BATTAMBANG. On 16 July 2012, a mass was held in Our Lady of the Assumption Parish for 9 students who stayed in Msgr. Tep Im Student Center (POY BORAT (English), CHHOUN KOUNNY (Information Technology), THA PESITH (English), NOUN KOEMNY (Information Technology ), CHEA KANTEY (Teacher), HOUN BUNRA (Nuclear Engineering), KOE CHIVA (Accounting), OUERN YOUS ( NURSE), NPIN SOPHOAN (Information Technology ) . These students will graduate from university at the end of this term. Msgr. Kike, Fr. Pedro, and Fr. Manoj  celebrated the mass. 

During the mass, Fr. Kike shared in his sermon. “I congratulate the 9 students who are graduating from the university. I have three main points that I want to share with you. First, as you leave the student center, please bring the values that you’ve learned while staying there, with you outside. Try to live in as good a way as you can. Second, try to make your community strong with other people. The last point is that you should share whatever you have learned to help develop the society around you.”

One of the graduating students, and a youth leader, Borath said: “I would like to say thank you so much to Msgr. Kike who had given us a scholarship to stay for 4 years in the Tep Im center. In the center, we were provided our tuition fees, food, and a place to stay. I would also like to thank Fr. Pedro Gomez and Mr. Noun Chomroun, on behalf of my fellow students, for always taking care of us and supported us in our needs. We promise to stay in touch with Tep Im Center even after we leave. If we have good experience with our work, we will also share this to the students who are still staying in the center. We will also try to live as good citizens in our society.” 

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BATTAMBANG.  On 15 July 2012, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish celebrated the 1st step to Baptism for 32 young people who are on the process of becoming a Catholic. The catechumens study for four years to learn about the Catholic faith, get to know God, and trust in Jesus Christ. Fr Totet Banaynal, SJ and Fr. Manoj Kumar Ekka, SJ celebrated the Mass.

During the mass Fr Totet told the catechumens: “Please depend on God for all that you do. Try to know who our God is.” He continues: “There are three things that you should pay attention to; first, accept Jesus Christ as our supporter, second, become familiar with The Gospel, and third, join our community.”

Ms. Vary, one of the catechumens who have undergone the first step, shared “I would like to say thank you to our teachers and all the Catholics who led us to know Jesus Christ. I am very happy to undergo the first step to baptism and I am also grateful for the chance to join this community of brothers and sisters.”

Fr. Totet also shared, “We are thankful to all the teachers who have works very hard and shares their time to teach our 32 catechumens as they undergo the steps to baptism.”

There is one more step that catechumens have to undergo before they receive the Sacrament of baptism.  

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Staff and volunteers of the Apostolic Prefecture Office, Arrupe Welcome Center for People with Disabilities, and the Msgr. Oscar Romero Pastoral Center came together to form and support the Paristhan Football Team. "Paristhan", a Khmer word for "environment" was chosen by the players to advance the advocacy of the pastoral center to care for the environment. The Paristhan team is one of the 32 teams to participate in the 2012 Bishop’s Cup football competition. 

During football matches, the Paristhan team played and conveyed its message about environmental protection to the public. Representatives from the three centers/offices gathered wearing a beautifully designed shirt with the message “I Love the Environment” in front and the words “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Replant” written at the back. They cheered for the football team and drew people's attention to the advocacy of the Pastoral Center. This event has drawn the attention of the crowd and they will hopefully put this message into practice. 

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On Sunday, 08 July 2012 Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Battambang celebrated the culmination of classes for Catechism students for this year (2011-2012). They studied for nine months from October to July. This year there was a total of 200 students; 93 boys and 107 girls who studied under 18 teachers. During the celebration there was also a trivia game where various questions about passages from the bible, sacraments and other general knowledge about the Catholic faith.

Earlier this year, we had 19 students who had their first communion, 13 students who had their confirmation and 29 students who are undergoing the First Step to Baptism on the 15th of this month.

Fr. Totet Banaynal and Sr. Yawasang Lakana, who oversees the catechism classes in the parish presided over the event. Fr. Totet shared “I’m really happy that our catechism is growing here thanks to all the teachers that paid attention to the catechumens and who spends time teaching them every Sunday.” 

Gifts were distributed to the students which was donated by donors from Japan.   

For more pictures and information, please visit our Facebook page.  

On 4 July 2012, the Bishop Cup was officially opened. The Bishop’s Cup is a yearly football match open to participation for interested teams of youth and adult players in Battambang, held in the Church grounds. This morning, Msgr. Kike shared opening remarks to wish the players well and officially launch the event. An opening prayer was also led by Fr. Totet to bless those who have gathered to witness the event.

 An opening match was held between the Pastoral Center team called Parithan (which means “environment” in Khmer, one of the active social advocacies of the Pastoral Center) and the Msgr. Tep Im Student Center. The Tep Im team won against Partithan with 1 – 0 score.  

A total of 32 teams will participate in the Bishop’s Cup for this year. The matches will take place for 2 weeks every Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons until the winning teams compete in a Finals Match on July 15.

The Bishop Cup was first done in 2010. This is the third year of the competition. 
For more pictures and information, please visit our Facebook page. 

On 2 July 2012, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish celebrated Battambang Prefecture’s Anniversary, Msgr. Enrique “Kike” Figaredo’s 12th year of installation as Apostolic Prefect and Fr. Tunlop Sophal’s 17th year of priesthood.

A mass was concelebrated by Msgr. Kike, Fr. Sophal, Fr. Totet, Fr. Manoj and Fr. Pedro. In his homily, Msgr. Kike emphasized three things; gratitude, strength and happiness. “I thank God for giving me strength, happiness, and joy, in solidarity with the people of the prefecture.” He expressed his gratitude to God for giving him the opportunity to serve the Khmer people. He prayed to give him the strength to continue serving.  

Fr. Sophal also shared, “In 17 years of being a priest, I’ve encountered a lot of difficulties but the difficulties and the happiness are both gifts from God. I have strength because of God and also the people; it allows me to continue our works.”

The celebration was attended by about 250 people from different members of the religious organizations and the catholic community. After the mass, people came to give flowers to Msgr. Kike and Fr. Sophal to express their gratitude and appreciation for their presence. The celebration was celebrated with traditional Khmer music, classical Khmer dances. Snacks and dinner was also served.

For more pictures and information, please visit our Facebook page.

On 17 June 2012, a concert was held for 13 students who have completed their 3 month music course in the Peyt Yiey Chee Music Program (PMP). This is the first time the students played in a live concert with an audience. There were 4 bands made up of students who studied lead guitar, bass guitar, drums and keyboard instruments. Around 100 people attended the event, mostly the youth from the Catholic community, family and friends of the students. The concert was held on the second floor of the Peyt Yiey Chee building. There was also a special performance by the church choir and the musical instrument teachers.

The PMP course and the concert was organized by Bro. Soo Young, Jesuit scholastic from Korea. “We celebrated this concert because we wanted to encourage the students to show their abilities, be brave, confident, and listen to each other.” The students were also given a certificate for the completion of the course by Fr. Totet (picture above).

After the first course, they will again the second and third courses, each for 3 months respectively, to be more proficient with their chosen instrument. 

For more pictures, please visit our Facebook page. 

A Letter from Fr. Mark Raper, President of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia Pacific. 

30 May 2012

Dear Friends,

Peace. Today we received news that Fr Pierre Ceyrac died early this morning in Chennai at the age of 98. Born on 4 February 1914 in Limozane, France, Pierre had one sister and 5 brothers. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1931. Being destined for India, he studied Sanskrit at the University of Paris and departed for Chennai in 1937. There in addition to the normal studies for priesthood, he studied Tamil literature. He was ordained a priest in 1945. 16 years of his life was given to AICUF (All India Catholic University Federation), which brought him to many parts of India and to deep engagements with young people.

In 1980 Pierre went to Thailand with a Caritas India team to assist the Cambodian refugees who had come in great numbers across the border as the Vietnamese army did battle with the Khmer Rouge. Pierre and several Jesuit companions, notably John Bingham and Noel Oliver, stayed on to be the founding members of a Jesuit Refugee Service program for Asia Pacific. They accompanied the Cambodian refugees until their return in 1993.

Pierre was fond of quoting a line of a Tamil poet, Thayumandvar: "Apart from wanting people to be happy, I want nothing else from life, God". He would also often refer to St John of the Cross, who famously said: "At the end of our lives we will be judged by love".

Pierre was a wonderful friend for the poor, a person who would be ready to exclaim "Wonderful!" in all circumstances - he had an infectious optimism, a deep sense of God's love for all. On one occasion at the Thai Cambodian border an exasperated UN official called Pierre an "unguided missile". Pierre fretted for a short time, fearing the official would seek to prevent him from entering the camps. But on seeing that he was still unrestrained, he delighted in the epithet, because he felt he was being labelled as a person who was free. He most certainly was a free spirit, and his freedom gave him joy and brought joy to others.

Do remember Pierre in solidarity of prayers and love for him and for all whom he loved and who
loved him.

Mark Raper, SJ

Our Parish joins all the the Society of Jesus and all friends and family of Fr. Pierre Ceyrac in thanking God for the life Fr. Pierre had lived - a life full of love and compassion.  We return to God this beautiful gift that he has given to take care of the Cambodians when they escaped Pol Pot's genocidal regime and the Civil War that followed and sought refuge in the Thai-Cambodian borders.