St. Anne's overrated?

27th July 2013- 

The feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne, parents of the blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus Christ. 

One of the most significant Catholic feast days in Malaysia would probably be this feast day; the feast of St. Anne and St. Joachim, but why do I say it is overrated, please note the question mark too. First of all, this is probably (and most likely) the biggest Catholic gathering in Malaysia throughout the year, no other feasts, or festivity can gather as many Catholics and non-Christians to this one place. History has it that the apparition of St. Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared atop St. Anne hill, and the rest is history. 

Now why would I say it is overrated? 

Thousand, if not tens-of thousands all over South-East Asia flock to this place for the feast of St. Anne and at this time of year all make pledges, deals, devotions and even vow to St. Anne for something. Now I am not going to say it is wrong to do so, but my point is that everyone has created the image that this feast is so momentous that they (I can say I assume) forget the focus of the idea of St. Anne as the grandmother and mediator to Christ Jesus, who we believe is also God the almighty. 

How many go for the feast for a conversion of heart? 

How many go for the feast not for the grandeur but for the devotion made to the Saint?

How many go for the feast in the hope of finding salvation?

Now those are opinionated questions, no specific answers but rather to be answered by one person alone: yourself. This momentous feast plays an impact to many people, but I always wondered, what does the feast bring to the heart, or rather to the eternal soul?

I am not criticizing, I am just curious the great commotion made for this feast that people would actually know what they are doing when going for the feast. Next up, I would really love to know the history of how it came about. 

Last words: Did anyone remember good ol' St. Joachim?

The day you start to die is the day you are born.

Here is a very old post that I have once written before. I thought of sharing it once again.

The day you start to die is the day you are born

I read this post on my Wall on Facebook. It was written by Manvir, a close and good friend.

If you read this phrase at a glance, you will probably try to think hard of it, but after awhile you will just say "Nah!" and probably forget about it. This phrase some how has a very deep meaning. It has an abstract meaning to it which not many will actually ponder on; and I am not saying that I am, I am just saying that this phrase, is food for the soul.

To be born; if you look at a person's life in overall, you would either say that he lived his life or otherwise. When a person lives his life, it means that he had enjoyed his life, he lived a good man, helping others, loving others and of course treasuring life as a something so precious that not even gold can buy.

Die, in this probably doesn't mean literally dying but rather when a person knows that something is going to end like his life, or something that he is enjoying now. To die, is to lose something very dear, something precious. In this case, to die is to live behind the things you treasure most, like your experiences, your knowledge but most of all your loved ones.

The day you start to die is the day you are born is the day where you wake up to reality and face life in the face and realize that life has much more to offer than just to exist on this Earth. When we die we will have an epiphany that we have such a short time on Earth, so why waste it? Why exist when we can live? Why be depressed when we can live life to the fullest?

When we die we get the sudden realization that we have not enjoyed every moment of this life we have. There was once this man, he loved his family a lot but he was also a a man who travels, a man of the business. He was always busy, he was rich, and he never actually had quality time to spend with his family. Then one day, he felt this pain in his chest, he went to get it diagnosed - it was a tumour. He had only 8 months left to live. He was such a shock. Then he took what was meant to be the biggest step of his life, he quit his job. He wasn't afraid, but most of all he wasn't scared to die. His family all cried for him, they mourned his short time on earth, but he said to them, not to mourn, because life is too short- enjoy it, live it. So, in that short months he lived his life to the fullest; he loved deeper, he laughed more, he went bungee jumping, he learnt to ride a horse, he went to pick up ballroom dancing and he started playing the banjo. His last words were, that even though he did not spend enough time with his family, but in these last few months he really did spend quality time with them, and most of all he loved his life and had no regrets.

So that's it. One must cherish life and every moment we have on this earth and not to waste it. Still in a maze about this phrase? Don't worry, it will come to you one day.

Something straight from the Book.

Just last week I attended a camp organised by the Penang Diocesan Campus Ministry, after the closing Mass which was also the Sunday Mass on Saturday evening, a group of us went out to a local 'coffee shop' and hung out. Not long after spending some time togther, Father David Reegan a Capuchin Priest joined us. It was rather interesting and very insightful to have a Capuchin Priest who's "specialty" is the Sacred Scriptures.

My gosh! 

He has the Bible at the tip of his fingers!

Not only he can quote it rather well, but he can explain it thoroughly and the meaning behind it.

For example during his sermon Fr. Reegan explained briefly the Gospel on that Sunday, it was the Gospel of John chapter 21. Jesus asked Peter three times "Do you love me?", to that Peter answered "You know that I love you" three times too; well Fr. Reegan taught us a whole new thing: that when Peter said love it was actually "like". The "like" meaning that Peter cannot love as how Jesus did and that was the love of "agape" a Greek word meaning unconditional love. So, Peter who was the man who Jesus asked to look after his sheep, himself couldn't love Jesus full-heartedly because he was afraid and also a man.

Well, during the "makan" session with him, a friend of mine from another university asked Father, how can we make our Catholic gatherings sustainable and another also asked how do we make our Catholic societies a little more stronger.

To that Fr. DR said this verse from the Bible:

Acts 2:42

It was a simple as that he said. The one thing that all Catholic societies or bodies need to do in order to last and to be established is:

1. Follow the teachings of the Apostles (and also the Church. Learning and sharing together about stuff like faith-knowledge, social issues and perhaps also Catholic living)
2. Fellowship (as in "makan-makan" together, hanging out)
3. Breaking of Bread (attending Mass)
4. Prayer (speaking to God)

He continued, just do this four things and the result is, well, look at the Church now; lasting over hundreds of centuries.

A simple advice and a deep and well needed one.

Thanks Father DR, it gave me some time to think about my own Catholic Society.

Check out:

the paragraph of the Bible verse here and also check out Lumen Gentium (a Vatican II document) paragraph 13.

the 30th Sunday

"As Jesus left Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and to say, ‘Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’ And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him here.’ So they called the blind man. ‘Courage,’ they said ‘get up; he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus spoke, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Rabbuni,’ the blind man said to him ‘Master, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has saved you.’ And immediately his sight returned and he followed him along the road."
-Mark 10:46-52

As usual the the Gospel once again shows about how Jesus is able to perform Miracles. Amazingly he has the ability to bring sight to the blind and grace to the broken hearted. Today's Gospel reading was very much focused on Faith, perfectly in par with the Pope's "Year of Faith" theme. Also today, by God's grace I had (well I woke up in the morning wanting to do it, and by chance the head altar server suddenly asked me) to serve Mass.

I was surprised and also excited to once again to serve Mass. Get right into the action!

Father David's Gospel was as usual long, but it was meaningful, I doubt many actually listened to it and managed to dose off; from what I saw from the altar. Anyway, Father said three things that I think should be made a guideline in my personal exploration of faith.

First he said about courage, to call for God. Why be afraid to seek help? The infamous "Ask and you shall receive" (Lk 11:9) is demonstrated by the beggar himself, when people told him to shut up, the more he shouted for Lord. Similarly in life, we shouldn't be afraid to seek help, not only form God, but as importantly to seek help of friends and people that you can rely on. Father David, also mentioned about praying consistently, id est seeking help from God at all times. Rid the fear of asking and we should just be humble and seek help, be it getting lost in a city, or getting confused on what seasoning to put next or even losing direction in how to get her heart.

Second he spoke about throwing your cloak and going to Jesus. Well not literally obviously; throwing your cloak as the beggar did meant that we all should lose our barriers or obstacles that hind us from going closer to Jesus. Certainly, we always want something from God, yet sometimes we pull ourselves back by not seeing that there are many things that hinder us from going to God. As simply, as gossiping, sloth-ing, and even gluttony, that somehow or another distracts us from doing the right thing and so because of that we lose sight of God. When we want to return to him, we should realize our mistakes and asking for forgiveness, yes he is forgiving, but think about it- there is this one person you really love, and whatever he or she does is forgiven but knowing that he or she has done many things that has offended you and comes to you asking for help, without even saying "I am sorry" to you, how would you feel?

Third, Father spoke about the importance following Christ himself. After the beggar got healed he got up and followed Jesus, simply as that. Picture this, if we were given a second chance to do the right thing, wouldn't we do it? If we had failed a paper before and was given another shot at it (surely you have to pay for it), would you still attempt to fail? The same applies here, once we already been healed and given the chance to start afresh why should we waste it, in fact we should change ourselves for the better in not only to serve God but also everyone else around us.

Mass went on as usual, my fellow brother and I had a comical time, setting up the altar for consecration; we exchanging glances and it was too noticeable.

Quote from a Saint.

One of the most relatable quotes, I've read from a saint is:

'If we say less than we should, it is easy. But having said too much is hard to take it away.'
St. Francis de Sales

the words are very simple yet the meaning its deep. Something we all could live by.

A journey...

Welcome

I am a student in university and there is something I find most interesting about besides what I learn is my faith. Faith is such an abstract matter that many find it hard to discuss about. I am a Roman Catholic but my interest on the subject of theology expands beyond my belief and understanding of the Christian teachings.

In this blog, I will explore my journey through faith and hopefully to grasp a deeper understanding of a more spiritual life. Also, I will learn more about the faiths of others and to understand why or how do we pray to a god or to God.

I believe, that whatever a person believes in, it is entirely up to them, as long as what they believe in does not harm the likes of others, who are we to offend them?

So, let's see how far will this journey and exploration faith shall take me.