Reported by Parish SOCCOM (Vinnie Beatrice Yapp)
Photo By Parish SOCCOM (Euthalia & Bilcher)
Sandakan: On Christmas Eve the mass will take place on the evening of December 24th, 2023 in St. Mary’s Cathedral. The Mass was presided over by His Lordship Bishop Julius Dusin Gitom in the presence of more than 700 parishioners who gathered to celebrate this joyful event awaiting the coming of the Savior Jesus Christ our Lord.
At the same time, three more masses were celebrated at St. Joseph’s Church in Chinese by Father Raymond Lee Seng Huat and at St. Mark’s Church in Bahasa Malaysia by Father Simon Kontou and at St. Peter’s Chapel, Sg Manila in Bahasa Malaysia by Father Thomas Makajil.
His Lordship blessed the nativity scene before the start of the Eucharistic celebration. His Lordship preached in his homily that while Christmas is a time for everyone to celebrate joy, Bethlehem, the place where Christ was born, is currently experiencing sadness and sorrow due to the ongoing war in the Holy Land and the discrimination and rejection experienced by those who are marginalized and rejected by society worldwide. His Lordship also brings to mind the birth of Jesus in a Bethlehem stable and the extraordinary compassion of a God who takes on human form in order to save the world.
The Mass ended with a final blessing and the choir sang traditional Christmas carols including “Joy To The World” and “We wish you a Merry Christmas”.
“A Savior is born for us”.
