Fr. Aloy’s Farewell Party

Flavour Of The Day

If you’ve been following mails from the loop of catechists lately regarding the above event, you would have already noted what a wonderful, touching and most of all - fun farewell was held on behalf of our Dear Spiritual Director Fr. Aloysius Ong who will soon leave us to Rome, for further studies.

The planning took off weeks ahead, and the turnout was huge. Each person bearing witness of their deep appreciation, what it meant for them to have worked with Fr. Aloy during the past four and a half years. (oh sure, we represented the ones who couldn’t make it too!)

It was an effort put together with love, generosities of all kinds and of course Talent! Weren’t the organizers, comperes, photographers, song composers, caterers and singers all outstanding! While it’s difficult to pinpoint one occasion as the highlight of the night, possibly it was when Father departing from his usually quiet demeanor sang a beautiful song for all in attendance.

Father, we have never seen you keeping your ear to ear smile for so long…Thank you for enjoying the little we could do for you, for all that you have done for us.

I have not quite known you, ( the quiz results only showed!) but it’s not often when the departure of someone hardly known to one ,seems to leave a void which appears difficult to fill. I am sure these sentiments are shared by all of us who are reluctantly compelled to bid farewell to you. Study hard!!

-Contributed by Thushari Perera, 25 May 2007

Toppings:

Last week, I took my children to a restaurant.

My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."

"Really?" my son asked.

"Cross my heart," the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life.He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."

The End

- Contributed by Serene Wee, 25 May 2007

Our gifts and Identity

Flavour of the Day

Last Sunday, 20 May 2007, I witnessed 79 teens, clad in white, receive their Sacrament of Confirmation from the Archbishop Nicholas Chia at the 6 pm Mass of Holy Family Church. The catechists and youth facilitators wore a contrasting colour from the teens –black.

Being a member of the St. Mary’s choir, I sat at the choir pews and watched the whole ceremony clearly. I am happy for the teens who have finally reached the end of a decade long journey of catechism classes. To them, this is their window to adulthood – the beginning of their freedom. Hopefully, they will be guided by the Holy Spirit to make the right choices in life. They brought back memories of my daughter’s confirmation just last year. Like them, my daughter and her friends were filled with the Spirit after their confirmation and arranged to meet up once a week to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist. However, this arrangement did not last very long. I was quite disturbed when my daughter told me that she was following her friends to other churches to experience God. I questioned the need for this as I felt that God is already with us in our own church. Then later I realized that my daughter and her friends were actually searching for a place where they could find their own identity.

During the celebration of their Confirmation last Sunday, the teens not only received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but also received mementos from their catechists, God-parents and parents. Members of the Youth Council also presented the teens with a hand-made rosary as a sign of welcome and invitation to join them. I could feel the relief and joy of the Confirmation 4 catechists who have sacrificed a lot of time and effort to journey these three and a half years with them. However, I could not help but feel a bit sad knowing that after this day, we will lose some of the Confirmation 4 catechists from our ministry and a large number of these teens - who hold the future of our church – going out into the world. It dawned on me that my next challenge as a catechist was “How to help these teens find their own identity in our church?”

Contributed by Linda Heng, picture by Christina Lim

Extra Toppings

This is a picture of our Church's Main Hall Stained-Glass. At the Centre of it is a picture of the Holy Family. Surrounding the Holy Family are 16 pictures depicting scenes in the life of Jesus.

Picture contributed by Christina Lim

Smoothies:

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples.The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching." Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."

Contributed by Francisco Furtado (Conf 1 YF)

A catholic's ART

Flavour of the Day

The Art of Teaching the Faith

Shepherding and opening doors of hearts of our young ones

The catechist

What is our task as catechists? To help our young children encounter God. There cannot be teachers of the faith other than those who are convinced and faithful followers of Christ and the Church.

Nothing – not the method or the texts, or any part of the program – is more important than the person of the catechist. The gifts given to the catechist by the Spirit to witness faithfully and live accordingly are the very soul of catechetical ministry. The catechist is a mediator, facilitating communication between our children and the mystery of God, among our children being catechized, and between them and the larger community. Because of this, the catechist is called to a Christian way of life that reflects his or her beliefs well.

Our teaching methods

There are a variety of methods for teaching catechism, not just one. The nature of the message determines, in part, how it should be taught. We should adopt the most effective way to make the communication of faith understood and to make it plain.

There are however two general methods of teaching we can adopt: the inductive and the deductive.

The inductive begins with such things as biblical events, liturgical acts, events in the Church’s life or events in daily life so as to discern the meaning they might have in divine Revelation.

For example, we could refer to Jesus’ many examples of love in the Bible to teach our children how much God loves us.

This method has many advantages because it resembles the way God has chosen to reveal the divine mystery to us. It begins with experiences and enlightens them with the word of God.

The deductive method on the other hand explains and describes the doctrines and principles first. One then comes to understand experience by deriving conclusions from such principles. This approach begins with Scripture, doctrine or liturgy and applies them to life.

For example, to teach about the sanctity of life, we can start with the Commandment “Thou Shall Not Kill” and expand the principle to explain why capital punishment, euthanasia and abortion are violations of this commandment.

Needless to say, both methods are legitimate and needed.

Human experience

Human experience is the stuff of life. We have the task of making our children more aware of their most basic human experiences so that they become aware of God’s hand in their lives. Interpreting and illuminating human experience through the eyes of faith is how the revealed message and human experiences connect and lead one to faith.

-Contributed by Mark Ortega, 14 May 2007

Adapted from “The General Directory for Catechesis in plain English” by Bill Huebsch

Toppings:

I came across this book by H.Jackson Brown, Jr, “Live and learn and pass it on Vol II” filled with quotes shared by human beings 5 to 95 about things they’ve discovered along the way in life…

Here are some sprinkles:

I’ve learned that your “I can” is more important than your “IQ.”
- Age 14

I’ve learned that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.
-Age 20

I’ve learned that life is both simple and complicated at the same time. The trick is finding the simple truths that are contained in the complicated confusion.
-Age 24

I’ve learned that people can surprise you. Sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down will be the ones to help you get back up.
-Age 32

I’ve learned that no one drinks the last tablespoon of anything in a container- they would have to wash or refill.
-Age 49

I’ve learned that perspective is everything. To a worm, digging in the hard ground is more relaxing than going fishing.
-Age 65

I’ve learned that absent-minded people get lots of exercise looking for things they can’t find.
-Age 66

Extra goodies:

Mothers' Day Specials

A little something for all mothers who’ve smiled much, loved much, taught much, and gave much.

Mothers are unique creatures. Sometimes we may not understand them, as they can be quite a conplicated bunch. But sometimes they know us better than we do. They may nag alot, eat alot, laugh alot, burp alot but what they do best is loving us more than a mega-million scoops of ice-cream, and a gazillion M & Ms. They make the best goodies in our “LIFE party bag.”

We remember our mothers, not only on mothers' day, but their little deeds of love that go a long long way. We seek our heavenly Mother Mary's intercession for mothers all over the world, new mothers, soon-to-be mothers and fairy godmothers, that they will continue to herald God's great love.

-Contributed by Nana Philea Moo, 18 May 2007

Smoothies D'lite

An atheist was taking a walk through the woods. "What
majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful
animals!" he said to himself.

As he continued walking alongside the river, he heard a
rustling in the bushes. Turning to look, he saw a 7
foot grizzly charging towards him.

He ran as fast as he could up the path. Looking over
his shoulder, he saw that the bear was closing in on
him. His heart was pumping frantically, and he tried to
run even faster. He tripped and fell on the ground. He
rolled over to pick himself up, but saw the bear
raising his paw to take a swipe at him.

At that instant, the atheist cried out: "Oh my God!...

Time stopped.

The bear froze.

The forest was silent.

It was then that a bright light shone upon the man, and
a voice came out of the sky saying:

"You deny my existence for all of these years, teach
others I don't exist and even credit creation to a
cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of
this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?"

The atheist looked directly into the light.

"It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to
treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps, could you
make the BEAR a Christian?"

"Very well," said the voice. The light went out, and
the sounds of the forest resumed.

And then the bear lowered his paw, bowed his head and spoke: "Lord, bless this food which I am about to receive, and for which I am truly thankful, Amen."

- Joke contributed by Thushari Perera.

Another side to seeing it...

Flavour of the Day
Witnessing to Others:

Now having met together, the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, has the time come for you to restore the kingdom of Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judea and Samaria, and indeed to earth’s remotest end.”

(Acts 1: 6-8)

To many people, Ascension may seem a paradox. It seems like a necessary means to an end -- that only after Ascension can there be a Pentecost. Thus, many people tend to gloss over the significance of the Ascension, and tend to focus more on Pentecost, that great birthday of the Church.

Thus, it may come as a surprise to most of us, that the Ascension is actually a new beginning by itself. The disciples’ last statement before Jesus went up to heaven is a somewhat selfish one, it is clearly stating the disciples wish that Israel regained its former glory and power, most likely at the expense of others. However, the Lord turned it into a much more positive slant, by exhorting them to witness to “earth’s remotest end”.

What then does this have to do with us? In fact, this has a lot in parallel with each of us. We can choose to follow the disciples’ mindset, or the Lord’s command. In the disciples’ mindset, they expected some rewards to follow immediately after the ascension, in this case power and dominion. It can be also be same for us, that just because Christ has risen from the dead, our salvation is assured, and therefore we are only waiting for the reward of eternal life. But that is clearly not what the Lord intended us to do.

The interesting fact here is that even though Jesus’ ministry on Earth is finished, neither the disciples nor ours are done yet. The Ascension will lose its true meaning unless we are a witness of the Good News to those around us. How then do we witness to others? The best way is by reaching out to others like Christ reached out to us, by loving others as Christ has loved us, by dying to others as Christ has died for us. There are many men and women in history, from St Vincent de Paul to St Francis of Assisi to Mother Theresa, who by their lives and examples, have touched more people than any earthly power can ever hope to achieve. Thus, by their actions, they have expanded the kingdom of God. Therefore, Jesus has made a very wise decision in choosing witnessing over power and dominion. It is up to us to do the same.

-Contributed by Raymond Ang, 03 May 2007,
Photo by Nana, taken in Oklahoma City.

Toppings

It is not how much we have, but how much we know we have.

One day, 2 young boys were talking under a palm tree. One was from a middle class family, and he has what the world calls "Luxuries of Life". The other boy was lucky if he could have breakfast the next morning. But there was always a smile on his face.

Rich boy: "Why are you always smiling?" You don't even have a roof over your head!

Rich in spirit answered: "I have the stars to watch me go to bed every night, the sky as my blanket, and the gentle night breeze as my fan.

Rich boy: "My mother just bought me the newest MP3 player, it’s really cool! Will you ever get one?

Rich in spirit replied: “I have a heart full of song, and God sings to me through the rustling of the trees, and the tweeting of the birds. Sometimes, even silence is a song of peace.”

Rich boy: “I go to school and I have all these books with beautiful pictures to teach me about the world and about life.”

Rich in spirit replied: I spend my whole day watching God’s creation. I watch the sun rise, till it sets at dusk. I watch little plants grow into tall sturdy trees. I watch the birds lay eggs, and I play with the baby birds when they hatch. I use mud and the river water to build myself a play pen. I know which plants I can eat from, and which shoots I can use to make my mom a basket for her things. I thank God for these lessons of life.

-Contributed by Nana Philea Moo, 05 May 2007

Extra Goodies

“For many are called,but few are chosen.”Matthew 22: 14

17 inspiring stories that make life a little fuller, smiles a little wider and hearts a little softer. A great trEAT! Where priests share their stories of being Called and Chosen...

Takeaway

Confirmation Mass!

Share the “Holy Spirit” moment with them!

Date: Sunday, 20 May 2007
Time: 6pm Mass
Venue: Main Church Hall