BLESSINGS of the New Year

Receiving blessings from Rev. Fr. Cyril M

It has always been a practice in my family to receive blessings from God through the intercession of priests, elders and God-fearing friends. We usually do it on our birthdays, Christmas and New Year. I remember very clearly in my childhood days, after the New Year morning mass, my family will go to my father's godmother's house to ask for blessings from the 'Grand Godma'. We will all kneel including my parents and the 'Grand Godma' will say a short prayer for my family and bless us with the signing of the cross on our forehead. The same is done during Christmas and each individual birthdays when we receive blessings from my parents.

Blessings from an elder

During the 1st day of the year last year (i.e. 1/1/09) I didn't go to the Grand Godma's house for blessings but I knelt in front of my mother and asked for her blessings. My mother said a short prayer then signed the cross on my forehead, raise me up, gave me a hug and whispered in my ear; "2009 will be a good year for you with God's blessings." There were tears in her eyes. She knew clearly what I had gone through the past 2 years (namely 2007-2008). If you want to find out what had happened, please read the pasts articles on my blog for that year.

My mother's words came through; 2009 was indeed a year of blessings for me. I have a job finally after searching for sometime, I have a good team at my work place, had many fun and enjoyable times with them. I had a good overseas holiday and was able to meet my thambi's family. Experience care and concern from genuine friends. Met some strangers who later became good buddies. The list can go on actually but I better don't bore you.

Again, for this year 2010, I pray for God's blessings too. But to fill-in more blessings, I have to empty-out 1st. And what I'm planning to empty out? It is my anger and hurts that I've encountered. Yeah, empty it all out, so I can fill-in God's blessings.

I've yet to receive blessings from my mum (i'll get it next week when I go back home..hehehe) but I know she has already given me. She is a woman of faith, a God-fearing mother who wants the best for her children. Hmmmm for a matter of fact, that's the greatest blessing a child would ever want. Thank you God for giving me Your blessings - my mum.

with my mother

To all my dear family, relatives and friends out there and especially those who detest me, I repeat my mother's blessings for you.."2010 will be a good year for you with God's blessings."

I pray this blessings for you...May the Lord bless you and keep you! May the Lord let His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! May the Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace! (Num. 6:24-26)

Christmas 2009 Experience.

This Christmas I made a choice to stay back in Johore Bahru alone. My family lives in Seremban which is about 300km north from JB. The choice I have made is not as great as the choice God made i.e. to take himself our human nature. " Though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He emptied himself taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men" (Phil 2). It was a great spiritual experience for me here in JB this Christmas and my heart and prayers goes all out to all those who are far away from 'HOME' during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

At mass on Christmas eve, I was reflecting on the 'strangers' at Bethlehem; the Holy Family - they were far away from their family members and relatives, they had no place in the inn and I believe they were not familiar of the place, the crowd at Bethlehem who came for the census, the shepherds - who had a low status in the society at that time and the 3 Wise Men (highly respected group of people). But what interest me was the commonality of the last two strangers I mentioned above. They came to worship the new born King. And that was the same theme for the people at the midnight mass. The community gathered at mass that night; i.e. the outcast, the respected group, sinners, saints, the immigrants being legal or illegal , parishioners, etc whom in this article i would like to call the 'strangers' have all come to worship the new born King - Jesus Christ and thus making us no strangers but one common people, that is, His people.

CHRISTMAS 2009

"This is the day our Saviour was born: what a joy for us, my beloved! This is no reason for sadness, this, the birthday of LIFE - the Life that annihilates the fear of death, and engenders joy, promising, as it does, immortality. Nobody is an outsider to this happiness. Let the saint rejoice, for he hastens to his crown; let the sinner be filled with joy, for pardon is offered him; let the Gentile be emboldened, for he is called to Life"...pope St. Leo the Great.

Wishing you all, a very Blessed CHRISTmas.

Are you dying to meet someone?

Another Sunday, And I'm so bored in my rented room. Thought of writing on what I have been reflecting lately.

Sometime in September, a friend of mine met his hmmmm what shall I say, his idol?? I think it's better I put it this way, met the person he was eagerly wanting to meet. I know him for about 3 years now, and through our many conversations, I can testify he is a hard-core fan of Gwen Stefani. He not only just met her but gave Gwen a kiss on her cheek. Wow..lucky fellow. And I think this is his second time meeting her face 2 face. The 1st was 12years ago. Happy for you bro, congrats!! Click here to read his post.

Anyway, what I was reflecting about since reading his experience with Gwen is; who I would like to meet? For weeks I've been thinking about this and...hmmm I have no one!!
Yeah I don't have anyone I'm wanting to meet so badly! Yes not even the Pope or the Dalai Lama. Hmmm maybe the Pope, to tell him that a certain Archbishop (whose name with a change in an alphabet can be a malay vulgar word...hehehe) is hypocrite, dirty and self-centered government rewards seeker.

Going back to the issue of not wanting to meet anyone; so am I a proud man cos I'm not eagerly wanting to meet anyone in particular? I kept on searching my heart's desire and its just none! I'm a fan of certain celebrities of course, but...or maybe I'm just being simple and contented with life. Hmmm I don't know!!!

So how about you, yeah you... Are you dying to meet someone? If given the opportunity who do you want to meet?

Now check-out my lucky friend:-

Appreciation to the Priesthood.

This post has been edited due to my decision to move on. Click here for a read.
The earlier post was titled "Priest Threatens Ex-Seminarian" .

As I have said many times, i still respect and appreciate the priesthood. Thank God for the many holy and God-fearing priests who tirelessly minister their flock. I salute you, I pray for you. You are the hope of this trying times. You show us the face of God. Here a prayer for you and the rest who need to imitate you.

Prayer for Priests

by St. Therese of Lisieux

O Jesus, eternal Priest,
keep your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart,
where none may touch them.

Keep unstained their anointed hands,
which daily touch Your Sacred Body.

Keep unsullied their lips,
daily purpled with your Precious Blood.

Keep pure and unearthly their hearts,
sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.

Let Your holy love surround them and
shield them from the world's contagion.

Bless their labors with abundant fruit
and may the souls to whom they minister
be their joy and consolation here
and in heaven their beautiful and
everlasting crown.
Amen.

No Vocation??...My Foot!!

This post has been edited due to my decision to move on. Click here for a read.

Prayer for Priests
O, Jesus, I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests; for Your unfaithful and tepid priests; for Your priests labouring at home and abroad in distant mission fields; for your lonely and desolate priests; for Your young priests; for Your dying priests.

Above all I recommend to You the priests dearest to me: the priest who baptised me; the priests who absolve me; the priests at whose Masses I assist and who give me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion; the priests who have taught and instructed me; all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way.

O, Jesus, keep them all close to Your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and eternity. Amen
(Source- Unknown)

Accidental touch makes girl unclean for prayers.

Hmmmm the above title would be a good headline for the newspapers!

This incident actually happened yesterday; a woman was having a 'break' in-between her prayer and while I was passing her, her tag our fingers slightly touched! For me it was nothing, so i just turned to continue my work but for this woman she was so uneasy that she quickly rose from her chair and told me "Adrian terkena jari kamu tadi, sembayang aku batal, aku kena basuh lagi" ("Adrian...touched your finger, now my prayer is canceled, i have to go and wash (purify) myself again.")

And i was like '@#$%' (no..its not a vulgar word! shame on you!!) I felt insulted of course! When she came back after some time (I guess after purifying herself -because, for the record, we had an accidental touch! and finishing her prayers) i asked her a question; Is it because the touched was with a man or because I'm not of her religion? And she answered that it was because i am a man.

I'm not sure of this religion but i guess they have a reason and some meanings for this sort of 'doings'. Hmmm I hope!
Thank God my religion or rather my relationship with God doesn't have any rigid rules that even an accidental touch can disrupt or even canceled the prayer.

Anyway i find the idea of purifying oneself before prayer is not after all a bad idea, Yes we have to be at right disposition when we're praying. I would like to quote St. John Mary Vianney whose feast day we celebrate today; "Prayer is nothing else than union with God. When the heart is pure and united with God it is consoled and filled with sweetness; it is dazzled by a marvelous light."

In honour of the 150th anniversary of the Death of St. John M. Vianney, Pope Benedict XVI declared that a Year of the Priests be celebrated starting June 19, 2009 until June 11, 2010. The faithful are especially called to pray for priests. I remember the pass weeks during the prayer for priests i was really scandalised. In the prayer especially in the 1st part there we're a lot of 'bodek-ing' ('buttering') on the priests and bishops. Some priests and bishop don't fit in that prayer!! I just felt like amending the prayer and if i did, it would just be a 1 sentence simple prayer. 'Lord Jesus, we thank you for the many faithful priests we have encountered, please bless them and we pray that the bishops and priests will be a faithful servant just as how You were faithful to Your Father.'