Embracing Growth and Dedicated Service
11
By Ms Lim Boon Siang
The Brothers at SJI strike a pose in the library. From left: Br Eustace, Br Jason, Br Lavin,( Bro Visitor and Acting Brother President), Br Paul Ho, and Br Pinto
The Seeds of Service Born in Malaya in the 1950s, young Br Paul found his earliest joy in books from the library of his older cousins and later from the British Council.“ My recreation was reading,“ he recalls, painting a picture of a curious child whose grandparents and parents’ appreciation of the written word also rubbed off on him. This early love for literature would later blossom into a lifelong passion that he has shared with countless students.
The pivotal moment of religious consciousness came at the age of twelve when he was invited to join altar servers in his parish Church. This simple invitation was life-transforming as it became the first step in a profound journey that brought him to where his heart is today. At fourteen, he entered La Salle Junior Training Centre for Catholic boys who had a desire of thinking to enter the La Salle Brothers later in the years.
Those five years living with the Brothers who took charge of the Centre and fellow boarders opened his eyes to many things. The Brothers enjoyed the exposure to acquiring different skills in various sporting activities, camping even in a cemetery organised by the Brothers who were in charge of the Centre. There, he also learnt life’ s most essential lesson.“ I learnt how to live in a community with different personalities.
There were many give and take situations that required me to eat“ humble pie” compared to staying with my own family members.“ This early experience of community living prepared him for the religious rigour of entering into the life of a religious Brotherhood, a life defined by shared purpose and mutual respect despite differing personalities. With quiet conviction, Br Paul says,“ Once your hand is on the plough, do not look back. And I have not looked back since( Luke 9:62)“.
There was a daily schedule( coutumier) for everyone in the novitiate. Each morning, the bell would ring promptly at 5.30am. Getting ready for Morning Prayer, celebration of the Eucharist, breakfast, manual labour, lessons on the documents of the Brothers, lessons on scripture, spiritual reading, recreation and the day ended with Night Prayer. A similar daily schedule is also followed in community life when the Brothers begin their daily work in schools except during designated school holidays.
The pronouncement of the first vows marked the end of the Novitiate and the next stage is to prepare for the professional life of the Brother. After two years of training in the Teacher‘ s Training College, Br Paul began teaching at La Salle Secondary School in Klang, one of the
EMBRACING GROWTH AND DEDICATED SERVICE