The Signing...

For those who have been with me for Salvation History course, here's a piece that captures what this history continues to mean for us today...

Our Song

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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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A Rose by Any Other Name...

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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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The Week That Was

Happy Easter!

It has been a long and tiring Triduum that began on Maundy Thursday right through to the Easter Vigil. Overall, I managed to journey and experience all the feet washing, kneeling, standing, cross veneration, singing and baptising that came about with the celebration of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This year I got to wash some feet on Maundy Thursday for the first time since I came to Holy Family. I never had this opportunity before and it wasn't as if I was very hard up for it. Still, the experience was an enlightening affair for me. The need to lower myself to the ground and touch someone's sole of the feet to begin washing it with water was very strange. That this was done in front of the congregation in the church made it all the more surreal. An act usually done by slaves in Jesus' time, I can understand how small and lowly one can be!

Good Friday was manageable despite the kneeling, standing, prostrating and veneration. The passion delivery through the Gospel and preceeding readings were their usual sombre, sad and trying feeling. Through it all, I cannot help, but allow those images from Gibson's opus 'Passion of Christ' to invade my thoughts. Such was the power and force shown through that movie!

The Easter Vigil that Saturday was a treat on its own. Fr Christopher was the main celebrant and he had the unenviable task to lead the congregation through 4 parts of the celebration that includes those long readings and the baptism rite which I helped oversaw. A total of 24 adults were baptised and 2 were received into the Catholic Church. I sang the Exsultet - again...

Today, I am tired out after the Easter Sunday Masses.