We have come to our final guided contemplation for Advent - Jesus as True Joy.



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Advent Contemplation 3: Love

This week, we invite you to contemplate on Jesus, the face of God's love in our lives.

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Begin praying by enlarging the screen. You can do this by clicking on the rectangle in the bar below the painting above. When you are in full screen mode, use either the arrows in the bar at the bottom of the full screen or your mouse help you move along.

Take your time to pray. Follow God's Spirit that moves within you. May your time with the Lord remind you that you are God's beloved.

Advent Contemplation 2: Peace

You are invited to pray this second contemplation on the reason for this season of Christmas, Jesus. I pray you will experience the true peace Jesus brings to our lives and relationships at home and at work.

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Advent Contemplation 1: Hope

A Spirit-filled Advent, friends! We invite you to pray with us for a blessed Advent by using the guided contemplation below. This is first of a 4-part series of guided contemplations on Jesus, the reason for Christmas.



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You could begin by enlarging the screen and using the arrows to assist you to move forward. You can enlarge the screen by clicking on the rectangle in the bar below the painting above.

November's Day of Prayer & Fellowship

You are warmly invited to the above on Sunday, 23 November. The theme for the day is Compassionate Friendship.

The day's programme, which be at the Loyola Novitiate, is:

08.30am -- Gathering / breakfast
09.00am -- Opening prayer
09.30am -- Individual prayer (with pointers)
10.30am -- Tea
11.00am -- Small group sharing
12.00pm -- Mass
12.45pm -- Lunch and interaction
01.30pm -- Film (Together)
03.00pm -- Personal Reflection
03.30pm -- Small Group Sharing and Tea

04.00pm -- Big Group: Feedback and discussion/input

04.30pm -- Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Thanksgiving
05.00pm -- Good Bye

We hope you will be able to come and spend some time with the Lord, who is always friend to us all!

Kindly contact Fr Philip Heng at his contact details in the sidebar if you wish to come. Your are most welcomed!

artwork: lost and found by olsen

Jesus wept

Stanley Goh, who is presently working with the poor and the young in India, updates us on his journey.

Jn 11:35
Jesus wept.

The idea of God can sometimes be a little daunting and understanding it can be a little beyond our limited intellect. We’re often told of about the boundless love of God and how this love is extended to all and allows us to grow. We’re reminded that all we are a result of this love and that all we can be is also guided by the love that’s given to us. One of my favourite Psalms puts this very aptly:

It was you who created my inmost self, and put me together in my mother's womb; for all these mysteries I thank you: for the wonder of myself, for the wonder of your works. You know me through and through, from having watched my bones take shape when I was being formed in secret, knitted together in the limbo of the womb. (Ps 139:13-15)

The problem that I faced with this is the fact that while one can almost understand that God loves us, this love seems a little abstract and can feel somewhat distant at times. Though we’re told about this love and believe it, we may yearn for something a little more – something that can bring the abstract idea of God into what we experience on a regular basis.

It was apt that I was praying with Jn 11 some weeks back and one verse in particular struck me. It’s one of the shortest verses in the bible and consists of just two words, ‘Jesus wept.’ (Jn 11:35). The humanity of Jesus was brought out in that action – the pent up sadness that stemmed from the love he had for Lazarus was brought out so clearly in those two words. It remains, to me, one of the most poignant moments of Jesus’ ministry and acts as a reminder of our God made man who loves us so much that he weeps when we go through pain and suffering. Jesus is just like us but his sadness and rife seem magnified but what he is to do later. We long to weep with him but somehow cannot for some reason. This prompted a response of sorts that went this way:

O Jesus, O why do you so weep, is not your friend but just asleep?
Waiting for his Lord to say, ‘Arise, awake, be on your way.’
O Jesus, still I see you tear. Why, Lord, why I want to hear,
Your laugh and smile so often seen, obscured of late, it has been.

The world’s weight upon your shoulders bare, which did also a cross’ weight share.
What that with our sins did place, that by the cross these sins erase.
I long to week just as you do – I see my sins and hate them too.
But then I find my eyes are dry; why can’t I be like you and cry?

Those two words changed much for me. The re-emphasis of the humanity of Jesus, something that I often forget or overlook, allowed me a very different and much more personal relationship with Him. God becomes less of a mysterious power that is beyond what we can understand but a friend who shares our joys and disappointments all the same. It was the recognition of this humanness that allowed me to really realise that it’s possible to get to know Him as a person. The words from the song ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’ are no longer hypothetical but become real to me.

I’d say that my work over here reflects God’s love in many ways. I feel blessed at being able to be here to contribute the tiny bit that I have and even more so seeing how our students have developed over the past months. Their improvement in English and marked increase in confidence is indeed heartening and I cannot help but feel that God’s hand is behind all this. Our programme is being expanded to reach out to more students, in more schools and at more levels. This development is not something that can be attributed merely to our work on the project – all through what I’ve done here, I’ve felt the that I’m not alone in the work that I do and that helps to put things into perspective.

Come listen to Jesuit Voices

We have a new link on the sidebar to your right. It's called Jesuit Voices.

It contains podcasts and writings by various Jesuits. They share on various themes about life in the Society and faith. There are also a few personal reflections on life.

You might find some of the podcasts and writings inspiring. Enjoy!

Coming Events -- You are Invited!

Jesuit Vocation Camp

You are invited to a weekend of finding God's will in your life.
Details are in the right hand column.




Holy Hour to Pray for Vocations on Friday, 10 Oct
You are invited to come and spend an hour praying for more vocations to the the priesthood and religious life. Kindly click on the poster for details. All are welcome!

September's Day of Prayer & Fellowship

There will be Day of Prayer and Fellowship on Sunday, 21 September. The theme for prayer and reflection is "Living in God's Presence."

The day's programme is:

8.30am -- Gathering / breakfast
9.00am -- Opening prayer
9.30am -- Individual prayer (with pointers)
10.30am -- Tea
11.00am -- Small group sharing
12.00pm -- Examen/Community Prayer
12.30pm -- Lunch and interaction1.45pm -- Film
3.15 pm -- Personal Reflection
3.30 pm -- Small Group Sharing
4.15 pm -- Tea
4.45 pm -- Big Group: Feedback and discussion/input
5.30 pm -- Mass
6.15pm -- Good Bye

You are most welcomed to come and some time to deepen your friendship with God by dialoguing with and listening to Him.

Please contact Fr Philip Heng, SJ so that we can make the necessary arrangements if you are coming.

Your are invited to Holy Hour (August)

You are invited!

You are warmly invited to celebrate the Feast of St Ignatius on Sunday, 27 July 2008.

The day's programme will begin at 11.15am in the Novitiate. The programme includes:

* Remembering St Ignatius (prayer)

* Lunch outside, followed by an outing

* Evening Mass in the Novitiate, followed by dinner

We hope you will be able to come and join us. Kindly let us know if you are coming by contacting Fr Philip Heng, SJ. Thank you.

Relying on God to Grow

Stanley Goh, who is presently in India working with the poor, writes us another update of his life and work there. He writes:


For it is when I am weak that I am strong.

I’ve been in India for almost 5 months now and the experience has been nothing less than amazing. From the people that I’ve been meeting and working with to the students that I’ve been teaching and interacting with, India has been living up to the incredible tag that their tourism board has been pushing and more. As much as I’d like to take credit for this, I’m constantly reminded that I’ve been extremely blessed to have met the people that I’ve met and done the things that I’ve done – all because I’ve been a willing recipient of God’s grace.

I came here with a whole load of fears and was quite unsure of how things would turn out. I was afraid that students would not understand me and they wouldn’t like me as a teacher. I feared that the lessons that I planned would not work and the students would suffer as a result. I felt tested as an educator in a strange land and was unsure if I could meet those challenges. On hindsight, all those fears were unfounded and as we’ve reached the halfway point of the programme that we’re running for the students in the nearby villages and communities, I’m happy to say that things have worked out in the end and the students are happy to come back for the classes we’re organising for them and have shown a marked improvement in both English and their ability to communicate.

While one is always tempted to take credit for the overcoming of difficulties and fears, I remember that it’s not me alone that accomplished all this. Behind me always is God who has given me all that I have now and continues to provide me with all that I need to meet whatever challenges that I face. I’ve come to realise that the more one places one’s trust in God in all that we do, the easier things get because we recognise our own weaknesses and inadequacies and find that we gain strength from our trust in God. This is not to say that we don’t put in our own effort to get things done but we gain additional strength and consolation in the fact that we are not alone in all that we do.

I’ve learned that we’re strengthened in our acknowledgement of our own frailty and weakness. Just as Socrates reminds us that the truly wise are those who realise how much they don’t know, we’re reminded that the truly strong are those who realise how weak they actually are. The act of surrender to God’s providence and grace alone will bring us to a realisation that we can do anything, as long as we trust. After all, we’re reminded by St Paul that "My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness. So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ's sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong." (2 Cor 12:9-10) As one of the priests here mentioned in his homily recently, our being born of the flesh brings with it weakness but the divine nature that is imbued in us by God lends us strength. Being able to focus more on the divine and less on the flesh strengthens us in that way too.

A little more on the idea of reliance on God. The driving force behind our strength that comes from Jesus is the love that he has from us. We realise all that’s been done through his love and we are made all the stronger and more courageous in all that we do because we seek to emulate him in all that he has done. Love lies at the heart of God’s support of us and we revel in that as we continue to trust. Thomas à Kempis says this so well:

If you rely more upon your own reason or industry than upon the power of Jesus Christ, you will seldom and with difficulty become and enlightened man: for God wants us to be perfectly subject to himself, and to transcend all reason by ardent love. (Imitation of Christ, Bk 1, Ch 14)

The past months have indeed been a revelation of sorts for me. Being at home and fairly comfortable being among people who understand you and who speak in very similar ways to you often meant that one lives in unchallenged comfort. It’s so easy to lapse into complete self reliance, forgetting the providence of God. Coming out here made me realise how much we do need to rely and trust in God and how all that we are does indeed come from God.




photo: grow by universalpolymath

Jesuit Saint: Bernardino Realino, SJ

Born: Dec 1, 1530 / Died: Jul 2, 1616 / Beatified: Sept 27, 1895 / Canonized: Jun 22, 1947

St Bernardino Realino, born of noble birth in Capri, Italy studied medicine initially but changed to law. At 26, he became Mayor of Felizzano, a position that included judge as well. The people found him an honest judge and one who attended daily Mass.

When he was 32, he wrote to his brother “I have no desire for the honours of this world, but solely for the glory of God and the salvation of my soul”. He saw himself as an instrument of Divine Providence and thought nothing of giving his entire salary to the poor. His reputation as a competent magistrate preceded him and he was appointed to top jobs. However, he was attracted by the Jesuit order and following an 8-day retreat, during which time he had a vision of our Lady, who commanded him to enter the Society, he became a Jesuit in 1564. In humility he asked to be a brother, but his superiors instructed him to go on to the priesthood. After taking his three vows in 1566, he was unexpectedly told to prepare for ordination, which he received in 1567. Though he had been a Jesuit for only 3 years, Fr General Francis Borgia appointed him master of novices in Naples. As a priest, he preached and catechized, visited slaves on the galleys in Naples harbour and sat long hours in the confessional. The direction of souls was Fr Realino’s special charism.In 1574, he was sent to Lecce in Apulia to set up a Jesuit house and college . He stayed for 42 years.

He and Lecce were inseparable because several times when his provincial and the general wanted to move him to Naples or Rome, something serious would happen to prevent him leaving, e.g., a high fever that required a period of rest or a severe thunderstorm. This led his superiors to conclude that it was God’s will that he remain in Lecce.

Until his final illness in 1616, he continued to give himself generously to all who sought his counsel and the lines leading to his confessional grew ever longer. Princes and prelates were among the simple folk awaiting their turn to speak with the ‘holy old man’. When the Lecceans heard that Fr Realino was dying, crowds gathered outside the Jesuit College and only men were allowed in to kiss his hand and devoutly touch religious objects to his body. On his death-bed, the city mayor and magistrates formally requested Fr Realino to be Lecce’s defender and protector in heaven. Unable to speak, he nodded.Fr Realino who gave up a successful career as a lawyer and spent most of his Jesuit life as a humble parish priest died at 86, with his eyes fixed on the crucifix, and his final words were, “O Madonna, mia santissima (O Lady, my most holy lady).

He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on September 27, 1895 and was canonized by Pope Pius XII on June 22, 1947.

Jesuit Saint: Aloysius Gonzaga, SJ

Born: Mar. 9, 1568 / Died June 21, 1591 / Canonized: Dec. 21, 1726 / Feast Day June 21

A Prayer to St Aloysius Gonzaga, Patron Saint of Youth

"Dear Christian youth, you were a faithful follower of Christ in the Society of Jesus. You steadily strove for perfection while generously serving the plague-stricken. Help our youth today..."

St. Aloysius of Gonzaga was born in Castiglione, Italy. As the eldest son of the Marquis of Castiglione, an Italian nobleman, his father had great hopes that he would embark on a military career. From the age of four, his father took him on military training expeditions. But Aloysius was also deeply faithful, pious and given to prayers.

He contracted malaria at the age of seven. It was during this time that he was converted from the worldly and courtly way of life to the interior life. By the age of ten, he had privately decided on a religious life and made a firm determination never to offend God by sin. He developed an affinity for study of the saints, and recited the psalms daily. He received his First Communion from Cardinal Charles Borromeo of Milan at the age of twelve. After that he looked forward to weekly Communion (daily Communion was not then the custom). He also fasted three days a week and meditated morning and evening.

At the age of fourteen he was convinced that the princely life of honour and riches was not for him. He thought of becoming a Jesuit and this desire was confirmed when he was fifteen, while praying before an image of Our Lady in a Jesuit church. After much opposition and unhappiness from his parents, he finally obtained his father’s consent to enter religious life, having renounced his inheritance in favor of his brother.

He became a novice at seventeen and a half, after presenting himself to Father General Claudio Acquaviva. The maxim that led him to the novitiate remained with him throughout his years: “I am a piece of twisted iron; I entered religion to be untwisted straight.” Aloysius gave himself totally to the process of becoming a Jesuit. He was an excellent student with a penetrating mind.

When famine and plagues broke out in Italy, Aloysius, then studying Theology, begged alms for and worked with the plague-stricken. Those he found dying in the streets, he carried to a hospital, washed and fed them and prepared them to receive the Sacraments. He caught the plague a year later and was confined to bed. He received a revelation in prayer that he would not live long and would die on the octave of Corpus Christi. The young twenty three years old Aloysius died that evening with his eyes fixed on the Crucifix in his hands. The last word he spoke was the holy name of Jesus just as the first words he spoke as an infant were the holy names of Jesus and Mary.

St. Aloysius makes a great example for our youth considering he faced the same kind of challenges they do today such as peer pressure, struggles with remaining pure, and difficulties in choosing and pursuing a vocation. Despite being among very rough and impure people, and despite great parental objections , St. Aloysius maintained a pure heart and became a Jesuit priest.

May's Day of Prayer & Fellowship

Our next Day of Prayer and Fellowship is on Saturday, 24 May. The theme for prayer and reflection is "Surrender."














The day's programme is:
2.00pm: Opening Prayer
2.30pm: Individual Prayer
3.30pm: Tea
4.00pm: Small group sharing
5:00pm: Recreation
6.30pm: Mass, followed by dinner

You are welcome!

Please let us know if you are coming so that we can make the necessary arrangements.



photo: leaf by bossbob50

Light a single candle

Stanley Goh is seeking God's Will in his life. Presently, he is in India working with the poor. He shares with us the following reflection of his time there.

I came to India with high hopes to do good for the local community that I’m living with and to effect as much change as I can for the time that I’m here. I've been here for about 3 months. Recently, I was starting to get a little disillusioned with the work that I’ve been doing and the people that I’ve met. As with all places in India, yone is faced with the huge disparities in income and lifestyles and feel that there has to be something one can do for the people around.

I work with about 70 students from the villages around where I am and conduct classes to help them get ahead in whatever they may do – some may go on to higher education while many others are preparing to start working pretty soon. I felt that I could do more, that I could try to work with a bigger and broader group of students from a wider area. I see poverty along the streets and people living in canvas tents by the roadside. Sometimes, I feel a sense of loss, of being useless, of not being able to do much there. There’s much to be done and here I am stuck with this programme to work with my group of 70 students. This got me down for a while and I kept wondering where and how I could go beyond this count of 70. It seemed that I came all this way for just a small little project.

This sense of not being able to do more was put into perspective over the past week by a few events that made me re-examine these thoughts. First was a conversation I had with friends who told me that our work should not be subject to the normal calculus of the corporate secular world. The fact that we can help 70 means that the 70 have benefitted and we should not look at the fact that we are unable at the moment to help the 71st. It’s not about an all or nothing game but something that we do. If I can serve one more person then great but one should strive to do one’s level best for the 70 that I’m working with and not worry so much about the others that I’m missing for the moment.

This idea is echoed in a book that I just finished reading. In Wise & Otherwise, Sunda Murty recounts little vignettes and anecdotes of her work in an NGO and has this to say. Faced with a number of situations where traditions and inertia thwarted her work, she began to lose hope in her ability to help others. It was her father who told her that every one extra person that she helps counts. She ends the section by writing,

It is more difficult to recognise our weaknesses than our strengths. Don’t aim for the sky. Keep your feet firmly on the ground and work around you. There is so much misery and gloom, but it is better to light a single candle than to remain in darkness. Try to light as many candles as possible.

This helps me see things in perspective. There’s always something else that we want to do and there’s always another person that we think we can help, but in the process we might lose sight of what we’re supposed to do in the first place. By worrying about helping more, we can lose sight of those that we are here to serve in the first place.

The image of the candle and of lighting as many candles as we can struck me as something that we should always try to do. One should not worry about lighting a roomful of candles when we’re sometimes momentarily unable to. Rather, being able to shed light on a room with one’s work will allow us to spread God’s love. After all, Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light of life’. (Jn 8:12) We’re called to spread this light so that others need not walk in the dark. I’ve learnt that one shouldn’t worry about how much light we’re spreading for the moment as long as we are actually in the act of spreading that light.

In our unworthiness we continue to strive. Peter publicly acknowledged his sinfulness at the shores of Lake Gennesaret but at the same time found the strength to leave his life as a fisherman to follow Jesus. Sometimes we need to be able to look beyond this unworthiness and inability to do more and do what Peter did, follow our Lord unreservedly. Only then will we be able to fully do the work that we are called to. My reflection some days back about that very scene helped me to put things in perspective. This has given me to a better sense of purpose in my work here. As long as I know that I’m doing my best for the people I’m working with here, then I can continue to explore ways in which I can help more candles to stay lit. In this way I’m contributing to the lighting process. Indeed, I don’t worry about the number; all I am asked to do is to focus on the act of lighting.

You may wish to keep Stanley and his work in your prayers.

Ignatian Charism for Today

"What is a charism? A charism is a gift of grace not for one’s personal sanctification but for the benefit of others. St. Paul has a list of charisms in the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians, including the gifts of prophecy, speech, miracle-working, and the interpretation of tongues. What if any are charisms given to St. Ignatius of Loyola?"

Read more about the charisms of Ignatius as seen through the eyes of Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ by clicking on the image of Ignatius.

Jesuit Saint: Peter Canisius

Born: May 8, 15 21 / Died: December 21, 1597 / Beatified: 1864 / Canonized : May 21, 1925

Peter Canisius was born in Nijmegen, though a Dutch town today, was at the time of his birth in the ecclesiastical province of Cologne, had the rights of a German city. Hence both Holland and Germany claim him as their son.

His father, a Catholic and burgomaster of Nijmegen, sent him at the age of fifteen to the University of Cologne where he earned a master’s degree in 1540. He changed his original plan to remain at the university and studied theology when he heard about a newly-founded religious order, the Society of Jesus. One of its founders, Fr Peter Favre, was then in Mainz. Canisius traveled there to meet him, who recognized Canisius’ potential and agreed to lead him through the 30-day retreat known as the Spiritual Exercises. During the second week of the retreat, Canisius decided to join the Society and Fr Favre accepted him as a novice on his 22nd birthday.

Canisius returned to Cologne, finished his studies in theology and was ordained in 1546. Prior to his ordination, he taught Scripture and published new editions of texts of Cyril of Alexandria and Leo the Great. He also served as theological consultant to Cardinal Otto Trushess at the Council of Trent before he took up Fr Ignatius’ assignment to teach in the very first school the Society founded in Messina, Sicily.

In 1549, Pope Paul III asked him to return to Germany to head an effort to defend the Church against the attacks of reformers. Fr Canisius’ challenging mission was to halt the defections of Catholics and win back those who had left the Church. Fr Canisius started in Ingolstadt, Germany where he began teaching at the university as well as devoting great efforts to preaching so that he could explain the fundamental truths of Catholic teaching from the pulpit. His work had an immediate impact on Catholics there.

Fr Canisius was equally effective with Catholics in Vienna, Prague and Fribourg, using the pattern he adopted in Germany. He also founded seminaries and colleges and took on duties as an educator and a court preacher. In Vienna, Fr Canisius developed and produced his famous book, his Catechism, titled Summary of Christian Doctrine which later became Germany’s and Austria’s most popular book because it satisfied a most urgent need and provided questions and answers especially to topics disputed by the Protestants. This book was intended as a manual for college students and later adaptations were published for secondary and primary schools.

As the first provincial of Germany, Fr Canisius made a huge contribution to Jesuit Governance in Swabia, Bavaria, Austria and Hungary. He visited Jesuit houses, supervised expansion and made the Society of Jesus a leading force in the Counter Reformation. He also took part in ecumenical gatherings such as the one in Regensburg and returned to the Council of Trent in May 1562. Fr Canisius continued as provincial for fourteen years and later devoted his time to writing and preaching until poor health forced him to stop. Fr Canisius lived a full life and died peacefully at the age of 76 in Fribourg, Switzerland.

He was canonized by Pope Pius XI on May 21, 1925 and declared a Doctor of the Church in recognition of his writings in defence of the faith.

icon of st peter canisius by fr hart mcnicholas, sj

April's Day of Prayer & Fellowship

Our next Day of Prayer & Fellowship is on 26 April.

The theme for prayer and reflection is "A Trusting Heart."

The day's programme is:

2.00pm: Opening Prayer

2.30pm: Individual Prayer

3.30pm: Tea

3.45pm: Small group sharing

4.30pm: Film & discussion

6.30pm: Mass, followed by dinner

You are welcome!

Please let us know if you are coming so that we can make the necessary arrangements.

photo by 001fj

All Night Vigil

The Novitiate held the annual All Night Vigil on Saturday, 12 April to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Friends of the Novitiate and parishioners from St Ignatius gathered in the Center for Ignatian Spirituality and Counselling for this gathering. Also present with the good sisters from the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.

The Vigil began at 9pm with a Mass concelebrated by Jesuit Frs Philip Heng, Paul Goh and Colin Tan. In his homily, Fr Philip invited us to reflect on God's invitation to be more fully ourselves in whatever vocation we live by responding more totally to God's love.

After Mass, we welcomed the Blessed Sacrament into our midst. Then, at hourly intervals, different groups led the faithful in prayer. The prayer sessions took took different forms, from contemplation to charismatic prayer. At the end of each prayer session, there was time for quiet prayer and reflection.

The Vigil ended at 6.00am with Morning Prayer. This was led by the Jesuit Novices. A hearty breakfast for all who stayed the night followed!

Here is a reflection from Lance Ng, who helped out with a prayer session the Companions led:

I'd just like to share this short little para that I came up with about coincidence and "God-incidence," which was inspired by a talk given by Fr Richard Ambrose.

"Nothing that happens is a coincidence,
Everything that happens is for a reason,
If GOD allows it to happen,
It's a God-incidence!"

I truly felt God's wonderful hand a work that evening, right down to the "boo boo" that ocurred out of the switch of laptops during one of the prayer sessions. As I reflected the events of the evening, I realized that this "boo boo" was a learning lesson because I notice the grace of God working through Aunty Dorothy... the serenity, the peace and graciousness she had throughout the unfortunate incident. For me, her example is a lesson in what it takes to make us God's light in this world. From the eyes of faith, this is truly a gem of a God-incidence!

Waiting – God’s Loving Way of Discipline

The following reflection comes from Alfred Pang. He writes:

“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline … because the Lord disciplines those he loves as a father the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

I was teaching a group of students on how a child acquires self-discipline. Apart from being given clear boundaries, a child undergoes delayed gratification; that is, a parent says ‘No’ to a child who wants something instantly and gives it only when it is good and more importantly, when the time is right. As I was speaking about this, it dawned upon me that God, our loving Father, raises us up to be mature Christians in the same way. Simply put, delayed gratification is learning how to wait and not simply waiting … but waiting in God’s time.

Waiting in God’s time … such is His loving way of disciplining us. The beautiful verse in Ecclesiastes 3:1 attests to this: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” However, in our consumerist culture which promotes instant gratification, we have become a wanting generation, forgetting the beauty of waiting. We want, and are found wanting … And to wait for the Giver, whose time is Eternal, we can and do often find ourselves impatient, frustrated and restless. Isn’t this how a young child feels when his or her desires are not immediately gratified?

Yet, I find my consolation in Isaiah 55:8 – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways”. This is also a challenge for us to accept God’s ways which are infinitely higher than ours. To embrace waiting in a spirit of surrender then is radical because we step out of our need to control time and hand it over to our loving Father. This to me is another level of emptying and freeing that we are called to. Personally, I still want but God’s loving way of disciplining me to wait has deepened in me to live more fully the virtue of patience. (Strange that I should be a teacher and found wanting in patience.) And this waiting is never passive, but active. I’m inclined to listen more as I wait. There is also the joyful anticipation in faith for the Lord promises us in Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Waiting is God’s natural rhythm of things. I’m reminded here of how a fellow brother had to plant his own corn during his religious training at the Philippines. He was relating to me how he could no longer conveniently buy corn off the supermarket but had to wait for the plant to grow and bear fruit … Perhaps, vocation is like this. God plants the seed of His call in all of us and our desire to respond fully to Him will be harvested in His anointed time. God not only waits for us to respond, but waits with us. Even more so, He puts us through a time of waiting to purify our intentions, such that we grow in maturity to become the persons He wants us to be. And vocation is made all the more beautiful and precious because of the waiting …

And so, to my fellow companions on the journey, as we wait for God’s plan to unfold in our lives, we wait as a community … just as Jesus instructed his disciples in Acts 1:4, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.” Let us pray then that as we wait, we do so with the assurance of the peace of Jesus who promises us that He’ll never leave us orphaned. In expectant faith, we also pray that the Holy Spirit will grant us the wisdom to know the rhythm of God’s time, and the courage and zeal to move forth in obedience to the mission He has in store for us. Amen.


Email: alfredpang76@gmail.com

photo by murray neill

Jesuit Blessed: Ralph Ashley, SJ

Born: Date Unknown / Died: April 7, 1606 / Beatified: December 15, 1929

Very little is known of Bro Ashley’s date and place of birth as well as his early life. He was the cook at the English College at Rheims, France and later in April 1590, he became the cook and baker at the newly founded English College at Valladolid in Spain. There he entered the Jesuits as a brother but was urged to return to England because of poor health.

He returned to England in March 1598 and for a time was working with Fr Henry Garnet, the superior of the English Jesuits in London. Later he was assigned to assist Fr Edward Oldcorne at Hinlip Hall in Worcestershire where he remained for eight years and was Fr Oldcorne’s companion in martyrdom.

Br Ashley was at Hinlip Hall when Fr Garnet and Bro Nicholas Owen came to seek refuge when the Gunpowder Plot was discovered. During the search of the Hall on January 20, 1606 by the sheriff, Bros Ashley and Owen hid in a priest-hole which unfortunately was without food supplies. Although they were able to withstand for three days, they had to emerge on the fourth day due to starvation and acute thirst. They thought that the sheriff would be satisfied with their capture and give up the search for the two priests but the sheriff was not and continued with their search until the eighth day when they finally found Frs Oldcorne and Garnet in hiding.

The four Jesuits were taken to Worcester and Bros Ashley and Owen were put in the common jail until they were transferred to the Tower of London on February 3 where all four were subjected to severe torture on the rack. At their trial, Fr Oldcorne was found guilty of being a priest and sentenced to a traitor’s death while Bro Ashley was found guilty of assisting him in his treasonable work.

On the morning of April 7, 1606, all four were taken to Red Hill, near Worcester to be executed. After Fr Oldcorne had died, Bro Ashley kissed the feet of the hanging martyr and said: “Happy I am to follow in the steps of my sweet Father.” He was then pushed from the ladder and remained hanging until dead.

Bro Ashley was beatified with Fr Oldcorne on December 15, 1929 by Pope Pius XI as martyrs of England.

photo by sint-ketelijne-waver

Jesuit Blessed: Edward Oldcorne, SJ

Born: 1561 / Died: April 7, 1606 / Beatified: December 15, 1929

Edward Oldcorne was born in York, England of a non-Catholic father and a Catholic mother. He gave up medical studies and enrolled at the English College in Rheims, France in 1581 before going on to Rome to complete his studies and was ordained. Soon after, he joined the Society of Jesus and was allowed to complete his novitiate in a very short time because of the difficult conditions he would face upon his return to England.

Fr Oldcorne stayed with Fr Garnet, the superior of the English Jesuits upon arrival but after a few months he was assigned to Hinlip Hall outside Worcester where he was to spend sixteen years. The master of Hinlip Hall was an ardent Catholic who was in prison and had left the property in the care of his sister, Dorothy, a Protestant who had been at the court of Elizabeth. While priests still found hospitality in Hinlip Hall, she merely tolerated their presence. Many priests had tried to reconcile her to the Church without success. It was left to Fr Oldcorne to find the way. She listened to his instructions and sermons, unconvinced; but when she learned that he had been fasting for days to bring about her conversion, she finally yielded to God’s grace and her conversion led many others in Worcester to return to the faith of their ancestors. The Hall became the Jesuit’s base of operations where many came to seek the sacraments and hear Fr Oldcorne’s preaching. His health was poor ever since he returned to England and he had throat cancer that left him with a hoarse and painful voice, but did not keep him from preaching. His cancer was healed following a pilgrimage to St Winifred’s shrine in 1591.

Catholics in England were looking forward to the end of persecution when Queen Elizabeth died and James I ascended the throne in 1603 as he had promised to be more tolerant, but in fact, the persecution increased. This angered some Catholics who plotted to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the king’s visit on Nov 5, 1605. The plot was discovered and with that the hatred for Catholics intensified. The government was determined to implicate the Jesuits in the so-called “Gunpowder Plot” despite the capture of the men behind it. The Jesuit superior Fr Garnet decided to leave London and seek shelter at the Hall, which had more hiding places than any other mansion in England. Bro Nicholas Owen, the person who constructed all the priest-hiding places was with him and they joined Frs Oldcorne and Ashley.

The sheriff of Worcestershire and 100 of his men arrived at the Hall and spent several days searching for priests together with a certain Humphrey Littleton who betrayed Fr Oldcorne. The sheriff stationed a man in each room of the house and ordered others to tap on the walls in the hope of locating concealed priest-holes. By the end of the third day they found eleven such hiding places, but no priests, On the fourth day, starvation and thirst forced Br Ashley and Br Owen to emerge from their hole. They had hoped the sheriff would think that he had finally caught his prey and end the search, leaving the two priests in safety. But the sheriff was determined and his men continued their close examination of the house. Finally on the eighth day, Jan 27, 1606 Frs Oldcorne and Garnet were discovered when they emerged white, ill and weak. All four were taken to the Tower of London.

When the prison officials failed in their efforts to eavesdrop and record any conversation which could link the two priests to the Gunpowder plot, Fr Oldcorne was tortured on the rack five hours a day for five consecutive days. Yet he refused to say anything. When they were put on trial, Fr Oldcorne denied the charge of being involved so well that the charge against him was changed to simply being a Jesuit priest. On this new charge, Fr Oldcorne was found guilty and ordered to be executed. Just before he was hanged, his betrayer asked for pardon, which Fr Oldcorne readily granted, and he also prayed for the king, his accusers and the judge and jury who condemned him. He was pushed from the ladder and was cut down before he was dead and then beheaded and quartered.

Jesuit Saint: Henry Walpole, SJ

Born :Oct 1558 / Died : April 7, 1595 / Beatified : December 15, 1929 / Canonized : October 25, 1970

Twenty-three-year-old Henry Walpole was among bystanders attending the execution of Fr Edmund Campion, a Jesuit martyr when a drop of the latter’s blood fell on his clothes from the quartered body. This so moved Henry and he felt convinced that God was calling him to follow in St Campion’s footsteps.

Henry was born at Docking, near Sandringham, Norfolk. He studied at the Norwich grammar school and later at Peterhouse, Cambridge, before moving to study law at Gray’s Inn, London. He was so inspired by Fr Campion’s martyrdom that he decided to give up law to become a priest. He entered the English College at Rheims, France in July, 1582 before going to the English College in Rome and entered the Society of Jesus on February 4, 1584. He completed his studies at Scots College at Pont-a-Mousson, France and was ordained in Paris on December 17, 1588. He took up his first assignment as chaplain to the English Catholic refugees serving in the Spanish army in the Low Countries.

He was imprisoned for a year in 1589 after he was captured by the Calvinists, and then worked at the English seminary in Valladolid, Spain, until 1593 when his desire to return to England was fulfilled. As England’s southern ports were closed because of plague, Fr Walpole, together with his brother and an English soldier secured passage on a French vessel going to Scotland and arrived in Yorkshire where the group separated. While resting at an inn that night Fr Walpole was unexpectedly arrested on suspicion of being a priest, being betrayed by a Scottish prisoner who wanted to earn money for his arrest. Fr Walpole’s capture was sorely felt by the Jesuits in England for they had hoped he could continue Fr Robert Southwell’s work after the latter had been imprisoned.

During his first interrogation Fr Walpole only admitted that he was a Jesuit priest and that he had come to convert the English. He was transferred to York castle and for three months permitted to leave prison to discuss theology with Protestant visitors before he was transferred to the Tower of London so that the notorious priest-torturer Richard Topcliffe could extract information from him. Fr Walpole remained faithful and did not reveal anything despite being tortured brutally on the rack and was suspended by his wrists for hours over a period of one year to prevent premature death.

All Night Vigil

There will be an All Night Vigil to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life this weekend from 9pm, Saturday, 12 April to 7am, Sunday, 13 April at Kingsmead Hall. We hope you can come and pray with us.

Jesuit Blessed: Robert Middleton, SJ

Born :1571 / Died : April 3, 1601 / Beatified : November 22, 1987

Robert Middleton, an English martyr was born in York, England of a Catholic family. As a young man he followed the religion of the Established Church but he stopped because of his reading and his conscience. He was also inspired by the martyrdom in York in 1586 of Margaret Clitherow, born a Middleton who was arrested for harbouring priests and inhumanly pressed to death.

At eighteen, Robert left York for London. In his early twenties, he went to study at the English College in Rhiems, France and later to Seville and Rome where he was ordained to the priesthood in 1598. He returned to England shortly after his ordination and spent two years exercising his priestly ministry in Lancaster. Sometime during 1599, Fr Middleton had written to Fr Henry Garnet, superior of the English Jesuits of his request to enter the Society. In 1600, Fr Middleton was apprehended by Sir Richard Houghton together with Fr Thurstan Hunt who was one of the four men who tried to rescue Fr Middleton. They were imprisoned in Lancaster Castle although their interrogation only revealed that they were priests. When asked what they thought of Queen Elizabeth, Fr Middleton boldly replied that he acknowledged her authority in temporal matters and prayed that God would on day make her a Catholic.

Both Frs Middleton and Hunt were subsequently transferred to a London prison but were sent back for trial at Lancaster. They were condemned to death because they were priests who had been ordained overseas and had dared to exercise their priesthood in England. Fr Middleton’s request to join the Society had meantime been granted by Fr General in Rome and Fr Garnet never learned whether Fr Middleton had received the letter informing him of his acceptance. Fr Hunt was hanged first before Fr Middleton on April 3, 1601 and because the latter was cut down before he was fully dead, he was also beheaded.

photo: palm profile by tony howell.

a note: a palm is symbol of martrydom in Christianity

Our first gathering

This afternoon we gathered for our first day of prayer and fellowship for the year. Aaron, Alfred, Clarence, Lance and Vincent were present. Edwin came all the way from KL to be with us! The Jesuit Novitiate community joined too.

The theme for today's prayer and reflection was The Grace of Emptiness. Using the story of the Samaritan woman's encounter wth Jesus at the well, we were invited to reflect on ourselves as vessels God has loving fashioned into existence for a purpose. To help us in our reflection, these points were shared:

Like the woman with her vessel, we come to this time of prayer spiritually empty or half empty. Whether we are full of light or struggling with darknesses within, we all seek to Jesus and be filled with the life-giving water he offered her. We see something more: her encounter with Jesus transformed her. She recognizes her true self as a sinner but she also understands Jesus is lovingly promising her redemption. This good news moved her to proclaim Jesus's true identity to her own people. In prayer, we meet Jesus. Jesus can help us to appreciate ourselves as we honestly are: human and frail yet imaged in God's good likeness. Then, we can begin to claim our promised eternity with God by embracing Jesus' way of life. What prayer today offers us is this: let us ask God to fill the vessels that we are Jesus's Spirit to know, praise and serve Him.

These points ended with an invitaton to let go and let God lead. Indeed God leads us better to know His Will in our lives. We then had a simple but meaningful ritual of filling paper cups, symbolizing our lives, with water from glass bowls, symbolizing the life-giving water Jesus offers us all. We quietly prayed for the graces we each sought today while holding the cups in the palms of our hands.

An hour of quiet prayer followed. During this time, we read and prayed on the transforming gift of emptiness in St Ignatius's life: the canonball injury and his long recuperation from it were God's way of humbling him. We read how it was only in humility that Ignatius began to seek how he could more authentically live the life God desired for him. Ignatius discerned he was to be God's pilgrim servant for the greater wellbeing of others and not the proud soldier that lorded over them. This insight into Ignatius' life called us to reflect on our own lives and the emptiness that moves us to seek God.

After this, we offered our prayer experiences and the sharings we had in small groups at a Mass Fr Colin celebrated to close the recollection. After the homily, Aaron shared that emptiness was truly God's grace for us to grow. Alfred spoke about how it does not really matter what we ask for because God knows what best to give. Lance offered a reflection of thanksgiving on the vessel of his life as gift to be filled and shared.

Our dinner was simple but delicious and our conversation was happy. After dinner, Fr Philip invited us to share our dreams of journeying together this year. Several good suggestions were made: to have time for prayer and reflection; to do social apostolate; to recreate together. Our discussion ended with the comforting assurance that we want to walk with each other in prayer and life regularly this year. (See our gathering dates on the sidebar.)

Our day ended with a game of Pictionary: we returned to that childlike innocence of doodling the words from the cards drawn. At times, we were baffled with the sketches. Most of the time, however, we laughed! Thanks be to God!

artwork: christ and the woman of samaria by guercino c1647