Any Change?...

'Tis less than a week away before we ramp up the activities a little, as we move into Holy Week and the great Easter celebrations.

At this juncture, I ask myself this well-worn and used question: have I changed for the better?

Having to look back, I have to see if the Lenten preparations and their great traditional practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving able to transform me into a better child of God, a much more responsible Catholic, a better priest after the very heart of Christ?

It is a tough question to answer as the results vary and have many different shades of nuances that do not necessary border of preciseness and clarity. In general, I see some level of improvement but the main journey is still tough and usually demands a deeper honesty and sacrifice which I don't always abide by. Nonetheless, this Lenten period has been meaningful and have shown or offered me several important insights that were learning experiences which speaks of the power (dunamis) of God's love and light.

How was it for you?....

The Rain...

Image via Wikipedia

We have started Holy Week.

As I write this, it is raining heavily outside. It is a relief for the rains as the recent days have been hot and humid. It usually is like this for as long as I have been ordained that during this period in time as we make our way through the Triduum days, the weather can be seen as being heating up to a point that a downpour is also imminent by Good Friday.

Meanwhile, I struggle through my own 'Stations' as I continue to deal with my responsibilites in the parish as well as the Seminary. The past week has been very taxing with a series of penitential services in the schools (7) and the Serangoon district parishes (5). Hearing confessions from all kinds of people and of all walks of life can be quite an experience that can take a priest through all sorts of extremes. No wonder, I usually feel exhausted and a little numb after numerous bouts of confessions.

It is in this stage of Holy Week, when we have some days to recuperate or take a deep breath before the Triduum that I would hope to distance a little from the noises and distractions around in order to recover my senses. However, that is not always possible and I have to scrounge around for any bits and pieces of time that I can find in the midst of the goings on in and around the parish. It's ironic that on one hand I am running away from noise, while on the other hand, we have the Arts Festival which, for its theme this year, playfully asks, "What Noise Do You Wanna Make?"

Our city is always on the go, switched on literally 24 hours, 7 days a week and can't seem to be still. Much of that attitude is also seeping into and compromising our faith lives. For example, we have this strong tendency to multiply stations of the cross on Good Friday when they are not meant to be done during that day in the first place. The Stations have their proper time and place to be done, but to insist that it be placed together in same priority with the Good Friday services is to miss the whole picture of what posture and reflection Good Friday can offer on its own standing, which by the way, is an important part of the Easter Triduum celebration (while the Stations is not).

The rains have stopped and I have to also. Have a blessed Holy Week ahead and may your preparations for the Triduum and Easter be a fruitful and transforming one!

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