Ash Wednesday and Lent

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"Yet even now," says the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments."

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter. Lent is a time of repentence and coming back to God. During this time, we are called to recognize how far we have strayed from God and return to him.

As on Good Friday, Catholics ages between 16 to 60 (except those physically and/or medically unfit to do so) are required to fast on Ash Wednesday. This means having only one full meal that day ... several smaller meals may be substituted - to sustain ones physical strength, as long as they together do not exceed one full meal.

This is to honor Christ and to focus on His passion and death and our relationship with Him.

During Lent, many Catholics choose to give something up as a sign of their repentence and a way to remember the importance of this time. This is based on very old tradition but giving something up is not required by canon law. What canon law requires is that we abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.

Find out more about Ash Wednesday here and Lent here.

How Now Shall We Live, by Chuck Colson.

This is the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time and the last one before the season of Lent.

This week's reading : [Isaiah 43: 18-19, 21-22, 24b-25] [2 Corinthians 1, 18-22] [Mark 2, 1-12]

This week, I would like to share this interesting article that I read from - How Now Shall We Live, by Chuck Colson.

Chuck Colson recounts the story of Kim Phuc in his book How Now Shall We Live. You may remember seeing a picture of Kim in her Vietnam village which had just been bombed with napalm. With arms outstretched, and all her clothing burned off, she was photographed running in terror and pain. She would have simply become another casualty of Vietnam had the photographer not poured water on her burns and demanded that she be taken to a more modern hospital in Saigon where she could be treated. Though some in the hospital considered her as good as dead and considered her a lost cause, a Christian doctor insisted and persisted until she received treatment. Some fourteen months and seventeen surgeries later Kim was released.

She, and her scars, were periodically paraded before cameras and used by her government as a visual aid to illustrate American aggression. Without a friend, Kim experienced extreme depression and loneliness. She discovered that her gods could not erase the heart anguish caused by her experience and disfigurement. Through a series of events and answers to prayer God provided a girl friend who was able to introduce Kim to Jesus. Kim’s testimony is, “It was the fire of the bombs that burned my body, it was the skill of the doctor that mended my skin, but it took the power of God to heal my heart.”*

In 1996 at the Vietnam Wall of Remembrance, on Veteran’s Day, Kim spoke to veterans and their family sharing how the love of Christ had transformed her life. She mentioned that if she were to meet the man who dropped the napalm bomb, that Christ’s transforming love would enable her to love and forgive him. From the audience a man quietly slipped up to the security guards and handed them a note, which read, “I am the man you are looking for.” Kim agreed to meet with him. As he approached Kim, she extended her arms once again, this time not in terror but in forgiveness. She hugged the man as he sobbed, “I am sorry, so sorry.” Kim responded, “It’s okay. I forgive, I forgive.”

Like in this Sunday’s readings, the photographer, the doctor, and the girl friend, all, so to speak, were involved lowering Kim to receive healing. Some participated by very physical acts of caring and healing while others participated by showing spiritual acts of caring and healing by taking time to demonstrate Christ’s love and point her to him. Kim in turn became a living icon of Jesus’ love and forgiveness giving freely of that which she received.

For many their outward appearance does not reflect physical scars, for they appear robust and healthy, however, often their inner self is wounded and racked with self doubt, feelings of being unloved, and anxiety and guilt for failing to meet even their own standards of righteousness. Like this pilot, even in the midst of doing our job, we can experience unrelenting feelings of condemnation, which if unresolved result in soul sickness. God never intends for us to live under this cloud of guilt and judgment. Jesus came to set us free and is readily available to heal and forgive. But he is counting on us, who know him, and who know how to access him, to remove the hindrances people encounter, and to hold on to the ropes of compassion and involvement and assist people in reaching him. And equally important he is counting on us to extend our hearts and hands, saying, “It’s okay. I forgive, I forgive.”

What strike me hard was Kim’s testimony : “It was the fire of the bombs that burned my body, it was the skill of the doctor that mended my skin, but it took the power of God to heal my heart.”

Why is going to church necessary?

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Why do we go to Church?

To proved that we believe in God?

Here's what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life.
"Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church."[110]
"Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Epiphany,
the Ascension of Christ,
the feast of the Body and Blood of Christi,
the feast of Mary the Mother of God,
her Immaculate Conception,
her Assumption,
the feast of Saint Joseph,
the feast of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of All Saints."[111]

2178 This practice of the Christian assembly dates from the beginnings of the apostolic age.[112] The Letter to the Hebrews reminds the faithful "not to neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but to encourage one another."[113]
Tradition preserves the memory of an ever-timely exhortation: Come to Church early, approach the Lord, and confess your sins, repent in prayer.... Be present at the sacred and divine liturgy, conclude its prayer and do not leave before the dismissal.... We have often said: "This day is given to you for prayer and rest. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."[114]


2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass."[117] "The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day."[118]

2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.[119] Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.

2182 Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church. The faithful give witness by this to their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God's holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

2183 "If because of lack of a sacred minister or for other grave cause participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible, it is specially recommended that the faithful take part in the Liturgy of the Word if it is celebrated in the parish church or in another sacred place according to the prescriptions of the diocesan bishop, or engage in prayer for an appropriate amount of time personally or in a family or, as occasion offers, in groups of families."

What does the Bible say about the prosperity gospel?

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Interesting question and a certain "bored" has written an answer as below (quoted from SgForum) :

In the prosperity gospel, also known as the “Word of Faith,” the believer is told to use God, whereas the truth of biblical Christianity is just the opposite—God uses the believer. Word Faith or prosperity theology sees the Holy Spirit as a power to be put to use for whatever the believer wills. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person who enables the believer to do God's will. The prosperity gospel movement closely resembles some of the destructive greed sects that infiltrated the early church. Paul and the other apostles were not accommodating to or conciliatory with the false teachers who propagated such heresy. They identified them as dangerous false teachers and urged Christians to avoid them.

Paul warned Timothy about “constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.... But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:5, 9-11.)

Paul said covetousness is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5) and instructed the Ephesians to avoid anyone who brought a message of immorality or covetousness (Ephesians 5:6-7). Prosperity teaching prohibits God from working on His own, meaning that God is not Lord of all because He cannot work until we release Him to do so. Faith, according to the Word of Faith doctrine, is not submissive trust in God; faith is a formula by which we manipulate the spiritual laws prosperity teachers believe govern the universe. As in the name “Word of Faith” implies, this movement teaches that faith is a matter of what we say more than who we trust or what truths we embrace and affirm in our hearts.

A favorite term in the Word of Faith movement is “positive confession.” It refers to the teaching that words have creative power. What you say, Word of Faith teachers claim, determines everything that happens to you. Your confessions, especially the favors you demand of God, must all be stated positively and without wavering. Then God is required to answer (as though man could require anything of God!). Thus God's ability to bless us supposedly hangs on our faith. James 4:13-16 clearly contradicts this teaching, “Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”

Far from stressing the importance of wealth, the Bible warns against pursuing it. Believers, especially leaders in the church (1 Timothy 3:3), are to be free from the love of money (Hebrews 13:5). The love of money leads to all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). Jesus warned, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). In sharp contrast to the Word of Faith emphasis on gaining money and possessions in this life, Jesus said “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). The irreconcilable contradiction between prosperity teaching gospel and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is best summed up in the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:24, “You cannot serve God and riches.”

Court dismisses Novena Church exorcism case

The High Court has thrown out the exorcism case against the priests and volunteers at Novena Church, after a trial spanning two years.

In a 61-page judgement on Friday, Justice Lee Seiu Kin held that Madam Amutha Valli Krishnan had not proved her case against the defendants for assault and battery, false imprisonment and negligence.

He accepted the defendants' version of events on the night of 10 August 2004 and found the contradictory parts of Madam Amutha Valli's evidence to be false.

Justice Lee also ruled that he did not find the actions of the priests had caused Madam Amutha Valli to suffer any damage.

Read more about it HERE

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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“Take me as your pattern, just as I take Christ for mine” (1 Cor 11:1)

This week's reading are as follows:

[Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46] [1 Corinthians 10:31—11:1] [Mark 1:40-45]

In the first reading today, we read how a leprous man is considered unclean and must live in isolation outside the community.

In the second reading, Paul invite us to “Take me as your pattern, just as I take Christ for mine” (1 Cor 11:1) and “Whatever you eat, then, or drink, and whatever else you do, do it all for the glory of God”

The Gospel reading today, we see how a leprous man came to Jesus and asked Him for healing. The man said “If you are willing, you can cleanse me” (Mk 1:40) which really tell us that the man knew that Jesus is God and that He can cure him of his disease.

Being a compassionate man, Jesus of course cured the man. He told the man not to tell anyone but to show himself to the priest. Instead, the man proclaim freely and Jesus was no longer able to go openly into any town but to deserted spots. People from every corner is seeking Jesus…

How ironical that the leprous man who was supposed to be insolated is now back in the community when Jesus cured him. Yet, Jesus is now forced to be isolated because the man proclaimed freely how Jesus had cured him. What a reversal of situations….

So, with Paul’s invitation in mind, are we prepared to be like Jesus and Paul to serve our communities? Do we must provide comfort and aid to others during their times of physical duress?

And like the man Jesus cured, we are also called to share our own experience of spiritual healing, and more importantly to introduce the “Great Physician,” Jesus Christ to people around us.

Our sharing of experiences and our act of love by deed will result in people everywhere corner coming to seek out Jesus……and that’s evangelizing.

Happy Valentine Day

Happy Valentine Day to all of you and may God Bless you all.

Have a nice and romantic day with your Valentine.

Coincidence or a sign of Hope and Blessing.....

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Our Blessed Mother appeared to a young girl, Bernedette, in Lourdes, a small town in France 151 years ago.......

Something happened in our Punggol seminary when they celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes 2 days ago........

Is this a coincidence or is it a sign of the confirmation of the affections and blessings of Our Lady on her seminarians there?

Find out what happened HERE

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Generous in Service

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This week's reading :
[Job 7:1-4, 6-7], [1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23], [Mark 1:29-39]

Every day, news on TV, papers as well as the internet is filled with companies recording record loss, banks going bust, investment vanishes into thin air and people losing their jobs, family losing their home….all the doom and gloom.

In the first reading today, Job is complaining and lamenting about his misfortune in self pity. A picture of hopelessness is painted when he said : "I am allotted months of futility and nights of grief and misery ... Oh God, never will I see happiness again.”

In this world we are living today amid the economic crisis, the situation of Job can be very real to us too. No matter how bad is the situation, we should never give up. But to find purpose and meaning in our lives which will pull us out of the rut.

In the second reading, we see how Paul found the purpose in his life and despite being persecuted, shipwrecked and imprisoned, Paul found his fulfilment by zealously sharing his God experience with people: "In announcing the gospel I will do it freely without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel."

Today‘s Gospel reading in Mark coupled with last Sunday’s reading, provide a composite of Jesus’ many acts of gracious healing. Jesus showed us that despite being the Son of God, He knew His mission and purpose which is to serve by preaching the Gospel and healing.

Another example was Peter's mother-in-law. Instead of lying back to recuperate after being healed, she immediately began to serve Jesus and the others with him.

Therefore whenever we feel down and feel the impulse to complain, the best cure for that is to go out and render service to others, especially the less fortunate.

And we should pray a lot like Jesus who went away to a quiet spot to pray to His Father. Only through prayers that we can communicate with our Father and be able to do what He command us to so.

Jesus's authority......

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This is the 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time and the readings are as follows:

[Deuteronomy 18:15-20] [1 Corinthians 7:32-35] [Mark 1:21-28]

One of the things about this week’s reading that strike me is how Jesus teaches with authority. His authority came from within, from who He was, Emmanuel, God with us, and from the truth he taught. He communicate the truth using parables and reinforced His teachings by His miraculous power to heal and do good. His exemplary life of love and charity made Him friends of all people including lepers, tax collectors and even prostitutes.

Jesus attracted followers by preaching the truth and living a life of love and charity. Love and charity that is consistent to all – no exceptions.
As followers of Jesus, do we strive to live our lives like Him..with love and compassion for people around us?

We must try to be more and more like Jesus in our thoughts, words and deeds, in how we relate to people and react to the various situations we face in life.

“Evangelization is the witness of an authentically Christian life, given over to God in a communion that nothing should destroy and at the same time given to one’s neighbor with limitless zeal” – By Pope Paul VI.

Are we really true Christians and followers of Christ? Reflect on our lives and there lies the answers….