How Are The Ashes After Wednesday?...

We are 3 days into the Lenten season and many more weeks to go before we get to celebrate that great solemnity of Easter.

In the meantime, what we to do with that great call that comes out during this period that urges us into prayer, fasting and almsgiving? What can we do for our spiritual preparation the midst of the Pope's sudden declaration of his resignation and of the coming episcopal ordination of the Archbishop-Coadjutor?

If we follow the series of readings that began the Lenten season, starting with Ash Wednesday and moving to today's, we can draw out several important themes which we can meditate on:

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?....

Be Kind!

I have let the weeks slip by without much of an entry from me!

It's the added work and responsibilities involved in dealing with the formation for an added member into the Seminary's community - Justin Yip (Star of the Sea) - our 1st. year student, that had occupied most of my activities, among other things (e.g. Priestly Life)

Still Lent carries on regardless and we are now almost reaching the into the 4th Week of Lent, where this coming Sunday's Lent celebration has been named as Laetare Sunday. Just for that Sunday, the vestments will be rose colored!

In our journey of this 40 days in preparation towards Easter, we also speak and be impressed upon by the following great and traditional works of mercy: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. That is fine and well. However, for most of the time we tend to just stay on the superficial level of doing them and doing them well, without much reflection as to what it really is taking us all into. We can also feel rather elated and proud to have achieve some level of accomplishment when we have completed them or, at least, attempted them to some satisfactory degree. It is all about giving up something - chocolates, TV, movies, etc. With the proliferation of smartphones and the ubiquity of the iPhone, giving up something doesn't seem at all fantastic any more, unless one also will consider these items - in that we let go having these items controlling our lives where we have to go to sleep with them on our beds!

Hence, the video above is the most down-to-earth advice on  how we can truly observe Lent and be able to  take this with us for the rest of our lives, for this is really the real fruit after all our prayer, fasting and almsgiving - be kind, people! Be kind!

Half Way There!

Image by jezobeljones via FlickrWe just went past Laetare Sunday (or Rose Sunday) and the Lenten journey is effectively half completed!

A few more weeks and we will have that grand celebration of Easter and the use of the Alleluia again after 40 days being in confinement. In fact, with the Easter season the Alleluia would be use with such frequency and gusto that after it is back to normal or Ordinary Times, you'd want to stay away from it again!

This Lent and the Holy Week celebrations, moving into Easter, I shall find myself out of a parish and would have to figure out where and which parish to place myself to join in those main masses and services accordingly. It would be interesting from this point of view as an 'outsider' to participate as a concelebrant. I don't have to worry myself unnecessarily with the preparations and the responsibilities in seeing to the proper and orderly unfolding of the event in the church premises.

Nonetheless, for what I am 'missing' in the parish environment, the seminary is more than capable to make up for the workload that I have to undertake since my posting here about 6 months ago. It is not that I have 'nothing' to do here. The environment here is different and the priorities are of another nature. So far, I am not complaining as most of what is needed to live and work and to fulfil my responsibilities here are available and functioning.

What is most interesting about this part of the world is that I get to see for myself the changing landscape of the area where I am staying (Punggol) every time I make trip out from here. There is the ongoing works being done at Punggol End where a new waterfront park and pavilion will be situated. I have already been to the newly opened Punggol Promenade a few times and taken a few shots of the scenery by the Sengkang River.

It has been a quiet and peaceful Lent thus far, away from the crowd and the bustle that is of the parish. Mother Nature has been around more often as my neighbour with the other denizens of the forest nearby, which, by the way, is slowly dwindling away.

How is your Lent thus far?

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Lent Again!

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

We are now into the season of Lent and it has been quite a journey so far, because I suddenly realised that most of my workflow and items that continuously would fight for my attention would come from three major composition of people: couples preparing for marriage, seminarians and the clergy.

I just finished one Engaged Encounter (EE) weekend (last weekend) and I was the presenting priest with two other presenting couples that oversaw to the presenting of topics concerning marriage and the married life in the Catholic perspective. There were 31 couples and we had them run through their paces on issues like communication, mutual responsibility, family life matters, marriage and all other related items that promote the married life within the embrace of God's life and love.

I am also made aware that I am, as the Spiritual Director of the House for the Seminary, all the spiritual needs and activities of the seminarians are under my care and nurturing. These will include retreats, recollections, spiritual direction which are spead out over the months of the year, where I am to have a reasonable take and insight to the pulse and rhythm of life of the seminarians under our care.

Then there is the Priestly Life Commission, which I am the current chairman. This means together with 9 other members, we look after the welfare and spiritual needs of the clergy of the Archdiocese of Singapore. This is no small task nor simple because of the many sensitivities and complicated issues that abound in relationship between priests and the laity, priests and priests and priests with the Bishop.

For all three, I am playing a role that is to encourage, nurture and enlightened, besides supporting and looking out for the general well-being of the persons. Heavy responsibilities, indeed. It is an interesting movement into Lent this year...

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What Lent?....

Image by Annoysius via Flickr

I feel drained after the past two weeks of 'parish situation hazards' that taxed my duties in the parish, archdiocese and the seminary.

I have my presence, besides being the usual suspect in the parish, also in the Senate (member), Priestly Life (member), District Priest (Chairman) and assisting in the Engaged Encounter as one of the panel of priests presenters. I have my hands already too full with these 'portfolios' and I certainly do not need any more problems to present itself unnecessary to complicate matters further.

However, as with any parish, there will always be occasions where such matters can make its way into the parish scene whereby I have to go in and fire-fight the situation. Much of the problems that I have dealt thus far, tend to fall into the case of misrepresentation, differences of expectations and lack of communication between two parties. In this case between priests of the parish and parishioners and between ministry members.

They never taught us in the Seminary, the finer details of dealing with people and how to maneuver with difficult persons using necessary PR tools or other related skills. Much of this I picked up by trial and error and through learning by experience. But not all priests have this kind of awareness and have found themselves in the firing line of people's expectations.

Hence I am certainly glad to really take a break from all this when I go for my leave in two weeks time to recover from playing nanny or fire-fighter to all the various ministries under my care. I really wonder if the correct sense of Lent is in the minds and psyche of our people when it comes to areas like prayer, conversion and penance...

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Ashed!

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I had a dinner conversation with a friend last night and the topic was on the matter of Lenten practices which we Catholics are familiar with and sometimes follow through with much devotional zeal.

We are already into Lent, today being Ash Wednesday. The practice of prayer, fasting and alms giving begin to take prominence as we move towards our 40 days of this penitential season into Easter later. We also have the abstinences for Fridays and other acts of charity that tend to affect on how we give an example or account for, in our day-to-day living as Catholics during this season.

All of these are to help us, the faithful, to take a break from our secular views and living, which we are so enamoured by, and to recollect and regain our spiritual identities as, truly, a People of God that we are. However, I am inclined to feel that, most of the time, this spiritual reality tend to be missed out altogether for something which borders on superficiality. Why so?

Perhaps, it may be that we see our ashen foreheads (or other Lenten practices) as 'badges of honour' that symbolise our 'heroic' gesture to fast and abstain, whose actions give fuel to our ego, instead of being more aware for the need towards repentance and a better acceptance of humility in our lives.

Perhaps, it may be our misunderstanding or total ignorance (or both) concerning the real reason why we abstain on Fridays which usually paints a superficially devotional picture to the whole practice. One of the usual replies given to the question on why we abstain, especially on Fridays, is that we want to remember Jesus who died on the cross and had suffered for us. While that may be noble, it doesn't address the real issue concerning Jesus' mission for humanity and what the commandment of love is all about. 

Our acts of abstinence in the context of our faith is to help us to become more aware of our fellow human beings who have no food or have to scrounge around for food just to survive the day. It is an act of Christian solidarity for the less fortunate and those who cannot get food on their tables and may have to go hungry for the day. This act may not be much but it certainly does give us a sense of emphathy and care that our abundance that we do have, can be shared when we look around and do something worthwhile to facilitate this need towards the poor and less fortunate.

When we reorientate our views concerning those practices which we have during this Lenten season, then we won't be quibbling about how to fast or abstain, is it 'sinful' if we forget to do so, how do we 'make up' for those fast or abstinence we 'missed', etc. It is all about getting down to our hearts and centre of our being for transformation, so that we can be life-givers to others. The Lenten practices must never become a source of pride on the one hand, or something oppressive on the other. It is a measuring stick for our individual practice. If we keep it faithfully, we must say: "We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do" (Luke 17: 10). It teaches us to seek our consolation in things of the spirit rather than of the flesh.

... return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God (Joel 2: 12 - 18)

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Lenten New Year?...

Image via Wikipedia

It is the third day of the Lunar New Year and the eve of Ash Wednesday.

This part of the week is certainly one of the incongruous period where customs and beliefs of two religions meet. While one invites to the enjoyment of food and festivities, the other persuades for the solemn abstinance and fast of revelry and grandiosity.

For those of us who are caught in between these two, especially in a multi-cultural environment and society, trying to remain neutral and saying that it isn't a problem can be very trying indeed. For one thing, we can't seem to make up our minds as to what we want to make out of having a Lunar New Year celebration in the midst of a Sunday mass celebration. I certainly am not complaining about the Lunar festivities that came along this week, and I am thankful for the many generous gifts received from the parishioners and well-wishers. But to let this sit side-by-side to the Christian way of life that speaks of moderation and asceticism can be very jarring.

Tomorrow would be even more pronounced with regards this incongruity. For now, it is best just to enjoy the moment and here's wishing to all out there who have sent me greetings and others who are enjoying the Lunar festivities - Happy Chinese New Year!

Poor in Spirit

We are fast approaching the 'hour' and soon all will be transformed, as hinted by the transfiguration on the Mount. Easter will beckon us in its glory, but only after we have gone through the Cross...

Well, 'transformed' as one will be if one has been able to follow the deeper insights of what the forty days of Lent wants to help us dwelve into, especially this particular year when we are faced with such great turmoil from the economic crisis. It is a turmoil enough to make us want to cry out why have we been forsaken. It is a turmoil that forces us to recognise that the glamour of greed is never really good nor acceptable. It is a turmoil that reveals to us our failings and worldly excessiveness for which we need to be accountable for. It is a turmoil where we now need to seek forgiveness and pardon for. For us, the faithful, it is the pardon and forgiveness that we turn to God and to one another.

Looking at this turmoil, it is not so much about giving up or letting go our material possessions, but really an attitude about who God is for us and what have we done with the providence He has abundantly graced us with. A German Dominican mystic, Johannes Tauler (1300 - 1361), has accurately pointed out in one of his sermons for the 5th Saturday of Lent, that

... It is far easier to help and advise the simple, because they do admit their failings and one can give good counsel to those who consider themselves sinful and who live in fear and humility.

It is a question of how much we are willing to strip ourselves of self-love and self-will and be 'poor in spirit'. Much of the world's woes have been the result of our arrogance of doing much of whatever we want just because we can. Time now to step back and take a hard look at ourselves and learn to swallow the bitter pill of humility and let the grace of Easter envigorate us towards a better future where the virtues of faith, hope and charity truly reigns in our daily lives.

Call to Blessedness

As we come to the halfway mark of the Lenten period, perhaps you may have arrived to a point where you question the meaning and intention of it all because they all seem repetitious (done year in, year out) and nothing has ever changed (all has happened before, and all will happen again?...).

Even when we are diligently working out our Lenten practices, the common idea of putting this sprituality into practice tends to be that of cutting back on something or putting on hold our immediate wants and to be a little more generous in giving, especially to our poorer neighbours, etc. and all with regards the matter of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. For some, this can be seen as rather tiresome to our notion of life, especially when we can, once again, revert back to our so-called normality of living once Easter comes along and these Lenten practices will be put back into the cupboard until the next season comes again. This tension is certainly there, not in a very explicit way, but enough to give an uneasy feeling should you begin to question this practice that prepares Catholics for Easter (and beyond).

I suggest that we can recover the grand vision concerning our Lenten practices in order to see deeper and wider beyond our common understanding of just giving up or postponing our wants or in giving just because we are told to do so.

It starts with our own awareness of our first entrance into the faith at our baptism and our understanding of what this baptism has done for us and how it continues to impinge upon our daily lives even if we are not aware of it. It is simply a call to blessedness and to follow in the footsteps of Christ, the Blessed One. It is simply to live out our own blessedness which prayer, almsgiving and fasting becomes a daily affair without having to count or score points with anyone or with God - you could say, we just count our blessings!

Which is why this video clip is so relevant in our times...

Almost Up!

Signs that my time of stay here is almost up:

a. summer is coming back and the days are getting longer.
b. hordes of tourists in and around town.
c. buses getting packed and crowded all day (see b).
d. my thesis is done.
e. I received a formal letter from the Collegio (cc'ed to me actually) informing me that my scholarship will end as soon as I finish my course in June and to leave by end of June.
f. The new listing for the students who are coming into the Collegio for the new academic year is up on the notice board (no one from Singapore this time round...)

But I am not complaining! I shall be glad to leave this place as soon as I am finish and done with what I have to do here. I have also managed to book a ticket online through Singapore Airlines which gets me back to Singapore soil on the early morning of Sat, 27th June ;-)

For now, just bidding my time and savoring my last few months of stay here...

We Are Not Clever Dogs or Animals with Bigger Brains!

Struggling through your Lenten season and feeling a little lethargic and dry by it all? Take courage and hang in there! :-)

Wisdom

In our Christian faith, wisdom is no stranger to our beliefs and occupy a prominent place in our Scriptures. Wisdom can be seen personified dramatically in a book of its own and reading what it has to offer there through the lens of our faith and with a prayerful attitude will certainly bring about much fruitful insights, where on other occasions these would be skimmed through. Of course, the greatest wisdom the world has ever known and in the flesh is Christ himself and his influence continue to be a point of attention and debate today.

However, in a practical sense, one also possesses the capacity of being 'wise' without the need to proclaim one's creed. This is because this virtue is always available to any one who makes that leap to the do the right thing by other people, to serve and help other people and not manipulate them and to be willing to learn from one's failures - things which persons within the top bureaucratic circles of any big organization (governmental or private) have, most of the time, been clueless about. The mantra that always seem to structure their work dynamics is: we have to follow procedures. Nothing wrong with procedures but overreliance on them breed mediocrity (and manipulation of other, etc) ...

Christ preached, which literally turned procedures (and others liken to it) upside down. Perhaps this Lent, we could ask for the grace of wisdom to help us to do the right thing, at the right place, at the right time, all the time!

Lenten Spirit

No, I did not spend too much a time gazing for meteors, comets or NEO (near earth objects) to be blindsided by them! :-D

Just that I have been rather lazy again in updating my entries here. It is the whole cycle of going for classes, travelling to the University and back week after week with nothing much to excite or grab my attention. It is also Lent...

Speaking of Lent, the movement of the seasons do give some sense of urgency and change as we move from the cold and frigidity of winter to the bright and cheery (sort of) warmth of spring as summer slowly sets in. While we would not ordinarily grasp the implication in Singapore where the weather mostly stays the same, giving us the seasons of hot, rainy and the Singapore Sale, the change of season here in Rome does make Lent a little bit less tedious.

Which brings me to this thought, which I had earlier shared with a friend on the email, that Lent can give us this great opportunity - not to 'flog' and 'beat' ourselves incessantly with/for/because of our sins, many though they be, but - to offer ourselves to be agents of goodness in making life a little better to people around us (family, friends, neighbours and strangers in need). This I believe, is a much more challenging and concrete manner to grow in the Lenten spirit of prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

Basic Posture for Lent

It is only 2 days away before we enter into the period of Lent once again. For Catholics, it is a period where we would have, just about, 40 days of this season for a spiritual retreat of sorts to get ourselves properly disposed for Easter.

Whatever steps or activities that is done or achieved later, it is still important to take note that the basic posture in all of them is one of humility and this attitude of entrustment to the love and care of God. There is a tendency amongst us who would like to think that the more 'good works' we do, i.e. anything that falls under the general category of almsgiving, fasting and prayer, the more 'points' and 'favours' we can score with God and that we have done more than enough on our part with regards Lent and Easter. This kind of attitude is what is called today as semi-Pelagianism. It is simply the denial/rejection of God's grace and to say that we can achieve our 'requirements' solely by our own efforts.

This is perhaps fueled by our own societal approaches towards the kind of reward which follows a work well done, for example in exams, meeting sales targets, service awards, etc. In themselves, they are not wrong and is a way to bring about a sense of achievement and to acknowledge the contribution of an individual or group to the well-being of the community, society, or maybe even the world. However, in Christianity, that is not the end-all. I take the cue from the fourth weekday preface, where it states, "You have no need of our praise, yet our desire to thank you is itself your gift. Our prayer of thanksgiving adds nothing to your greatness, but makes us grow in your grace."

It is simple enough to do what we can during this Lent and to do them in honest love, dropping all those pretensiousness, especially for any spiritual activity we set out to undertake.

Lenten Rat!

We begin the Lenten season once again!

I had my forehead ashed at our evening Mass today, celebrated by our recently installed (new) Rector, Fr Daniel Corijn, OMI. Seeing how far away from home ground I am, this Lenten season may really be one type of 'fast' for myself as I had to forgo much comforts and convenience which now seem to be that I have really taken for granted. Perhaps the same goes for the rest of the community who are here for the similar reason I am. For some, though, it may be a place of much opportunity since from where they came from, here in Rome is much 'better'.

Meanwhile, I am sure this is not going to stop those of you in Singapore and Malaysia from really enjoying the Chinese New Year celebration which begins even as I am writing this! It is the Year of the Rat, according to the zodiacal calendar. Usually, this is during springtime in China and here in Rome, spring is on the way (sun's getting much warmer, trees are budding)! So, enjoy the celebration of the Lunar New Year and save some oranges for me! ;-)

Bless Me Father...

As we move closer into the last few weeks of Lent, the days tend to get more tedious and tempers appear more on the quick and easy. The flavours of each day seems rather bland and a sort of heavy cloud of atmosphere seems to cling around me as I move from day to the next... :-P Maybe it is the amount of reconciliation which the East District priests are undergoing, this week with the schools and next week with the parishes: bless me Father for I have sin...

This morning itself we had one recon session with the boys at St Stephen's Primary School near OLPS Church. They were sincere, as much as I can gather, with their confession and when they finished, I can feel their *sigh of relief* as they scampered off back to their classes. :-)

As for someone who has yet to return the remote to our Sea Avenue church premises, I really wonder if confession would make any different to this person:

*-------------------------
fc, hf cats said...
so it was you who place the jars of potted plants to prevent me from opening the gates with my spare remote....

now I must park elsewhere...
-------------------------*

Our own people some more! Utterly incredible! *shake head* :-P

Slow Week...

We have moved into the 2nd week of Lent. It has been a slow movement of things to do and experience as the Lenten season weave its discipline upon us.

Along the way, I have done a homily, one infant baptism and many meals in relation to the CNY celebrations that were also going on. The CNY celebrations just finished yesterday and now I seem to be getting the after effect with this cough and slight cold that carried into today. Somehow, I have managed to contained them with lots of liquids, off-the-shelf Panadol for cold/flu remedy and some cough syrup :-P

There was also this little excitement about the lunar eclipse yesterday during the dawn hours of Sunday where I almost had the chance to get a glimpse of it but... well, you can read about my misadventure at my other blog. :-)

Meanwhile, I am on standby this week. So, barring any extra masses or funeral, I should be able to grab my scope to do some solid heavens gazing! There is Saturn in the night to catch on the eastern sky with Triton, its moon; Venus during the early evening along the western heavens and if I really go all out for it, Jupiter along the southern sky during dawn near the Scorpio constellation.

Of Lent and Penances

I have just finished my Novena homily after letting the idea stew over for a few days. Actually, they wasn't much of an idea to begin with. All I know, I had to get something done up by Saturday afternoon, latest, if thee is anything of substance to be shared during Novena.

It has always been a problem for me to do up a Novena homily. This is because the topic is not based on any Sunday readings and you can talk share about just anything under the sun. Of course, it has to be relevant to faith matters and Our Lady.

This particular one centers on the question of how genuine are our Lenten observances/penances? We know very well that we have been called to look into the areas of fasting, almsgiving and prayer. None of these are alien or foreign to us, unless you are a non-believer or someone who couldn't care less about them. When we do practice these observances, how much of it is truly from the heart or are they done to promote our own image in selfishness and superiority?

Do we know what we are doing with all these during Lent? What do they point to? These may be pertinent questions we may need to answer if we are honest with our lives and how they affect people around us.