I'm so grateful to have been blessed with ticket to the Papal mass on 12 September 2024! When I first learned that tickets were available for balloting, I had signed up without much expectation because I do not usually win anything at lucky draws or TOTO. I didn’t expect anything different this time. I was not even aware that the [...]
There were other exorcists during the time of Jesus. When told about this, Jesus warns against intolerance and jealousy towards others, stating “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives [...]
My Confirmation name is Grace. I can’t remember if it was my mum or my godma who chose the name for me. I think I was 11 years old then. I didn’t like the name. I only knew of one girl with the name of Grace, and I wasn’t at all impressed that I was being named ‘like’ her. And [...]
Whilst on the way to Capernaum, Jesus noticed that the disciples were in heated discussions . Even though he knew what they were arguing about, he asked them specifically, hoping to draw a confession from them. However, they were too afraid (or perhaps guilty) to admit that they were arguing about who will be the greatest. Knowing what was on [...]
Madonna’s Material World was released in 1985 and the blatant declaration that ‘I am a material girl living in a material world’ probably struck the right chord with many females who had high aspirations of having a career. And those familiar with the song would know it issued a challenge to the boys that they had to step it up [...]
Today’s Gospel reflects Peter’s acknowledgement of Jesus being the Messiah, and the author Mark deliberately placed this in the middle of the Gospel, as it is a continuation of encouraging the reader to reflect and ponder if they themselves view Jesus as the Messiah, with Chapter1 being prompted by the Author themselves, and Chapter 15 being prompted by the Centurion [...]
Jesus' power to heal had reached the ears of many. Wherever he went, crowds of people followed him and many sickly people were brought to him for healing. Many who followed him, would have already witnessed his power to heal when they brought this deaf and mute man to Jesus and begged him to enable this man. When Jesus first [...]
When Mother Mary visited Elizabeth, she brought Jesus with her. Now when I heard that, similar to Mother Mary, since the time I was baptised, the Holy Spirit dwells in me, and hence, I have been, all along, bringing the Holy Spirit to visit others too. Mind blown. I had to step back for this to sink in. The ‘hannor [...]
Write about a way in which one can gain wisdom. Faced with the above essay question, one of my students blurted out "the Bible". Face palm. My slew of ideas as I prepped to teach this lesson did not include the Bible. Call myself a Christian. Cheek slap. Although my student attempted another essay in the end, it got me [...]
The externals are what we observe in our daily lives. There are people in the MRT and we see they are seated and they are on their mobile devices. We do not know what they are thinking about, and we often do not even know what they are feeling. As it is in today’s Gospel, the Lord tells us that [...]