Joseph Lee Kock Ping

Sibu

My name is Joseph Lee Kock Ping of Sibu Diocese, Sarawak. I was born in Sibu town on January 3 1975, which is also in the year of the ox, and am 45 years old and the eldest son of eight siblings. Both my parents, who are still alive and well, have been blessed by God in having such a family. I still remember when l was a younger man that I didn’t bother much about life or take it too seriously. However, now I have changed, and am soon to enter the Initiation Year at College General Penang. I believe that God is wonderful and despite the difficulties because of Covie-19, I thank HIM for his continuous blessings that have allowed me to answer the call to be a priest.

My journey of calling began in 1989 when l was serving as an altar server in Miri Diocese. During those six years of service, l always had this "Good feeling" about it. This unexplained feeling has encouraged me to seek God as ‘a store of treasures’ for over 32 years. In 2000, I moved to London to explore more about life’s adventures. By holding a student visa, I was allowed to work and thus able to survive for twelve years. During those years, I was impressed by the beauty of the monastic way of living at Mount St. Bernard Abbey, a Trappist Monastery. After several visits, l joined them in 2013 as a "postulant". This moment of new life transformed me into a new of living, both physically and spiritually. However, after talking to Novice Master, Fr. Michael, l decided to leave the monastery and return to Malaysia to serve the people of God here. I realized that what differentiates the Trappist monk from a Diocesan priest is that the monk lives inside the monastery for his entire life while a priest in the diocese lives outside, in the community with the people. For many reasons, I also realized that I could serve the Lord better in the community as a diocesan priest.

Although l had experienced the serenity and peacefulness of monastic spirituality, I still earnestly wanted to answer the call to serve God but was less sure of how or where I was going to do that. After returning to Malaysia in 2013, I visited several religious congregations in Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Finally, I realised that God wanted me to serve Him in my own Diocese of Sibu. With the help of God, l met Bishop Joseph Hii in 2017 and shared with him my vocation journey. Later that year, l was asked to join CDC in KK for a Formation Year. However, because of not achieving the required MUET English result of Band 4 initially, I struggled for a while.

I thank God, and with the help, kindness and understanding of Bishop Joseph, I was allowed to proceed to College General for IY Formation. I pray that l can persevere in my vocation, which is a special gift from GOD, to do what He wants me to do despite the many challenges I face.

Joseph Lee