Birthday of our King and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Glory to God in the highest..." It's Christmas. The Gloria is sung in the mass . Have you read the news today? The good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and son of Mary who was born for us and for our salvation. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would descend from David and be born in David's city, Bethlehem (Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1-2; Micah 5:2-4).

The first to hear the good news of the savior's birth were not the rulers and religious leaders of Israel who were robed in riches and power. The angels first came to  those who were humble and ready to receive the newborn king who was born in poverty and was now lying in a manger made for animals. Just as God had chosen and anointed David, a lowly shepherd of Bethlehem to become the shepherd king of Israel, so Jesus, likewise chose the path of humility and lowliness in coming to Israel as the good shepherd king who would lay down his life for their sake and salvation. After the angels had sung their hymn of glory in the presence of the shepherds, the shepherds made haste to adore the newborn king and sing their hymn of glory as well.

John the Monk, an 8th century writer, in his Hymn of the Nativity, sings of the great exchange in the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation - God becoming man in order to bring man to heaven:

Heaven and earth are united today, for Christ is born! Today God has come upon earth, and humankind gone up to heaven. Today, for the sake of humankind, the invisible one is seen in the flesh. Therefore let us glorify him and cry aloud: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace bestowed by your coming, Savior: glory to you! Today in Bethlehem, I hear the angels: glory to God in the highest! Glory to him whose good pleasure it was that there be peace on earth! The Virgin is now more spacious than the heavens. Light has shone on those in darkness, exalting the lowly who sing like the angels: Glory to God in the highest! Beholding him [Adam] who was in Gods image and likeness fallen through transgression, Jesus bowed the heavens and came down, without change taking up his dwelling in a virgin womb, that he might refashion Adam fallen in corruption, and crying out: glory to your epiphany, my Savior and my God![Stichera (hymn) of the Nativity of the Lord]

Many of the early church fathers have written hymns and homilies in praise of the Incarnation. Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family. Simple shepherds were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made manifest. The Church never tires of singing the glory of this night:

The Virgin today brings into the world the Eternal

and the earth offers a cave to the Inaccessible.

The angels and shepherds praise him

and the magi advance with the star,

For you are born for us,

Little Child, God eternal! 

(Kontakion of Romanos the Melodist)

To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the kingdom. For this, we must humble ourselves and become little. Even more: to become "children of God" we must be "born from above" or "born of God". Only when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us. "

Throughout the ages Christians have professed the ancient Nicene Creed: "He became man for our sake and for the sake of our salvation." The eternal Word became flesh for us so he could offer his life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world through the shedding of his blood on the cross. The Word became flesh to show us the infinite love and tender mercy of God for us sinners. In the feast of Christmas we celebrate present realities Jesus Christ our redeemer who reigns in heaven and who also lives and reigns in our hearts through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit. And we commemorate past events the birth of the newborn Messiah King and his manifestation to Israel and to the gentile nations. We thank and bless God for the way in which he has saved us from the power of sin and the curse of death and destruction by sending his son to ransom us and give us pardon and abundant life through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit. Today we celebrate the birthday of our King and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God wants to fill our hearts anew with joy and gratitude for the greatest gift he could possibly give us his beloved son Jesus. What can we give thanks for in this great feast of the Incarnation? We can praise and thank God our Father for the fact that the Son of God freely and joyfully assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. Jesus came to release the captives from slavery to sin and to open the gates of paradise once again. This day the Holy Spirit invites us to make haste as the shepherds of Bethlem did to adore Jesus our King and Messiah. The Lord Jesus Christ  is our eternal good shepherd who guides and cares for us unceasingly and who gives us abundant everlasting life and union with the triune God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This day the whole community of heaven joins with all believers of good will on earth in a jubilant song of praise for the good news proclaimed by the angels on Christmas eve: Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people, for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).

The joy of Christmas is not for a day or a season. It is an eternal joy, a joy that no one can take from us because it is the joy of Jesus Christ himself made present in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us (see Romans 5:2-5). The Lord gives us a supernatural joy which no pain nor sorrow can diminish, and which neither life nor death can take away. 

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).

Be Encourage! Be Encourage!

Today we celebrate the feast day of St.Barnabas. I'm sure some of you might heard before this positive and energetic saint. St Barnabas was first called Joses, but because of his positive, energetic and generous nature he was given the new name “Son of Consolation” or “Son of Encouragement.”

So today on his feast day why not stop and ask yourself how much encouragement you do of others? Ask yourself how much time you spend criticizing others, tearing them down and gossiping about them. What good does it do? If there is a problem, be a grown up and either solve the problem or shut up and bear the difficulty with dignity.

One of the worst things in community, in family, in parish, school or workplace is the constant negativity towards others. This takes several forms:

1. assuming the worst rather than the best about a person. Why do you do that? The other person didn’t get up in the morning resolved to be the next Darth Vader. If he messed up it was a mistake. He wanted the best–just like you. He wanted a good day. He just flubbed. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Assume that he wanted the best not the worst and therefore assume the best about him not the worst.

2. Not finding out the facts. When you think ill of another person almost always it is because you have got some information about them second or third hand and you’re dumb enough to believe it–just like you believe that stuff on the internet. Don’t believe everything you hear just as you hear it. There is always, always, always another side of the story. With hold judgement and take time to find out the facts.

3. Not dealing with people face to face. If you have a problem with someone be grown up enough to go to that person and talk to them face to face. It is very difficult to be nasty and gossipy straight to a person’s face. Very easy to be nasty and gossipy behind their back. If there is a negativity. Deal with it positively and pro actively.

4. Assuming the other person is there to serve you. No they’re not. You are there to serve them. When you go to solve the problem you ask them what you can do to put things right.

5. Blaming others. Don’t blame others. Take the blame yourself. Even if you are not to blame, take the blame. It’s amazing how that takes the wind out of their sails and de-fuses the argument. Be humble enough to accept the problem because if there is a problem you really are part of the problem and you are also part of the solution. Grown ups take responsibility  and they solve problems rather than causing them.

6. Being miserable. Some people like being miserable. That’s actually the way the make themselves feel important. This is what babies do. They cry and howl and whine to get attention, and it works. A lot of adults do the same. Stop it. Unless you’re suffering from clinical depression, you can decide to be happy. If you are unhappy either find out what the problem is and solve it or bear your suffering with dignity and grace.

7. Stop complaining. Babies complain. Adults get on and solve the problem and they encourage others to do the same.

St Barnabas would agree with all these bits of advice. He was full of the Holy Spirit and good grace. He was an encourager. He was generous and optimistic and trusting. He took the risk of going to meet St Paul when everybody else suspected him. He took charge of the situation at Antioch. He set out and preached the gospel and gave all.

Why don’t you today decide to follow in his footsteps and be an encourager too!

I encourage you to do so…

 

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.

Wonderful Gift

2 days before 17 of November, I received a call from a parish priest from Holy Family Church, Kajang. He is one of the wonderful and nice priest that I ever met, He is Rev.Father George Harrison. He called me and say, I am chosen to represent the university to attend a training at St.Anthony Church which located in KL.

Thanks to this wonderful opportunity that I got from the Lord. This is what I wish to learn and deepen my faith throughout this YEAR OF FAITH.

It was a great gift for me before Christmas.

On the 17 of November, planned to got up around 5.00 am to prepare myself and attend the mass with my friend and the nun, Sister Margaret. The sadness part of it is that I couldn't wake up on time and letting the nun and my friend to waited for me for almost 1 and the half hour. That feeling is super bad for me on that day. Well, it does not really affect me much. Both of this wonderful children of God didn't even put the blame on me for being late. both of them are just patiently waiting for me to wake up and hope that we can just be on time at the church. Thank God, I manage to wake up before it.

I learned a lot and it was just really great.

Sherena, Archbishop, Thomson Emmanuel

throughout this wonderful session, manage to meet up with Rev. Tan Sri Datuk Murphy Pakiam, Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur (Picture above). He is so kind and lovely. For me, He is the role model of all. We should learn his humbleness and kindness to help one and another in the society. 

It was just 5-6 hours course. Had a wonderful sessions with the priest in St. Anthony Church as well as various students from different university. 

Just after the session ended, My friend and I manage to walk around inside the church compound. 

                                                                Altar in St.Anthony Church

 Saint Anthony

 Mother Mary

Grotto of our Lady (Mother Mary)

This church is just great and great. My friend and I plan to visit this church again in the near future. 

Hope everything can just go on smoothly.

Thank to the Lord, He is good.