Reported by Vinnie
Photo by SOCCOM (Romeo, Stephen, Johnstone, Kimberly, Bilcher and Depni)
The Easter Vigil or Holy Saturday was celebrated on the evening of March 28, 2024 at St. Mary’s Cathedral with His Lordship Bishop Julius Dusin Gitom presiding in the presence of more than 1000 parishioners. The Easter Vigil takes place in the hour of darkness and begins with the lighting of the new fire in front of the church. The Paschal candles are blessed and lit to represent the resurrection of Christ. The light of Christ is carried in a procession into the darkened church. The faithful had lit their candles and all were shining brightly in the darkness with the “Light of Christ”. The Exsultet is sung, followed by the Liturgy of the Word.
At the same time, two 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 by Father Simon Kontou.
His Lordship Bishop Julius Dusin Gitom confirmed in his homily that Christ has risen. Jesus conquered death, hell and the grave and through Christ in us we have the assurance of his coming glory. The resurrection of Christ is a confirmation of our victory and Christ raises us to a new life. As the reading of St. Paul says: “Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too could live a new life.” The prelate also gives some interesting readings that remind us that we do everything in the name of the Lord and give thanks to God the Father through him. The prelate also pointed out that women were not trustworthy witnesses at the time of Jesus, but that it was women who had the privilege of proclaiming the resurrection of Christ and that it was the time of social revolution and the elevation of the dignity of women be. In the eyes of God, all men and women are his sons and daughters. The Lord requires that we fulfill our obligation to share good news with others. We will share our Easter life with our families and our community and journey together as a synodal church to bring the Good News to others.
The prelate reminded the catechumens (in Malay language, majority from the Bahasa group) that baptism is not just a formal act or merely a simple rite of reception into the Church, but the beginning of a journey of faith, united with Christ. The rites symbolize spiritual purification and rebirth and signify our death and resurrection with Jesus. After the homily, the prelate went to the baptismal font with the baptismal liturgy. Catechumens preparing to enter the Church are baptized, confirmed, and later receive their first Holy Communion. A total of 42 candidates were baptized at St. Mary’s Cathedral; 40 BM and 2 English.
The Mass ended with a final blessing and a dismissal includes a final ”Alleluia”.