A birthday monologue

“Happy birthday, Audrey. I will pray for you at Mass this morning in St Florian Church, Krakow. JPII had served here as vicar of the parish.”

This was the text message I received from a priest who was still in Poland after World Youth Day concluded, complete with a photo of St Florian Church.

St Florian's Church, Krakow

When you’re unable to go to the place you’ve always wanted to visit but friends who went remembered you, especially on your birthday -- if I said it didn’t mean anything to me, I would be lying big time.

Really, I don’t need to describe how touched I was (I still am!). I’m trying very hard to push back those tears. Besides, it’s going to be awkward if I were seen crying in the office!

John Paul II has always been one of the few reasons for my tearing up. I used the tense “has” because we all know that, even though he’s no longer on earth physically, he’s still around through the communion of saints. For that, I’m sure he knows about me and how much I love and miss him.

But there is always this voice, maybe it’s just my alter ego, that has been trying its best to get me to give up on John Paul II.

“He’s dead, so please wake up and give up,” said the voice.

“No way! How can you ask me to forget someone who’s made such a deep impression in me ever since my youth?” I retorted.

“You’re just wasting your time,” said the voice. “Why not lavish your love on someone else? It’s a one-sided love anyway, so it won’t make much difference.”

“I’d rather waste my time on someone I could look up to and learn holiness from; someone who is willing to journey with me, not just as a mentor but also a friend. I cannot find anybody else except JPII!” I reasoned.

Because I know, if I were one of his youth in Poland, he would be more than willing to spend time with me and to coach me, just like what he had done with the youth before he was elected pope.

Because I really want to grow closer to the One whom we both call “Abba, Father”.

For all those who remembered me in Poland, I pray that the good Lord would bless them ever more abundantly.

My darling Saint, kindly intercede for them for their generosity and kindness.

And for the priest who remembered me when he was in Krakow (if you’re reading this – you know who you are), thank you from the bottom of my heart. That's the best birthday gift ever.

Amazed and amused

As a Catholic, if this photo and video below fail to bring a smile on your face, I don't know what else would.


Pope Benedict XVI "plays" the piano cake during lunch with 12 young people on 19 August, World Youth Day Madrid11

I was simply speechless. No words could ever describe how amused I was (in fact, I still am!) when I watched the Holy Father pretending to play the chocolate cake piano.

Not just amused. I'm amazed at the same time! Amazed that His Holiness, as a Pope, the Successor of Peter, would unreservedly made himself available and open to the 12 young people present with him. Amazed that he could, with this little action, amuse the 12 youngsters.

I know that the Holy Father is an accomplished pianist, but I've never expected him to do such a thing... perhaps a bit silly to some, but to me it is a message from him: "Yes, I am the Pope, your shepherd here on earth. But I'm also your spiritual father and I'm concerned about you. I'm here for you. Please do not feel awkward. Make yourself comfortable with me. I love you."

That must have been the reason the twelve of them shared that it was just like a family dinner. Their conversation with the Pope wasn't planned beforehand. Just like family members at the dinner table. It was not so much about the food. It was the fellowship that counts.

Beautiful, isn't it?

I'm glad that the 12 volunteers enjoyed themselves with the Pope. And for me, I feel so touched when I saw the photo (above) and video (below).

Love you, Holy Father! Hopefully I would also have the privilege to have a meal with you someday. :)

Video of the luncheon:

Youths should anticipate YouCat!

One of the greatest advantages of working in the Archdiocesan Media team is the privilege to get news hot from the oven. And I'm very thankful to God for that blessing and privilege. :)

In February when I first read about YouCat, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) specially designed and produced for youths, I was very excited! For as much as I've tried to read the CCC, I still fail to totally grasp the details which are written in the so-called "church language", with a lot of 'big' words and terms. The CCC is never an easy book to read and understand, unless we are familiar with its language.

Unfortunately, not many Catholics in Kuching knew about YouCat. Even some Catechists and those who run Catholic gift shops have never heard of it today. Worse still, probably half of the Catholics here are not even aware of the presence of the CCC!

Anyway, I really envy those youths who are going for World Youth Day Madrid 2011 this coming August, for each of them will receive a free copy of YouCat.

What I really like about YouCat is none other than the language - simple and layman. Not only that, the whole chunks of texts we find in the original CCC are broken down into Q&A format, simplified and better elaborated.

Another point worth mentioning is the cute, relevant graphics that make YouCat much more attractive and appealing to the reader compared to the conventional CCC. This is exactly what it takes to attract young people -- colourful, graphical and simple yet compact and complete in its information.

Oh well, I might be the first person to find out about YouCat, but unfortunately I won't be the first person to have a copy of the book. Meanwhile, I'll just make do with with the old CCC. Fingers crossed, hopefully the wait wouldn't be too long!

Here is the trailer for the book.



Interesting, isn't it? :)

For everyone who don't have a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church at home, PLEASE remember to buy a copy of YouCat once it's made available in Kuching (or wherever you are). The Pope and his team have certainly worked hard to produce YouCat, therefore in the same way we should take this book seriously.

I totally agree with the Pope on this...

"You need to know what you believe. You need to know your faith with that same precision with which an IT specialist knows the inner workings of a computer. You need to understand it like a good musician knows the piece he is playing. Yes, you need to be more deeply rooted in the faith than the generation of your parents so that you can engage the challenges and temptations of this time with strength and determination."

Update 1 (13 August 2011):
YouCat has its own website: http://www.youcat.org/home.html. It's really neat! Check it out!

Update 2 (22 August 2011):
I've got my copy of YouCat! It's a birthday gift from a friend! :) Thank you, Lord!
All I can say is... this book is AWESOME!! And I really enjoyed reading it!

WYD'08 Syd II: Our Daily Journey

A lovely dinner with our host family in Sydney. Thank you all for your hospitality! Standing (left to right): Me, Shawna, Pete. Seated: Sarah (right) and her elder sister, Anne..

Last Monday was a holiday for all Malaysians for the celebration of our Independence Day. Sr. Perpetua, the Franciscan nun who went together with us to WYD invited a friend and I over to her place (convent) to have a catch-up session with each other. We had lunch and at the same time, we shared with each other what we’ve received from WYD08.

When it was my turn, I expressed my worries as to why my testimony was different from others. Most pilgrims who have been to World Youth Day would probably say that WYD is all about the Catechesis by the Bishops, the prayers (i.e. Station of the Cross, Taizé, etc.), fellowship with many other pilgrims from all corners of the world, the exchange of cultures, the journey from one location to another, meeting the Pope, and how these encounters actually touched them but for me, it was rather a different experience. According to Sr. Perpetua, it is more to the spiritual aspect.

From the first day I landed in Melbourne till the last day when I left Sydney, the journey we had was in a hassle. We had to wake up very early in the morning, rushed to the church for Morning Mass and after a fast breakfast, we rushed off to the venue of respective events. Those who were younger and stronger walked in front with faster pace, while the rest were trying to catch up with them. Occasionally, we had to stop just to wait for those who were far behind and because of that, those at the front were not very happy and made some nasty remarks. The whole journey on foot from one place to another was unpleasant, particularly when all of us had to rush and we could barely enjoy the scenery or observe our surroundings. The worst part was when we had to walk up a sloppy road, which left me breathless at one point of time and I was almost left behind by my group! Every night by the time we reached home (of our hosts), it was almost midnight.

Having our group photo snapped for remembrance at St. Joseph Church, Chelsea, Melbourne. Our priest in his (white) cassock is Fr. Simon.

This journey of rushing from east to west made me realize something: Life itself is a journey. Some people travel through life hastily, so fast that they let many beautiful moments pass them by. Some took their sweet time as they savour every moment of life, be it times of sorrow or happiness. Some others, even though they are way ahead, they are still willing to stop and wait, or even go back for their friends who are left behind. Of course, there are also those who refuse to wait and prefer to be Number 1 in everything, and they would do anything to reach their destination.

Someone told me that this is the reality of life; life goes on no matter what happened and it does not wait for anybody. Time and tide wait for no men, as the saying goes. Yes, this is true about our present life. However, I still believe that each of us does not need to follow the crowd and the worldly trend. We are all given the choice of how we want to live our lives. Why do we have to rush through life? Why need to compete with our fellow travellers? Is the final achievement more important than the process or the journey of getting there? At Judgement Day, would we be judged according to our achievement?

Life is short, and it is not easy to live a life we are called to live, especially with the presence of endless temptations and worldly desires that never fail to attack us everyday. Amidst all the difficulties we face, we still ought to live our lives to the fullest possible. One day at a time, one step at a time. We may be behind others in many aspects (e.g. wealth, career, knowledge, health, etc.), but what is more important is to take time to ponder and appreciate what we have gone through at the end of the day, and at the same time eagerly await to witness His glory again in the mystery of tomorrow.

WYD 08, Sydney I

Finally! How I miss blogging! I thank all those who came back to check out how I've been doing. Unfortunately, I haven't been doing too well after I came back from World Youth Day in Sydney. Work, especially; and I've fallen sick for the second time in 30 days. Not good, but I thank that Lord for never deserting me no matter what happened along the way.

I've written a short testimony below, which was published in our local Catholic Newspaper - Today's Catholic. It took me quite a while to come up with this testimony, as I really needed time reflecting on the whole journey... beginning with the night before we left for Australia to the time we finally reached home.

This was my first World Youth Day and hopefully there will be more to come.

What touched my heart was not seeing the Pope live, or meeting the other people from other countries, or attending the many WYD events. What really mattered was something deep within. The words of a parishioner from St Nicholas of Myra Church, "...thank you for making a difference," the hospitality of our host families and their wet eyes as they saw us leave, made me wonder. What difference have we made, besides making so much noise in the streets and disturbing the daily lives of our host families and the parishioners? A good friend of mine said it well, "...you did not make any difference, but it was God, through you, made a difference in their lives..."

She was right.

For me, World Youth Day is not only about meeting our dear Pope and other pilgrims, or participate in the prayers and other events. It is about how open we are to the Holy Spirit, and how ready we are to allow the Lord to use us to touch each other's life. As the theme of WYD '08 goes: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses..." (Act 1:8)

I welcome comments as well as your personal sharing if you were also there during World Youth Day Sydney. Or if you have a blog where you posted your testimony, let me know so that I can link your to mine. I will also be sharing about my other encounters and some photos as well in a few days from now. Stay tuned for more! *wink* Thank you and God bless!

World Youth Day 2008 Theme Song

For those who are very much interested in World Youth Day 2008, which will be held in Sydney, Australia, here are some little updates.

The theme song for WYD 2008 has been produced. You can see the video clip below, or/and download it here for both English and international version. For my Malaysian friends, guess what, this song "Receive the Power" is written by Gary Pinto together with Guy Sebastian!



Also, click here to read the Message of the Holy Father for the preparation of World Youth Day 2008. If you are going to this wonderful event, it is a must read!

I hope to see you, my readers and my blogging friends in Sydney for World Youth Day. Let me know if you're confirmed going, probably we can arrange for some kind of meet up. What say you?

God bless!