Malacca Johore Diocese News Update #218

Apr 12, 2025

Dear friends of MJD, we remember our Muslim friends as they celebrate the month-long Ramadan. Thanks to Dr Jaysuman and Sheikh Imran of Erthul Mustafa Organisation (EMO) for the Aidil Fitri Raya lunch fellowship.

The temple relocation tensions, heavy rains, the floods, the Myanmar- Thailand earthquake and the Trump administration’s tariffs impact us and the region. International aid groups eg ICMC are deprived of essential funds to alleviate the world’s suffering.

The billionaire advisers to Trump or big powers are not in touch with the reality of poverty, deprivation and loss of human dignity.

Commendable Times: EPF Malaysia’s approach exemplifies how middleincome nations can balance flexibility, inclusion and sustainability in retirement savings in an aging population. (WEF reports). Freedom Of Information (FOI) based international best practices, local sensitivities and political structure is on the drawing board.

Caritas Malaysia and the Malaysian Church are on standby to mobilise aid and support to Myanmar-Thailand’s earthquake victims.

The Foreign Ministry said that no new visa restrictions have been imposed on Malaysian citizens travelling abroad as alleged by a social media platform.

The MCYD Festival 2025, the first of its kind, with a tone of synodality, with estimated 1500 youths, leaders, religious, priests and the 9 Bishops, begins the countdown for the MPC2026, with the start of the Perjalanan Salib in the 9 dioceses. Can our leaders be trusted to deliver what they promise and go beyond the 4Rs. (race, religion, royalty and riches)?

A Thought for the Week: Brutally beaten.
A Brazilian newspaper carried a story of a little girl brutally beaten by her parents. As a result, she lost all physical movements, as well as the ability to speak. At the hospital where she was admitted, a nurse who cared for her, said to her each day: ‘I love you’. The doctors told the nurse that her efforts were in vain, that the child could not hear. The nurse continued, saying: ‘Do not forget, I love you.’ Three weeks later, the child recovered the power of movement, and in four weeks, she could talk and smile. The lesson from the nurse: Love cures. Henry Drummond said, “Time does not transform man. Willpower does not transform man. Love transforms.” Wherever the energy of love appears, it always achieves its end.

Disarm the Words, Disarm Minds, Disarm the Earth
Pope Francis reminds us that words can heal, words can kill. These were his words to social communicators:

“I would like to encourage you and all those that dedicate their work and intelligence to report - through communication tools that now unite our world in real time, the importance of words. They are never just words: they are facts in human environments. They can connect or divide, serve truth or make use of it. We disarm workers in order to disarm minds and disarm the Earth.

There is a great need for reflection, calm and a sense of complexity. Whereas war only devastates communities and the environment without offering solutions to conflicts, diplomacy and international organisations need new blood and credibility. Moreover, religions can be inspired in the spirituality of peoples to revive the desire for brotherhood and justice, the hope for peace.”

The recent KL Temple mess reflects careless, unsubstantiated and hurtful words hurled by netizens and so-called respected heads of communities. Words to remain popular…words to incite… words to divide …and words to denigrate or words to bridge peoples, to calm and assure.

QnQ! Q asks? Fear makes us do things that we will regret later?
“I must say a word about fear. It is life’s only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unnerving ease. It begins in your mind, always ... so you must fight hard to express it.

You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don’t, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you.” Yann Martel, Life of Pi. Fear leaves you blind, it limits and keeps you bound.

The Holy Spirit @work: “The Holy Spirit is the one who reproves, convicts, strives, instructs, invites, quickens, regenerates, renews, strengthens, and uses.” Unknown

Something To Tickle You: “Hope is praying for rain, but faith is bringing an umbrella.” Unknown Bishop Bernard Paul