Chieng (second row) and her family.
SIBU: Catholics are taking the Movement Control Order (MCO) as an opportunity to strengthen their faith as family especially during this Holy Week.
Holy Week, which started on Palm Sunday (April 5), is the holiest week in the Catholic liturgical year in preparing for Easter.
In preparation for this important week, Catholics normally go for confession but this had to be stopped this year due to the MCO to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Catholics have to follow masses online as the people are not allowed to attend gatherings to keep the virus at bay.
Clare Chieng, 46, said this would be an unforgettable Lenten Season for all Christians around the world.
For her, she and her family were not prepared for all these.
“We were not prepared; I was not prepared. Suddenly we cannot attend Holy Masses anymore, no holy host to receive, no priest to confess my sins to; the church door is closed. How can this be?” she said to The Borneo Post when contacted.
She took the MCO as an opportunity to reflect on her own life and faith.
She said although she and her husband were actively involved in the church and the lay community before the MCO, both of them were too focused on their own things.
But during the MCO, she found that her husband read the Gospel daily and more often than her.
She said that prompted her to start reading spiritual books which she seldom did in the past.
“Our kids requested for family praise and worship every few days. They take turns to read the Gospel of the day and pick the songs we will sing.
“We noticed that they are more involved in the online Mass at home than the usual Mass, and participated happily throughout the Mass,” she said.
On the night when there is no praise and worship, the family would pray the Holy Rosary.
Just like many Catholics, Chieng and her family are following the scheduled live Mass every Sunday.
She said on Sunday, her children would obediently wake up to be ready for live streaming of the Mass on the laptop.
She said she is looking forward to joining the Easter Triduum live Mass tonight (Maundy Thursday), Good Friday Service and Easter Vigil on Saturday.
She placed palm leaves at the front door of her house to participate in the Palm Sunday celebration last Sunday.
“It was a beautiful Palm Sunday to me. Something I will cherish forever. I hope that after this, when we go back to church to attend Masses, my children will continue to do what they are doing at home. I certainly have learned to appreciate all my blessings even more,” she enthused.
Meanwhile, a teacher Ayuyahti Arip, 44, said it was a challenge to grow spiritually especially when she and her family could not physically participate in Masses.
However, she and her family do everything they can to keep their faith alive and to grow spiritually.
“If we attend Mass, the feeling of the celebration is there. It is not the same when we follow the Mass online,” she said.
During this MCO, she added, her family prays together especially before and after meals and before they go to bed.
Since Palm Sunday, she and her children started to read Bible verses that had been shared in her group.
“Sometimes, I asked my children to read out loud; sometimes I read it silently by myself. We did not do this in the past, and right now, we are doing it,” she said.
She said she lights up the candle at the altar every night.
Meanwhile, Catholic Bishop of Sibu Right Reverend Joseph Hii said this is an opportunity for Catholics to use a different way to celebrate Holy Week with their families at home.
Due to Covid-19, everyone has to stay safe, thus gathering inside a church for the celebration cannot be done.
Thus, he urged them to take the opportunity to strengthen their faith.