Journey to the Heart of the Christian Faith

I was patiently waiting for this series that opens up great possibilities for it to be a good teaching, sharing and evangelistic tool for Catholicism. It is now available and Fr Robert Barron has done a wonderful and masterly work in giving this series a clear and insightful journey to the very heart of the (Christian) faith!

It is available online or you may order it through the help of Wellsprings Singapore.

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Our Song

Image via Wikipedia

Alleluia! Christ is risen! We have engaged ourselves through the Easter triduum and now basking in the glow, mystery and glory of the resurrection.

So, how has Easter been for you thus far?

We are now in the Easter Octave celebrations, where Easter Sunday is stretched out over eight days of continued celebrations on the signs, symbols and gospel stories of the resurrection and Jesus' appearances to his followers. The Alleluia is used prominently and the Gloria is sung during this Octave at the weekday Masses. At the Easter Vigil on Saturday, we saw 37 adults who were baptised and confirmed in the Parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. For them it was a great moment of their lives where they literally felt a transformation that changed their perspective on life, relationships and God.

What about us who are already baptised and for many years too? Have we ever felt that transformative element or dimension which tells us that we are truly children of God? The sins and sufferings of the world and those that affect us notwithstanding, we are still being loved and sustained by our Maker, the God whom Jesus has revealed to us as Father (Abba). St Augustine mentioned this in another way, which to me is much more profound and beautiful: "We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!"

What is your song during these days of the Easter season?...

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Up to Speed...

Alright, I am catching up on the past week of inactivity and to come up to speed over the days where we are already in full swing into the year 2010.

1. That is about 2 years away from the 'impending disaster-end-of-the-world' event - if you believe that nonsense....

2. This year marks the time in April when the catechumens from the RCIA journey of the parish of IHM will make their life-changing decision as to whether they want to approach the waters of baptism. I spent the last weekend with them at a retreat in the Majodi center, together with Fr Joseph Tan. The retreat master was Bro Collin Tan from the La Salle brothers (at St Pat's). Sis Susan Thomas, fmm. joined in the  fun too! In all, everything went well and the catechumens were greatly touched by the graces and presence of God that profoundly marked the occasion.

3. I begin teaching again in the Seminary with an additional course to my schedule, taking my presence in there up one notch. My teaching days now are on every Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Thankfully I don't start my Tuesday and Friday classes, i.e. on Salvation History, till the second quarter, i.e. late March. This gives me a little more time and breathing space to further do up my new course for the Monday classes. I managed to survive my teaching ordeal last Monday with 9 seminarians on the topic of Mystical Theology. Just barely!

4. Oh, I have found an old friend (always wondered what she gotten herself up to after Reuters...)  and her family, whose doctor-husband (Leslie) operates a fascinating food blog. So, next time I want a GP or a friendly tip on which great places to go and get a  good bite, I know where to look!

5. We are in Ordinary times in the Church's liturgical calendar... I need to do up an article for this weekend's bulletin. I haven't figured out what to write on yet and I am getting desperate! (update, 1.10pm - managed to do up that article!)

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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