It's a Hoax!

*Last update (23.10.09)* Unfortunately, this dough is still on the spread to Catholics everywhere in the world today. My advice to everyone: Do not be a blind believer, without first going through prayers and discernment. The best people whom you can go to for opinion are the priests and bishops. It is very dangerous when you believe blindly as you are opening the door to the Evil one to lead you astray. Think about it; if this is the miraculous dough as it claimed to be, then the Church would have accepted it since decades ago and Catholics / Christians from every corner of the world should have known about it today. I have said what I need to say. If you do find a document supporting this dough or words from priests that approve of it, do let me know by sending me an email. Thank you and God bless you all.

*Updated (24.7.08)* I realised that this dough is still spreading among the Catholic faithfuls, so I've decided to move it up to the top of the posts. I sincerely hope that this post and its comments will be able to help those who heard or received this dough to make decisions. God bless.

---

I have posted on the miraculous dough which many local parishioners believe and even 'shared' with their friends. I took some home too, nope I didn't bake it nor followed its instructions; I just kept it there and let it be. After a while, I forgot about it totally.

When I suddenly realized that presence of the dough and the cake which I've brought back, it was already moulded. That was only two weeks after I brought them back. The pictures below were taken when I found them to be moulded.

The moulded cake. Third succession of bread mould can be observed.

Compared with the original dough, this one stink and its texture had changed - it shrunk.

I did a little bit of 'decoding' of the mystery behind the so-called "Miraculous Dough". It's based on my personal theory, so it might not be right. If you do not agree or have a better idea/explanation, feel free to leave them in the comment box.

The use of clean wooden spoon: No special purpose, but probably to avoid contact of dough with surfaces that might cause moulding, as it was to be kept for 10 days before it is baked.

The smell of the dough:

Its odour and form gives one an idea that it has yeast even though it does not.

I don't believe it is true. The smell might have come from a very small amount of yeast or/and a large amount of yogurt. Yogurt might be the reason for the dough to last for more than a week.

It will never mould:

Even though it is kept out of fridge it never moulded.

Look at the two photos above, and tell me, do you think this is true?

The history / origin:

It is also known as Pope Pius bread. The story is told that an Italian woman who was suffering all her life from illness that she could not even do her house chores. One day her daughter asked to bake her a cake. She refused more than once because she was unable to do it. The daughter insisted so much taht the mother felt she needed to bake that cake. She asked the aid of the Virgin Mary. As soon as she started to prepare the cake, the Virgin Mary appeared and she herself prepared the cake for the woman...

Again, I doubt it's true. I found out that the Amish Friendship Bread is quite similar with the preparation of this "miraculous dough". I had a discussion with a good friend, and both of us suspected that somebody adapted this Friendship bread and turned it into some kind of Marian devotion, for the purpose known only to that person who created it.

A few friends of mine, after reading my previous post on this dough and cake, told me that their mothers (strange, why is it always mothers and ladies who believed?) also took some home and bake it for the family. I got the dough and the cake from a physically sick sister-in-Christ. I even heard that this 'recipe' has spread to other churches in Kuching.

One vivid conclusion which we can make from this incident is that people are hungry for God. They are so hungry and desperate that they took the wrong measures to obtain His grace and blessings. They grab anything that claims to earn or that can bring His blessings without first investigate its validity.

I guess that the only way to prove it to those who believed is by showing these evidence to them.

Let us keep in our prayers all our brothers and sisters that our risen Lord Jesus Christ would send us His wisdom to show us the right path to the Father.

Whose fault?

I went to Mukah 3 weeks ago together with two colleagues and a Canadian (whom my boss hired to be part of our study team) to carry out survey for a project our company is currently handling. Working with a Caucasian isn't easy for me (first time!), but things were quite okay until the topic of homosexuality came into discussion.

And to my horror, the Canadian blamed it on the Catholic Church.

The discussion led all of them to an agreement, that homosexuality could have existed during the time of Napoleon and Hitler. It would have been the norm of the society then, until the Catholic Church interfered and listed it as a sin. And so were many other habits and acts, a good example being masturbation and the use of contraceptive methods. As they were having a good laugh while bashing the Catholic Church, I kept quiet all throughout dinner and tried to keep my anger down. Being the only Catholic girl among the men, what could I do besides calling to the Lord for help in my heart?

It was a surprise for me... people can be so wise but at the same time, so unwise! They can tell what the environmental issues are just through observation; they can make very accurate guesses just by talking to various agencies; they know how dirty politics are and can make wise judgements. At one point they did impress me with the knowledge they have, but once they started to touch on religion, I realised how little they know about the Lord and His wonderful laws.

Like many people in the world today, they seem to be contrasting themselves. They can go all out to ban activities that destroy the ecosystems; they urge others to recycle and protect the environment, they ban illegal poaching and put animals that are dwindling in numbers under the Red List or the Protected Species list; at the same time they proclaim that homosexuality, abortion, masturbation etc. are okay.

I cannot understand... people want to restore the environment to its natural state, but they live a lifestyle that is out-of-the-nature. When the Church took notice of their worldly lifestyle and pointed it out, they immediately put the blame on the Church.

"As we're sung to sleep by philosophies, that save the trees and kill the children..." Part of the lyrics for the song While You Were Sleeping by Casting Crowns, which has awaken me up from my sleep, making me realise how people contradict themselves.

Oh well, just a thought when I was upset.


There is a power so strong that it can become the driving force in our lives and in everything we do, if we allow it to. It is the power of God's love.

A smile to remember…

Photo source:pimp myspace

Do you believe that if God can work through a person, He can also work via a simple smile? Well, I do. I just never imagined such an incident would ever happen to me.

It was the 6th Sunday of Easter. After Morning Mass, I joined my good friends for breakfast and only reached home around noon. Haha, it was the gathering of single young ladies, so there is no way for us to leave right away after finishing our food. Seeing me opening the door and stepping into the house, mom was not very happy.

“So… looks like you haven’t forgotten the place you call ‘home’.” Her sarcastic, cold tone of voice gave me the hint that she was upset with me. I cannot remember what conversation I had with her before I went up to my room, but I know that her being upset made me even more upset. I stayed in my room until my parents went off to attend the Evening Mass.

I went downstairs to collect my files so that I could continue with my work. It was about 4pm or so that time. I came back to my room, continued with my work, and out of the blue… someone unexpected popped up on my Skype – the priest whom I’ve always wanted to meet (he initiated the online international Rosary prayer through Skypecast). At first, I thought that perhaps he has got something for me to do, or some messages which he might want me to convey to my other Rosary companions. At first, we were having a short and simple chat; he told me that he was at the airport and would be boarding the plane in 2 hours.

Weird enough, he asked me to give him a call on Skype, which I did and I was thinking to myself: “Okay, so what is Father going to tell me this time?” The connection was successful. I strained my ears, trying my best to detect his voice. When I failed to hear anything, I quickly typed to him in the chat window: “Father, I can’t hear you!” He replied: “Can you see me?” I quickly switched to the voice chat window.

To my surprise, I saw a man smiling at me through the window for webcam. It was Father Dominique! I was in tears… tears of joy that I finally had the chance to meet Fr. Dominique, whom I’ve listened to in Skype Conference and prayed together with almost everyday. And yes, that smile! That captivating, soothing smile planted not just joy, but also peace in my heart and soul that very instance! I just could not explain nor describe that joy I experienced. It was like… a foretaste of meeting Jesus in person!

It wasn’t too long when he finally waved me goodbye.

His smile changed my heart and took my resentment away. He made the rest of my day just by a simple but genuine smile. And this smile let me recognized the Man whom I’ve always loved – Jesus.

At the time my parents came back from Mass, I went out of my room to greet them. I have totally forgotten the unhappy event that happened in the day time.

I guess maybe that’s why we are encouraged to smile. Smile, God loves you. A familiar saying we all know, but we never know that God is able to use our smile to touch and affirm those who needed it. Perhaps, the simplest fact that God loves us no matter who we are and how we feel, should become our reason to share our smile.

Smile, God loves you!

_____________

I've finished this post a year ago but never had the chance to post it up. So here it is! Hope it will inspire you as you read it today.

Homesick III - Beauty and the beholder

Thank you, guys!
(Click to enlarge photo)

Ever since that particular period of time (falling in love, getting interested in guys, having crushes, etc.), I knew that I can never be pretty. I never liked make-ups, nor going after jewelry and fancy dresses. Worse still, I take after my father, which makes me look like a boy. When all my girl friends were into make-ups, I concentrated on my inner beauty. I knew this verse from teenage years:-

Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. - 1 Peter 3:3-4 (TLB)

I hated the world and its definition of beauty. So no matter how others look at me or judge me, I couldn't be bothered at all. I knew that nothing is more important than to please my God. Over the years, I did have a crush or two but I successfully got over it. Well, I didn't quite like the feeling of it because when it happened, it took my sight away from God.

As I landed in Balhaf (Yemen), attention seemed to be on my colleague and I as there were no other women there. The two of us were being compared... one guy asked why my colleague, being a Caucasian, did not have the curves. Another guy who helped me with work even told me that I looked beautiful, compared to the lady who was there the last time.

Wow... I was flattered! I have never received any compliment of such before! When I was so totally down, upset, homesick, and feeling hopeless, a simple compliment "You are beautiful" touched my heart. From a compliment (which may sound lustful to some), it was transformed into a word of encouragement and affirmation. My heart sent the signal to my brain, "Look, you are beautiful in God's eyes! You complained that you have never heard Him saying it straight to you, now He did!"

I couldn't quite believe that guy when he said that, as I didn't know what his actual intention was. But whatever it was, if I, a nobody, can be beautiful in a stranger's eyes, then surely, it was God who made me beautiful and surely, I am beautiful in His eyes too. Besides being an affirmation for me, it also proved that God was there watching over me all the times, whether I was aware of it or not.

Yes, whether we are aware of it or not, whether we believe it or not, no matter how ugly we think we are, in God's eyes we are all His beautiful precious princes and princesses. If not, would He have sent His only Son to die for us?

When I was typing away to get this post completed, a friend of mine sent me a song with the title 'Beautiful'. I was really surprised... well, could it be such a coincident? So I decided to put the song here to share with everyone. Perhaps, you are in some kind of struggle to get attention from others, or you need a healing of your self-image. Whatever it is, please bear in mind -- when the whole world turn its back at you, God is always there for you; if someone says that you are ugly, don't forget that you are more precious than the Son in the eyes of the King.

"... You are precious in my sight and honoured, and I love you..." - Isaiah 43:4

God bless you!



Click the "Play" button to stream the song. For the lyrics, click here.


Links:
Homesick I - Out Of Fear
Homesick II - Home, Sweet, Home!

Homesick II - Home, Sweet, Home!

Finally, I'm home. I'm just so glad to be home! Friends and family were curious about my trip to Yemen, but I'm not that eager nor excited about it.

Initially, this was the kind of conversation we had:

"How's Yemen?"
"Well, not too bad."
"How's the food?"
"Hmm... okay. We had Indian food 3 meals a day. I was so sick of it after a few days."

Then as more people came along, my answers became shorter and briefer:

"How's Yemen?"
"Sucks."
"Oh, what about the food?"
"Sucks too."
"What did you do there?"
"Duh, work of course. Can't you see my tan?"

My one and only concern was to attend Mass. Having to work on Sundays and missing Mass when I was in Balhaf (Yemen) was definitely not something I enjoyed doing. Staying together with a colleague who loves to curse using Christ's name was just another torture for me. I longed for the moment I was left alone in the cabin and when my colleague was in the shower, those were the good times for me to utter short prayers. Sometimes, I cried myself to sleep.

I simply missed my parents, my best friends in the Youth group, my good online Catholic friends and those kind Carmelite nuns -- all of those who have been praying for me while I was in the foreign land. I missed home, and I missed the company of God's people.

Till this point, you might most probably say that I'm a spoilt child. Well, maybe I am. I'm spoilt by both my parents... and Father God! All these while, the Lord placed me among His people and that was why I had no worries at all. No matter where I've been, I always find Him in those people I met. This time, it was different. I walked with fear and was concerned of my own well being, spiritually and physically. I did have the opportunity to meet two or three gentlemen, but one of them turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. (I will write more on that in my future posts)

But I thank the Lord, for I experienced His presence. He was always there protecting me and keeping me from harm; in every occasion His presence was ever felt. I had a peaceful rest especially when we were on the way home; I had a two-seater (on board of the plane) all for myself and my heart told me that nobody took the seat beside me because it has been booked by the Lord. I even managed to watch Evan Almighty, had sound sleep and even woke up just in time for meals! Praise the Lord? Praise the Lord!

*Chuckled* I really don't know what else to say here besides being thankful to God that I'm home in one piece, and also thank Him for not forsaken me! Sharing with you the picture I took in Al Mukalla, the town we were in before the 3-hour drive to Balhaf.



*A sigh of relief* My heartfelt appreciation to all those who have prayed for me when I was away. Thank you, everyone! God bless...

**update**
Sharing with you the song that has been a prayer to me during my unhappy stay in Yemen. Hope it touches your heart, especially those far away from home, as it touched mine.




Links:
Homesick I - Out of fear...
Homesick III - Beauty and The Beholder