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.

Expectations - Ah, The Mystery of It All!

Image by Will Humes via Flickr

It is a only a day away from this point of writing before we really hit the period of Advent. I seemed to have been given this dubious honor of starting this new day in the Church's liturgical calendar by having to celebrate a wedding in the morning followed by the weekend Masses, starting with the Sunset Mass, all tomorrow.

Advent is known as the season of waiting, anticipating and also about expectations. There is something special about expectations, when we are expecting someone or something. It has this air of excitement and mystery around it because you don't know what and how things will turn out. This is so unlike realisation. When we realised something, there is nothing else to consider anymore and we move on to the next.

So, what is or are your own expectations this Advent?

As for myself, I have to expect that:

a. I shall be chanting some parts of the Mass once we begin the 1st Sunday of Advent and I don't know how will all this turn out.

b. Parishioners of IHM, once they realise that I shall be their preacher for the weekend, would, themselves, be expecting a homily that may be substantially different from their usual ones which they would get through their priests of the parish. An unfortunate comparative situation but one that I always have to take in my stride whenever I go to any parish as a guest priest.

c. This Christmas hols, I shall be back with my family in Kajang.

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Looking Ahead!

Image by Dean Ayres via FlickrHappy Easter everyone!

There is something about this day that can inspire anyone to make a fresh start in life or to just do something different from any other day.

Perhaps it is the result of having to undergo some soul searching during the forty days of Lent and the coming out of that sombreness to a celebratory mood. Last night's Easter Vigil over at IHM with Frs Stephen and Stanislaus, whom I have the pleasure of concelebrating with, was certainly filled with that mood of joy, peace and happiness, inclusive of the long readings, baptism, confirmation and, of course, the Eucharist.

It was encouraging to note that Fr Stephen, as acting parish priest, is making good connection with the parishioners whom he is currently pastoring and this will go a long way towards the healing and restoration of a community earlier divided by controversies and misunderstandings. Using the theme of death as a jumping-off point for his homily, while it may be perceived as somewhat odd, had its poignancy of leading the congregation, many of whom are parishioners of IHM, from the days of hurt and darkness towards the radiant grace of healing and forgiveness. It now falls upon the IHM community to pick up the pieces and to walk again and not look back but towards a new horizon of rebuilding and mending of hearts with greater confidence in the Lord that he will provide.

As for myself, well, let's just say I have done my part and for better or for worse, it is quite comforting to know that there is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow and the fact that He has risen made all that difference.

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Call to Prayer

Image by Annoysius via Flickr

News of the parish priest of whom I had assisted in my last parish before transferring to the Seminary reached my ears some two days ago. Apparently Fr William Lim had collapsed after a morning (brisk) walk around the Serangoon Stadium and sent to the TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital). He is still unconscious and awaiting an operation to clear three clogged arteries in his heart.

His condition is stable now but has to be checked with a brain scan first to determine if it is safe to do the operation. Meantime, do keep Fr William in your prayers, together with the parishioners of IHM (Immaculate Heart of Mary) as we pray for his complete recovery.

Well Met, Indeed!

Image via Wikipedia"Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo"

A parishioner greeted me earlier this Sunday morning in Elvish, Quenya Elvish to be exact. I was caught unawares by the gesture and when I managed to regain my composure, I was pleasantly surprised that she had managed to spur within me my previous love affair with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe of books and films (i.e. the Peter Jackson's masterpiece).

I had first came across that literary masterpiece when I was a teenager and trying my best to grasp the worlds, people and the goings-on in the 3-volume Lord of the Rings tome which spanned the Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers to The Return of the King. I did have a go at trying to make some sense of what Elvish language was then, from the appendices given in those books, but that came to naught...

I was at IHM this morning (Sunday), helping out with the Masses there, including preaching at all Masses. The priests of the parish were shorthanded, so I was 'recalled' to assist this weekend and I duly obliged. While waiting for the next Mass to begin, that was when I bumped into that parishioner and her Elvish greeting. What that means is:

A star shines on the hour of our meeting

I, of course, wanted to reply in equal gusto, but was found wanting as I never did get into learning Elvish to a decent and coherent level. If I could, I would have said, "Mae govannen", meaning "Well met", or "Mára aurë" meaning "Hello" or even "Le suilon" meaning "I greet thee".

I like the one uttered by the parishioner, though, because it goes deeper than just meaning "good day" or "how are you?". It implies a bond of familiar friendship and one that came about after some level of hardship or trials encountered together where one survives and lives to tell the tale. I guess hearing that managed to close up some earlier wounds concerning my previous stay in IHM.

That is the power, which language can sometimes do to a person.

Till the next one, No galu govad gen! (May blessings go with you!)

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I Take My Leave....

It is the last night I am spending in IHM parish and tomorrow, after the morning mass, I shall take my leave and move on to my new posting at the Seminary. It has been a colorful and quite an eventful year and 3 months in this parish and though the shortest stint in my life as a priest, it is one that will capture my attention and memory for the longest.

I have no expectations of what will be next in my life as formator and teacher in the seminary and I am open to any event that life can offer there. For now, all I can say is that for all that I have been through, thank you and for all that is to come, amen.

Counting Down...

It's official. I leave the parish of IHM in 7 days time. The Seminary beckons...

I have been in this parish for the past 1 year, 2 months and 24 days. From the previous posts and the little that has been put here the past months, you can tell that my stay here has been a series of hits and misses, with a whole lot of drama and trauma. That I am relieved because of this opportunity to be finally taken out of this environment is not too far from the truth. My stay here wasn't meant to be for long and I feel that I have overstayed my welcome.

Meanwhile, I now face an exciting future ahead where my role takes on a different tack as I now become a formator, as well as being a teacher which I already am undertaking. That means looking after 18 seminarians and helping them work out their vocation towards the priesthood. It is also taking up and preparing for newer sets of spirituality courses for which I am to be responsible for.

My new life begins 1 October and that's a week from now....

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Seven Years

Image via Wikipedia

I am back after a two week break in Kajang and the land of my birthplace. The well-needed respite from the parish was certainly welcomed.

In the meantime, with the solemnity of Ss Peter and Paul in the Church's liturgical calendar today, marks my 7th year in the priesthood and I continue to shake my head, as always, for having survived all these years in this ministry. It has its ups and downs and offers many opportunities to stretch my limits and even my sanity that this ministry can certainly qualify as one of the challenging 'jobs' in the universe (just my humble opinion)!

Seven years is nothing compared to my peers who have been at this half their lives and still have their heads firmly fixed on their shoulders, weathering the storms over their own years of serving, especially now in a world that has seen decline in priestly vocations and a general aversion to things religion.

It is a great challenge to be in this situation as a priest of today. Seven years is certainly not enough of experience to seriously or adequately handle the many issues of the faith that, in view of the current happenngs in the world, is seeing itself questioned and even mocked. Today, knowledge is power and all things tend to gravitate around this scheme that there is a great scramble to acquire such position. The Church of today finds itself in a very challenging role to account reasonably for its existence and, more importantly, to account for her mission to the Gospel of Christ which the apostles Peter and Paul had started on admirably during the pioneering life of the early Church years.

With my seven years in the priesthood, I have reached another milestone, after finishing my 2-year tour of duty in Rome and now grappling with the intricacies of life here in the parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. If there is any knowledge which I have acquired over the years, it is the knowledge that I still am an amateur in this ministry and the only constant is still change and taxes.

If only life could be simpler....

Mac Haji!

Image via Wikipedia

It took me a while, but I finally managed to drag myself to put in something here after much procrastination.

Part of why I could do so is because I had finally summed up some courage to make a buy for a Macbook Pro as my primary laptop, my older Viao having been put into the pasture due to 'old age'. The Sony laptop was already showing signs of dementia when some of its keys on the keyboard seems to forget what character to give when I press them. When SITEX came along, I headed down to the Expo and after some walking around, I decided to throw caution into the wind and plonked down my money on a 15" Macbook Pro which also offered some nice extra freebies and an Applecare  extended warranty (for $168). Now I am a Mac person. Perhaps I can now wear my old Apple t-shirt which is sitting quietly in the cupboard more often!

Actually, I am now writing this on my Mac!

Today, being a public holiday (Hari Raya Haji) also offered me an opportunity to catch up on putting something here as well. The past week and even today, had been rather busy. They were spent fire fighting some problems that crept up within some ministries I am currently looking after. There were a series of meetings and talking things through, with much discussion and giginv and taking, that after all of this, my whole body and mind just want to shutdown awhile. Thankfully, much have been resolved and, while there is still a lot of work to be done, all concerned were able to cooperate and move on to the main goal at hand - for the greater glory of God.

I had finished one retreat today for the Communion Ministers. It was a half day affair and a good and inspiring one for all. I had an hour and a half to share with them a passage from Hebrews 11 on faith and when it was over, there was a general renewed awareness for a better relation with our beliefs concerning how we live it out and the good examples of life to put into practice.

All in all, a fruitful and quiet day which the grace of God was allowed to flow and touched people's lives.

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Christmas Prelude - Of Sorts...

I am feeling a little Christmas-sy this evening.

I headed down to the parish bookshop a few doors down and got myself a 5 CDs of Christmas hymns, songs and music in this spur of Christmas spirit that seems to have pervaded my office today. One of the newly purchased CD is already playing, with the music wafting and weaving its unmistakeable magic around the room.

This was a far cry from a few days ago, or even a week ago when I had the dubious honour to be hit with the blues that made the past days rather moody and lost. I was feelnig myself getting much more irritated easily and wished I could hit out at something. I managed to reined in my emotions and decided yesterday to take a bus-ride towards ECP and did a spot of roller blading. But the ride was tediously slow due to the traffic jams that occurred along the Paya Lebar Road toward Tg Katong. Coupled with the fear that it may rain along the way, as I saw the skies were cloudy, I was getting impatient and feeling frustrated as the minutes wore on. Thankfully I finally arrived my destintion and the skies cleared and I had my first full-fledged roller blading in two years. There is this feeling of the freedom of doing something out of the usual office or ministerial work...

Part of my moodiness lies in the fact that I have been doing much fire-fighting and problem solving with the ministries currently under my care. On the surface, everyone seems nice to everyone. But scratch a little deeper, the ugliness and bitterness of the reality of politicking in any ministry begin to show. But, by God's grace (it's the only way can see how), things are slowly being worked out. They just demand a little sacrifice to walk a little way off the comfort zone a bit.

Another reason for the moodiness is the realization that I have gotten another year older and wondering what  good have I really done (my thanks to all who have given me the birthday wishes and greetings!). It is this good that Paul was beating himself over when he says that he wants to do the good that is called for in his life but ended up doing the bad instead. I can empathise with him on that.

But today, the curtain of gloom seems to have lifted up to reveal a picture of hope and freshness that takes one away from engaging in a seminar with the devil and to face the rubrics of happiness which God offers. Hence the Christmas mood of sorts. It is the reminder, once again, of how Godly power can be found in the weak, meek and lowly. Yes, it is difficult to flow with that when I am in a position that can force me to control and dictate the flow of events. Nonetheless, this is the way of the basin and water the towel. It can also be the 'lonely' way which few dare to walk on...

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Flurry of Events

Another eventful week past by and I am still reeling from the amount of work and activities that occured. :-)

I really could use an deep intake of air and breathe out, to consolidate all that has happened and what to make of them in the context of the ministry I am currently engaged in! There was this recent Racial Harmony event that involved our parish but came from the initiative of the Taoist temple nearby along Upper Serangoon Road. The news made a good page over at the Straits Time about three days ago. I was there on the grounds of the parish to take some shots and the pics can be viewed here.

Image by Synchroni via Flickr

Then there was a trip to the Marina Barrage which opened to me a whole new pespective of a Singapore which I had missed out on when I was away for studies. The place is, to my opinion, a breath of fresh air (and water) from the usual closed-up, crammed and concrete environment that is in most other parts of the island. Yes, there are some other places that offer open spaces and much more greenery and 'fresh air' to take in, but the Barrage is also an opportunity to look at the environment in a slightly different manner that is somewhat away from the straight and narrow. :-D My pics of the place are found here.

These kinds of places hold great hope for the imagination and awe of the glory of God that is found in creation and in other works cooperated with humans to promote the well-being and dignity of the person and for society at large.

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A New Look...

I haven't been able to do much postings lately due to the current workload with the change of priests in the parish.

During that time I had to, also, 'redecorate' the office which I took over from Fr Luke (who is now at Our Lady Star of the Sea). That meant figuring out how to make the office a conducive place of meeting with people of all sorts and setting up an environment where  person do not feel threatened or pressurized.

Together with a parishioner (whose hobby is interior decorating), we discussed the proposed layout and then followed by two trips to IKEA, first to scout for the items and another day to purchase them. It is amazing just how much a place can change and look different with the use and planning of space, color and careful use of shelving. So, after the makeover

Image by Annoysius via Flickr

of sorts to my office, the whole setup and outlook of the area begin to show some life and color of its own.

I feel that I would like to be here a while and not feel intimidated or treated as one of the items around the office. The space doesn't give an impression that it is solely functional. The whole space feels alive and has a sense of dynamism that creates an air of excited anticipation that something fascinating is about to take place.

I believe we do need that sort of anticipation to experience now and then to keep us hopeful and keeping faith to our standing in life as Christians here on earth. Many a times, we can get bog down by the toils of life that we begin to think that all seems useless. To have that sense of meaning of life which points to the bigger picture, gives us hope and helps to continue on our pilgrim journey.

The office here certainly has many stories to tell, if it could talk. Imagine all the kinds of people and the amount that have walked in and out of it. Imagine the stories that it has heard and the encounters of sorrows and joys it has experienced within the four walls that is the priest's office. If it could write a book, I wonder how many volumes it would have?....

Signs

Image by Annoysius via Flickr

I am currently going through my journey with the RCIA group as we continue to instruct and offer an experience of Christ to the catechumens, by way of my presentation to them in the area of the sacraments. This evening, I have the privilege to share with them the Sacrament of Confirmation.

As baptised Catholics, you may say that all these are old hat to us already and shouldn't be too much of a problem following through with them. Strangely though, this isn't usually the case. For most of us who have been baptised as infants, much of the catechising in this area has either been done poorly or what was learned then has been relegated to the twilight zone of forgotten things. Nonetheless, the grace, experience and power of the sacraments continue to impact upon the persons who are seeking baptism and those who have had a rebound in their faith life.

This brings me to an incident which tickled my funnybone and also serves as a pointed reminder to all in the faith. This was seen on a van which belongs to a signboard making shop. It's spiel is, of course, very business like and to the point. It also serves to shows us a 'sign' to take our faith seriously:

'A business without a sign is a sign of no business'

I can't argue with that!

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A Rose by Any Other Name...

Image via Wikipedia

I had finished one session for the RCIA (Rite of Chriatian Initiation for Adults) this evening under the topic of Baptism. This follows from previous session by Fr Luke who talked about Sacraments in general. From this point on we will cover in greater detail the seven sacraments of the Church, namely baptism, confirmation, communion, holy orders, matrimony, reconciliation and anointing of the sick.

My contribution this evening was the sacrament that opens all other sacraments and start the person onto a new life of Christ and engaging the world and society as a witness of God's love in a world that is increasingly getting allergic to God.

One of the items about baptism concerns the baptismal name and how important it is for a person to choose a proper and meaning one to represent the change to new life and how the person is now before God and the community of believers. It then got me thinking, later, about my own name and how people in the parish I am now at have also been giving me names. I know for a fact that I am Aloysius and my surname is Ong. It doesn't matter how you pronounced it - as A - loi - shius, or Eh - loo - ee - shius - as long as you stick to one of the pronounciation. Nonetheless, that doesn't stopped the parishioners of this parish to have christened me with some other affectionate names of their own making. So, I am also known as Fr Chiak, Fr Morneeng!, Fr How You, and just this evening, because of somebody's birthday - Fr Cake!

Be that as they may, I am still the same person who continues to strive live out my life accordingly as God has given me - Fr Aloysius Ong Han Kiong!

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Muddling Along...

Image by Annoysius via Flickr

It has been rather difficult lately to put up entries here on a more regular basis. Most of the time, it has got to do with the availability of time and the mood to do it, which has been rather erratic thus far. Most of the time and effort have been diverted toward managing and balancing the activities of the ministries within this parish that I am currently attached to and the teaching stint at the Seminary.

With the recent changes in the parish and awaiting for the new parish priest to begin his new posting from 1st October onwards, there have been much positioning and movement in some of the ministries as they await expectantly for whatever that may transpire with this change. I, myself,am in this transition period as I await to take over whatever responsibilities that will fall upon me as I take over the office of Fr Luke as he makes his way to his new parish at Star of the Sea.

In this kind of situation, it can be very unsettling when one cannot do much and feeling a little lost, in this midst of change. I still have much of my stuff (important) kept elsewhere and unable to unpack fully yet. I expect to do somehting about that after 1st October. Till then, I have to still muddle along....

While muddling along, I am expected to already be equipped with the skills to do retreats for some ministries and groups, in the parish and outside, who have approached me for a piece of my knowledge and sharing - knowledge and sharing, of  which I am still in the raw and learning through myself! It is the label that I carry of having being a product of Rome, of someone who has been through some great studies experience and can now impart the knowledge to others. It's not too bad a label to be stuck with but I don't believe it should be looked upon as one to be greatly fawned over.

Still, the parish do need a more directed sense of way to move, in the changes that are happening, and it will be their priests who ought to provide some semblance of stability and vision for all concerned, so that the parish can move and grow into a Spirit-filled and vibrant community. It is not an impossible task but a challenging one nonetheless.

On that note, I must say that I am not feeling that overwhelmed at all since my return to parish life, to all the activities associated with it, but rather am happy and satisfied, in a low-key way, as to the manner my new life in my ministry at IHM has unfolded thus far.

Change Again!

There have been much goings on lately in the parish and some amount of adjustments that will be done to accomodate the recent reshuffling of priests in the archdiocese.

I shall be around IHM for a little while longer, but Fr Luke will be posted to another parish at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Yishun. Fr William Lim, formerly assistant priest at Our Lady Queen of Peace, will be the new parish priest of IHM parish. The latest Catholic News piece on this transfer have mistakenly reported that he will be the assistant priest of IHM. As for Fr Joseph Tan, he is on 6 months medical leave and is currently resting at home. A total of 8 priests are involved in this reshuffling and affected 6 parishes.

Understandably the mood all over has been one of mixed reactions and a sense of anxiety on both the part of the priests concerned and the parishioners of the affected churches. One of the main concerns among the parishioners is the question of how the new priests in their newly respective posted parishes will be, in terms of working and personal relationships within those parishes. For those who are new in their role as first-time parish priests, the anxiety and anticipation is perhaps even higher.

Time will tell how all this will all turn out.

Meanwhile, I am somewhat above this fray and just wondering how I am going to shift my stuff again back to the main priests' house (I am temporary residing on the top floor of the parish's Retreat House)!...

Incidentally, if you have time to spare you could drop by here and get a copy of my reflection for this weekend. It is also found at the back page of the parish Sunday's bulletin.

Blessed House!

I did an article for the parish bulletin back insert concerning 'house blessings'. It was a simple commentary about how, mostly, people - and I mean Catholics - do not necessary have a proper understanding of what a 'house blessing' is all about.

I remember my fair share of house blessings that I have done while I was at Holy Family. It was always an exercise of reminding the families or couple concerned that the blessing is always for them and not only for the house. The house blessing is always for this moment where the 'house' begins to take an important dimension of being a 'home':

... the Catholic house blessing imparts a special brand of grace and blessings which do not necessarily mean only for the house or the items that in it, but more importantly, for the family or persons within the house to make it a home where Christian values abound and lived out...

So, there you have it. It is the person or persons that matter and not so much about the house or the items in there per se. Most of the time, the superstitious element and fear of the unknown tend to creep in when a blessing is done upon a house because it can solely be seen as a ritual to chase away evil spirits that may still linger within the premises.

We must move away from this kind of myopic attitude of seeing ghosts and spirits at every corner of our house and to be encouraged into the rubrics of happiness where a semblance

of a caring, loving and Christian family within the household, radiating the love and blessings of God unto others...

will be found!

Patchwork...

Image by Annoysius via Flickr

Catching up on what has gone down the past week...

- managed through 5 lessons already in my Salvation History Class, with the 6th one tomorrow! Now I am down to 4 students, since one left. I don't know if my teaching style scared him off or bored him to tears... :-D

- slowly getting into the rhythm of life in the parish and the people of Immaculate Heart of Mary has been very generous, espcially in providing for our meals, where we never will go through the day hungry.

- work here besides my teaching stint at the Seminary is never lacking. Several funerals, weekend preachings, some counseling, retreats to do for the groups and daily mass celebrations makes life here a little bit more challenging...

- I still have problems with remembering names and with age catching up, it makes matters worse when I sometimes get into a situation where I cannot seem to remember what I did the day before... :-P

Taking Deep Breaths...

Image by F8th via Flickr

I think I am running on adrenaline here since my return because I have been doing things around the parish almost non-stop without having been able to stop for a deep breath! :-D

Just yesterday, I had to present a session for the RCIA as they started off on their catechumenate. It was a 40+ minute presentation on the first item of the Creed - God, Father and Creator. Along the way the were 2 funeral masses which saw me going also to the crematorium. This parish goes the whole hog with the funeral procedure, as they don't use 'funeral ministers'. So, you go to their wake to do a rite to tranfer to the Church for the funeral Mass, have the funeral Mass, then follow the hearse to the crematorium to complete the sending off.

However, in the midst of all this bustle and the flurry that usually comes with parish life, I have managed to retain much semblance of patience and understanding for whatever shortcomings and limitations that usually arises from situations such as this. Living in Rome, with their utter stupidity and inefficiency, helped a lot as I am much more accepting with the superlative (in comparison to Rome, that is) way things are done here, even if they do sometimes cause some inconveniences along the way.

I do this by way of a little exercise I usually tell my penitents to put into practice: stop a bit, take a deeeep breathe and count slowly 1 to 5....

Being in a Parish After a 2-year Absence

Image by Annoysius via Flickr

A new one today while I still have some breathing space....

It has been a week already since my return and it has been a whirlwind of movement and activities that I felt I never had a chance to breathe properly. Before I had any chance to say, "Hello Singapore!", I was put immediately into the parish where I am now and push into the limelight of parish activities and ministry. It was a quick movement into work that immediately had me put off my student-priest mentality and to carry the weight of an assistant priest of a big parish.

Meanwhile, my status here is somewhat temporary and as such I am still in a flux, as can be seen with my things and all, placed unceremoniously in the office of the parish priest (for lack of available store room). Still, the parish here isn't too bad as the parishioners have been accomodating and welcoming. Through some of them, I have had opportunities to resavour the local food once again - chicken rice, beef noodle soup, mee pok tah, kopi O, teh C, among other things. Soon, I shall be placed into a slightly bigger room at the parish retreat house, once that has been made ready for stay.

For now, I just make the best of things and continue to be grateful that I am not struck down with the dreaded H1N1 (which, by the way, would put this parish into another frenzy!).