Fr Sukkanate’s first Mass and Advent in Thailand
Ordained on 13 November by Mgr Kovithavanij, archbishop of Bangkok, the new priest celebrated his first Mass yesterday in the Chapel of St Francis Xavier in Muangthong Thani. “Jesus invites everyone to be prepared for” anything, including “a sudden death” as well as a “better life”.
Bangkok (AsiaNews) – Fr Joseph Chonnapatra Sukkanate, who was ordained priest on 13 November, celebrated his first Mass yesterday, the Sunday inaugurating Advent.
The new priest centred his sermon on the meaning of the Gospel of the day, explaining how "Jesus invites everyone to be prepared for a sudden death, as Saint Paul says in his Letter to the Romans".
Listening and reflecting on the Sunday Mass "leads us to a good life”, said Fr Sukkanate; thus we do “not get angry over nothing, nor take advantage of others,” but “try to grow towards a peaceful and better life."
The new priest is a member of the Saint Raphael Church in Samutprakarn province (south of Bangkok). However, he celebrated his first Mass in the Chapel of St Francis Xavier in Muangthong Thani (Nonthaburi province, north of Bangkok), near the Church of Our Lady of Pietà.
In this church, Fr Sukkanate performed his pastoral service during his last year of seminary at the Lux Mundi in Bangkok. Ordained by Bangkok Archbishop Mgr Kriengsak Kovithavanij, he chose as his motto: " Through the Cross moving towards the light in Jesus Christ".
The Church of Our Lady of Pietà is run by priests from the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME). Archbishop John Nittayo began its construction on 25 November 1971. On 6 February 1974, King Bhumibol Adulaydej participated in the church’s inaugural ceremony.
Fr Sukkanate was assigned as an assistant to Our Lady of Fatima Church in Bangkok, and as chaplain for the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, who are involved in children’s social and spiritual development.
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