Ready

I have been teaching this year's confirmation class for 6 months now. And come this Sunday, they will be confirmed. And so comes this series of 3 posts, as my personal tribute to the 42 young people who will be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

I ask you to pray for them as I share our journey with you, that they may worthily receive the holy Spirit and worthily exercise His Gifts for the greater glory of God and the spread of His Kingdom.

First off, our classroom is a pretty nifty air conditioned room located on the 2nd floor of the parish hall. It's rather good, considering that it's not a leaky shack with a dirt floor where the teachers teach by writing on the dirt with sticks. And one really begins to appreciate air conditioning and the genius of it's inventor in the stifling heat.

But all in all, as good as it is, I'm not really a big fan of classroom learning. These bundles of energy just want to release and cooping them up results in tired sleepy faces which gets me all tired and sleepy.

So, it's been a policy for us to have outings where learning can take place in a different environment. Our first outing was to the Botanical Gardens, to learn about baptism and other stuff in the beautiful green surroundings.

Apparently, I found out that these kids are not particularly green and the great outdoors doesn't really do it for them.

So for our next outing, we to the Shrine of St. Anne where it's air conditioned auditorium proved a more amenable atmosphere for learning to be imparted and absorbed.

More tomorrow. In a bit of a rush right now.

Singing in the rain

I sing. I sing during the long rides from my place to the office and back. I’m usually on autopilot, but singing keeps me sane on those long, boring, monotonous daily journeys. I sing many things and among the songs I sing are the latest songs from Hillsongs, Wow Worship and Sonicflood (there’s only so much Te Deum you can sing). And several praise and worship ‘golden oldies’ from Delirious, Matt Redman et al. Yeah, yeah, anathema to me. Whatever. Anyway. Some people often question me about prayers. About set, formal, repetitive, structured prayers versus the extemporaneous prayers often found among those from the Charismatic Renewal.

So, I was singing ‘Thank You Lord’ and ‘Amazing Love’ just now, in the rain, on my way back to the office, and this occurred to me. Many people all over the world sing these songs as their devotion. They make the songs their prayers and the words and lyrics their very own. I know I sure did as I sang ‘Thank You Lord’. Why do they do it? Why do I do it? Because the song gives words to my thoughts, structures them, expresses the words of my heart. Is it repetitive? Sure. No less repetitive than when I pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary or when I sing O Sacred Head. But are they less heartfelt? Most definitely not.

People sing these songs and pray the lyrics because it systematises their thoughts, so they don’t have to think about what to say but to concentrate to mean what they are saying. So too the prayers of the Church which express all we want to say to God in such a beautiful, concise way. It frees us from fumbling about with words to express ourselves. When we pray these prayers, we pray with the words and the voice of the many Christians who have gone before us and are now repeating these words before the Throne of Grace. We join with the angels and saints in their very words as we cry Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.

Prayers, be they structured or extemporaneous, need to come from the heart. We need to make their words our own and so make a fitting offering to the Lord our God who always hears the cries and sighs of His children. So, Thank You Lord! I Can Sing of Your Love Forever!

PS
Yeah, Thank You Lord is no O Sacred Head. But it does not have to be. And sometimes the simple words, from the heart, are the ones that bring us closest to God.

Determination

Orthodox priests walk in a religious procession, in heavy rain, to mark the Day of St. Cyril and Methodius, founders of the Cyrillic alphabet, on Red Square with Kremlin's Spassky Tower in the background, in Moscow, Saturday, May 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr)

This is what I call determination. In many of our parishes, I'm sure the procession would be cancelled or we'll all be walking indoors, around the Church, squeezing round the pews. I realy admire some of the monks who are walking in the rain (in their nice vestments!) minus their umbrellas.

The Rosary, the school of Mary

Last Saturday was the last day of May, the month dedicated to Mary. I was in the Confirmation Camp, but in Rome, the Pope celebrated a liturgy for the thousands who gathered at the square for a procession and to pray the rosary.

From Zenit.

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 1, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The rosary is a school of Mary in which Christians can learn to let the lamp of faith shine brighter in their hearts, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this Saturday evening at a gathering in St. Peter's Square marking the conclusion of May, the month dedicated to the Mary.

The candlelight event, attended by cardinals, bishops, priests and the laity, is one of a number of events honoring Mary that the Pontiff participated in this May. On the first Saturday of the month he presided at the praying of the rosary at the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

In his address at St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father reflected on the rosary, which he said is "a biblical meditation that permits us to reflect on the events of the Lord’s life in the company of the Blessed Virgin, treasuring them, as she did, in our heart."

Benedict XVI encouraged the practice praying of the rosary, "so that, in the school of Mary, the lamp of faith may shine ever brighter in the heart of Christians and in their houses."

The Pope then reflected on the "Magnificat" of Mary, in which she "acknowledges God’s greatness."

"Magnificat"

"This is the first indispensable sentiment of faith," the Pontiff explained, "the sentiment that gives certainty to the human creature and liberates the creature from fear, even in the midst of history’s storms."

He continued: "Going beyond the surface, Mary 'sees' with the eyes of faith God’s work in history. For this reason she is blessed, because she believed: By faith, in fact, she welcomed the word of the Lord and conceived the incarnate Word.

"Her faith allowed her to see that the thrones of the powerful of this world are all provisional, while the throne of God is the only rock that does not change and does not fall.



"And Mary’s 'Magnificat,' after centuries and millennia, remains the truest and the deepest interpretation of history, while the readings of the many wise persons of this world have been disproved by the facts over the course of the centuries."

"Let us return home with the Magnificat in our heart," urged the Holy Father. "Let us carry in us Mary’s same sentiments of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, her faith and her hope, her docile abandonment into the hands of divine providence.

"Let us imitate her example of availability and generosity in serving our brothers and sisters. In fact, we are only able to raise a canticle of praise to the Lord by welcoming God’s love and making of our existence a disinterested and generous service of neighbour."

Corpus Christi @ IC

The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ was celebrated in pretty low key way at IC. Since our application to have a Eucharistic Procession out in the streets was rejected by the police, Father decided to cancel it altogether.

Fr. Marshall and the server knelt before the Holy Eucharist. I forgot to take a pic and only remembered when they were getting up.

Instead, after the morning Mass, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed and adoration continued throughout the day until the Mass in the evening.

People praying before the Blessed Sacrament. This continued throughout the day.

The various groups and ministries each had their turn adoring Our Lord Jesus, including the kids from my class who are about to be confirmed a 2 weeks. Throughout the day, groups can be seen praying, singing and praying the Rosary or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Overall, although without our much hoped for procession, Corpus Christi was celebrated in a dignified and solemn fashion.

Day of Prayer for the Church in China

Please do remember the Church in China in your prayers. Pray that there will be reconciliation in the Church and that all her wayward sons may return to communion with Rome.

Also remember the servants of God who so faithfully kept the Faith alive during the darkest days of the Communist persecution, in particular the late Ignatius Cardinal Kung.

For Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians
VATICAN CITY, MAY 16, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI has composed a prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan to mark the Day of Prayer for the Church in China this month.

In his pastoral letter to Catholics in China last May, Benedict XVI designated May 24 as the day of prayer for the Catholic Church in China. The day is the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, who is venerated at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan, located 21 miles from Shanghai.

"Look upon the People of God," the Pope wrote in the prayer, "and, with a mother's care, guide them along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens."

He refered to Mary as the "Mother of hope," and asked that help her the faithful to "discern at all times, even those that are darkest, the signs of God's loving presence."

"Our Lady of Sheshan," he added, "sustain all those in China, who, amid their daily trails, continue to believe, to hope, to love. May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world, and of the world to Jesus."

The Pope continued, "Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love, ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built."

Below is the Vatican's English translation of the prayer:

* * *

The statue of Mary Help of Christians inside the Marian Basilica of Sheshan, Shanghai, China

Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother, venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title "Help of Christians," the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.

We come before you today to implore your protection.

Look upon the People of God and, with a mother's care, guide them along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.

When you obediently said "yes" in the house of Nazareth, you allowed God's eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.

You willingly and generously co-operated in that work, allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul, until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary, standing beside your Son, Who died that we might live.

From that moment, you became, in a new way, the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith and choose to follow in His footsteps by taking up His Cross.

The image of Mary Help of Christians inside the Sheshan Seminary

Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.

Grant that your children may discern at all times, even those that are darkest, the signs of God's loving presence.

Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China, who, amid their daily trails, continue to believe, to hope, to love.

Marian altar inside the Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan

May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world, and of the world to Jesus.

In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high, offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.

Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love, ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.

Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!

Our Lady
Empress of China
Ora pro nobis

New Archdiocese, new Archbishop

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Erected the new ecclesiastical province of Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, separating it from the ecclesiastical province of Kuching and raising the diocese of Kota Kinabalu to the status of metropolitan archdiocese with the suffragan dioceses of Keningau and Sandakan . He appointed Bishop John Lee Hiong Fun-Yit Yaw of Kota Kinabalu as first metropolitan archbishop of Kota Kinabalu. The archbishop-elect was born in Kota Kinabalu in 1933, he was ordained a priest in 1964 and consecrated a bishop in 1987.

Axios!

He is worthy!