Reflection: Easter (Br Joachim Robert)

There was this crazy man who wanted to control the movement of the Sun so he could continue sleeping and not be disturbed. He thought for a long time and came up with an idea which he thought was brilliant. He said to himself, "I will go up to the mountain and tell the Sun not to rise tomorrow."

So he hurriedly climbed up to the mountain before sunset to meet the Sun. Upon arriving there, he told the sun, “You must not rise tomorrow.”

The next morning the sun rose beautifully and shone as it usually did. Upon seeing the sun, the man got angry and ran back to his home, closed all the door and windows and covered all the holes so that he can be in darkness.

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During Easter we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, His triumph over sin and death and His victorious deliverance out of darkness of sin into His wonderful Light. In the Easter proclamation too we sing that:

Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin
to our eternal Father!

This is our Passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

Jesus Christ has truly risen like the Sun in the story but do we really and truly believe that Jesus has done all this out of his love for us or are we still in our slumber….?

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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Gabriel Wong on 1st May 2011.

Reflection: Holy Week (Br Terence Kesavan)

We are back from our Mid-Term Break, where all the seminarians went back to their home parish for Holy Week.

Yesterday's reading (Jn 20:11-18) about Mary Magdalene's encounter with the Risen Lord reminded me of my experience at this year's Easter Vigil.

Before the Liturgy of the Light, everyone was gathered around the fire at the entrance of the church. I was standing with the Fr Brian and the Altar Servers, waiting for it to start. I looked around and saw a priest in his chasuble standing at the back. I didn't recognise him, and I thought it must be a visiting priest come to join in the celebration. So I went up to him and said "Father, we are about to start, would you like to join us near the fire. He gave a laugh and said "It is me lah!". Then I realised that it was Fr Bosco. He had shaven his head and beard. He looked totally different.

I have heard that Fr Bosco had done this before during Easter, but still the sight before me left me in shock. I found myself staring trying to figure out how the hair and beard could change one's appearance so drastically. I recalled the Mas Selamat posters with him in a beard and clean shaven, and it did not look so different.



Back to yesterday's reading. As I compared Mary Magdalene's experience of the Risen Lord, with my encounter with Fr Bosco's new look, I realised the similarities.

Mary was looking for the dead Jesus' body. I was also expecting a bearded Fr Bosco, the one I was used to.

Mary recognised Jesus when he called her. I also recognised Fr Bosco by his voice, when he said "it is I lah!".

Mary would probably have known that Jesus had said that he would rise on the third day. I knew that Fr Bosco had previously shaved his head for Easter, and many people did not recognise him, and yet when I saw him, it didn't cross my mind.

Looking forward to the last day when I brought before Christ, I know that this scenario will play itself out again.

Though I know that Christ will be different from what I imagine him to be, I will still be clinging on to my image of what Christ should look like, and may not recognise him. I just pray and hope that when that day comes, I will be able to recognise his voice when he says to me, "It is Me lah!."

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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Joachim Robert on 29th Apr 2011.

Seminary Mid-Term Break

Dear friends,

Thank you for your continued support for our blog.

We shall be taking a short break from our postings in view of our seminary mid-term break.

Stay tuned for our next posting on 27th April 2011.

Meanwhile, have a meaningful and empowering Holy Week ahead as we anticipate and enter into the highest point of our liturgical calendar through the celebration of the Easter Triduum!

BLESSED

Thank you and God Bless !

The Blogmaster

Reflection: Christ be our LIGHT (Br Anthony Liew)

Whenever people are facing difficulties, they may seem to think that there is no way for them to come out from these difficulties. They tend to imagine themselves in the dark moments of their lives. As a result, they will try every means desperately to cope with their difficulties. Some seek help from fortune tellers; some try their luck through lottery; some even go for 'Ah Long' (loan shark) or other means which eventually cannot solve their difficulties.

We will not be able to come out from our difficulties unless we turn to Jesus our saviour. It may sound unrealistic to the world. Yet for us His believers, Jesus is the Lord who loves us and gives us Hope in the dark moments of our lives. Similarly in the eyes of the world, the passion and death of Jesus were His darkest moments of His life. Yet, He shows us His believers that His resurrection brings us hope. Indeed, passion and death without resurrection is tragedy. Jesus Christ, who has died and resurrected, is the light that shines in the darkness. He shows us the way when the world says to us that there is no way. Indeed, “anyone who follows me will not be walking in the darkness; he will have the light of life,” says the Lord.

As we are approaching Holy week, let us not only anticipate Christ’s passion and death, but above all His resurrection which gives us sure hope for all who have faith in Him. He will not put us down if we believe in Him. He is the light that the darkness cannot overcome – even the darkness of death! Let us continue to ask ourselves, “How can I be another Christ to bring His light to those who lives in darkness?” Indeed, there are many wounded souls who are unable to come out of their darkness unless they receive the light of Christ and are touched by His love.

Reflection: Work in Progress (Br Jude David)

“My Father still goes on working, and I am at work, too.” (John 5:17)

Amidst the many challenges and difficulties of life, it is easy to wonder where God is in all this. When we encounter difficult people who seem to constantly get on our nerves, when we have been praying for situations in our lives which doesn’t seem to be resolved even after much perseverance or when we constantly have to face our own brokenness and sinfulness as we are often do when we go deep within ourselves during this holy season of Lent, it is easy to wonder if there is any hope in all this ever being put in order.

Jesus’ declaration that the Father goes on working and so does he in John 5:17 is a strong statement that should give all who are growing weary and burdened in life much hope because God’s work is still in progress. God is the one who has the final say in our lives and it is not over until He says so. As difficult as it may be for us to truly grasp the fact that God is at work in our lives amidst the darkness and gloom, we have to trust that we can hold Him by His Word and believe that He is truly at work in our ordinary lives.

The most silent moment in the life of Jesus was when he hung lifeless on the cross of Calvary. His last words were, “It is accomplished”. Indeed, his salvific work is accomplished upon the cross of Calvary and we will revel in this victory in the days to come when Christian all over will celebrate the passion and death of our Lord on Good Friday. However, the Church also reminds us that even at his death, our Lord descended to the dead where he preached the Good News to all who were awaiting the Good News of salvation. The Father goes on working even whilst his Son slept in the silence of the tomb because He vindicated him on that Easter morning when he rose glorious from the dead. Indeed, we can be sure that even the pain and gloom of Holy Week, there was not a moment when God was not at work. The ancients believed that if God were to stop “working” even for a second, the whole world would crumble upon itself because it is God who continues to sustain the world and hold it in existence.

Thus, as we approach Holy Week, we can take heart that God is certainly at work in our lives even amidst the mundane routines that may overtake Holy Week. God is at work and maybe, if we stopped for a moment and realise the gravity of this fact, we would then realise that we are indeed work-in progress and thus, there is always hope. We are not the only work-in-progress but so are our spouses, our children, our parents, our in-laws, our colleagues, our neighbours and most importantly, so are our enemies. God is at work in every person’s lives and what hope this must stir up in all of us.

Let us take heart in the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, “Keep on working, with fear and trembling, to complete your salvation, for God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.” (Phil 12b -13)

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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Anthony Liew on 12th Apr 2011.

Reflection: Not Just Renewed But Made New (Br Jovita Ho)

“You must be made new in mind and spirit, and put on new nature.”

Ephesians 4:23-24

Some time ago, one of my friends remarked that he is convinced that God loves him as he is, and since he is loved as such, thus there is no need for him to be changed. I agreed with his first half of his statement but the second half I begged to differ.

St Paul tells us that “we must be made new in mind and spirit, and put on new nature” (Eph 4:23-24) and this presupposes that after experiencing (either intellectual or emotional) the love of God for us, we would rid ourselves of former mindset, old spirit or spirits and dispose of the undesirable nature that was a result of our sinful past.

Let’s give it a simple analogy. If any of us have bad habits (and I guess I need not explain what bad habits are!) which somehow we are pretty contended with, and yet when we come into contact with someone whom we love, and who we know loves us deeply and unconditionally, would we not want to try to please him or her, and not allow the person to be hurt by these bad habits of ours which we know are objectionable in this relationship? How many of us would want to do something (which no doubt could be a habitual issue) hurtful to our parents and loved ones when we know it to be wrong?

It is true that God loves us as we are, and it is even more true that since He loves us unconditionally, would we not want to be ‘perfect as He is perfect’ and to be more Christ-like in our nature and relationships? To say that we have no need to change after encountering a loving Father, a Brother who died for us on the Cross and who has given us the Holy Spirit is to deny the existence of a relationship. To say such things is to validate what Karl Marx had said, ‘that religion is opium of the people’, and that we are seeking some form of escapism by embracing it.

When we are embraced by the Father’s love, we are also embracing the path that His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ had trod, and He promises us the Holy Spirit to help us along this life-changing. No doubt that ‘we bring the who we are into what we do’, but even more true is that Christ is not offering a second-class option but a first-class promise of being sons and daughters of the Father. Let us not be mediocre Christians but be people filled with a sense of purpose and trust in the Divine Will and Divine Providence, and be a people radiating the Resurrection life to all who we encounter.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Jude David on 10th Apr 2011.

Reflection: Anniversary of the Vatican's Official Recognition of the Jewish Holocaust (Br Gregory Chan)

This week in History, recalls the day, 7th April, 1994, when the Vatican officially recognized the Jewish Holocaust. A Holocaust Memorial was erected in Rome and the world famous Jewish Cantor, Howard Nevison cantored for the Pope in Hebrew before an audience of 7000 people and 150 Holocaust survivors. Pope John Paul II is reported to have been so taken by the cantor’s voice that he exclaimed that “God had kissed your vocal chords.”

Reminiscent of the Shoah, Psalm 142 records the cry of the people in their terrifying ordeal, their utter helplessness and despair:

The enemy pursues my soul

He has crushed my life to the ground:

He has made me dwell in the darkness

Like the dead, long forgotten.

Therefore my spirit fails;

My heart is numb within me.

Indeed, the anguish of the people expressed in song, has a haunting quality to it, transfixing the listener and galvanizing the listener to action. Truly, the Lord is not indifferent to the cries of his people.

“We are your people, Lord, and your heritage. Let your eyes be open to the supplication of your servant and to the supplication of your people, Israel, giving ear to us whenever we call to you.” 1 Kings 8: 51 - 52

Anguish and suffering elicits compassion and response, calling us to solidarity, social justice and action. However, the Holocaust is also a testament of action by some and greater inaction by others. Such horrors should never come to pass again, and as we are deep in the fourth week of Lent, we are exhorted to look forward to the joys of Easter, not with feasting and inaction, perhaps not just with penance, good works and almsgiving, but by a deeper realization that humanity must never suffer such indignities again ever.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Jovita Ho on 8th Apr 2011.

Reflection: Recalling my CER experience as I pray Psalm 107 (Br Edward Seah)

In the Divine Office, Psalm 107 begins with the following words: ‘My heart is ready, O God; I will sing, sing your praise.’ This reminds me of the first two sessions of the Conversion Experience Retreat [CER] where Father William Goh reminded the participants that the most important component of the retreat was prayer and that we needed to give to God totally with all our hearts, minds and souls. The pre-requisite then was the need to have a deep hunger and thirst for God. It is interesting to note that God has already created in us a heart that thirst for Him and if we desire for God, our hearts will ‘expand’. This is so true for according to Deuteronomy 15:9, the heart is the source of thoughts, desire and deeds. In fact, one’s plan and purpose also lies in the heart, according to Isaiah 10:7.

I entered the CER asking myself if my heart was indeed ready. For if I was, my soul will be awakened and I will be able to sing praise and thanks to the Lord. I will experience the inner conversion of my heart, soul and mind leading to a deeper intimacy with my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

There were many things that happened in the CER which really touched me. But one very significant thing which impressed on me and moved my heart so deeply was the very inspiring Christian witnessing I experienced in the people who serve in the different ministries at the Catholic Spirituality Centre. I observed that they were very clear about their focus which was to give glory to God alone! And that seemed to be where their hearts are. During the praise and worship session, I was touched many times when I noticed that the St Jude’s Choir members were so focused on praising God and were not out to seek attention for themselves. They fulfilled their role excellently as they were able to encourage and move the participants to do the same: to be fully engaged in worshipping the Lord through songs and reflections. On a few occasions, when some of us participants got a little distracted with the self, I could see the gentle efforts the music leaders made in steering their attention solely to the Lord. The gifts of humility and counsel these stewards of Christ had were joyfully and generously used in gently directing the participants to always honour, give glory, give thanks and praise to the Lord. They set good living examples of Christians who seek to decrease so that Christ may increase. They themselves have been touched by the Lord and in turn consistently assisted us in preparing our hearts to be touched by the heart of Jesus.

The second stanza of this Psalm in the Divine Office: ‘O God, arise above the heaven; may your glory shine on earth!’ reminded me of the song which we sang so loudly and deeply: ‘Be exalted O God, above the heavens. And your glory be over all the earth.’ Personally, this song was like the anthem of this retreat for me because we spent a considerable amount of time exalting the Lord for his incomprehensible love for us.

May God continue to bless abundantly the people who serve in the Catholic Spirituality Centre so that they will continue to radiate God’s love and mercy to all who come into contact with them and together cooperate with the Spirit of the Living God in renewing the face of the earth!

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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Gregory Chan on 6th Apr 2011.

Reflection on Psalm 150 (Br Benedict Chng)

Let us imagine that we are all in Esplanade Theatre watching a musical play called “Joseph the Dreamer”. Am sure many of you are not new to this well known and popular story in Genesis. As the story goes, Joseph was sold into Egypt as a slave by his jealous brothers. He was seduced by Potiphar’s wife but he kept God’s law. He then was thrown into jailed. Because of his gift to interpret dreams, he soon became Pharaoh’s right hand man. Let’s just fast forward the scene to the final finale when Joseph finally revealed his identity to his family and everyone was overjoyed and there was unity once again. During this time, balloons and confetti will rain down, spotlights flashing on the stage and the conductor waving his baton with his full orchestra and all its instruments playing ending in a high climax, leaving the audience in awe.

Likewise for us, Psalm 150 is the last psalm in the book. And the psalmist ends with a final solemn doxology of the whole Psalter with full orchestra and accompaniment. The book of Psalms is like the play which I described - there are times of rejoicing and despairing, doubts and fear, rising and falling, success and obstacles. But all in all the book of Psalms encourages us to worship and praise God.

So how can we truly praise God today? We can truly praise God only when we see his full greatness and goodness. I invite you to recollect and meditate on your God moment, be it in creation or redemption. In this way, our praise becomes a powerful response of the heart expressing joy, gratitude and the desire for communion with our Lord. And as we make our way to our own respective work place, let us also remember to extend and share our God experience, God’s love and joy to those we meet.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Edward Seah on 4th Apr 2011.