15 August 2022 – The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

by Bishop Sebastian Francis

There is no call in the church, in the Catholic church, that supersedes the call of all the baptised to discipleship. And that is a call for everyone, from Pope Francis down to each one of us. The call to discipleship is primary and no other call including the call to be a priest or a religious or marriage supersedes the call to discipleship for all and the call to be an apostle for some. The successors of the apostles, being the Bishops. These two are the primary calls in the church. And you and I must get this right otherwise we will be going in circles.

So today we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into heaven. Her story begins with the immaculate conception, her immaculate conception in the womb of Anne, her mother. That is where her story begins, like all of us. Our story begins with conception, not at birth.

And today, the Feast of the Assumption, 15th of August, is the culmination, the end of her mission on earth. On earth. And her return to God. We, Catholics, are so sensitive about Mother Mary because she is so special to Jesus and so special to us we do not use the word ‘death’. For her only, not for anybody else. We don’t use the word ‘death’. We use the word ‘her assumption’, being assumed body and soul to heaven, to God. That is what we are celebrating today, the culmination of her mission and her first primary mission is to be a disciple to her son. She is not just a mother. She is also the disciple par excellance. Now that means she is the best of the best of the best as far as disciples are concern. There’s no disciple better than her. Yes, mother okay, good but don’t forget she is also the first disciple.

So that is what we are here about today and on this auspicious day, we are going to have the Rite of Installation of lay missionary, the first time I am doing this in the Diocese of Penang, probably the first. We have had many other commissioning of hermits, of many others but this time I am having the Rite of Installing a lay missionary. And the person is Paul Julianose and the rest of the homily is going to be about the installation and where you will hear clearly what it means to be on mission. What it means to be primarily a disciple and the case of Paul Julianose, a full-time lay missionary in the Diocese.

He’s not a brother, okay. He is not the seminarians. Get all the stereotypes out. There are all kinds of vocation in the church, okay, and in this particular case, we are talking about the vocation to be a lay missionary disciple, full time.

So you can come forward and we will begin the Rite of Installation, okay.

Bishop:

Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be ‘the universal sacrament of salvation’, the Church, in obedience to the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential universality, strives to preach the Gospel to all men: what is it that you, Paul Julianose, requests of me and Holy Mother Church?

Paul Julianose:

I ask to be commissioned as a lay missionary evangelist in the Penang Diocese, in full fidelity to the missionary mandate of Christ who declared: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, until the close of the age.

Bishop:

The Lord’s missionary mandate is ultimately grounded in the eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity:
‘The Church on earth is by her nature missionary since, according to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit.’

The ultimate purpose of mission is none other than to make men share in the communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love. You are committing to this ministry. Pray now the prayer of commissioning.

Paul Julianose:

Father in Heaven, It is from Your love for all men that the Church in every age receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary dynamism, ‘for the love of Christ urges us on.’

Indeed, You ‘desire all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth;’ You will the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth in Christ Jesus. I ask for the grace to obey the prompting of the Spirit of truth to evangelize those who are already on the way of salvation, so as to bring them the truth.

I believe in Your universal plan of salvation, and with Holy Mother Church, the grace of Jesus Christ, and communion with the Holy Spirit, I choose to embrace the role of lay missionary evangelist for the Church.

Amen.

Bishop:

By virtue of baptism and confirmation, you are a witness of the gospel message by word and the example of a Christian life; as a lay missionary, you are to proclaim the mystery of Christ completely and faithfully in the ministry of the word, which must be based upon sacred scripture, tradition, liturgy, the magisterium, and the life of the Church.

You are to proclaim first of all to the Christian faithful those things which one must believe and do for the glory of God and the salvation of humanity. You are also to impart to the faithful the doctrine which the magisterium of the Church sets forth concerning the dignity and freedom of the human person, the unity and stability of the family and its duties, the obligations which people have from being joined together in society, and the ordering of temporal affairs according to the plan established by God.

Since you have willingly accepted these roles and have stated your intention to do so before the faithful people of God, in this Cathedral, in this Diocese, I now commission you as a lay missionary in the Diocese of Penang under the authority of me, Bishop Sebastian Francis under the umbrella of Charis Penang, which is part of Charis Malaysia, Charis Asia and Charis International which is the umbrella for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church which was established by Pope Francis.

May the prayers of the Church, the peace of Christ, the love of the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit, together with the intercession of St Joseph, the universal patron of the Church and Mother Mary be ever with you in your apostolate.

Amen.

So let us give him a hand.

Click below to listen to the homily and watch the video:-

Click to live-stream Mass on 15 August 2022