Mother Teresa 100th birthday

Lessons from the saint of the gutter

On 26 August 2010 the world observed the 100^th birthday of Mother Teresa who is rightly describes as the saint of the gutter. Most of us know many details of her birth and life as a nun who devoted her life to serve God whom she saw in the poor and destitute whom she called the “poorest of the poor”.

Mother Teresa 26 August 1910 - 5 September 1997

Mother Teresa was a small and weak-looking lady seen donning a simple blue and white sari . Out of this small and physically inconspicuous woman two gigantic features stand out. Firstly it was her deep and unshakable love and trust in God and secondly it was the courage and determination with which she continued her service against all odds. Even her own Church authorities, who preach love and charity, disapproved what she was doing what more the secular powers that rule the world.They were only too happy to capitalize on her for their political advantage.

We all say we love God, which is easy when things are good but how many of us will continue to do so when things are not going the way we wished? It is extremely difficult to say we love God under severe trials and tribulations that come our way. Moreover it is even more difficult to trust Him when we are serving people other than our own. Mother Teresa was not working to improve herself or her relatives but the hardcore poor in a distant land who are total strangers to her. Mother Teresa not only had that trust in God but she was convinced beyond doubt that He will never abandon her in her times of great difficulties.

This is a very good lesson to all of us who claim to believe in God. Yes, it is very easy for us to say we love God when things are moving the way we want. We are happy as we feel God is answering our prayers. When we are down and out, when tragedy strikes us leading to agony and pain, we turn to Him in earnest prayer but God does not seem to answer our prayers, will we still be able to say we love Him? That will be the real test of our faith which many, even staunch believers may fail.

The second lesson from this saint of the gutter was her determination to fight the pressures from above. It was a common knowledge that what she was doing was right but there were many, including her own superiors in the Church who were uncomfortable with her humble acts to be with the poor and downtrodden. They disapproved of her activities and even threatened with disciplinary actions. Despite all these Mother Teresa was unperturbed and went ahead to win the hearts of many. In fact these obstacles only made her more resolved to continue with her charitable works for the poor and despised fellow brethren.

Today many of us face similar situations, where our superiors and others in power are against us when we do good. Instead of encouraging us they seem to be threatened by our good deeds and they resort to all forms of under-hand tactics to stop us from doing so. There appears to be so much opposition to doing good that many good people back off from doing charitable acts. The final outcome is that we are ruled by dictators closely surrounded by their ambitious cronies. What is disheartening is that such behavior has unfortunately infiltrated many of our own churches where the priest and his cronies are creating havoc for the people especially for those who are conscientiously serving God in silence.

Instead of distancing ourselves by proclaiming her a saint, let us see her as a human like anyone of us and learn from her experiences.The lesson to learn from Mother Teresa is that we must be prepared to stand up to all the pressures from above, have the courage to defend the truth and above all never waver from doing right however we are tempted or pressured from those in power. We must always trust that God may try us but never forsake us as long as we do the right thing.

Mother Teresa may be not here anymore but her words of inspiration should be always in our hearts. The guiding principle in our lives should be based on her words “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier” It simply means that we must ensure everyone we meet is made happier by our gestures of love and goodwill.

Prayer for NBVM

Father we humbly come to you in prayer for our Parish of NBVM
Which has been thrown into crisis by the actions of our beloved Parish Priest
Father you alone know how eagerly we waited for our priest
You alone know how much hope we had placed in him
You alone know how much respect and love we had for him
But all these were shattered by him who listened to a few to despise the many
And destroyed all that we had painstakingly built, the ministries and the BECs
He got rid of all the serving leaders unceremoniously, hurting them to the core
And replaced them with people of his choice without any consultation whatsoever
He beautifully preached the Word of God but failed to show us how to live by it
Today our parish which we toiled to build over the years has been shattered and torn
Everywhere we go people are talking bad about the priest whom we thought was the savior of NBVM
Lord this unhealthy situation must change and change we are willing
Give our priest the wisdom to see us as the people of God
Waiting for him to lead us out of this cruel and materialistic world
To the Promised Land where the good will rule for all eternity
Make him not see us as his adversaries but comrades in spreading God’s love to all
Lord give us the heart to reach out to him with love and concern
Heavenly Mother be with us in our struggle to return NBVM back to its good old days
Give us the strength and courage to weather this storm to build God’s Kingdom here in our parish
Where love and goodwill will prevail once more
We ask this though Christ our Lord

Amen

Prayer for a wounded BEC

Prayer for a wounded BEC

Heavenly Father, we come to you humbly in prayer for our BEC

Which has been divided against our wishes.

You alone know how much we loved our BEC

You alone know how much we have sacrificed to build our BEC

You alone know how much we shared your word and love with others in the BEC

It was our extended family that was so dear to us

It was the place where we built our friendship among us

It was a place where we built our love for one another

Today we are divided with so much anger and hate for one another

Give us the courage to plough through this troubled times with a clear mind

To fight for justice with love and peace in our hearts

Give us the humility to seek forgiveness from those we have hurt

And the magnanimity to forgive those who have hurt us.

We ask you Lord to once again return our BEC to what it was before

Let love and goodwill prevail once again

Heavenly Mother be with us in our struggle for peace, unity and love

We ask this through Christ our Lord

Amen

BEC divided,where do we go from here?

A reflection on being evicted from a divided BEC

Let's call our group "Togetherness in building a caring Community"(TBC) of Taman Senangan

The recent forced BEC division and the delineation of the new boundaries had taken a major toll on many of us who were so attached to our BEC. Although we, who opposed the move, are the majority but we have been literally chased out to make way for the minority to take over and even tell PP that they are hurt and not ready to accept us. Despite our numerous attempts to convince our PP, he was adamant and succeeded to divide our BEC by dubious means.

We are now more than convinced that he is not going to listen to us or see our point of view. We are hurt by his actions of trying to paint us as the culprits in this whole fiasco. We are deeply hurt and tempted to react with anger and hate but this we must restrain at all costs. This may be a trying time for us but let’s take it in a stride and face the challenge as Christ would have done so, with love and forgiveness.

Where do we go from here now that our BEC is split and we are branded as the culprits? There are five possibilities:

1. To accept the division and go along with PP and SF – in accordance with the “rule of obedience”

2. Give up the fight, boycott NBVM and go elsewhere for mass

3. Revenge for what PP and SF have done to us

4. Ignore everything and go on as nothing had happened

5. Do not accept in principle the division but continue to press for an amicable solution by peaceful means until we succeed.

After much prayer and reflection I suggest we choose option 5, which is to continue our struggle for justice for us and our BEC in a peaceful way without anger and hate. We should strongly oppose our BEC to be spilt in the manner it was done, high-handedly without consultation whatsoever. We should continue with our pressure until the PP and SF realize their folly in dividing the BEC. We may not succeed now but I feel we must try and leave the rest to God as the truth will finally prevail.

This struggle to build a united God’s Kingdom consists of three aspects as follows:

1. Prayer - for the PP, SF and us.

2. Fellowship – strengthen the bonds of love among one another.

3. Charity – reaching out to those in our midst

We must continue doing what God wants of us with great love and commitment, without anger or hatred towards those who dissent, disagree with us and even hurt us. Let us by our example make them realize the value of being together with us as one happy family. We must place our trust in God that He will deliver us out of this mess amicably.

“If we continue to do the right thing, God will always be with us come what may”- Anonymous

The Beatitudes - Jesus Sermon on the Mount

The Beatitudes,all-time relevant to mankind

Jesus Sermon On The Mount (Full Version)

The sermon on the mount -

The most important commandments of Jesus to us - Love your enemies

Building a people-friendly church

Arrogance will drive away many

I sympathize with “A concerned Catholic’ from KL for his bitter experience in his church as contained in his letter “Is the Church turning away its faithful?” (Herald,July 25)

He was right in saying that nobody wants to come late for church and in most cases there could be genuine reasons for coming late or leaving early. Drastic action like closing the door to late comers or passing rude remarks from the pulpit is unwarranted and could only be seen as an act of arrogance.

Such high-handed behavior would only drive away many members who truly love the church. It is this love and concern for the church that prompts people to complain about what they see as not right. The church must consider such complaints seriously if it wants to remain relevant to the people. Instead of appreciating the efforts of those who care, regrettably there is a tendency to marginalize and penalize them.

I fully agree that people must be disciplined to be punctual. It is distressing to note punctuality has become a rare commodity among Malaysians. While I fully agree that late comers must be discouraged but it should not be at the expense of the many who are late for genuinely unavoidable reasons.

In a life that is so challenging people have numerous problems to handle and they go to church to get some solace, encouragement and guidance to manage their problems in the way Christ would like them to do. Many among them may not be able to cope with certain crisis in their lives and families and may be considering resorting to drastic measures like violence, divorce and even suicide as a means to escape from the pain and agony. It could be a tragedy for the church to drive these desperate people away by rude remarks and actions without trying to understand their plight

It is time for the Church and our priests to be more people-friendly. They must learn to appreciate the problems of the people and not just implement laws as they wish without considering their effects on the faithful. Laws are there to enhance our relationship with one another not hinder our Christian life by provoking anger and hatred towards one another.

It may be relevant for us to ponder on the recent remarks of Pope Benedict XVI, regarding the sexual-abuse scandal in the US and Europe, “The greatest persecution of the church doesn't come from enemies on the outside but is born from the sin within the church." If sex scandals are causing the downfall of the church in Europe and the US, arrogance, if not checked, may cause its downfall here.

Time for a greater role of the laity

Parish Councils should be given due recognition

One of the major problems facing most parishes is the role of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC).The Church is very clear on the role of PPC - it is purely advisory in nature and the decision-making lies with the bishop of the diocese or in the case of the parish, with the parish priest.

The advisory role PPC could have served well in the past when people were generally simple and not well educated and the priest could handle all the problems in the parish all by himself. In fact many of them did that wonderfully. Today life has become so sophisticated with the tremendous advances in technology that no one individual can solve all the problems by himself.

There is a need for the concerted efforts of all to manage the many complex problems we face in this highly challenging world. The priest alone is not in a position to handle all these demands of the people satisfactorily and this gives rise to the disputes between clergy and laity in many parishes. The time has come for the PPC to be given more executive powers in non-spiritual issues.

Fortunately the Church is not short of qualified expertise in all fields and it would be foolish not to utilize their services to enhance the overall management of the parish. The parish priests should confine themselves to catering for the spiritual needs of the people, for which they are specially trained, and leave the financial and social management to the members of the laity, represented by the PPC, who are better trained to manage that.

The PPC must represent the interests of the parishioners not just those of the priest. Its leader and members must be duly elected by the parishioners at their Parish Assembly and not ‘appointed’ by the parish priest as it done in many parishes. Although the role of the PPC is advisory, is only proper that it be given due recognition and importance it deserves, which I am afraid may not be so in many parishes.

It is very sad that there is little or no dialogue between the priest and the PPC in many places. There are no qualms as to priest making the final decision, but he must give serious consideration to the views of the PPC and the people and provide proper explanations and justifications if he has to reject their proposals for whatever reasons. In short he must respect the PPC and be accountable to it as it is the supreme body in the parish that represents the people.

Unsatisfactory management and unaccountable unilateral decisions by the parish priests in many parishes have driven away many talented members of the laity from active participation in the various organizations. If this continues I am afraid our Church will soon end up being just an institution that just carries out rituals and magic to cure the ills of mankind, rather than bringing the love of Christ to them.

Gone are the days when the priest or any one single individual can dictate how the parish should be run. Today dialogue and debate should be the proper means to run the parish more effectively and efficiently for the benefit of all. In this respects the time has come for drastic changes to give the laity greater role in the administration of the parish. The sooner the church realizes this the better or else it will become irrelevant to the modern man.

In the meantime let’s be more professional in training our own priests and lay people to be good leaders. A good leader is one who listens and respects the wishes of the people and is accountable to them when making major decisions. If he doesn’t then he will be no different from our own politicians, of whom we are very critical.

Tribute to Uncle George

The following is the message I sent to Uncle George Anthony when he celebrated his 90th birthday last Saturday. May God bless him with all the goodness and health for many years to come.

Uncle George Anthony’s 90^th Birthday

(3 June 4, 2010)

I had known you since I was school boy, following you on hospital visitation as a young legionary. You were a God sent guide, as it were these visits to sick that inspired me to become a doctor. I salute you for that uncle.

Your perpetual smile and cheerfulness is God’s greatest gift which many are denied. I have never seen you angry or sad under whatever circumstances. God took away your only daughter and then your wife but still you remain cheerful to this day, a sign of your unshakable faith in Him.

Your great sense of gratitude touched me as today even our own children whom we love so much fail us when we need them most. Your gratitude for the little attention we gave you was revealed in the numerous letters which you sent us.

Your relationship your with your late wife taught me an important lesson in life about true love. We still remember what you said a few years ago when she was still with you, “true love begins when we grow old; I think I love my wife more than I first met her”. These words reminds us that love, contrary to what we think, never fades, it only grows with time.

In a world where marriage is not sacred anymore and divorce so rampant, your endless love for your wife even after she had left you is indeed a wonder.

Some people make the world a better place by just being in it and undeniably you are one of them. On this 90^th birthday we wish that the Lord gives you many more years of healthy and memorable life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE GEORGE

Dr. Chris Anthony

“It is not money, gifts or food that we need. All we ask for is the love of fellow humans to spare some time for elderly people like us who are so lonely” - Uncle George

Reflecting on the Year for Priests

Where do we go from here?

Year for priests 19 June 2009 - 19 June 2010

During the year dedicated to the priests the parishes all over organized various activities to mark the year. In addition to the special prayers for the priests during every mass, there were also various events organized to show the appreciation of the people to their priests. While showing their gratitude is not wrong, however some of them I am afraid were overdone to the extent it was seen as over-glorifying the priests.

The priests should earn the respect and love of the people and accept the praises showered by them and not demand such appreciation from the people whom they serve as that would mean seeking self-glorification. We tend to forget that priestly vocation is not to seek glory but is one committed to serve the people entrusted to them with great love and humility as exemplified by St. Jean-Marie Vianney, the patron saint of priests.

St.John Vianney,Patron of priests

St. John Vianney was rightfully chosen as the patron of parish priests in 1929 for his mortifying confessions and humble service to his parishioners who were mainly poor peasants. Thousands from all over the world came to meet him in the confessional to seek repentance for their sins. Many, even the staunchest of sinners were converted at his mere word. Fr.John Vianney gave priority to the people in need over meetings, retreats and his own conveniences, attributes that are rarely seen these days, not only among priests but among us in all professions.

As we have come to the conclusion of the year of the priests, it may be timely for us to review the benefits if any we have gained by dedicating a year for them. Are we any more closer to God now? How do our priests of today measure up to their patron saint as converters of sinners?

Today life may be very much different from what it was during St.John Vianney’s time. People are generally better off, more literate and sophisticated than the poor peasants that St Vianney had to deal. Individual and private confessions are becoming obsolete being replaced with mass confessions during Lent and Advent. People’s confidence on the once sacred penitential rite is fast waning. It is basically due to the attitude of the priests who seem to be non-people friendly. In fact in many places they are the centre of divisive church politics that causes so much in-fighting among the people.

Our priests who used to be very close to the hearts and lives of the people are today distancing themselves from the people. Ordinary people with problems are finding it extremely difficult to approach them for comfort and guidance especially on very personal issues. Our priests today are slowly being reduced to mere administrators of rituals rather than full-time shepherds to their flock.

In many parishes there is tremendous unhappiness among the people in the way their priests deal with them. Many are arrogant and tell off the people rudely even for minor mistakes that they may make. They punish them by refusing sacraments to those who fail to participate in church activities. There are those who shut the doors of the church to prevent late comers from entering. There are also priests who castigate those who have to leave just before the mass ends. Aren’t administering the final rites and burial services the sacred duties of the priests? Is it right for them to play God by being the ultimate judge to punish the so-called sinners in ways they deem fit? Aren’t they governed by the virtue of forgiveness to those who have sinned which is the hallmark of our faith?

As humans we all have our own problems to handle and we go to church to get some solace and encouragement to manage our problems in the way Christ would like us to do. Many among us may not be able to cope with certain crisis in our lives and families and may be considering resorting to drastic measures like violence, divorce and even suicide as a means to escape from the pain and agony. It could be a tragedy for the parish priests to drive these desperate people away by their rude remarks without trying to understand their plight.

In the West the clergy sex scandal had plagued the whole year dedicated to the priests bringing tremendous shame to the Catholic Church and the Catholics at large. The loss of confidence of the people there on the Church is difficult to regain and no amount of coaxing is going to undo the damage done to its integrity and respect it once enjoyed among all the communities of the world. The dwindling number of church goers and the drastic decline in priestly vocations is testimony to this decline in faith in the Church.

The Church must seriously reflect on its declining role in the life of the people not only in the West but throughout the world. It needs drastic changes to its fundamentals, including the ruling on celibacy, if it wants to remain relevant in the future. Gone are the days when people are willing to blindly accept all that they hear from the clergy as they are now in a better position to understand and interpret the transcripts in the Bible. The rapidly increasing number of many Evangelical churches all over the world proves this point.

Instead of blaming others for our problems we must look at our own weaknesses and rectify them. The hierarchical system needs revamp to reflect the mindset of the people today. The priests are normal humans with all the weaknesses like you and I. It would be unfair to make them God-like and expect the impossible from them including the performing of miracles like Christ. The clergy-sex scandal should be a lesson that the real enemies of the church are within not outside the church. In fact commenting on the church's widespread sexual-abuse scandal, Pope Benedict XVI says, "The greatest persecution of the church doesn't come from enemies on the outside but is born from the sin within the church."

Pope Benedict XVI - the persecution comes from within the church

The Church in the West may have numerous monumental and beautiful churches that attract millions of tourists but the Church there is at the verge of collapse as Jesus is not in the hearts of the people anymore, although they claim to be his followers. He does not dwell in magnificent mega structures, churches, cathedrals and the so-called historically Holy sites but in the hearts of every man and woman. Unless we learn from the lessons from the West we may be heading for the same fate as our sister Church there.

The year for Priests that was launched with much pomp and fanfare, has come and gone but sadly did not change us or our priests for the better. It did not make us better followers of Christ. What we need is not years dedicated to priests but priests truly dedicated to serve Christ by their services to those under their care.

Jesus the 'supreme shepherd - cares for all his sheep

Our priests must gain a special place in hearts of the people by their exemplary behavior that radiates love, forgiveness and humility not arrogance and glory. In short they must resemble the “supreme shepherd ", Jesus Christ in leading them to God by reaching out to Him in every one of his parishioners regardless of color or social status.