Some Aspects...

I just finished the last presentation for the seminarians of our extended recollection this weekend. The theme for the recollection was on aspects of the New Evangelization. This was a follow through from our community's bonding exercise last weekend to start off the year's academic and formation activities.

Merry Christmas!

Crop of original painting "Anbetung der Hirten" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On this special day, I wish all readers and people of good will a blessed and holy Christmas and may God's blessings of peace and joy be unto you all!

O dear...

English: Jesus Christ - detail from Deesis mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I looked at the calendar today and noted that it is the coundown towards Christmas and the appearance of the O Antiphons.

Today's being O Lord or O Adonai. In our Church's liturgical prayer of the Divine Office, the antiphons show themselves prior to and after the recitation of the Magnificat during the Evening Prayer (Vespers). But I wonder if the celebration of Christmas all this while really celebrates the Lordship of Christ as it really should....

I think the latest Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, can offer us a direction in this.

Our Lady

I seemed to have overstretched my blogging hiatus a little, seeing it was a little under a month since my last entry....

Anyway, for all of us Catholics in Singapore, as well as other Catholics in the world, the special celebration of the consecration of the world to our Blessed Mother Mary was the profoundest moment for the Church as an act of solidarity with the Holy Father in Rome where he did the same celebration.

A Choice Made

With two more months left, things are moving fast as the final year seminarians prepare themselves for their graduation and eventual insertion into the priestly ministry. They have their final Baccalaureate (Theology) exams to undergo and following that, the essential preparations for their diaconate and the priesthood.

NS and Seminary

I just came from finishing a movie with the rest of the Seminary community. We saw it during our dinner as it was the eve of Hari Raya holiday. This is our usual movie night during such occasions. The movie? Ah Boys To Men (pt 1).

One of the aspirants who attended our last weekend's vocation retreat had commented that life in the seminary to him is somewhat more difficult than life in the army today! If he had come in and join us in the seminary during my time as a seminarian his comments may not have been too far off the mark. However, today, much have changed and the environment has improved tremendously.

Because I Am Human...

... because I am human, I am weak,
because I am weak, therefore I pray.

The above verses came from our retreat master, Fr Michael Casey, OCSO, a Trappist monk from Tarrawara Abbey, Melbourne (Australia). At my last entry, I mentioned we were on our Clergy Annual Retreat from 15 - 19 July. The theme was on prayer that had various aspects of 'faces' to discern and reflect.

Overall, the retreat was a fruitful one because it helped me regained my composure on my own prayer life and the various possibilities of growth and deepening of my relationship with God.

Clergy Retreat

We are having our Clergy Annual Retreat this week at the SFX Major Seminary. It will be from the 15 July till 19 July.

The retreat master is Fr Michael Casey, OCSO, Trappist monk from the Tarrawara Abbey, Melbourne, Australia. The theme he his presenting is on Prayer, through some of the sub-topics of simplicity, faith, revelation, spiritual warfare, forgiveness, petition, dedication and Christ the Priest, just to name a few.

Do pray for all of us priests and clergy that we would have a fruitful and spirit-filled week and that we may come out this refreshed and renewed in our ministry.

It's 10 Now!

It was 10 years ago when I said yes to my life as a priest after the heart of Christ.

Looking back at all that have transpired so far and the journey that led me to where I am now, I can only remain utterly grateful for this vocation that continues to allow me to unfold my potential as God's instrument to give his presence in the world today.

Certainly, there have been many hits and misses and I continue to learn from my mistakes and mishaps, where I continue onwards to carry out my mission as a minister of God, especially as pastor and mediator. Life as priest in the present times has been very challenging and theer will be no end to what I can already feel, which many times can be between a rock and a hard place. It can always come down to a situation that one can just give up and walk away from it all.

Being Healthy...

I was away for the weekend, out of Singapore. It was a short respite from the haze and a chance to enjoy a slightly new setting. It was nothing that great really, but to be out from the familiar and doing something a little different was a small welcome.

Now that I am back, I see that the haze has cleared somewhat and certainly a far cry from the worst we had last week going into Saturday. That certainly is a blessing! The change in wind direction and some rains over at some hotspots in Sumatra have helped greatly. However, it is duly noted that this clear condition may not last and teh haze can still return. The situation in Muar, Johor is the worst yet that can occur at a PSI of 700+. That would be the worst case scenarion which can hit this city state.

Enhancing Lives

The semester break have started two weeks back and right off the bat, I was busily maneuvering through several Masses, EE meetings, some Spiritual Direction sessions, that I couldn't find the time to sit down to pen any thoughts - till now.

Even so, there are som any things going on and round my mind that it is rather difficult to focus on a particular topic to write on. What seem to be mostly on the top of my mind, however, is strangely nothing spiritual, but have a lot of implications for our faith lives nonetheless.

This came surprisingly from a very secular quarter and one that has inserted itself into the lives of all persons, whether subtly or major way, that in the now is seen as something of the norm and perhaps for many, which cannot be done without.

Life - Death

The Devil's Sinkhole, Texas

I just read the latest post of my confrere Fr Luke on his response to the bone marrow transplant via stem cells which almost happened. It certainly was a blow that the donor Canada pulled out at the last minute  from donating her cells. Life can be frustrating indeed. He was that close to getting the needed treatment to curing his leukemia.

10 Year Plan

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Singapore. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Archdiocese has lots of work cut of for it. Well, at least for the next 10 years.

That was the revealed plan from the new Archbishop William Goh as he presented his vision of "Building a Vibrant, Missionary and Evangelical Church" as the pastoral plan he hopes to accomplish within the next 10 years.

The first on the list of his priorities to move this vison and plan off the ground is the renewal and healing of the Presbyterium that wants to foster unity between priests and religious, engaging them through inclusivity, empowerment, passion and compassion.

Handing Over

Well, the announcement finally came about. This was what all in the archdiocese was waiting to hear.

As of 6 pm, Singapore time, on 18th May 2013, we have a new archbishop taking office in the person of His Grace Archbishop William Goh. It was almost 3 months ago that we witnessed his ordination and installation to the episcopate at the Singapore Expo.

Saint of Anonymity

English: Saint Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot as apostle. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After finishing the monumental task of rehauling to a new Blogger template, I am now ready to tackle a thought that has been on my mind since yesterday.

It is about St Matthias, whose feast we celebrated yesterday. He was the one that was chosen by lot, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to be one of the 12 apostles replacing Judas (Iscariot) who defected.

What was inspiring about this saint was because he was, firstly, uninspiring!

Consider this...

He Is Risen!

Happy Easter!

Am Officially 48!

Catholicism at high altitude (Photo credit: blackenedsky)

I have just finished forty eight years of existence and now onto the forty ninth with no idea as to what the future may hold, except with some educated guesses and inferences from what goes on in the general public, the media, the life of the Church within the local archdiocese and in the world. On that, the future is challenging from all sides and certainly demands the life of a priest that goes beyond his usual comforts that he usually engages in. This is because we are heading into a culture that is deeply shaped by rejection of the Good News and by a sustained effort to live life on explicitly non- or even anti-Christian grounds.

Is There Any Proof?...

I came across this video and saw it as a compelling piece that, somehow, mirrors very closely the state of affairs among our own teens before and/or after their confirmation.  On a bigger scale, it really is about all of us in the faith. Do we know that we are Catholics and show it? Is there any proof to exhibit that state of life?....

Dealing With 'Accolades'...

As I write this, I would have pass over many other notable events, e.g. the Olympics, the National Day celebrations, and from the liturgical settings - two sacerdotal (priestly) ordinations and the celebration of the Assumption.

This weekend, which I find myself now is the one with the seminarians in recollection. We will end soon by 12.30 p.m. after the mid-day prayer. This time round, however, I am not the main person conducting, as per usual, but Deacon Sherman Kuek from the diocese of Melaka-Johor. He is a permament deacon serving as Director of the Pastoral Institute of that diocese. He specialises in catechetical matters and is a well-known speaker within the conference of Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei region. He shared with the seminarians his life changing conversion and provided the framework for his theme of the talk, namely, The Beauty of the Catholic Faith. He also blogs here.

This morning, he gave a homily that while short and succint, was very pointed enough to get the message across which all of us at Mass would not miss out on. The gospel reading that morning was about the scribes and Pharisees with the need to be looked up to, fawn over, wearing broader phylacteries and the warning of not following through with what they preach. Deacon Sherman mentioned about the manner how priests and religious or clergy in general, can also unconciously fall into this trap. An elderly and wise priest once told him that once you have preached, no matter how good the homily may be, when finish, just shut up and get lost!

I believe this is the wisest advice for any clergy to follow and keep to heart. It certainly will put one in place with humility, which is rather rare these days. It will help all of us to know that at the bottom of ut all, this is really about God and not about us (at all). This may also cater for the homily that is half baked - one does not need to be around to get the flak from our listeners...

Nine

Retreat6 (Photo credit: Annoysius)

On this feast day of Ss Peter and Paul, the two great apostles of the Gospel to the world, I am happy to announce that I have reached 9 years of serving in the priestly ministry as a Roman Catholic priest.

Compared to many other senior priests, I know nine years is rather a paltry amount as compared to 25 years or more. Still, I am just glad to have survived another year and to do this in the Seminary where I am currently posted.

I had a session with an aspirant yesterday evening and was encouraging him to be more clear and honest with his discernment to joining the Seminary and I mentioned that these days, the motivation for becoming a priest is very much different from the time of our father's or grandfather's time. Then, life was simpler and the decision to join the priesthood may be based on duty and responsibility or simply for a so-called 'better life'. Joining the seminary based on those motivations may have also been easier to base on those reasons as acceptable entry.

Today, however, is different. The ministry of the priesthood is fraught with many challenges that can overwhelm a priest if he is not well equipped to face up to the challenges and signs of the times. Hence, a more thorough screening and longer discernment period is conducted before any decision is made by the Seminary to accept the candidate.

As for myself, nine years in this ministry is more than enough to be informed of these challenges and the scars of the battle are the reminders that while I am only human, I am also facing a world that is increasingly, if not, already allergic to God, or the Christian faith is found difficult to hold on to, precisely because it is always counter cultural.

I don't know what will fare for myself over the years ahead, but I will continue to bear that cross which this blog speaks of too and finish that race to the end.