By Joseph Tek Choon Yee
In 2003, I was approached by Myra Thong of SFX to help prepare a PowerPoint for Fr Peter’s Sacerdotal Silver Jubilee as a Jesuit priest (1978–2003). It was supposed to be a simple project; it became a pilgrimage. At night and into the early morning, we sat at my dining table, two insomniacs of the Spirit, piecing together slides that traced his journey from tertianship to ordination, from parish ministry to interfaith dialogue. His life was a moving mosaic of encounters, with the poor, the forgotten, ecumenism and fellow Jesuit brothers across oceans. All for the Greater Glory of God.
When Fr Peter Kim SJ left us on Sep 23, 2016, a quiet stillness swept through the parish, like the hush that follows the end of a hymn. Maybe heaven ran short of good gardeners and called in one who knew both the soil and the soul. I had once sat with him till dawn designing his Jubilee slides; years later, I was back at my desk, this time piecing together his final tribute. I had once built his Jubilee presentation; now I was building his memorial. You can watch this at here
And yet, as I replayed those slides of his mission, I realised: he had never really left, his ministry lived on in every BEC, every life he had touched. “Whatever you do unto one of the least, you do unto me.”, Jesus. That line sums up the Jesuit in Fr Peter. He lived connected; to people, to creation, to God. Every life he touched rippled outward, unseen but enduring.
He was instrumental in my early formation; our pioneering outreach with Basic Christian Communities (BCC) in the early 1980s, long before the acronym “BEC” became parish vocabulary. We went door-to-door in Section 14, PJ, armed with prayer leaflets, guitars, and sometimes umbrellas. Some doors opened with smiles, others with barking dogs; evangelisation at its most literal. Mission, I discovered, wasn’t glamorous; it was sweaty, messy, and very human.
Over the years, that same BEC rhythm followed me – to Subang Jaya, USJ, Putra Heights, and eventually Sandakan. Different towns, same heartbeat: faith, fellowship, and food.
By the time the Great Jubilee of 2000 came, we were veterans of countless reflections, recollections, and carolling nights where half the lyrics were improvised and the Spirit filled in the gaps.
At SFX, the Jesuits, from Fr Peter Kim to Fr Selvaraju, Fr Larry Tan and others, quite literally “informed and formed” me. They handed me the microphone, and with it, responsibility. I became a lector, commentator, and occasional facilitator, though the first time I read at Mass, my knees were knocking so loudly I could’ve passed for the percussion section. Over time, though, something beautiful happened: the Word began to read me. Those trembling proclamations slowly turned into prayer; Scripture shifted from something I announced to something I absorbed.
Somewhere between those readings and reflections, my journey as a sharer took root; evolving from transparencies to PowerPoint, from overhead projectors to overhead grace. It became my signature form of discernment: the art of turning slides into stories, and stories into faith.
Through those years, the Jesuits didn’t just accompany me; they apprenticed me. They taught me that God doesn’t always shout from the heavens; sometimes He whispers through a priest, a neighbour’s barky dog, or the trembling voice of a young lector saying, “The Word of the Lord.”
Those lessons, humility, empathy, discernment, built a foundation sturdier than any degree. They guided me through UKM, through Cambridge, and later into the corporate world, where I realised leadership without compassion is just management in disguise.
So, thank you, Lord, for the gift of Fr Peter Kim SJ, a Jesuit and the many other Jesuits who taught me that ministry is not about performing miracles, but about being faithfully present. His life was one long homily, and every person he met was part of his congregation.
“There is no better wood for feeding the fire of God’s love than the wood of the Cross.” – St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Almost a Jesuit – The One That Got Away
At university, the Jesuit chaplaincy invited me to a vocation camp; a weekend of silence, prayer, and uncomfortable honesty. It wasn’t your usual camp with cocoa and kumbaya; this one came with unsettling questions from Sadhana: “If you were in a coffin, what would people say at your eulogy? What will your life echo?”
I remember lying there, eyes closed, heart open – imagining my legacy, stripped of ambition, left with the naked question: Have I lived well?
In between those reflections, I devoured books by John J Powell SJ – Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?, Fully Human Fully Alive. They were therapy before therapy was fashionable. And I wrestled with The Spiritual Exercises, discovering that prayer isn’t always folded hands; sometimes it’s simply standing still and listening.
Yes, I almost joined the Jesuits. But one obstacle stood firm, my mother. She loved me fiercely and feared equally fiercely. When she heard I was considering priesthood, she said she’d disown me. That was that. It wasn’t disobedience that stopped me; it was love – a filial respect that, in hindsight, was its own form of obedience. I still joke that maybe I wasn’t smart enough to survive twelve years of Jesuit formation; philosophy, theology, and the fine art of patience. Ha!
Years later, at Cambridge, the Jesuits found me again; quietly, through books, friendships, and the rediscovery of Ignatian spirituality: finding God in all things, in science and art, in argument and laughter, in the ordinary pulse of life.
The Jesuits I encountered were everywhere; in astronomy and philosophy, poetry and politics. They proved the mind, too, can be a mission field. They didn’t just talk about God; they engaged the world with Him. They were thinkers who prayed and pray-ers who thought.
And yes; like all priests, they are beautifully human. They tire, they err, they differ, they laugh, they grow old. Some lose their way; some fall ill; some quietly pass on. Yet the mission continues, carried by others who whisper again that ancient motto: Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam. Because the mission of the Jesuits, like grace itself, never depended on perfection; only on faithfulness, one “yes” at a time.
Sabahan Jesuits in Malaysia
Over the years, Sabah has produced several Jesuits whose lives and ministries have touched countless hearts:
- Fr Peter Kim Se-Mang SJ – the first Sabahan Jesuit from Tawau, Parish Priest of St Francis Xavier’s PJ (1979–1985); returned to the Lord on Sep 23 2016.
- Fr Francis Alberto Irenus David SJ – from Kepayan; Assistant Priest at SFX PJ, later Youth and Vocations Director and Local Superior; called home Sep 11, 2025.
- Fr Joseph (Jojo) Fung SJ – based in Manila; his work on creation spirituality and indigenous theology continues to inspire across the planet.
- Fr Leslie Joseph Bingkasan SJ – ordained 2017 in Inanam, now serving at St Ignatius Church, Singapore.
- Fr Nalerin Erone bin Nahfirin SJ—newly ordained in 2024, carrying the mission forward with youthful zeal
Beyond them, I treasure the many walks and conversations I have shared with our own Malaysian Jesuits; Bishop Emeritus Paul Tan Chee Ing SJ, Fr Lawrence Andrew SJ, Fr Paul Dass SJ, Fr Christopher Wee SJ, the late Fr O.C. Lim SJ, and Fr Simon Yong SJ. Each, in his own way, wove intellect with compassion, prayer with presence. Several of them stood quietly but firmly as chaplains during my university years, shaping my formation not through grand instruction but through the simple ministry of being faithfully there. Their lives remind me that vocation is not just a call to serve, but an invitation to accompany, to listen, and to love always for the greater glory of God.
Why Their Story Matters
Because their story is both local and universal. They’ve walked our lands, shared our tables and are still here; in big parishes and hidden retreat centre alike. They remind us that holiness isn’t about escaping the world, but embracing it with open hands and a thinking heart.
They invite us to companionship with Christ, not as admirers from afar, but as fellow pilgrims. Their way of life teaches that faith isn’t fragile; it’s flexible enough to stand in a church, a classroom or a kopitiam.
To follow God’s call doesn’t mean running from the world – it means stepping into it, sleeves rolled up, heart on fire, ready to serve.
A Call to Join the Mission
If you’re reading this, in Sabah or anywhere in Malaysia, and feel that quiet stirring within, perhaps it’s God’s gentle whisper: “Come, follow Me.”
The Jesuits welcome hearts that are bold yet humble, curious yet compassionate. Maybe you’re called to priesthood, or simply to live your faith more deeply: to serve, to teach, to accompany, to love.
Their invitation is simple yet daring: “Walk with them. Let your heart be big, your mind open, your faith alive.”
They don’t promise comfort, only meaning.
They ask for sacrifice, but offer companionship.
They demand courage, and return it a hundredfold in grace.
So if your heart longs for more than Sunday routine , if you sense a call to serve where the road is rough but holy, listen closely. That knock isn’t just in your head. It’s in your soul.
The Society of Jesus is still answering. Will you?
