Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2024: 170, Monday 28 October 2024, Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles

Saint Simon (left) and Saint Jude (Thaddeus), side-by-side in a window in Saint Peter’s Church, being built in Kuching (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and the week began with the Last Sunday after Trinity yesterday (27 October 2024). In the Church Calendar, today is the Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles.

We are about to set off this morning to visit some churches south of Kuching. But, before the day begins, before having breakfast, I am taking some quiet time early this morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

Saint Simon depicted in a statue on the west front of Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 15: 17-27 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 17 ‘I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

18 ‘If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world – therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, “Servants are not greater than their master.” If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 It was to fulfil the word that is written in their law, “They hated me without a cause.”

26 ‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

Saint Jude depicted in a statue on the west front of Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

As we celebrate Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles, many people on our city streets may associate Saint Simon with the homeless and the with housing crisis, and think of Saint Simon as someone who cares for the homeless and the misfits. However, the Simon Community takes its name from Simon of Cyrene who helps Christ carry his cross on the way to Calvary and his Crucifixion.

If you asked who Jude is, you might be told he is ‘Obscure’ – or the Patron of Lost Causes.

These two saints celebrated today are little known as apostles, without fame, and their obscurity is almost affirmed by the fact that they have to share one feast day and do not have their own separate, stand-alone celebrations in the Calendar of the Church, unlike many other apostles.

In an age obsessed with reality television, the X-Factor, the Apprentice or celebrities who are celebrities – just because they are – Simon and Jude appear like a pair of misfits: we know little about their lives or how they lived them, they are hardly famous among the disciples, and they certainly are not celebrity apostles.

Simon and Jude are way down the list of the Twelve Apostles, and their names are often confused or forgotten. In the New Testament lists of the Twelve (Matthew 10: 2-4; Mark 3: 16-19; Luke 6: 14-16; Acts 1: 13), they come in near the end, in tenth and eleventh places. Well, with Judas in twelfth place, they just about make it onto the ‘first eleven.’ The ninth name on the lists is James, the James who is often remembered on 23 October.

Judas or Jude is often referred to as ‘the brother of James,’ and this in turn leads to him being identified with the ‘brothers of the Lord.’ So, on this day, we celebrate Simon the Zealot, one of the original Twelve; and Jude or Judas of James, also one of the Twelve and the author of the Epistle of Jude.

But poor Simon is not mentioned by name in the New Testament except on these lists – after all, there is a better-known Simon than this Simon: there is Simon Peter. As for Jude, his name is so close to Judas – in fact, their names are the same (Ιούδας) – is it any wonder that he became known as the patron saint of lost causes? Trying to remember him might have been a lost cause.

After the Last Supper, Jude asked Christ why he chose to reveal himself only to the disciples, and received the reply: ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to them and make our home with them’ (John 14: 22-23).

In his brief Epistle, Jude says he planned to write a different letter, but then heard of the misleading views of some false teachers. He makes a passionate plea to his readers to preserve the purity of the Christian faith and their good reputation.

His Epistle includes a memorable exhortation to ‘contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints’ (Jude 3), and ends with that wonderful closing: ‘Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen’ (Jude 24-25).

But after that, surprisingly, we know very little about the later apostolic missions of Simon and Jude, where they were missionaries or whether they were martyred.

In truth, we know very little about these two saints, bundled together at the end of a list, like two hopeless causes. There was no danger of them being servants who might want to be greater than their master (John 15: 20). All we can presume is that they laboured on, perhaps anonymously, in building up the Church.

But then the Church does not celebrate celebrities who are famous and public; we honour the saints who labour and whose labours are often hidden.

In the Gospel reading (John 15: 17-27), the Apostles are warned about suffering the hatred of ‘the world.’ Later as the Gospel was spread around the Mediterranean, isolated Christians may not have realised how quickly the Church was growing; in their persecutions and martyrdom, they may have felt forlorn and that Christianity was in danger of being a lost cause.

But in the Gospel reading, Christ encourages a beleaguered Church to see its afflictions and wounds as his own.

No matter how much we suffer, no matter how others may forget us, no matter how obscure we become, no matter how many people forget our names, no matter how often our faith and discipleship may appear to others to be lost causes, we can be assured that we are no longer strangers and aliens, that we are citizens with the saints, that we are building up the household of God upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ himself as the cornerstone, and that we are being built together spiritually into the dwelling place of God (Ephesians 2: 19-22).

Saint Simon depicted in a window in Saint Peter’s Church, being built in Kuching (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Today’s Prayers (Monday 28 October 2024, Saint Simon and Saint Jude):

The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘All Saints’ Day’. This theme was introduced yesterday with a programme update by the Revd Dr Duncan Dormor, General Secretary, USPG.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 28 October 2024, Saint Simon and Saint Jude) invites us to pray:

Let us give thanks for the lives and work of Saint Simon and Saint Jude. May we emulate them in our discipleship and witness to the Good News.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
who built your Church upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets,
with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone:
so join us together in unity of spirit by their doctrine,
that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

Almighty God,
who on the day of Pentecost
sent your Holy Spirit to the apostles
with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame,
filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel:
by the power of the same Spirit
strengthen us to witness to your truth
and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflection

Continued Tomorrow

Saint Thaddeus (Jude) depicted in a window in Saint Peter’s Church, being built in Kuching (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Saint Peter’s Church is an impressive new ‘Gothic’ church in Kuching expected to open in 2025

Saint Peter’s Church, a new Roman Catholic church being built in Padungan, to the east of Kuching city centre (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Patrick Comerford

Saint Peter’s Church is a magnificent new Roman Catholic church being built at Central Road in Padungan, to the east of Kuching city centre in Sarawak. It is close to completion and when it opens early next year (2025) it is expected to become a transformative addition to the city landscape.

The church is in its final phase of construction, and I managed to see inside Saint Peter’s a few days ago, shortly after the Italian artists who have been installing the 20 stained glass windows over the past five years had completed their final piece of work.

The High Altar will be installed in the coming two weeks, the pews are ready to be put in place, and the lights have been connected and tested, although the parking areas still have to be levelled and tarmacked.

Saint Peter’s Church in Padungan, Kuching, is close to completion and is expected to open early in 2025 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

In a recent interview with the New Sarawak Tribune, the Rector of Saint Peter’s, Father Vincent Chin emphasised that the primary role of Saint Peter’s is that of a place of worship. But he anticipates the church is going to become a prominent landmark and tourist attraction.

‘Even now, the public has been eagerly inquiring about when it will be open for visits,’ Father Vincent said, adding that there is a buzz surrounding the church in the community.

Saint Peter’s stands at one end of Padungan, with a mosque, a Hindu temple and several Buddhist or Taoist temples nearby. He hopes the church will become a symbol of unity and religious harmony, and ‘contribute to that image of religious diversity and harmony here in Kuching’. The building project began in September 2019, and a grand opening is planned early next year (2025), although no dates have been set yet.

The original Saint Peter’s Church dates back to 1937 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The original Saint Peter’s Church dates back to 1937, when the Prefect Apostolic of Sarawak, Monsignor Aloysius Hopfgartner (1874-1949), bought 11 acres of swamp-land east of Padungan. He was born in the German-speaking Tyrol area that was incorporated into Italy after World War I and he was a priest with the Mill Hill Missionaries.

Saint Theresa Kindergarten and Primary School in Padungan was run by the Franciscan sisters under Mother Sebastian and opened next to Saint Peter’s Church Padungan in 1940 with 80 pupils and three teachers.

The school was closed by the Japanese during World War II from 1942 to 1945. It reopened in 1946 with Mother Cecilia as superior and three sisters. It reopened in 1946 with 160 pupils and three nuns. The headmaster was Father Harry Van Erp. At one time, the school had more than 500 pupils.

Monsignor Aloysius Hopfgartner never saw the realisation of his dream, and he died on 15 May 1949 after a stroke. The church was blessed and opened on 18 December 1949 by Monsignor John Vos, his successor as the Prefect Apostolic of Sarawak.

Inside the new Saint Peter’s Church in Kuching facing the liturgical east … the High Altar is ready to be put in place (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

At first, the church was seen as too big for the few villagers in the area. It was looked after pastorally by the priests of Saint Joseph’s Cathedral, Kuching, with the assistant rector, Father Peter Aichner (1914-1995), also a Mill Hill missionary priest from Tyrol, taking care of Saint Peter’s Padungan until his transfer to Dalat.

As the church grew, it became a parish with Father Francis Hulbosch as the first rector in 1959. He built a small wooden presbytery in front of the church. He built the Padungan Catholic Kindergarten and a new block of classrooms for Saint Theresa’s Primary School in 1962 to provide formal education for girls. It became the largest school complex for girls in Borneo.

To meet the needs of a rapidly-growing parish community, the church was extended by 12 ft in 1963, and a chapel was built in the convent in 1964. Two new wings were added to the church building in 1965.

Inside the new Saint Peter’s Church in Kuching, facing from the liturgical east towards the west doors (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Father Hulbosch continued to live at Saint Peter’s until 1965, when he fell ill and returned to the Netherlands, where he died in 1972.

Father Peter Aichner returned as the second rector of Saint Peter’s in 1965. There, according to his autobiography, the Catholics of Padungan were mostly Chinese of different dialects, with some Dayaks working in Kuching.

With the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, Father Aichner started celebrating Mass in English. He died in 1995, and Father Ha was served as the third rector of Saint Peter’s from 1995 until 2000.

The church celebrated its golden jubilee in 1999, when it was renovated, extended and rededicated. A parish centre and rectory were added and dedicated in 2005.

The Last Supper depicted in the Rose Window in the East End (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

But the belian posts supporting the church building had rotted at the base, parts of the roof were leaking, and the asbestos walls giving way. When a huge monsoon drain was built on the grounds of Saint Peter’s as part of the city’s flood mitigation plan, the water table in the area went down significantly. As a result, the bako or mangrove timber pilings started to rot, affecting the foundations of the church.

The decision was taken to build a new church on a site beside Saint Peter’s. The present Rector of Saint Peter’s, Father Vincent Chin, explains in newspaper interviews that the decision to embrace gothic architecture in the new building stemmed from a commitment to tradition, encouraged by the then Archbishop of Kuching, Archbishop Datuk John Ha, who wanted to stay true to the church’s historical roots.

When Father Vincent asked the archbishop for his definition of ‘tradition’, he showed him a photograph of the old Saint Joseph’s Cathedral, Kuching, built in the gothic style in but demolished in 1968 due to structural problems.

The 12 Apostles are depicted in two windows in the sanctuary (Photographs: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Six architects who were parishioners of Saint Peter’s were invited to design a Gothic church. They produced six different designs that were displayed for parishioners to see.

The style of the new church building in Padungan has been described as ‘semi-gothic’ architecture. The project architect is Architect Design Practice, associated with a former parishioner, the late George Yong. The original plan was designed by the architect Yong Nyan Ted in 2014.

The design includes pointed spires, ogival arches, flying buttresses, ribbed vaults, rose windows, stained glass, floor tiles, and a bell tower. It is expected to have a seating capacity of 1,000 people or double the capacity of the church it is replacing.

Inside, the church has 20 stained glass windows, with more windows at the liturgical East End, above the west end entrance and in the walls of the bell towers. Most of the stained glass windows were designed by two Italian artists, Roberto Fasoli and Ernesto Raducci from Milan.

The windows in the side walls incorporate the 14 stations of the cross, while Father Vincent designed six additional windows that depict ‘before and after’ images of Gospel events. Some windows also incorporate local traditional elements, such as the Iban warrior shield design, enhancing the cultural resonance of the church.

The Presentation in the Temple and the Flight into Egypt (above) and the Christ Child in the Temple and the Holy Family in Nazareth (below) … scenes in transept windows designed by Father Vincent Chin (Photographs: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The rose window above the High Altar depicts the Last Supper, while the windows on each side of it show the Twelve Apostles.

As Saint Peter is the patron saint of the church, the largest piece of stained glass – measuring 13 ft wide and 38 ft high – is a depiction of Saint Peter above the west doors.

During the day, natural light filtering through the windows will highlight the intricate details and diverse array of colours in the stained glass. But an innovative lighting design strategy will allow the stained glass to be appreciated even during nighttime. By illuminating the windows from within, passers-by will see the vibrant colours and follow the rich storylines in the stained glass.

The church also includes a cross-shaped baptismal font for immersion baptisms. The two bell towers house five electronically operated bells that chime hourly. The church will also have two digital organs capable of producing pipe organ quality sound. One organ will be in the day chapel, while the other will be in the main church.

The style of the new church in Padungan has been described as ‘semi-gothic’ architecture (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The new church is part of a broader plan to transform the surrounding area. The first phase included the columbarium, which has been completed, with a capacity for more than 5,000 urns in 35 blocks.

The complex includes a multipurpose parish hall with an attached office block, an eight-storey hostel providing accommodation for students at Saint Joseph’s International School, a four-storey formation centre, and car parking spaces. When the new church opens, the plan is to restore the present Saint Peter’s Church as an historical site.

Meanwhile, Saint Theresa’s School closed in 2016, and part of its premises have been renovated and are used by Saint Joseph’s International School.

The new Saint Peter’s Church will ‘stand as a prominent landmark in the Kuching landscape, enhancing the claim of Kuching as a city of unity and religious harmony,’ Father Vincent has told The Borneo Post.

• Mass continues to be celebrated in the original Saint Peter’s Church. Weekend Masses are: Saturday sunset 6 pm (English), Sunday 7:30 am and 5:30 pm (English); Weekday Masses: Tuesday to Friday, 7: 30 pm (English).

The new church is almost complete and waiting for the installation of the High Altar (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)