Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates. Some happenings have kept me busy. My grandma has lost mobility and is bedridden, so it's been trying, as I'm working and the office is rather far away. Thank God for Good Samaritans who've been dropping by and giving a hand. Grandma has lost control of her bowels and her ability to walk due to repeated falls which have compressed the nerves in her spine. Do keep praying for her recovery.

My mother has been diagnosed with Stage III leukemia but her heart condition has prevented the chemo from starting. Do pray for her as well.

Pope falls and fractures wrist

The Holy Father has had a fall in the bath and fractured his wrist which had to be operated on and put in a cast for a month. Do pray for the Vicar of Christ in his moment of infirmity. It must be very trying and uncomfortable, at his advanced age. May Our Blessed Mother, Health of the Sick, prayer for him and cover him under her mantle.

Police officers patrol outside the hospital in Aosta in northern Italy where Pope Benedict is being treated for a wrist fracture July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

And in your charity, do keep my grandma in prayer as well. She also had a fall and broke her wrist on her birthday and had to be admitted. Birthdays are not good times for our family. I lost my wallet on my birthday and I'm still trying to get my documents and ATM cards in order. Anyway, her arm was in a cast for a month and half and it was a very trying time for her and for those who cared for her. She recently had 2 falls at home and is in pain from the lower back. Do keep her in your prayers.

Some photos of the Holy Father enjoying his vacation before his fall.

This recent picture released by the Vatican shows Pope Benedict XVI during his vacation at Les Combes, in the mountain resort of Val D'aosta. (Osservatore Romano)

Do keep the Holy Father, his caregivers, his doctors and the hospital staff in prayer too.

The Holy Father and Msgr. Gänswein

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI greets hospital staff as he leaves the Regional Hospital after a surgery on his right wrist, seen in a cast, in Aosta, northern Italy, Friday, July 17, 2009. Doctors said his right arm would be in a cast for a month. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)

Doctor Amedeo Mancini, center, answers media questions after he operated on Pope Benedict XVI's right wrist, at the Regional Hospital in Aosta, Italy, Friday, July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo (ITALY RELIGION HEALTH)

From the Vatican Information Service:

POPE SUCCESSFULLY OPERATED FOR WRIST FRACTURE

VATICAN CITY, 17 JUL 2009 (VIS) - This morning Benedict XVI underwent surgery at the Umberto Parini hospital in the Italian town of Aosta for a fracture to his right wrist. He had suffered a fall last night in his chalet at Les Combes in Valle d'Aosta where he is spending a brief holiday.

The Holy Father arrived at the hospital at 9:45 a.m. this morning. "Even so", declared Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi, "he celebrated Mass and had breakfast early this morning".

Later the Pope "underwent an operation to realign the fractured fragments and fasten them through osteosynthesis, using a local anaesthetic then applying a cast. The Holy Father's general condition is good" added the Pope's doctor Patrizio Polisca, specifying that "the Pope will return shortly to his residence".

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he leaves the Regional Hospital in Aosta, Italy, Friday, July 17, 2009, after surgery on his right wrist. The pope broke his right wrist during a late-night fall in his Alpine vacation chalet and will have to have his arm in a cast for a month while recovering from surgery, doctors said Friday.(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

The right arm of Pope Benedict is seen as he leaves the hospital in Aosta after being treated for a wrist fracture July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo (ITALY RELIGION HEALTH)

The Pope begins his summer holidays

A friend of mine just went to Rome a couple of days ago and attended the Sunday Angelus after hearing Mass (In Italian) at St. Peter's. But the Pope left soon after, trying to escape my friend, it seems.

Adam somewhere in the crowd?

From the Vatican Information Service:

HOLY FATHER BEGINS A BRIEF HOLIDAY IN VALLE D'AOSTA

VATICAN CITY, 13 JUL 2009 (VIS) - At 10.30 a.m. today, Benedict XVI left Rome by plane and, following an hour-long flight, arrived at Caselle airport in the northern Italian city of Turin. From there he travelled by helicopter to the residence of Les Combes in the region of Valle d'Aosta where he will spend a sixteen-day vacation.

As he did in 2005 and 2006, the Pope will stay in a chalet belonging to the Salesian Order, the same as that in which John Paul II often used to spend his holidays. The building, made of wood and stone, has two floors and is surrounded by a large garden. It stands at an altitude of 1200 meters and has views over Mont Blanc and other mountains on the French-Italian frontier as well as over the Italian-Swiss Alps.

The only two public ceremonies scheduled for the Pope's vacation are on Sunday 19 July and Sunday 26 July. On 19 July he will pray the Angelus at Piazza Ruggia in front of the parish church of Sts. Peter and Solutor at Romano Canavese in the diocese of Ivrea. On 26 July he will pray the Angelus in the residence of Les Combes.

Benedict XVI will stay at Les Combes - located some 20 kilometres from the city of Aosta within the municipality of Introd - until 29 July.

Following his vacation in Valle d'Aosta, the Pope will move to his summer residence of Castelgandolfo, 30 kilometres south of Rome, where he will remain until the end of September.

The Pope's next apostolic trip, the thirteenth since the start of his pontificate, will take him to the Czech Republic from 26 to 28 September.

Angelus and Magnificat

Imagine reciting the words of the Archangel Gabriel on the spot where Gabriel himself spoke them to Mary. And after Mary's fiat, this was where Verbum caro factum est, the Word was made flesh. Amazing.

Pope Benedict prays in the Grotto of the Church of the Annunciation in the northern city of Nazareth May 14, 2009. The Church, built over the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches in the town where Jesus grew up, contains a grotto in which, tradition says, the Virgin Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that she would give birth to the Son of God. REUTERS/Tony Gentile (ISRAEL POLITICS RELIGION SOCIETY)

The Pope praying Vespers in the Basilica of the Annunciation

Then imagine praying the Magnificat, the joyful prayer of praise and thanksgiving of the Most Holy Theotokos at the spot where she first spoke those words. A privilege indeed.

Quotable quotes

I remember when I was Bishop of Fall River the people in Sandwich wanted to build a parish church. They said: “We want a Church that looks like a Church,” because sometimes churches are built today that you could mistake for a bowling alley.

Well, I think the people in Houston got a cathedral that looks like a cathedral — it is very bright, large and the artwork is stunning.

-Seán Cardinal O'Malley of Boston

Easter Vigil 09 @ IC

The Easter Vigil was a grand occasion, the Christian people gathering to wait for the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus and to proclaim and acclaim that fact to a world in darkness. The final part of the Triduum, the Vigil began with the Service of Light. This year, it was held at the almost completed Shrine to St. Chastan, our past parish priest.

\
Now that's what I call a fire =)

The rubrics call for the Vigil to start after darkness has fallen and this year, we started at 9PM which is one hour later than last year. It also calls for the New Fire to be sufficiently bright to dispel the darkness of the night. And so we prepared a huge fire this year. Tip to servers and sacristans, drop pieces of candle wax into the fire just before the ceremony begins for that bright glow.

The people gathered round, with the servers as the priest began the age old Rites of blessing the Paschal Candle.

The people closely follow the Rites.





The candle, the symbol of Christ the Light, is inscribed with the following:


Christ yesterday and today (as he traces the vertical arm of the cross),

the beginning and the end (the horizontal arm),

Alpha (alpha, above the cross),

and Omega (omega, below the cross),

all time belongs to him (the first numeral, in the upper left corner of the cross),

and all the ages (the second numeral in the upper right corner),

to him be glory and power (the third numeral in the lower left corner),

through every age and for ever. Amen (the last numeral in the lower right corner).

A
2 0
†
0 9
Ω



When the cross and other marks have been made, the priest may insert five grains of incense in the candle . He does this in the form of a cross, saying:

By his holy

and glorious wounds

may Christ our Lord

guard us

and keep us. Amen.



The priest lights the candle from the new fire, saying:

May the Light of Christ, rising in glory,
dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.



The people then follow the Light of Christ into the darkened Church.



The people then light their candles from the Paschal Candle symbolizing their being enlightened by Christ. The priest will intone "The Light of Christ" 3 times, each time on a higher key while the people respond "Thanks be to God".


Our hero Mr. Kevin Choo helping the people light their candles from the Paschal Candle. Newly joined, this was his first time serving Easter Vigil and I think he did an excellent job, beside the steady Keshure. Both are students in my Confirmation Class.


The final Lumen Christi at the sanctuary





The people with lighted candles in the Church.

They hold their lighted candles for the singing of the Exultet, the ancient proclamation of the Resurrection.

Then come the many readings starting from Genesis 1, to the Fall of Adam (the felix culpa, the O Happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam that has gained for us so great a Redeemer) and the protoevangelion of Gen 3:15, the Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea and others chronicling the many times God has saved His people and continues to save His people. The readings are interspersed with Psalms and songs taken from the Bible. Then the Gloria is then sung and the bells of the Church rung while the lights are turned on.

The Litany of the Saints. Yes, I know we are supposed to stand during the Easter season but hey, kneeling is better than standing cos these people need the kneeling once in a while.

The liturgy then continues with the Blessing of the Water which recalls the action of the Holy Spirit at Creation, when He hovered over the waters which baptism mirrors as all the baptised are a new creation, the waters of the flood through which sin was destroyed, the parting of the Red Sea by which Israel is liberated from slavery and the baptized liberated from the bondage of sin and the passing through the Jordan River through which the people of Israel entered the Promised Land and the elect enter into the Church. The Paschal Candle is dipped 3 times into the water to recall the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan.

Several catechumens were Baptized that night.

We also had a Rite of Reception where one promized to believe all that the Catholic Church teaches as revealed by God.

The laying of hands.



The anointing with Chrism, the sealing with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.



It was a moving and touching moment for these new brothers and sisters to be welcomed into the Catholic Church and the people of God.





The Mass then went on as usual with a full complement of servers.

Hope your Holy Week has been blessed. Any photos you wish to share? Do drop me a message in the com box.