Today was both New Year’s Day for the Khmer people and Good Friday for the Christians. Because it was a holiday the traffic was much less for those traveling to St. Joseph Church but then many people also left town for the long new year holiday. Click here and scroll down to Good Friday to see the service.
Category: Church
The Catholic Church in Cambodia.
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Holy Thursday — 2017
Today is new year’s eve for the Khmer New Year but is Holy Thursday in the Christian calendar. Only one liturgy is allowed for a parish community on this day and we gathered in the evening at St. Joseph Church. Click here to see pictures from the ceremony. [The link is still not working properly so scroll down to Holy Thursday after clicking.]
Palm Sunday–2017
Palm Sunday is one of those days that traditionally many Catholics try to attend mass. Although longer than usual, the service is different in a way that attracts people and holds their attention. Click here for photos from Palm Sunday in Phnom Penh.
[The link is not functioning completely so click on it and then scroll down to Preparing the Lenten Environment to read today’s post.]
Lent 2017
Lent is a very meaningful season for most Catholic Christians and it is taken seriously. Our English Catholic community tries to celebrate the different events of Lent in a way that invites people to participate and that supports them in their struggle to live as followers of Christ. Click here for pictures from Lent in 2017.
Chrism Mass
One of the Catholic services connected with Holy Week and Easter is the Chrism Mass, a special mass in which the bishop blesses the oils used throughout the coming year for the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick, and ordination. It is also an occasion for the priests to renew their promise of obedience to their bishop.
The chrism mass today was preceded by a meeting for all of the 55 or so priests of the country. Here Fr. Chatsirey, the chancellor of the vicariate, explains some of the forms and procedures for people who want to marry in the church.
Shortly before the mass was to start at 5:00 PM the rains really started pouring and the wind blew it right against the glass doors–and under them. There was a half inch of water in the main entrance and the tiles were unbelievably slippery. Apparently that has happened before because the mops were readily available and a PVC pipe cut in half length-wise was use to push and scoop the water toward and out the door.
St. Vincent de Paul Society: 400th Anniversary
In 1617 St. Vincent de Paul began forming groups, mostly of women, to serve the poor in his region of France. He was joined by St. Louise de Merillac and their ministry spread, not only throughout France but around the world. Now more than 260 groups trace their origin to St. Vincent de Paul and basically every Catholic parish has a St. Vincent de Paul Society group to serve their local area. This is a large number of the St. Vincent de Paul Society members in our English-speaking Catholic community in Phnom Penh—a wonderful group of committed Christians filled with compassion and love for those who need help. This month the Cambodian Catholic Church has been celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Vincentian movement.
Fourth Graders Visit Church
Every year the fourth graders from the International School of Phnom Penh come to visit the Catholic church in the Boeung Tum Pun area of the city as part of their study of major religions. They hear what Christianity is about and get a chance to see the church and the sacristy (the room where all the vestments and supplies are kept), and then to examine up close the statues, stained glass windows, etc., in the body of the church. And then they ask questions. Fourth graders have a lot of questions!
Wedding in Kep 2
Today was the actual day for the wedding in Kep. Click here for the Monday goings-on. Scroll down to Monday.
Wedding in Kep
This weekend I had a wedding in the coastal town of Kep. It’s unusual because the wedding took place on a hotel beach front. Normally church rules allow weddings only in church buildings but because there is no church in Kep (the nearest parish church is 35 km away), the bishop allowed this wedding outside.
Sunday
The bride was born in Burma and her family now lives in California. The groom is from Canada. Both of them work now in Cambodia and wanted their families and friends to have an opportunity to see some of Cambodia’s beauty as well as attend the wedding. This afternoon we gathered on the hotel lawn for a rehearsal for the ceremony to take place tomorrow.
After the rehearsal some of the wedding party lingered on the beachfront as the sun set.
Monday
The wedding was at 2:30 PM so I was free in the morning. One task I had was to pick up the marriage registry, the book where the marriage records are kept. It is kept in the parish church in Kampot and I really didn’t want to ride 35 kilometers there to get if I didn’t have to. Luckily, the pastor there was able to arrange for someone to drop it off at the Don Bosco School in Kep yesterday and I went to the school this morning to get it. This picture is of some of the students there preparing Philippines-style Christmas decorations.
Setting up chairs and an altar for the wedding ceremony.
Preparing for dinner after the ceremony.
The bride and groom going to the pavilion for serving the cake.