Celebrating Life, Warts and All!
Learned a new Latin phrase today: Vinum cor magnificat!

It is the eve of the National Day celebrations and Singapore is at the brink of reaching 37 years of independence. But closer to home, today is also the feast day of the Dominican's founder - St Dominic. His life that mirrors the gospel values and thus able to preach with his heart, he became an outstanding saint whose gift of proclaming the good news was only equal this month by the other two saints celebrated earlier: St Alphonsus and St Ignatius of Loyola. Which bring me to the Latin phrase above. The wine cheers the heart! A good wine after a meal can do wonders to the soothe the heart and soul of a person. Not that I am a wine expert or even a drinker, but today has its opening line from the prophet Jeremiah that exclaim the works that God is doing to renew and transform our lives through the giving of a new heart.

Being the liturgist for today, I had to choose the hymns for Mass this morning and providentially took one that puts the setting in a proper sense when we sang 'Sing a New Church (Into Being)'. That's what the saints of this month did and that's what we are continually called to do. Never a day goes by without this being expressed whenever a show of solidarity and unity is apparent. Coming at the eve of a celebration when a nation gives thanks for its existence of the past 37 years and looks for a promising future, it is a right start to this day. It also opens up the wonder of seeing the action of God's hands in our daily lives, intertwining with our wills and we try to cooperate with his.

Next week would begin our assessments by the formators. Mine is set for Wednesday night. I shall have to give an account of myself with regards to my formation and my development towards the priesthood. After that, the way to the application for Diaconate is open for grabs. Another reminder that I'm about to finish one more chapter of my life and moving on to taking a new one...So once again: Vinum cor magnificat! Have one on me, too!