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

Image via Wikipedia

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

4th Week of Advent - We can make a Difference

Image via WikipediaThis week’s reading are as follows: [2 Samuel 7: 1-5, 8-12,14,16], [Romans 16: 25-27], [Luke 1: 26-38]

In the first reading today, we are told that despite his failures and weaknesses, God made David, a shepherd in Bethlehem, to become a great king in Jerusalem. David was an instrument of God in providing for his people and God established a covenant with David that ensured that his line will last forever.

In the Gospel reading, we are told of the beginning of our salvation plan by God. God chose the town called Nazareth in Galilee and a young girl specially chosen and prepared by Him to fulfill His plan for humanity.

Without Christ, there is no salvation. And God chose Mary whom we know as a prayerful and truly sinless girl to be the mother of His son – Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and told her: “You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus”. Mary was frighten and lost (likewise, we too will be scared if the same happened to us) because she is virgin and wonder how then could she conceive “but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour.”( LK1:40)

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.” (LK1:35).

To that, Mary replied despite her fear and uncertainty : “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me accordingly to your word.”

It was Mary’s total faith, total confidence and total obedience to God that led to the conception of the Son of God through God’s creative Spirit.

To Mary, it was God’s will and not her will that she obey. Mary did not say (like what most of us will hear today) – let me think about it and I’ll get back to you later.

Both David and Mary had made a difference in God’s salvation plan. How about us?

Are we prepared to make a difference too? Or are we looking after only our own benefits?

In whatever state and circumstance in our life, we can choose to live out the will of our heavenly Father. We can stand forward and be relied on to share our faith in God, to help others in need with our gifts and to speak out against injustice and indifference.

In other words, we can make a difference. Merry Christmas!

Lesson from our Blessed Mother

Image via WikipediaAfter reading the homily of the Archbishop Nicholas Chia on our Blessed Mother (in the post before this), I gain a deeper understanding on Marian worship. As I have blogged before (click here to read about it), there are many misconceptions about praying to our Blessed Mother.

At the wedding feast in Cana, our Blessed Mother clearly showed us that she do care for us when she brings the needs of the wedding couple to Jesus. And as what the Archbishop said, “. Here we see the powerful intercession of Mary” and she continues to intercede for us and we must also pray and intercede for others like our Blessed Mother.

Our Blessed Mother has never seek fame and glory for herself. In all her appearances, she always point the people to her son Jesus Christ our savior. Her simple words ““Do whatever He tells you”, and her genuine love for others has converted more than any self proclaimed pastors (especially those Korean or American styled – courtesy of their wives) and is still converting.

So, let’s learn from our Blessed Mother and make her shining example be known to all.

To end this all, I love to share with you here a clip on Ave Maria....

"Do whatever He tells you" - Advice from our Blessed Mother

Image via WikipediaOn the 6th of December 2008, the Lourdes experience was held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium to celebrate the 150th year of our Mother appearance to St Bernadette. You can read about the event HERE.

During his homily, the Archbishop Nicholas Chia has made a very interesting and powerful message that I would like to share with you here in full and I quote:

“AT THE ANNUNCIATION, God spoke through the Archangel Gabriel: ʻYou shall conceive and bear a sonʼ,” Archbishop Nicholas Chia reminded the worshippers during his homily.

Mary could not understand how she was to conceive as a virgin but when she learnt that it was Godʼs will, she consented, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word.”

In her response, Mary is teaching us to have faith in God and to do Godʼs will and not our own will, the archbishop said.

In the flight to Egypt, Mary and Joseph carried out the word of God at a cost without complaining, making the long journey to Egypt and living there in exile.

Archbishop Chia explained that Mary teaches us that sacrifice is part of carrying out Godʼs will.

At the Presentation in the temple, Mary could not understand the word of God communicated through Simeon: “A sword shall pierce your heart”. She could not understand but she did not dismiss the message. Rather, she kept it in her heart. This, Archbishop Chia said, is to teach us that at times we may not understand the word of God, but like Mary we must not be impatient but take time to reflect on Godʼs message and patiently wait for enlightenment from God.

In the mystery of the Visitation, Mary carried Jesus in her womb and brought him to Elizabeth and John the Baptist. The message for us is that we too must bring Jesus, the Word of God, to our fellowmen by our word and example.

At the wedding feast in Cana, she brought the attention of Jesus to the needs of the wedding couple: “They have no wine left”. And Jesus changed the water into wine. Here we see the powerful intercession of Mary, Archbishop Chia continued. She continues to intercede for us, he added. And like her we must also pray and intercede for others.

Furthermore, Mary told the stewards: “Do whatever He tells you”. In the Gospels, these are the only words of Mary addressed to human beings. Other words by our Blessed Mother are addressed to God. So these words are of special significance. Maryʼs message to us is that we are to carry out Godʼs will in our life, Archbishop Chia concluded.

Unquote

Sources : Catholic News Sunday December 21,2008 page 11

Praying to Mother Mary?

Image via WikipediaOne the common allegation my Protestants friends have is that Catholics pray to Mary and some are even told that Catholics worship Mary (as God) and not God!

Perhaps, one of the hyms at Novena will clearly explained as in “Mother dearest, Mother Fairest” chorus:

“Mary help us, help we pray, Mary help us, help we pray,
Help us in all care and sorrow, Mary help us, help we pray”

Whenever I am asked if we pray and worship to Mary, I will always ask them to qualify what they meant by praying and worshipping? If they think that we worship Mary as God, then we don’t and that’s a fact. Mary is no God.

When we say we pray to Mary, it is really talking to her and requesting for her help to pray with us and for us to the Lord our God. Our worship of Mary is a simple remembrance and honoring of our Blessed Mother.

The common questions that follows is why not pray directly to God? But who says we are not? We pray directly to God and we ask Mother Mary to pray with us and for us. We send her our petitions and ask her to help intercede for us with her Son.

Jesus is the only only mediator between man and God (1 Tim. 2:5), but this in no way means we cannot or should not ask our fellow Christians to pray with us and for us (1 Tim. 2:1–4). It is not very different from praying for a friend or asking a friend to pray for us when we needed help.

The difference is Mother Mary is a Saint while we are sinners and her prayers will be much more powerful than ours. Not just Mother Mary but all the other Saints and Christians who are in heaven, who have already had their sanctification completed, for "the prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects" (Jas. 5:16). And this has been proven effective for centuries and continues to be effective. Just attend the Novenas and hear for yourself.

What one need to understand is that all petitions and prayers that are answered are not granted by Mother Mary – she has no power to do so. Everything is granted by God. Mother Mary has cared for Jesus disciples for centuries and continues to do so. She has also helped and lead many people to her Son. Whenever she appears, she will instruct the people she appeared to to pray and to pray to her Son – Jesus.

As a result of her intercession, many people have come to know her love and more importantly, the love of God and she alone has converted more people that you can ever imagine. Yet, there are so many people who misunderstood her and do not give her the due respect that she deserved.