Awesome!

My all time favourite quiet time/reconciliation song. The Lord will never abandon you just because you have sinned, instead he is more than willing to forgive you & embrace you once you are repentant and is willing to come home. (:

Father I have sinned,
Help me find my way
Remember not my sins,
Just let me hear you say

(Chorus)
I forgive you, I love you
You are mine, take my hand
Go in peace, sin no more,
Beloved one

Father I have turned
My back and walked away
Depended on my strength and loved life my own way
(Chorus)

Father I have closed,
My heart to those in need
Thought only of myself,
A victim of my greed

((Chorus)

Father I've returned,
I'm home with you to stay
Standing by your door,
Knowing that you'll say

(Chorus)

Please pray for the confirmants in this coming retreat, that their hearts will be opened to receive the awesome love and power of the Lord. That they will be able to experience God himself, as they become affirmed in their faith.

Please also pray for those attending Awaken tomorrow, that they will be fully renewed in the Spirit, to have that fresh conversion and inspire the rest of the people around them.

This is gonna be an spirit-filled week for both the confirmants, the facils and the Awaken participants! We are gonna storm heaven with our prayers! (:

Being a happy christian: from a view of a taxi driver

So the last few sessions of YM were about being hungry for God and how to be happy christians right?

A little background story:
Just the other day, after a long dry season of not being able to go home early, there came that one chance that i could leave work on time! However, something else cropped up, and that chance flew, really leaving 1 hr later. I was walking to the main road to wait for a taxi, when I saw one at the opposite direction, I was still rather far off from the road, but decided to try flagging anyway, and walk a little bit faster hoping the taxi will stop for me. and it did!
Boarding the cab, I stated my destination, 2 places actually as I was also dropping off some documents for another colleague of mine. The uncle suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed, YAY! Woah, honestly I was a little shocked, what can he be so happy about right?

Throughout the journey, the uncle was laughing and singing happily. For a person (me) who have gone through a tiring day at work, his behaviour was a ltttle not normal, or rather too hyperactive for my comfort. But nevertheless, we started chatting. And as we were chatting, I noticed a cap on the dashboard, with "Praise the Lord" in front. So the thought that came was, "ok so he is Christian too"

We were in a jam on the road, I guess everyone was going home that day at that time. The uncle said to me, "You know I am really happy you boarded tha cab!" And he went further on to explain.. His first passenger took his taxi from the airport to Pasir Panjang - that makes a good start in his business that day, but so far! Then he picked up a Caucasian lady who wanted to go to Bugis - and he was like YAY! another good journey, he is going back to the east! And then he dropped another girl from Bugis to Selegie. Afterwards, he saw me, and I live in Changi - which means he will be going back to the airport after that!!! And he made a full circle, even though the beginning was uncertain. He proceeded on to say that God really provided for him that day as he was initially thinking how he was ever gonna get back to the airport if his first destination was so far away. But in the end, he decided to trust in the Lord, and just flow according to His way, and indeed truely He provided!

After that whole conversation, he started sharing light hearted jokes of the parliament, of anything under the sun that totally tickled me.. and when I left the cab, I was awake and happy! He talked about his family, and all the time, he keeps praising the Lord for what he has in his life now, and how thankful he is.

It's just a ride home, but throughout the ride, the sessions all came back to me, and it made sense! Only by being happy, looking happy, then other people around you will get affected and will listen to you. If we were grumpy all the time, who wants to talk to you, much less to know anything about you.

Have a great week everyone! (:

Universal Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration (2 June 2013, 11pm, Singapore time)

The Holy Father will be leading a worldwide hour of Eucharistic adoration today in Rome at 5pm (which is 11pm, Singapore time). There will be Holy Hour of prayer at Queen of Peace Church as well, for those of you who wish to join in. If you can't make it because it is too late, you can still join the universal church in prayer at home. That's the beauty of being Catholic isn't it?  :)

(Photo credit: CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Lastly, sharing with you a hymn which you can use in your reflection during Holy Hour. This is my personal favourite - a lovely, lovely hymn to be savoured slowly.

Ave Verum Corpus

Ave, ave, verum corpus  natum de Maria Virgine,  Vere passum immolatum in Cruce pro homine, Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxitet sanguine, Esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.

Hail,true body born of the Virgin Mary, Who truly suffered, sacrificed on the Cross for man, Whose pierced side overflowed with water and blood, Be for us a foretaste In the test of death.

Hungry, and happy

Sorry, I have been slacking on the posts but today is such a huge feast for the Catholic Church and we had a pretty good session, so I felt we had to share.

Today is Corpus Christi - Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. Angele prepared a really good session that helped us to reflect beyond the fact that Christ died for us, and left the wonderful gift of the Eucharist - his Body and Blood - to nourish us. The question is: do we hunger for him? Do we yearn to receive him each time we come to worship at mass? Or are we so 'filled' with busy schedules and things that temporarily makes us "full" and "happy", but ultimately doesn't give us any nourishment and instead makes us more and more tired each day, feel emptier inside and draw us further and further away from God?

Each of us have a different and unique spiritual journey which we walk individually with God. Even when we stay away from church or are lukewarm in our faith, Jesus is still waiting for us to open the doors of our hearts to him. All we need really is to crank open the door - even just a little - to let Him in bit by bit, day by day and fill our lives with his goodness. And the Eucharist is that spiritual nourishment that can help strengthen our faith journey.

Jesus promised us food that will satisfy and water that will quench our thirst. So be open to this promise - to seek Him daily wherever we go and bring Him to those whom we meet each day, since we have Him in us when we partake in holy communion. At the end of each mass, we are sent forth to "glorify the Lord by our lives". To glorify God doesn't mean we stay away from other non-Christians and huddle among ourselves. We ought to go and share Christ with others by our actions. Not that we have to adopt the ways of the world - no! It means doing the will of God even when it is difficult, bearing problems that come our way with a smile and a good sense of humour while acknowledging the difficulties we face. No one would want to get to know God if they see us Christians always moody, complaining, grumpy and 'sian'. The key to facing challenges and difficulties is to trust God completely to help us in our time of need, to believe that He always answers our prayers in the way He knows that is the best for us and at a time of His choosing. 

So, even if you are at a point in your life when you don't feel like God is answering your prayers, or there are too many things bothering you and you feel you are slacking in your spiritual life, take heart and have faith. Spend some time in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to give you the grace to come back to God, to receive the Eucharist, to strengthen you on your journey with Him. And pray to always hunger for Jesus Christ in your life.

I'll like to leave you with a quote and a song, which sums up today's session well. 

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.” - St. Augustine of Hippo

Hungry (Falling on my Knees) 

by Kathryn Scott

Hungry, I come to you

For I know You satisfy

I am empty, but I know

Your love does not run dry

So I wait for you

So I wait for you

I'm falling on my knees

Offering all of me

Jesus, You're all this heart is living for

Broken, I run to You

For your arms are open wide

I'm weary, but I know

Your touch restores my life

So I wait for you

So I wait for you

I'm falling on my knees

Offering all of me

Jesus, You're all this heart is living for

So I wait for you

So I wait for you

So I wait for you

I'm falling on my knees

Offering all of me

Jesus, You're all this heart is living for

Help, I'm falling on my knees

Offering all of me

Jesus, You're all this heart is living for

Hungry, I come to you

For I know You satisfy

~~~~