RECRUITING CAROLLERS

Christmas is a time of spreading the

Good News of Jesus' birth.

Come! Join in the 2017 Caroling and

share the Gospel through your

beautiful singing. The caroling

groups will be starting their

practices soon. Come join us!

For more information, please

contact Vincent Wong at 016-802

4157.

RESIDENTS WITHIN ST

SIMON PARISH BOUNDARY Are you new to St Simon

Parish? Have you recently moved

house? Please pick up the form,

update your details and pass the form

to the Parish Office in order for us

to update the parish database.

SHARPENING SKILLS FOR

GUITARISTS. We would like to

invite all guitarists to join in this

year's caroling. Bring the Joy of Je-

sus' birth through your guitar skills!

Please contact Vincent Wong 016-

802 4157 for more information.

Deepest

Condolences

to Winnie Voo

Kual and family

for the passing of

her mother-in-law

(the late Martha Nain Anak) and niece

-in-law (the late Shirly Andrea

Kintuan) on 22 September 2017.

May their souls rest in peace

MONTH OF ROSARY

Opening Mass on 2nd October 2017

(Monday) beginning with recitation

of the rosary at 7.00pm at the Grotto

followed by crowning of Mother

Mary and thereafter proceed to

church for Mass beginning at

7.30pm. (subject to weather).

Holy Rosary will be recited as

follows:

NEWS AND FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Mon, Tue, Wed

& Friday

7.00pm at Chapel

Thursday 7.30pm at Chapel

Sunday 10.30am at Chapel

4.15pm at Church

St Simon Catholic

Church Likas

Bulletin edition: 01 October 2017

Address Jln Punat Tanah, Off Jln Tuaran, Mile 3.5 (KM6), 88400 Kota Kinabalu

Contact 088-212713 (Tel) / 088-288713 (Fax)

E-mail SSCCL010608@gmail.com

Webpage http://stsimonlikas.wordpress.com

Office

Hours

Mon-Fri: 9am-1pm; 2pm-5pm Sat: 9am-1pm

Rector Rev Cosmas Lee

Sunday

Services

Masses (Eng) - 8.30am & 5pm; Rosary: 4.15pm; Confession: 8.15am

& 4.45pm

Weekday

Services

(Chapel)

Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri: 6.30pm Thurs: Holy Hour - 7.30pm, fol-

lowed by Mass at 8.30pm

Weekly

Intercessory

Prayers

Every Tuesday after the weekday Mass

Chapel opens 7am-9pm

26TH SUN IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 OCT

R1: Ez 18:25-28; R2: Phil 2:1-11 Gospel: Mat 21, 28-32

Resp. Psalm: Remember your Mercy, Lord

27TH SUN IN ORDINARY TIME - 8 OCT

R1: Is 5:1-7 R2: Phil 4:6-9 Gospel: Mt 21:33-43

Resp. Psalm: The Vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel

28TH SUN IN ORDINARY TIME - 15 OCT

R1: Is 25:6-10 R2: Phil 4:12-14, 19-20 Gospel: Mat 22:1-14

Resp. Psalm: In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever

and ever

Saints & Feast Days

1 Oct 2017 Saint Theresa of the child Je-

sus, virgin and doctor

2 Oct 2017 Guardian Angels

4 Oct 2017 Saint Francis of Assisi

6 Oct 2017 Saint Bruno, priest

7 Oct 2017 Our Lady of the Rosary

9 Oct 2017 Saint Denis & Companions,

martyrs

Saint John Leonardi, priest

Saint Hector Valdivielso Saez,

martyr

11 Oct 2017 Saint John XXIII

Donations

17th September Black Bag RM6,136.47

Red Bag RM4,838.31

24th September Black Bag RM5,861.45

Red Bag RM4,782.00

Thank you for your generosity and May God bless you!

On the 3 of October we celebrate the

feast day of St Francis of Assisi (1181

-1226). Known to many Catholics as a

patron saint of nature and animals, he is also

one of the most venerated saints in the

Catholic Church, though he was never

ordained a priest.

He has founded numerous orders under the

Franciscan order. He started the order of

Franciscan minor, a group of men who chose

to live a life according to the gospel

teaching, and to live a live of chastity and

poverty. He was also among the first founder

of secular order, where the membership is

opened to lay men and women who wishes

to follow the Franciscan way of living the

Gospel.

As his orders preaches poverty in living the

faith, it is surprising that he was originally

born into a very well-to-do family. His

original name is Giovanni, which is ‘John’ in

Italian. His father was angry at his mother

for naming the son after John the Baptist,

who is a man of God. His fear that his son

would eventually become a man of God did

come true as his son eventually left his

family for the church. His father begged,

threatened him to stay with his family, yet

his call to follow Jesus was so strong then he

decided to renounced his family to follow

the footsteps of Jesus. Later through his

whole life, he would go on inspire many lay

men and women to live lives according to

the teaching of the Gospel.

Today’s second reading and gospel we learnt

2 very useful lessons, and both are very well

exemplified by St Francis of Assisi. In

today’s second reading, we learned how we

ought to make a living example out of

Jesus, who is the ultimate example of

humility, altruism and love. Because Jesus

placed the redemption of our sins above

His life, and because He listened to the

will of the Father, His death on the cross

becomes our saving grace, and we as

Christians worship Him as our personal

saviour.

We all know that our salvation is built on

the meekness and obedience of one

person. However, in reality, how many of

us can be humble and meek like Jesus, and

to place everything above ourselves? We

live in the life where it is always ‘I’ above

’them’, preferring to receive rather than to

give. In the Beatitudes Jesus reiterated by

saying ‘ blessed are those who are the

meek, for they will inherit the earth.’ (Mt

5:5) It is only through living a life of

simplicity, love and poverty where we can

be closer to God. St Francis did exactly

that, finding joy in owning almost nothing

BE HUMBLE AND HEAR

GOD’S ALL FOR YOU !

Please use the Parish Webpage http://stsimonlikas.wordpress.com to see latest bulletin for information on Services Schedule etc.

other than what he wears, and tried his very

best to love those around him. St Francis

believes that one will only be truly free to

love God if one owns very little things.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus’ Parables was

fairly direct. He first made the comparison

between the first son that first disobeyed the

father, yet later did as what was told, to the

second son who obeyed the father, yet did

not do what he was asked to do in the end.

Then, he indirectly chastised at the chief

priests and elders, who speak greatly about

God and His law but did not do as they

preach, the message of repentance

announced by John the Baptist had not

brought about the change of heart in them.

Instead, John’s message was heeded by

those one would not expect to repent—tax

collectors, prostitutes, and other sinners.

Because of their actions, these sinners will

enter the Kingdom of God ahead of the

religious leaders.

The gospel raises two main points. First,

unless we first acknowledge ourselves as

sinners, we would never be able to

experience the conversion of our heart.

Just as Jesus said he indirectly chastised

at the chief priests and elders, He would

only offer salvation to those who could

be humble enough to recognise their

sinfulness and only then can the

forgiveness brings about a faith that is

closer to God. St Francis of Assisi was

a playboy before he came to

realisation that he has lived in sin,

and in his constant prayer with

God and repenting his sinfulness did he

encounter God in a very personal way

that would change his life and our lives

forever.

The second is the first time when God

calls, do we run away? It would have

been better if we heed the calls the

soonest as we heard them, but most of us

are more like Jonah or Samuel, who

would listen after they were really sure it

was God who called them. God calls

people the one most unlikely, and

sometimes he called repeatedly, like St

Francis. But the call here does not need

to be the call of vocation. It can be a call

to your secular vocation , or a call to

marriage, or a call to leave and work in a

few place, or even a call to serve the Lord

in a church ministry. In this case, keep

praying and pay close attention to any

signs around you that can be God’s way

of answering you.

May we continue to be humble,

seek, self-giving and close to God that we

could hear clearly what is God’s call for

us.

Amen!

BE HUMBLE AND HEAR

GOD’S ALL FOR YOU !

Please use the Parish Webpage http://stsimonlikas.wordpress.com to see latest bulletin for information on Services Schedule etc.