Taking the Plunge: Trusting in God

I don’t know about you, but I am not a big fan of surprises. There is something about them that makes me rather uneasy, especially when they are completely unexpected. Even good surprises make me nervous. I just don’t know how to react to them, I mean, what if I receive a gift from someone that they have spent a lot of time thinking about and I don’t like it?

Well it looks like I am following the wrong religion then doesn’t it? For as hard as it may be for us to understand, God is absolutely full of surprises. Some of you may be able to name a surprise. On Christmas morning you got the present you most wanted, even though you didn’t think Santa (or Mum and Dad) would bring it. Your exam results were much better than you expected. Some surprises may be harder to understand. Others of you may have lost a relative or friend. Your exam results, as hard as you have tried, were not as good as people expected you would do. God is behind all of them though.

My biggest surprise is actually having a faith, let alone following it though Catholicism, within three years of thinking about it. I was watching the funeral of Pope John Paul II on UK television when I saw all those people crying and mourning his death. He had spent his whole life serving God and dealing with all sorts of surprises. He grew up in a world full of war and fighting in which he saw millions of his own people die. When the other cardinals chose him to be the Pope in 1978, nobody saw him as a possible leader, least of all he. He was a minor archbishop from Eastern Europe with lots of problems at home. Yet he became an earthly Father to so many people, millions of whom travelled all the way to Rome just to see his lifeless body.

I stopped asking questions for a while and went about my life as I had been, but with an itch. I started going to a church and learning about God. Then the surprises began to happen. I tried to go to Oxford University with my girlfriend. She got in, and I didn’t. ‘Why can’t I go?’ I asked God rather angrily in prayer.

St. Peter's Square
Taken from FreeFoto.Com

The summer after my exams came and I went to Rome to see the sights. I lay in St Peter’s Square and I suddenly felt strange. I believe it was God telling me I had to become a Catholic. Now that was a surprise and a half! I really didn’t want to, but in a weird way it made sense. I was about to go to York University and I had a chance to start many parts of my life afresh. So I decided to give God a chance and it has left me…here. I didn’t want to go to my first ever campus mass at university; I was scared I would sit or kneel when I was supposed to do something else! But I went and I met a group of friends who have never stopped helping me, even when they do not realise it. God began surprising me in all sorts of ways. By the end of my first year, I had become involved in Social Justice campaigns, travelled to Rome and Lourdes and, most special of all, been received into the Church that seemed to love me so much.

I still feel uneasy about surprises, but I now know I have to use them in whatever way God want me to. I am writing this in a room in Konstanz, Germany, where I am an exchange student for six months. I do not know why God has let me come here, but I know I will find out soon. God will continue to surprise you, I know he will. It is a bit like climbing the ladder to the high dive and hovering on the edge of the board. If you’re not sure, just close your eyes and jump- he will guide you and do the rest!!!

Contributed By Roy Scivyer, Konstanz 2008 :)

Notre Dame Cathedral, Ho Chi Minh City

I was in Vietnam just before our Confirmation Camp in May. In fact, I only touched down in Singapore in the early morning of 30 May. It was a very enriching and exciting trip especially the 30 hours train ride from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. I won't say anything about this train ride because I want to talk more about the Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City.

I attended the Saturday Sunset Mass at this church. It was a different experience from the Mass at Holy Family. For a start, this church did not have air-con but it was still very cooling. The church also did not have kneelers so we had to stand up when we did our prayers.

What I really enjoyed about the Mass was the peacefulness and the quietness in the church. There was no babies crying and neither were there handphones going off in the middle of the Mass. The people in Vietnam had handphones but I suppose we can say that they are much more courteous than us Singaporeans. At least they know that handphones are to be switched off or turned to silent modes during Mass.

Though I enjoyed the Mass but there was a little problem. It was conducted in Vietnamese so I did not understand a single bit of the Homily. However I was able to follow the rest of the Mass since the Liturgies are conducted in the same way. Well do enjoy the following pictures.

Contributed By Jeremy

Purifier of Silver

Once a woman was puzzled and wondered what the Bible verse "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." meant about the character and nature of God. She offered to find out the process of refining silver and called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you and, no matter whatever you are going through now, you will be a better person in the end!

13 Guys and 1 Girl

On 1st February 2008, we had our first Friday Mass with the Confirmation 2 Teens. Though only 11 of them (all from Saturday class) turned up, it was considered as a very good turn-out.

Well there are actually 2 purposes for us coming together for the Friday Mass. One is to worship the Lord and to cultivate a love for the Eucharist among the Teens. Too many a times, we Catholics think that attending Mass is only reserved for the weekends and that there is no need for us to attend Mass during the weekdays. Yes it is true that it is neither an obligation nor is it compulsory for us to attend weekday Mass. And it is also true that attending Mass on Saturday/Sunday is what is required of us BUT that is really the bare minimum. Perhaps many of us do not realise that Mass is actually celebrated EVERYDAY in Church and that we are all encouraged to attend daily Mass. We, Catechists really hope that at the end of your Confirmation journey that all of you will develop this love for the Eucharist, this love for the Mass.

The second purpose is for us to fellowship with all of you after Mass. Our initial plan was to have dinner with all of you after Mass and to get to know you better as a student and as a friend.

Yes we do know that all of you are studying and yes we also know that all of you have a lot of school work to do. BUT let's just try to make an effort to come down on Fridays to attend Mass together. Perhaps at this point of time, we may come for weekday Mass or even weekend Mass for the wrong reasons, for the wrong motives. Perhaps we may come for Mass because our friends are coming or because there is a cute girl or Altar boy serving at the Mass. Please do not feel guilty or feel bad that you are coming for Mass, not because you love the Mass and love God but because of other motives. Motives can be purified! We are sure that along this journey, you will reach a time when you attend Mass for the right reasons, because you love God and because you want to worship Him.

Trust

Peeling Potatoes With Great Love

In one of her letters to her sister Celine, St. Therese of Lisieux wrote, “You know well that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, as at the love with which we do them. What then, have we to fear?”.

What the Little Flower said is so true! What really matters in the end is the amount of love that we put into our actions. Even the smallest actions (when done with great love) pleases the Lord. He does not require us to do great things for Him but only to put in great love. Ultimately whatever things/actions we do, we do them for God. We do them for the glory of Him! What this means is that simple actions like picking up rubbish, sweeping the floor, helping to carry things for your friends are actually bringing glory and pleasure to the Lord when they are done with love. And like what Nana (or was it another catechist) said before in one of our Catechist Retreats, “Peeling potatoes with great love”, even mundane work like peeling potatoes can bring glory to God. It’s all about this word, LOVE. One of my fellow catechist once told me, “As long as I do it in the right spirit, I know that God will be pleased with me.”. Doing it in the right spirit can be translated as doing it with love and doing it in order to glorify His name.

Just remember that whatever we are doing, we are doing it for God, and even the smallest actions done with love pleases Him.

Time For A Spiritual Check-Up!!!

We all know how important physical health is; here's a plan for keeping your soul in shape:

(a) Don't question your faith, question your doubts.
We spend too much time dwelling on our misgivings, experiencing faith as an occasional flash-in-the-pan.
God's promises are for 'believers'.

(b) Don't be a 'lone ranger'. It's no accident that the Old Testament contains the story of God's people, and that the Epistles were written to congregations. We grow as we relate - not isolate!

(c) Guard your thought life. If your "thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if [it's] controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace" (Romans 8:6 ). Practice mind management!

(d) Fall asleep and wake up immersed in gratitude. It'll transform your day. "In every thing give thanks!" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

(e) Ditch anything that distracts you from God. Toss the junk reading material, and if you've got the guts, throw in the ungodly television shows!

(f) Always err on the side of mercy. Philip Yancey writes: "I marvel at the humility of a God who descends to live inside…His 'flawed' creatures…Do I show that same attitude towards people of whom I disapprove?"

(g) Be specific and don't revert to generalities when discussing your faith.
Paul wasn't "ashamed of the Gospel" (Romans 1:16); neither should you be.

(h) Be gracious to the people who irk you. God chose them too!
Sometimes it's easier to be gracious to non-believers than to uptight, moralistic Christians.
But that just makes you a different kind of judgmental.

(i) Forgive those who've hurt you. Harbouring hatred hinders healing, so bring your hurts to God.