Advent Penitential Services 2007

CITY DISTRICT
Thursday Dec 13: 8pm Novena Church
Friday Dec 14: 8pm Church of St. Bernadette
Monday Dec 17: 8pm Church of St. Michael
Tuesday Dec 18: 8pm Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
Wednesday Dec 19: 8pm Church of Ss. Peter & Paul
Friday Dec 21: 8pm Church of St. Teresa
Sunday Dec 23: 7:30am (T*) & 5:30pm (T*) Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

NORTH DISTRICT
Friday Dec 14: 10.30am, 8pm Church of Christ The King
Monday Dec 17: 10.30am, 8pm Church of the Risen Christ
Tuesday Dec 18: 8pm Church of St. Joseph
Wednesday Dec 19: 8pm Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea
Thursday Dec 20: 10am & 8pm Church of The Holy Spirit
Friday Dec 21: 8:30pm Church of St. Anthony

WEST DISTRICT
Monday Dec 17: 8pm Church of The Holy Cross
Tuesday Dec 18: 8pm Church of St. Mary of the Angels
Wednesday Dec 19: 8pm Blessed Sacrament Church
Thursday Dec 20: 8pm Church of St. Ignatius
Friday Dec 21: 8pm Church of St. Francis of Assisi

EAST DISTRICT
Monday Dec 17: 10.30am, 7pm, 9pm Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour
Tuesday Dec 18: 10.30am, 7pm, 9pm, Church of the Holy Family
Wednesday Dec 19: 8pm Church of St. Stephen
Thursday Dec 20: 8pm Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace
Friday Dec 21: 10.30am, 7pm, 9pm Church of the Holy Trinity

SERANGOON DISTRICT
Monday Dec 17: 8pm Church of the Nativity of the BVM
Tuesday Dec 18: 8pm Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Wednesday Dec 19: 8pm Church of St. Vincent De Paul
Thursday Dec 20: 8pm Church of St. Francis Xavier
Friday Dec 21: 8pm St. Anne's Church
Saturday Dec 22: 9am - 12noon, 2-5pm Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Note: All services are in English unless indicated.
(M*) Mandarin, (T*) Tamil.

Caroling on 20th December 2007

Pls be reminded that the caroling this thursdays is at 130pm.

Details

Time: 1330hrs - 2200hrs (may be earlier)

Venue: Start and End at Christ the King Back Gate

Pls be there on time as the bus will leave on time.

AMEN!

RCIY BBQ!!

RCIY BBQ this SUNDAY, 23rd December 2007.

Pls sms your sponsor to tell him/her if you're able to make it. Programme includes:

1. Gift Exchange (each person bring 1 gift of a $5 - $10 value)

2. BBQ

3. Eat, drink and talk nonsense

4. What else can you ask for?

Pls reply soon as we need to make the necessary bookings!!!!!

YUM YUM.... Drool Drool.......

Christmas Carolling
Caroling this year will be very meaningful.
We'll be going to the homes of the parishioners with special needs in our church.
This event will be a joint collaboration with the Sodality of St Joseph(Adult Group)
Pls give your fullest support.


Details:
1st Practice:
Monday, 10 December 2007, 8pm
Church Function Hall

Actual Caroling:
20th December 2007
4pm - 10pm

Transport will be provided from church and back to church after the caroling.
Pls contact your respective sponsors to confirm your attendance.

May you have a fantastic week ahead.
Pray and prepare for camp..

Class on Sunday!!

This Sunday we'll be holding our first session on Sacraments.
Pls be there on time, cos I need to start on time and end on

Details of session:
Time: 0900hrs
Venue: Rm 105

Come early k?!?!
Ses ya!

Congratulations to Arthur and Moarie on the Birth of Jayden Foo.
Born on the 19 November 2007!!

PARISH TRIDUUM

21st November 2007 - 23rd November2007

Time : 7:30pm (Praise & Worship)

8:00pm (Mass followed by fellowship and refreshment in the Parish Hall)

Venue : Church

Thanksgiving and Petition Forms are available today and on the Triduum nights.

You are welcome to fill in and place these forms in the boxes provided at the entrance of the church.

There will be No 6:15pmMass during the Parish Triduum.

Games Day

HEY HEY!!! IT's finally the weekend!!

Time for Games Day!

Meet at 1100hrs for mass.

PLS DO NOT BE LATE!

Then we will proceed fo$r lunch and games at Bishan Sports complex.

Look forward to table tennis, and board games!!

Pls RSVP your attendance at the TAG Board k?

10 commandments

Hey hey finally is the end of the 10 commandments session and i tink everybody are sick and tired of mi toking in the front with inproper English rite......muhhahahaa!~!~! now u guys can relief liao...anw juz to blog it here to remind u all....and anw thanx elaine for doing the session togetherly with mi for a month....hahaa

okok the 101 commandment will be in the bible of Exodus chapter 20 and deuteronomy chapter 5.

1)You shall only worship the LORD your GOD and nobody else.(eg do not make images,do not obsesse on anything else like material goods money than GOD)

2)Do not use GOD's name in vain.(eg.Oh my GOd,Holy shit, GOd Damm it)

3)You should keep the Sabbath day holy(eg. go for mass, spend time with GOd in prayers, reflecton)

4)Respect your father and mother(eg.Is our reponsible to be obedience)

5)Thou shall not Kill( eg. Abortion, condemm ppl to affect them to go for suscide)

6)Do not commit adultery(eg. Once u lust with intention is already a sin

7)Thou shall not steal( eg. Respect ppl private propertys

8)Thou shall not lie (eg. white lie is also wrong, lie for ur own benefits)

9 & 10)Do not desire another man's wife;do not desire his house, his land, his slaves, hiscattle, his donkys, or anything else that he owns( eg. the thoughts and desire of commandments of 6 & 7)

For any quieres pls seek mi elaine or ur sponsors.....Enjoy

Ah ber

Jesus, You are my Saviour

I just saw this video.
Does it apply to you?
I think I'm a victim.. But at the end of the day, Jesus Loves me and I know he will come and save me.
Look at the video..... Are you in the same situation?

The G-Shaped Hole

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINAR


HEy Guys and Gals!

Our Church is organising an LISS for you!
Come and be filled with the Holy Spirit!

WIll you be there?

Pls contact your Personal Sponsors if you wanna go.
I personally recommend that you go and understand what it means to be filled by the Holy Spirit.

The dates are written on the poster on the left.
It's on Sundays at 1130am, right after our classes.
So I suppose you need to go for mass before that.

Just check out the dates and mark them out on your calendar for now! I'll follow up with you this Sunday!

A little boy found a little girl

The earth asound with sleep;
Slopes they sit on steep,
Over the valleys deep
While the deserts weep.

'Follow me,' he said;
'Weep not for the past,
In my palace deep
Panda lies asleep.'

With feet of weary woe;
She could no further go,
So among shadows maze
Desert stars they trace.

Frowning night, frowning night;
Over the desert bright,
Let the stars voice
While he makes the choice.

'I must go,' he said;
'To the lion's growl,
And among the tigers wild
In a lonely dell with a wolvish howl.'

If her heart does ache;
But she must wait,
If he returns safe
Find her in pluto cave.

Feast of St Bartholomew/Nathanael

Reflections following the Daily Liturgical cycle

Friday, August 24, 2007
Rv 21:9b- 14

Psalm 145:10-11. 12-13. 17-18

John 1:45-51

From today’s readings: “The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.... The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.... Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Bartholomew/Nathanael

Nathanael did see greater things. He was one of those to whom Jesus appeared on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias after his resurrection (see John 21:1-14). They had been fishing all night without success. In the morning, they saw someone standing on the shore though no one knew it was Jesus. He told them to cast their net again, and they made so great a catch that they could not haul the net in. Then John cried out to Peter, “It is the Lord.”

“There is no duplicity in him.” What a great compliment Jesus gave when he spoke thus about Bartholomew (also known as Nathanael). So often, sin sits in a stealth mode in the duplicity of our hearts, as we delight in our own cleverness in disguising our motives and misleading others in ways that are not “technically” dishonest.

To be sure, charity and humility demand something from us akin to duplicity, as we endeavor to focus on one aspect of a given action while downplaying another. For instance, if I were to make a generous donation to a charitable cause, but sought to stay out of the limelight, I wouldn’t necessarily be guilty of duplicity. However, if I flatly denied my contribution, or conversely, if I were motivated primarily by secret hopes to gain fame from it, then the charge of duplicity would be justified.

Too often, we excuse our lapses into duplicity, and can even convince ourselves of its necessity and inevitability, when the light of Christ’s Truth would remind us that the opposite of duplicity is sincerity and integrity, traits which shine so brightly in the life of Christ and are thus also found in the lives of those who, like Bartholomew, seek to follow Christ and model their lives on His example.

Courtesy of Immaculate Heart Retreat Center

A Dream

The evening star does shine,
Led by the wand'ring light;
The little girl took delight,
The feet of angels ever bright:
The moon, like a flower
In heaven's high tower,
He kissed the child
And led by the hand,
Sit down by the sea
And pour sleep without cease.

A PRAYER FOR THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY

Holy Mother Mary, we all rejoice with you today on the feast of your glorious Assumption into heaven. Long ago in the Garden of Eden, our first parents, Adam and Eve, were told that they would have to earn their bread in the sweat of their brow and that the earth would be cursed, bringing forth thorns and thistles. Now, after Christ our Redeemer has come, and taught us how to make use of the thorns and thistles of this life, and turn them into blessings, you, like Him, have been taken up body and soul into heaven. There, with your Divine Son, you await our coming, and prepare a place for us.

Mother Mary, it is a great comfort to us to realize that your precious body, the tabernacle of the infant Christ, is now in heaven with Him. Your being taken into heaven is also, like the resurrection of Christ's body, a pledge to us of the resurrection of our own bodies. It is wonderful to think that these hands, with which we earn our bread now in the sweat of our brow, will, because of the merits of Christ, one day, with our bodies, be glorified forever in heaven.

O most pure Virgin Mary, help us to realize this as we go about our work from day to day. Help us to have great respect for these bodies of ours, and for those of others because we recognize in them the temple of the Holy Spirit, and because we look forward to seeing each other, body and soul, with you and your Son Jesus Christ forever in heaven.

Amen.

The Feast of the Assumption


(Holy Day of Obligation - 15th August 2007)
Courtesy of http://www.newadvent.org

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 15 August; also called in old liturgical books Pausatio, Nativitas (for heaven), Mors, Depositio, Dormitio S. Mariae.
This feast has a double object: (1) the happy departure of Mary from this life; (2) the assumption of her body into heaven. It is the principal feast of the Blessed Virgin.

THE FACT OF THE ASSUMPTION
Regarding the day, year, and manner of Our Lady's death, nothing certain is known. The earliest known literary reference to the Assumption is found in the Greek work De Obitu S. Dominae. Catholic faith, however, has always derived our knowledge of the mystery from Apostolic Tradition. Epiphanius (d. 403) acknowledged that he knew nothing definite about it (Haer., lxxix, 11). The dates assigned for it vary between three and fifteen years after Christ's Ascension. Two cities claim to be the place of her departure: Jerusalem and Ephesus. Common consent favours Jerusalem, where her tomb is shown; but some argue in favour of Ephesus. The first six centuries did not know of the tomb of Mary at Jerusalem.

THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION
Regarding the origin of the feast we are also uncertain. It is more probably the anniversary of the dedication of some church than the actual anniversary of Our Lady's death. That it originated at the time of the Council of Ephesus, or that St. Damasus introduced it in Rome is only a hypothesis.

A new hope is born....

On the 4th of August 2007, A little boy namded Thomas was born. He was to be the first son of Simon and Louisa..

How happy and blessed they are.... to have been blessed with a gift from God... a Son....

Yup yup.. You've guessed it!

Simon's Kid is out of the tummy!! He's happily born!!!

Congratulations Simon and Louisa on this very special day..

Those who wanna catch a glimpse of the yan dao kia, Thomas, go look for Simon!!!

REACHING OUT IN ONE SONG


There's a concert to be held in the Church of St Mary of the Angels.
This is to raise funds for BEYOND SOCIAL SERVICES & FRANCISCANS INTERNATIONAL.
If you'd like to go, don't hesitate to give your sponsor a call. He/she may go with you too!

Venue: Church of St Mary of the Angels
Time: 8pm
Cost: $10, $20 and $50 donation tickets

Wanna go?!

FESTIVAL OF PRAISE 2007




Hey guys, the Annual Festival of Praise is back in Singapore.
This year they have Delirious, Don Moen, and Dr Phil Pringle. This Christian event used to be something that we would go for every year!!


You interested to go?
I think it starts tonight...
heee

A bit late right?


But well... those who are keen, the tickets are free...
In fact, there are no tickets needed.
Just have to be there early to get good seats.

And I tell you... I love Don Moen... His songs are inspiring...
I suppose you might like delirious too!



Sms your sponsors if you're planning to go k?

WOnder who's going though..

God is love

We have reason and can appreciate intellectual evidence. For example, the evidence of beauty in music or in painitng is perceived by our mind, and not by our senses. An animal may hear the same sound, or see the same colour without being impressed by their harmony and proportion. Apart from the bible altogether, our rational nature is enough evidence for the existence of God.

God is love. He asks the freely given love of men and not a compelled love. Because He is just, He will not deprive us of the free will which is in line with our rational attribute. We cannot be free to love and serve God without being free to reject him and rebel against Him. Even if God wants men to be free,He cannot take from them the power to choose evil. If he enforces goodness, He takes away freedom. If he leaves freedom, He must permit evil, even though He forbids it. It is our dignity that we are master of our own destiny instead of developing like a tree that has to obey natural law.

Examination of Intellect

The reality of any statement must be tested by our intellect and not by our imgination. When we can't understand any statement, it is called inconceivable. This means that the statement itself contains a contradiction itself, so that no concept can be formed with our intellect. A four-sided triangle, for example, is inconceivable, because triangle is a three-sided figure. A less-instructed athesist will ask whether God can make a weight so heavy that He cannot lift it. And so whichever answer we give, we shall admit there is something God can't do. But the question is literally meaningless: a weight that an omnipotent God can't lift is as complete as a contradiction in terms of a four-sided triangle. In either case, the words mean nothing because they cancel each other out. There is no point in piling alot of words, regardless of their meaning, and then ask ignorantly "Can God amke that?" God can do anything, but a contradiction in terms is not a thing at all.God could not make a four-sided triangle or a weight that He Himself cannot lift because that is inconceivable; that means nothing.

Man endowed with freewill

If man is not free, he cannot be expected to keep laws, and should not be punished for breaking laws. There is no obligation to observe a law when it is not possible to keep it. Consciousness is another proof for freewill. We are not only conscious before acting that there are various ways open to us, but we are conscious that we may stop or hesitate acting, and after acting, are conscious of self reproach, realising that we should not have acted in a certain way. The possession of reason has to come with freewill. For example, taking another man's money may be considered as involving the moral evil of obtaining it by theft, or as exchanging your goods with him. The action of taking money itself allows a man to concentrate upon one aspect or another, proposing to himself the good or evil choice.

Sentosa!!! Photos are Here!

SENTOSA PHOTOS!!

YO YO!!! Sentosa Photos are here!! Looking for yourself?CLick on Daphne to look at the album!

Remember to start thinking of which sponsor you with to choose to journey with you to your baptism!

In the meantime, Pray hard!

Photobucket Album

Canteen Photos!!

Special thanks to God and everybody in the RCIY family for this wonderful canteen.

Echoing Sentosa

The sun arises,
And brighten the skies;
The skylark and thrush,
The birds of the rush,
Sing louder around
With the bells' happy sound;
While our bond shall be seen
On the Echoing Sentosa.

Sitting under the oak,
Among the old folk.
The sand laughs at our play,
And soon they all say:
'Such, such were the joys
When we all, girls and boys,
In our youth time long
On the Echoing Sentosa.'

Till everyone is weary,
No more can be merry;
The sun heads to west,
And our sports have to end.
Like birds in their nest,
Are ready for rest,
And sport no more seen
On the darkening Sentosa.

Canteen Song

When RCIY canteen laughs with the voice of joy,
And the stream of parishioners run laughing by;
When the bell laughs along with our merry wit,
And the car park laughs with the noise of it;

When Alastair laughs with lively green,
And Joseph laughs in the merry scene,
When Fion and Jenny and Felicia
With their delightful mouths sing 'Ho He He!'

When Victor laughs in the painted shade,
Where our table with meesiam and porridge spread,
Come, be merry, and join with Eugene and Kelvin,
To sing the delicate song of 'Ho He He!'

Early in the morning


Early in the morning the world sleeping

A great and mysterious sight up in sky

Clothed with maze, with dazed moon under her feet

Silence her bit, looking away her lit

Yawning her way, let companionship speaks

As silence breaks, clouds of me breeze to her

Let fall one by one, days of still sail on.

The stars and the sea sing along with me

But my knitted emotions sew me up.

Gleaming in a body of sea water

The breath of chilled dawn splash and raise me on

Eagle’s wing, and make me rise like a sun

And like son of morning and daughter of day

And to hold her in the palm of calm hands.

The shepherd

How sweet is the shepherd's word,

From dawn to morn he prays,

The sheep shall follow him all the day ,

Filled with breath, the tongue full of praise .

The lamb calls to the shepherd,

And he hears the ewes' cry,

Ever peaceful as they are,

They know their shepherd by and by.

The simple Math of Christianity

In all simplicity, God is love. Jesus was sent into this world because of love. The Father loves us so much that He sent His only Son into this world to shed His blood for us, so that our sins may be forgiven. Hence, we have come to know Jesus as our Redeemer. Love took place first, and Jesus was conceived into this world, and His name was made known to all. By bringing love into this world, He brings togetherness in people. Love relates directly to the factor of ‘sum’ as it constitutes a sublime coherence in people and it adds beauty to this created universe. Now, let us take a look at Dan Brown’s work. “Jesus is married because of some interpretations in the work of Da Vinci.”; Jesus is this or that, so long as…etc.”
Everything he said cast doubts over us Catholics because Brown tried to add words to subtract the divinity of God. God is absolute. God is omnipotent. God is holy. God is love. The added words subtract nothing from the fullness of God but merely draw out the perfection of what is already within God. Dan brown’s work is but you cannot leave it there, and every word you add you subtract. There is limitation in Brown’s arguments and reasoning, subtracting from the fullness of what ‘is’ can mean. We are a faculty of rational attributes endowed with the likes of gifts of intellect and freewill. Granted a reasoning possession, we are able to attain truth by our intelligence, and that is where freewill follows. Do we want to believe in the goodness of God or in the deception of heretics’ work? I would only believe in the arguments of heretics if human reason has infinite volume but facts have proven otherwise.

The conversation of a Master Sergeant and a Third Sergeant:


Master Sergeant: Where is your camp pass?

*Third Sergeant immediately took out his camp pass from his pocket and wear it.

Master Sergeant: (Banging the table) This is my last dime delling you do wear your camp pass! And why are you leaning against the wall?!

Third Sergeant: Wo mei yo kao (In Eng: I’m not leaning)

Master Sergeant: (Finger pointing) Bloody sh**, I’m talking to you in Engrish, you not habby isiz?!

Third Sergeant: (looking buay song, In Eng: not happy)No, Master

Master Sergeant: You not habby, you dell me.

Third Sergeant: (still looking buay song) No, Master

*Conversation ends*

Jus to share my view on the conversation:

What kind of question is “you not habby isiz?! “ ? What do you think will happen to the third sergeant if he tells the truth, “ya, I’m not happy” ? Often we are faced with “stupid” questions, and we know by lying we get our way around, so what is the point of telling the truth if we know trouble awaits us?


Here is another conversation of a child and his father:

Father: U like to stay in AMK or Hougang?

Child: R we shifting?

Father: I’m planning, so u prefer which one?

Child: I’ve never been to AMK or Hougang.

Father: Come child, just choose one place.

Child: I don’t know, AMK?

Father: Y AMK?

Child: Because u ask me to choose one place.

Father: Y not Hougang?

Child: Because AMK sounds nicer.

Father: Come child, tell me what’s on your mind, I’m your dad, u can share anything with me, Y u prefer AMK?

Child: Because AMK got more playground than Hougang.

*Satisfied with the answer, Father walks away*


In this case, Dad is pressing his child for his reason of choice of AMK and apparently the child doesn’t have a reason for his choice. Sometimes, we make our choices according to our feelings because we really don’t have a reason. The child is telling the truth at first, but his father is not satisfied with his answer and tries to prompt him further. The child is unknowingly forced to lie to get his way around.

Actually it also applies to us, when we were young and late for home, our parents would question us why we were late. “I went to my friend’s house to play game.” Maybe once or twice in a month going to a friend’s house to play game is alright, but if we everyday we go home late and give the same reason, what do u think will happen?

“I stay back in school to study.” “I stay back for CCA.” “I do project with my friends” These are the politically right answers that parents are looking for; they just want to hear something nice from their kids. Over time, the kids will know what to say to please their parents and to avoid scolding. Innocence of a child is often lost to experiences gained.

This week we learnt about Faith and the Creed
Just a video that we had seen during the camp.
Do take a look and realise that Jesus has died so that we might live.
And the FATHER has sent the Holy Spirit to Guide and Lead to HIM.
Cos HE loves us. What else can we say about our GOD? He is so Wonderful....



Notice that a tear drop is dropped from the sky after Jesus Dies.
Of course it was never written in the bible. But it signifies GOD's Love and forgiveness of us.
Aren't you blessed to have such a Wonderful God...

God gives us a free gift of HIS Love. Faith is what we need to be able to fully accept and reap it's goodness of HIS Love.

The Creed is what Catholics believe in. We'll be going through several sessions to explain what the various parts of the creed signifies in the upcoming sessions.


Digressing, I'd like to congratulate the group that won the "Cooking for God / Love". Hope you enjoyed your prize.



See you all this week at the Canteen Preparation.
Pls be in church at 2pm on Saturday 16th June 2007!