Are
You Lost?
Do you need directions?
Friar Mike the Custos of the Franciscan Friars
shares his insights on the Custody
(Our regular From the Friars Desk takes a break this week)
I was taken aback one day when a parishioner saw me standing at the
Piazza looking around I must have had the usual blur -like
sotong look and said, Hi there, welcome! Are you lost? Do you
need directions?
How wonderful to see that we are growing to be such a welcoming
community to people especially to the stranger who comes and
worships with us. But in another sense I thought it was rather
ironic because I should have been the one to welcome her! After all
she has come into the grounds of the Franciscan Friars! Its a
rather unique situation that the parish of St Mary of the Angels
actually sits in the grounds of St Anthony Friary and not the other
way round as commonly perceived. The late Archbishop Michael
Olcomendy asked the Franciscan Friars, if we could offer our chapel
to serve as a parish church. The community has since grown and now
that chapel is our beloved St Mary of the Angels Church.
Apart from this parish ministry where friars John-Paul, Martin and
Joseph work in, we also run a Formation House at San Damiano, the
Columbarium ministry and the many individual ministries that other
friars not involved in the parish, are engaged in. There is a lot
more than the parish that takes place on these grounds. Friars you
may not see often enough, engage in some of this. Most weekends Im
away celebrating the Eucharist with different communities. And
during the weekdays I teach in a school. No wonder I looked new
around our grounds for that wonderful lady who wanted to offer me
directions.
Allow me to now direct you to some other questions that people
sometimes ask me like: How do the friars fund themselves? Is it all
from the parish? Do we have to pay seminary fees? How do we pay for
our water and electricity? What about medical costs? etc. In short,
How do we manage? And my answer: In short, with the grace of
God!
Parish funds remain the property of the parish and it is used to
fund and maintain the church, the finance department in the
archdiocese oversees the accounts. The custody administration has
to engage in our own fund raising activities that extend beyond the
parish to pay for our expenses. At the present we are pulling
through because we recently had a substantial contribution. But it
will last to the end of the year and then we will be in the red
again. Our main support comes from the sale of calendars, the
contributions made to St Anthonys Bread, the Thrift shop, the
Jumble Sales, etc. With this and other donations we receive we pay
seminary fees, for our students, manage all the custody
administration costs, medical and hospitalisation insurance, travel
for the friars and our share of the electricity bills. We try to
have the communities (we have three communities; two in Singapore
and one in Kuching, Sarawak) be self- supporting with their
stipends or donations. But sometimes that is a challenge too. Its
quite a huge bill to support about 23 friars and some of us as my
mum would put it are big buffaloes!
However I must say that God has always seen us through and Im sure
he will continue to do so. Many times it is through your kindness
and I must thank you for how you always welcome us and come good
for us! Ironically while we thought we were supporting the people
(you) by offering our land for the needs of a parish; it turns out
that you support us in so many ways even when you have to work
towards paying off for the loan still owing in the church building
fund! Thank you!!
But with the coming concert, we too want to make others welcome
and assist them. The proceeds of the concert by Hayley Westenra at
St Marys on Saturday 3rd September will all go towards assisting
the many migrant workers who are sometimes left disenfranchised,
cheated, who sometimes cant even afford a meal! The Gospel invites
us to share our bread with the hungry, to clothe the naked, to
befriend the stranger! The migrant worker, working a long way from
home, experiencing crisis in forms of industrial accidents,
disputes with agents, abuse and exploitation must sometimes feel so
lost! It is a joy to lend a hand and assist them. We have chosen to
channel whatever proceeds we get for the poor to the Humanitarian
Organisation for Migration Economics (H.O.M.E.) Check out their
website at www.home.org.sg There are even openings for volunteers
there. The founder and president Ms Bridget Lew will do a
presentation at the intermission of Hayleys concert. So get the CD
and the two tickets all for only $20 and come join us for a
beautiful evening. Her music is truly a natural beauty and angelic!
But more importantly you will be joining the friars in doing
something for those who feel lost and who may need
directions!
Friar Mike d'Cruz ofm