My personal faith story

Last year, I was asked to write an article to share my faith experience. For those who do not know me, I was baptized two years ago and now I'm officially a Roman Catholic. This reminds me a question posted by one of my friend by asking “Do you think God really exist? What makes you think that God really exist in your life”? You might recall this statement in those exorcism movies that showed on the big screen of a cinema. Well, don’t get me wrong! I’m pretty sure that this person asks me out of curiosity, not because he is possessed by the evil one, in which,  we believe it as ‘Devil’.  My answer to him is just simple and short! “Yes, I truly believe.”  You might be wondering what makes me believe that God really exist in my life (perhaps in everyone’s life for that matter)? With the sophisticated technology that we have in this modern world, we can do things on our own! Do you think we really need God in our life? Do we really need to rely on His grace? Perhaps, we often missed the greatest gift that God has given or planted in each one of us- the seed of faith! Yes, in today's modern world, we might hear all sorts of questions from people, people who do not know Christ! People who prefer to do things on their own.  

Come back to the question that what makes me really think that God is important in my/our life? What makes me think that Catholic is the religion or faith that I’m looking for in my life?  In order to address all these questions, today I’m going to share with you the story of my faith, the faith that I can find the fullness of truth about God.

Throughout my 18 years of life, God is never my priority in life. If I would to rank, I guess it will be the last. Study will be my first choice in life. No study, no hope! No good result, I’m bound to death! Thank God, God is full of mercy! Just like what the picture of the divine mercy speak to us, it shows us God’s unfathomable divine mercy, it show us God’s love to the human race. I should consider myself have a good achievement in my academic life.  Thank God for His endless mercy. Unfortunately, I failed to recognize that was God’s blessing, living in the world of blindness. After my academic life, I'm blessed! I start to realized that something is missing in my life. Undoubtedly, I have a very good family, caring parents, and good friends surrounding me. So what is missing in my life? During that time, I couldn’t figure it out! Now, I know the answer. The answer is God. I know the thing that I missed in my life is ‘God’. The inner peace that only God himself can give it to me. Just like the bible says:  Peace be with you! I give you My peace; not as the world gives peace do I give it to you. Do not be troubled; do not be afraid (John 14:27) I still remember when I read this verse, I truly inspired by it. I can really feel the love from God. I can feel the peace of God in me. Well, you might think that I’m exaggerating. But, this is what I felt when I read this verse from the bible. However, it does not immediately draw me near to the water of baptism. In other words, I m still searching! I’m still searching who is God. Who is the creator of the whole human race?

During the process of searching, I read many religion books; books that can lead me the way to find my creator. Finally I came to a conclusion that, only Catholic, only the Catholic Church that reveals or shows us the fullness of truth about God. One might argue, why catholic? Why not other religion? Please don't get me wrong! It does not mean that other religion is not good, or they are the false gods! The word fullness here refers to the fullness truth that reflects about God. Why I’m sure that God’s truth is truly reflects in the Catholic Church is because of the teaching of the church, the living word of Christ which truly reflects the situation in this modern society.  We can also see the private revelation to a young saint, Saint Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, where a 14 years old peasant girl admitted to her mother that a “lady(Blessed Virgin Mary)” spoke to her while gathering the firewood with her sister and a friend. Many more miraculous events take place around the world and these events are solely recognized by the Catholic Church. Of course, as a catholic, you are not bound to believe it because that is not the deposit of our faith. But, aren’t these revelations by the supernatural power telling you something?  Indicating something in life?

 Well, you might find those arguments does not make any sense by saying the Catholic Church is the religion that reflect the fullness of truth about God. Often, we forget about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Sprit that guide us in our life, the Holy Spirit that teach us the truth about God. If you are a free thinker, you might question me by saying “not the Holy Spirit is the one who guided you in life, but your own self-conscious”. We tend to forget that God is our creator, without Him, nothing can be done. You might think that you can do things on your own without relying on God’s grace, God’s power! Trust me; you will never go far in life!

Today I’m glad that I got a chance to share with you my faith, my catholic faith, which encompasses the fullness of truth about God.  God is never far from us. He cares for us! He loves us! When we are facing difficulties in our life, He is always there to give us grace to overcome the obstacles that we face in life. Do not despair nor become despondent! Do not doubt your faith, the catholic faith, because the Catholic Church contains the fullness Christian TRUTH, it covers the Catholics Church’s unbroken history, the four marks of the truth church, the sacraments, the purpose of life and more.

 So now, do you believe in the ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, and APOSTOLIC church?

Our Lady of Lourdes Pastoral Theme: The Church is Holy

In the second year of our 5 year Parish Renewal Experience, we focus on the second mark of the Church - "The Church is Holy". This year (2013), we looked at the first mark: "The Church is One". Next year, we will be meditating on the Universal Call to Holiness, the Life of Sanctification through the Sacraments, Prayer (both personal and communal), the Communion of Saints, and the Christian Life, with special emphasis on the Theology of the Body

Mary, why Catholics honor her?

MARY, WHY CATHOLICS HONOR HER?

 Often, my friend from other christian denomination would ask me this, why do we need Mary? why should we pray through Mary, in fact, we can pray directly to God? Yes, Why would anyone want to honor Mary? After all, Jesus is paramount and we should go directly to Him. We do not need her.....or do we? Let us examine this question with Scripture and with our own GOD given powers of reason.

1. Who is the first person in Scripture to call Mary 'Blessed'?

The first place in the Bible where you will find the answer is Luke 1:28. If your answer is Gabriel, then it is the wrong answer. Gabriel is an Archangel, and the Greek word 'angel', means 'messenger'. So Gabriel was only a messenger for someone, but who? Gabriel was sent by GOD, so it was GOD's message that Gabriel delivered. If GOD was the first person to call Mary 'Blessed', can any of GOD's creatures do less? Dare you, or I, or anyone else refute a clear statement from GOD Himself? Anyone who attempts to do so is putting himself above GOD.

Others in Scripture called her "Blessed" also. Elizabeth did in Luke 1:42, and a "woman from the crowd" did in Luke 11:27. Mary herself said in Luke 1:48, "...for behold, henceforth all generations ‘shall’ call meBlessed." Can you dispute the fact that the word ‘shall’ is a command, and not a suggestion?

If you look up the word 'Blessed' in the dictionary, it means, 'Holy', held in 'Veneration', 'Revered'. GOD is telling us that Mary is Holy, and she should be venerated and revered. Why does any human try to refute the word of GOD?

2. Okay, so she is 'Blessed', but that does not mean we need her!

Well, what did GOD say through Gabriel in Luke 1:30-33? "You have found favor with GOD." Right there, GOD 'venerated' Mary over all other women. In verse 31 He tells her that she will conceive. Who will she conceive?None other than Jesus Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity, who will manifest Himself as the 'Incarnate Word'. GOD Himself needed Mary to conceive and carry for nine months, His very own Son. GOD needed Mary to be the vessel to give birth to His Divine Son. If GOD needed her, can we not need her also?

3. So she gave birth to a male child! She is a mother like any other mother! Why does that make her special?

This brings us to a basic theological question. Who is Jesus Christ? We know that He is the second person of the Holy Trinity, the only Son of GOD. We know He is also the 'Incarnate Word' as explained in John 1:14, "...the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." John 1:1 teaches us that the "WORD WAS GOD." Mary gave birth to the 'Incarnate Word' and the 'Word' was GOD. I ask, to whom did Mary give birth? The only possible answer is that she gave birth to GOD. Some insist that she only gave birth to the 'humanity' of GOD, but what does that mean? Jesus Christ was the only person ever born with two natures, one human and one divine. He was but one person however, not two. He could not be a human person and a divine person, as that would make Him two persons. The question then becomes, 'was Jesus Christ a human person, or was He a divine person'? Back to John 1:1 and 14, the 'Incarnate Word' was GOD. Jesus Christ is a divine person. Mothers give birth to persons, each with a nature. They do not give birth to natures. GOD Himself,calls Jesus Christ His divine Son (Heb 1:5-8).

Yes she is a mother like any other mother, but what a difference between the sons.

4. Well, I am still not convinced you say?

We have established that Jesus Christ is GOD, that He was born of Mary, and that GOD needed her for this 'Incarnation'. Let us look at what Scripture says. Jesus Christ did not come to destroy the 'Law', but to fulfill it. In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus stated this and He also said in verse 18-19, "...not one jot or tittle shall be lost from the law till all things have been accomplished. Therefore whoever does away with one of these least commandments, and so teaches men, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven..." He very plainly said to 'keep the commandments'. Now don't you suppose Jesus Christ Himself, kept the commandments that He Himself wrote? Of course He did, all of them. Now what about 'honor thy father and thy mother'. Don’t you think He kept that one too? There is certainly ample evidence to show that He honored His Father, and there is evidence that He honored His mother as well. In fact, He, GOD Himself, must have obeyed His mother's, everyday living, 'mother to child' commands as He was growing up. This is shown in Luke 2:51, "And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was SUBJECT to them."

Jesus also obeyed her by performing His first miracle at her request at Cana when He turned the water into wine in John 2:1-5. Jesus Christ therefore kept the commandment 'honor thy mother'.

If Jesus Christ honored His mother, can we do less?

Jesus Christ loves His mother like any good son would. He will defend her from all attacks against her. If you have not honored Mary, what will you tell her Son when you eventually meet Him face to face, after you have taken your last breath, and He asks you why? Remember, at that point in time, the 'GOD of Mercy' becomes the 'GOD of Justice'.

5. In Summary:

a. GOD called Mary Blessed, and He venerated her.
b. GOD needed her to bear His Divine Son.
c. GOD chose Mary above all women.
d. Mary gave birth to the divine 'Incarnate Word'.
e. Jesus Christ honors His very own mother.
f. Jesus Christ will defend His mother as any good son would.

Doesn't that make Mary special?

Does not this make her worthy of our honor?

Can we do less than what GOD Himself did?

Does any man or woman have the right, or the authority, to say we should not honor Mary?

I have given you the Scriptural authority to honor her. Ask the person who tells you otherwise to show in Scripture where it says not to honor her.

Jesus Christ was the only person in history who was able to choose His own mother. Why did He choose Mary? Because she is special, that's why...

Why should I go to confession?

"Why should I go to confession? My non-Catholic friends tell me they're forgiven by praying directly to God; Why aren't Catholics? And if I do have to go, how often?" This is a question I have been asked several times over the years by my non-catholic and non-christian friends. Confession is one of the least understood of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. In reconciling us to God, it is a great source of grace, and Catholics are encouraged to take advantage of it often.

To understand why confession is important for Catholics, let us first understand how the church look at this sacrament. Confession is the Sacrament of Penance, one of the seven sacraments recognized by the Catholic Church. Catholics believe that all of the sacraments were instituted by Jesus Christ himself. In the case of confession, that institution occurred on Easter Sunday, when Christ first appeared to the apostles after his Resurrection. Breathing on them, he said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sin you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained" (John 20: 22-23). You might be wondering what is the Sacraments mean to the Catholic Church. Sacraments are an outward sign of an inward grace. Since we are talking confession here, the outward sign is the absolution, or forgiveness of sins, that the priest grants to the penitent(the person confessing his/her sins); the inward grace is the reconciliation of the penitent to God.

The purpose of confession is to reconciling man to God. When we sin, we deprive ourselves of God's grace. And by doing so, we make it even easier to sin more. The only way out of this downward cycle is to acknowledge our sins, to repent of them, and to ask God's forgiveness. Then, in the Sacrament of confession, grace can be restored to our souls, and we can once again resist sin.

When we sins, we are not only hurting the relationship with God, it also injured the entire church-----------the body of Christ. I guess the first and biggest misconception we have seems to revolve around the idea that sin is somehow just about "me and God." However, we fail to recognized that humans are communal creatures and everything we do good or bad, reaches out and touches someone. Perhaps, the best analogy is to think of sin as a wild dog that we cut loose in a room full of people. Someone is going to get bitten and we have no control over that once the dog has gotten loose.

The most obvious example of this is in the basis of what we believe: We were all condemned by the sin of Adam and all saved by the obedience of Jesus. Beyond that, on a personal and practical level, let's think of how someone else's sin can change our day and the way we relate the rest of that day. We can look at the example of our lives. Just few years back, the high school where I studied before, we lost a student and his mom to a drunken driver. How tragic and horrible is that? The world was robbed on that day of gifts, talents and love of two beautiful human beings because of one man's sin. The effects of that are obvious.

Now, before we fall into any kind of self-righteous rage, how about our sins? How about gossip? That little tidbit you passed along to your friend about that guy or girl at your workplace? What were the effects of that? Do you ever wonder? Were there any positive ones? We even sometimes go so far as to try to call it something like "venting," so that it sounds healthy instead of sick. What a mess that can make! We've all been victims and we know how impossible gossip is to fight; yet we don't hesitate to pass along the bad news and our speculations about other people. The effects of just that one sin can really cause a world of damage and take people away from each other.

Using that example, we can see how that sin is never "just between God and me." It's between the wounded person, the whole world and me. The easiest response to this is to feel despair, but we've got good news that trumps all the bad. That is where confession comes into picture. God offers us a remedy and a beautiful one at that: The Sacrament of reconciliation. 

We go to reconciliation because we acknowledge that our sin is communal and God's mercy is boundless.He forgives us  for the horror that we inflict on his creation, whether we meant to or not. Not only that, but God offers it freely and with joy. Wow, awesome right?

Another great reason for us to go to the sacrament of reconciliation is because we are, ultimately, physical creatures. We were created with a need to see, to hear and to touch. I can sit here in my room and remind myself that I am forgiven, but when someone else, someone that I trust, someone representing Christ in the Church, tells me "God forgives you freely," there's some real power to that. We are all aware of our own ability to deceive ourselves, but the priest in the confessional has nothing to gain by lying to us about forgiveness. The conviction in his voice alone can, at times, be a big part of the healing.

As a personal testimony, I have to tell you that regular confession has changed my life. I'm learning more and more how deep the sin in my life goes. That sounds depressing or sad, but it's not. Connected to that knowledge is the realization that I am forgiven. More and more, I see that reconciliation is all about maintain my relationship with Jesus and allowing Him to remove everything that blocks me from receiving God's love.

So, with all that in mind, how often should you go? The church law is a little bit generous on this, so we'll have to look at it a couple ways. First of all, we are require to confess any serious sins at least once a year, so there is that. And it is recommended that we also confess our venial sins. But, beyond that, if we want to receive Holy Communion ( The Body and Blood of Christ), we need to make sure that if we have committed any mortal sins, first we need to go for confession.

Enjoy another day in God's presence!  Jesus loves you.

Lord, teach us how to pray?

I was once the president of the catholic society (now consider myself as the advisor to the society) in my campus. All of us (the members and I) will meet up every week to have prayers & devotion( eg: rosary, novena to the mother of perpetual help). Before we start our meeting on a particular day, usually, we will start it with an opening prayer. I think most of the students don't really like to lead in prayer, regardless of whether that is an opening prayer or closing prayer. The reason being is that most of us do not know what to pray or what to say in front of the crowd. Same like me, as a facilitator, when I first stand in front of the crowd to lead in prayer. I think most of us are facing the same problem together with the disciples in those day. we have the same commonality that "WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO PRAY". Precisely, I guess most of us do not know what is the correct word that we should utter or using in our prayer. We want to pray, but how can we pray?

In today's gospel," Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”  He said to them, “When you pray, say:Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.” (LK11:1-4)

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he gave them the disciple's prayer, what we call the Our Father or Lord's Prayer. What does Jesus' prayer tell us about God and about ourselves? First, it tells us that God is both Father in being the Creator and Author of all that he has made, the first origin of everything and transcendent authority, and he is eternally Father by his relationship to his only begotten Son who, reciprocally is Son only in relation to his Father (Matthew 11:27). All fatherhood and motherhood is derived from him (Ephesians 3:14-15). In the Lord Jesus Christ we are spiritually reborn and made new, and we become the adopted children of God (John 1:12-13; 3:3).

Jesus teaches us to address God as "our Father" and to confidently ask him for the things we need to live as his sons and daughters. We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because Jesus Christ has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection. When we ask God for help, he fortunately does not give us what we deserve. Instead, he responds with grace and mercy. He is kind and forgiving towards us and he expects us to treat our neighbor the same. We can pray with expectant faith because our heavenly Father loves us and treats us as his children. He delights to give us what is good. His love and grace transforms us and makes us like himself. Through his grace and power we can love and serve one another as Jesus taught with grace, mercy, and loving-kindness. 

Now, do you treat others as they deserve, or do you treat them as the Lord would with grace and mercy? Jesus' prayer includes an injunction that we must ask God to forgive us in proportion as we forgive those who have wronged us. Are you ready to forgive as Jesus forgives?

If a neighbor can be imposed upon and coerced into giving bread in the middle of the night, will not God, our heavenly Father and provider, also treat us with kind  and generous care no matter how troubling or inconvenient the circumstances might appear? Jesus states emphatically, How much more will the heavenly Father give! St. Augustine of Hippo (340-425 AD) reminds us that "God, who does not sleep and who awakens us from sleep that we may ask, gives much more graciously." The Lord Jesus assures us that we can bring our needs to our heavenly Father who is always ready to give not only what we need, but more than we can ask. God gives the best he has. He freely pours out the blessing of his Holy Spirit upon us so that we may be filled with the abundance of his provision. Do you approach your heavenly Father with confidence in his mercy and kindness towards you?

Pope John Paul II, at the end of his first encyclical letter, The Redeemer of Man, maintained that our prayer must be "great, intense, and growing." He also emphasized that the Lord wants our prayer to be combined with fasting, for the Lord has decided at this time to make prayer and fasting the first and most effective weapons against our culture of death (The Gospel of Life, 100). According to these criteria, is your prayer life satisfactory to the Lord?

To pray as the Lord wants us to pray, we must see God as our loving Father. That is the first thing Jesus taught us about prayer (see Lk 11:2). We must be aware that our Father sees our prayer and fasting (Mt 6:6, 18). Abraham stopped short in his prayer for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared destruction. His prayer was limited because he:

• wasn't sure whether God was just (see Gn 18:25),
• was even less sure of God's mercy, and
• projected his own interior conflicts onto God and thereby accused God of being impatient (Gn 18:30) and angry (Gn 18:32).

Abraham had little concept of God being a loving Father, and he prayed and did not pray accordingly.

We who are in Christ can and must pray always with loving, tender confidence in our Father. In that way, we will pray as we ought (Rm 8:26).

Follow Him with Joy

I'm happy that I was able to partake the Eucharistic celebration with the students in one of those university that located in Kuala Lumpur. It is a great honour and pleasure that I'm invited to pray and to shared some of stories with them. At the same time,to get some input from the students. I still remember there a few non-catholic students joined in and celebrated this wonderful mass with us and praising our Lord. I was amazed that these non-catholic shared with me their interest in the catholic faith, importantly, they found peace! They love the prayer that we pray, they love the hymns that we sung, they love everything! Most importantly, I can see their love for Christ, the anointed one, which is our Savior and Messiah.

As a president of the Catholic student society, to play a role as a leader, we need to face different types of problems. We need to deal with some unexpected situation. Even, we need to take criticism. When something goes wrong, you are the first who will be shot by the people, members or lecturer. Well, in any organization for that matter, leaders are facing problems with all kinds. they need to face critics often! I guess this is the heaviest burden that a leader got to bear on their shoulder.

In today's gospel reading, what does Jesus mean when he says his disciples, the follower of Christ, or leader for that matter, must be sheep in the midst of wolves? The prophet Isaiah foretold a time when wolves and lambs will dwell in peace (Isaiah 11:6 and 65:25) This certainly refers to the second coming of Christ when all will be united under the Lordship of Jesus after he has put down his enemies and established the reign of God over the heavens and the earth. In the meantime, the disciples must expect OPPOSITION and PERSECUTION from those who oppose the gospel. Jesus never hesitated to tell his disciples what they might expect if they followed him. Here Jesus says to his disciples: This is my task for you at its grimmest and worst, do you accept it? This is not the world's way of offering a job. After the defeat at Dunkirk. Churchill offered his country blood, toil, sweat, and tears. Often, this is not the message that we prefer to hear when the Lord Jesus commissions us in his service. Nonetheless, our privilege is to follow in the footsteps of the Master who laid down his life for us.

Now, are you willing to to accept hardship and suffering in following after the Lord?

Back to the topic as a leader. In many times, we might face difficulties in dealing with our members or some authority! Now, the question is can we bear our cross with joy?  As a young leader like me, sometimes I face hardship! sometimes I might discourage with things and matter that just suddenly pop-ups. But,  I know that our Lord Jesus is cheering for us in heaven, so that we may accomplish our task at the finish line. He is the one who always support us and give us the grace to accomplish our task in life.

Don't be surprised if "You will be hated by all on account of Me. But whoever holds out till the end will escape death." (Matthew 10:22) Jesus commanded His disciples to be on "guard with respect to others."( Mt10:17) because He would send His disciples out "like sheep among wolves"( Mt. 10:16). He said that they may be handed over to the police by their own families (see Mt10:21) because we are Jesus' disciples, we may be handed over to be beaten, tried, and executed, after having witnessed for Jesus by the power of the Spirit (see Mt 10:17-21) That is why throughout centuries, many Christian who died for their faith which known as Martyr. We must arm ourselves with the mentality that we will suffer in flesh (1 Pt 4:1). Expect the privilege of persecution (see Acts 5:41) as a Christian. However, the great consolation for us as a Christian is that Jesus will be our refuge, and He will be there always to love us and protect us. He will give us strength.  Importantly, we will be enjoying with Him in His everlasting Kingdom that He prepare for each one of us in heaven.

Divine Mercy Sunday

Source: Catholic Web

Today is the day where the Catholic Church celebrate the feast day of Divine Mercy, as recorded in the diary of Saint Faustina, receives from Jesus himself the biggest promise of Grace related to the devotion of Divine Mercy. The church usually will celebrate it on the Sunday after Easter, the octave of Easter. The devotion was actively promoted by Pope John Paul II.

The Divine Mercy Sunday is a Roman Catholic devotion to the merciful love of God and the desire to let that love and mercy flow through one's own heart towards those in need of it. The devotion is due to the apparitions of the Lord, Jesus received by Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska, who is known as the Apostle of Mercy.

Faustina Kowalska reported a number of apparitions, visions and conversations with Jesus which she wrote in her diary, and later published as the book : Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul. The three main themes of the devotion are to ask for and obtain the mercy of God, to trust in Christ's abundant of mercy, and finally to show mercy to others and act as a conduit for God's mercy towards them.

Statues in the Church

Catholics, often, was accused by the claim of worshiping statues in the church! We are the worshiper of statue. People still make this ridiculous claim on it because Catholics have many statues in the churches, and they are violating the commandment of God. The commandment of God: 'You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not not bow down to them or serve them' (Ex 20 : 4-5). ' Alas, this people have sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. (Ex 32:31). The commandment of God clearly stated in the old testament of the bible. So, now, does Catholics really commit the sin of idolatry since it is clearly mention in the old testament by God saying that you shall not make yourself a graven image?

The answer is NO! Calling Catholics idolaters because they have images of Christ, Mary and the saints in the church is based on the misunderstanding or the ignorance of what the says about the purpose and uses , both good and bad of statues.But, it is right to warn people against the sin of idolatry when they are committing it. There is a Anti-Catholic writer Loraine Boettner, in his book Roman Catholicism, makes a statement which stated that 'God has forbidden the use of images in worship'. Yet if we would search the scriptures (cf. John 5:39), you would find the opposite is true. God forbade the worship of statues, but he did not forbid the religious use of statues. Instead, he actually commanded their use in religious contexts.

People who against the religious statuary, actually they have forgotten about the many passages where the Lord commands the making of statues. For example, In Ex 25: 18-20, 'And you shall make two cherubim of gold  [for example; two gold statues of angels]; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece of the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be'.

David gave Solomon the plan 'for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All this he made clear by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all, all the work to be done according to plan' ( 1 Chr. 28: 18-19). David's plan for the temple, which the biblical author tells us was 'by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning all,' included statues of angels.

Similarly, Ezekiel 41:17-18 describes that graven (craved) images in the idealized temple he was shown in a vision, for he writes, 'on the walls round about in the inner room and on the nave were craved likenesses of cherubim.'

If you still able to recall, during a plague of serpents sent to punish the Israelite during the exodus, God told Moses to make A STATUE of a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Num 21: 8-9). One have to LOOK at the bronze statue of the serpents to be healed, which shows that statues could be used ritually, not merely as a religious decorations. Catholics use statues, paintings, and other artistic devices to recall the person or thing depicted. Is just like a person looking at his or hers mother pictures, so it helps to recall the example of the saints by looking at the pictures of them in the church. Catholics also use statue as a teaching tools.  In the early church, they were especially useful for the instruction of the illiterate. It also use statues to commemorate certain people and events.

Gods forbids the [worship] of images as gods, but he doesn't ban the making of images. If he had, religious movies, videos, photographs, paintings, and all similar things would be banned. But, as the case of the bronze serpent shows, God does not even forbid the ritual use of religious images. It is when people begin to adore a statue as a god that the Lord becomes angry. Thus, when people did start to worship the bronze serpent as a snake-God (whom they named 'Nehushtan'), the righteous king Hezekiah had it destroyed. (2 Kgs 18:4)

Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Special thanks to Catholic online resources. 

My Parish--- Our Lady of Lourdes 4 Years Plan.

Today, I'm going to share with you a video of my Church, Our Lady of Lourdes.
I love this video a lot, particularly the background music and the video that is shoot.
This video describe the 4 years plan of my parish.
I hope all of you will enjoy it!

Thank you.
Have a blessed day :)

Merry Christmas Greetings

It's Christmas Eve today. What is your plan today? Going to church? Having party with friends? Some even are heading to the shopping mall for 'last minute Christmas Shopping'.

I hereby wishing everyone of you,  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2013.
Enjoy this nice and wonderful season.

Have a blessed Christmas.

Celebration of the Immaculate Conception

It is often noted that pregnant mothers have a certain radiance and 'glow' about them, physically attributed to the extra flow of blood around their bodies. But of course, it is well to think that this is a beautiful external sign of the inner joy that an expectant mother experiences in her spirit as new life grows and develops within her womb. During Advent, the Church focuses her attention on several persons, and one of these is a pregnant mother, who is not just aglow with joy and her pregnancy, but also beautiful and radiant with divine grace. This person, of course, is the Blessed Virgin Mary.

During this advent season, this coming Saturday we will be celebrating the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the Catholic Church maintaining that from the moment when she was conceived the Blessed Virgin Mary was kept free of original sin and was filled with the sanctifying grace normally conferred during baptism.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is universally celebrated on December 8, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary, which is celebrated on September 8. We will be celebrating this wonderful feast day tomorrow during Mass as well as other Catholic Church around the world.

As you can see the top part of my church,Our Lady of Lourdes, which written : 

'I am the Immaculate Conception'

My Church, which name as Our Lady of Lourdes, is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary invoke by Roman Catholic in honor of the Marian Apparition in Lourdes, France. 

Most prominently among these is the apparition of February 11, 1858, when Saint Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl admitted to her mother that a "lady" spoke to her in the cave of Massabielle, (a mile from the town) while gathering firewood with her sister and a friend. Bernadette Soubirous was later canonized as a Saint.

On 11 February 1858, Bernadette Soubirous went with her sisters Toinette and Jeanne Abadie to collect some firewood and bones in order to buy some bread. After taking off her shoes and stockings to wade through the water near the Grotto of Massabielle, she said she heard the sound of two gusts of wind (coups de vent) but the trees and bushes nearby did not move. A wild rose in a natural niche in the grotto, however, did move. From the niche, or rather the dark alcove behind it, "came a dazzling light, and a white figure." She was dressed all in white, apart from the blue belt fastened around her waist and the golden yellow roses, one on each foot, the colour of her rosary. Bernadette, knowing the local area well, managed to visit the barricaded grotto under cover of darkness. There, on 25 March, she said she was told: "I am the Immaculate Conception"

On Easter Sunday, 7 April, her examining doctor stated that Bernadette, in ecstasy, was observed to have held her hands over a lit candle without sustaining harm. On 16 July, Bernadette went for the last time to the Grotto. I have never seen her so beautiful before, she reported. 

St.Bernadette in-corrupt body. 

 Our Lady of Lourdes with St.Bernadette.

Hail Mary, full of grace.

the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,

Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

This is the sharing of me today. I hope it benefited those(particularly some of my friends )who  keen to know about the Catholic Faith. 

Sources: Wikipedia, Catholic Resources (many thanks )

Mass in campus

Time was just limited for us to prepare the Mass just within these few weeks. As a university student, we have to handle many different things in our studies. However, with God graces, nothing is impossible in Him. We manage to organize and arrange everything in a proper manner. Some of you might be wondering what is that to prepare for a mass?

We have to discuss what are those hymns that is suitable during this particular day, and the role that each of the member should perform during the mass. I'm glad that I got a chance to become a commentator. Throughout this experience, I gain a lot of knowledge on how to handle a mass.

Many thanks to Rev. Father George Harrison from Holy Family Church, who all the way come from his parish to celebrate the mass in my campus. Many thanks to one of the nun, Sister Margaret who always be our adviser in each of the aspect of our mass. 

  Have a shot with Rev.Father George Harrison (Parish Priest of Holy Family Church,Kajang)

I'm glad that we are able to celebrate the mass during this semester. This is the hope of all the members, and all of us are praying for it. Praise the Lord that the Lord has make our dreams and wishes come true. We manage to have it just before our final exam. 

Catholic Student Society (CSS)

We manage to meet some of the wonderful church members who joined us for the mass. Have some conversation with few of them, and they are just great. 

Thomson with Shirley Chan

Once again, thanks to all the CSS members who really work hard in preparing the hymns, slides, music and etc for the mass. Without their effort, it would not be turn up become that successful. Well, there is always some room of improvement. 

Great to have a small fellowship with all the church members. Hope to meet up with them soon.