Everyday God

Life and Death,

In Our Resting and In Our Rising,

In Our Dreaming and In Our Daring,

Laughter and Sorrow

In Our Hoping and In Our Waiting

Let us ponder on these moments in life. How did we feel? What did we experience at those points in life? Sometimes we can either run away from situations or we can tell ourselves, “hey hang on, something is happening right now!”

I have some people who asked me, “What is God? Why am I wasting my time on God?” While I have come across people on facebook who claims, ‘Science is absolute’. Some claim that they don’t believe in God, they claim to be “agnostic”.

But hey, stop here! Sometimes we who claim to be believers in God may in fact be living an agnostic way of life. Be careful because sometimes I myself at some points in life do turn away from the reality of God, living within my own 'world'.

Yet, I was taught that our sole purpose in life is to “Worship, Give Thanks and Glorify God.” This is our eternal destiny. Oh, yes we may be saying, “Oh what the…”

For me, my deep desire to serve the Church and God is my ability to sense God in everyday life. I have with me a Master in Molecular Biology, and there too I see the face of God and I desire to teach young people on Science. I see God in the many friends I have and very often meet up with; in laughter, in sorrow, in joy, in the movies we see, in the meals we have. I wonder why people live in ignorant? To me God is not complicated but the way we see and sense God complicates the whole idea and reality of who God is.

To me God is peace, God is joy, God is fulfilment, God is education, God is to be aware of…God is present in the reality of day to day living. What is God to you personally?

Let us take our time and PONDER the face of God hidden in the reality of daily living. God is our Everyday God and the next time we have a chance to sense an occasion in life where there is expression and receiving of feelings say, “THANK YOU LORD!”

In Sydney for the Church!

I arrived yesterday evening, after a flight of 1.25hours from Brisbane. It was a pleasant flight because, as usual, I was asleep all the way on the plane. Arriving back again in Sydney brought back memories of my trip to Sydney in 2007 for my Religious Retreat with the Benedictine Brothers from St Joseph's Abbey, France. It also brought back memories of flying back home to Penang, Malaysia! All in one package!

Today, I made a point to tour Blue Mountain to visit the Three Sister, walk the bush and enjoy some fantastic views that New South Wales can offer! Our First stop was at Featherdale Wildlife Park to look at some wild native birds, lots of kangaroos of all sorts (lots of roo poo too!), koalas and a salt water crocodile. It was a fantastic tour with a good buffet lunch, stopped at Leura, bush walks at Three Sisters and some other point lookouts.

I must say the tour of AUD$102 was worth it, because at the end of the trip to Blue Mountains there was a short ferry cruise to Darling Harbour and Circular Quey, which brought us to views of Sydney Opera House and the Darling Harbour Bridge. I also met a tourist from Taiwan and a family from Indonesia.

The next 3 days will be spent at Strathfield for my test for the purpose to determine my readiness to be trained for the Roman Catholic Priesthood. This is one of the steps that I am taking personally to make it a reality of my commitment to the Salvation of Souls. What happens after this 3 days of test is all in God's Hands. But, I admit my parents are still very reluctant to let me go, to give me the total freedom to serve the Church after spending millions of ringgits on my education and life in Australia. Never the less, I will see where the Spirit leads.

What do I want?

Today the Gospel speaks of the blind Bartimaeus, Bartimaeus a beggar who was sitting by the road cried out, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me! (Mark 10:47)” It must have taken Bartimaeus great effort to have the bravery to cry out in the midst of the crowd, Bartimaeus acknowledged publicly that Jesus is the Promised One. Despite the pressure placed on Bartimaeus to keep silent, Bartimeaus again cried out, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

I admire Bartimaeus in the Gospel today, because even when he is blind Bartimaeus took the challenge to “get up” and walked to Jesus who was calling him (Mark 10: 49). Bartimaeus not only walked to Jesus but Bartimaeus JUMPED (Mark 10:50) and came to Jesus. Bartimaues was excited that Jesus responded to his cry for mercy.

Like the question Jesus posed to Bartimaues, Jesus too ask us today, “What do you want me to do for you? (Mark 10: 51). I guess this question can be answered in various ways. Maybe for some we want a stable family? Perhaps others seek inner happiness, while others health.

But, this question can go deeper; it is a question of our desire to follow Jesus more deeply. It is a question that challenges us in today’s society, the reality of the Gospel and the reality of being a Christian today. Where am I today? What makes me most happy in life? What is truth?

Let us ask Jesus, that He too may heal us of our inner blindness and give us the courage to “follow Jesus on the road (Mark 10:52)”

Our Lady of Fatima

I remembered, during my early years of entering the Catholic community we the children of the Cathechism Class attended a movie about the Miracle of Fatima. I was captured by the black and white quality of the movie, very simple acts, the absence of extravagant make-up and the blurry quality of an old movie. Yet, I did bring up the sentiments of the call to holiness, the mysterious feeling of that day when the Virgin appeared to the 3 children at fatima.

The month of October has always been special to me, basically due to the observance of the Month of October in my home parish in Penang, Malaysia. I must admit once coming to Australia, the meaning and purpose of this month of October is slowly deminishing. But, there are groups within the society that promotes the month of October-the Month of the Rosary.

To me October is not all about saying Rosary after Rosary, but more importantly I take October as an opportunity to spent quality time in prayer. Just at Fatima. where miracles did happen, prayer to can transform our lives!

Happy Praying! Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for Us!

Virus infection!

Today we humans seem to be so much connected to the technologies we use. Not having my computer with me for the past 2-3 weeks makes life miserable! Imagine that? I can't do my work such as research, job hunting, keeping in touch with friends and explore and share my ideas.

Hhmmmm...I wonder what have we turn outselves into these days? Can life exist out of these technologies? Probably it can, and just probably the old methods of keeping in touch with others is still valid; letter writing, home visits, meeting in the cafe over a cup of hot coffee. Just maybe these methods are far more reliable than using technologies. Sometimes using the human touch, human contacts, a heart-to-heart conversation is more genuine than using technologies.

But, sad to say with me growing up with these technologies life without technologies may take some years for me to adapt too. We give THANKS TO GOD for the good that technologies brings to us, and we pray for the caurage to use technologies for the correct purpose.

God Bless us all!

Salt+Light Dim Sum and Tour

4th Oct the Feast of St Francis of Assisi
Today Salt+Light had a good fellowship at Chinahouse over a variety of dim sum dishes. Many of us enjoyed the food from prawn rolls, steam pork buns, 'sui mai', 'woo kok' and some others. We started the outing with Grace (Prayer before meal) and a Prayer from the Divine Office in honor of St Francis.
We then journeyed to the nearby All Hallow's School (founded by the Sister of Mercy) for a tour at the musuem that houses the artifacts and the life of the Sisters of Mercy in Brisbane. I must say that the kind of rooms Nuns used to have before Vatican 2 was so simple, so very Gospel oriented! I think one thing we need to bear in mind, as the Pope has said, that we can accept secularism, but never allow secularism make us compromise the Gospel Truth. Bear in mind that Vatican 2 never suggested the Nuns, Sisters and Brothers are to wear normal daily clothes, to live out of community living, avoid the daily routines of Community Prayers and Mass; Vatican 2 never suggested these issues thatw e see in todays Religious.

Some facts of the Sister of Mercy Congregation:-

1. Founded by Catherine McAuley born in Dublin in 1778
2. Established a house to shelther the homeless women, reaching out to the sick and dying, and educating poor girls
3. In 1831 she and 2 other Sisters took vows as the first Sister of Mercy
4. The heart of Mercy education are a) openness to God's consolation, b) strengthening the grounds of Faith, Hope and Love
5. Nurturing awareness of the true sources of joy and confidence
6. Sisters of Mercy today commit themselves to a life long journey of discovery of the Mercy of God, which is so often found in the lives and struggles of the suffering and the poor.
   

The bottom line is I am so delighted of the young people within Salt+Light; they bear the future of the Church. Salt+Light members....KEEP UP THE SPIRIT OF JESUS ALIVE!

In Christ, Francis and Clare,
Kenneth Gan

Floral Festival vs Sand Storm

This week Queensland had some good weather experiences, SAND STORM from NSW landed in Queensland! The wind blew the sand towards Qld making Wednesday of last week a rather dull and worrisome day; many, including myself, did not know what was happening. Though I suspected that it was dust from the dessert, little did I know that it was sand from New South Wales region.

The sand storm did affect the sales of Salt+Light and Newman Society as the University. None the less each of us put in our best efforts in reaching out to students! Deo Gratias!

Anyway, on Friday I decided to take a 1.5 hours drive to Toowoomba. It was a good experience as I missed those old days in Malaysia where I will venture out of my home to towns in search of good food! This time I drove to Toowoomba, yes hoping to try some new food, but also to see for my very first time the annual Floral Festival in Toowoomba. I must say that it was worth the visit! Because I saw beautiful varieties of flowers on display at Queens Park and Laurel Bank Park, I got targeted by some magpie and I bought myself 2 potted plants that was on sale at $1-$2 a pot.

And yes I did try some new food!!!!! It was the Big Dad’s Pie! Oh wow! I still have a passion for food!

With the recent events of wild weather in Australia, we are reminded that some events in life are far beyond human expectation.

Psalms 135:5-7, 13

I know that our LORD is great, greater than all the gods.

He does whatever he wishes in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in the depths below.

He brings storm clouds from the ends of the earth; he makes ligthening for the storms,

and he brings out the wind from his storeroom.

LORD, you will always be proclaimed as God: all generations will remember you.

Parties, Fire Works, Choc and Crosses to Bear!

This weekend was another crazy weekend! With a drinking party on Friday night to celebrate a Mexican friend’s farewell as she leaves Australia for France; it was a night of drinking and dancing! It was fantastic to chat, drink and shake by body to the rhythm of good Spanish songs! Saturday afternoon I was along Brisbane River to celebrate with a group of friends the annual Brisbane River Fire Festival. It was a very good opportunity to view Brisbane city and the river from Kangaroo Point cliffs; a totally different view of Brisbane city. What more it was fantastic to celebrate Brisbane River Fire with a group of friends! Sunday evening was a day spent at Allure Bistro for Chocolate Buffet; the buffet was on sale at $20 per person, and there were 9 of us enjoying chocolate for dinner.

Yes, life is good and when life is filled with good occasions it is fantastic; life is superb!

Never the less, today’s Gospel from St Mark reminds us of HARDSHIPS! Yes, be reminded and all of us agree that ‘life is good’. But, how do we relate to hardships? How do we relate when Jesus Christ reminds you and I of the reality of the “CROSS”? How do you relate? Is this reality? Is the cross a reality or a fiction/an ideology?

As a lover of everything Franciscan, the Cross of Jesus Christ is part of the Franciscan Chrism. The cross is a reality to every Franciscan and, yes, to every person that calls him or herself a Christian. As a Christian, we are called to embrace the reality of the Cross. Yes, to be a follower of Jesus Christ is not an easy way of life; it is a hard life, but not an impossible one. Many Saints and many individuals indeed have courageously embraced this Cross of Jesus in their lives; we see people like St Francis of Assisi, St Ignatius, Blessed Mother Teresa. We see the hardships they had to go through to live out the Call of the Gospel.

Yes, life is good! But as Pope Benedict teaches, there needs to be TRUTH in Charity. As we love life, love friends, and love all things that are good let us never forget the reality of the presence of Truth; Gospel Truth when absent leads to selfish and deadly charity. When there is charity and good works, there God is present! And the presence of God, when not clouded by selfish charity, makes life a mystery worth living; life is good because there is Charity based on Truth!

Oh, that if today you and I hear the words of Jesus Christ, “TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME”, may we have the courage to recognize our Vocation and respond generously to our call and purpose in life.