Tag: Reflection

The Ebb and Flow of Spirituality

Chris reflects on the wisdom that he has learnt from Richard Rohr’s books and talks about the movements of one’s spiritual journey

“Sooner or later, if you are on any classic ‘spiritual schedule,’ some event, person, death, idea, or relationship will enter your life that you simply cannot deal with, using your present skill set, your acquired knowledge, or your strong willpower. Spiritually speaking, you will be, you must be, led to the edge of your own private resources. At that point you will stumble over a necessary stumbling stone, as Isaiah calls it; or to state it in our language here, you will and you must ‘lose’ at something. This is the only way that Life-Fate-God-Grace-Mystery can get you to change, let go of your egocentric preoccupations, and go on the further and larger journey. I wish I could say this was no true, but it is darn near absolute in the spiritual literature of the world.”
– Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life.
Recently, Richard Rohr has been a blessed companion on my walk with Jesus and my journey onwards towards Emmaus. Most, if not all, of Rohr’s ideas and issues raised in his various books have struck numerous chords in my heart. As of now, I’ve read “Falling Upwards”, “Immortal Diamond” and “Breathing Underwater” and all three books were so enlightening and filled with wisdom.

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September 11 Reflection – A Singaporean Viewpoint

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times” – Matthew 18:21 – 22.

I can still remember that fateful day: Waking up to go to school in the wee hours of the morning, everything seemed to be abuzz. Everyone seemed to be talking about one common thing and every television set seemed to be focused on one main image: the World Trade Centre Twin Towers in New York City. George Bush mentioned that it was “a day of infamy” and while I had little knowledge of what that meant or what was happening around me (cocooned in the comforts of childhood innocence, I was 11 years old), there seemed to be an undeniable atmosphere of immense sadness and ambivalence. Terrorism, hysteria and paranoia took centre stage. Yet at the same time, news of heroic emergency response teams and strangers supporting each other became evident as well. And all of these made me wonder: How can there ever be forgiveness and reconciliation in this scene of chaos and grief?

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Hope in an Imperfect Society

Greg reflects on Chris’ article about striving and wonders whether striving for a utopia on Earth is even achievable

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:4-5)

Chris wrote an article, reflecting on the notion of striving and working from the above Bible passage, about our own frustration when our striving bears no fruit (or fish in the above case) and about the discerning of the when for our striving versus simply striving for. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been starting to watch and catch up on the Supergirl series, something that has been way overdue. During the season 1 finale of Supergirl, (spoiler alert!) she helps the city overcome the mind control it has fallen under by broadcasting a message of hope to them. Thinking about it, the mind control wasn’t totally malicious. The main antagonist, Non, united the city through mind control in hopes of alleviating social problems such as poverty, global warming and the likes by controlling the city to work on these problems together as a whole. While he does do some pretty bad stuff while mind controlling these people (which in itself is already morally questionable), the main idea of unity and a betterment of society is quite a good one. In fact, this same theme has always been around in popular works of fiction, most notably in utopian/dystopian novels such as Brave New World, Nineteen Eighty-four, The Giver amidst many, many others. Even if in some of these novels, the means towards the ends may be morally unacceptable, the end result seems tantalizing. Who wouldn’t want to live in a utopia? Continue reading “Hope in an Imperfect Society”

P&W Reflection: “Where the Spirit of the Lord Is”

Some time back, I was at this program teaching us about the Holy Spirit. One of the program sessions was about the ‘Spirit of conviction’, the Spirit that empowers us to be free. As I was watching the video, the song “Where the Spirit of the Lord Is” by Hillsong came into my head and I realized how apt it was for this paeticular session. If you doubt me, just look at the chorus:

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The Donkey of Palm Sunday

Garrett reflects on the figure of the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem on during Palm Sunday.

It was Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Holy Week, which signals that Lent is about to come to an end, and Eastertide is drawing near. Arriving early to Church with my family, I jostled through the crowd towards the queue that had formed along the collection point for palm branches. Picking out two sturdy branches to bring back to my family, I made haste to return back to them. Along the way, I accidentally brushed the spiky palm leaves against the arm of a prim-and-proper looking lady. As she turned around, I raised my free hand sheepishly in apology. Re-joining my family, I fell into place as the procession began. Palms held aloft, we waited for Father to begin the procession into the main church. The procession has it’s own Gospel reading too, the one where Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Ah, I thought, somewhat wistfully. It’s going to be a long Mass. Guiltily, I recalled the (paraphrased) words of St. Josemaria Escriva – “The Mass is long, you say. Because your love is short, I reply.” And indeed, I had little right to complain. The Palm Sunday service is a beautiful one. It is also the only time where the Gospel is interactive, with the congregation playing the part of the crowds of Jerusalem at Jesus’ entry into the city on a donkey, and later at His trial and Passion.

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