Seniors (SCM) of Our Lady of Lourdes Klang, headed for the highlands over the weekend -a pilgrimage of sorts to attend the Dedication and Blessings Ceremony of the new chapel of Our Lady of Mt Carmel, at Tanah Rata , Camerons. The auspicious event was on Monday, 16th July 2012. We , all forty four of us were also there for a spell of fresh air if there was any left with the intense raping of the hills!! BUT people, the ceremony was lovely and more than wow! wow! !
The church building was packed to the brim , hundreds were there to witness the power charged ceremony. Though the weather played up a little....dark clouds, and drizzles, and at times, heavy downpour....the crowd religiously continued pouring into the church compound.
And She, YT saw the most beautiful statue of Our Lady that Monday, afternoon, People! There are statues but this statue carried from the Convent to the new chapel by the Indonesian migrants was exquisite, and I mean exquisite. Almost immediately, YT fell in love with the beautiful serene smile of the Holy Mother. Together with the crowd, she ran to scoop handful of rose petals to pay homage -yeah! showering , and showering of rose petals over her serene and smiling countenance and people, the feeling was immensely gratifying...
I do not even know where to begin, YT was so awe struck by the rituals of the blessing ceremony, her fingers stopped clicking the camera. You know...you cannot serve two masters at one time.... you really cannot do two things with equal focus at the same time...either you revere holy presence or record the event, and it was just too profoundly spiritual and powerful not to take advantage of those moments to pray a little and drink in the awesome act of worship and homage-practice of heritage, culture and custom, that was so utterly Catholic! The commanding presence of the Bishop, confident in his rite of dedication, and his royal entrounge of priests, resplendent in their priestly attire,....how many?? perhaps forty? fifty ?? YT wasn't sure...but it was such a majestic scene.....When the Bishop, knocked on the closed door... it was the image of Jesus, knocking on the doors of our hearts.. the heart of his church...and when he officially opened it, it was to worthy joy and thunderous applause! The door opened and with it, the hearts of the entire church..opened to receive the Lord God....YT was a little overwhelmed and I tell you, that beautiful image shall stay firm in her memory for a long, long time...
The blessings and covering of the altar table, the blessings and brighteng of the corners of the church ...the entire rite ...they were pure knowledge worthy of absorption and learning. YT received a generous dose of holy water. Was she singing like a lark! Did you know that the wood of the cross, the very cross that hang in prominence at the church building was taken down from the mountains, physicially by the Parish Priest and his team??...Father Eugene Bendict and his team, carried them all the way down...and they were no scrawny things..they were huge, heavy and strong...and you'll need plenty of muscles and stamina for that...they must have enlisted a team of angels to lift away a huge part of the weight , else..it would definitely be too heavy..no human could carry the cross of Jesus, without divine help.
When the Paschal Candle flared up in brilliance...it was a poignantly special moment for this writer....she knew not the feelings of the observing crowd, but to YT, it signified...the entrance of LIGHT, the presence of God into the church building and it was an immensely beautiful feeling.. He is wholesomely present,all corners and the entire space!.YT is not one of the local parishioner but man, her heart surged in gladness, as the light from those candles sprang up, its flames strong and steady ...and if that feeling could come upon her.. those precious moments must have gladden the hearts of the highland community a million fold! The Church Compound
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| Lovely guardian |
Beautiful church building ( yah, it's more church than chapel) ...a fruitful compound with thriving plots of vegetables and flowering plants ...Yours Truly was totally charmed and ooo...ooo...ah...ah aahying, away- her camera never stopped clicking....She had planted her fair share of chillies, cucumbers, beans and turnips in her younger days, but believe it or not, she had never seen white carrots popping up so beautifully from the ground! 
The flowers were equally lovely, but then all flowers bloom beautifully in Camerons ...it's just that those blossoms actually reached out to seduce the delight out of you! YT simply love roses and they were in such abundance around the church building! See how regally these yellow roses smile out to you!
The old building-rustic and full of charm.
YT just love old buildings -they have such beauty and character.. old is truly gold.
Seniors at the Boh Tea Plantations
Prayers and Appreciation
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| And they joined us for lunch,at Camerons- lovely gesture. |
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| Father Michael + Father David Blessings and prayers before departure |
Gracious thanks to the SCM working committee for their care, hard work and interesting activities, which had made this trip fun.
To the men , Alan, Mervin and gang, the people, who carried the huge and heavy cartoons of vegetables down to the bus for the other seniors- zillion thanks. Those vegetables, courtesy of highland farmers were exceptionally delicious- just a quick stir fry lah! Hey, you guys carried the whole lot down for us . Ouch! the shoulders and the back! Thanks again one and all!!
To Whom It May Concern
ReplyDeleteMyself was very honoured to attend the Blessings of the new Holy Roman Catholic Church of our Lady of Mount Carmel in Tanah Rata on July 16, 2012.
Yours Faithfully in Christ,
Rene F. Draxler, Esq.
(Republic of Austria)