Pilgrimage to St Jude's Chapel, Gopeng

The Chapel of St Jude in Gopeng, Perak draws quite a large crowd of pilgrims from all over Malaysia and Singapore annually before and on its feast day. This year, it celebrated the feast of Apostles St Simon and St Jude on October 25, that was preceded by 2 days of Novena prayers and Masses to St Jude, the patron Saint of desperate cases.

This year, my darling and I were numbered in the multitude of 1,500 people who thronged St Jude's Chapel to attend the Eucharistic Mass Celebration that Sunday morning. We felt blessed indeed to be able to travel together with 24 other pilgrims from our parish and others, by bus from Kuala Lumpur to attend its feast day.

Church of the Sacred Heart, Kampar

John and I went on a pilgrimage to St. Jude's Church at Gopeng last month that included a visit to this lovely Church of the Sacred Heart in Kampar, Perak.

It is located in the old Kampar town, near the clock tower. This Catholic Church was in fact our first stop when we reached Kampar around 10.30 am. Of course, it was closed at that time on a Saturday morning. So, our tour leader, George Yeow contacted our Assistant Parish Priest to liaise with his counterpart in Kampar and have the Church opened that we may pay homage to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

A beautiful gothic-designed 101-years old Church that celebrated its Centenary or 100th anniversary, last June 20 2008. My first impression was it looked like a sugary castle in a fairyland, painted in lovely sweet pink, white and cream. Simply awesome! And, the Church's compound is unusually vast.

Singing hymns to Christ the King!

Today, November 22 2009, the Catholic Church begins the last week of the liturgical year, celebrating the Solemnity of Christ the King!

Today's Sunday readings: Daniel 7:13-14, Psalm 93:1-2,5, Revelation 1:5-8 amd John 18:33-37 all attest to the kingship of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Truth.

Revelation 1:5-8
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever, Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God,
"the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Pondering on Christ' immeasurable love for you and me, I thought it ideal to spend my day focused on the beautiful lyrics of these lovely hymns that were sung in our church today to celebrate Jesus Christ who is our King, Savior and Redeemer! I want my heart and soul to shout out praises and thanks for His mighty and wondrous love.

Touring Tanjung Sepat, Kuala Langat (Part 2/2)

Following our pilgrimage to the Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Banting on October 11, 2009, 2 vans and 3 busload of pilgrims then proceeded to Tanjung Sepat for the leisure tour, the next stop in the itinerary.

We left Fatima Church about 1.15 pm, accompanied by Fr. VA Michael and Margaret, who generously spent the rest of that day with us. Thank you both!

Our tour of Tanjung Sepat, a neighbouring town that took about half an hour's journey from Banting was truly an eye-opener for my darling John and I. We were surprised to see that this previously small fishing village in Kuala Langat district, southwest coast of Selangor, has become a popular tourist attraction with the emergence of many seafood restaurants, fruit orchards that included Longan, Dragon Fruit, Coconut and others, Mushroom and Ganoderma (Ling-zhi) farm and other home-grown industries over the last decade.

Our first stop was the Longan orchard.

Pilgrimage to Fatima Church, Banting (Part 1/2)

Local pilgrimages to Catholic churches is gaining popularity among churchgoers. Usually it's a day trip and made affordable to parishioners of all churches for all walks of life by George Yeow, a dear friend and a tourist guide by profession.

For the recent pilgrimage to Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Banting on October 11th, a total of 150 pilgrims, mainly from Petaling Jaya, Brickfields, Cheras and Kajang, traveled together in 3 buses and 2 vans. It was not surprising to see such a large crowd, after all the charge was only RM45 per pax and that included transport to Fatima Church and other interesting places at Tanjung Sepat, buns and a bottle of mineral water for light breakfast and seafood lunch.

The actual Feast Day for the Church of Our Lady of Fatima, Banting was to be celebrated on Tuesday, October 13th, commemorating the anniversary of Our Lady's last apparition on October 13 1917. We attended the Novena and Sunday Eucharistic Celebration instead, 2 days earlier for the convenience of the working pilgrims.

Lunch at Canton-i, The Gardens Mid Valley

David, our darling son, introduced us to dine at Canton-i, the branch at The Gardens Mid Valley about 3 weeks ago. A food restaurant serving Hong Kong cuisine, situated in one of Malaysia's most impressive and popularly visited mega mall. It has an open kitchen concept, where you can observe the chefs preparing/cooking the food ordered.

We reached there before noon to avoid queuing as it can be pretty crowded it seems, even during week-days. No wonder, I noticed rows of chairs conveniently placed outside its entrance for queuing customers, as seen in the left photo below. The right image on the other hand shows the restaurant's interior, a little too cramped and tight, screaming for want of dining space, don't you think so?
Frankly, as the crowd gradually increased, the din inside can be disturbing and you can even hear what the other diners close-by are chattering!