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The
Parish Church of Santo Petrus dan Paulus,
Waikabubak,
Sumba Barat, Indonesia
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The Redemptorist Mission Team of
the Province of Indonesia has been invited by the parish of Sts. Peter and
Paul, town of Waikabubak, in the Island of Sumba, Indonesia. The Island of
Sumba is located at the southern part of Indonesia and under the province of
Nusa Tenggara Timur. Sumba is also the place where the provincialate of the
CSsR and most of its communities are located.
The
island of Sumba is composed of 4 regencies namely the East Sumba, Central
Sumba, West Daya Sumba and West Sumba. Waikabubak, especially, is the capital
of the regency of West Sumba. In this Parish of Sts. Peter and Paul, the
Catholics are numbered to approximately 11,000. Catholics are actually
minority. The Protestants belonging to different denominations are greater in
number while the Muslims are lesser also. Nevertheless, the indigenous belief
in the Island called Marapu, is still very much strong and a large number of
the local people still observe this indigenous belief particularly in the
outskirts of the small cities of the island in the remote areas.
The mission team is composed 4
priests, 1 brother and 2 professed students currently on their pastoral year.
These Redemptorists are namely Frs. Willy Ngongo Pala, Nuel Gesis, Yanus Dapa
Talu and Vinsen Nani Bili as the
coordinator of the mission team, Bro. Bartolomeus Boli Maing and the CSsR
students, Bros. Petrus Ngongo Bulu and Jomil Baring (myself). The two diocesan
priests of the parish are automatically part of the team also and these are
Frs. Edy Reda, the parish priest and Nus Ngajo, his assistant.
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| The
CSsR Missionaries at the sanctuary during the opening mass (7 Dec. 2014) |
Actually,
this mission is a continuation of the previous mission in the parish that took
place in 2005. Now, the parish has asked the missionaries to come back. This
mission is directed to renew the commitment of the lay leaders and all the
parishioners through family visits, Eucharistic celebrations and with emphasis
on the sacrament of reconciliation.
The
mission will especially be held in the 14 Lingkungan or neigbourhoods of the
parish that would start on the 7th of December, the Second Sunday of Advent
until the 1st of February 2015.
The
mission is directed with its theme, “Kesaksian hidup sebagai mistikus dan nabi
pada zaman ini”(in Bahasa Indonesia) roughly translated as Life Witnessing as a
Mystic and Prophet of Today. Indeed, the theme tells our vocation as Christians
to become living witnesses of Christ in the world as a mystic who contemplates
the situation of the world and as a prophet who is able to voice out God’s
message for His people.
The
mission was officially started during the Eucharistic celebration of the second
Sunday of advent. The Bursar of the Province of Indonesia, Fr. Agustinus Waluyo
Abubakar, CSsR represented the Provincial. During his homily, he reminded the
congregation that the mission that is to happen in the parish is not just of
the Redemptorist Missionaries, however, every woman and man and even children
has a part of this mission. Everyone is called to become bearer of good news to
her or his neighbour.
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During one of the family visits
a mother and her daugther
were making a traditionally hand-woven cloth
called Kain Ikat
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By the
following day, Monday and the rest of days of the week, the CSsR Mission Team
started the visits to the families of the TPU (Tim Penggerak Umat) or the animators
that would serve as the lay co-workers of the missionaries. These visits helped
the mission team to know initially the families of the TPU candidates and also
to be able to share the faith experiences of the family. These TPUs or
animators are first of all the co-workers of the missionaries in their own
neighbourhoods. Since they are the ones who know the place and their people,
they would serve as guides and liaisons of the missionaries. They themselves
are also the local missionaries in their own neighbourhood who will be the
first ones to promote cooperation, openness and understanding within their
neighbourhoods and friends.
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With
one of the TPU/Lay co-workers in his local village
called Tarung Waitabar. At
the background are the
Sumbanese traditional houses and below
are the famous
megalithic tomb stones of Sumba.
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Hence, on the third Sunday of
advent, the total number of 73 TPUs from the 14 different lingkungan or
neigbourhoods were recognized, blessed and commenced during the Sunday
Eucharist. For the past 3 consecutive afternoons these 73 TPU received basic
formation regarding the mission by the missionaries themselves. They
themselves, as Fr. Vinsen, CSsR, the coordinator of the Mission Team preached
during his homily, are called to be “the voice in the wilderness” like John the
Baptist. These lay people are called to become bearers of Christ, the Light of
the World within their own families and neighbours. They are to become friends
and brethren to all parishioners in this parish and even beyond. Furthermore,
these TPUs are not only during the duration of the parish mission, however,
will serve as neighbourhood missionaries for the entirety of their life as long
as they commit themselves into this service in the church.
Indeed, the Redemptorist mission
team is very glad and blessed because of the commitment and warm participation
of these lay people. The past three days of seminar and recollection, these
people have attentively and diligently attended the short formation. Thus, we
ask also the Spirit of God to guide these missionaries and inspire their hearts
with the gospel.
With the approaching joyful
celebration of Christmas, the mission is now in its full swing by first making
the visits to some families. During these days before Christmas, the
Redemptorist missionaries have stationed themselves to these 14 neighbourhoods
to preach God’s plentiful redemption through the sacrament of reconciliation in
houses and even in schools from the primary to middle and high schools.
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| Fr.
Edy Reda, the Parish Priest, sprinkling the holy water to the 73 lay co-workers during their commissioning |
And personally, as the only
Filipino, it is indeed a new experience for me. During the informal and formal
visits and conversations with the locals, those have given me new perspectives
about the world and about life. The faith experiences of each person I met have
significantly moved me. Hence, I thanked my short course in Bahasa Indonesia
that now I can confidently and fluently exchanged conversations with the
Indonesians. My fluency in Bahasa Indonesia has helped me also to actively
participate in this mission and be more immersed with the people.
May all of us, during this season
of advent, be ready enough to celebrate the joyful mystery of Christ’s
incarnation. And through the coming season of Christmas, may all of us, the
CSsR Missionaries and lay co-workers and all the parishioners of the Sts. Peter
and Paul be filled with the warmth of the Gospel and become living witnesses
and true bearers of Christ’s light into the world as mystics and prophets of
today.
16 December 2014
Waikbubak, West Sumba, Indonesia
