NTUC FairPrice Foundation doing God's work

The efforts of a small group of Singapore volunteers who help newly-arrived migrant workers received a huge boost on Monday.

NTUC FairPrice Foundation donated S$300,000 to the Archdiocesan Commission for Pastoral Care of Migrant & Itinerant People or ACMI. It is the largest donation ACMI has received in its ten-year history.

Read all about it here.

This donation send a message to us all that we should not forget our neighbour because when you do it to the least of one of my brothers, you do it to Me.

As Seah Kian Peng, NTUC FairPrice's managing director (group business), said: "Our priority is to the local workers first, but at the same time, we do not forget the foreign workers. And today's project is an example (of) how foreign workers are also an important group of the population that deserve our help."

If you too would like to help, you can contact ACMI and their website can be found at http://www.catholic.org.sg/acmi/

God bless you!

Why we need to support Catholic charities ?

Image by Lawrence OP via Flickr

Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, the act of donating money or giving time and energy to a charitable cause is often hailed as something laudable.

What about us as Catholics? Do our social teachings have something special to say about giving money, time or talent to charitable causes?

First, though, it might be helpful to see what charitable giving is not. Charitable giving is not about gaining publicity or personal credit. Nor is charitable giving a means to compensate for wrongdoing, a way to help us to “score points for heaven”! Most importantly, charitable giving is not a way to escape from our responsibility for the well-being of others the whole year long.

In Scripture, we see the early disciples being “one in heart and soul”: “None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from the sale of them, to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any who might be in need” (Acts 4:34). What a beautiful description of a community!

Every Lent, Catholics in Singapore have an avenue to share our resources with those in need through the Charities Week collection. Proceeds go to organisations serving the needy in the name of the Church.

This is a good way of showing our solidarity with the less fortunate. But is there any special significance to channelling our resources, time and talent through Catholic charitable organisations?

Yes, there is. In his encyclical Deus Caritas Est (“God is Love”), Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that as a community of disciples proclaiming the Gospel of Love in a broken world, the Church also needs to have organised charitable works that Christians undertake as one body in the name of Christ. “For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being.” (Deus Caritas Est, 25a).

So even though each of us can give individually to other religious or secular charitable organisations (and this is an important sign of our solidarity with them), there is a special significance in supporting Catholic charities. Catholic charities represent the organised charitable works of the Church.

In Singapore, our Catholic social organisations serve a wide range of needs, from helping the poor, the sick and the aged, to championing the causes of refugees and migrants. The Church’s social action work also includes those in which not many other organisations are involved.

As part of her tradition, the Church has always had a preferential option for the poor, serving those most neglected by society and this is something we can be proud of. The Charities Week programme is an important channel for us to act as One Body by supporting the Church’s social organisations.

In giving with our whole heart, we pray that we might also be open to how else God is moving us to respond.

Source : Catholic News.

A Deeper Look At New Creation Church Joseph Prince’s Destined to Reign

Book cover via AmazonI come across an interesting review about the book written by Joseph Prince - Destined to Reign.

You can read all about the review at HERE.

Why do I even bother to blog about this?

I am disturbed by that fact that I have come across quite a few people who seems to believe that they can understand the bible by reading them on their own. And from there, they have their own version of the gospel and start to question that other main stream Churches teachings.

Well it is good to question and search for the truth, it is disturbing to see how they have a twisted version simply by reading the books of similiar believers. Thus, a whole new set of wrong beliefs are believed as the "truth" by these people.

Mega church pastors are some of such people in my opinion. I always question where do they receive their training?

Can a self proclaimed vision give one the authority to preach? More importantly, are the preaching defensible by the bible?

I am sure many who have experience and contact with such church goers will know the answer.

Let's pray that these people continue to explore and not be taken in by sugar-coated grace ministry that is leading one away from God.