Reflections on Ezekiel: Eat. Love. Hope. The dramatic Book of Ezekiel captures the creative side of God that I have come to love in the parables that Jesus told. Written by the prophet Ezekiel himself, we see God’s message delivered to His people through pantomime and great imagery. Though I was not able to attend all the recent talks on [...]
There are five precepts of the Catholic Church: You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labour. You shall confess your sins at least once a year. You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the [...]
The Feast of Corpus Christi, is also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. As Catholics, we are taught reverence for the Eucharist and we do practise it. Most of us reverence the Eucharist, meaning, we genuflect, kneel, and treat the Sacred Host with respect. Most of us also receive communion at every Eucharistic [...]
Here we are already in June for 2022 -- half a year has passed with Pentecost rolling us by. Covid-19 restrictions seem like a distant memory. The past 2 years, bonding with fellow parishioners was limited to zoom calls or small groups of 5 in person. How we all missed the joy of gathering together in person for an activity [...]
If the Resurrection was a quiet affair that was shielded in silence, the events post-Resurrection glorified the Lord in glorious sound, signs, and wonders. At the time of the Pentecost, a tremendous sound was heard across the skies, which was followed by a majestic wind. We are immediately reminded of the time when the Lord God revealed himself to Moses [...]
Parish Boundaries The word, “parish” can be traced etymologically to the Latin parochia and the Greek paroikia, which can be taken literally to mean a cluster or group of neighbouring living places to dwell in (Boudinhon & Fanning, 1911). A parish thus consists of a community of homes, which do not exist independently of each other, but in solidarity with [...]
After ten years of catechism class and a pandemic later, my class finally got confirmed. It all started in 2012, when our parents signed us up for weekly catechism classes with the parish. At that time, I felt forced to attend classes every week. I initially did not even bother to talk to others as I did not feel [...]
The word, “Eden” historically refers to an ancient land that was situated in the region of Southern Mesopotamia. The term is derived from the Sumerian word, eden meaning “a plain that is fertile”. In Hebrew, a word bearing a similar sound, makes referent to the notion of “delight”. The Garden in Eden as we hear of in the accounts of [...]
Five weeks of lent have passed by, bringing us closer to the end of lent and towards Easter when we will rejoice over our growth and renewed relationship with Jesus. It is also a time when we start to reflect on how far we have come in this journey and evaluate how much of the goals that we set for [...]
40 days of Lent, what does it mean to a Catechumen new to Catholicism? This is an intense 40-day period of self searching and repentance in which the Catholic Church supports its catechumen (the unbaptized) and its baptized candidates with special prayers of healing and strengthening and with rites affirming God’s choice and love for each of them. It also [...]