IPOH — Malaysia is the model country in Asia to follow, as it has many ethnic groups co-existing and coming together as one people.
Fr Giovanni Giampietro, who is the spiritual director of the Friends of Jesus Passover (FOJP), said this during the joyful and spirit-filled musical evangelisation concert by the FOJP at the Sam Tet school hall.
The first FOJP concert on 3 August was held especially for non-Catholic youths, with games, songs and prayers for them.
The second concert was for Catholics, to bring their non-Catholic family members and friends to the concert.
The FOJP is an international group of Catholic Overseas Chinese led by Fr Giovanni Giampietro, an Italian priest in Hong Kong, and they have been going around the world to evangelise.
They came to St Michael’s Church (SMC) on 1 August, and spent the first two days in meditative stopovers at the Kampar Sacred Heart church, homes for the elderly and schools.
On the morning of 4 August, Fr Giovanni celebrated a full Cantonese Mass at SMC. Concelebrating the Mass was SMC parish priest, Fr Anthony Liew.
During the musical evangelisation concerts, Fr Giovanni, 86, spoke in Cantonese, Mandarin and English to the young people and adults.
“Malaysia is the model country in Asia, as it has many, so many, ethnic groups and religions, with many different peoples coming together. This could be a great problem, but also brings great joy.
“Malaysia is a model of unity for Asia, something which I said some 50 years ago. If you appreciate this, when people come together to support you, then great things will follow. God will send you a special blessing to make Malaysia a model country to follow,” he said.
In the Catholic Church here, Malaysian Catholics can make it the model of what it should be, he added.
“We all need a model to follow. During my visit to the Kampar Church (of the Sacred Heart), a lady asked me if I believed different religions can co-exist. Different religions must co-exist, and we have it here in Malaysia. Unity in diversity. We are all dressed differently, but we are much more than that, for we are one. Unity in diversity is actually the future of mankind,” he said.
Fr Giovanni also praised the young people of the FOJP who were open and generous with their time, to spread the evangelical virtues of faith, hope and charity to others so that everyone may come to know Jesus Christ and his Church.
The musical evangelisation concert for youths included befriending them, playing games, singing hymns and energetic songs and dance, faith sharing and praise and worship.
They were also invited to pause and meditate on the problems they faced, and fervent prayer was lifted up for their personal intercessions.
