Photograph courtesy of Brian.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Rosary Home Visit: Anthia & Zachus
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Rosary Home Visit
Hi all. We will be having our firstever Rosary Home Visit at Anthia's & Zachus' place this coming Saturday (7/4). Below are all the necessary details:
Meeting Venue: Bus-stop outside Nativity
Meeting Time: 6.50pm sharp
Stuff to Bring: Rosary + FOOD!
As this event will be a mini-potluck as well as a gathering for STAC, it will be awesome if you guys can bring some F&B. For a list of stuff you might wanna consider bringing, please see below:
Meeting Venue: Bus-stop outside Nativity
Meeting Time: 6.50pm sharp
Stuff to Bring: Rosary + FOOD!
As this event will be a mini-potluck as well as a gathering for STAC, it will be awesome if you guys can bring some F&B. For a list of stuff you might wanna consider bringing, please see below:
- Bottled drinks
- Potato chips
- Finger foods (nuggets, finger sandwiches, cocktail sausages etc)
- Sandwiches
- Simple dishes (shepherd's pie, fried rice etc)
- Dessert (cookies, brownies, cake, waffles, fruits etc)
Please confirm with me your attendance as well as what food you're gonna bring by this Friday! If you don't, I will assume you won't be joining us, so don't be surprised when you don't see anyone at the bus-stop (especially if you're late!). =P
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Easter!
Jesus Christ is Risen Today! Happy Easter everyone!
Celebrations galore as STAC held its firstever Easter gift-exchange after mass today, proving that the spirit of giving is not only alive on an over-commercialised Christmas, but during the most important day on our Christian calendar as well!
But the partying didn't stop there! The choir headed over to BBBs' place for a free flow of waffles! Thank you so much for your kind hospitality and great food, BBBs. We all had a wonderful time!
So happy Easter to all Christians and non-Christians alike. Rejoice, for today death has been conquered by our Lord and Saviour. =)
Celebrations galore as STAC held its firstever Easter gift-exchange after mass today, proving that the spirit of giving is not only alive on an over-commercialised Christmas, but during the most important day on our Christian calendar as well!
But the partying didn't stop there! The choir headed over to BBBs' place for a free flow of waffles! Thank you so much for your kind hospitality and great food, BBBs. We all had a wonderful time!
So happy Easter to all Christians and non-Christians alike. Rejoice, for today death has been conquered by our Lord and Saviour. =)
Friday, April 22, 2011
Lenten Session VI
I really loved the last session's community reading, so I've decided to post it up here and do a short conclusion after. Here goes:
"How is it that the people who hail Jesus with branches and song as he enters Jerusalem also revile and taunt him a few days later?
They have an idea of what a messiah or a prophet or a king should be. They have decided beforehand what Jesus should do and be for them. It is not Jesus himself they are welcoming to Jerusalem that day, but rather Jesus as a means to bring about their plans and schemes. For them, messiah means power. They have no use for a messiah who is love. Love does not solve their problems in the way they expect power should. Yet perhaps some of them will later repent and rejoice because love himself has forgiven them from the cross as power never will or can.
Who is Jesus for you? Is he a fix-it man whom you accuse when things are not fixed to your satisfaction? Or are you open to welcome him as he chooses to come? Are you so busy looking for him to show his power that you never recognise how he is showing his love?
We are his welcomers, and we are his revilers. May repentance always bring us to welcome him again. And may each new welcoming be more and more enduring."
As Bernard said, God is always giving. He gives so much, and his blessings for us are in abundance. Yet, in spite of all we have received, we continue to ask for more, and God, in His magnificent love, keeps giving.
Must we wait till we lose our gifts before we realise how much we have been given? As Lent comes to a close, let us be more appreciative of the people and things around us. We are so, so blessed, and let's remember that the next time we attempt to blame God for our shortcomings.
"How is it that the people who hail Jesus with branches and song as he enters Jerusalem also revile and taunt him a few days later?
They have an idea of what a messiah or a prophet or a king should be. They have decided beforehand what Jesus should do and be for them. It is not Jesus himself they are welcoming to Jerusalem that day, but rather Jesus as a means to bring about their plans and schemes. For them, messiah means power. They have no use for a messiah who is love. Love does not solve their problems in the way they expect power should. Yet perhaps some of them will later repent and rejoice because love himself has forgiven them from the cross as power never will or can.
Who is Jesus for you? Is he a fix-it man whom you accuse when things are not fixed to your satisfaction? Or are you open to welcome him as he chooses to come? Are you so busy looking for him to show his power that you never recognise how he is showing his love?
We are his welcomers, and we are his revilers. May repentance always bring us to welcome him again. And may each new welcoming be more and more enduring."
As Bernard said, God is always giving. He gives so much, and his blessings for us are in abundance. Yet, in spite of all we have received, we continue to ask for more, and God, in His magnificent love, keeps giving.
Must we wait till we lose our gifts before we realise how much we have been given? As Lent comes to a close, let us be more appreciative of the people and things around us. We are so, so blessed, and let's remember that the next time we attempt to blame God for our shortcomings.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Lenten Session V
After returning the blind man his sight, Jesus' journey towards Calvary continued. This time, however, he got a little sidetracked: a dear friend of his, Lazarus, had died.
The death of Lazarus, as Jesus said, gave him a chance to display God's power. Jesus proved himself greater than death by raising Lazarus from the dead, though he had already been entombed for a few days. Jesus wanted us to know that nothing on this world was more absolute than God, and since God is love, nothing is more powerful than love.
Most of us in this choir are young, and have not yet had to experience the death of someone dear to us. But when we do, or if we did, what would our response be? Would we blame God for taking away someone we loved? Would we mourn a loss, or should we be strong and realise that death is not the end?
Love persists even after one's death, and love ensures that a person does not simply disappear after they have passed from this world. Thanks to God's great love, our lives need not end--we can live on, both in heaven, and in the hearts of those who love us.
As seen on a gravestone in a commercial (or was it an MV?): "We loved him very much, but God loved him more."
The death of Lazarus, as Jesus said, gave him a chance to display God's power. Jesus proved himself greater than death by raising Lazarus from the dead, though he had already been entombed for a few days. Jesus wanted us to know that nothing on this world was more absolute than God, and since God is love, nothing is more powerful than love.
Most of us in this choir are young, and have not yet had to experience the death of someone dear to us. But when we do, or if we did, what would our response be? Would we blame God for taking away someone we loved? Would we mourn a loss, or should we be strong and realise that death is not the end?
Love persists even after one's death, and love ensures that a person does not simply disappear after they have passed from this world. Thanks to God's great love, our lives need not end--we can live on, both in heaven, and in the hearts of those who love us.
As seen on a gravestone in a commercial (or was it an MV?): "We loved him very much, but God loved him more."
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Lent Session IV
As he continued his journey towards his death and ressurection, Jesus encountered a beggar whose physical blindness Jesus cured. The significance of this act of kindness was so great that it sparked a rather big controversy amongst the Pharisees and some of the Jews, for Jesus had healed on a Sabbath, an act which was akin to crime in those days.
This story of one of Jesus' many miracles raises two important points. The first comes from the actions of the Pharisees. Many a time we tend to blow things out of proportions. We tend to misread the intentions of others because their actions seem out of the current social norms. Sometimes, we even allow those standards to be our excuse for not doing the right thing; we allow ourselves to be suffocated by social norms, and fail to reach out to the lonely, fail to heal the sick or love the unloved. Jesus proved himself greater than the Sabbath and the laws which the Pharisees had twisted and contorted--we, too, have to be greater than the boundaries this physical world has constructed around us.
The second point stems from the blind man. He showed us a quality that we often overlook: steadfastness. He did not fear the Pharisees, who probably had the power to punish him for defying them. Instead, he allowed himself to revel in the Truth--that Jesus was the saviour of the world, the only Son of God. Jesus is always there, always healing and guiding us through the difficulties of our lives. Yet when he needs us most, where are we? When the Pharisees of our modern world condemn him, do we stand up for the Lord who has returned us our sight? Or do we shy away, afraid of what the blind might do to us?
The road to the cross was not easy for Jesus, yet he never backed away from those who needed his grace. Let us then walk in his footsteps, and allow our blindness to be washed away in his wondrous love.
This story of one of Jesus' many miracles raises two important points. The first comes from the actions of the Pharisees. Many a time we tend to blow things out of proportions. We tend to misread the intentions of others because their actions seem out of the current social norms. Sometimes, we even allow those standards to be our excuse for not doing the right thing; we allow ourselves to be suffocated by social norms, and fail to reach out to the lonely, fail to heal the sick or love the unloved. Jesus proved himself greater than the Sabbath and the laws which the Pharisees had twisted and contorted--we, too, have to be greater than the boundaries this physical world has constructed around us.
The second point stems from the blind man. He showed us a quality that we often overlook: steadfastness. He did not fear the Pharisees, who probably had the power to punish him for defying them. Instead, he allowed himself to revel in the Truth--that Jesus was the saviour of the world, the only Son of God. Jesus is always there, always healing and guiding us through the difficulties of our lives. Yet when he needs us most, where are we? When the Pharisees of our modern world condemn him, do we stand up for the Lord who has returned us our sight? Or do we shy away, afraid of what the blind might do to us?
The road to the cross was not easy for Jesus, yet he never backed away from those who needed his grace. Let us then walk in his footsteps, and allow our blindness to be washed away in his wondrous love.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Lenten Session III
Since last week's reading was rather long, I thought it would be good to do a little song analysis instead. The hymn we'll be analysing will be Fill My Cup, Lord. We'll go through the hymn two lines at a time.
"Like the woman at the well, I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy"
The nameless woman at the well had an appetite. She had had five husbands and was living with another man when she first met Jesus. We could even assume she was rather attracted to Jesus, which prompted her to make conversation with him, a Jew. At heart, this woman with a bad reputation was simply lonely and looking for love in all the wrong places. Like this woman, often we find ourselves wanting things we do not need. We fill holes in our lives with material possessions in the hopes that they can make us happy. But material things are not permanent. Eventually, they lose their value, and cannot provide happiness. They do not satisfy.
"But then I heard my saviour speaking:
'Draw from my well that never shall run dry!'"
The words in this hymn are a little different from what Jesus said. Jesus said that 'whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst again'. Nonetheless, the point here is that Jesus speaks to us. He offers us this everlasting water, and he offers us himself. Why is this important? Because, at the end of the day, Jesus is always first. Had he not made the first move, had he not made the initial offer, we would be left wanting and forever thirsting, no matter how great our faith. This new life Jesus gives is not our birthright. We do not deserve it. Jesus offers it because that's how much God loves us.
"Fill my cup, Lord! I lift it up Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul!"
Now that Jesus has offered us the living water, we have one more important thing to do. We have to accept his invitation, and we have to want it with all our heart and soul. There is no point accepting a gift when it's going to be thrown aside. God's gifts cannot be wasted. We have to want it, to thirst for it. We have to lift up our cups and ask God to quench our thirst.
"Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!"
Now at last we arrive at the true focal point of this hymn, and of our very religion. What can really quench 'this thirsting of my soul' is the Bread of Heaven. We find God's greatest gift again and again each Sunday in Holy Communion, when the host becomes the true Body of Christ. If we partake of this feast and be witnesses of Christ and his Holy Spirit, we can find true happiness even in the face of adversity.
And that is the Spring of Living Water.
"Like the woman at the well, I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy"
The nameless woman at the well had an appetite. She had had five husbands and was living with another man when she first met Jesus. We could even assume she was rather attracted to Jesus, which prompted her to make conversation with him, a Jew. At heart, this woman with a bad reputation was simply lonely and looking for love in all the wrong places. Like this woman, often we find ourselves wanting things we do not need. We fill holes in our lives with material possessions in the hopes that they can make us happy. But material things are not permanent. Eventually, they lose their value, and cannot provide happiness. They do not satisfy.
"But then I heard my saviour speaking:
'Draw from my well that never shall run dry!'"
The words in this hymn are a little different from what Jesus said. Jesus said that 'whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst again'. Nonetheless, the point here is that Jesus speaks to us. He offers us this everlasting water, and he offers us himself. Why is this important? Because, at the end of the day, Jesus is always first. Had he not made the first move, had he not made the initial offer, we would be left wanting and forever thirsting, no matter how great our faith. This new life Jesus gives is not our birthright. We do not deserve it. Jesus offers it because that's how much God loves us.
"Fill my cup, Lord! I lift it up Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul!"
Now that Jesus has offered us the living water, we have one more important thing to do. We have to accept his invitation, and we have to want it with all our heart and soul. There is no point accepting a gift when it's going to be thrown aside. God's gifts cannot be wasted. We have to want it, to thirst for it. We have to lift up our cups and ask God to quench our thirst.
"Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!"
Now at last we arrive at the true focal point of this hymn, and of our very religion. What can really quench 'this thirsting of my soul' is the Bread of Heaven. We find God's greatest gift again and again each Sunday in Holy Communion, when the host becomes the true Body of Christ. If we partake of this feast and be witnesses of Christ and his Holy Spirit, we can find true happiness even in the face of adversity.
And that is the Spring of Living Water.
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