Prayers

This is an amazing day. Good and satisfying breakfast in the morning and in the evening, more nutrition for the soul and I have found it immensely enlightening - the session on prayers. Indeed, prayers play a very significant role in fostering that special bond between God and man. If the Lord himself, draws strength through constant prayers to the Father in heaven; what more we, mere mortals, God's creation here on earth! Can we stand on our own without the Hand of God holding us up and balancing us?

Prayers provide the power of Balance in our lives!. Prayers keep our paths clear and enable us to walk unhindered in life!. Prayers light up our life so that darkness cannot penerate and put fear into our hearts! Prayers gives us that oomph to sail through our daily lives, with confidence that the Lord will watch over us because we had entrusted our needs to Him. And I especially like the statement that prayers should come from the heart , reaching up and touching God in deep trust and faith. And yes, hymns are definitely very powerful prayers to God because when we sing our praises to God, the whole heart and soul are in focus, worshipping God with our entire being. Halelujah! Praise be to God!

Wisdom of the day-The Sunday Morning Homily

Marie sure like the message fed to the congretation this morning. Guess, the other parents will agree as well . It is the good Rev. speaking up for all parents, our anxieties,...our worries,... our love for our kids but sometimes, our actions and our words comes in the form of reprimand and  limitations, but really, it is all  about  love and care for the kids...the new lives we have brought into this world. We tend to their needs and work very hard to ensure they grow up straight and beautiful and not crooked or blemished.  Again it is all about care and protecting what is our own. It is all about preparing them to face the world with a solid foundation and good clear directions in life and that they live fruitful and meaningful lives.

It certainly was well worded.. . Good food for our children to chew on... The commandments given us,guide our footsteps into the journey of life and also gives us the wisdom to guide our young people., so that they could grow up to be people of substance and good parents when the time comes. Laws and commandments  serve as  beacons in our daily lives, so that we will not get lost on the highway of life. The directions shows us the way home. With God in the centre of our lives,and playing a vital role in our households, surely we would be able to guide (in our own human way)  the flow of peace, harmony, and goodness into the lives of our  young ones. But let us draw strength from God above because  to succeed, the grace has to come from Him .

Appreciation

Every breath that I have, comes from Thee Oh God! Thy grace lights up my path and lifts me high. Gracious God, My soul glorifies Thee!

Walking the Faith in the Lord Jesus

One of the most beautiful passages from the Bible, one of Marie's favourites, comes from Matthew 14:25-32

It reads as follows:-

And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified saying, " It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I, have no fear."

And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." He said "Come". So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and begining to sink, he cried out. 'Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him , " O man of little faith, why did you doubt?"And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

The image of Jesus catching hold of Peter's hand always come to mind, whenever Marie felt the need for spiritual strength, it is so comforting, just knowing that the Lord is close by ready to reach out and catch hold of us whenever we need to hold on to His Hand.. Today, Father Joseph's homily somehow lit up another bulb in Marie's conscious . It is, "if one walks in total faith and do not allow the elements around us to frighten us into losing faith, we will always be able to walk on water, just as Jesus did; we will be able to conquer the challenges and whatever that may arise- nothing will be impossible!" The moment, doubts creep in, the elements takes over and we start to sink and things turn topsy turvy. That's when we need to reach out for the hand of Jesus to balance us. The main cause of our problems, are the fear and doubts rooted within us. In Matthew 17:20-21, Jesus's answer to his disciples, why they were not able to cure the epileptic was "because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move hence to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."

BELIEVE IN SELF AND TRUST IN GOD and the impossible becomes Possible! Yes People! God be Praised!

Eucharistic celebrations - Remembering the birthday of The Blessed Virgin Mary

A portion of the crowd at the Liturgical celebrations at our Lady of Lourdes Church, Klang tonight. The church building was bursting at the seams, with three priests (Father John, Father Eugene and Father Joseph (from India)) presiding over the Eucharistic celebration, the Candle Light Procession, The Healing Service and the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Homily was delivered by the very talented speaker , Father Eugene Benedict (all the way from Cameron Highlands) who effortless delivered his homilies in three languages, English, Bahasa and Tamil, endearing himself to the parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes, especially Catholics from Sabah and Sarawak!

The very beautiful new chapel of OLL with the mysteries of the rosary, each station beautifully displayed over the numerous doorways of the chapel. The Chapel had incorporated, the Lourdes bath as one of its features, built on other side ; the inner portion of the building. Quaint and just lovely!

Parish Retreat-Theme- Mary, Mother of God

Hei Folks! I am just back from a very special retreat and I tell you, if , like me, you were there this morning, you are blessed indeed but if you were unfortunate to have missed this retreat, for some reasons or the other, sorry people! you had just missed out on a great experience, and believe me, this type of experience does not always come by!

Why blessed?? Because =Never was a message so powerfully delivered as today's presentation, why The Blessed Virgin Mary should be so revered. She is the Mother of God and Queen of the Heavens. She is the Mediator and Intercessor for all of us who truly needs the grace of God. There were so many aspects of her role as Mother 0f the church which Marie really did not see until she attended this retreat and viewed this presentation. And it is not only tradition, people; it is truly Biblical. There is alot of parallel drawn from the Old Testament to the New Testament. which brought amazing insight into Bible knowledge. And I tell you folks! It is amazing and valuable knowledge, which will stand us in good stead to build up our own faith and also to defend our love for the Holy Mother of God! Not that she needed defending of course but, fact is others need to know just why she should be honoured and loved! In the Wedding in Cana, she opens the doorway to his public life when she interceded in the Miracle of the wine and just as she told the servers at the feast to..." Do as what He tells You to do" , She is also passing on this very same message to us, today and everyday! Do as What the Lord commands us to do !At that point of time, the Lord Jesus says " My time is not yet come" but nevertheless, honouring His Mother, he performs the miracle. Marie finds this event hugely significant, the Intercessory role, our Beloved Mother play in our lives.

The reciting of the rosary at the various stations at the new chapel is very spiritual as it allows the individual, the chance to recite the rosary at their own pace and build their own bridge and bond with God above. Marie wasn't sure how the parishioners would take to Father John's call for a silent recital of the rosary, individually on their own but when she had finished her meditation and looked around her, it was a sight to behold, each religiously, praying, some with their eyes closed, some with obvious adoration on their faces, a group was even kneeling, even little children and the teens! (And it was not a 10 minutes thing, many people actually stood around and prayed silently for a good half hour or more!) So it was not an event for oldies like her, it was an event without the boundary of age and Marie was pleasantly surprised! The power of the Above, not forgetting the efforts of the Parish Priest, Father John (By the way, people, your Parish Priest could sing!), ,organisers of this retreat, volunteers and the staff of OLL (everyone was present!) And of course Father Joseph and Father Eugene, Thanks for the praying over at the Lourdes Bath! You were both great!

It was a WOW event to remember, with good food for the mind, spirit and soul and afterwards superb food for the body as well!! Great stuff, Marie was not supposed to, but she got carried away and took a second helping of the yummy chicken curry. The only regrettable thing was, the camera refuses to co-operate and Marie was left without a nice pic for this blog but folks, the turn out was extraordinary to say the least! The Holy Mother has been honoured through the presence of each and everyone of you folks and it is a great feeling just witnessing such an honour given.

If one might borrow the words of the Parish Priest, " You will be blessed because you came"!

OLL! Thank you for a great retreat!! God Bless!!

Parish Retreat Monday, 7th September 2009 -Theme-Mary The Mother of God

HAIL HOLY QUEEN!

All of us who light candles before you and look to You to intercede for us ! Pray for us Holy Mother, on this special day, that each and every prayer is place into God's hands that we receive His blessings and His grace.

Brethren, let us meet at the Parish retreat on Monday 7th Sept, 2009 -7.30a.m. for morning coffee ,(for the early birds I was told) and afterwards -the praise and worship session ....... quality time getting to know the Holy Mother of God better; the praying of the Rosary and a host of other activities!

May the Prayers of the Holy Mother lift you up! God Bless!

Venue: Dewan Dominic-Our Lady of Lourdes Church Klang

Half Day Retreat: 8.00a.m. till 1.00p.m.

Devoted to The Holy Mother of God

Hail Mary, Full of Grace,

The Lord is with Thee!

Blessed art Thou among Women

And blessed is the fruit of thy womb
Jesus, Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners now and at the hour

of our death, Amen!

PRAY FOR US, HOLY MOTHER OF GOD AMEN!

Holy Hour, 1st Friday Sept 09

Friends, each time, I say, I am never going to blog again, something wonderful happens and I just want to spread the awesome feelings around. The name of Yaweh is indeed powerful and beautiful; the lyrics pouring out his love for each and everyone of us -invoked an incredible sense of deep gratitute humbling the heart, and moisten the eyes. The call for the grace of the Lord to heal the congregation- was so poignant and earnest tonight, it certainly felt as if the Lord stood in our midst, hands raised over the whole congregation to bless each and everyone of us present tonight. A wonderful feeling and Yes, dear brethren of OLL, our First Friday, Holy Hour is filled to the brim ,with the grace of the Holy Spirit! Marie is blessed to be part of the praise, worship and the Eucharistic celebrations tonight! Amazing!!!