Slave or Best Friend of God?

Scripture: John 15: 9-17

9 As the Father had loved Me, so have I loved you; abide in My Love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My Love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His Love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that My Joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no man than this, that a may lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name, He may give it to you. 17This I command you, to love one another..

Meditation:

Servanthood is the mark of true Christian living. Jesus emphasized it during the Last Supper, saying that He came not to be served, but to serve, and that likewise we should serve one another. In His parables, He often referred to believers as "servants" of the Kingdom.

But in this Gospel reading, Jesus says that He wants us to be His friends, not His slaves. Is He contradicting Himself?

Not at all! Friends serve because they care. Slaves serve because of duty and fear of punishment. Jesus said, "If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My Love." Do we hear this as a friend or a slave?

Slaves are afraid of what will happen if they fail to keep their master's command; they are self-protective. Friends are eager to find out what God commands, because they view the commandments from the perspective of love, as opportunities to serve; they are otheroriented.

Jesus said, "This is my commandment: Love one another the way I love you." It's the supreme commandment; call it the Commandment of Friendship. He says, "You know how I love you, my friends: I openly share with you everything that the Father tells me." His friends realize that what He shares (through the scripture and through the Church) reveals the opportunities to love that we seek. Every commandment is rooted in love. Every Church teaching is based on love.

When we fail to obey, do we lose God's love? Never! Do we lose our place in His Love? Yes. By living outside of His commandments, we feel unloved even while being loved.

This is slavery. We're enslaved by fear or by false beliefs or by our wounds that have caused us to think that we're not loved enough. God's commands then feel confining, and if we try to escape, we commit rebellion. Those who don't rebel accept their slavery and obey dutifully in the hope of winning God's love.

Friends, on the other hand, know that God always loves them, and in this love, they are free to serve one another joyfully.

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During the sermon, Father Terence mentioned something about Love, that i will never want to forget..

Love, is an overly abused, misused, overused word ever. In his journey in the process of priesthood, alot of times, he was taught to re-examine, re-educate himself on the meanings of words..

People talk about how much they "Love" their new car, how much they "love" their shoes, their bags, their possessions..they "love" their pets! But are they willing to die for what they love?

Love concerns a sacrifice... The word, Love, should only be used on people. People that you are willing to lay down your life for, just like what Jesus did by laying down his life to carry the sins of the World. Jesus's Passion really shows us what is the greatest Love of all...

I've been dreaming of having a family, whenever i see Victoria with her kids, Bernard with his daughter and wife, and how many of my friends getting married with their longtime sweethearts...OhhhH man... how i used to be afraid of the word "marriage"...It just meant "fear of the unknown"!

After getting to know about Christ's Love, it sort of opens up my mind about the whole thing on beauty of marriage, the union of two, that a man is only half a person without the other half, a being is only complete with two flesh becoming one.. and NOW I don't even have anyone with me! *sad sad*..

Thinking about my past relationships... i am sure, very sure, that i really loved Anthony. Not even Charles or Francis fit the criteria of me truly loving them... Anthony could have been a great husband, should he have been a Christ-like man...He is so lost... Only when he's back with Christ, then i'll see Miracle... Even if he's not destined with me, i'll pray for him to be reconciled with Christ...

Nonetheless, God's will be done. I'll go according to the path Lord our Father is going to direct me to...Lord, let it be according to your way, and not my way...

Amen.

What's a prayerful life like?..Part 1

I've been pondering..."What exactly is a prayerful life?"...

I've been trying my best to logicalise the purpose of prayers..in a theorical manner. Some ways to make it understandable and for laymen to easily remember its purpose.

What does a prayerful life do? In the most sensible form...that actually makes sense to laymen, to people of other religion, to non-prayerful people, to non-church goers, to non-believers of Christ, to free-thinkers...

How exactly does a prayerful Life work in everyone's lives?

Perhaps i'll just have this as a start...a Part 1 to my blog on prayers..because i know so little of my faith in Christ...

1. Prayers allows me to focus on ELTs....

Every Little Things in Life.. and recognise certain things really happens as a miracle.

E.g. A friend of mine, who is a catechism teacher in our church, sustained quite a bad fall 2 weeks back. She was walking towards the bus stop, and she saw the bus coming! She told herself to calm down, don't run, and just walked fast. BUT STILL....She tripped and fell flat on her face! Her fall was so bad, that she had open wounds with part of her skin on her hand torn out, her toes also suffered bruises..

But you know what?? Instead of cursing and swearing like everyone else normally would do, she prayed and thank God that she did not suffer anything worse than this...

2. Prayers puts our Life into a positive perspective...

And continuing from the previous example, it is like a paradigm change, a RADiCAL change.

The word RAdical, comes from the word, "root". A change from the insides of yourselves, a fundamental change. If you're used to a pessismestic life, where you curse each weekday morning, have monday blues, swear at anyone who crosses your path on your bad day, when disasters befall upon you and you blame everyone but yourself...start to pray...pray for reflections, meditate, pray for people who have lives who seemed worse that yourselves, etc..

3. Prayers makes me appreciate things i've always taken for granted...

The prayers before meals, has always been symbolical to me, whenever i have a good time on my own, or with church friends to pray our meals together. Its marks Respect for the food that we have, and also, that the animals we have eaten, for their souls to depart through the mercy of Christ our Lord. Whatever pains and torments they have gone through, May they enter Heaven and enjoy a life everlasting with Lord our Father.

4. Prayers as a group, made me more aware of the World issues and pray for the Good...

When we are in the Eucharistic celebrations (Mass), or during RCIA sessions or talks, sometimes Father will talk about World issues and relate it to what our fundamental values in Christ teachings are..

E.g. The AWARE issue.. The whole thing about sexual education etc.. It is only until the Christifideles Laici talk which was held by Father Terence, that i realised that the Pope once asked our ArchBishop Nicholas Chia, "Why is it that Singapore didn't have a Peace and Justice centre??"

The Peace and Justice centre is a non-profit institution which works on the interconnected issues of economic and racial justice, peace, and human rights through education, advocacy, training, non-violent activism and community organizing. Our SINGAPORE government has SHUT IT DOWN! In...God knows when?? I don't say that i support the once-new leaders of AWARE, but they were truely modern-time martyers for good cause in the process..If they had not bring up the case about the standards of sexual education in Singapore, MOE would still be living in a state of.."Everything is goody and alright" kinda mentality...

5. Prayers allows me to find strength in whatever weakness i am in or having...

I feel weak whenever i start thinking how sad my dear's life has been, and seeing how he is still living in his own world, living by the day, unsure about his future.. I do not know how to help him, but just pray for him daily over the mornings (whenever i wake up and prepare for sch, i think of him..) over the night (before sleep) and random times (whenever i encounter some things interesting, he will just pop into my mind, and i wanna share with him), and during intercessary prayers (especially during St Anthony's Novena..my special intentions for him)..

Dear Lord, our Father in Heaven, help me with my little faith...

Holy Saint Anthony please assist in interceding my prayers to Jesus...

Inspire the Holy Spirit in him and bring him back to Christ...

Thank you, in Jesus Christ most precious name,

Amen.

www.myprettycreations.blogspot.com

I've just purchased a sweet pair of earrings from this lady called Elizabeth! This item is called "Paris Trip"! So sweet and exquisite!!!!~ I really love it!!! ;)

Her website is @ www.myprettycreations.blogspot.com!!
Although her price range is alittle high, her creations are really unique and materials are of real PREMIUM quality! Suitable for people who have sensitive skin! That's why i love her works. ;)

I have some of her items which ranges from $4 to $15 ONLY as well, but she doesn't display them as it takes alot of time to upload all the items that she makes.

I have invited her to come and set up a stall her the St Anthony's Feast Day at my church, but due to miscommunications with my group, they have decided to specialise in a western dessert stall that day, so i am so apologetic to leave her out from the funfair..So........I'll be asking her to pass me some of her pretty creations so i can promote to all my dearest ladies!!!

Check out her blog to find out more!! ;)

Bless this sweet lady Elizabeth.

God's will be done.

Amen.

Busy May and June!!~* [UPDATED]

Its gonna be a busy busy yet fulfilling MAy and June 2009!!!

Besides the weekly Thursday RCIA sessions,

- 8 and 15 May (both fridays 8pm) - Talk on “Christifideles Laici”, the encyclical written by late Pope John Paul II on our Christian vocation and mission on earth. By Father Terence Pereira

- 15 May (And 12 consecutive fridays, 8pm) - Alpha group session Day 1. An introduction to Christian faith. For both Catholics and non-Catholics.

- 21 May (Thurs, 9pm Eucharistic celebration aka Mass) - Ascension Day: To commemorate Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven, according to the New Testament of the Bible. It is also Mitchell's birthday, so i think the Catechumens will be celebrating his birthday over the RCIA session. :)

- 23 May (Sat morn till nighttime) - Bak KuTeh Trip to Malaysia, Kota Tinggi!! Followed by some shopping, look see look see! With fellow RCIA Catechumens and Facilitators! ;)

- 30 May (Sat 3 - 10pm) - Talk on Christian Morality. By Father Terence! Followed by a 1 hr prayer session. :)

- 6 to 7 June (sat morn to sunday afternoon!) - A day and night out with Joyce, Li Hui, Lynn and perhaps Qiqi (we are the Citi@ngels!~~**) We're highly likely to book a hotel room in Sentosa and spend the night over there....cool!! Been wanting a good break by the beach a DaRn long time!!! But will be missing 1 breaking of word session in church...so sad...~ :( but anyway, not gonna miss out too much lah. ;) The Catechumens will keep me updated. ;)

Here comes the St Anthony's Feast Day Triduum 2009!!!

Theme: “A Saint For An Uncertain World”

- 10 June (Wed, 7.30pm): Sub-theme: “Availability before capability” by Fr Angel Luciano

On tuesday (the day before), it marks the end of a 9-week Novena prayer session, whereby i attend the 1/2 hr session over 9 consecutive tuesdays. Intercessary Prayers through St Anthony to Our Father in Heaven. Its amazing that i discovered that on these every tuesdays, the church will display a relic of St Anthony's in a portable altar...and the relic is from his tongue or throat (I'm not too sure..) I just know for a fact that after St Anthony's death (August 15, 1195 – June 13, 1231), his tongue remained perfectly intact, no decay at all, after many many years and decades! Amazing grace by our Lord!

- 11 June (Thurs, 7.30pm): Sub-theme: “Believe in the extraordinary” by Fr. Luke Fong
I think no RCIA session on this day then. Replaced by Father Ambrose session. :)

- 12 June (Fri, 7.30pm): Sub-theme: “Not by prayer” by Fr. Ambrose Vaz

- 13 June (Sat, 5.30pm): Procession by Archbishop Nicholas Chia

Wah! Alot of people still at work then!! I'll get to be up close to him then! hahaAHa~~*

- 14 June (Sun, 7.30pm onwards till late night): Its St Anthony's Food and Funfair and Feast Day dinner!! And also, it marks Carine and ZhengYong's wedding DAY!!

Thank GOD i lived near church!!! Gonna start working on the food to be sold during the food fair, most likely cooking and baking some food with Auntie Cynthia and Lorain..They're MARVELLOUS COOKS!!! Can learn alot from them..! And also Feast Day dinner's gonna be a grand one, and we've each paid SG$35! woohoo!~ that's gonna be a real good dinner! ;) The RCIA Catechumens and Alpha group people have both gotten a table of ten each filled! So it'll be a great night having the congregation together! And i've seen Father Terence going to his all night dancing mode..real fun seeing him dance!! ahaAHaha~~*

But sadly...i can't attend it!!! I MUST go for Carine's wedding day!! She's one of my best girlfriend in sec sch (besides MeiQing)!! She's only 23 this year, and she's been with her guy for the past 7 years already...maybe its time too! I think its God-given as well...they ought to move to a next stage in life. ;)

All the best for her wedding!!! Love ya dear!

- 26 June (7.30pm) - St Paul Musical: To celebrate the year of St Paul. Venue: NUS University Cultural Centre. Confirm a mini makan celebration at the prata stall nearby..hahaaAHa~* We're the Makan people...(no wonder i can't maintain my figure for long..ahhaaAH~~*)

Wow!! An eventful May and June holidays (i exclaim "HOLIDAY" because i don't get to work during June!!! :D ) Looking forward to more learning, work and fun in church! ;)

Bless those whom i wish for them (especially him) to come to church..

God's will be done.

Amen.

The vineyard...~

I went church today, and guess what? Since Father Bruno is back to France for the next 3 months, today we had a "relief Father"! And he was the one who was famous for the Novena church exorcism case!

His sermon was real good. ;) He's a good preacher. Thank God who bless you to overcome the saga over the case.

Anyway, for every sunday, i guess i'll just have the homily readings here, so Pin wouldn't grumble at me for not updating..ahhaAHA~*

So...HEre's it!

“ He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit”

Scripture: John 15:1-8
1. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. 7. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

Our Meditation and reflections:
The Gospel reading tells us that all who belong to Christ are fruit-bearing branches of one vine. Jesus is the vine, and because we are all attached to him, we share the same calling: to bear good fruit. And not just any fruit that seems good, but the same fruit that Jesus produced.

However, most of us underestimate how important this is! Stop underestimating how necessary it is for you to produce Christ's fruit — and more of it — today. Too many Christians settle for mediocrity. As long as we get some personal satisfaction from being Christian, we feel all too satisfied. As long as we're helping some people with our kindness or generosity or love, we think God is satisfied with the good fruits we're producing. Have you ever asked why there's so much evil in the world? Why doesn't God raise his almighty hand against war, against terrorism, against unemployment, against the greed of high -salaried managers who lay off their employees while giving themselves huge bonuses, against the perpetrators of physical and emotional abuse, against pro-abortion legislation, against poverty, against rising crime rates, or against any evil that's corrupting our world? Why doesn't God do something? Actually, he does!

However, he does it the same way he grows grapes. The energy of the vine (Jesus) travels through the vine to the little twigs (you and me and all Christians) that hold the grapes. The more open we are to receiving nourishment from Christ, the more fruit Jesus produces through us. But the grapes are not supposed to stay there! We're nourished by Christ in order to take his fruits abundantly out into the world. We must grow strong and healthy, branch out, and use everything we've received from Christ for the sake of others. Evil is stopped to the extent that we Christians continue Christ's earthly ministry. Victory over evil comes from Christ, that is, through us from Christ. Holiness in the world comes from Christ's Holy Spirit actively transforming it through our holiness.

Hope these readings bring an impact upon any person who are most in need to know about...

God's will be done.

Amen.

Fake eyelashes!!

I'm learning to put on fake eyelashes now!!
No time to update!! hahaAHa~~*

From....女人我最大!!!

(PS: Pin, so sorry, really rushing for time! *hehe*)

Regards,

Annie

A spiritually enlightening sunday afternoon...~*

Went to church today at 9am, had our group discussion (Breaking of Word aka BOW, which is pondering of the homily during church). A homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture from the Bible.

In the Catholic Churches, the Anglican Communion, and in the Eastern Orthodox Church, a homily is usually given during Mass (or Divine Liturgy for Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches) at the end of the Liturgy of the Word, which typically consists of three readings: a reading from the Old Testament, a non-Gospel reading from the New Testament, and a reading from the Gospels.

Bernard, our facilitator, just came back from Philippines!!! YiPeEee!~~* We got so much to catch up on, and will definitely have a good chat next thursday and friday's Feast day!

Anyway, after BOW, Aunt Christine, Shireen, Victoria and i went over to an Indian store in Sembawang for lunch...and we had a long and fruitful chat about our faith.. That session was totally amazing....Victoria, our RCIA facilitator, told us, "When 2 or more people gathers and talks about God, He will be around to guide us.." ;) That is so amazing... i believe He really did. =)

2 memorable stories i'm gonna share today during our session...


A sharing by Shireen, she told us there's this Father in St Joseph church at Bukit Timah. He's Fr. Edmund Chong. During one of his mass or his Catechism sessions, he mentioned during one of his reconciliation services, 2 men came for confession. Later on, he discovers that these 2 men are Charismatic church pastors. He asked them, "Why do you come for confession, since charismatic church never believes in confession?" Then, it was revealed that, these 2 pastors had done exorcism. And during the exorcism process, one of the pastors actually heard the devil rebuking to him, "In what position are you in, to drive me away? Have you not sinned yourself, You poor sinner..."

And she goes on to tell us, that there's certain books documented in the Vatican about exorcism, written into a book..which Shireen read it somewhere...think the book is called "Devil's Advocate"(not the movie!) or something along that line (i'm still trying very hard to get my hands on that book!!), which talks about 5 most famous and important exorcisms in history...There was one which talks about several priests needed to defeat a very strong demon...at the end, only 1 priest survived. And she goes on to say..."There's always a balance between the spiritual realm. The good and the evil, the light and the dark, and the most powerful disguise that demons has, is to proclaim that THEY do not exist. And that's when the Good cease to exist"....

When the strong demon started to question the priests during the exorcism, these evil beings will always know their attackers weakest link. One of the priests, before his priesthood, had sexual relationship with his ex-girlfriend, and subsequently, they broke up. The priest, after the exorcism, fell ill and within a few months, passes away. He didn't manage to resolve his personal guilt (Priest also need to do their own confession! The Pope confesses every week!), that's why he fell...that's why spiritual strength is very important, where confession and reconciliation with God is an essential part of it.

Victoria is a nurse for over 17 years, a mother of 2 pri sch kids, and she has seen much in her life in hospitals. Not a single hospital is spared from spirits lingering, as there are bound to be deaths in hospitals. Almost the entire staff in her hospital will have religions, mainly either Muslims or Christians (Catholics included), therefore they all experienced similar spiritual stuffs. So, whenever she felt uneasy or that there are spirits lingering and playing afool, she will say "In the name of Jesus Christ, Get Out of here!!" And the uneasiness will be gone. Only in God's name, we are able to drive evil away. She's really someone who is not afraid of spirits, as she is strong in her faith and she really goes for her confessions faithfully whenever she needs it! i must really learn from her...

Will blog about the importance of confession, reconciliation and healing in my next blog!! Too much to say now..

The next story comes from Victoria! I really love her...as she really enlightens me alot and strengths me in my faith towards God. True story!!!

There was a friend of hers, with a son born with ear defects. Since birth, the baby boy has been in and out of hospital for his ear infection. He was born with a disconnected ear canal, which lead to frequent ear infections. He has to get ear pus out from his ears regularly, or suffer from sever ear pains and infections. This went on for 2-3 years..until one night, the child was crying out loud in pain! Apparently, the pain was so excruciating, that he needs to be admited to hospital.

That night, the doctor had to remove alot of ear pus and inject the little boy with a strong dosage of pain killer. He then advised the parents to bring the child home, and come back the following morning as he can only get the ear specialist the next day.

The child's parents did not bring the crying child back home. Instead, they brought him to the Novena church, late in the night. There, at the foot of our Mother Mary where the gates to her status are closed, the crying child was thrown there. The weeping parents kneeled down and prayed all night... They surrendered their child to Our Lady, for her intercession to Jesus to save their child... (Novena church is a place where over 25,000 people pray weekly for miracles to happen, after 9 weeks of intercession prayers through Mary to Jesus..)

The next morning, when the child was brought to the doctor for diagnosis, he was puzzled and astonished! There was no more infection, the disconnected ear canal has miraclously connected!!! Such miracles are what science is unable to explain.. Amazing Grace from our Lady and our God! True life story!! Now the child is primary 6 and living well! =D

Of course, there are alot more amazing stories which i cannot type out all...all for you to experience and understand through the amazing grace of God.

Peace to All and Praise the Lord.

Amen.

My Evolution...~

Ok..as requested by Pin...to update my blog..hahaHaa~~*

Actually got too much in mind to consolidate..Everyday after school, when i get back home and prepared to write something online, i fell asleep...The kids (I always call them ladies and gentlemen in class! but at the back of my mind, they are really kids!! ) really deplete my energy levels...

Note: If i write without a proper struture, without a clear flow of thoughts, please pardon me. Because its 1.30am in the morning!!

Life's like Evolution

Recently, i caught up with one of my best guy friends back in sec sch days (he's Daniel). We had a catch up in westspring sec sch (he's the music teacher there as well), and got to know more about the schools current system...kids nowadays etc..

Generally, kids are kids..they are all the same, the past, present and even future. Just that we're in different generations, different ways to capture their attention. Last time there wasn't PSP, Laptops, computers, projectors to play around with.... Now, we have to fight against the appeal of technology (that means, fighting to get their focus onto us teachers!) and sometimes, join in the current wave (Daniel uses Youtube for teaching purposes!!)!

The things that never change, is how....bad students will always be noisy, naughty, loud, stubborn... but some of them will grow up to become street-smart people, and if their time of "Awakening" comes faster, they will do well in life. Why? Because their life didn't come easy. I realised alot of students in Normal Academic classes, Normal Technicals, come from broken families. Single parents, on the verge of divorce, gangsters as parents, uneducated parents who do not know how to teach their children for the past 13-16 years... all types. Things aren't present to them in a silver plate. They are not spoon-fed like most of the Singaporeans of today. That is why, i kinda enjoyed teaching them. Maybe because they reminded me of alot of my friends back in sec school, especially Anthony. hahaAHa~~*

My Life used to be like, a sunflower. Alot of sunshine, fun, laughter, outspokeness, loudness....everything looks bright and shinny on the surface.

As i enter into working society, things change. We are exposed to alot more different kinds of people, with different problems, all different on the surface, but deep down, we are all the same... alot of us, lacking the "nutrients" in life....

Worst of all, some people may not realise what they do not have (or require desperately), and instead, seek materials, luxuries to fulfill that emptiness in them, that "lacking of nourishments" in them...

"Before we know God, we must know ourselves" This is a statement made by Father Bruno during a sermon in church.... Before we are able to truly love ourselves, we should look inside of us to see what we are lacking, what we hate, or are angry at ourselves and heal it.

Then, we will start to be able to love ourselves, and in turn, be able to truly understand God's Love for us, and embrace God into our lives so dearly that we will never forsake him. =)

While doing the Easter flower arrangements, i was assigned to remove the petals of the newly arrived roses. I think it is destined for me to get this task. :)

Like white roses...we grew up..unpolished (Alot of people dunno white roses looks like this in the first place!!! We humans disguish ourselves well too!), and some, gets rotten on the outside (i have seen some really looks rotten and looks like it needs to be thrown into the rubbish chute instead..). Some faced with bad situations, mixed with bad companies,...all in all, perhaps a rough life like these "cabbage" looking roses..

When we take time to remove all the rotten, whithered parts, torn and tattered petals, and look deep down inside of it...It is actually, a pure, white, beautiful heart. Some looked beyond rotteness, and if you really take time to remove the spoilt parts, they are really beautiful...

I'll depict my Life now, as evolution into a pure white rose..

I'm not too rotten on the outside, but just growing on the inside (hopefully i am, with God's graces). Praying that i'll evolve into a beautiful pure white rose as well..

I'm starting to enjoy to stay at the back scene now, observing lives of different people changing, praying for various friends, and students for their evolution to come (my student's time of "awakening" takes time, but i'll pray for them), and especially some special ones out there, still lacking the nutrients they do not know and seeking toxins to poison themselves further (pray for them)...

Pray for all, to evolve into a beautiful pure white rose.

God's will be done.

Amen. (It means, "So be it", or "Let it be". It is of Hebrew origin, for God's will to be done, instead of having our wishes, because God always knows what's best for us.)

Recent reads: Compendium- Catechism of the Catholic church

Recent reads: Compendium - Catechism of the Catholic church, compiled by our Pope Benedict XVI.

Being slacking around..so its time to fill up my knowledge bank!
Compendium is a concise, yet comprehensive compilation of a body of knowledge. (Good thing that the book has BIG fonts! )

Catechism is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present. Catechisms are doctrinal manuals often in the form of questions followed by answers to be memorized, a format that has been used in non-religious or secular contexts as well.

In short, it is an educational system on Christianity, in this context. =)

The part i liked inside is...The Lord's prayer. It is the only prayer which unities all Christians, because it is the only prayer, taught by Jesus. The book explains every single sentence in this prayer.

Gonna read up more!

Amen.

Feelings never last...Love do.

Had an interesting conversation with Father Bruno today before RCIA session...

At the end of the whole conversation...everything seems so vague, and yet so clear...

Religion is such an....unclear topic. There's no direction, there's no clear indication of whether signs are really from God..There's no right or wrong...

What fasinates me and what's clear is...everything i've research upon...is all about Love.

Everything ends up with the Love of God.. and His love can be related to Couple relationships as well..

How does couple get to know each other? Through Communication.

How do we get to know God? Through Prayers.

Does feelings between couples last? No, and it fades away, can be deceiving as well...

The same goes for religion as well. Some people have "initial feelings" for God...its like a novelty...and when feelings fade away, when praying turn from a way of communication to God, into a chore, they leave God. Same like feelings between couples.

Feelings fade away ultimately, Feelings can be temporary, and most of the time, it is.

It is Love, which revives the feelings for each other. And it is also Love which sustains the relationship between a couple or between us and God, when there are no feelings..The understanding, the communication, the 感情 which is built up overtime, which keeps the flame burning alive. The knowing that we have to be there for each other...

Keeping the love for God alive, we read up the Bible, research on the history of Christianity, commit to God's works, these keeps the Love for God alive. And prayers is a means of connecting to God..a way of communication. a way to build up the 感情 for Him.

I've asked him about Miracles as well...why are the saints in the past able to perform miracles such as, the Saint of Miracles, St Anthony. He performed his first miracle when he was a little child, who is able to gather huge flocks of birds away from the field, and into the church, to prevent them from eating up all the seeds..when he grew up, he performed many other miracles such as, healing the man who amputated his leg (i think he really attached it back!), doing justice by bringing the dead to life for a short moment to testify for his dad who he was wrongly accused as a murderer, etc.

The life of St Anthony was amazing...and he was witnessed while praying, that brilliant rays shone from his room..and he was seen with sweet infant Jesus with him clinging onto him.. Those were the miracles back then..

Perhaps, my expectation of miracles is too high. After chatting with Father Bruno, i realised that Our miracles of these times, perhaps, is to be alive to see so many wonderful things in the world throughout the centuries through ages, being able to withstand the social stress and pressures, being able to live in a safe place like Singapore with our family...being able to see and enjoy the beautiful sunrise and sunset each morning and evening...

My heart should be filled with thanksgivings, praise, for the miracles in our daily life..

"May my unfailing prayer to St Anthony for intercession to sweet infant Jesus be granted. The answer to my prayer may require a miracle, even so, you are the Saint of Miracles. Whisper my petition into the ears of the Sweet infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your armsl and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours."

God's will be done.

Amen.

Shuddup!!!

I'm learning to shuddup...~ Shut up..i mean...

A more appropriate meaning will be..to be alert.

Being very conscious recently, not to "let it out" too quickly...my frustrations, my opinions, Very mindful...

A friend of mine recently shot me down in an email, with several others in the CC.

I felt injustice actually, because he didn't specify what is to be done, what is not to be done..

He did NOT say its just ME who can make certain donations....and i have sms to prove it..

Maybe its also my fault for assuming things as well...for not asking EVERYTHING specifically. but its just so embarassing to CC all to shot me down!!!..not just that, he is actually a friend i can consider quite close...so its hurtful that he's so insensitive..

Wanted to email back to show him what he smsed me...but anyway, forget it..

I want happiness more than wanting to be right..

After talking to Valerie the other day...i realised how inconsistent i am with my words...

I often used to ask people.."You want to have happiness, or you want to be right?"...

After examining myself all these while, i realised all along, i have always wanted to be RIGHT, rather than choosing happiness. My actions speaks...when i ridicule someone, when i laugh at someone's mistakes, when i choose to fight back for my so-called "justice"..and i never end up happier than before...

Sometimes, Silence is really golden...

God's will be done.

Amen.

Date with Valerie!~*

Yesterday, i had a date with Val, a fellow RCIA faciliatator in church...

Although she's only 19 years old, but i think...she's been gone through alot in life...and the words that comes out of her mouth speaks of wisdom (no rubbish at all!)..an extraordinary young lady..
Recently, maybe i'm just too bored and having nothing to do, i went "out-of-course" with life...She did her best to align me back..and amazingly..the homework she told me to do, worked!

The day before our meeting, she wrote to me in an email:

"At this moment of despair, pour out your heart to the Lord, give every fibre of your body to Him and cry out to Him. He will heal you and comfort you by helping you to discover more about yourself (your hurts, your talents, your weaknesses) and in His Time, He will help you to discern, to know of His Will for you. If He is calling you, be sure that He will make the Signs BIG and CLEAR.


HW: Pray with the bible, followed by a decade of Rosary."

As i prayed the Rosary, sorrow that was built up inside began to pour out...and within a few mins, a strong sense of protection began to envelope my heart...and the sense of despair went away...


I kind of like...wanted to squeeze all the tears out, but i couldn't, as there was no more hurt at that moment.. it was amazing...

We met up, and chat for a few hours outside MacDonalds at Civic centre.

Having trouble getting over my last guy, we talked through about relationships, hurts in life, family, knowing ourselves...

And, she gave me some homework to practise on...

1. Write 10 positive and 10 negatives about ourselves.

10 positives:

1. I am nice and pretty (quite surface...)
2. I am generous, when i have the money to treat friends..
3. I am a straight-forward, frank person.
4. I love children!!! I am good at handling them too!
5. I am good with uncles and aunties ( they love me like their child! Most of them. I act cute..ahhaahaAH~*)
6. I can easily cheer people up when i want to!
7. I can hang out with guys and not get bored easily. I'm easy-going actually.
8. I am quite patient.
9. I am quite tolerant and accepting person also.
10. I am forgiving. (After getting such a horrendous boyfriend, and still being able to forgive him, i think i'm REALLY a forgiving person..ahaAHaha~~*)

10 Negatives (Some are extremes of my positives..):

1. I am cut people with my words sometimes...especially to people closest to me..i will intentionally pick their weak spot and keep poking at it...to make them realise what's PAIN..(that's usually when they hurt me...i DO retaliate..)
2. I am insensitive with handling egos..especially Men's...
3. I am a TOO straight-forward sometimes...too blunt..
4. I have a LOUD voice..(maybe i'll turn into a naggy LOUD mama next time..haha~~)
5. I am persistent...meaning VERY STUBBORN person..
6. I "show face" when i'm in a really terrible mood...I can be a mood killer sometimes...
7. I am too reckless with decisions sometimes..anything also CHOP CHOP FAST FAST finish and move on...
8. I am poor with managing finances and organisation. Quite messy sometimes.. I am not good with tidying up stuffs.
9. I am not a "particular" person..not capable of scrutinizing details...don't have a good eye for details...
10. I treat friends better than family (changing now...i'm more family-oriented these days..)

2. Understand what is the kind of guy that we want for our lives.
SomeOne who can complement my weakness... I can add strength to his weaknesses...
Being in a relationship in Love, is actually different from being in a relationship in Marriage.

There's much much more to consider when the impending BIG "M" comes...
In marriage... conflicts are inevitable, there are bound to be differences, and its is these differences that we are here to complement each other. THERE's still much more to understand about Marriage...Matrimony..

I remembered that in my previous blog on the down-to-earth guy that i wanted..i mentioned the following list. From my weaknesses.. i'll need to add in points 11 onwards..

1. Have passion for life.
2. Be there to adore and care for me. Be there whenever i need him. Really love me for who i am.
3. Friendly guy to know, so my close friend can generally accept.
4. Willing to change for the better. Not stubborn. Good EQ.
5. Be investment savvy. Knows how to manage finance.
6. A determined guy. Once he sets to start something, he will not give up and pursues to the end.
7. Healthy guy without much bad habits.( I can tolerate drinking, but not smoking and clubbing.) (I give in to this..)
8. Loves to hear me talk, appreciates whatever i do for him.
9. Understands his priorities in life, values and beliefs.
10. Have faith and hope for life.
11. One who has an eye for details...can help me have look out for flaws, able to inspect, scrutinize.
12. One who is a rational person, keep me in check from making rash decisions.
13. One who is family-oriented (maybe being filial son will do.)
14. One who can accept my weakness at poking egos, being stubborn, not willing to listen...and be patient with me for that until i change for the better..
15. One who is willing to accept that we can grow together, willing to keep each other updated about our growth so that we will not drift apart...willing to spend time to know each other more, even when we are at our ripe old age...

"Before knowing about God, we must understand ourselves..."There's so much to understand from this sentence...

One answer for sure is....When we know oursleves..and when the time is ripe, God will prepare us for the special someone to come...in His Time..

That is why i have to do this homework.. (There's this amazing feeling that God sent her to speak to me...seriously!! No joke! You know when u believe...)

Right now, after talking to Valerie, i just wanna focus on praying for Anthony to lead a truly happy life (not gonna find out how's he been now, not gonna let whatever he do affect me now), and i know he'll only truly be happy DEEP DOWN HIS HEART if he's able to reconcile with God, and for me to find my True Love. + currently exploring Praying for others, my love ones, also will help me to expand my heart, my horizon, for more important things in life as well...

God's will be done. Amen.

Something to think and pray about this week..

Long-term commitment whether in marriage, religious life or in other forms, is harder these days because of change. The loved one changes, and we change ourselves with time; so our relationships change. We cannot live our whole lives at concert pitch.

But when the tune changes, it need not be the end of the concert. It often is. In some countries half the marriages end in divorce. What is there in us that can survive the changes of time, and the up-and-down of living relationships?

As we look back at a jubilee, we see our commitment is at once richer and more painful than when we started. Faithfulness is a bit of a mystery and a marvel; it has a value in itself.

Faithful love builds up the one to whom we are faithful, expresses our hope in them. It is a grace, a gift: not so much what we do for God as what he does for us. It would make us feel humble, that in spite of all our inadequacies, we stuck it.

Adopted from http://sacredspace.ie/

In a Dating Mood!~*

Am in a dating mood now!

Oh, maybe its just to recover from my out-of-love feeling..

But the prospect of finally wanting to meet my true love is actually...enticing..after a long day of thinking...it feels blissful to be able to love again.

Been praying alot lately...for my True Love to be revealed, like Victoria did!

Qns: Is the Lord gonna reveal it like Victoria's?

hmm...

Oh...i used to like Wu Zun kinda man... very gentlemenly, looks good (all the dream guys are good looking wah, that's why we call it a DREAM guy)!

But i dunno...he doesn't appeal to me anymore...

He's got the..."dunno what he wants in life" kinda look..

Its just me lah... to think that way..

When i was with Anthony, i used to refer him to Luo Zhi Xiang aka Xiao Zhu, type of guy.. because he's hardworking..always wants to get his job done to his best... so at the back of my mind...they looked similar...

He TOTALLY reminds me of Anthony...mischevious..funny man.. has his own little sad life also... etc.

And we both love the show, 《转角*遇到爱》 . That's why ...hmm.. "Xiao Zhu" symbol should be gone for now..

Recently i just watched 《我叫金三顺》！A Korean show, featuring Hyun Bin 玄彬 as the male lead. Maybe i relate myself as the female lead...so i like him! haha~~

He looks not too bad too! hunky, manly, responsible kinda guy.. abit childish sometimes, filial, and very devoted as well. And i LOVE the part where he always sweeps the heart of the female lead away. I mean, she's can be quite a fierce woman when she gets angry, demands her ways...but he takes the CAKE! ahhaAHAh~ All in the show only lah...

If my true love falls short of these expections of a handsome guy, its ok actually, but he must be of good character of course.. and very devoted as well. Hopefully a Catholic too!

A person with religious faith can be so enduring, charming! It eludes some sort of.. confidence~ very charming actually.

This posting, is sort of, to divert my attention away from SHOPPING..and also...to work hard..start looking out for the Hyun Bin in my life...

I'm in a dating mood now...anyone to recommend? ;)

O Lord,

Please bless me with my true love....please let me see in...at least in my dreams tonight..so i'll be able to discern who he is when he comes along..

Amen.

God bless him...

I was told that he's got 2 ladies in his company who are interested in him now...

He never seems to be able to escape this "fatal attraction" of ladies towards him..This stupid "AH Bui" uncle, "Emo Kid"!..

Hope God will bless him to make the right decision, and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit..

Heard that he's been on a buying spree as well...and i know how that feels, lately, when i am also going through this....

Just this week, I bought a crucifix keychain, a nail strengthener, an eyebrow kit, Catholic Digest, tonic hair-darkening shampoo and conditioner for dad, supplements for dad and mum, $180 worth of clothes... Its like...buying things is starting to become a focus, a daily goal in my life.

Its a feeling of emptiness at times, and we just want to find a focus in our lives... to live by..

So, everytime after gym at Amore, i'll walk all the way back from Woodlands civic centre, to the church, pray for a while, and walk back home... the journey seems like i'm walking with God, my soulmate...and it never fails to make me feel calm and safe...

Hope that Jesus will walk with him as well. Teach him and guide him... let him never lost hope in life...

May the Scared Heart of Jesus sanctify him, protect him and may the Immaculate Heart of Mary intercede thy prayers to our Lord...

Amen.