Catechism students dressed as Carmelite nuns, led the indoor procession with the statue of St Theresa
By Aileen Anthony Jason
Oct 18 2023
The Church of St Theresa (CSTN) recently celebrated the triduum of her patron saint themed My Vocation is Love. Excitement was already mounting for a few weeks, beginning with talks on the French Carmelite nun who lived between 1873 and 1897 and her “extraordinary” family.
Coincidentally, CTSN also held its Parish Pastoral Assembly (PPA) in September, which added to a deeper appreciation of St Therese, who died at the age of 24 and whose greatest desire was to ‘love, since our heart is made for nothing else’.
The Feast of the Archangels, September 29, ushered in the celebrations with Mass presided over by Fr Moses Rayappan from the parish of St Francis Xavier, Melaka. His homily drew much laughter but drove in profound reminders that ‘Our spirits are always willing, but our flesh is weak’.
“St Therese of the Child Jesus was no different. She struggled to love the sisters in her convent that annoyed and irritated her, but she inspires us to talk to God, look inside ourselves, and focus on being our best self,” he said.
The procession on the church grounds on the second day was cancelled due to wet weather conditions. But the showers did not dampen the enthusiasm of the catechism class children, dressed as little Carmelites, from reverently leading the procession inside the church. Fr Peter Anthoney from the Church of Christ the Light, Kepong, who celebrated the Feast Day Mass on Oct 1, shared about the devout family of St Therese. St Therese was among five siblings who became nuns. She had another sister who was beatified in 2015, and her parents, Louis and Zelie Martin were canonised in 2015.
On Sunday, Fr Peter continued the celebrations and he shared during Mass that, “Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but God made another tree that gave us the wood upon which hung the Saviour of the world.” He advised, “We must reconcile our sins through confession so that our hearts will be open to receive and give love.”
Parish priest, Fr Christopher W. Soosaipillai, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to everyone who had dedicated their efforts to prepare for the Triduum. “We are so happy to see visitors from other parishes who have come to celebrate our Little Flower,” he said. The three-day festivities saw CSTN’s Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) coming together to prepare and donate food for the receptions after Mass.
The calming and loving feeling of ‘family’ was felt throughout the three days, exemplifying the prayers of a young woman 126 years after death, “In the heart of the church, my Mother, I will be love.” – Herald Malaysia
