Gratitude & Thanksgiving

  27 May 2018 Sunday,  Solemnity of the Holy Trinity Sharing my notes taken during h omily by Rev Fr Alphonsus Dominic @  Church of the Holy Family                                 Fr Alphonsus preached about the mystery of the Holy Trinity today, and said that the way we could invoke the power of the Trinity in our lives is through prayer.  He gave a practical piece of advice and encouraged us to start by spending just three minutes at the end of each day praying to the Holy Trinity: First minute -  Addressing our prayer to God, the Father.   Lifting up a high point of our day, g iving thanks for it. Second minute -  Addressing our prayer to God, the Son .  Lifting up a low point of our day, a sking for pardon and forgiveness. Third minute -  Addressing our prayer to God, the Holy Spirit.   Looking forward to the next day, a new beginning, a sking for ...

26 May 2018 Saturday Sharing my notes taken @ Church of the Risen Christ Wedding homily by Rev Fr John Siew                    Fr Siew offered some practical advice - 10 rules that are applicable no only to the new weds, but also to us all married couples.  Do not both be angry at the same time. Do not shout at your spouse, be polite and gentle. If one party has to win, be the one who gives way. If there is a need to criticise, do it gently, never rude, hostile or rough. Never bring back mistakes of the past. Do not neglect your spouse or take him/her for granted Do not go to sleep with an argument unsettled. Compliment your spouse at least once a day. If something wrong is done, be ready to admit and ask for forgiveness It takes two to make a quarrel, be the one who quells the argument by keeping silent.  The the one who is wrong usually talks the most talking. As married couples, we have ...

  22 May 2018  Tuesday Today's first reading from James 4:1-10 challenges me What are the things that I want and havent got? Do I have an ambition that I cannot fulfill? What are the desires inside me that causes me to be bitter and selfish?   Do I pray about these? How do I pray?  Do I pray rightly? Or do I indulge in my own desires? "Submit to God, draw near to Him and He will draw near to us.   Humble yourself and He will exalt you.” James 4:7-8 The preceeding chapter talks about wisdom.. "The one who is wise and humble shows works by a good life in humility that comes from wisdom.  Wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, compliant, merciful, fruitful/" James 3:1,17 The short reading in the Morning Prayer "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God." 1 John 4:14-15  And the week ’s  Collect Grant we pray, alrighty God, that, always pondering on spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and de...

  19 May 2018 Saturday Sharing my notes taken @ Church of St Alphonsus Novena homily by Rev Fr Philip Lai  Fr Philip Lai gave a short homily, reading from a letter of thanksgiving written by a young girl reflecting on her four years of secondary school life, thanking the Lord for her trials, grief and challenges experienced.    Fr Philip drove home the message quoting James 1:3-4  because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4 and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.   Fr then read out part of a speech by John Roberts (US Supreme Court Chief Justice) delivered at his son commencement ceremony: "From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you t he importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to...

  17 May 2018 Thursday Sharing transcript of homily  by Rev Fr Philip Lai, CSsR Taken from recording @ Church of the Holy Family Pentecost Triduum ONE IN FAITH, LOVE AND SERVICE Day 3 - Empowered to Serve Others                     Fr started by asking - Does the Church exist for the benefit of its members or the members exist for the benefit of the Church? If it is the former, that the Church exists for the benefit of its members - does this mean the Church must do everything to please everyone feeding a completely individualistic society? If it is the latter, that the members exist for the benefit of the Church - is this not facism, an authoritarian form of society where the Church is absolute, where everyone has to tow the line? Fr then asked - Is the head for the benefit of the body or the body for the benefit of the head?   He went on stating that in a living organism, everything is for the benefit of eve...

17 May 2018 Thursday Sharing my notes taken @ Church of the Holy Family Homily by Rev Fr Peter Wee, CSsR Pentecost  Triduum ONE IN FAITH, LOVE AND SERVICE Day 2 - United in the Bond of Love

  16 May 2018 Thursday Sharing my notes taken @ Church of the Holy Family Homily by Rev Fr Clement Lee, CSsR Pentecost  Triduum ONE IN FAITH, LOVE AND SERVICE Day 1 - Growth in Fath in the Risen Lord                 FAITH is a gift from God . It is the act of believing , with the help of the Holy Spirit, in God’s revelation of himself . Faith and the Word of God The best way to grow in fatih is through the Word of God. The Bible is God’s Word to us When we reflect on the Bible, God reveals Himself to us. The Word of God must become powerful in our lives. Faith and understanding We may not understand the Bible all at once, but let the word stay with us. It will g radually and graciously grow in us .  And God will reveal His message to us. Our relationship with God is our strength.  Faith and love The more we keep the Word, the more our faith will be rooted in love . Not in logic and reason, but...

  18 May 2018 Friday Sharing my notes taken @ Catholic Spirituality Centre Talk by Cassilda Lim-Koh, 18 May 2018 Friday Cassilda handled the topic of the Holy Spirit by leading us through Acts 2:1-13 , picking some key messages to share with us, focusing on the question:  “ What does Pentecost have to do with you and me?"   Acts 2:1-13  The Coming of the Holy Spirit 2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the...

  12 May 2018 Saturday Sharing my notes taken @ Catholic Spirituality Centre Talk by Leonard Koh on 11 May 2018 Friday

5 May 2018 - 5th Sat of Eastertide Sharing my notes taken @ Church of St Alphonsus, Singapore Novena homily      In the tradition of the Catholic Church, the month of May is dedicated to Our Lady, encouraging us to pray the Rosary more, to meditate her virtues, to welcome her into our homes and our hearts.... These devotions are for the purpose of better understanding the Queenship of Mary, to re-dedicate ourselves back to her Son, to come closer to Jesus, to better understand our relationship with Him.  Devotion to Mary is ultimately all about knowing Jesus better All titles given to Mary are tied to her relationship with Jesus. For example…. We call her Queen - Jesus is King, Mary is his mother, and therefore our Queen. By her Queenship, we are proclaiming Jesus' Kingship. We call her Mother of God - we know Jesus is God, and Mary is his Mother, therefore by her motherhood, we are proclaiming Jesus’ divinity. We reflect on Mary, her virtues, how she lived he...

4 May 2018 - 5th Friday of Eastertide Sharing my notes taken @ the Catholic Spirituality Centre (CSC), Singapore - Homily by Rev Fr Colin Tan, SJ    Father Colin’s theme was “ Being Led by the Spirit” and he focused on three points: L ove - being able to experience the love of God O bedience - being obedient to the Lord H ome - being at home and familiar with the Lord In the journey of life, we can get side tracked and misled in so many ways - pride, greed, selfishness, unforgiveness - these can lead us astray.  But if we stay close to the Lord, we will be able to discern between the good Spirit and the bad ones. If we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit, we will have the courage, power, grace and humility to not only receive but also offer forgiveness.   To be obedient means to hear, to listen, to spend quiet time to understand the voice of the Good Shepherd.   Our obedience is towards God’s commandments.  When we do what He comman...