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.