Friday, February 27, 2009
Pray lar...
I read a story about two priests who were praying the Vespers together one evening when a massive thunderstorm suddenly occurred. At the point when the fallen trees had knocked against the glass of the prayer room and the wind seems set to blow the church down, one priest interrupts his recitation, turns to his fellow priest and says, "I think we'd better put our breviaries down and start praying!"This story is a reminder of how sometimes, we view the rosary, breviary and even the Mass as something that Catholics need to do, and not as a personal invitation from God to enter into His embrace. It's sorta like an oxymoron; when we try to be attentive, it somehow becomes not quite sincere. Falling into a routine prayer (and not prayer routine) may be a regular affair for many, yet coming out of it leads nowhere either.
The thing is, when we find ourselves getting distracted or being insincere in prayer, that is not the time to stop praying or to pull out Plan B (which is to break out in spontaneity). Rather, it is a time to recall that without Christ, we can do nothing. Yes, not even pray. Therein lies the power of formulated prayers, together with the aid of the Holy Spirit to guide us when our hearts and actions are empty.
"The Spirit too, comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groaning." (Rom8:26)
As we embark on the season of Lent together, may you persevere in prayer and be steadfast in deed.
Three days in, but it's never too late. Click here to act.
Posted by Jo at 12:42 AM
Friday, February 20, 2009
The art of randomisation...papaya juice.
1. I had one heck of a hilariously odd dream a few nights ago that Hil bought me a pet anteater. Not just any anteater, but one with a diseased lump sticking out of its side. The next second, I realised that the lump was gone and replaced by a baby anteater. Now, I had two anteaters (Anita and Annie, I named them after I woke up).2. Discovery Travel & Living is the new E!, and Zimmern, the new Seacrest.
3. Customisation is the devil's way of saying me, myself, and I. Which is why it surprised me that the 'C' word could allow me to do this: click here.
4. All bias aside, the iphone is one of man's greatest inventions of modern history. Ever.
5. Sometimes, the greatest gift we can give is not one which we can see and touch. "...I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened, that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by one another's faith, yours and mine." (Rom 1:11-12) When was the last time you gave a spiritual gift to someone?
6. I abhor liars. Don't ever lie to me.
7. My favourite white wine is the Riesling because it's very palatable and savoury. Tonight, I realised that drinking good wine alone is like being in the presence of a good friend. You can enjoy each other's company without the need for words.
8. There's a pimple in my right ear now which hurts like hell whenever I accidentally scrape across it.
9. I wish to hide under a blanket and escape the wrath of the recession. Why should we be made to pay for the mistakes of others?
10. I think that life is a dream which we will wake up from when we die. Then again, I also think that life is made for us to study and work hard, so that when we die, we can take a test to see if we're good enough to enter Heaven.
Posted by Jo at 9:45 PM
Monday, February 16, 2009
Fab App – iBreviary
I didn’t know what a breviary was until Hil introduced the iBreviary to me. For those who are as ignorant as I am, a breviary is basically a collection of official Catholic liturgical rites containing the public prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use.Set in a simple user-friendly layout, the complete missal and principal Catholic prayers are available in Spanish, French, Latin, Italian, and English. Talk about staying ahead of the times. My favourite and most frequently used function of the iBreviary is the mass readings which can be refreshed daily with a simple touch of the button.
Created by Fr Paolo Padrini, an Italian priest who runs a popular website called Passi nel deserto, the iBreviary is the first app that has been approved by the Vatican. Now how cool is that?
The app costs $0.99 from iTunes but the fulfilment of a faithful praying Christian is priceless.
Posted by Jo at 9:04 PM
Saturday, February 14, 2009
You'll never find another love like mine
My daily dose of bimbocity (if there's even such a word)...I promise I didn't cheat. This is hilarious and so totally fun!Instructions:
1. Put your iPod on shuffle mode.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. Write down the song name no matter how silly it sounds.
Ready, set, go!
1. If someone says "Is this ok?", you say...Is you is or is you ain't my baby (Renee Olstead)
2. What do you like in a guy? Money money money (ABBA)
3. How do you feel today? I'm yours (Jason Mraz)
4. What is your life's purpose? Dream a little dream of me (KD Lang)
5. What is your motto? Too much food (Jason Mraz)
6. What do your friends think of you? Kissing a fool (George Michael)
7. What do you think of your parents? He's a good lad (Bread)
8. What do you think about very often? Son of God (Hillsong)
9. What is 2+2? Baby it's cold outside (Rod Stewart & Dolly Parton)
10. What do you think of your best friend? Newfound jealousy (Shirlyn Tan)
11. What do you think of the person you like? Everything in its time (Corrinne May)
12. What is your life story? Those good old dreams (Carpenters)
13. What do you want to be when you grow up? Sing (Carpenters)
14. What do you think when you see the person you like? Day tripper (Beatles)
15. What do your parents think of you? Ave Maria (The Priests)
16. What will you dance to at your wedding? Down on my knees (Bread)
17. What will they play at your funeral? More than this (Charlie Hunter)
18. What is your hobby? The way you look tonight (Steve Tyrell)
19. What do you think of your friends? Bless the beasts and children (Carpenters)
20. What's the worst thing that could happen? Saltwater (Julian Lennon)
21. How will you die? Don't stop me now (Queen)
22. What is the one thing you regret? Saturday night divas (Spice Girls)
23. What makes you laugh? Chiquitita (ABBA)
24. What makes you cry? Vertigo (U2)
25. Will you ever get married? Me, my yoke + I (Damien Rice)
26. What scares you the most? Candyman (Christina Aguilera)
27. Does anyone like you? Who do you think you are? (Spice Girls)
28. If you could go back in time, what would you change? Yesterday (Beatles)
29. What hurts right now? All at once (Jack Johnson)
30. What will you post this as? You'll never find another love like mine (Michael Buble)
Posted by Jo at 10:25 AM
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
(Pre)occupation
Considering that I just spoke about my job, this is very apt. While reading my bible reflection for today, this question greeted me: What is your preoccupation?
Happy 1st year, Jo!
Posted by Jo at 8:53 PM
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Work to live, not live to work.
Tomorrow marks my first year at MA, and all I can say is that time flies. Some people say how lucky I am and what a great job I have. I don’t deny it and I know I’ve been abundantly blessed. The past 12 months has been nothing short of an exciting and insightful journey.That said, I’m certainly not exempted from the challenges and difficulties that come with every job. There have been days when I was totally thrown off guard, frustrated, disillusioned, and like most employees, felt exploited and overworked.
These thoughts and feelings can get rather intensely insane at times, and it hit me today, on the 364th day of my career as a writer, that I cannot and will probably never find a job that makes me feel happy and accomplished every single day. The perfect job which we all crave for – the one with the super nice colleagues, manageable workload, understanding boss, great pay – is a dream which we need to wake up from. Not because it’s impossible to find, but because we sometimes just need to appreciate what we’ve already found.
These days, I make it a point to start my work day with a prayer. If you, like me, are in need of that gentle tug from God every morning, offer up your job to Him and remember to count your blessings!
O my God, in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You the precious Blood of Jesus from all the altars throughout the world,
Joining with it the offering of my every thought, word and action of this day.
O my Jesus, I desire today, to gain every indulgence and merit I can,
And I offer them, together with myself, to Mary Immaculate,
That she may best apply them in the interests of Your most Sacred Heart.
Amen.
Posted by Jo at 11:35 PM
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Holy Nerds Club (Jan) - Come be my light
Being one of the oldest religions on earth has its advantages and setbacks. For one, we can lay claims to the rich heritage and history that age brings. On the flipside though, we sometimes fall back on the justification that since everything happened so long ago, we simply can't relate it to modern day living. Let's not even talk about Jesus. Even new saints like Sister Alphonsa, Gaetano Errico, Sister Maria Bernarda, and Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran, (all of whom were canonised just last year!), seem to be a fictitious and distant tale. Click here to read more.
I picked up Come Be My Light - The private writings of Mother Teresa sometime late last year. Going through a rather dark period myself, I hoped that this book would be my source of comfort and inspiration. And as I delved deep into the 300-odd paged chronicle of this Nobel Peace Laureate, I found my darkness growing brighter in the light of her unwavering faith and love for God.
This book reveals the inner spiritual journey of one of the most influential and beloved people in modern history; private thoughts and sufferings which she kept, even from her closest friends. She describes the details of her soul's 'dark nights' in letters to her confessors, saying that "there is nothing but emptiness & darkness", but yet even that is not "as painful as the longing for God".
With minimal edits and sporadic commentary by Brian Kolodiejchuk, this is as close as you can get to knowing Mother Teresa, or should I say, Blessed Mother Teresa. Her sense of humour and true strength of character is straightforward and unconcealed. If you really want to know her, reading this book is like looking into her innermost private thoughts...For a moment, just think about how awesome and privileged that is - to be given this rare opportunity to take a glimpse at this Saint-to-be, and to pick up life lessons on how we can aim to be one ourselves.
For some, the book can be a challenging read - draggy and long-winded at times. Getting through the first half was a chore personally, as I repeatedly read about her gripes and grouses (she was then trying to start the Missionaries of Charity amidst slow responses from her superiors). On hindsight though, I'm beginning to appreciate the lengthiness of her writings. It was her persistence and perseverance that had eventually pulled through, shaping her faith and love for God. This is a worthy lesson for those of us who are in ministry - that days will never be easy, and all we should do is keep our eyes on the Prize.
Her leadership
"Once I saw a Sister with a long face going out for apostolate, so I called her to my room and I asked her, "What did Jesus say, to carry the cross in front of Him or to follow Him?" With a big smile, she looked at me and said, "To follow Him." So I asked her, "Why are you trying to go ahead of Him?" She left my room smiling. She had understood the meaning of following Jesus."
Her ministry
"We picked up [a man] from the drain, half eaten with worms, and we brought him to the home. [And he said] "I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for.""
Her 'business card'
"The fruit of silence is prayer,
The fruit of prayer is faith,
The fruit of faith is love,
The fruit of love is service,
The fruit of service is peace."
Her mission
"If I ever become a Saint, I will surely be one of "darkness". I will continually be absent from Heaven, to light the light of those in darkness on earth."
Hers was a painful yet intimate encounter of the Passion which Christ had allowed her to partake; the epitome of contradictions, that while she brought light to Calcutta, her soul had been trapped in complete darkness.
Yes, being one of the oldest religions on earth has its advantages and setbacks. Thankfully for us, God has manifested in extraordinary people like Mother Teresa, a fitting example that we can all strive to be saints today, and everyday.
Wanna borrow this book? You know how to contact me...
