favourite bible verse =))

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
- Psalm 121: 1-8

It speaks to me, and makes me understand that I can always seek comfort, or solace in the Lord. He won't turn me away, like how He protects Israel 24/7 of the time, as seen from the passage above =)) Also, the Lord will never give up on me, even when I have sinned against Him, and He will "preserve my soul" when I pass from this world.

His undying love for everyone in this world is definitely unrivalled, as He is the only one who is able to forgive as many times as possible. This, my dear readers, is what makes Him so special and above humankind.

I find that this verse is going to be one of my favourties for the years to come, because it shows us the immense love that the Lord has for us, and that He will graciously welcome back sinners who are repentent, and will keep a watchful eye on those who believe in Him.

*image is taken from google images =))

response

A sight that maybe, we would be able to see in future.

Alright, so maybe I went a bit too far into the gender inequality thingy. Didn't have much to say about this topic though. That's the truth people, cause it doesn't really matter to me. Heh, but I had to take a stand. So, yeah =))

Anyways, I agree with Stella that "tradition is priority", because this tradition is part of our religion. I guess we shouldn't change it because changing something like this would almost be the same as changing the way we spend Chinese New Year, or Christmas or something. Yeah, so that's how I feel towards this topic.

But on the other hand, I'm quite indifferent about whether females are able to serve at the altar, because I believe that there are females who are interested in joining that particular ministry. I've got a friend who's studying in Australia at the moment, and she's part of the altar servers. When she came back in December, she showed me all the photos that she took, and I was quite happy for her, because she seemed really happy in that ministry.

On a personal note, I actually did ask our former parish priest, Father John Lee why there aren't any females serving in Singapore churches, and the answer he gave me was something along the lines of "because we are not ready to make such a change yet" (or something along those lines, because I asked him this question like, 4 years ago!!!).

I guess if one day the archbishop and all the priests in Singapore agree to this, then yes, there will be females joining the altar servers, because they've already made the step to let females become communion ministers in Risen Christ. I don't know if other churches have the same thing, but if they don't, then Risen Christ will be the first one to make that change =))

tradition versus modernisation

Oh wow. A controversial topic that would present many different views and arguments. Wise choice guys =))

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When I was 16, my entire family went to the States for a month long holiday, and I managed to experience mass in a church outside Singapore for the very first time. The major differences between the church I went to and churches in Singapore is that for one, females are allowed to become altar servers (from lighting candles to holding the bible, and even to swaying the incense holder) and that they didn't sing much during the mass. I was intrigued, as I had never seen female altar servers in my life as there are NO churches in Singapore which allow it. The sight of a girl helping the priest seemed soo foreign, it seemed as if I had stepped into another dimension.



Will we ever get to see a sight like this? Or will it still be the traditional "boys only" mentality that we have been brought up with?

To me, upholding the tradition of only allowing boys to be altar servers is important, because I believe that the altar servers represent the apostles, who stood by Christ until his death and even after his resurrection. As all the apostles were male, it is essential that we follow it through. Even though we see the rise of female altar servers in countries such as Australia and America, I feel that we should uphold the Church's tradition of altar boys.

"The directive covering the liturgical ministry of women is given in the official liturgical instruction Inaestimabile Donum (no. 18), which says, "There are various roles that women can perform in the liturgical assembly: These include reading the word of God and proclaiming the intentions of the prayer of the faithful. Women are not, however, permitted to act as altar servers."
- Catholic Answers

This statement is, shall, and forever will be "binding, and in full force." I agree with the law, as I feel that the church wants to preserve this tradition because they want to somewhat re-enact what happened thousands of years ago, where Christ was surrounded and aided by His twelve apostles (apostles, NOT disciples).

Although this debate may come across somewhat as discriminating against women, we cannot argue that as in the past, women were treated like slaves and were considered unimportant. They had to be submissive and the care giver of the family. Care giver, not bread winner, or equal. Women were considered lower than men and had to learn where they stood in society. This, dear readers, was the culture in the past, and thus, Jesus had males as His apostles, and NOT females.

I think this issue has been debated upon many times, and plenty of views have been casted, but we should all realise that we can never modernise anything that has to do with religion, UNLESS an absolute need for change is inevitable - if there are NO more boys that want to participate in this particular ministry, there is a shortage of boys, or the females who want to be altar servers start rioting and revolutionising. Now that would be interesting.

*image is taken from google images =))*

response! =))

As blogger is screwing up on me, I shall have to re-publish my post. Grr.



I agree with Andre, that a recent day hero in the eyes of the Catholic church would be Pope John Paul II (whose name was actually Karol Wojtyla).

"He worked extremely hard as a pope, yet was so human and holy at the same time, something almost incomprehensible."
- Andre

To me, this sentence shows that the Pope was someone who resembled Jesus' character - a person who was both holy and human. In today's homily at Risen Christ's 11am mass, Father Larry (a Filipino priest) was telling us about how Jesus was able to forgive Mary Magdalene's sins. As Jesus was both holy and human at the same time (just like Pope John Paul II), He was moved by the sincerity of her actions, which made Him feel compassion toward her, and so, he forgave her.

This can be compared to the Pope, when he was almost assassinated by Ağca in 1981. Through a miracle, the Pope was critically wounded, but managed to survive the shooting. He then visited Ağca at the prison a few years later, and pardoned and forgave the man for his actions. This is somewhat a parallel to Jesus having forgiven the people who had prosecuted Him. In this way, the Pope was somewhat like Jesus, by being gracious and forgiving.

The Pope's extent of forgiveness is out of this world, because who else in the world would forgive the other person for shooting him? I definitely would not, because I would probably be blinded by hate toward that person for making me suffer for doing nothing wrong. This, my readers, is what makes the Pope a great hero today. His ability to forgive and extend his hand to the person who did him wrong is unrivalled.

By learning from him, I have been able to understand how important it is to be able to forgive a person, because harbouring ill thoughts toward other people will slowly kill you inside. You will then become just a shell, and hate as your driving force to live (think about "Meet the Robinsons" if you have watched it. The part about the flashback on how the evil guy turned evil...). The hate will eventually eat you up inside, which would make you walk further away from God.

The ability to forgive, and as many times as possible would make us learn to be more like Christ, which would strengthen our bond with Him, and enable us to walk closer with Him. This, dear readers, would then make us better Christians and people.

there's a hero...

Ok, so excuse my lame title =)) Haha. I would have broken out into song right here and now.

Anyways, back to the point of this entry =))

HEROES.





The glamourous version, when people talk about heroes, would make one think of the hit TV series "Heroes", or other cartoon super heroes from our childhood. Yes, though they do come across as extremely good looking (like Wolverine and Ice Man from X-men. Aren't they just gorgeous?!), we must not forget that they are only acting a role, and that in reality, they are not different from you and i. But what makes us adore them is that these heroes are portrayed as the people who save innocents and the world, from villians or natural disasters, which can be seen as a parallel to how God saves us from sin and damnation.

I claim that there is a parallel because some heroes, such as the X-Men, take their orders from a higher rank - Professor X'avier. In comparison to this, God gives his "orders" (if we can call it that) to people of different walks of life, and get them to execute his plan, by reaching out to the masses, the poor and the underpriviledged. These people are the ones we refer to as Saints or Martyrs.

To me, my one true hero is Jesus Christ, because he was hand picked and chosen by God to save mankind from sin, by dying for us.



Can you imagine if your father asked you to die for the entire world? Would you have done it acceptingly and without complaints? I definitely would not, because I can't bare to think about the pain and suffering that I would have to endure before I die. But Jesus was different. He did it willingly and no complaints passed his lips. Although He was extremely scared and afraid in the garden of Gatsemony (seriously, I do hope this is how you spell it =X), He didn't throw in the towel and call it quits. No, he went through with it and endured everything - according to His father's will.

Jesus's determination and obediance has definitely taught me how to be a better Christian. Whenever I am suffering or in pain, I remember how Jesus suffered, and then, my suffering and pain would seem soo minor and unimportant. I would then feel a bit better, to know that yes, someone knows exactly how I feel, and that prayer works wonders. I say this because after Jesus prayed, He was reassured by an angel that He wouldn't have to go through it alone, and that God would be with Him every step of the way. This thought gives me the strength to get through my problems becaue I also know that God and Jesus would be with me every step of the way too.

This has helped me to grow spiritually as it has made me increase the number of times I pray and go for Benediction. I feel more at ease knowing that both their love is surrounding me, and that they are there whenever I need them.

Therefore, understanding the suffering and pain that Jesus had to go through for the world and generations to come has taught me to value my faith and keep wanting to stay on the right path, so that I too may enter the kingdom of heaven one day.

*all pictures are taken from google images

"What happened to that piece of charcoal is what might easily happen to us if we separate ourselves from our church groups. Our spiritual flame 'n enthusiasm might easily fade away or even disappear. Even thou we are still the same charcoal (the same believer) but we might be left with no flame of God's love, no enthusiasm in ministry, no radiance of joy. And that's a very sad thing. Church groups are important for our spiritual growth, as we could encourage and support one another to keep our spirit burning from within." - Achillia

These words from Achillia's post really struck a chord with me, because I was like that once. Even though I've been in the choir for soo many years, there were periods of time when I didn't bother turning up or going to church, because I felt that there was nothing for me in church. I had actually contemplated of going to other churches (Christian, not Catholic) with my group of friends. I felt at that point in time that they were more bonded spiritually and physically to God, than compared to us Catholics.

Thankfully, I prayed real hard about it, and found the faith and love i needed to satisfy me spiritually.

Thus, I agree with what Achillia said, because it IS true. Once you stray far away from the church or your church group, for whatever reason, it will be really hard to come back, because the more time you spend away from church, the deeper the void that grows inside of you, and the harder it is to fill it back with the faith and love of God.

first post!

So. About the church group that I belong to. Well, for the past 11 years (and still counting), I've been part of the CLVC choir, which sings for the Saturday sunset mass. Yes, I know 11 years is a really long time, but being there has made me the Christian that I am today - a more devot Christian than I was before, and a better singer.

When I first joined the choir with my little sister, we were tagged as the two "babies", as no one of our age range had joined. I felt as if I had met my big brothers and sisters, because they took really good care of us. As we grew up, we became the big sisters to many new members, and were referred to as the "oldies" of the choir (yes, it sounds as if I'm not 20, but 60). I got a chance to participate in many activities, such as carolling for orphans, singing at old aged homes, hotels, showrooms and the SJS (Shine Jesus Shine) Rallies when it was still running. By participating in these activities, it made the bond we had with one another stronger, as we endured countless scoldings and disappointments during rehearsals. But the fruits of our labour were always sweet and memorable.

Then came the re-shuffling of the committee. New members were added - myself, my sister and a few other "younger" ones. We were brought on board to help bridge the gap between the youths and the, well, not soo youthful? The younger ones rocked the committee with our bold, weird and crazy ideas (which usually materialised), and helped to make being in the choir a fun, eventful and happening experience.

Also, when one is in a church group, spiritual development is inevitable, because we are all there to connect at a spiritual level, to praise God and to be his messengers on Earth. In the choir, this is done by having a spiritual session during our annual choir camps, asking a priest to come down and give us a talk, or just having praise and worship sessions, to reflect and give praise. These activites promote spiritual growth by making us more involved, instead of being passive Christians (like sitting down and listening to someone preach).

Though being part of a church group may have quite a few advantages, the road is bumpy and there are obstacles along the way. For me, it was the temptation to skip church on Saturdays, and go on Sundays instead because my friends would usually ask me out on Saturdays to hang out or have dinner. They weren't very understanding when I told them that I could only make it at a later time due to having to sing for mass, so sometimes, I gave in to that and skipped it. The guilt feeling after that was strong, and I felt as if I had done a disservice to God. Although I went to church on Sundays, it didn't wash away that feeling i had. However, as the years went by (I say this as if I'm like, ageing super fast), I have come to learn that true friends understand the needs of going to church, and wouldn't discourage you from going. Also, my choir mates helped me to resist the temptation, by letting me know that they too felt the same way. But a committment is a committment. I mean, it's as if you're cheating on your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse with someone else. Somewhat. Ok, bad analogy. But I hope you get the gist of it.

In this way, I managed to grow spiritually, because I found my calling back to God with the help of my church friends, and I am more rooted in Him than I have ever been in my entire life.

With this, I encourage everyone to join a church group, because with that group, you will be able to grow spiritually, and become a better person. Who knows, you might find your future soul mate there, or better yet, find a better group of friends.

=))