The Problem of Evil: A Reflection in the Wake of the Asian Tsunami

"natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis, which are the result of the laws of nature, are part of God’s plan for the world."

A really thought provoking piece from Edmond Eh on The Prompt webzine. It's seven months behind the tragedy, but still as poignant.

It also makes reference to an earlier post about whether Archbishop gave a proper reply when asked by the media how the Catholic faith reconciles their belief in a good god with all that suffering.

Another old post on this blog on the Asian Tsunami: Why God 'allowed' deadly tsunami to strike.

Christian P&W at Indoor Stadium: 5-7 August. Join us!

Click for a larger picture. Would you like to go?

on the Youth Fest by the Catholic Archdioscese for Youth...

On the 18th of June 2005, the Catholic Archdioscese for Youth organised a day of funfair, talks and rally mass for the youths, coined the Youth Fest at Upper Seranggoon, Youth Center. For me, it was a vain attemp to the point of dismal. However I speak for myself, when I say that I was not entirely hopeful that it would turn out very well. However, I would had thought that the bunch of full-timers with the whole archdiosce supporting them can make this affair into a very successful one.

Anyhow, I only reach there around 330pm, and behold a half empty fun fair greeted me. It was very strange. After all, they had been publicising this event for more than a month. I would had thought that every youth would be there. To put it mildly, the moment we were there, we were ready to take off. But decided to stick on for the food, since we got about $60 bucks worth of coupons.

Now, the problem with this youth event is that the food was also prepared by youths, so you can imagine the standard of the food. Of course, we can never have too high expectation about church food much less fun fair's, but I think that is such a terrible excuse for the horribly prepared yet very expensive food. But because of the lack of outlets, we had to give away the coupons that we can't finish.

Now for the most amazing and incredible thing, in the background was some band playing loudly, which I suspect was not church songs. It would not be a problem, if the band was good. The problem was that it was horrible to start with, and then its loud. It's a wonder if there was any audition or quality control at all for any section of the Youth Fest.

Basically it was a hot day, with very little entertainment. Luckily for us, we had ourselves to entertain ourselves. And thought that we could at least make the evening worthwhile by attending mass. How wrong can mass be right? It seemed rather promising with the outdoor stage with fancy sound system and lighting.

Then we realised that there is a pre-mass praise and worship by this Christ The King team. Well, personally I think there is nothing wrong if they want to bring in a band and play church songs and music that are popular and ra-ra the spirit and atmosphere. But it's another thing when it lacks originality and the leader seems so 'protestentish'. And what is especially sad and disturbing is when the leader sings into the microphone even though her voice is jarring and terribly off. In fact, this particular cantor/leader sings into the mic for almost all the hymns throughout mass. And hymns during mass is supposed to be soothing, however with her voice, it just made praying so difficult in an already different setting.

However mass proper wasn't too bad. Father JJ did a pretty decent homily but somehow, I feel that mass took a very different approach. It felt like a Hungry Ghost getai, call me traditional, but mass should always be solemn. Even if it's not in church, it should be kept solemn. We are not a parade, nor a talk show and definitely not a performance. Prayer should be done in an atmosphere of serenity. All these dancing and singing, with loud music just disrupts the soul and the spirit. At least for me. What is even more strange is that there was this silent skit. I think it's an attempt to be a neo-dance piece. Fanciful but clueless.

Nevertheless, I think it is a good attempt at trying to rally the youths and it shows that the church is willing to change and improve to suit the new Catholics. However, basics and traditions must remain especially when it comes to mass. Or maybe, its the coming of age. And jumping around is really only for the younger people.

But my biggest criticism is that the Youth Coordinators of the Archdioscese is not spending enough time to network with the parish youth coordinators. Albeit the Catholic church is a top-down religion, still do not for a moment take for granted that the parish leaders are obligated to support all archdioscese events. We need to be motivated and we need to know what we are supporting. It would be a terrible oversight if they think that all youth leaders would be enthusiastic in their responses.

I was looking so forward to their initial attempts to reach out to us, but apparently those attempts were mere sparks and not sustainable. I just hope that they realised that and start meeting us soon.

Do you pray in public?

Do you pray in public? If so, do you give thanks always and everywhere, as the Prefaces to the Eucharistic prayers suggest we should? Do you pray discreetly or do you always make the Sign of the Cross quite overtly?

I am usually make the Sign of the Cross before praying the Grace before Meals. Some of my friends do likewise. And I do this even if I'm eating in a Muslim restaurant, e.g. a prata shop or a nasi padang shop.

What is your practice of praying in public?

PS: The post title is a link to an article on the topic. Alternatively, you may click here.

Good reads: Other blogs; Teri Schiavo

I shared this with John Goh. Reading this brought tears to my eyes, especially near the end where the text of the Nunc Dimittis appears.

Here is something on the Teri Schiavo case. Never knew her real name was Theresa. The article is long, but worth the read. Gives a lot of background that the popular press omitted.

Two blogs that I'd recommend. Here is one by a priest, and here is one a Dominican novice.

Abortion, a necessary evil?

On behalf of La Bona, I've posted this up seperately so that anyone can comment on it. - CY

I am inviting your views on ABORTION in order to present a case to help those in the developing world.

I personally see abortion as a NECESSARY EVIL and that unwanted pregnancy is not only a personal problem and it is also a very real problem for the society at large.

Do you think it is right to burden say a 15 years old school-going girl with a new life when she is yet to have any economic mean to sustain herself and obviously, most girls of her age are not mentally ready for a family life. Furthermore, is it fair to rob her of her career, aspiration, dream etc., in the name of preserving a life that is yet to be fully developed?

If you have an opinion, please email it to me at divinetalk@gmail.com or if you wish, you may post your comment here: Your Opinion Counts!

Thanks,
La Bona

Should Catholics read the Da Vinci Code?

I remember when the Catholic News first posted a writeup on The Da Vinci Code, it included a priest (can't remember who) who implied that a good Catholic should not read the book because we should not expose ourselves to falsehood. I disagreed very strongly with that point. A good Catholic should read the book (borrow, don't buy), because many, many people, Christians and non-Christians, have read the book and have formed opinions based on it. To be a Christian in touch with the world is to understand and be able to correct these misconceptions should the opportunity present itself. After all a true, strong faith is one that is forged in fire, and not one sheltered from infancy. It's ironic that the second article by CN is subtitled "some advice from Father Henry Siew to people who cannot resist reading the book".

Just as a point interest, my students in NJC are very much still interested in the book. We set them a response paper asking them to critique a summary of the arguments in the Da Vinci code. Many had excellent responses while some truly believed Dan Brown's arguments.

Also, being very much knowledgable of early Christian belief in the Eucharist, why did Leonardo Da Vinci leave out the chalice in The Last Supper?

Detail of The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci

Should we sing the 'Our Father' in Latin?

In the past few weeks, my church choir has started singing the 'Our Father' in Latin. I'm not sure whose decision it was, and whether this has been instituted in all the churches, but I'm not so sure that it is such a good thing, especially when one of the principles of the revised General Instructions of the Roman Missal is that "participation of the faithful is the goal to be considered before all others".

I quite like the Latin version in fact. I think that it is good to change things about the way we celebrate mass because as human beings we will eventually find things repetative and stale. But people need to be taught in a systematic way how to understand and pray the Latin words. Otherwise, it will become a rote song and a meaningless prayer. I also disagree if someone thinks that it is good to sing in Latin because we are returning to our traditional "roots" - the way it was sung 40 years ago. If they want that why don't we sing it in Aramaic?

Does your church sing the 'Our Father' in Latin? Do you think we should?

--
If you have not heard it before, I have a beautiful version sung by the late pope here. (right-click and save-as)

Pater noster qui es in coelis,
sanctificetur nomen tuum;
adveniat regnum tuum,
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in coelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
et ne nos inducas in tentationem
sed libera nos a malo.

How Catholic are our Catholic Schools in Singapore?

A concerned mother wrote into the Catholic News last week to say that Catholic schools (SJI and CJC in her case) were not open to accepting her son. The archdiocese has recently appealed to parents to give their children a Catholic eduction. These schools are made up of a large population of non-catholics - should not these schools make extra efforts to allow a Catholic child in, she asks?

I have been extremely priveledged to study in the Catholic schools mentioned above. I do know that in recent years SJI and CJC have raised their cutoff points at the expense of letting the weaker Catholic students in. I believe that it was necessary to the extent that Catholic education in general needed a boost in prestige and quality; CJC did have a reputation for being a lousy college academically and SJI could not compete with the top independent schools. They also rationalise that there are a whole range of Catholics schools that cater to all types of students.

However, I am truly curious as to whether the other Catholic schools offer a proper Catholic education as well. I have heard rumours that some Catholic schools are not very Catholic at all, being run by secular principals and all. Maris stella and St. Patrick's seem to have something in place; what about the rest? Is anybody able to share on this?

Interesting Gems in Catholic News June 26th

I found the June 26th 2005 edition of the Catholic News a rich read. It contained a number of good articles:

1. One on why Colombo's Catholics are leaving the church for Pentecostal Churches because of "At the AOG(Assemblies of God) we are taught to pray with fervor and talk directly with God, instead of asking statues of saints to intercede for us. We are also taught the Bible, something the Catholic Church does not do," (pg 4).
2. One titled "Decoding 'The Da Vinci Code'" and subtitled as "some advice from Father Henry Siew to people who cannot resist reading the book". (15)
3. A piece on the revised general instruction of the roman missal. (16)
4. And a forum letter from a mum that wanted her child to go to a Catholic school but was rejected by both SJI and CJ. (17)

So if you've missed this issue or glossed over it, maybe you would like to get your hands on a copy and take a look at these gems.

Desmond Tam

Last week, a person from my choir passed away suddenly. There was a writeup about him in the papers. Here is a eulogy written by my choir conductor. I hope he nor you all will mind that I post this up:

Dear Friends,

It is with great sadness and loss that I am sending this email. As most of our members here in Singapore will know by now, Desmond Tam passed away last Friday. He suffered a massive heart attack after an evening jog with Andrina. We share in Andrina's sudden loss and grieve with her over this tragic passing. Desmond was the only child and his parent's loss must be very hard on them as well. He was only 29 years old.

I remember Desmond as always being a smiling and enthusiastic tenor, even willing to cantor whenever we were in need of one. Together with Andrina, they helped make 2002's Car Rally a great success with their manning of the games section at St Bernadette. As a member of Catholic High School's teaching staff pointed out during his funeral mass, Desmond was always willing and responsible. His passing will affect all of us, especially those of us who had the privilege of having him and Andrina join us at choir.

According to Andrina, Desmond had a profound love for singing and thoroughly enjoyed the songs that the choir sang. Genesis Choir had the greatest honour in being able to bid farewell to him by sining at his funeral mass which was well and truly attended. Even my dad remembers him from his days as President of the Young Vincentians, a off-shoot of the church's St Vincent de Paul Society. Representatives of the Cheshire Home were also present at his funeral, paying tribute to the man who had so often and so unselfishly helped to wheel the handicapped from Serangoon Gardens Way to church for mass during those hot and sweaty Sunday mornings.

We mourn Desmond's loss and it is my hope that we continue to support Andrina who has expressed her wish to rejoin the choir. She had fulfilled Desmond's wish by singing with us at his funeral mass.

...

Eternal rest grant onto Desmond O Lord and let perpertual light shine upon
him. May Desmond rest in peace, Amen.

Jerry Tan

One of the songs we sang during his funeral mass was the Prayer of St. Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

To me, it describes Desmond so much and is so apt. I never saw this prayer in this way before. So give thanks and treasure your days; the Lord has called a good man home.