favour Jesus no matter what form of temptation we face. Brothers and Sisters, in the journey of faith, whether in person or in community, the word of God should “be a lamp for our feet and a light unto our path” (Ps. 119:105).
As we observe and celebrate Sunday of the Word of God, let us take inspiration and strength of faith from St Paul’s message to Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).
Brothers and Sisters, with obedient hearts to listen to and to follow His words, surely we will be able to live as His disciples and apostles by being always faithful and proud of our Christian identity (Matt 10:32-33), committed to the mission to proclaim Jesus. (Mark 5:13-16) and firmly believe in our choice to follow Jesus, “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
Blessed Sunday Word of God.
+Rt Rev Datuk Cornelius Piong
Bishop of Keningau Diocese January 24, 2021
