Hii blessing the missionaries.
SIBU: Seven Catholics of the Missionary Community of Corpus Christi (MCCC) were commissioned for missionary work in various foreign countries during the Ascension Mass last Thursday night at Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Bishop of Sibu Right Reverend Joseph Hii officiated at the mass.
The seven are Anthony Yong, Pauline Ho, Winnie Wong, Catherine Ting, Reynald Pascua, Francis John Vuelga, and Robert Lozada.
Reynald, Francis, and Robert are from the Philippines.
Prior to their commissioning, the seven went through a three-month training at the St Joseph’s Mission Animation Centre in Sentosa.
In his homily, Hii said it was the plan of God that Jesus Christ was ascended into heaven so that the Holy Spirit could come down to send the people out to preach the Gospel.
“We praise God that He has done great work, but we can do greater work than Him through the power of the Holy Spirit,” he pointed out.
He said Pope Francis had insisted that people should become missionaries to spread the good news of the salvation of Jesus Christ.
He said while priests played an important role in the church, their efforts needed the laity to complement.
“Lay people have bigger role to play in the society than they might think,” he added.
Hii expressed his gratitude towards the Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM) who had come to the state to spread the gospel.
The MHM had also come to build schools, hospitals and other basic things for the people, he added.
“They brought missionaries here before, so that people may believe, and they now come to train missionaries so that we from the local community could go out and spread the good news to the world,” he noted.
He said many other Christian denominations had gone out to spread the good news around the world.
“Many business tycoons go to other countries to look for businesses, and many brought Jesus with them,” he said.
He urged Catholics to do the same to enable the growth of the Catholic Church.