Monday, September 01, 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

posted by Titans of God at 10:13 pm

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The Little Flower


Name: St. Therese of the Child Jesus a.k.a. St. Therese of Lisieux
Birth Place: Normandy, France
Parents: Louis and Zelie Martin
Siblings: 4 other sisters
Religious Order: Carmelite Nun
Born: 1873
Died: September 30, 1897
Writings By The Little Flower: Story of a Soul, The Letters of St. Therese
Proclaimed a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1925

THERESE OF LISIEUX (1873-1897) was born Therese Martin in Normandy, France. She entered the Carmel of Lisieux at the age of fifteen. At that time the notion that God's anger on account of sin must be appeased by voluntary self-offering was prevalent in the Church. Instead within nine years Therese achieved holiness through her grasp of the central Gospel truth of God's merciful saving love for everyone without exception. Her short autobiography was written at the request of others and revealed her strong desire that all should know this truth and respond in trust no matter what their condition, sinner or saint. Her teaching has rescued convicted criminals, alcoholics and other addicts from despair as well as pointing out the simple way of trust to countless Christians.

St Therese showed her love to Jesus by walking the way of perfection in the small things of everyday life: "Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love."

She is the patron saint of missionaries and in 1997 was declared a Doctor (that is, an official teacher) of the Church. She is one of the most popular and best loved of all the saints. Her feast day is 1 October

For more information on St. Therese of the Child Jesus, you can refer to Carmelites 20-40.



Story of a Soul can be found at our Katong Catholic Bookstore. It cost about $37 but the book is worth the money.

Extracts from the book which I found very inspiring:

"There is in the Community a Sister who has the faculty of displeasing me in everything, in her ways, her words, her character, everything seems very disagreeable to me. And still, she is a holy religious who must be very pleasing to God. Not wishing to give in to the natural antipathy I was experiencing, I told myself that charity must not consist in feelings but in works; then I set myself to doing for this Sister what I would do for the person I loved the most. Each time I met her I prayed to God for her, offering Him all her virtues and merits. I felt this was pleasing to Jesus, for there is no artist who doesn't love to receive praise for his works, and Jesus, the Artist of souls, is happy when we do not stop at the exterior, but, penetrating into the inner sanctuary where He chooses to dwell, we admire its beauty. I wasn't content simply with praying very much for this Sister who gave me so many struggles, but I took care to render her all the services possible, and when I was tempted to answer her back in a disagreeable manner, I was content with giving her my most friendly smile, and changing the subject of the conversation, for the Imitation says: "It is better to leave each one in his own opinion than to enter into arguments."


Frequently, when I was at recreation (I mean during the work periods) and had the occasion to work with this Sister, I used to run away like a deserter whenever my struggles became too violent. As she was absolutely unaware of my feelings for her, never did she suspect the motives for my conduct and she remained convinced that her character was very pleasing to me. One day at recreation, she asked in almost these words: "Would you tell me, Sister Therese of the Child Jesus, what attracts you so much to me; every time you look at me, I see you smile?" Ah! what attracted me was Jesus hidden in the depths of her soul; Jesus who makes sweet what is most bitter. I answered that I was smiling because I was happy to see her (it is understood that I did not add that this was from a spirtual standpoint)."
Idle Time


A Bible Tip

"They learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not" 1 Timothy 5:13


A Timely Tip

It has often been said that an idle person is one of the devil’s best tools. FBI records in the United States show that this statement is true. Teenage crime is at an all-time high. Disrespect for authority, getting into trouble, and major crimes have increased tremendously; and much of this is because young people have too much free time on their hands.

Even Christian people always seem to be looking for excitement. They dislike the quiet, orderly, everyday living. They feel that something exciting should be happening all the time. And if it does not happen, they become discontented.

In America, life is rushed, active, and filled with lots of pleasure. We want something going on all the time. If there is no real excitement, there seems to be boredom. Boredom leads to idle hands and minds. Idle hands and minds lead to mischief. Mischief often leads to crime. The story seems to be the same from one coast to another, and colour and creed seem to make no difference.

If you are God’s child, that is, if you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus, confessed your sin, and believed in Him, these things should challenge, rather than disturb you. They should challenge you to be a different kind of person. They should challenge you to be busy for God, but not so busy that you cannot do any one job effectively. You should be busy winning people to Christ, studying the scriptures, praying for people, doing what you can to help those whose minds and hands are idle.

The devil often takes advantage of our idle time, so we need to fill our time with thoughts of God and be ready to work for Christ, so that Satan cannot come in to conquer us and control our idle hours.


A Final Tip

Satan always likes to find
Uses for my idle mind.


Additional Reading: Hebrews 6:9-12


Devotion is taken from "Devotions For Early Teens" By Ruth I. Johnson




**************************

A Sharing Christian


A Bible Tip

"He that giveth, let him do it simply…he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness" Romans 12:8


A Timely Tip

Sharen and Karen were twins, but most people never thought of them as even coming from the same family. They were as different as day and night.

Each girl had a saving account at the bank, and they each received an allowance for lunches and other incidentals.

One evening as they were sitting in their room. Karen asked. “How much is in your savings?”

”Not very much, I guess. I had more, but –“ Sharen didn’t finish.

”You shouldn’t have spent all your money. I’ve got three dollars and seventy cents,” boasted Karen.

She was about to brag to her mother how much more money she had than her sister. But then she remembered the many times Sharen had used her money for different things.

On Mother’s Day Sharen had bought a beautiful plant. The florist had delivered it too. The day grandfather had been rushed to the hospital, she had sent out one of the biggest plants in the store.

Karen also remembered the many times they had been downtown and she had “forgotten” to take money along. Sharen had shared hers, but Karen had never paid it back. And then, just yesterday, when Jimmy had lost his Sunday school money, Sharen had stopped his crying by giving him some of her tithe.

Karen thought for a minute and then went to find her mother. “Mother,” she said, “how did Sharen become so kind? She’s always sharing her things with somebody, and she doesn’t seem to mind.”

”Maybe it is because she asked the Lord Jesus to make her a sharing Christian,“ said Mother.

And Karen had to agree.


A Final Tip

I’ll share what He has given me,
For more like Him I want to be.


Additional Reading: Proverbs 22:1-9


Devotion is taken from "Devotions For Early Teens" By Ruth I. Johnson




**************************

1) Parents Teacher Meeting
Date: 16 May 2008 Friday
Time: 7.30pm to 9.30pm
Venue: RCIA Room (Priest's House 2nd Floor)

2) Confirmation Mass
Date: 25 May 2008 Sunday
Meeting Time: 4.00pm @ RCIA Room

3) Confirmation 2 Camp
Date: 30 May - 01 June 2008 Friday till Sunday
Meeting Time: 30 May 2008 6.30pm @ Main Entrance Staircase
Venue: Immaculate Heart of Mary Retreat House

Going to a Catholic School

Little Zachary was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything... Tutors, Mentors, flash cards, Special learning centers. In short, everything they could think of to help his math.

Finally, in a last ditch effort, they took Zachary down and enrolled him in the local Catholic school. After the first day, little Zachary came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn't even kiss his mother Hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Zachary was hard at work. His mother was amazed. She called him down to dinner.

To her shock, the minute he was done, he marched back to his room without a word, and in no time, he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day, while the mother tried to understand what made all the difference.

Finally, little Zachary brought home his report card. He quietly laid it on the table, went up to his room and hit the books. With great trepidation, his Mom looked at it and to her great surprise, little Zachary got an 'A' in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity. She went to his room and said, 'Son, what> was it? Was it the nuns?' Little Zachary looked at her and shook his head, no. 'Well, then,' she replied, was it the books, the discipline, the structure, the Uniforms? 'WHAT WAS IT ALREADY?'

Little Zachary looked at her and said, 'Well, on the first day of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren't fooling around.'



Quote of the Day

Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

Ephesians 6:6

God's Love Letters!




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