The word, “pilgrimage” may be traced etymologically to the 13th century, Old French, pelrimage, meaning to take an often long and arduous journey through strange and foreign lands, to arrive at a destination of a holy place. The Old French word, was also used to signify a crusade or a distant journey. It would only be around the 14th century that the [...]
Today's solemnity celebrates Mary's Assumption into heaven. It is one of four principle feasts of Mary our Mother. January 1 is the feast of Mary, the Mother of God - celebrating the Marian dogma of Mary as Theotokos, Mary's Divine Motherhood, and December 8 is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, celebrating the fact that from her beginning [...]
In June 2021, Professor Roger Foo and his team of researchers published a never-before done study (Foo et al., 2021) documenting the genomes of the Peranakan community in Singapore. Whole-genome sequencing was done on 177 Peranakans, or those who identified very strongly as Peranakan in Singapore – Etymologically, the word, “Peranakan” has connotations of being “a native of the land”. [...]
As the world exited the 20th century and entered into the new millenium, there was a great cloud of anxiety hanging about the world. People were worried about Y2K, a bug in the computer coding and carding systems that would cause everything to re-set, and many watched with abated breath as the world made its countdown on New Year's Eve [...]
There is a saying, ‘First impressions count.’ Quite often when contextual or subsequent information about that person or that thing is not taken into account, this first impression we have leads us to quickly categorising of that person or of those things - this impression is then cast in stone, and every time we encounter this person or thing, we [...]
The message that all prayers are answered in God's timing, not man’s is reinforced. How will we grow in our faith or as a person if all our whims and fancies are answered without learning the purpose of having faith and perseverance. The sons of Israel eventually received what they asked of God our Father and Moses but they were [...]
Food is an entity that is closely interwoven with a person's cultural experience, heritage, and identity. Our memories are tied in with the sights, textures, and smells of that which we taste and consume. The dining table becomes a place of gathering, conversation, and connection, as the gifts of hospitality unfold. Some of the events in our life that we [...]
The discourse on the Bread of Life begins with the narrative of the multiplication of bread, for multitude that had gathered to see the miracles of Jesus. The miracles were clear signs of the power Jesus had. The people were drawn to this and taking the other gospel into consideration, we know that during these instances Jesus would have spoken [...]
Having received the news from the Angel Gabriel that her cousin who was of old age had conceived, Mary put down everything that had been occupying her and went forth, as the Gospel account tells us, "in haste" to her cousin Elizabeth. The journey was not an easy journey, as the Gospel also tells us that she had to travel [...]
This week’s readings and Gospel are interwoven together to give us an individual invitation to build his kingdom by leading a Christ centred life: This is a life that’s free of sin , a life that bears a witness of Christ to others through our works and that which brings them closer to our Lord. Our Father invites us to [...]