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A living Church is a Church in movement and ecclesial movements, as Pope Francis says, “are a gift, they are a treasure in the Church.”

These movements renew the Church with their capacity for dialogue at the service of her evangelising mission. Each day, they rediscover in their charism new ways of showing the attractiveness and the newness of the Gospel. 

How do they do this?
Speaking different languages, they seem different, but it is their creativity that creates these differences. But always understanding themselves and making themselves understood.

Always be on the move, responding to the impulse of the Holy Spirit to the challenges, to the changes in today’s world. Remain in harmony with the Church, since harmony is a gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Let us pray that ecclesial movements and groups may daily rediscover their mission, an evangelising mission, and that they place their own charisms at the service of the world’s needs.
The World Day of Prayer for Vocations is on Sunday, April 30, 2023 also known as "Good Shepherd Sunday." The purpose of this day is to publicly fulfill the Lord's instruction to, "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). As a climax to a prayer that is continually offered throughout the Church, it affirms the primacy of faith and grace in all that concerns vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life. While appreciating all vocations, the Church concentrates its attention this day on vocations to the ordained ministries (priesthood and diaconate), consecrated life in all its forms (male and female religious life, societies of apostolic life, consecrated virginity), secular institutes in their diversity of services and membership, and to the missionary life.
2023 marks the 60th Anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
Let’s us pray for young people so that they may know the personal love of the Lord for them, and respond with open and generous hearts.

Here are some pictures of Vocation Promotion around the world

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MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS 
FOR THE 2023 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

Dear brothers and sisters, dear young people! This is now the sixtieth time that we are celebrating the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, established by Saint Paul VI in 1964, during the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. This providential initiative seeks to assist the members of the People of God, as individuals and as communities, to respond to the call and mission that the Lord entrusts to each of us in today’s world, amid its afflictions and its hopes, its challenges and its achievements. This year I would ask you, in your reflection and prayer, to take as your guide the theme “Vocation: Grace and Mission”. This Day is a precious opportunity for recalling with wonder that the Lord’s call is grace, complete gift, and at the same time a commitment to bring the Gospel to others. We are called to a faith that bears witness, one that closely connects the life of grace, as experienced in the sacraments and ecclesial communion, to our apostolate in the world. Led by the Spirit, Christians are challenged to respond to existential peripheries and human dramas, ever conscious that the mission is God’s work; it is not carried out by us alone, but always in ecclesial communion, together with our brothers and sisters, and under the guidance of the Church’s pastors. For this has always been God’s dream: that we should live with him in a communion of love.​“Chosen before the creation of the world” The apostle Paul opens before us a remarkable horizon: in Christ, God the Father “chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Eph 1:4-5). These words allow us to glimpse life at its fullest: God has “conceived” us in his image and likeness and desires us to be his sons and daughters. We were created by love, for love and with love, and we are made for love. In the course of our lives, this call, which is part of the fibre of our being and the secret of our happiness, comes to us by the work of the Holy Spirit in ever new ways. It enlightens our minds, strengthens our wills, fills us with amazement and sets our hearts afire. At times, the Spirit comes to us in completely unexpected ways. So it was for me when, on 21 September 1953, as I was on my way to an annual school celebration, I was led to stop by a church and go to confession. That day changed my life and left a mark that has endured to the present day. God’s call to the gift of self tends to make itself known gradually: in our encounter with situations of poverty, in moments of prayer, when we see a clear witness to the Gospel, or read something that opens our minds. When we hear God’s word and sense that it is spoken directly to us, in the advice given by a fellow brother or sister, in moments of sickness or sorrow… In all the ways he calls us, God shows infinite creativity. The Lord’s initiative and his gracious gift call for a response on our part. Vocation is “the interplay between divine choice and human freedom”, [1] a dynamic and exciting relationship between God and the human heart. The gift of vocation is like a divine seed that springs up in the soil of our existence, opens our hearts to God and to others, so that we can share with them the treasure we ourselves have found. This is the fundamental structure of what we mean by vocation: God calls us in love and we, in gratitude, respond to him in love. We realize that we are beloved sons and daughters of the one Father, and we come to see ourselves as brothers and sisters of one another. Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, when at last she “saw” this clearly, exclaimed, “At last I have found my calling: my call is love. Indeed, I have found my proper place in the Church… In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I will be love”. [2]
“I am a mission on this earth” God’s call, we said, includes a “sending”. There is no vocation without mission. There is no happiness and full self-realization unless we offer others the new life that we have found. God’s call to love is an experience that does not allow us to remain silent. Saint Paul says, “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16). And the First Letter of John begins with the words, “What we have heard and seen, looked at and touched – the Word made flesh – we declare also to you, so that our joy may be complete” (cf. 1:1-4). Five years ago, in the Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate, I spoke to every baptized person, saying, “You need to see the entirety of your life as a mission” (No. 23). Yes, because each and every one of us is able to say: “I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world” (Evangelii Gaudium, 273). Our shared mission as Christians is to bear joyful witness wherever we find ourselves, through our actions and words, to the experience of being with Jesus and members of his community, which is the Church.  That mission finds expression in works of material and spiritual mercy, in a welcoming and gentle way of life that reflects closeness, compassion and tenderness, in contrast to the culture of waste and indifference. By being a neighbour, like the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:25-37), we come to understand the heart of our Christian vocation: to imitate Jesus Christ, who came to serve, not to be served (cf. Mk 10:45). This missionary activity does not arise simply from our own abilities, plans and projects, nor from our sheer willpower or our efforts to practice the virtues; it is the result of a profound experience in the company of Jesus.  Only then can we testify to a Person, a Life, and thus become “apostles”. Only then can we regard ourselves as “sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising, healing and freeing” (Evangelii Gaudium, 273). The Gospel icon of this experience is that of the two disciples journeying to Emmaus. After their encounter with the risen Jesus, they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the Scriptures to us?” ( Lk 24:32). In those disciples, we can see what it means to have “hearts on fire, feet on the move”. [3] This is also my fervent hope for the coming World Youth Day in Lisbon, to which I joyfully look forward, with its motto: “Mary arose and went with haste” ( Lk 1:39). May every man and woman feel called to arise and go in haste, with hearts on fire. Called together and convened The evangelist Mark relates the moment when Jesus called to himself twelve disciples, each by name. He appointed them to be with him and to be sent out to proclaim the message, to heal infirmities and to cast out demons (cf. Mk 3:13-15). The Lord thus laid the foundations of his new community. The Twelve were people from different social classes and trades; none of them was a person of influence. The Gospels speak too of other callings, like that of the 72 disciples whom Jesus sent out two by two (cf. Lk10:1). The Church is an Ecclesia, the Greek word for an assembly of persons called and convened, in order to form the community of missionary disciples of Jesus Christ committed to sharing love among themselves (cf. Jn 13:34; 15:12) and spreading that love to all others, so that God’s kingdom may come. Within the Church, all of us are servants, in accordance with the variety of our vocations, charisms and ministries. Our common vocation to give ourselves in love develops and finds concrete expression in the life of lay men and women, devoted to raising a family as a small domestic church and working as a leaven of the Gospel to renew the different sectors of society; in the testimony of consecrated women and men who are completely committed to God for the sake of their brothers and sisters as a prophetic sign of the kingdom of God; in ordained ministers – deacons, priests and bishops – placed at the service of preaching, prayer and fostering the communion of the holy People of God. Only in relation with all the others, does any particular vocation in the Church fully disclose its true nature and richness. Viewed in this light, the Church is a vocational “symphony”, with every vocation united yet distinct, in harmony and joined together in “going forth” to radiate throughout the world the new life of the kingdom of God. Grace and mission: a gift and a task Dear brothers and sisters, vocation is a gift and a task, a source of new life and true joy. May the initiatives of prayer and of activity associated with this Day strengthen an awareness of vocation within our families, our parish communities, our communities of consecrated life, and our ecclesial associations and movements. The Spirit of the risen Lord dispels our apathy and grants us the gifts of sympathy and empathy. In this way, he enables us to live each day born anew as children of the God who is love (cf. 1 Jn 4:16) and in turn to offer that love to others. To bring life everywhere, especially in places of exclusion and exploitation, poverty and death, in order to enlarge the spaces of love, [4] so that God may reign ever more fully in this world. May the prayer that Saint Paul VI composed for the first World Day of Vocations, 11 April 1964, accompany us on our journey: “O Jesus, divine Shepherd of souls, you called the apostles and made them fishers of men. Continue to draw to yourself ardent and generous souls from among the young, in order to make them your followers and your ministers. Give them a share in your thirst for the redemption of all… Open before them the horizons of the entire world… By responding to your call, may they prolong your mission here on earth, build up your Mystical Body which is the Church, and be ‘the salt of the earth’ and ‘the light of the world’ (Mt 5:13)”. May the Virgin Mary watch over you and protect you. With my blessing.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 30 April 2023, Fourth Sunday of Easter.
FRANCIS

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Chapter 2023........Deo Gratias! Lead us, Lord

FMM in KB celebrates 60 years presence in Kota Bharu

Standing on the shoulders of the FMM giants who blazed the trail before us, we proudly
celebrated on May 8th 2022, the Diamond Jubilee of continued FMM presence from May 1st
1962 in this remotest State of Malaysia, among the 90% Muslim population. 
A committee of parishioners and Sisters Enid Lopez and Mary Anne Fletcher prepared for the
celebration: The Mass and slides of FMM history/ministries down the years; the decorations
so well done by a university student; the ordering of the packed lunch menu; audio-visual
setups to enjoy the occasion; the physical preparation of the Church. How much the laity
were with us was seen in the quiet practice of the altar servers; the practice of the Choir
members with Sr. Angeline Poh; the humble preparation of the tables and tableware by one of
the Basic Ecclesial Community; the gorgeous flower decorations of roses; Our chairperson
who quietly took our plans for a simple cake to another level, by contacting the owner of a
bakery who donated a beautifully decorated 3 kilo cake. Later, on invitation to our convent,
he shared how much he had been touched by the kindness of especially two Sisters to him, a
poor boy needing accommodation, and finding more care than he imagined, and gave him
values to this day
The Mass was solemnly celebrated as it was also the 5th Sunday of Easter. We FMM were
introduced as “Lamps burning our lives out before the Eucharist. '' The Church was fairly full
with people wanting to share our joy. Unfortunately, the slides could be shown only the next
week. It touched many people while reviving memories of associations with the Sisters. The
recreation was enlivened by Sr. Enid’s adaptation of “Happy Wanderer”, It appreciated
individuals and families who had specially helped the Sisters in varied ways. Spontaneous
clapping of hands and waving to the mood of the song and other music kept up the spirit of
joy and oneness of the people with us. They even started a line dance called “Jerusalema
Dance”! Many stayed on for fellowship and karaoke singing.
The next week, the updated slides were shown in the Church, accompanied by a nostalgic
commentary by Sr. Enid, who had researched the history. It depicted the early humble
beginnings by Sisters of different nationalities and languages, and the tremendous
groundwork laid by the pioneers. By going to live and work among the Muslims, the Srs
dared what no other religious congregation at that time would do: as our Constitutions says:
‘to the most dangerous remotest places where Christ is not yet known”. To today, people
years later will tell us how they experienced Christ’s love though the love of the Sisters, in
the deep relationship of friendship and concern in so many situations. Even the former
pre-schoolers say this; so do those who were accompanied in their faith formation in Chinese,
English and Bahasa. Lay persons will accompany Sisters to do marketing; to collaborate
teaching sewing classes; in the camaraderie and picnic atmosphere after Mass. All bound
together in love. The Sisters’ outreach to families in the outstations, often staying overnight
with them after Mass and catechesis; the many poor boarders who lived in the hostel needingaccommodation as well as professional and university students who later stayed, all speak of
being cared for and accompanied.
Perhaps the words of the song, “You raised me up’’ best depict the peoples’ feelings when
they think of the Sisters:
“You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains,
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas.
I am strong when I am on your shoulders,
You raised me up to more than I can be”
Thanks be to God who accomplishes things through us, of which we never thought we could
do!
Mary Anne Fletcher, fmm
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Sr Susan's Farewell in Singapore/Malaysia...
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"To live by love is not only to love but to be loved"
Blessed Mary of the Passion, MD 826

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