Novena - What's your Good News

Someone sent me an email with a story a few days ago, just as I was preparing what to share at today’s novena. And I found it very apt, and would like to share it with you.

On New Year’s Eve, a man and his wife were having dinner and reflecting on all that has happened in the past year. The husband started to complain of how bad the year was. His father got cancer, he had to take a pay cut, the dog died, and the list went on.

The wife was listening patiently, when all of a sudden, she said, “Don’t you think our Christmas Tree is very beautiful?” The husband was shocked at the sudden change of subject, but nodded to agree.

The wife continued, “but if you look carefully, there are a few of the bulbs that have blown. But why focus on those few bulbs, when the rest are shining brightly illuminating the tree and the room?” The husband got the message, and they started to share the many blessings they had in the year.

My brothers and sisters, it is so natural for us to focus on the negatives in our lives, the times when things don’t go the way we want them to. Just look at our newspapers everyday, bad news and scandals greatly outnumber the good news. MRT breaks down and it is the biggest news in Singapore. Orchard Road floods, and as made fun of on the Noose, we call police.

The problem with us, is that we only notice when something goes wrong, not when something goes right. MRT, floods, traffic jam, economy downturn. But you don’t see the news reporting that today the MRT and Buses ran without problem, or that it rained but there were no floods. If we look at the letters that we write in for Novena, only 80 out of 437 are thanksgiving letters (<20%). Isn’t that like the looking at the Christmas tree and seeing the bulbs that are blown?

Actually the News is not only Bad News, it also highlights when amazing things or miracles happen. But it is so easy to overlook the things that normal. Parents will always complain that their children take all that they do for them for granted. Why? Because for the children that is what parents should do normally. Similarly we take God for granted, when we only turn to him at the times when things go wrong, or we give thanks to him when he answers our prayers and makes miracles happen.

My brothers and sisters, we are people of the Good News. That God loved us so much, he sent Jesus, His Son, to remind us of the love of God, and the many blessings that we receive from Him.

So what is the Good News in your life?

Today is the last day of the year, we usually look forward to the New Year and make Resolutions to be a better person. But let us not forget to look back at the year, and count the blessings that God has done for us this whole year. I tell you honestly, if you start now and really think of the blessings, you will not be finished by the time this year is over.

So I would like to give you this challenge. Go home today, think of your blessings, and in this one week, write a thanksgiving letter, to God for his many blessings, and for our Mother who always intercedes for us. Put it in an envelope and write "Thanksgiving for Novena" and drop it in our parish office. So next week, we can really give thanks to God for his many blessings on us

I am sure that we have more to give thanks to God for His blessings than asking him for what we need. Amen.

Sharing on the readings of Tue 19th Jul 2011

Yesterday evening, my sister and I went to NTUC to get some groceries for the family. The realisation dawned on me of how things have changed. In the past, it was our parents who bought all the household necessities. We just told them what we needed. Now having grown up, we realise our part in the family and chip in to look after the family's needs. The role of a child in the family is not one who just gets looked after, but as he grows older, he realises that he contributes and is involved in the matters of the family.

And that is what Jesus is reminding us today in the Gospel (Mt 12:46-50). There is a link between our identity (who we are) and our actions (what we do). In the passage Jesus says

whoever does the will of my heavenly Father IS my brother, and sister, and mother

He doesn't say that who ever does the will of the Father "WILL BECOME", insteads he say "IS" my brother, sister and mother.

Though it might seem like a play of words, but there is a difference between the two. One who "is" Jesus' brother, sister or mother knows that he is a child of God and that he belongs in God's family. And because he belongs to the family, he will do the will of the Father. But one who "will become" Jesus' brother, sister or mother, sees himself as outside of the family, and hopes to become a family member by doing the will of the Father.

In the past, I belonged to the second category. I saw God as someone I needed to obey, who will judge me and so I needed to be good to gain His love, to enter heaven. But as I journeyed and grew in my faith, I realised my identity as truly a child of God. I didn't need to work to gain His trust and His love, but I was already immensely loved by Him. And as a child of God, I wanted to do His will. Like Jesus said to his earthly parents when they found him in the temple:

Did you not know that I must be about my Father's work? - Lk 2:49

The question we need to ask ourselves is: Am I doing my Father's will in my life today?

If we are not, could it be that we have failed to realise that we are children of God? Or am I still a young child in the faith, not fully realising my responsibilities as a member of God's family.

The other problem could be forgetfulness. Not that we do not know that we are children of God, but that we get so distracted, or we believe the lies of the tempter that we forget who we are.

Let us pray that we might truly realise our identity as children of God, as brothers and sister of our Lord Jesus Christ. And pray for the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us to know and do the will of our Father.

Sharing on the readings of Mon 18th Jul 2011

When I read the Gospel passage of Mt 12:38-42, I used to think it was best not to ask God for a sign. After all Jesus said "It is an evil and unfaithful generation that seeks a sign".

But as I continue on my faith journey, I have come to realise that signs from God are important to help us grow in our faith. It assures us of God's presence with us on our journey, sometimes leading us, other times just to let us know He is there.

One sign which God gave me which I treasure was during a silent retreat that I went for. During that retreat, it was about 5 prayer sessions of 1 hour each a day. And of course after a few days, I started to lose focus and was getting a bit tired or lazy. So there was one prayer session that I felt that my prayer was really dry and fruitless. And I started to bargain with God to let me do 30 mins, or 45 mins instead of the full hour.

I tried to persevere on, but I couldn't get my mind focused on the bible passage, and so I started to look around for something to distract me, and I saw a trail of ants. The ants were just industriously walking up and down the trail, I think to find food or something.

I was really so bored and distracted at the time, that I decided to search whether the bible mentions "ants". And so I searched and found the passage Proverbs 6:6

Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise.

And I knew that God was showing me a sign, to remind me not to be lazy, but to be faithful like the ant, even if the task may seem boring or routine.

Back to the Gospel passage. If signs from God are beneficial to us, why did Jesus say what he said? It is not that signs are bad, but signs cannot be the foundation of our faith. Our faith needs to be built on our relationship with God, not external signs.

Take the example of dating vs marriage. In the beginning stages of the relationship, both parties give lots of signs of their love for the other, gifts, smses, etc. But as the relationship deepens, these external signs no longer play such an important role in expressing the love between the two.

It is the same with God, our relationship with him needs to be deepened, where it is strengthened by external signs, but not dependent on them. If we fail to reach that stage, we will be like the Israelites in the 1st Reading (Exodus 15:1bc-2, 3-4, 5-6) who despite the signs that God has shown them, complain at the first sign of difficulty, and wanting to go back to slavery in Egypt.

Our relationship with God cannot be one where he is a vending machine giving us signs whenever we want them. But it should be based on the trust that he truly is God and loves us immensely. The one most important sign that He gave us, as what Jesus says in the Gospel, is that of Jesus Christ who died for our sins and rose again to give us hope.

Remember that during the times in our lives where we may fail to see God's signs in our lives, it could be that he is testing and strengthening our faith in him, that we still believe even if we don't see. As Jesus said to doubting Thomas:

You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe - Jn 20:29

It is Me lah!

Yesterday's reading (Jn 20:11-18) about Mary Magdalene's encounter with the Risen Lord reminded me of my experience at this year's Easter Vigil.

Before the Liturgy of the Light, everyone was gathered around the fire at the entrance of the church. I was standing with the Fr Brian and the Altar Servers, waiting for it to start. I looked around and saw a priest in his chasuble standing at the back. I didn't recognise him, and I thought it must be a visiting priest come to join in the celebration. So I went up to him and said "Father, we are about to start, would you like to join us near the fire. He gave a laugh and said "It is me lah!". Then I realised that it was Fr Bosco. He had shaven his head and beard. He looked totally different.

I have heard that Fr Bosco had done this before during Easter, but still the sight before me left me in shock. I found myself staring trying to figure out how the hair and beard could change one's appearance so drastically. I recalled the Mas Selamat posters with him in a beard and clean shaven, and it did not look so different.



Back to yesterday's reading. As I compared Mary Magdalene's experience of the Risen Lord, with my encounter with Fr Bosco's new look, I realised the similarities.

Mary was looking for the dead Jesus' body. I was also expecting a bearded Fr Bosco, the one I was used to.

Mary recognised Jesus when he called her. I also recognised Fr Bosco by his voice, when he said "it is I lah!".

Mary would probably have known that Jesus had said that he would rise on the third day. I knew that Fr Bosco had previously shaved his head for Easter, and many people did not recognise him, and yet when I saw him, it didn't cross my mind.

Looking forward to the last day when I brought before Christ, I know that this scenario will play itself out again.

Though I know that Christ will be different from what I imagine him to be, I will still be clinging on to my image of what Christ should look like, and may not recognise him. I just pray and hope that when that day comes, I will be able to recognise his voice when he says to me, "It is Me lah!."

Here's a video to bring you some joy and laughter.
Jesus Christ is risen indeed.


Click this link if you cannot see the video.

Palm Sunday - Short Film

Just saw a great short film on Palm Sunday.



Click this link if you cannot see the video.

What was going on in your mind during the "long" passion reading?

Get Clean

I just saw this video on Youtube.



Click this link if you cannot see the video.

Just thought that it is a great reminder of how liberating the Sacrament of Reconciliation can be.

So for those of you who haven't gotten clean yet, there are still penitential services this evening and monday evening. Click here to see the schedule

Let's prepare ourselves to celebrate the wonderful mystery of Christ's Passion, Death and Resurrection that gives us Hope.

There are two chicks on my balcony

Update from my previous blog entry about the birds building the nest on my balcony. The nest was built pretty fast in about 4 days, after which the birds seemed to disappear, until one day I saw a familiar beak sticking out of the nest.

Laying/Incubating the Eggs

I knew that the eggs had hatched when one morning, I didn't see the mother bird in the nest. So I took a closer look and saw the beak of the chick sticking out.

Closeup of the Nest

And sure enough, during the day I see the two parent birds flying to the nest, I hear the hungry chirps of the chicks as they bring them food.

Father Feeding the Chicks

Mother Feeding the Chicks

Closeup of the Mother

Closeup of the Father

Off to find more food

The two parents fly back and forth the whole day to find and bring food back to feed their chicks.

This is where I have to stand to take the photos.

One thing this has taught me is patience. As the opening of the nest is facing out of my balcony, I have to take the photos from the window in the bathroom. And as the hungry chicks devour the food their parents bring them, each stopover lasts less than 10 seconds. So I have to stand on the chair in the bathroom, holding my hand up with the camera sticking out of the window, patiently waiting for the parent bird to fly in. As I can't look out the window, I have to rely on the chirping of the chicks to tell me when the parent bird is there. And if I'm too slow, it is another 5-10 minutes of waiting before the next feed. So I stand there praying that the birds will be able to find food quickly.

2012 - End Of The World

On the Sunday after the earthquake in Japan, I was at a bible sharing session, when this question was put to me.

"In light of the recent earthquakes & natural disasters around the world, is this the sign of the end of the world?"

I put the question to the other members of the group, and found more fuel added to the discussion on the end of the world.

• the pale green horse seen on video footage of the Egypt demonstrations


• the end of the world in 2012 as seen in the movie, based on the Mayan calendar

Usually I would give the answer from scripture, that only the Father knows the time and the day (Mk 13:32). But this time I asked them what if it were true, what if the end of the world was really around the corner? How would this "news" affect or change your life? Would you enjoy yourself and do all the things you want to do before the world ends? Would you repent of your sins before facing judgement day?

The surprising thing is they did not think so far. It is easy to get caught up in the sensationalism of the whole end of the world thing. Is it true? Are the prophecies in the book of Revelations happening now?

But this is what the world without Christ is concerned about. The focus is on the End of the World, because it is the end of life for them. But for us Christians, we believe it is not the end of our life. We are focused on the eternal life that has been won for us by Christ, and awaits us as a gift, all we need to accept that gift in our lives. So all these events remind us that we are all mortal, our lives are all in God's plan.

So how do we react to these things are happening.

• if you think the end of the world is coming, so it is a time for enjoying life to the fullest, then what a pity, there is no life for you after 2012.


• if you think the end of the world is coming, and it is time to repent, good for you, but don't get disappointed if life continues. At least you turned back to God, though not for the right reason.


• if you think these events are a call for you to be thankful for your blessings, and that it is a call for you to share these blessings with those affected by these natural disasters, then happy are you, for the message of God has touched and changed your life, and you are living the Kingdom of God here and now.

At the Conversion Retreat, Fr Goh told us of a pastor who told his flock that all we need to do to get to heaven, is to repent 1 day before we die. The problem is we will never know when we are going die. Thus the call as emphasized during lent, is to repent, and turn back to God, who loves us so much, and is just waiting for us to return so that he can shower us with his abundant blessings.

Garden vs Desert - 1st Sunday of Lent

We have often heard it said, that for those who handle large amounts of money or hold important positions, we need to pay them well to prevent the temptation of corruption. Or others who say, "Let me earn enough... before I can ...".

An interesting thought came to me as I was at Mass today, and reflecting on the readings. When we compare the environment in the First Reading (Gn 3:1-7) and the Gospel (Mt 4:1-11), we see two drastic contrasting situations. In the Garden of Eden, also known as Paradise, it was a land of abundance, where Adam & Eve had all they needed to meet their needs. On the opposite end, we have the Wilderness or Desert, where Jesus was, with no food or water, a sparse cruel land.

If we use the thinking mentioned above, one would think that Adam & Eve would be more than satisfied with all that they had, wanting nothing more. And Jesus having fasted for forty days and "was hungry". would have been craving for his first bite to break his fast.

And yet we see the irony, the one who had everything fell for the temptation of the devil to eat the forbidden fruit. And the one who was hungry was able to resist the temptation to change stones into bread. Sounds like some topsy-turvy fantasy world. It just doesn't make sense.

But it does when we reflect further, and it is linked to the recommended practice of Fasting, especially during this time of lent. It is not so much about the giving up of something that we like, but it is the reminding ourselves that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. Fasting helps us to realise that the only necessary thing we need in our lives is God. It helps us to realise that we can live 40 days without chocolate, cigarettes, facebook, or whatever may seem to have taken precedence over God in our lives.

The readings remind us that it is foolish to think that if we acquire what we need and what we want, we will be satisfied. Because there will always be more money to be earned, more possessions to have, more new things to do than we will ever have the time to try them all. It is when we fast, that we enter the desert like Jesus, and realise the superfluousness (cheem word I learnt recently - means unnecessary) of so many material things in our lives.

So let us enter the desert, where in the silence and emptiness, we will hear God's voice, enter into His embrace and experience His love that satisfies all hearts.

Life-Giving

In the last week, the theme of being life-giving has been coming up over and over again.

First it was an article in the newspaper where a MP conducted a straw poll, finding that there is a tipping point, a monetary value of benefits that the government can offer to women to encourage them to have children. It was suggested that an amount of $500,000, half a million dollars would change the minds of some childless women. I wonder if that is the real reason why couples (not only the woman) are not having children? Is it that it is too expensive to raise a child in this day and age? Or is it a matter of values and attitudes towards child-bearing and being life-giving. Could it be the notion that having a child is too troublesome, restricts the freedom, limits career prospect, which is delaying or stopping couples from having children.

This was contrasted when we were doing the story of Jephthah's daughter in Jdg 11, who went to bemoan her virginity because she was going to die before fulfilling the mission of her womanhood - that of bearing a child. There are so many stories of women in the bible (Sarah,...etc), where being barren is seen as a curse, and when they are gifted with a child, there is much thanks to God for the gift and blessing that the child is.

Furthermore, I have the two birds flying to and fro, building their nest on my balcony, one strand at a time. These birds with their "small little bird brains" compared to our human intelligence, yet are able to know their purpose and to bring forth new life. Seeing them fly tireless to-and-fro weaving the nest strand by strand, surely limits their "freedom", taking up 4 whole days, reminds and challenges me that I have to be life-giving and tireless in living out this Mission and Vocation that God has called and entrusted to me.



Talking about being life-giving, Wednesday during our afternoon-off, I joined 2 other brother seminarians as they went to donate blood. This was my first time donating blood, and on our journey to the blood bank, I asked both to share why they regularly donate blood. One brother shared that when his father was in hospital and needed blood, it was readily provided, and as such he feels that he wants to donate, so that others too may have blood when they need it. The other brother who is from Malaysia, shared the situation back home, where if a person requires blood for an operation, they will be required to find donors to replace the number of packets used.

Listening to their sharings, and after going through the relatively simple, painless and fast process of donating blood, I started to reflect on this whole experience. Firstly, why have I not donated blood before? It was not that troublesome or time-consuming. In fact there was a guy who was there next to me, who came on his birthday. He had taken a half-day off for his birthday, and there he was donating blood. I guess for myself it was the lack of awareness, or urgency. Most of the time it would need a dramatic situation to jerk me out of my comfort zone. But thankfully I have these 2 brothers who encouraged and motivated me with their own inspiring examples.

Secondly, what is my motivation for donating blood? In the army, those who donate blood get to skip strenuous exercise for the day. For me, it would be the free chocolate brownie and Milo at the cafe after donating blood. Jokes aside, as it is understood in the Old Testament by the Jews, that blood is life, then donating blood would be one of the ways that I can be life-giving. I am just satisfied that my blood can be a gift of someone in need. In fact I would recommend everyone who is physically able, to donate regularly. There is always someone in need of it, don't wait till you need it then realise the importance of it.

Rosy Cheeks or Blind & Bogay

A young boy once asked me this riddle:

"How do you tell the difference between a person in heaven and a person in hell?"
"One has a halo and wings, the other has horns?"
"No. The one in heaven has rosy cheeks and is fit and muscular, the one in hell is blind and bogay (no teeth)".
"How is that so?"
"Because the one in hell takes a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye. The one in heaven has rosy cheeks because he offers the other cheek when he is slapped, and fit because he walks two miles when others walk one."

While this riddle takes what Jesus said in the Gospel (Mt 5:38-48) literally, it does help us visualize the difference between the life of love and the life of hatred. The life of hatred allows hatred and vengeance to perpetuate which will result in a world full of blind and toothless people. But in a world of love and forgiveness, the one who receives injury or insult, puts a stop to it by not taking revenge. He in fact tries to further eradicate hatred by "going that extra mile", by loving the enemy. In loving the enemy, it is not so much doing something good to gain our own salvation, but by loving the enemy, we are trying to help change the person to be better person.

In the battle between good and evil, love and hate, I use scenes from two movies to remind of what Christ was trying to teach us.

First in the movie "Fearless" starring Jet Li, we see the cycle of hatred going on, when first Jet Li's disciple is beaten up by, he goes to take revenge and ends up killing his rival. His rival's godson then takes revenge by killing his wife and child. Jet Li then goes to his rival's house, but before he can get his revenge, the rival's godson commits suicide, denied of his revenge, he turns to his rival's wife and child. In the principle of an eye for an eye, he could have had his revenge for what he himself lost. But he comes to his senses, and walks away. Thus we see how hatred can only stop when one party decides not to revenge a hurt.

The second movie, illustrates Christ call to love. In the movie, "Pay It Forward", a boy Trevor starts a class assignment on a plan to make the world a better place. He decides to do 3 good deeds and he tells the recipients of the good deeds not to repay him, but to do 3 good deeds to someone else. In one chain we see Trevor helping his mum, who in turn forgives her mother, who helps a gang member, who in turn saves a girl's life, and then the Father of the girl gives away his car to a journalist whose car was smashed. At the end of the movie, we see how one boy's initiative touches the lives of so many people.

This is the question that we are faced with - Do we want to be part of the chain that passes on hatred, or the chain that spreads love?

New Neighbours

This weekend, I was blessed with an encounter with 2 soon-to-be parents. On Saturday afternoon, these 2 yellow birds started flying to my balcony, and entertaining me with their chirping and gymnastics on my laundry line.

I was wondering why they came repeatedly to my balcony, when I saw one of the birds bringing some sort of fibre or grass and trying to attach it to the line. Then I knew that they were trying to build a nest. But try as they might, they were not successful, the strips kept falling to the floor. Evening came, and the birds did not return.



To my joy, the birds were back on Sunday morning, when I came back to my room at 8am after breakfast. They were chirping away and still trying to build the nest. I wished I could stay in my room to enjoy their company, but we were having the Seminary Open House, so I had to go and meet the visitors and introduce the seminary to them.

Imagine my surprise when I came back to my room at lunchtime, to see that they had ingeniously used a clothes-peg on the line as an anchor, and started to build their nest around it. Looks like I will be having constant visitors and entertainment in the coming days. Praise the Lord for this wonderful blessing and encounter with His creation.



But like the story about good luck, bad luck that I wrote about once before, this weekend I suffered a small loss. I dropped my camera, during the open house. And though it didn't seem like that hard a knock, it is not able to take any more photos. Luckily, I was able to take out the last few photos I took of the birds and the nest. Now I just have to take photos with the camera on my phone, or borrow a camera from one of the brothers.

But then again, maybe not bad luck, but good luck. Maybe its a sign to get a new camera, or to detach, since lent is coming. Hmm...

One of my brother seminarians mentioned that now I can't use my laundry line to hang my clothes to dry. But I guess its a small price to pay. What's a little inconvenience compared to this gift of encountering God's creation at work. I wonder how many eggs and baby birds God will bless me with.

Praise the Lord for this wonderful blessing.

God Is Calling Me To Marriage

This is the article that I wrote for last year's seminary magazine "The Journey 2010". When I first proposed the title of the article, I got many puzzled looks and jokes about whether I was going through a vocation crisis. Read the article to find out more.

I once asked a boy in a confirmation camp, what was stopping him from being holy. And his reply was “I don’t want to become a priest”. That answer surprised me. But when I got that same answer from another boy at that camp, it got me thinking. Why was holiness exclusive to the Priesthood? It seems that for those boys, if one were to be holy, it was because he was thinking of becoming a priest, which means that a normal lay person does not have to be holy, or at least not so holy. Sadly this view is shared by many Catholics,

Call to Holiness
In that same line, if I were to ask a young person today “have you discerned your vocation?”, often the answer would be, “no lah, I don’t think that God is calling me to be a priest/nun” The word “vocation” has come to be synonymous with the priesthood and religious life. Partly it could be that the usage of the word has always been linked to priesthood and religious life. Think of terms like “Vocation Sunday” and “Vocation Promotion Team”.

Part of my journey in my renewal of faith in 2003 was to discover what it meant to be Catholic, what it meant to be a disciple of the Lord. I learnt from the Parable of the Rich Young Man (Mt 19:16-22), that it was not just about keeping the commandments, but to follow Christ. And it was in the Lord’s Prayer that I found my answer – “your will be done on earth as it is heaven”. Having prayed that prayer so many times, I realised that it is not an abstract prayer that somewhere, sometime and someone will do God’s will, but that I as Christian, am praying that I may do the Lord’s will in my life. I knew then that I had to discern my vocation. To grow in holiness meant doing the Lord’s will, which meant discerning and living out the call, the vocation that He had made me for.

The Call to Marriage
One of the most common questions I get asked is "how do you know that God is calling you to priesthood?" Recently I have tried a new response to that question. If the one asking is a married person, I would ask them "how do you know that God called you to marriage?" Often the response would be a blank stare or forced laughter. Sometimes the honest ones will say they never really discerned or that they were not that holy when they got married. Then I would ask them how they are living out their marriage vocation now. Silence again.

Vocation Crisis
We often hear that the Church is facing a Vocation Crisis, because of the dwindling numbers entering the priesthood and religious life. But I believe the real Crisis in Vocations is that our Catholics have stopped believing that God has a Will for each and everyone. If our married couples do not see their marriage as part of their call from God to live a life of holiness, are they truly living out a married vocation? Or is their marriage just the same as any non-Catholic marriage.

If every young person were to be asking God “Lord, how do you want me to live my life?”, I am sure that not only will we have more priestly and religious vocations. We will have stronger marriages and better Catholic families where the faith is lived out.

God is Calling Me to Marriage
In my ministry, I have had the privilege of meeting some couples who have shared how God called them to the marriage vocation. But the number of them are fewer than the number of seminarians we have in the seminary. My wish is for all young people to discover God’s call in their lives, so that they will be able to grow in holiness. And also for those who are already married, to find out and live out their marriage as a vocation. It is a call to love, to serve, to lay down their lives for their spouse, for their family, and be the light of Christ in the world.

To read the rest of the articles in the Journey 2010, you can download the pdf version at this link.