By Herald Malaysia
BUKIT MERTAJAM – The Church of the Holy Name of Mary, Permatang Tinggi, marked its feast with Masses held over five consecutive days, from Sep 11-15. The Masses were celebrated at 8.15pm for the first four days, with Mass being celebrated at 5.00pm on the last day.
The Masses were unique as they were celebrated at three different venues within the church grounds simultaneously to cater for the English, Mandarin and Tamil-speaking parishioners.
The theme for each day centred on Mary
The first four days saw a very encouraging daily turnout of about 500 people. The attendees were inspired and enriched by the sermons delivered by various priests who had been specially invited to celebrate the feast day of the church. This gave them a deeper understanding of Mary, the Mother of God, and her role and mission in the Catholic Church. Many were touched and encouraged by her humanity, her prayerful nature, her hope and trust in God, and her willingness to serve. She is also credited as being the first and model evangelist as she carried within her the presence of Christ and was instrumental in keeping the early church faithful to her son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
On the final day, the church was packed to full capacity with more than 1,200 people. The Mass was celebrated by Fr Louis Loi, and concelebrated by Fr Augustine Wong and the priests who had been invited to preside over the previous four days.
After communion, the faithful took part in a solemn candlelight procession around the church grounds led by parishioners carrying the statue of the Madonna. The Mass then concluded with the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and was followed by the burning of petitions and thanksgiving letters written by parishioners to our Blessed Mother.
The feast day celebrations culminated in a scrumptious buffet dinner for all the attendees at St Mary’s Hall.
The feast day of the parish of the Holy Name of Mary was a truly remarkable and inspiring event. Thanks to Frs Louis, Augustine, and the organising committee for their tremendous effort in making the feast day celebration a resounding success! – Herald Malaysia
