By Vanessa Premala Patrick & Michelle Muroh
KUCHING — The legacy left by a teacher, be it the La Salle Brothers, Mill Hill Priests, Marist Brothers or a lay person, will be deeply rooted in a pupil’s heart and forever be an inspiration for his or her success.
Recollecting his personal life experience, Archbishop Simon Poh shared with the teachers present at the Teachers’ Day Mass how a primary school teacher had inspired him to be who he is today—a Bishop.
With a humble heart of gratitude, he offered special prayers for the teachers who have gone before us for their endless contributions in moulding generations to be who they are today.
The Archbishop also summoned all teachers present to be valiant in becoming leaders in mission schools by taking up the post of Principal, Senior Assistant, Headmaster or Headmistress in order to sustain the work of evangelisation. Apart from that, evangelisation should be highlighted among pupils too via the awareness of the importance of taking the subject Bible Knowledge in SPM.
He urged all teachers to be pioneers in learning to teach the subject and later to motivate pupils to take up the subject not only for exams but also to boost their interest in Bible reading. All pupils, in fact, should be highly encouraged to read the Bible daily in either Bahasa Malaysia (not Bahasa Indonesia) or English Language.
In addition, he added that Catholic teachers, regardless the subjects they teach, play crucial roles in the wholesome growth of pupils, especially in spirituality. However, teachers need to first strengthen their own faith so that they will be able to help pupils experience the presence of Jesus Christ in their lives. It is only then we can be assured that our Church will eternally remain strong.
The Teachers’ Day Mass was attended by 160 teachers from different divisions. The day started off with a recollection address by Fr Felix Au, the Spiritual Director of Sarawak Catholic Teachers’ Guild, and ended with a Holy Mass celebrated by Archbishop Simon Poh and concelebrated by Fr Felix Au, Fr Stanley Goh SJ and Fr Joseph Ng SJ.
