Thursday, October 25, 2007

Face the Cross

I just realised that I have not blogged about my mum's situation. On the night of July 6th, my mum had a massive stroke, and was rushed to the hospital. The bleeding in her skull caused much pressure on her brain, which resulted in a great deal of damage to her brain. She has been unconscious since the operation to remove and control the blood in her head. But thanks to God's grace and the many people praying for her, she has recovered enough to be discharged, and is now in a nursing home where she can get proper medical care and therapy.

Choir singing

On sunday, the youth choir from my parish went to the nursing home to sing to my mum. Their beautiful voices filled the ward, and though my mum can't respond, but I believe that she could hear their singing. But not only were their voices angelic, but the words in the songs really brought home a message. One song in particular, "Face the Cross", touched me deeply. Below are the lyrics and you can download the song by clicking on the title.
Face the Cross

You came into the world as a tiny Child,
small and unassuming.
From Your first conscious thought,
You knew Calvary was before You, looming.
You knew who You were,
what You would do,
why You had been sent to this place:

To face the cross, never turn away,
the salvation of the world hangs in the balance.
You must face the cross,follow and obey,
knowing God will make a way
for You to face the cross.

Mary, on Golgotha's hill,
mourning ev'ry wound,
broken hearted, crying.
You can't believe your eyes,
cannot bear to see your son and Saviour dying.
You heard His first word,
held Him in your arms;
now you pray to heaven for grace

To face the cross, never turn away,
the salvation of the world hangs in the balance.
You must face the cross, follow and obey,
knowing God will make a way
for You to face the cross.

How hard it is to look upon that dying form,
to resist the urge to run for cover from the storm.
But each of us is free to choose
to turn away, or to stay

and embrace the cross;
stand and face the cross.
The salvation of the world hangs in the balance.
Stand and face the cross,
never turn away;
follow and obey,
knowing God will make a way
for you to face the cross, face the cross.
Face the cross.

The words of the song encouraged me to face this cross and the many other crosses that the situation has created in my life and family. Especially the last verse about the urge to run, the choice to turn or to stay, and to embrace.

It has been a difficult time in terms of coming to terms, both emotionally and practically (one of the reasons why this blog has been stagnant). But thankfully there are the many blessings and graces that have been showered on me and my family by God that has helped us through, and keep us trusting in Him. As it says in the last verse "knowing God will make a way...to face the cross". I will try to blog about the blessings another time, hopefully in the next post.

Just a small request to all who read this blog. Please pray for the vocation recollection this friday to saturday (26th-27th Oct), that the aspirants coming will be able to discover God's call in their lives, and have the courage to follow it and the strength to face whatever crosses may come.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Facebook Evangelisation

It has been a long time since I last logged on to blogger. Cos of the many things that have been happening, difficulty in putting my thoughts into words, and lastly my super tiredness. But something just sparked a small flame in my head.

facebook logoI read in Straits Times about companies banning people from using Facebook, because of the time spent "throwing sheep" at one another. Just a thought came to mind, since people are throwing sheep and giving alcohol to one another, why not use facebook as an evangelising tool. Giving each other scipture quotes, love, encouragement, blessings. Or maybe like the aquarium and garden apps, have an altar app, where people can give each other crucifixes, icons, candles, incense. Currently there are no such apps, just the normal bible quotes, Catholic Friends,

Not sure how to create an app, and how long it will take. So if there is anyone who would like to embark on this journey of using technology to evangelise, the help is always welcome...I haven't touched programming in ages, and the new technology is way beyond me. For the rest, just a request for your prayers, that this venture might be for the greater glory of God... oh no I'm starting to sound Jesuit ;Þ