Mass at Work

Whenever we are sent out from each mass, our mass has never ended. In fact, the priest will send us with, ‘Go in the peace of Christ’. This means that we are sent forth to continue our mass with others no matter where we are outside church. It is rather amusing that sometimes, once some people are out of church after the mass, they may start living as if they have not participated in the mass at all. Such negative attitudes can be shown through fighting with others to get out of the church carpark, scolding people, etc.

Work takes up most of the time of most working adults. We spend at least 8 hours of our time daily at work. That will mean that most part of our waking hours will be taken up by work. I do agree with one of my friends telling me that one’s inner state of mind and spiritual state will show through his work. How we behave at work will be the manifestation of what is inside us. When we participate in the mass actively, we will be active in receiving God’s Love and mercy through the Body of Christ and it depends on whether we would like to extend such Love and mercy to the others wherever we go. This also applies to workplace.

Work is never easy. God has His purpose in placing certain people above us as our authorities. Sometimes, we may be blessed with good and kind bosses and superiors while sometimes, we may get nasty people as our bosses. Frankly speaking, I have been getting nasty bosses most of the time and I complain a lot. However, I know that I am still blessed as these so called nasty bosses are the very people who are moulding me to be a better person. Over the years, I learn to depend more and more on God as I am an impatient and wilful person who likes to do things my way. Without God, I know I can never have the patience and love to handle such people above me and thus, I can never grow. Whether I like it or not, it’s either I leave the company or learn to grow under these people.

I also tend to bump into difficult people who keep on provoking and hurting me. Sometimes, they do it because they are also broken deep within. There are many times I really want to flare up especially when they try to make things difficult for me repeatedly. I know that I can never handle things alone. Who do I have? I have Christ in me. These are the very moments where I have to keep on dying to my pride and asking God to help me to have the patience and generous heart to accept these people as they are just as or even more broken than me. No doubt, I wish I can curse them. But, that will not solve the problems. Jesus has never taught us to go for ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ Rather, these are the good moments for me to imitate Christ during each mass to break oneself so as to share with everyone with Love. I will always pray for strength and wisdom and self control before work each day so as to remind myself that God is in and with me even at work and set my mind right right at the beginning of each day with prayer.

Work life is unlike school. At work, we are paid for our services rendered to the companies. We are responsible for the tasks given to us. We may not like some tasks. For me, I really hate paperwork. And yet, I know I have to accept it as this will help me to accept the fact that life is not just about what I want. Sometimes, I am required to ‘go to places where I do not want to go’. This is one of the examples. In this way, I can grow to be more complete until God calls me to other places. Over the years, after exploring different fields, I become clearer where my strengths are.

To conclude, work life is never easy. It is also an area where we have to continue our mass. We don’t leave God in church and behave differently at work as if God is absent from our life at workplace. Since Jesus had died for us, all of us are here to continue his mission towards holiness through our daily living. Workplace is the very place where purification of self takes place and put the Catholic teachings into practice. We don’t just talk the talk but also walk the talk. How do we be light to the others? It is through how we handle people in our life, whether we choose to love or want things our ways. Imagine if Jesus only talked the talk. I think He could have preached but backed out and run away when called forth to die for us instead of dying for us. Love is not just mere talk. Action speaks louder than words. No matter where you are called to in life, be it study, work, home, etc., these are the very places where the mass continues until the next mass in church where we receive Him to strengthen us with Love to move on with Hope and Love in life.

Elena

Animals of God

In the past few sessions, we shared about what kind of animal we would want to be if we could be any animal in the world. the answers that came were interesting and a bit out of the ordinary. We had owl, elephant, cow, cats and dogs. These animals seem to be a representation of who we feel we are inside and how life is like to us.

Using this thought, have you ever wondered what kind of animal would Christ choose to be if He was asked the same question? If I boldly dare to answer this, He would have probably said a dog. He is loyal and obediant to the master ( Our Father in Heaven) even to His death. He was protective of his apostles like a pack leader would be. In the Garden of Gethsamane, He asked the guards to take him and allow His disciples to go free. Futhermore, He showed us the meaning of humility and service thorugh His actions; just as a dog sees himself. In a joke by Fr Aloy in one of his sermons, he said that dogs see humans as gods because they provide it with food and takes care of it. Similarly, Christ always acknowledges The Father in Heaven for all that He has given to Him and does the will of God. In addition, being a dog seem to go against the conventions at that time, which was what he was here for. To challenge the conventions of the people and help them to realise that God is a loving GOd and He loves the people to the point that He is willling to sacrifise His only Son so that we may live and have live. But I am sure these are not the only qualitites that Christ. His Love for us, gentleness and the way He lifts us up when we are down, seems to reflect a dog's care given to people.

Paul

Witnessing

"It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority"

This is a smack right in my face when I attended mass just now , i was being so human when I ask him of dates and time for events which would and have taken place in my life. HE just "gave it to me" - big time man. This really set me thinking throughout the mass - of coz not really paying much attention to the homily. I thought about my life i have always been asking asking and demanding. But how many times have I been an instrument to him. I remember Sr Angeline mentioned that when you say, "LORD USE ME AS YOUR INSTRUMENT" We are saying, take my whole being and not "GOD YOU CAN TAKE MY HANDS (or legs), ONLY" - NO but rather the whole being of us. Letting the Holy Spirit work within us. It set me thinking together with the lesson on Servant Leader that I learnt from cat class last week. This is something which TOL will have to work towards, in Theater and also LIFE. Letting the Holy Spirit be the one who is acting for the people and us as the instruments.

Witnessing

"you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth's remotest end"

The Disciples task by Jesus to be his witnesses - So are we as a Community of TOL

Have we in any part of our lives, witness to Jesus' Life, Death & Resurrection? We are not only a drama group but Rather a Christ -centered drama group and bringing Christ Love to others is definitely an element to others. We are also call to be witnesses for Christ and Testify.

In the coming week let us take time off to think of how have we been a witness for Christ.

Erica

Remain in my love

In todays reading , Christ challenges us to remain in his love. What in the world is to remain in his love. In last week's gospel it is touching on Love and I was so waiting for the priest to share about the 3 types of Christian Love - Philia, Eros & Agape.

Philia is the love between good friends - "platonic" love. It is a chosen love as we choose who we want to befriend. It is more conditional and less sacrificial. Philia is less willing to continually overlook faults and frequently forgive other.

Lets just take some time to reflect on the times we Choose our friends to be with. sadly the society brands us and sometimes "high" class people cannot mix with with their so called "low" class people. or even we choose to be in the "in" group and neglect whoever who is outside of it.

Eros on the other hand is the Greek word for romantic / sexual love. - passionate feeling of romantic attraction and felt between 2 lovers. It is also comprising of infatuation and lust too. While we cannot decide what we feel, we can and should control what we do in response to our feelings.

As much as Eros is a romantic love, is it all about feelings? What if 10 years down the road, you loose that "fire of passion" does it mean you divorce your spouse. Let us take a closer look at the people whom we say we "like, love or even have a crush on." Is it more of a feeling or something more than that?

Agape of coz is the most often use in the New Testament to describe Christian love. The acts of charity and service for others - even to those we do not like and do not even know. This love is unconditional and it is NOT a feeling. It is sacrificial and un-reciprocated love - JESUS - self giving.

In order to attain agape love, we look upon God's divine love made visible in our good works of charity and service. Agape is the type of love that all Christians are called to manifest in their lives by unconditional acts of goodwill and charity for others, especially the poor and disadvantaged.

As much as this word is an "overkill" it is the hardest to achieve. How many a times can we say to ourselves, i have loved the poor beggar on the road, the person who hurt us till we sometimes even think of killing them? How often have you "fed" the hungry - physically & even in the thirst for the salvation of God. "Cloth" the naked - giving clothes & even those who are lack of love and need us to cloth them with Christ love, warmth n compassion. Lastly give "shelter" to the homeless - Those who needs Christ in their Hearts and to be carried on the Wings of Eagles and protected by the snares of the Evil one. Or even those who are stray on the road who needs a place to stay - No coz society says if you let a stranger in , you might be harm.

Let us all take sometime to imitate on HIS unconditional love for us and be the true disciple of Christ in our own ways. But remember, this is not gonna be an easy task. "But I can do all things with Christ who strengthens me"

Erica Stella

Who am I

Movie on St John Vianney

It was for TOL members to wake up at an ungodly hour of the morning - for a public holiday. Yet some of us manage to wake up just to catch a glimpse of the Movie. Turn out for this parish event was not many, but the event was an enriching one for many of us. Paul, Manfred, Colin & several Youth Ministry people turned up for the movie screening. There were 2 parts to this event.

1) Movie screening

2) Adoration

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Life of St John

He was a French parish priest (8 May 1786 - 4 August 1859)

He was posted to Ars, a village not very far from Lyons. He realized that the Revolution's aftermath had resulted in religious ignorance, due to the destruction of the Catholic Church in France. Sundays in rural areas were spent working in the fields, or dancing and drinking. He was shocked to find that as to him Sundays was a day for religion. Few people came, but his continuous pray and fasting and even his sincerity to the people touched them and drew them back to church and even conversion in the village. In the confessional Vianney spent time in the confessional and gave homilies railing on blasphemy and dancing. If his parishioners did not give up dancing, he refused them absolution.

During the last ten years of his life, he spent sixteen to eighteen hours a day in the confessional.

His instructions were simple in language, full of imagery drawn from daily life and country scenes, but breathing faith and that love of God which was his life principle and which he infused into his audience as much by his manner and appearance as by his words, for, at the last, his voice was almost inaudible.

The greatest miracle of all was his life. He practised mortification from his early youth. and for forty years his food and sleep were insufficient, humanly speaking, to sustain life. And yet he laboured incessantly, with unfailing humility, gentleness, patience, and cheerfulness, until he was more than seventy-three years old.

To me I find the career and job of a priest really tiring and he has to be consistently devoted to his people. Hence, marriage is out of the question. Like St John, he realized that in order for a priest to reach out to all man, he has to be totally devoted to the people just like he has always been by the side of his villagers, listening to their problems and their confession. I really take my hat off to those who are willing to lay down their lives to make all humanity the love of their lives. But we ourselves need to take a step back to see how we can also be priest to the people of the world, living out our baptismal mission. - king, prophet, priest

In the part 2 of the Adoration, Many of the intercession was targeted to priest. Nicholas (our dearest adult advisor) came to my mind. People bet the same went for those who were present

Erica Stella