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16 JUL The Scarlet and the Black Part 1 - The true story of Monsignor Hugh O'flaherty, a courageous priest working in the Vatican during the 2nd World War. A powerful cast led by Gregory Peck / Christopher Plummer / Sir John Gilgud 23 JUL The Scarlet and the Black Part 2
30 JUL How do I pray? - The second of a 12-session series where Spiritual Director Fr Paul Pang Cssr will show you the St Alphonsus way of meditation and prayer
06 AUG St Rita Part 1 - The story of the beloved patron of hopeless situations comes to life in this epic film
13 AUG St Rita Part 2
7.15pm in Peter Donders Room Divine Mercy prayers form part of the evening's program
(Light meal will be served) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Novena Church 2010 14 March “Mystic in Action” - that sums up the spirituality of St Clement Hofbauer. We are all supposed to be mystics because by our baptism we are united to Jesus so as to become, mysteriously, one with Jesus. St Augustine tells Christians : “Let us rejoice, Brothers, and give thanks to God that we have been made not simply Christians, but Christ.” It is faith that transforms us and unites us with Jesus Christ.But our faith compared to the phenomenal faith of St Clement Hofbauer is like a grain of sand compared to a mountain. Clement’s faith mystically united him to Jesus and was the source from which everything in his life sprang: his thoughts, , his deep prayer life, his heroic endurance in carrying out his pastoral duties and his spirit of obedience to the will of God.His father died when he was seven years old. His mother brought him before the family crucifix, and pointing to the cross of the Redeemer said to him: “Look, my child, at him who will be your father from now on. Guard yourself against offending him by sin.”It was the in the simple faith of his mother which she imparted to her son that God laid the firm foundation of Clement’s faith. Those simple words of his mother, pronounced at such a solemn moment was an important event in his spiritual life. Clement in his old age recounted: “I could never forget these words.” He had ten more years under the influence of his mother.You Catholic mothers, the example of Clement’s mother should serve as an inspiration for you to follow. Or do you simply drive your children, even sometimes beyond their capacity, to succeed in this world even at the price of losing their souls?Clement over the course of his life built upon the foundation of his faith laid by his saintly mother. He did not have the time or the money to get a proper basic general education nor a satisfactory philosophical and theological education. But he had an unerring, instinctive sense of the truth of his Catholic faith He would even challenge a professor in the University: “Professor,” he said, “what you have said is not Catholic teaching.” This professor later thanked him for the rebuke. Though he was embarrassed the rebuke brought him back to the truth. Clement said that never in his life did he have any temptation against the Catholic faith. Clement found the sources of his faith in the Gospels which he read and meditated on frequently. But his understanding of the Gospels was always in line with and interpreted by the teaching of the Church. Time and again he would return to the theme of the Church and its teaching authority. That is why it was said of Clement that he had a ‘Catholic nose.’ Today as in every age, we will have difficulties in understanding the teachings of the Catholic Church but no amount of difficulties can constitute a doubt. The Catechism of Catholic Church quotes the Document of the Vatican Council: “By a supernatural sense of the faith the People of God, under the guidance of the living Magisterium (i.e. the Teaching Authority of the Church) unfailingly adheres to this faith.” LG 12.We too can acquire a faith like that of Clement, not by our own effort but by asking Jesus for this gift of faith, as the disciples asked Jesus: “Lord increase our faith.” Lk 17:5 Today in the Church in Singapore there are many people who are very eager to gain a greater knowledge of the Catholic faith by running from one course to another. I would encourage them to go to those wonderful courses that are so easily available from the SPI. Through the use of modern technology the learning of expert scripture scholars are made available to us such as the Little Rock Scripture course or the Time Line. But no amount of learning in itself can bring us salvation, unless in our effort to learn about our faith through such courses, we also ask the Lord to give us the supernatural enlightenment of faith. Clement had a cousin who applied himself too much to study and neglected prayer. Clement told him: “Pray more, read less” or he would end up badly. John Jahn did not heed his warning and many of his books were condemned by the Church.Our deep communion with Jesus in faith requires a deep prayer life. Prayer means listening to the word of God which ignites our heart with love for Jesus who first loved us. St Alphonsus tells us: “Nothing is better able to enkindle the love of God in a person than the Word of God itself contained in the Sacred Scriptures.”The phenomenal faith of Clement which made him a mystic, flowed into his intense and immensely fruitful apostolic life. Jesus said to his disciples: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.” Jn 15:6.The supernatural source of Clement’s success, of the fruitfulness of his work is his obedience to the word of God. Let me illustrate this from a passage from St Luke’s Gospel 5:1-11 :While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets."When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking.When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him,and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him. Depending on his skill and knowledge as an expert fisherman, knowing that night time was the best time to catch fish because fish came to the surface at night, Simon caught nothing. But because this fisherman obeyed Jesus a carpenter, who told him to cast his nets once more, he caught an overwhelming abundance of fish: “but at your command I will lower the nets."Clement’s apostolate was immensely fruitful because whatever he undertook, he undertook in obedience to the will of God. He sought and resigned himself to the will of God not merely from the Scriptures but in the circumstances of his life. St Gregory the Great said that God sometimes exhorts us by his words and sometimes by his actions. One extremely painful event in his life was the death of his companion in the Novitiate, Father Thaddeus Hubl. Four months after Hubl’s death he wrote to a friend in Italy: “I resign myself to the will of God. I always protest I only want what God wills, and nevertheless I must confess that since his death I have not had a moment of happiness.” Afterwards writing to the bishop of Chur in Switzerland he said again: “When one meditates at the foot of the cross, one seems to be ready for everything. But as soon as the Savior imposes his cross, one is unable to carry it. See what an old ass I am.” To the Venerable Father Passarat he wrote: “Pray for us as we pray for you so that so that we will accomplish fully the most holy will of our Father.”Because he conformed his will with the will of God, Clement was able to work miracles of grace. Let us reflect on a passage from the Gospel of St Matthew 8:4-11And Jesus said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." As he entered Caper'na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching himand saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him."But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment. Let us borrow some very enlightening insights of a famous English Scripture scholar Charles Dodd, on this story of the Roman centurion. “For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it." By the very fact that he is under obedience to his superiors and ultimately to the emperor, the centurion can give orders that has the authority of the emperor behind it. He is obeyed by his soldiers because he in turn is submitted to his superior.The centurion believes that Jesus is related to God in a parallel way. Since Jesus is in communion with God and obeys him, he has the authority of God himself, and therefore can command the centurion’s servant to be healed, and he will be healed; can command the sickness to leave and it will leave.Similarly because Clement lived in communion with Jesus and lived in obedience to the will of God, his apostolic labours bore fruit because they had the authority of God behind it. I am reminded of the words Mary said to the waiters at the Marriage Feast at Cana: “Do whatever he tells you.” Jn 2:5. Clement always did whatever Jesus told him, and his obedience to the will of Jesus transformed the water of his human effort into the choicest wine of grace! In utter abundance! for the motto of the Redemptorist Congregation is : “With him there is Plentiful Redemption” Yes Clement was chosen by Jesus to carry out a mission which was to bring the Redemptorist Congregation out of Italy, and establish the Redemptorist Congregation in northern Europe. From Europe the Congregation spread to the Americas, Australia and Asia. St Alphonsus was our Founder, but St Clement Hofbauer was the God’s chosen instrument to bring the Congregation to the world. Redemptorists are here in Singapore and Malaysia today because of St Clement Hofbauer. When people hear priests preaching, sometimes they may say: “Father I enjoyed your sermon.” Or they may simply endure the endless rambling of the preacher and try in vain to keep awake. One of my confreres fell asleep during the homily. When the preacher left the pulpit he was fast asleep in front of the Congregation. When the altar boy woke him, in a panic he rushed to the microphone and said: “I confess to almighty God …” But when Clement preached because of his deep union with God in faith and love, his words had a powerful impact on his hearers. He exercised an almost magical power. He moved his listeners to the innermost depth of their hearts to give up sin and to give themselves to God. He was an apostle of conversion! (As our Constitutions tell us, Redemptorists are apostles of conversion) Even the most hardened sinners were moved by Clement’s words to repent. The people said to one another: “We have never heard such a preacher” or “One word from his lips lasts me an entire week." Sophie Schlosser a very cultured woman said:“His words moved me and struck me in a remarkable way. Such sermons cannot but have a great impact on the hearts of the listeners. The words of this man is so completely different from all the others that one hears. I have never seen a man who knew how to make one love Christianity as he does. During his sermons I often think that the Apostles must have spoken in that way.” A state official Josef von Pilat testified: “ I myself have heard learned and educated men say: ‘If you want to hear a good speaker go to this or that Church. But if you want to hear an apostle go to the Ursuline Church and hear Father Hofbauer.’ He preaches as one who has power. The power of his sermons came from the strength of his faith .We Singaporeans are a hard working and efficient people. And Catholic Singaporeans bring this spirit of hard work and efficiency into our ministry. Like the disciples who labored all night but caught nothing, our hard labor will bear no fruit if our work does not flow from our contemplation and obedience to the word God in prayer. Our ministry, whether lay ministry or priestly ministry will not only bear no fruit but according to St John of the Cross, will produce down right evil. We will not be like St. Clement Hofbauer, Mystics in Action but Mistakes in Action. Many of you engaged in Novena Church Ministry are busy, busy amazingly hard working people. But are you just Mistakes in Action? Let us pray that we be men and women of faith and prayer and filled with love for the will of God , so that we will be like Clement, Mystics in Action.Let us end this reflection on Clement Hofbauer by getting a glimpse into the soul of this great saint in a letter he wrote to the Papal Nuncio in Vienna: “I solemnly declare before God and before your Grace, that my companions and I are willing to undertake any toil and face any difficulty in working for God’s glory, the spread of the Church and the salvation of souls. Far be it to seek my own comfort. The glory of God, the progress of the Church and the salvation of souls-all in the greatest danger everywhere these days-these are the things dearest to my heart.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We Redemptorists may be tempted to sing the praises of our holy Founder by listing his great achievements. St Alphonsus has been honoured by the Church with the titles of Doctor of the Church, Doctor of Prayer, the Most Zealous Doctor, the Patron of Confessors and Moralists. He wrote 111 books. He is the founder of a Religious Congregation and a Bishop. He was one of the greatest preacher of missions in the history of the Church. He was a painter and musician whose hymns are still sung in Italy today. He composed a Christmas hymn “Tu Scendi dalle Stelle” in which he sang of Jesus who descended from the stars the live us as a man to redeem us. The great composer Giuseppe Verdi commented after the Christmas vigil in Palazzo Doria in Genoa in 1890: “Without this pastorale of Saint Alphonsus, Christmas would not be Christmas”
Did all these achievements make Alphonsus a saint? Alphonsus would be the first to say “NO”. In his classical work “The Practice of the Love of Jesus” St Alphonsus quoted St Francis de Sales who said: “Some people think that perfection can be found in an austere life; others make it a matter of much prayer, or of frequenting the Sacraments, or of acts of charity. They are all mistaken. Perfection consists in loving God with our whole heart.”
If our achievements, however brilliant make us holy, then St Alphonsus would not have chosen as the motto of the Redemptorist Congregation: “With him there is plentiful redemption”. It should rather read: “With me there is plentiful achievements.”
In our success orientated culture, we measure our self worth by our own achievements. O I have accumulated so many degrees, I am a good psychologist, a good scripture scholar, a master of many languages, a talented communicator, I have great organizational skills. But without love our achievements count for absolutely nothing! (1Cor 13:1-4)
St Alphonsus is a saint because he had first experienced the merciful love of his Jesus and he craved to return this love by working for the salvation of his fellow men and women. In “The Practice of the Love of Jesus” he quoted St John Chrysostom who tells us: “When the love of God has taken possession of a soul it produces an insatiable desire to work for the beloved.” (Heart Calls to Heart p 37) St Alphonsus is deservedly called The Most Zealous Doctor.
St Alphonsus was a man who loved Jesus with a passionate love which filled him with a burning desire to return this love by continuing the mission of Jesus to bring the Good News of plentiful redemption to the world. Desire, fuelled by his faith experience of being loved by his Jesus was the mighty driving force behind all his immense pastoral activities.
If desire fails, everything comes to a halt. Karen Carpenter died from anorexia. Without the desire for food the body dies. But we can suffer from spiritual anorexia, in which our heart no longer desires God and our spirit dies. St Augustine tells us that the essence of prayer is the desire for God which springs from faith, hope and love. St Alphonsus constantly fanned into a blazing flame his love and desire for Jesus through a life of deep and fervent prayer. Alphonsus is deservedly called The Doctor of Prayer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Be-Loved Prayer Ministry The Be-Loved Prayer Group believes that prayer is the “one thing necessary” ( Lk 10:42 ) for personal growth as Christians and for the fruitfulness of all our ministries. Without prayer we are Christians at risk, Novo Millennio Ineunte 34) and all our efforts to evangelize are futile, for unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it (Ps 127:1 ). Since prayer cannot be taken for granted, but must be learnt anew from the Divine Master ( Novo Millennio Ineunte 32 ) the Be-loved Prayer Group teaches a method of prayer according to St Alphonsus whom the Church honours with the title Doctor of Prayer. Some aspects of prayer contained in this method are gathered from the wisdom of Catholic Tradition and the Holy Scriptures, inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Be-Loved Prayer Group directs people to contemplate the merciful love of the Father revealed through his Word Incarnate, Jesus. Hence we place the utmost importance on the contemplation of the Word of God in the Holy Scriptures which has power to transform us from into the image of the Lord from one degree of glory to and another for this work of the Lord who is a Spirit. ( 2Cor 3:18 ) Come and experience being loved by the Lord, so that you may become like the BE-LOVED DISCIPLE OF JESUS. ( Jn 13:23)
Our Patrons: Mary the Beloved Mother of Jesus John the Beloved Disciple of Jesus St Alphonsus Doctor of Prayer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Clock, The Hail Mary St Alphonsus The MRT And I. On my visit to Pagani I saw the clock which whenever it chimed, reminded St Alphonsus to say a Hail Mary. This was one of the many practical ways St Alphonsus expressed his love and devotion to Mother Mary. Today, we hardly hear the chime of a clock, as the old grandfather clocks have been replaced by digital watches and clocks. However I would like to share my own practice of saying the Hail Mary through a simple story of a little act of kindness shown me on the MRT. A reader complained in the Straits Times that young Singaporeans are an uncivilised and uncaring lot of people. This reader lamented that some people occupying the seats on the MRT reserved for people with special needs, pretend to be asleep whenever they see an elderly person approaching. This is contrary to my experience. On one occasion, a lady in her mid thirties, kindly offered me her seat. Well I am not exactly decrepit. But it would have been ungracious to reject her kind offer. Thanking her for her kindness, I accepted the seat which was not even one reserved for people with special needs. And I wondered how I could repay her for her kind deed. Then it occurred to me that I could say a Hail Mary for her. After saying the Hail Mary I felt certain that I would meet her again, in the next life. Why this certainty? Because I entrusted her to holy Mary our life, our sweetness and our hope. I have experienced the kindness of young people again and again who offered me their seats on the MRT. And I have always said the Hail Mary for them, and not only for them but for all the people on the train, fellow travellers to our earthly and heavenly destinations. I ask all who read this simple faith sharing to say a Hail Mary for me as I would say a Hail Mary for you.
See you again on the other side of the River.
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