The last two parishes that I have served were in churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It never ceases to amaze me how Mary has a special place in the hearts of many people. The number of people, non Christian included, that make an effort to attend the novenas weekly and also the Marian feasts, [...]
At a recent inter faith gathering held in Brisbane, Australia, I witnessed leaders of different faith traditions expressing their aspiration for a better world where there will be a lessening of conflicts and disasters. Almost every speaker expressed explicitly while others implicitly, their hope that humanity will be more united for the greater good of [...]
Every year when we begin the Season of Lent with Ash Wednesday, many parish communities will sing the hymn ‘Hosea’ which begins with these words Come back to me with all your heart… These words truly echo the sentiments of the season that we are entering. Traditionally we have been used to hearing words like [...]
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr once said, “Through our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was given to us to learn at the outset that life is a profound and passionate thing.” Of course Holmes who was born in 1841 was making reference to the youth of his era [...]
A few weeks ago, I was at a Senior Citizens’ party and something happened there that truly caught my admiration and attention. When the band played a Elvis Presley song, a husband and wife couple who probably are nearing their eighties, spontaneously held hands and gazed into each other’s eyes lovingly. The song probably brought [...]
When the movie 2012 reached our cinemas, many people were intrigued by the Mayan calendar prediction that the world will end in the year 2012. We are now at the threshold of 2012. There are a number of ‘December 21 2012’ predictions about the end of the world. Some say that on an ancient Mayan calendar 2012 [...]
Whenever a family goes in search of a house, either to buy or to rent, finance is not the only consideration that dictates the decision. Many people also look for good location, neighbourhood, accessibility, public facilities, etc. All these factors will finally contribute to making the house a home rather that just a roof over [...]
A friend of mine once told me that as a child, and before he was able to read, he would look forward every night to one of his parents telling him a bed time story. However, if he had been naughty that day, the punishment would be no bed time story that night. When that [...]
The events of 9 July 2011 will remain vivid in the minds of many Malaysians, including mine. We witnessed numerous people from all walks of life, different race, religion, and ages coming together. People were shakinghands and making friends…people who have never met each other were locking arms and walking together. Race, religion, age, status [...]
In the recent earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand and the tsunami that hit Sendai Japan, many people lost their family and friends. It would not have been surprising at all if people who were grieving became angry with God for these tragedies. It is not only in such catastrophe that faith is challenged but [...]