Happy Holidays!!!

Thank you for visiting our webpage of reflections and your continued support and prayers for our seminary.

We re having our year end break and hence, we regret to inform you that the schedule of postings for the blog will only resume in Feb 2010.

Thank you once again and God Bless!

The BlogMaster

Reflections on the 1st Sunday of Advent (Bro Martin Arlando)

1st Sunday of Advent - Hope

All I want for Christmas is ….
Hope seems to be the center of our life more than often. We can say that to a certain extend it is a driving force in our daily lives. How? Well let me illustrate with a story :)
Many years ago there lived a very old man in North China. His house faced South and right in front of his door stood the two gigantic peaks of Taihung & Wangwu.



They blocked his way to the south. So he sat down with his sons made a solemn promise and then went out with his hoe. They made up their minds to hack away those two mountains.

A neighbor saw them set to work and shook his head, “How stupid can one get?” he screamed. “It’s absolutely impossible for you to carry away these mighty mountains.”

The old man smiled and said, “Well, when I die, my sons will carry on the work. When they die, my grandsons will continue it. Yes, the mountains are high but they won’t get any higher. But our strength can still grow. With every bit of earth that we carry away we come closer to our goal. It is better to do something, than just sit around and complain that those mountains keep out the sunlight.”

And with complete conviction the old man kept on digging.

Will this determination and hope disappoint us especially that now we are embarking into the season of Advent, a season of hope? At its core, it’s faith that Jesus will come again to bring us to into his kingdom. Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. We put our faith and our hope in Jesus because we believe that he is faithful and loving. We believe that he will never abandon us. And so together with the psalmist of psalm 62 and 149 and the canticle of Daniel, let us praise God, the one we hope to meet soon. Sustained by God’s love, we can move mountains.

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Reflections on Ps 122 (Bro Peter Anthoney)

One day a man approaches a priest and asks how he could become a wise man? The priest gave a short description what entails to be wise and he continued, “Look and observe the wise bees and do as they do”.

They dwell in unity, in the swarm of its fellow bees and go forth, not in the stormy whether but in the calm and still weather, in the sunshine, towards all those bright colourful flowers in which sweetness is found. It does not rest on any flower, neither on any beauty nor on any sweetness; but it draws from them honey and wax, that is to say sweetness and life-giving matter and brings both to the unity of the hive, where they together work to produce fruits which would bear great gains and joy for the whole swarm.

So to become a wise man, a person with wisdom one has to be like the bees, to go forth with attention, reason and with discretion, towards all the sweetness which could be experienced according to the goodness that God has planned for each one of us and eventually return to be in the presence of God.

Likewise, the psalmist of psalm 122 recognises his communion with God and his community as he prays;

“I rejoiced when I heard them say “Let us go to God’s House”
Jerusalem the Holy city of God, where the tribes of the Lord go up.”

Like the bees he goes about doing his duty to enhance wisdom, courage and faith, gathers them back to be shared with his people, his community and together sets forth to praise and glorify God. We too are called to be like the psalmist and the bees, not to be alone and isolated but to be in a community, doing the will of the Father at all time

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Martin Arlando on 29th Nov 2009.

Reflections on the Invisible Christ (Bro Jovita Ho)

“Christ is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation, for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible.”

Colossians 1:15-16

When I was in Initiation Year, I had the opportunity to attend a series of sessions of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, and during one of sessions, I was shown a short video, where a child of 5 or 6 years old was asked if he can explain what the Holy Trinity is all about. The child went to a drawing board complete with paint brushes and palates of colours and he started painting the whole picture green, and after doing so, he said “This is God the Father”, after that he painted over the green with yellow and then he said, “This is God the Son”, and lastly he took red paint and painted over the green and yellow, and after doing so, he said “This is God the Holy Spirit, and together they form the Holy Trinity.”



To us, if we can picture it, that painting was just a mix-mesh of colours and doesn’t tell us much, much less the Holy Trinity. However, for that child of 5 or 6 years old, he encountered the mystery of the Holy Trinity in a most personal and profound way.

Children seem capable of seeing the Invisible, almost as if it is more tangible and more real than immediate reality. Children are able to penetrate beyond the veil of signs and perceive their meanings as if no barrier existed at all between the visible and invisible. Whereas for us, if the thing is invisible, we grow suspicious about it and because it cannot be confirmed by sight and touch, we grow leery of it. Yet there are many things that are invisible; the air we breathe, the wind we feel and the electricity that runs through our lights and equipment.

We are thus invited to regain that wonder that we had lost. Jesus is visible, yet invisible in the Blessed Sacrament. For the unbelieving eyes, it is just a piece of bread, but for us Jesus is real in the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus remains invisible in the Eucharist so as to awaken the childlike wonder within us. His hidden mode is mercy for us. If we want to ‘see’ Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, then we need to regain our sense of wonder. For when we wonder, we are tuned into this Mystery that Jesus is drawing us into.



Let us cast our gaze onto Jesus and contemplate him with the eyes of our heart. Let us remain focus on him in the Blessed Sacrament and with filled with wonder, and Jesus will seem as if we have never seen before. Let us cast our gaze onto Jesus, for Jesus is present even when our hearts seems overwhelmed with other things. This gaze of love searches for Him and this search takes time, for as Scriptures says, “Be still and know that I am God”.

"When we are before the Blessed Sacrament, instead of looking about us, let us shut our eyes and open our hearts; and the good God will open his. We will go to him, and he will come to us, the one to give, and the other to receive. It will be like a breath passing from one to the other. What delight we find in forgetting ourselves that we may seek God!"

- St. John Vianney

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Peter Anthoney on 27th Nov 2009.

Reflections on Psalm 26 (Bro Gregory Chan)

In my younger days, when I still attended university, there were many public lectures. One of those lectures intrigued me. It was on “How to Write a Good Love Letter.” I still remember what the lecturer said: A good love letter had to be warm, sincere, humourous and vibrant. It used language which was vivid and imaginative. I remember one sample he read out: “Our love has the sweetness of freshly mown grass…”

I must confess I didn’t know at that time what freshly mown grass smelt like. Recently, I got acquainted with the lawn mower during Manual Labour. Now, I must admit that I’m not very good with the lawn mover and have only seen moderate success. However, I never fail to take the opportunity to smell what freshly mown grass is like. It has a fragrance, a freshness all of its own. Of course, it won’t be the same two days later.

My question is: does our love for the Lord have a freshness, a fragrance all of its own? Does it spring ever new? Or is it lost after a while, dried up and turning brown?

The Psalms this evening speak of a longing, a yearning for the Lord, to “savour” His “sweetness”, to “behold his holy temple”. (Psalm 26) Let our love for the Lord be ever new, fresh and fragrant always.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Jovita Ho on 25th Nov 2009.

Reflections on Psalm 57 (Bro Edward Seah)

Before the year comes to an end, it seems quite many people are going through worries and stress before they hit the shopping malls to enjoy the pre-Christmas ‘lepak’ or festivities. For teenagers having their GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ level exams, the great examination stress is almost coming to an end by now while the university and polytechnic students have just begun theirs.

Some of the university students have gone through almost a year of studies which were not of their preference and now hoping that their appeal for a change of course from next year will be successful. And lastly, the prolonged stress our twelve year olds as well as their parents are having as they now await anxiously for the release of the PSLE results to be followed by the choosing and then the posting of schools.

In times of great stress and sort of suffering what do we do? What do we do when the stress is over things which we cannot really change much now? People cope with stress and suffering in different ways. Some take up activities which only add more unnecessary sufferings to their lives. Some smoke, others drink, some eat or sleep more while others have sleepless nights.

In Psalms 57, we discover that the psalmist in his day of distress especially over his enemy, sought not on revenge or even self-pity but on refuge in the Lord. He recalled that his God was faithful and had always been his help. This God will save him even if his soul lies down among lions.

Perhaps in times of distress, we need to ask ourselves if our hearts are ready to trust our Lord Jesus while we do our best. Then instead of worrying we can spend some time praising our Lord and remembering his great love for us. God created us out of love and surely he did not create us merely to sit for examinations. Yes, take refuge in the Lord while we just do our very best.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Gregory Chan on 23th Nov 2009.

Reflections on Ps 66 (Bro Benedict Chng)

Psalm 66 is a special Psalm for me because it is a call to celebrate the Discovery of God by the Israel as well as mine.

In Salvation history lesson, the bible describes Israel’s discovery of God. It began when the Red Sea stood still to let Israel exit from Egypt and climaxed when the Jordan River stood still to let Israel enter the Promised Land. What happened to Israel happens to us. Each and every one of us here has our God - Discovery moments, our God – Discovery experiences.

One of my God Discovery moments was in 1989 after graduation when I was trying to seek employment. For 11 months I was jobless, every week, I would eagerly send my resume to potential companies hoping for an interview. After going for several interview, I soon realized that companies were reluctant to hire fresh graduates because we were inexperience and also a high tendency to job hop after gaining some experience. The weeks slowly turn to months. The process of waiting was very truly restless, frustrating and demoralizing. More so when your contemporary have already gain entry into the job market. I felt rejected and trapped just like the Jews in Egypt.

Like the slaves, I too cried out to the Lord finally to break these chains and set me free. Our ever loving God indeed heard my cry and responded to my plead … in less than a month I had my interview and the rest is history.


Let us recall our God-Discovery moments and like the psalmist in the stanza “Let the people praise you O God. Let all the people praise you.”

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Edward Seah on 21th Nov 2009.

Reflections on Deliverance of Humanity from Bondages (Bro Alphonsus Dominic)

A couple of young adults and my self were having a discussion in the parish on the seven deadly sins. In our sharing, we came to realise that humanity suffers from certain forms of bondages which we categories under the seven deadly sins, namely, pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth. These sins of the flesh bring about feelings of hatred, selfishness, lust, etc. When we are in bondage of any one of these sins, it brings about much pain, unhappiness and a lack of peace within us which in one way or other transmits to others, hence a separation in our relationship which causes division. Ultimately, these sins destroy our relationship with God due to the lack of love for each other which leads to the lack of love for God in obedience to His commandment, “If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love”. (Jn 15:10) “This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you”. (Jn 15:12)

On my way back to the seminary, I was reflecting on each of our sharing, I realised that we all had a common element of challenge that leads us to being caught in either one or more sins in the web of the seven deadly sins. The common element which is also the root cause to these sins of the flesh is “fear”. Fear of losing to others in this competitive world of ours, fear of being judged, fear of being different and not accepted, fear of not being loved, fear of fear in itself and the list goes on. We struggle with these forms of feelings on a daily basis which leads us to sin and what a struggle it is. On further reflection, suddenly, the verse that surfaced prominently in my mind,

“In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love: because to fear is to expect punishment, and anyone who is afraid is still imperfect in love” (1 Jn 4:18).

As such, I felt a call and reminder to even deepen my relationship with the Lord and to seek His grace to help me break free from these bondages as in psalm 125, it states;

“Deliver us, O Lord, from bondage as streams in dry land. Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap”.

All of humanity struggles in a certain form of bondage. In our struggles with our own bondages let us rely on this loving God of ours and not on our own strength for we will fail as in psalm 126, it states,

“If the Lord, does not build the house, in vain does its builders labour; if the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil”.

As we contemplate on the face of Christ and in His sufferings, let us unite ourselves with Him and lift up and offer all our struggles, hurts, brokenness, fears and bondages to the Lord relying on His grace and strength to free us from the bondages of the evil one. Amen.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Benedict Chng on 19th Nov 2009.

Reflections on the celebrations on the Feast of St Charles Borromeo (Bro Samuel Lim)

On the 4th of November, just about ten days ago, we celebrated the Feast of St Charles Borromeo, the patron saint of seminaries and seminarians. The liturgical celebration in our seminary chapel was presided by His Grace Archbishop Nicholas Chia. The seminary community also invited members of Serra Club, and took the opportunity to thank them for their genuine love, fervent prayers and life-giving sacrifices.


After Mass, we had dinner in the refectory. In an effort to show our appreciation to the Serrans, we brothers prepared dinner especially for that occasion. And to create a cozy ambience, the refectory was decorated by a team of creative seminarians.


One significant element of the decoration was definitely the coloured lights on the ceiling (see the photo above). The amusing thing was, the same dish looked differently on different tables, depending on what colour of light you were seated under :)

“Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path.”
Ps 119:105

Our perspective of life or our worldview depends a lot on the light that we use to see. If we’re guided by the light of God which is his Word, then the way we see life and the path we walk would be different than if we were to use the superficial light the world is offering. The light that is offered by the world is made of worldly material, and therefore its use is limited within the world. This kind of worldly light is dim and temporary – definitely incapable of shining our path and guiding us into the next world which is eternal.

In contrast, Jesus said in the Gospel today: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Mk 13:31

Just like the same dish that appears differently under different coloured lights, we experience the same world in a radically different way if our life is guided by the Word of God. Although the Word of God has the power to change the world, the more important question is: how much do we allow the Word to change us?

Don’t walk in the dark! Let us walk along this path of life with Jesus, the Word Made Flesh and the Light of the World.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Alphonsus Dominic on 17th Nov 2009.

Reflections on Ps 91 & Duet 32:1-2 (Bro Joseph Zhang)

Lord, I am not worthy
(Pss 91, 8, Canticle Deut: 32:1-12)

I believe that each one of us has felt a sense of unworthiness at one point or another on our journey to the priesthood or in the priestly life. We feel unworthy maybe because of our imperfections or limitations. Some may feel they are not good enough because they were not good examples before joining in the seminary, some may feel they are not intellectual enough to do all the studies, some may feel they do not have good personal relationship with people, others may feel they have no pastoral skills, etc.

I think having a sense of unworthiness is normal. Even the most perfect disciple, the Blessed Virgin Mary, felt so. When she was approached by angel Gabriel and heard the annunciation that she was giving birth to the Son of God, she asked, “How can this come about since I am a virgin?” In the same way, when God called us, we wondered how this can be since we have a list of incapabilities. However, Mary’s personal limitation did not block God’s work in her. Her faith and openness to God made it possible to allow God to do marvelous deeds in her. Because of her unworthiness, she was able to glorify God when she heard the greeting of her cousin Elizabeth.

Though unworthy we are, like Israel, God found us in a wilderness, in fearful and desolate wastes; he surrounded us with his grace and lifted us up. As long as we do not insist our own way, we will not fall from God’s arms. As long as we allow God to work in us and through us as he did in Mary, we will also be able to experience and proclaim the greatness and love of God as the psalmists did.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Samuel Lim on 15th Nov 2009.

Reflections on Ps 107 (Bro David Arulanatham)

"My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready"

Each time I pray this psalm, this first line draws me to the scene in the movie, ‘The passion”. In this scene Jesus is bound and tied to the pillar and the scourging has just began when Jesus looks up in pain and sorrow and utters this words, “my heart is ready” Entering into the scene I ask myself, ‘am I ready?’ do I have the readiness to do the will of the Father.

I suppose it is when one is able to completely trust in the Lord then one becomes ever ready, no matter what, where, who or when. It is because of her trust in the Lord that the poor widow who had nothing more then the two copper coins to drop it in the treasury of the temple. Likewise the saints and prophets have gone beyond their self to do things all for the sake of the glory of God.

Trusting God is a virtue is not one that comes just like that or by our own strength but by looking deeper into ourselves to discover again the areas of our life where God has reached out and touched us and to continually pray for the grace of God for us to be able to put our whole trust in him.

Finding the trust, we are bound to loose it in difficult, challenging and trying moments of our life but keep at it and you will never loose it again.

My reflection also led to the point of my life when I was at the almost end of my discernment journey to join the seminary when I was rather troubled into saying my ‘yes’ because I was looking at people and priest in my life whom form my point were a failure in their ministry. I was worried that my enthusiasm and drive will also fail, leaving me in a similar quandary. It was this time a close friend who had given me her listening ear, told me to say the ‘yes’ only if I felt I had the capability to make a difference.

It was then I discovered that I who was made in the image and likeness of God, made a little less than a god (Psalm 8) was unique in my own way and God had graced me with certain charisms that surely would empower me if I continue to share this intimate relationship with him in prayer and in dependency of Him.

Therefore, to be ready means being able to place our whole trust in Him and finding out who we really are and live it to the fullest.

Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, let go and let God.


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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Joseph Zhang on 13th Nov 2009.

[The Blogmaster would like to apologise for the late posting of the above article.]

Reflection on the Feast of Dedication of St. John Lateran (Bro Aloysius Tan)

Today, we rejoice with the universal Church in the feast of the dedication of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. Yes, you can consider it the “parish church of all Catholics”.


Tracing the history of this basilica, you will be amazed at how it “survived” numerous natural disasters-- fire, earthquake and the destruction of war since the fourth century till 1646 when Pope Innocent X built the present structure.

As this feast celebrates on the gift of the Church’s “structure”, we cannot forget to thank God for the gift of the Church as well as its people and experiences. The Church, in its 2,000 years of history, had a roller-coaster ride of experiences in the form of “human” disasters both from inside and outside the Church.

History has shown that “man made” organizations, groups and political powers come and go but the Church has remained firm despite the advent of an era that challenges her teachings, messages and witnessing. The Church continues to grow and strives to be the sign of God’s presence on earth. Thus, as we celebrate this feast, let us also rejoice over our identity as One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by Christ itself.


As we reflect on this celebration of dedication, we cannot restrict it as merely a celebration of the dedication of a building or structure but a “dedication” of life in you and me as “Church”, as followers of Christ that are fully alive and active in spreading the Good News, to be witnesses and to let the love of God flow freely in our lives and the life of humanity as a whole. So, dear friends, this feast is also a celebration of you and me as members of the Church, as part of this communion of faith and living, we can dedicate ourselves as “church” through our commitment of love and service to each other and to all of God’s creations. Our struggles will definitely make our “church” stronger and more visible. Happy Feastday!


“Heavenly Father, may the Church which is founded by Your only Son, Jesus Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit continue to GROW in faith, GLOW in its witnessing and GO in its zeal of spreading the Gospel in the daily struggle of humanity. May You protect and guide our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI in wisdom and love as he leads us in this mission! Amen!”

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro David Arulanatham on 11th Nov 2009.

Reflections on Ps118 (Bro Cornelius Ching)

I call on you with all my heart –

answer me, Lord.

I will obey your laws.

I call on you –

save me

so that I can keep your decrees.

Have we really called on the Lord as if our lives depended on it? I don't think many of us had been faced with this situation... and I don't think any of us want to be in this situation. But this is the feeling I get when I was reflecting on Ps 118. The psalmist called on the Lord with all his heart, from the depths of his being, for his help and deliverance. How badly must he have wanted to feel the presence of the Lord.

Although I do to be in his shoes, I do find consolation in his closing stanza, telling of the trustworthiness od the Holy One.

But you, Lord, are near to me,

and you are trustworthy in all your precepts.

From the beginning I have known your decrees,

how you have made them to last for ever.

How I wish and I pray that whenever I need to turn to the Lord, in times of good and bad, I can say from the bottom of my heart that his is trustworthy in his ways and always there. He will answer in the way that is best for me.

"Lord give me the faithfulness to know of your presence always
And the clarity of mind to see the wisdom of your ways."

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Aloysius Tan on 9th Nov 2009.

Reflections on Ps 50 (Bro Moses Rayappan)

A pure heart create for me, O God,
Put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
Nor deprive me of your Holy Spirit.

Since my childhood , I have always liked the tristar that I saw on the car. Only later on did I learn that it was the Mercedes Benz logo. Over the years, although the designs and models of the car have changed drastically, yet the logo still remained the same. Today people can recognize the car anywhere because of its logo. Without this logo, the car has no special and distinct identity. Even for servicing and repairs, it is highly recommended that it should be serviced at a Mercedes service centre only. For they know the car best.

All of us as God’s children have a unique and distinct mark that makes us special from all the other created things. It is the mark of God’s ownership on us and this mark never leaves us. Therefore although we try many ways and methods to find meaning and purpose in life, we can attain fulfillment only when we allow the Spirit of God to lead us. King David cried out to God in Psalm 50 when he needed God to “service” him for only God could heal him completely. For God knows man best. If there are some matters which are disturbing us deeply, perhaps it is time to visit our very own spiritual mechanic, who is God. He is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Martin Arlando on 7th Nov 2009.

Reflections on Ps 51 (Bro Lionel Thomas)

Psalm 51: 17-….Humble and contrite heart….

Sounds familiar enough I am sure for many of us. Well I have to confess, I would receive this invitation ( "come to Me with a humble and contrite heart ") on a regular basis. I also realized in order to change my heart to one that is humble and contrite, a heart of flesh and not stone; two situations have to take place within myself.

1st situation: Jesus is outside the walls of my heart, He knocks and enters. That’s when I am able to move from sin to grace.

2nd situation: to help me move to a higher state of grace, Jesus knocks from within the walls of my heart to come out. Why? Well, by virtue of my baptism, I have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. But sadly I have built stone walls and imprisoned the Holy Spirit in my heart due to my pride, ego and resistance towards the holy will of God. Hence I would limit the actions of Jesus in my life.

That is when Jesus knocks from within my heart, asking me to be obedient and available to Him in order for me to reflect the resurrected Christ in my life. This can only take place when I allow Him to permeate my whole being and not impede Him within a heart of stone.
Just as Jesus stepped out of that cold, dark and uninviting tomb two thousand years ago, He wants to step out of my cold and hardened heart.
On my part I need to learn to surrender myself to Him and to die to sin and rightfully claim my identity as a child of the most High God and live it out through my thoughts , words and deeds.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Moses Rayappan on 5th Nov 2009.

Reflection on 2 Thess. 2:13-14 (Bro Andrew Stephen)

A father gave his son an important notebook and told him to read it. The son took the book, placed it on the table and did not read it. A few months later the father died. The son carried on with his life. He struggled in his life and now he has come to a stage where he too is old and sickly. It was at this moment that he remembered the notebook given to him by his father. He took the notebook and began to read. Much to his surprise, his father has left him details of his will. He regretted not reading it earlier when the father passed it to him.

Likewise, my dear friends in Christ, God the Father has left us a will, which was written in the Bible and in the Traditions of the Church. Only when we read them, then will we know the Father’s will for us, which is Eternal Life. But what is Eternal life? It is to be with God forever and ever. St Paul tells us today in 2 Thessalonians, that God chose you as first fruits to be saved by the sanctifying Spirit and faith in the Truth……St Paul went on to say, It is through the GOOD NEWS that God called you to share in the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So my dear friends don’t wait until you are “old and sickly” before you respond to His will, for you will end up regretting. Start reading the NOTEBOOK now. God Bless you.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Lionel Thomas on 03rd Nov 2009.

Reflections on Ps 80 (Bro Cornelius Ching)

Have we ever contemplated how great our God is? How much he looks after us, in spite of our complaining, despair, unfaithfulness and even when we take him for granted? Verse 6&7 of Psalm 80 reads -

I freed his back from burdens;

his hands were freed from heavy loads.

In your tribulation you called on me and I freed you,

I heard you from the heart of the storm,

I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

He had been there helping me all along the way, in ways known and unknown. Oh how often have I taken the Lord for granted and only turned to him when I am in need. If only I will be aware of his mighty presence, especially in the good times in my life. In verse 13&14 he gives this promise -

The enemies of the Lord would be overcome with weakness,

Israel’s would be the good fortune, for ever:

I would feed them full of richest wheat

and give them honey from the rock,

to their heart’s content.

May I never take the Lord for granted and trust in his mighty hand in my life. If I look back in the events in my life, I can never deny that he helped me overcome my weaknesses and given me more than I can ask for. Such is his love for me.


Even in the first reading of today, St Paul tells us that nothing in heaven and on earth can ever separate us from the love of Christ. Now is the time for me to dwell in his presence and bask in his love.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Andrew Stephen on 01st Nov 2009.

Reflection Psalm 50 (Bro Peter Anthoney)

A priest walking through a garden was amazed to see several devils sleeping under a tree. Out of his curiosity he woke one of the devils and asked, "Why are you so free, just sleeping under the tree? The devil replied that they were jobless for almost all their work had been overtaken by the people here. "We have simply become redundant. The humans can be left alone; we need not rouse hatred, feelings of anger, envy and greed among them and to make them lustful and revengeful. They have proven themselves to be much better than us in these areas. I suppose they have acquired PhDs in these areas and therefore we are just useless. However, for you there are abundant, difficult and challenging work to do. Go and see if you can free the world from sin which is growing in leaps and bounds maybe then we can start work again." they said

Reflecting this story with Psalm 50 gives me further insights on how we are to work towards overcoming sin in our life, sin in the world today. The psalmist of psalm 50 is in his wisdom able to recognize the situation of sin he is in, he owns them, seeks pardon and therefore is able to free himself and live again.

However, we and many others might be treading into the depths of sin without even realizing or being fooled by the lures of the world. To make matters worse we are simply justifying our sin and continue living as though nothing has happened. By doing so we are not only drowning ourselves but also blinded by our sin resulting in us being feeling alienated from God loosing our inner freedom. We are becoming responsible for leading others to this sinful way of living.

Today as we pray this psalm, let us pray for the Grace of God, for the power of the Holy Spirit to open our minds and hearts to help us see the reality we are in, and then to give us the courage to own the responsibility for these sins and then the humility to seek reconciliation with God. At the same time we also pray the Good Lord will use us to bring this awareness to the people we are called to minister to. Together we will be able to experience the peace, love, joy and tranquility of the Kingdom of God here on earth.

Indeed you love truth in the heart
Then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom
Give me again the joy of your help,
With a spirit of fervour sustain me.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Cornelius Ching on 29th Oct 2009.

Reflection on Christ, Servant of God- Phi 2:6–11 (By Bro Jovita Ho)

Though he was in the form of God,
Jesus did not count equality a thing to be grasped.
He emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even death on the Cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him,
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.
That at the name of Jesus every need should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Once someone shared with me, "Jo, it seems that odd that whenever I feel close to God, God seems to be making it more difficult for me to love Him... He seems to move further away from me, whenever I get closer to Him." I think sometimes in my faith journey, and I am sure for some of us, this seems to be the case with our spiritual lives.

I wonder at times, whenever we feel this spiritual dryness, especially when we have no reason for it... more so after an uplifting retreat or seminar. Is it because we want to hang onto this feeling of being 'filled up', that we are unable to empty ourselves, and allow God to 'top-up' us in His own ways?


In this canticle, we are reminded that Christ though in the form of God, emptied Himself, taking a form of a servant, in the likeness of man. Do not be discouraged when you feel that you have reached a spiritual plateau and a sense of spiritual dryness permeate you... Christ himself (when all seems lost) fully experience that power of God filling him up only when he emptied himself completely and surrendered totally to the Father. Take courage and do not be afraid! Be emptied and be filled!

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Peter Anthoney on 27th Oct 2009.

Reflection on Ps 35 (Bro Gregory Chan)

I was very taken up by our visit to the Old Ford Factory. Looking at the old black & white photographs in the Museum brought me back in time.


It spoke of so many stories, including the British Scorched Earth Policy, which basically destroyed many of the oil refineries in Singapore and beyond. I remember the time when I was in my first year at law school, and we covered this subject of the Scorched Earth Policy. The issue was whether compensation was payable for blowing up the oil refineries. The courts drew a distinction between an exercise of the Royal Prerogative (for which no compensation was payable) and battle tactic (for which compensation was payable): Burmah Oil –vs- Lord Advocate [1965] AC 75.
The point of all this is what is our battle tactic in regard to combating sin? The Psalmist tells us today that “Sin speaks to the sinner in the depths of his heart.” Indeed, the sinner is oblivious to God:

“He so flatters himself in his mind
That he knows not his guilt.
In his mouth are mischief and deceit.
All wisdom is gone.”

Our weapon is none other than the Lord himself:

“In you is the source of life
And in your light we see light.”

Let us turn away from sin and look to the Lord to illumine our lives, and let Him be our light of life.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Jovita Ho on 25th Oct 2009.

A Reflection on Psalm 32 (Bro Edward Seah)

Once when I was a young Brother, someone asked me how my community prayed. I said we use the Divine Office and the man’s reply was that we were outdated because for him it was meaningless since he had found a spontaneous way of praying to the Lord. As a young Brother in a community of mostly elderly Brothers, to expect the latter to do away with the Divine Office was not impossible [since those Brothers were surprisingly more open and detached than I thought] but rather unnecessary. Out of curiosity I decided to survey the state and especially the style of the prayer life of the elderly Brothers. My conclusion was that they were not only men of deep prayer but had well integrated lives of Christian simplicity, compassion, generosity and total abandonment to the will of God.

Psalm 32 mentioned about ‘giving thanks to the Lord’ and singing a ‘song that is new’.
Can praying the same old Psalms every few weeks be a way of thanking the Lord and like singing a song that is new? For those who believe, the word of God is certainly alive and active. Each time we break the word, it is like unrolling the scroll which contains a new song – a song of the Lamb. Its newness is evident in that it renews the life of the pray-er helping him or her not only to praise and honor God but also walk in newness of life in Christ each day – and a life of deeper relationship with the Blessed Trinity resulting in gracious Christian living.

It seems two things are needed when we praise God using the Psalms:
first, the pray-ers need to have a repentant heart. Second, the pray-ers need to have a combination of fidelity and docility.

For the elderly Brothers who had faithfully prayed the living word of God, in savouring God’s word and being nourished by it every day, I noticed they were graced with the Spirit of Faith. In Lasallian terms, it means that they would not look upon anything except with the eyes of faith; not do anything but in view of God and attributing all to God. In this way, they were always able to enter into the sentiment of Job: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; as it has pleased the Lord, so it is done”.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Gregory Chan on 23rd Oct 2009.

Reflections on Psalm 92 & 148 (Bro Benedict Chng)

Our recent Cameron Highland trip certainly brought me closer to our community and God. Just standing at the top of the tea plantation watching the vast vegetation below or gazing into the pin hole of the dark with the cool bracing wind blowing past my face simply brings an element of awe.


Reflecting on Psalm 92 and 148, one can only acknowledge that God is an artist extraordinaire. Easy to be impressed, most brilliant, creative artist ever to exist. While at the garden, I asked myself “Why did God make flowers? They're not necessary. Although they may have some purposes, one kind of flower in one single color could have been made to meet all the needs.


The fact is: flowers are not needed. They are "extra," something far, far beyond merely what was needed. We could live without flowers, but life is so much more beautiful with them.

God desires our joy to be full. It is indeed a great joy when we have a close fellowship with the Creator, and can be able to appreciate and thank Him for all the wonderful things He has provided for us because of His great love. In that context, things are a great
blessing, because they are a constant reminder of the goodness
and love of God. Whenever I see flowers, or whenever I think of the abundance God has provided, it reminds me of His love, and I say, "Thank You Lord, for flowers. Thank you Lord for the Hills and Trees"

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Edward Seah on 21st Oct 2009.

Reflection on Ps 42 (Bro Alphonsus Dominic)

“Thirsting” for God

“I thirst! I thirst! I thirst!”. Upon reflecting on Psalm forty-two, one of the books written about a world renowned great woman who was awarded the Noble Peace prize came into mind. She is non other then Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. In that book it states that she was inspired and in awe of these words, “I thirst!”. These very words she wrote on the wall of her room below a painted cross.

In these words, she saw Christ’s thirst for justice, peace, compassion and love where there is a lack of it. She saw the Lord thirsting for love especially in those who are suffering in poverty, sickness, pain, lack of love and in those who are abandoned.

Another dimension is her thirst for God that is to have an intimate relationship with Him. Although being close to Him, she often felt distant from His presence.

The psalmist in psalm forty-two in the second stanza challenges us to thirst for God just as Blessed Teresa thirsted for God as it states,
“My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life
when can I enter and see
the face of God?”

In this day and age, we are clouded by countless commitments and are easily distracted by work, studies, entertainment, etc. As a result, we are too tired or not focused in realising that we are forgetting the presence of God in our lives, least to say thirsting for an intimate and deep relationship with Him. Apart from that, to thirst to live a life that is life-giving to others.

Let us reflect on our own lives and ask ourselves, how much do we thirst for an intimate relationship with our loving Jesus who is just waiting for us to respond to His love? How much do we thirst for a life that is life-giving to others?

As we pray and praise the Lord in the psalms this morning, let us ask the Lord for the necessary graces to truly thirst for God who is the source of life so that in turn we can be life-giving to others. Let us thirst to labour for His Kingdom.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Benedict Chng on 19th Oct 2009.

Reflection on Ps 145 (Bro Samuel Lim)

[Dedicated to our beloved Carmelite Sisters]

We’re all crazy!
We’re crazy because the way we think doesn’t make sense; our flow of thoughts is illogical, irrational.

We’re like the sick man who wants to be cured of his illness, and he knows for a fact that only the doctor can help him. But instead of looking for the doctor, he went to look for the nurse. Well, perhaps it is because she’s pretty and more attractive – but the fact remains: she cannot help him. Remember, the man’s initial intention was to be cured from his sickness. So not only did he look for the wrong person, he focused on the wrong thing.

We, too, sometimes can catch ourselves looking at the wrong place for the wrong thing. We know for a fact that only God can help us, but we turn to people and things. Instead of turning to God, we put our trust in ourselves, in others, in worldly ideas, in human suggestions. It really doesn’t make sense at all; it’s illogical – because we know all these cannot help us.

Psalm 145 (146) reminds us to “Put no trust in princes; in mortal men in whom there is no help.” Instead, the Psalmist says that a happy man is the one “who is helped by Jacob’s God, whose hope is in the Lord his God.”

Deep down within us, we know all these already, but as mentioned earlier – we’re crazy. We know that our God can do everything, but we don’t seem to trust him for anything – so in the end, we’re left with nothing.


Today, as the Church celebrates the Memorial of St Teresa of Avila, let us remember and pray for the Carmelite nuns who have been praying for all of us unceasingly and unconditionally. They, too, are crazy. It doesn’t make sense at all that one would freely choose to leave the world and lock herself behind the walls of the monastery… for life! In the eyes of the world, that’s insanity!

But here’s the big difference. They may be crazy, but it is because they are in love. For them, their greatest joy is to give their whole lives to the One whom they were madly in love with.

So, my dear friends, either way, we are all crazy. But at least, let us be crazy for the right reason, for the right Person.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Alphonsus Dominic on 17th Oct 2009.

Reflection on Ps 62, 121 & St Teresa of the child Jesus (Bro Joseph Zhang)

Psalm 62 presents us a picture of the psalmist’s deep longing and desire for God. His desire for God keeps him awake. His desire for God drives him to use every moment to praise God. The psalmist’s desire for God is also the desire of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. In her autobiography, she expressed her desire to be united with Jesus; she expressed her desire to become a saint one day to live always with her bridegroom Jesus Christ.

She had this great desire but how did she achieve it? Unlike St. Francis Xavier, she did not have the opportunity to go to a far-off land to offer her life to proclaim the gospel. However, her great desire for God and for evangelization made her seize every opportunity to grow in holiness and in mission. She took every little event in her cloistered life as a stepping stone for growing towards God. She was like the three young men in the furnace who could call upon everything to praise God. St. Teresa of Lisieux used her daily ordinary experiences as stones to build her holiness.

There is a Chinese idiom which goes like this, “drops of water can pierce through a stone”. The power and effect of a drop of water is insignificant but when the little power and effect of drops of water accumulate for a long time. Its power and effect will be seen.

Like St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, let us cultivate in us the holy desire for God and for holiness. And let us also be sensitive and use every small event in our daily life to grow in holiness.


Also, in Psalm 121, the psalmist expressed his joy on entering Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God. However, the psalmist was aware that the dwelling place of God was not always at peace. That is why he said, “for the peace of Jerusalem pray: ‘Peace be to your homes! May peace reign in your walls, in your palaces, peace’”.

Even when St. Teresa was still very young, she aspired to enter the Carmelite monastery where God also dwells. She applied for the entrance but was refused because she was too young. With special permission sought from the pope with her father’s help, she was accepted. She was very joyful for this. However, when she entered the monastery, she found that the place was not full of roses but there were also thorns coming from her fellow sisters because of human weakness. What did she do? She did not run away by coming out. Like the first antiphon expressed, she kept herself chaste. She was single-minded and single-hearted. She put her trust in God and built herself upon the rock of Christ. In this way, she found peace in her despite the sometimes turbulences in the community. Because her dependence on God, she not only found peace in her but also got strength to say, “For love of my brethren and friends I say: ‘Peace upon you!’” “For love of the house of the Lord I will ask for your good”.

Let us learn from St. Teresa to put our trust in God, depend on him and be single-minded despite the difficulties we sometimes experience in our community. And let us be like her, for love of the house of God, pray for the good of each other.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Samuel Lim on 15th Oct 2009.

Reflection on Ps 118 (Bro David Arulanatham)

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
For his love endures for ever
(Ps 118:1)

This verse is from the first psalm prayed by the universal church every second and fourth Sunday of the Psalter. Throughout the psalm the psalmist gives praise and thanks to the Lord for the wonders he has done to him and his people of the Old Testament.

For me at a personal level, I am able to relate with the goodness and the enduring love of the Lord but there was still a longing to express this love and goodness of the Lord from my very own, intimate and personal encounter of the Lord that I spent sometime praying just this one verse in the silence of my heart. It was then I was drawn to gaze at the crucifix.

In that crucifix I recalled the power of love, the Father's love for the world, for us; the Son's love for us and his obedient and faithful love for the Father. It was a painful and bloody scene but love was simply oozing out beyond space and time. The act of God, boundless, beyond space and time has, is and continues to invite us to enter and partake in this realm of love and live a life of faithfulness.

So as we enter into a relationship with him through the praying of this psalm let us enter the realm of the love of our God, take delight in his enduring love and radiate it to all we encounter today. Together let us, give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures for ever. Emmanuel.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Joseph Zhang on 13th Oct 2009.

Reflection on Jer 14:17-21 (Bro Aloysius Tan)

“Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease, ……. And if I enter the city, behold, the diseases of famine! …….” (cf Jer 14:17-21)

As I reflect on the words of Jeremiah which we prayed during the canticle this morning, the horrific scenes of death, pain, suffering and destruction of typhoon, earthquake and tsunami victims play in my mind. The newspapers, news and online websites carry hard to read or watch photos and articles on the suffering of thousands of victims in the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Samoa.

Surely these victims would share the same sentiment as Jeremiah in lamenting their misfortune. Surely these victims would question God as they mourn their loss.

Seeing all these natural disasters, I also tend to ask God a lot of “Why” type of questions. And, most of the time, there are no answers for these questions.


Jeremiah also seemed to not find the root cause of the suffering, but he acknowledged that it was the wickedness of the people that caused suffering. In today’s context, I wonder if this wickedness could refer to our wanton destruction of mother earth, the gift of God to humanity.


But, as I continue to pray these words of Jeremiah, I can feel his full trust in God as he continues to storm heaven to remind God of their covenant.

In the same way, as I see people suffering great pain and being tortured by unanswered questions, I also see the beautiful side of people reaching out to them, trying to save their loved ones and belongings, foreign aid pouring in, people leaving their jobs and families to head for the disaster sites to volunteer their services.

Last weekend, the catechists of Our Lady of the Star of the Sea together with catechism students took the initiative to raise funds during weekends masses for these victims of natural disasters, I was touched by the efforts of these young boys and girls from the parish who were galvanized to help all these thousands of unknown, faceless victims.

They might not be there with the victims, they might not know their actual situations but they reached out to them in love and solidarity, I believe this is the most powerful lesson for their catechesis to exemplify the meaning of “love your neighbours”.


Thus, if you were to ask me what the positive element from all these disasters was, my answer would be: It reminds me to love more ... to love the people around me, to love those near or far from me, and to love the environment. And of course, the most important thing: To love God, the God who never forgets His covenant with us.”

“We know our offences, O Lord; we have sinned against you.” (Antiphon for the canticle)

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro David Arulanatham on 11th Oct 2009.

Reflections on the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Bro Martin Arlando)

Today the Church commemorates the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. This was established for the purpose of thanking God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto. A victory attributed to the praying of the rosary. I believe that this victory would not have been achieved if not by their persistent faith in praying the rosary. How?

It is like this messenger who came to an old castle and knocked with the huge iron knocker. But there was no answer. He tried again, only a hollow echo was heard. But he knew there people at home because he had seen them in the window. So he continued to bang away the iron knocker for at least 20 to 30 times. Then there was a slow and soft answer. A lady with wrinkled face popped out and enquired whether the man wanted to come in. He was angry and replied, "Surely anyone who has knocked as I did would want to come in?" "Well you see?", said the old lady, "Please don't get angry. There are so many children around here who came up, bang the door a few times and then scamper off. So we have learned not to pay attention to them. But when I heard your knock, I really felt that you wanted to come in?"


The praying of 150 Hail Marys has just that. It is the same attitude of persistency and perseverance in praying the rosary that evokes within us to contemplate deeper the mysteries of God, the mysteries of our salvation. We can sense that Jesus and Mary are with us in joys and sorrows of our life. We pray today that we may grow in hope that God will bring us to share in the glory of Jesus and Mary forever.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Aloysius Tan on 09th Oct 2009.

Reflections on Ps 83 (Bro Moses Rayappan)

"One day within your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere,
The threshold of the house of God I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked."


People who go fishing often pay attention to their fishing rod, baits and finding a good location to fish. All this however has no guarantee that the person will get a big fish for 3 things could happen. He might go back empty handed, get a small catch in the form of a little fish or prawns or he might just get a big catch. Whatever the outcome is, one thing is certain and that is, he will most certainly talk about his experience to others and chances are he will want to go fishing again.

I guess this is the experience of the psalmist of Psalm 83. He has had a deep and profound encounter with God that he expresses his desire to be with God again. God is also touching us daily through events and people but does it draw us nearer to Him. It's not how many times we have a profound experience with God, but how we cherish and are grateful to the experience which will ultimately draw us closer to God.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Martin Arlando on 07th Oct 2009.

Listen - Reflections on Ps 95 (Bro Lionel Itheraj)

Listening to another person isn’t always an easy thing, maybe because we have made up our minds already and are quite closed to listening to anything or anyone else; or maybe prejudices gets in the way. We are not always prepared to accept the consequences of what we hear, so we may prefer not to give our attention.

Really, to listen to somebody requires sympathy and humility. It means trying to understand and to receive the message with open minds. Because real listening is an act of love, a sort of hospitality. It gives welcome to another human being. And in the same manner if we want to hear the Spirit we have to let go of everything else that hinders us and be truly open to the Word of God. As the psalmist in Psalm 94 calls upon us: “O’ that today you would listen to His voice, harden not your hearts.”

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Moses Rayappan on 05th Oct 2009.

Reflections on Ps 116 (Bro Andrew Stephen)

It was during the seminary mid-term break and I decided to stay in the parish of St. Philip in Segamat, Johor. There were four of us staying in the parish, two priests, a deacon and myself. It happened that one weekday, there was to be a penitential service for the ‘Orang Asli’ community, or better known as ‘Orang Asal’ in their Kampung. So the four of us prepared to make our way to their Kampung, which is situated somewhere in a Palm plantation.

As we were coming out of the parish it started to drizzling and five minutes into our journey it began to rain ‘cats and dogs’. We could not postpone the service and had no choice but to make our way there somehow. I was seated at the back seat of the ‘Kembara’ (a Malaysian car) the priest was driving. While we were chatting in the car, I was observing the car wipers moving up and down the screen of the car, clearing the rain water so that the driver may be able to see the road more clearly.

At that particular time it occurred to me. What would happen if these car wipers were to stop functioning suddenly? Can we continue the journey without these wipers working, especially right now, when it is raining ‘cats and dogs’? We will have to stop driving and wait for the rain to stop or else we will be endangering not only our lives but also the lives of others.

It is the same with our lives my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. The ‘car’ symbolizes ourselves and the ‘rain’ (also thunder and lightning) symbolizes the temptations, sins and all the bad influences of this world. The car ‘wipers’ symbolizes our spiritual lives and our relationship with Jesus. If we have not establish a strong relationship with Jesus, it will be just like a car whose wipers are not functioning. Somehow our journey will become harder, more difficult and more dangerous, just because Jesus is not in our lives.

Psalm 116, reminds us to “walk in the presence of the Lord”.With the Lord in our lives only then will we be able to resist all the temptations, sins and bad influences of this world. Even if we have to go through hardships, difficulties or sufferings, they will be meaningful because Jesus is strong in our lives.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Bro Lionel Itheraj on 03rd Oct 2009.

A glimpse of what is to come...

Dear visitors of our blog,

Thank you for your continued interest in the well-being of the Seminary community.

The first official post for this blog will be on 01st Oct 2009 by Bro Andrew Stephen.

Stay tuned for his reflections...

God Bless!!

The BlogMaster