Thinkativity :

Fashion is a result of every person trying to be different to the extent that everyone becomes the same, each thinking he is different and stands out from the herd of those trying to be different.

Posted by SK at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is very bad luck to speak of the unpleasantries of life during the Chinese New Year. It is a festive season meant to usher in all that is good and beautiful which is due to us throughout the year. Hence, no performing of any rites or utterance of any words that may be a source of a cursed year ahead.

Except that this fourth day of the Chinese New Year is also Ash Wednesday, the first day of our Lenten season. From celebration, there is an abrupt transition into fasting and abstinence. From a fixation on the beautiful, there is a sudden call from Holy Mother Church to a contemplation of one's transgressions.

The dissonance we feel on this occasion is probably a divine conspiracy.

We are inherently lovers of good news. But life is not all good news. There are the realities that we, if given a choice, choose to avoid; those like pain, suffering, sin and fallenness. If we had our choice, we would wish for a Chinese New Year celebration all year round with neither toil nor strife. But now, our attention is turned to ashes.

"Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).

But divine conspiracies always come with a twist. In religious language, we call it a "paradox", something that makes perfect sense only with much spiritual discernment and reflection.

Mother Church desires that we spend the next 40 days (excluding the Sundays, that is) contemplating upon the paradox of how authentic festivity and beauty can be found only through mourning and repentance. The climax of this discovery will then lead us, 40 days from now, to a profound realisation of how it took the devastating fall of man to bring about the glorious redemption of God.

But for now, perhaps it is time to put aside the festive joys of the Chinese New Year, and to begin mourning over the brokenness of our lives. As we dress ourselves with sackcloth and paint ourselves with ashes, we can then expect to soon be clothed with robes of righteousness and adorned with the glory of the resurrected Christ. The point is, without the former, there cannot be the latter.

Let us mourn, for we need a Saviour. Mourn not in helplessness but in hopefulness, for the Saviour will come. He will. For He has promised He would.

Posted by SK at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

VATICAN CITY (UCAN) - Pope Benedict XVI has extended his good wishes to the Chinese, the Vietnamese, and all other people in Asia and around the world who are celebrating the Lunar New Year.

He conveyed his greetings from his study window in the Vatican at midday on Sunday, Feb. 14, when he spoke to thousands of pilgrims from many lands gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

“Today the Lunar New Year is celebrated in various countries of Asia — I am thinking in particular of China and Vietnam, and in many communities scattered throughout the world,” the pope told them.

“These are festive days, which these people live as privileged occasions to strengthen family and generational bonds,” he added.

He concluded by expressing the wish that “all of them may maintain and increase the rich inheritance of spiritual and moral values, that are firmly rooted in the culture of these peoples.”

His words brought warn applause from the thousands in the square, and especially from several small groups of Chinese and Vietnamese present among them who waved to him.

In sending this greeting, Pope Benedict was following in a tradition started by John Paul II as he reached out to improve relations, particularly with China and Vietnam.

Posted by SK at 6:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Some are tigers. Some others just think they are tigers, like this one here. He roars.

Posted by SK at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For the record, I don't believe in horoscopes. But at Chinese New Year, the picture of the year's Chinese horoscope is all one seems to see everywhere.

This year, it is the Tiger; to be exact, the Metal Tiger (the characteristics of every animal on the horoscope are tempered by the elements of Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth).

Tigers do not find worth in power or money. They will be completely honest about how they feel and expect the same of you. On the other hand, they seek approval from peers and family. Generally, because of their charming personalities Tigers are well liked. Often, failing at a given task or being unproductive in his personal or professional life can cause a Tiger to experience a depression. Criticism from loved ones can also generate this type of Tiger reaction. Still, like all felines, Tigers always land on their feet, ready for their next act in life, pursuing it with unyielding energy and hunting it infallibly.

The Metal element gives the Tiger its sharpness in action and speed of thought. Tigers born in the Metal year like to stand out in a crowd. With an inspiring assertiveness and competitive demeanor, they determine their goals and then do anything necessary to achieve them.

Every personality, if one notices, has its strengths and devastating pitfalls. Every human characteristic is both a potential virtue for success and a weakness for failure. The two are often just both sides of the same coin.

One must choose carefully how one employs the powers imbued into his potentials. But even so, failure is only to be expected as part of life's many occasions, whether one is a Tiger, a Dragon, a Monkey, a Snake, a Pig, or some other "animal". The greatest virtue is not success, but rather, the ability to stand up again in the face of failure, shame, humiliation, and pain.

An inspiring song to remind my heart...

Posted by SK at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I am the hours
And moments of your yesterday
I am your time gone by
O'er days and ages fleeting,
Long since passed away
As endless years roll by.

I'll rise in the spark of life
The dawn of all time.
I'll call to the world still yet to be.
The music is everywhere,
In life, in the sea and air
To join in the perfect song of all eternity.

I am the hours,
The days and moments yet to come
Until the end of time
All the centuries and
Seasons that are still to run
As endless years roll by.

I'll rise in the spark of life
The dawn of all time
I'll call to the world still yet to be
The music is everywhere
In life, in the sea and air
To join in the perfect song of all eternity.

The noon of creation rings
And all in the heavens sing
The glorious song through all eternity.

I am the dawn of all time.

Posted by SK at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Throughout this year, I will be teaching the following courses multiple times in various places and at various times:

1. What's the Difference?
Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants

With the Catholic Church’s recent response to the Traditional Anglicans, people have become increasingly curious about the differences in the practices and beliefs of the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians. This 8-session course helps you gain a deeper understanding of the differences while also strengthening your understanding of the Catholic faith.

This talk aims to help its participants better understand the beliefs of people coming from various Christian traditions. This is so that we can avoid making premature conclusions about other Christians before seeking first to understand what they truly believe.

Session 1 - A Brief Historical Survey
Session 2 - Conversations about Faith
Session 3 - Conversations about God
Session 4 - Conversations about Worship
Session 5 - Conversations about Salvation
Session 6 - Conversations about Leadership
Session 7 - Conversations about Contemporary Issues
Session 8 - The Call to Christian Unity

2. The Splendour of Truth:
Difficult Questions about the Catholic Faith

Why has the Catholic Church committed so many atrocities throughout history? Why must Catholics have Tradition and not just Scripture alone? Do Catholics worship Mary? Why do Catholics communicate with dead people? Is purgatory not just some Catholic superstition? Isn’t indulgence just a money-making mechanism created by the Catholic Church just before the Protestant Reformation? Why does the Catholic Church have seven sacraments? If the Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Christ, doesn’t that make Catholics cannibals? Was the Apostle Peter really the first Pope? Is it reasonable to hold that the Pope is infallible? Why must Catholic priests be celibate? Why must Catholic priests always be men?

These are some very crucial questions about the Catholic faith, among many others, asked by a good many people from other Christian communities. Unfortunately, not many Catholics are actually able to answer these questions, especially when other Christians demand evidence for these teachings from the Scriptures. This 8-session course aims to help Catholics to better understand the Scriptural and theological bases for such Catholic beliefs which are usually difficult to explain.

Session 1 - Relationship of the Catholic Church with Other Christians
Session 2 - Difficult Questions about Church History
Session 3 - Difficult Questions about Scripture and Tradition
Session 4 - Difficult Questions about Salvation and the Afterlife
Session 5 - Difficult Questions about the Sacraments
Session 6 - Difficult Questions about the Papacy
Session 7 - Difficult Questions about the Priesthood
Session 8 - Difficult Questions about Mary and the Saints

3. The Hour of the Laity:
Understanding Our Lay Participation in the Mission of Christ

After the Second Vatican Council, there often seems to have been confusion among clergy, religious and laity in the Church on what the differences are in their vocations. As a result, we witness today unprecedented movements in the Church towards the gradual laicisation of the clergy and the clericalisation of the laity. A proper understanding of the roles of clergy, religious and laity needs to be restored.

This need has become particularly pronounced among the laity as the lay faithful have been given more prominent emphasis in the Church since Vatican II. The Church continues to call for the formation of all the lay faithful who share in the priestly, prophetic and kingly mission of Christ in the world. This 6-session course aims to help the lay faithful of the Church - families, married couples, parents, single people, young people, lay leaders - to understand the characteristics of their lay vocation and the roles and responsibilities proper to their vocation. It helps its participants to understand what this all means for their daily lives as the lay faithful of the Church.

Session 1 - Defining the Laity: What They Are Not
Session 2 - Defining the Laity: What They Are
Session 3 - The Priestly Mission of the Laity
Session 4 - The Prophetic Mission of the Laity
Session 5 - The Kingly Mission of the Laity
Session 6 - Mary, the Supreme Model of Lay Vocation

4. Call to Worship:
A Journey towards Being the People of God

The Pentateuch recalls how the people of Israel were called by God to walk in relationship with Him based on a covenant they shared with Him. From once being no people, they were now a people called "Israel".

But being God's people entailed more than just religious rites. It meant a whole new way of life, an entirely new identity which separated them from the identities of their neighbours. In having called them, God had to disciple them and teach them how to be His people.

Similarly, the people called the Church of Jesus Christ are now a people called by His name. We are to walk in relationship with God, to bear His name, and to reflect His nature and character. But what does all this imply for our daily lives as Christians?

This brief series (preferably conducted as a retreat) will explore what it means to be God's people, what God's will is, and how we as His people can live according to His will.

Session 1 - Living as God's People
Session 2 - Living According to God's Will
Session 3 - Living in Trust
Session 4 - Living as Aliens in this World

Note: My schedule for this year is already packed, and will no longer be able to fit in any new engagements. To ensure that requests for sessions in 2011 can be met, it would be good to communicate them to me at least 8 months prior to the intended dates.

Posted by SK at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Greatness and significance... are they the same thing? Perhaps many are confused about what they seek in life.

Greatness isn't the path that every person is called to tread upon. It is a perilous path, for while greatness in itself speaks of an amoral state of existence, the love of greatness unleashes a journey into the kingdom of lust for power. Many reside there and drown in the currents of power. In desiring greatness, they desire power to lord it over others. But in loving greatness, they are themselves more imprisoned than they have ever been. Greatness isn't to be desired.

But significance is something else. The desire for significance is an innate inclination within every human heart. It speaks of a longing to be known, to be loved, and to love. There is nothing wrong in desiring to be significant. It has nothing to do with greed or the desire for power. It is simply about our state of createdness; it is about being made in the image of the God who himself desires to be known and to know us.

The human journey is about discerning the difference between greatness and significance. The sooner we learn that our quest is for significance rather than greatness, the sooner we find a sense of centredness within the depths of our souls. But when one is confused between the two, the desire for greatness inevitably triumphs.

He who desires greatness seeks subjects. But he who desires significance seeks friends.

Posted by SK at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)