120 km run in 30 days to Raise Funds for Poor Filipino Families

Hello! I've committed to go back to running and do it for a cause. I'm raising money to help send food packages and basic necessities to less fortunate families in the Philippines during this pandemic. Funds raised would be donated to ANCOP Philippines (Answering the Cry of the Poor).

I am running 120k in 30 days. If you know me, you'd be aware this is a huge challenge for me. Your donation could help others live the fight for another day. Please visit my JustGiving page for my full story, information about ANCOP, and details on how to donate.

Big thank you to all of you for helping me finish this race!

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/120kmin30days

Closed churches, no problem! The Domestic Church Stands!

My wife and I have been praying the rosary and various novenas even before the pandemic. Even before our daughter Sienna was born! Since the lockdown, we ensured we have a fixed family prayer time, particularly now that Sienna is nearly 2 years old and starts to understand what's happening inside the house. 

I remember as a young boy, my mother used to gather me and my siblings at 8 pm for evening prayer. My parents are also active Catholics and I am thankful that they shared their faith to us. 

My parents came to visit me here in the UK 3 months ago. They have been a part of our evening rosary. We say our prayers and novena out loud so Sienna could hear the words we say. It could be chaotic at times because Sienna would run around the living room whilst we are in the middle of prayer. Most of the time, she would also sing out loud in her efforts to beat our loud voices. 

But we don't mind. We let her do what she wants whilst we pray. We want her to witness us praying together as a family. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,
'The Christian home is the place where children receive the first proclamation of the faith. For this reason the family home is rightly called "the domestic church," a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity (CCC 1666).'

My wife and I know we have a mission to raise a Christian family. This is our own way of helping with the evangelisation efforts of the church. Paul VI said, 'In a family which is conscious of this mission, all the members evangelize and are evangelized.'

We know she is starting to understand. Whenever we say pray the Divine Mercy chaplet, she would stop her play and attempt to say in her own baby words 'Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.' Sometimes, she would randomly kiss the photo of Jesus or pick up her Kid's Bible book  during family prayer time.

I can only pray that she would grow up loving the Catholic faith just as her parents do.

Divine Mercy at the Time of Pandemic

Margaret Mary, Therésè of Lisieux, Faustina, Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta of Fatima, Maximilian Kolbe, and John Paul II were ordinary people, now saints, who faced worldwide tragedies during their time. And though they are generations apart, they all had one central message -- complete trust to Jesus and His Divine Mercy, with the loving aid of our Blessed Mother. 

And in the face of today's pandemic, it is timely to recall St. John Paul II's 1980 encyclical  (Dives in Misericordia),  'Let us have recourse to God through Christ, mindful of the words of Mary's Magnificat, which proclaim mercy "from generation to generation." Let us implore God's mercy for the present generation.'

We are Catholics, we will not be silent. #IWillLiveloudGB

Below was my Facebook status which was postedh with a photo of my family and my daughter singing with the group. It was after watching Liveloud UK's online praise-concert:

Closed churches no problem! The Holy Gospel is not on lockdown! The domestic church in our houses stands! Happy to learn about the Christian faith from our parents and pass it on to our next generation. Similar to the Catholic church which believes in Sacred Tradition. 

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2205

"The Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the procreation and education of children it reflects the Father's work of creation."

Back to Galilee

Pope Francis, in his Easter Vigil Mass message, reminds us to always remember our Galilee – the place where we first met Jesus. On the day of Christ’s resurrection, He said to Mary Magdalene, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me (Matthew 28:10). 

I was raised as a Catholic and even went to a Catholic primary school. But I must admit the acts of piety I did as a young boy were only to please my parents and teachers. My first real encounter of Jesus was in my late teens when I was revising for my nurse licensure exam. 

I did not finish university same time as my classmates. I was a summer graduate. Hence, I took the licensure test after them, with a different cohort. I went to review classes on my own. I've never felt so alone. 

What made things worse was I failed the weekly mock test. Despite full-time revisions, I just couldn't pass the mocks. Failure was already setting in even if I haven't taken the licensure exam yet. 

One Friday afternoon, a month before the licensure test, after again failing the mocks, I walked aimlessly with my head down. I found myself in front of a church. I must have walked for over an hour. It was nearly 6 o'clock at night. I entered the church  and stood at the door. A Holy Mass was just about to start. I decided to stay. My mind was still miles away. 

Homily came. The very first words that the priest said was, "If you have an exam the next day, what would you do? You will prepare." Then a short pause followed. He got my attention. I was all ears. Was he talking to me? Was he addressing a group of students? I looked around, there's none. The old lady sat near me started to cry silently upon hearing the priest. The words penetrated her too. I didn't think she was preparing for any examination. Yet, she sobbed as she listened to the rest of the homily.

That moment reminded me of the day when the apostles received the Holy Spirit. Everybody who was listening to them heard the spoken language in their own native tongue (Acts 2:11). The Holy Spirit certainly speaks to each one of us in unique ways.

I went straight to my flat after the Mass, switched the lights off and cried. I wept aloud in the silence of my room, asking God, "Lord, why do I feel so alone?" Then suddenly I heard a voice. "I am here", the voice said. It was so comforting. I knew right then God was talking to me. I cried harder, apologising because I realised God has never left me and yet I ignored him.

I had a peaceful, long sleep. I woke up knowing the reason why I was in a different group. God placed me in that situation so I can also help the others in my group who were also failing. I went to class in high spirits and reached out to my newly met friends. I organised tutorial sessions outside our revision classes. We spent loads of time together and eventually became good friends.

Thankfully, we all passed the licensure exam. Though we don't see each other now, we remain in touch through social media. I was never alone. God revealed His presence to me. He's also given me new friends. From then on, I started getting to know Him more.

My flat in Makati, Philippines -- that was my Galilee. Pope Francis reminds us, "The Lord goes before us, he goes before us always."God would always use a painful, difficult moment of our lives to reach out to us. And He is there for us. He is there before it would even happen. He assures us, "I am with you always, until the end of age (Matthew 28:20)."

God Tore the Veil

A Palm Sunday Reflection

For somebody who is beyond measure, God is very specific with the dimensions of space and time. The highly detailed instructions He gave to Moses on how to build the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10-22) and the Tabernacle (Exodus 26) are overwhelming and impressive. This became the place of worship for the Israelites. One can only imagine what they looked like in real life in all its glory and splendour. Just like God Himself. God wanted His people to experience on Earth the same form of supreme heavenly worship.

The Tabernacle built by Moses became the precursor to the Jewish temple which was initially constructed by King Solomon (1 Kings 6). 

God told Moses to put a veil to separate the holiest part of the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:33). Only a High Priest was allowed to enter the holy place behind the veil once sacrifice has been made. During the time of Moses, priests were handpicked by God and there were not many of them. God chose Aaron and his sons to be priests of the Israelites (Exodus 28:1). There were only a select few who can go through the veil to worship. 

Today’s Gospel is the story of Christ’s passion and death which I’ve heard and read countless times. Every word and sentence carried a painful weight. I was full of sadness listening to the Gospel as told by our parish during the online mass. But what broke me to tears was when I heard the veil was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). Out of the quite lengthy Gospel reading today, this passage struck me the most. 

God Himself made the sacrifice. He sacrificed His own Son. God Himself tore the veil. He tore the veil that separates us from Him. He tore a very old tradition and broke the barrier so we can be part of His holiness and fully receive His love. And through Jesus, we can now move closer to Him. 

This COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge hindrance to all of us in physically experiencing Him during the Holy Mass. The social distancing and shielding guidelines are also barriers to showing our love to our neighbour. Similar to what St. Paul said in his letter to the Romans (Rom 8:38-39), I firmly believe that nothing and nobody could separate us from God’s love. And someday, in God’s beautiful and perfect time, we will be together again celebrating Holy Mass in our churches and enjoying the freedom Christ has won for us though His resurrection.