Fr Thomas Madanan, parish priest of Blessed Sacrament Labuan, blessing the Sailing Boat during parish Month of Mission
By Agnes Chai
July 3 2020
THE Church of the Blessed Sacrament Labuan (BSL) unveiled a “Sailing Boat” as an apt symbol to revive her missionary awareness and commitment on May 14, the climax of the parish Month of Mission 2020 launched on 14 Apr.
Anyone viewing the Sailing Boat could not help but be reminded of the beginning of the Catholic mission on the island of Labuan by the arrival of Msgr Don Carlos Cuarteron and his companions in 1857 who undertook a sea journey fraught with the perils of the sea.
The BSL Month of Mission is a parish initiative extended from last year’s Extraordinary Month of Mission, which was convoked by Pope Francis for the Universal Church to give new impulse to the missionary transformation of Church life and pastoral activity.
The date was timed to commemorate the arrival of Cuarteron and the founding of the Roman Catholic Church in Labuan and Borneo 163 years ago.
The initiative was chosen by the parish as a spiritual preparation for the parish feast day, Corpus Christi, on Jun 14. No efforts were spared in bringing the island parish to celebrate her patronal feast in a meaningful way despite the MCO restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
One might say, the parishioners have got the better out of isolation and did not allow it to hold back their creativity. The Sailing Boat symbolizes the parish’s consciousness of being part of a diocese, journeying together in faith, hope and love, empowered by the Holy Spirit in the evangelizing mission of building the Kingdom of God.
It also depicts that the Church is a “Light House” and not a Club House, a place where the light of truth is shone; a place where everyone is accounted for and is responsible for the well-being of each other.
It is a place where community is born.
Last, but not least, the Sailing Boat reminds the faithful that it was the evangelizing endeavor of the early missionaries led by Cuarteron, which first announced the Gospel to Labuan and Borneo. It serves as a powerful reminder that all of us have an obligation to evangelize – to proclaim Jesus Christ not only with the word but with one’s life.
The Angelus, which was re-introduced into the prayer life of the parish during the parish missionary month, is now an ongoing activity in the parish. The Angelus is a long time traditional prayer which recalls the Incarnation of the Word made flesh, and is prayed three times a day, accompanied by the ringing of the church bell at 6 am, 12 noon and 6 pm. What more concrete way to mark the feast day of the parish which was named after the Body and Blood of Christ – the Church of the Blessed Sacrament – than giving honor to the Incarnation of the Word made flesh. (Source: BSL SOCCOM)
