20 January 2025 – 22nd Anniversary of the Dedication of Cathedral of the Holy Spirit

by Cardinal Sebastian Francis

Well today is also the Feast of two Saints from the early church, both martyrs, Saint Fabian who was a Pope and Saint Sebastian. So I asked the parish priest to read a message from Pope Francis to me and to all of us. And we also remember every one in our Diocese who carries the name of Fabian and Sebastian this evening.

 

So that includes all of you. So I thank Pope Francis for his greetings (Para 1).

Thank you, Rector.

So brothers and sisters, the Cathedral of the Diocese of Penang has been around for 70 years. This is the 70th year. The Cathedral was first established in the Church of the Assumption with the first Bishop, Bishop Francis Chan. And that happened in 1955.

And the Cathedral remained at the Assumption for 48 years under four Bishops, Francis Chan the first Bishop, Gregory Yong the second Bishop, Soter Fernandez the third Bishop and Anthony Selvanayagam the fourth. And it remained there for 48 years.

In 2003, Bishop Anthony Selvanayagam applied to Rome to move the Cathedral from the Church of the Assumption in town to the Church of the Holy Spirit right here. So from 2003 to 2025, that is this year, we have been celebrating the Cathedral for 22 years.

So 48 years in the Assumption Church, 22 years here, that makes a total of 70 years. And so we thank and praise God for everyone from Francis Chan right up to this day. It is a story of the continuation of the mission and that makes us very happy.

 

So if I were to ask what is the Holy Spirit doing? We are called the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. What is the Holy Spirit doing together with Pope Francis? Where and how is Pope Francis and the Holy Spirit (not Pope Francis by himself but together with the Holy Spirit) leading us as Church in the Diocese of Penang and beyond the Diocese of Penang?

And I suggest that the Holy Spirit is forming us to become a Church of Disciples. And it is through baptism that we become disciples. And at baptism, we are baptised not in the name of Jesus. We are baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is our mark.

Pope Francis and the Holy Spirit are forming us to become a Church of Witnesses. And the witnessing begins with earnestness after Confirmation. A Church of Evangelising Witnesses. And evangelisation and witness is not what goes on within the church compound or even within the church. Evangelisation and witness is what happens the moment you leave the church and go back to your Tamans, your working places, your colleges/universities, your schools, the market place. That is where witnessing is happening.

The Holy Spirit and Pope Francis is forming us to become a Church of Missionaries. A Church of Missionary Disciples.

The Holy Spirit and Pope Francis is preparing us if necessary to become a Church of Martyrs as we have tens of thousands of Martyrs in Asia, in the Asian church.

And finally, the Holy Spirit together with Pope Francis is leading us as church to become a Church of Pilgrims and of Brides who are waiting for the return of the Bridegroom.

So the key to this Synod which was concluded in 2024 last year (for the Universal Church, there is a key), the key is CONVERSION, nothing else – CONVERSION.

The key to the Jubilee is all of us are called to go on PILGRIMAGE. And as I said, the ultimate Pilgrimage is not just the physical one. It is the one that moves from the head to the heart and from the heart to the hands and feet.

So the key, two keys – Conversion for everyone, beginning with Pope Francis. And the first key is CONVERSION.

The second key is HOPE.

So brothers and sisters, this is the short reflection that I would like to share with you tonight. And just a short comment on the Readings of today. If you noticed, the Three Readings are beautifully chosen and it has all to do with the Temple, the place of worship – with the Cathedral, with our churches, with our Basilicas and all places of worship.

And Solomon is very proud. He built the temple. He built the first temple in Jerusalem and in the temple was the Holy of Holies. And the Holy of Holies was nothing more than the two tablets, the two tablets containing the Commandments of God which was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. So Solomon is singing the praises of the Temple of Jerusalem.

Then Paul makes a tremendous breakthrough in the Second Reading. And he says:
Now you, I, each one of us, young and old, you are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. You are the temple. You are God’s temple and the Spirit of God is living in you.

Wow, that is a huge paradigm shift. That is a huge breakthrough and we are not getting used to it yet.

And Jesus in the Gospel, talking to one woman, the Samaritan woman who had a very colourful life, tells her something that becomes almost prophetic. It is prophetic. He said:
The day will come. You are arguing with me about which is more important, to worship in the mountains of Samaria or to worship in the temple of Jerusalem. I am telling you the day will come, the hour will come, in fact it is here already, when true worshippers, whether in Samaria or Jerusalem or in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.

And you and I must allow the Holy Spirit to help us to understand that depth of these words. And actually, what happened to the temple that Solomon built? It was destroyed. The pride was destroyed, twice not once. The first destruction of the temple built by Solomon, the Temple of Jerusalem, was 586 years before Christ, destroyed by the superpower of that time, Babylon. It was rebuilt. And then the second temple that was rebuilt was destroyed again in 70 AD after Christ. It was destroyed in 70 AD after Christ by the Roman Empire.

So we must learn the lessons of history or we will repeat it. We will repeat the mistakes of history if we do not learn the lessons of history.

So the key now is what Saint Paul said:
You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

The key now is what Jesus told the Samaritan woman:
The day will come, the hour will come, in fact it is already here when we will not argue anymore, whether you should worship in Samaria or Jerusalem or the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit or anywhere. All true worshippers (and I am sure that includes all of us) will worship God, wherever you gather for your worship, you will worship God in spirit and in truth.

So we celebrate not just 22 years of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit but 70 years of the Cathedral of the Assumption which was around, lasted for 48 years, and for 22 years the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

The mission continues. We come, we go, the mission continues.

Amen.

Click below to listen to homily and watch video:

Click to live-stream Mass on 20 January 2025