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Page 1 of 8 Since the Novena Devotions began 59 years ago people from all walks of life, and races and creeds have placed letters at the feet of our Mother of Perpetual Help. These letters written in great anxiety and distress were nevertheless prayers of faith in our Mother's unfailing love for us her children. Other letters were written from hearts, overflowing with love and gratitude to a Mother who did not fail to answer the cry of her desperate children. But do you realize that God our heavenly Father has also written to us a most beautiful, a most assuring, a most comforting letter? Our heavenly Father spoke to our doomed world defeated and broken by sin, a Word. It was a Word of mercy, a Word of hope, a Word of infinite love and tenderness. The Spirit of God wrote this Word "JESUS" not on a stone tablet but on the tablet of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary. Then the Spirit wove this Word into a baby in the womb of Mary. The Word was made flesh, (Jn.1.14) and the Son of God , became the Son of Mary. Because Mary said: "Yes" to God and brought God's Word of love into the world, she became God's love letter to the human race. And Mary, God's love letter to us is depicted in the form of the icon of our Mother of Perpetual Help. This icon is God's mass medium by which he proclaims his unspeakable love for us his children. Mary holds in her arms her Son who gazes with fear at the instruments of his passion, the cross the reed and lance. She clasps his little hands in her hands and shares his trembling. Mary says to us: "Sinners see my Child your Saviour who for love of you will die." But her eyes gaze out at us, eyes full of compassion and love. Her pain filled eyes tell us she understands our anxieties over our health, our financial struggles, and the dangers to our eternal salvation we face threatened as we are by so many temptations. Her pain filled eyes tell us she understands the hurts we suffer from fractured relationships, from the loss of loved one through death, from the harshness inflicted on us by cruel, heartless people. Her pain filled eyes brim over with love and tenderness for us, given to her as her children by Jesus on the cross in the person of St. John who represents all of us : "Woman, here is your son." Jn. 19.26. For the last 59 years, countless thousands of people have come before this shrine of our Mother of Perpetual Help.They have gazed upon Holy Mary of Perpetual Help as if they have heard the words of Jesus addressed to St. John: "Here is your mother." Jn.19.27. Will Singaporeans continue to come to listen to God's love letter to us- our Mother of Perpetual Help ? In ever greater numbers? And not only for the next fifty years, but for as long as time lasts? Mary tells us: "All generations will call me blessed, because I am your Mother of Perpetual Help."
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Comment by GUEST on 2008-09-10 03:15:47
Dear Rev. Father Pang,
Your writings are indeed soul-reaching and inspiring. Yes, everyone seeks out Our Dearest Mother in times of needs and also in times of thanksgiving. I myself, although now in my late fifties, still feel like a little girl praying to a mother as if I am in my teens, begging her to please help me in my studies, in my daily chores and in my exams.
I started attending the Novena at the age of 12 when I was then in Secondary School. Having left Primary School, my parents sought of granted me more approvals of going out with classmates on Saturdays after morning session of extra-curricular activities. I am writing in old-fashioned terms that we used then in the 60's. Currently, I am a US citizen of 30 years, (left Spore in '78 after graduating from St. Anthony's Convent in '66, married and moved to KL in 73).
I remembered going to the 11am novena with a few other holier than average girls, and I sang till my voice cracked because I love to sing and more so because my classmates love to hear me sing. Almost everyone will say, sing, sing, I like your voice.
Well, I will say those simple petitions then had always come back to my ears, because I can still vividly mesmerize the picture of myself joining my hands and closing my eyes, begging, "Mother, please help me in my tests, in my exams, please mother, please!"
I am now writing to bare the secrets of myself --- Oftentimes, when I hear letters of thanksgiving and gratitude, I hated myself for having no courage to take up the pen and write and say, "Thankyou, Dearest Mother!" I thought than that I was not good in penmanship, so I gave myself the excuse and furthermore, I comfort myself saying, I had already said many thankyous, so I better not send in a letter in case my classmates may asked, "Is that your petition." I will be very embarrassed and ashamed.
so, today, via the internet I send my "Thankyou, Dearest Mother for helping me during the past 45 years." And most of all, thankyou to you Father Pang for writing so beautifully that encouraged me to send in a very belated written Thankyou to Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
Looking back over those 45 years, I have often times felt I owed Our Dearest Mother so much, so what I now do is, sing to her, thank her and ask her to help everyone seeking her aid, and don't worry for me, Mother, I will be OK."
I have returned to Spore on several occasions from US and my sole and most important itinerary is "Going to Novena." Usually the first day I stepped foot in Spore, my first trip will be to Novena. And I have been doing that all along. I usually start early and stop by the Novena church and then continue on to other activities and those were the happiest days of my vacation.
I have been with your group last year and I enjoyed tremendously meeting you and some of the group. If time permits me, I will send in some pics that I took at the gathering.
I attend a Wednesday night novena in NYC whenever I find time to travel there from my home in New Jersey and I have been doing that religiously for 20 years. Most of the devotees are Filipinos with maybe 4 or 5 from Singapore.
Have been praying for your group to grow and deepen in our journey of faith. Respectfully, your spiritual daughter, Rose Sia
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Comment by GUEST on 2008-09-23 23:18:11
Dear Fr Pang,
Thank you for sharing with all of us so much.
The Mother of God's Word is the most precious Gem of all time and of eternity. I have fallen deeply in love with the redemptorist and the spiritual inheritence that St. Alphonsus has built for us, like nothing else. And you Fr Pang are yet another great heir of this great saint whom our Mother shall embrace as she did he. Keep saying "eternal rest grant unto me O Lord..." but no, not yet Father. You have so much more to offer us and we are blessed by your words, works, deeds and sharing. You are a gift that God sent to us and we want you to know that we love you and thank you with all our heart and soul.
In my time, I have been touched by many priests and grew in the midst of Fr Simon Pereira and family, and to some extent Fr Jacob Ong (same kampong). And my teenage years was so touched by Fr Gerry Neagle whom I later regret avoiding because I couldn't detach myself from home. All of you Redemptorists Fathers are Mary and Jesus 'personified' for the love of us all. We cannot love you and thank you enough for all that you have done for us.
Thank you for bringing the Word all wrapped in the most precious Gem of our lives. We thank God for Jesus, Mother Mary, St. Joseph, all His angels and saints. And we thank God for you. We love you.
Fishy Old Man,
Desmond Chander
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Comment by GUEST on 2009-01-07 01:14:13
Dear Rev Fr Pang and fellow readers,
I recently had a wonderful experience that I would like to share although you might feel that it's relevance doesn't exactly belong here.
Just 2 days after Christmas I met a close acquaintance at a rather quite old coffeeshop (lau kopi tiam). We decided to sit and have a drink and chat together for a while. Yup, it was quite a while alright.
Somehow in the course of our conversation we went into religion and he enthusiastically told me how he and his girlfriend (now wife) met and how they later attended RCIA and converted to being Catholics. I was delighted to hear that and to hear how deeply he believes in the Lord Jesus. But somewhere along the way it went a bit wong. He started using the term 'cradle Catholics' and was a bit critical and incensitive to the fact that I was one. He emphasized how many 'cradle Catholics' practised "imitation faith". This being the second time in my life that I heard this term being used (previously I heard a priest use it), I asked what he meant. So, he started to explain that some of them (cradle Catholics) come all attired on Sundays or are particular about genuflecting fully, etc, etc; and do many things out of old fashion tradition. To cut it short a little, he went on till we somehow touched on baptising of children (infants) and said that he (now a father of an infant), would want his son to have the choice he had and thinks it's only right to let the child grow and decide for himself what religion to follow and that he would not "impose" his believes on his child and force the child into "cradle Catholism". I was totally shocked (more like offended actually). But I calmly asked him why not? He replied, "...because I don't want my child to just follow and immitate and it's useless if his faith is not real...". I said, "True. What about you? Is your faith really real?" Now, the party begins. He started to get defensive and I could hardly hold back my defensive instincts either, converting the chat into almost a debate. Guess who won? (Wrong!) We both won!
I back-tracked and explained why we genuflect...because in the days of old people do so before their kings, emperors and lords as an honour to the highest authority. Catholics genuflect before the Lord Jesus in the old days (sometimes in defiance to other earthly kings or royalties,) to openly attest that there is only one true King and Lord, Jesus. Today, we still do so because it is even more true than ever that there is only one true King and we would supposedly not bow or genuflect before others even if our lives depended on it. We can comply and salute our officers properly in the army but we would not comply to properly genuflect before our God? As for attire, I said what's wrong with living up to the old saying "dress your sunday best". In our personal, professional and business lives we would dress appropriately and decently for our girlfriends, brides, bosses and clients out of image and respect for them. Can we not respect the Lord too? Believing the Lord doesn't deserve even the same respect we have for others is being Christian? I said I am a bit slow to grasp and am not following this, and I never will.
On infant baptism and leaving the child to decide later, I was even more emotional and fully admit I absolutely imposed my believes on him. I asked, "Why do you think it's best to let your child grow and decide what faith he should choose? Are you also waiting for him to grow and decide if he should go to school? And are you also waiting for him to grow and decide if he thinks you're good enough to be his father? Or maybe you should ask your next child before he is even conceived if he wants to be born?".
He was looking real aggitated and so I toned down and said, "Look my friend, there is one thing that cradle Catholics enjoy that you don't. That is, despite the so-called imitation faith, we enjoy the our parents' faith in Christ from birth. We enjoy a Christian upbringing because our parents believe in it wholeheartedly. We believe in prayer and practice of Christianity from an early age. Like our parents, we believe the greatest gift they gave us is this life that we have. But nothing is greater than the gift of baptism from infancy. Why? Because life is great but eternal life is greatest. True Catholics, whether cradle or converts, believe in the Lord's promise of redemption and eternal life. There is nothing greater that a parent could possibly give their child. Not even their entire life on this earth. Yes my friend, I am saying anyone who don't baptise their infants are really not true Catholics and are in it only to be in the community and immitate the 'current trends and gestures' of the faith. I will repeat to you or any Catholic who doubt in infant baptism, that they are definitely not Catholics. Trust me, if your faith is absolute and true, you will never deprive your child of baptism at birth especially in this uncertain age and world we live in.
My parents (especially my mother) is the best gift God ever gave me and Jesus is the best gift my parents ever gave me. Nothing would come close in all eternity. Ask any cradle Catholic my friend, if they would disagree with what I am saying. Trust me, if you don't baptise you son you will regret it."
He suddenly appeared rather dazed and confused. So, I slowed down and he began explaining that he and his wife have thought hard about it and she and her mother are quite set about it. Then I said, "Look at it this way. It's a gift and responsibility for your child, just like education. If you don't baptise him, he might grow up being deprived of it and not have faith as he is growing, just as he would not have knowledge if you don't give him early education. If you do it, he might throw it away when he grows up. What have you to lose by baptising him now? If he wants to throw this gift when he grows up, then it is his choice and accountability. But right now you are accountable for him, like for everything else in his life. There is nothing to think about. If you truly believe, you will share your faith and Jesus fully with your child right now. Just because you are not a cradle Catholic, you are afraid to make your son one. I assure you my friend, I can hardly recall a single cradle Catholic I know that spite their parents for having given them the gift of baptism and Christ's promise of redemption and eternal life."
Well, today I got a call from him. He and the wife already met up with a priest (don't know if it was Fr Pang or who...just kidding Father). They are apparently set to baptise the child and he called me sounding extremely grateful and overjoyed. Wow! You have no idea what a day I've had!!!!!
God bless y'all,
Fishy Old Man (again)
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