Thy Will Be Done
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First reading
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
The servant of the Lord, an expiatory Sacrifice
See, my servant will prosper,
he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights.
As the crowds were appalled on seeing him
– so disfigured did he look
that he seemed no longer human –
so will the crowds be astonished at him,
and kings stand speechless before him;
for they shall see something never told
and witness something never heard before:
‘Who could believe what we have heard,
and to whom has the power of the Lord been revealed?’
Like a sapling he grew up in front of us,
like a root in arid ground.
Without beauty, without majesty we saw him,
no looks to attract our eyes;
a thing despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering,
a man to make people screen their faces;
he was despised and we took no account of him.
And yet ours were the sufferings he bore,
ours the sorrows he carried.
But we, we thought of him as someone punished,
struck by God, and brought low.
Yet he was pierced through for our faults,
crushed for our sins.
On him lies a punishment that brings us peace,
and through his wounds we are healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each taking his own way,
and the Lord burdened him
with the sins of all of us.
Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly,
he never opened his mouth,
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter-house,
like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers
never opening its mouth.
By force and by law he was taken;
would anyone plead his cause?
Yes, he was torn away from the land of the living;
for our faults struck down in death.
They gave him a grave with the wicked,
a tomb with the rich,
though he had done no wrong
and there had been no perjury in his mouth.
The Lord has been pleased to crush him with suffering.
If he offers his life in atonement,
he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life
and through him what the Lord wishes will be done.
His soul’s anguish over
he shall see the light and be content.
By his sufferings shall my servant justify many,
taking their faults on himself.
Hence I will grant whole hordes for his tribute,
he shall divide the spoil with the mighty,
for surrendering himself to death
and letting himself be taken for a sinner,
while he was bearing the faults of many
and praying all the time for sinners.
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Second reading
Hebrews 4:14-16,5:7-9 ·
The Lord burdened him with the sins of all of us
Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.
During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.
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John 18:1-19:42
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ
Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.
N. Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kedron valley. There was a garden there, and he went into it with his disciples. Judas the traitor knew the place well, since Jesus had often met his disciples there, and he brought the cohort to this place together with a detachment of guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees, all with lanterns and torches and weapons. Knowing everything that was going to happen to him, Jesus then came forward and said,
✠ Who are you looking for?
N. They answered,
C. Jesus the Nazarene.
N. He said,
✠ I am he.
N. Now Judas the traitor was standing among them. When Jesus said, ‘I am he’, they moved back and fell to the ground. He asked them a second time,
✠ Who are you looking for?
N. They said,
C. Jesus the Nazarene.
N. Jesus replied,
✠ I have told you that I am he. If I am the one you are looking for, let these others go.
N. This was to fulfil the words he had spoken, ‘Not one of those you gave me have I lost.’
Simon Peter, who carried a sword, drew it and wounded the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter,
✠ Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?
N. The cohort and its captain and the Jewish guards seized Jesus and bound him. They took him first to Annas, because Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had suggested to the Jews, ‘It is better for one man to die for the people.’
Simon Peter, with another disciple, followed Jesus. This disciple, who was known to the high priest, went with Jesus into the high priest’s palace, but Peter stayed outside the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who was keeping the door and brought Peter in. The maid on duty at the door said to Peter,
O. Aren’t you another of that man’s disciples?
N. He answered,
O. I am not.
N. Now it was cold, and the servants and guards had lit a charcoal fire and were standing there warming themselves; so Peter stood there too, warming himself with the others.
The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered,
✠ I have spoken openly for all the world to hear; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the Temple where all the Jews meet together: I have said nothing in secret. But why ask me? Ask my hearers what I taught: they know what I said.
N. At these words, one of the guards standing by gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying,
O. Is that the way to answer the high priest?
N. Jesus replied,
✠ If there is something wrong in what I said, point it out; but if there is no offence in it, why do you strike me?
N. Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.
As Simon Peter stood there warming himself, someone said to him,
O. Aren’t you another of his disciples?
N. He denied it, saying,
O. I am not.
N. One of the high priest’s servants, a relation of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
O. Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?
N. Again Peter denied it; and at once a cock crew.
They then led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was now morning. They did not go into the Praetorium themselves or they would be defiled and unable to eat the passover. So Pilate came outside to them and said,
O. What charge do you bring against this man?
N. They replied,
C. If he were not a criminal, we should not be handing him over to you.
N. Pilate said,
O. Take him yourselves, and try him by your own Law.
N. The Jews answered,
C. We are not allowed to put a man to death.
N. This was to fulfil the words Jesus had spoken indicating the way he was going to die.
So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and called Jesus to him, and asked,
O. Are you the king of the Jews?
N. Jesus replied,
✠ Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?
N. Pilate answered,
O. Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?
N. Jesus replied,
✠ Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.
N. Pilate said,
O. So you are a king, then?
N. Jesus answered,
✠ It is you who say it. Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.
N. Pilate said,
O. Truth? What is that?
N. and with that he went out again to the Jews and said,
O. I find no case against him. But according to a custom of yours I should release one prisoner at the Passover; would you like me, then, to release the king of the Jews?
N. At this they shouted:
C. Not this man, but Barabbas.
N. Barabbas was a brigand.
Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged; and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him and saying,
C. Hail, king of the Jews!
N. and they slapped him in the face.
Pilate came outside again and said to them,
O. Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case.
N. Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said,
O. Here is the man.
N. When they saw him the chief priests and the guards shouted,
C. Crucify him! Crucify him!
N. Pilate said,
O. Take him yourselves and crucify him: I can find no case against him.
N. The Jews replied,
C. We have a Law, and according to that Law he ought to die, because he has claimed to be the Son of God.
N. When Pilate heard them say this his fears increased. Re-entering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus
O. Where do you come from?
N. But Jesus made no answer. Pilate then said to him,
O. Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?
N. Jesus replied,
✠ You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above; that is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.
N. From that moment Pilate was anxious to set him free, but the Jews shouted,
C. If you set him free you are no friend of Caesar’s; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.
N. Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated himself on the chair of judgement at a place called the Pavement, in Hebrew Gabbatha. It was Passover Preparation Day, about the sixth hour. Pilate said to the Jews,
O. Here is your king.
N. They said,
C. Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!
N. Pilate said,
O. Do you want me to crucify your king?
N. The chief priests answered,
C. We have no king except Caesar.
N. So in the end Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
They then took charge of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out of the city to the place of the skull or, as it was called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him with two others, one on either side with Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: ‘Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.’ This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate,
C. You should not write ‘King of the Jews,’ but ‘This man said: “I am King of the Jews.”’
N. Pilate answered,
O. What I have written, I have written.
N. When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they said to one another,
C. Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to decide who is to have it.
N. In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled:
They shared out my clothing among them.
They cast lots for my clothes.
This is exactly what the soldiers did.
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother,
✠ Woman, this is your son.
N. Then to the disciple he said,
✠ This is your mother.
N. And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.
After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said:
✠ I am thirsty.
N. A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar he said,
✠ It is accomplished;
N. and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it – trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth – and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture:
Not one bone of his will be broken;
and again, in another place scripture says:
They will look on the one whom they have pierced.
After this, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus – though a secret one because he was afraid of the Jews – asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission, so they came and took it away. Nicodemus came as well – the same one who had first come to Jesus at night-time – and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, following the Jewish burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there.
I have always had a deep love for the sacrament of reconciliation and have encouraged people to participate often. However, I found myself in a unique situation this Holy Week. I had committed a significant sin, and it seemed nearly impossible to attend the sacrament of reconciliation. The penitential services had ended, and we were approaching Good Friday and Easter.
On Maundy Thursday, the day when the Lord commanded us to love one another and instituted the Holy Eucharist, I went to church. To my surprise, I saw our parish priest. I was about an hour and a half early for Mass, so I asked him if he could spare a few minutes for reconciliation. He welcomed me into his office, and I had a surreal experience.
It felt as though Jesus himself had knelt before me, washed my feet, and cleansed me of my sins. He then dried and kissed my feet. I felt a tightness around my head, as if he had crowned me with his grace to bring peace and love into the world. Overwhelmed, I began to tear up, feeling the immense love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who had led me on this incredible journey once again.
With a renewed heart, I am now looking forward to celebrating Easter and embracing new life in him. Amen.
On Saturday the 21st of March, our prayer team from Hearts Anchored in Christ Jesus did a prophetic ministry session for our invited guest, a lovely lady originally from Papua New Guinea. Two members stayed in the main room to intercede for the session while the three of us prayed and discerned for the Lord our God’s heart for our guest, Jean. It was a very fruitful session because the three of us took turns to discern and prophesy over her. She was amazed and a little overwhelmed by the words and visions we had for her. Her feedback was that it not only resonated with her, it hit the nail on the head on many occasions.
The amazing thing is, while we did not specifically pray for healing, the Lord had healed her during our session from pains she was having in her neck. This is a testimony to the glory and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
After the session ended, we stood back to pray a little and dwell on what had transpired. It was interesting because as we were sharing, all of us had some form of spiritual attacks before the session that we were feeling. Some of us felt like we didn’t want to even show up. Others felt that we were not up to the session. We were not prepared. We were just tired, and there were too many distractions. But all of us did not relent. We prayed against it and cast out all the spirit of distractions. We prayed for one another. That is why the session was a success, because we surrendered the whole session to the Lord our God, and He was present with us throughout. Amen.
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I went down to the Cathedral of The Good Shepherd to collect a copy of mum’s baptism record. I was shocked and heartbroken to see one of the humblest and smiley priest Monsignor Francis Lau slowly inching his way out using a walker. His legs purple from diabetes.
I decided to do the only thing I could, so I walked up to him and asked if I could pray for him. He smiled and said sure. After I held his shoulder and prayed, he turned smiled and said God bless you.
Please pray for him.
As every iota of sin is heinous to the Lord our God, I make it a point to go for the sacrament of reconciliation regularly, usually every other week. Today I found myself going early to be the first in line. As I sat there, a lady asked if it was the queue for the sacrament, and I said yes. I recognized her from about nine years ago when she first walked into the parish. She was new there, from the United States, and didn’t know anybody in the parish. I remember striking a conversation with her, and she shared with me at that time that she was a cradle Catholic, but her husband and children were brought up in a different denomination. She was finding a catholic church to introduce her son into the Catholic faith. I welcomed her and invited her to join my cell group. I got her number and her name and reached out to her every other month, but she never showed up not to even one. After a while, I didn’t see her in church anymore.
Today she sat beside me. I asked her, “Do you remember me?” and I asked her name again, and she shared that it was Rebecca. She said, “Yeah, the cell group leader, right?” I said, “Yes.” Then she started to sniffle and shared with me that she was drawn to coming back to the Catholic faith, and the Lord has put it on her heart to do so. She even brought one of her sons with her, and they were going for the sacrament of reconciliation, She began to tear a little bit. I just told her not to worry, because it is definitely the Lord that has called her back. According to his will for her and her family, and in his time, he will be the one to draw them back home. But even if some of her family members they decided to remain in the other faith, they still believed in Jesus, and that was all that mattered. I offered to pray for her. As I prayed for her, she broke down a little more, and I prophesied over her at the same time.
After going for the sacrament of reconciliation, I saw, an old lady with snowy white hair. I’ve seen her before. She was always smiling, and had a helper to help her walk and to care for her. She was sitting beside a friend of mine, so I asked if they were related, and the friend said no, and shared with me that this nice old lady was ninety-one years old and that her name is Celine. I asked if she would be open for prayer. My friend didn’t know her that well, so I was to ask her on my own. I went over and asked, “Auntie Celine, is it all right I pray for you?” She said, “Sure, yes, yes. Thank you.” I started to pray for her. After finishing my prayer for her, she gave me such a radiant smile, and I was so thankful for the opportunity to pray for her.
Then I saw the son of the earlier lady moving down the queue for the sacrament. I went up to him and introduced myself. He remembered me, but unfortunately, he remembered the wrong ministry I was in. He thought I was in the St Vincent de Paul Society. I told him I was never a member there, but in any case, if it was all right, if I prayed for him. So I prayed for her son, Brandon. He was thrilled that somebody from the Catholic faith would pray for him.
After mass, as I stood outside the foyer, I saw the old auntie whose husband had passed the last time I prayed for her. I asked her how she was, and she smiled. I offered to pray for her again. The only thing is I got her name mixed up with another lady. But she was still thankful for the prayer, although she did mention, “Oh, I’m not who you think I am.” We laughed it off.
Then I saw one of my fellow communion ministers whom I served with in the past come out into the first. She has always been asking me to come back to the ministry. I love her because she’s very humble, and always cheerful. A nurse by profession Earlier, her daughter wanted to bring the father for reconciliation and asked if the father who is in a wheelchair could go ahead of me. I readily agreed. But later the wife, my communion minister friend came up and was slowly pushing her husband away. First she thanked me for allowing him to go ahead of me, and secondly, she explained that she had checked with a priest. Father had told her that it is not necessary for him to go for reconciliation as he had dementia. So I decided that if I saw her later, I would pray for her. Pray for the Lord to be with her because she’s just an extraordinary lady.
I’m just so thankful that the Lord has put it in my heart to pray for all these people this evening. I didn’t expect to pray for so many in one evening. All glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
He’s turning 94 in December
Our Lord is patient, merciful, loving and kind.
In the days of the week leading up to today, I was dismayed that once again I had fallen back into sin!
I was remorseful but yet felt very empty and void, so I made it to church this evening and sat first in line for the Sacrament of reconciliation, the priest who normally ministers the Sacrament of reconciliation is usually early, but today he must have forgotten and as a time drew closer for mass to begin, I was anxious, thinking that I would not have a chance to be fully reconciled.
But then he came, and once again the Lord received me with open arms.
Just before he arrived though, the Lord put it on my mind to pray for
a recently widowed auntie named Eva, even though she was not in church yet.
The husband Adrian who had just passed on was once a sacristan in our church and was also in charge of the bookshop before he Retired. He was a very hardworking man and always extended a helping hand as needed.
It was late last month or beginning of this month that I had prayed over him. I had asked him how he was doing and had shared that he wasn’t doing too great. He was thankful that I prayed for him.
So immediately after reconciliation, I looked in the direction that he and his wife would usually sit. And there she was. So I walked up to her and asked how she was doing, and she shared with me that Uncle Adrian had peacefully passed on and finally there was no more suffering for him as he had returned to the Lord.
And as she was speaking, I could see the love in her eyes that even though she missed her husband, she had the faith that the Lord has received her husband in His heavenly embrace.
So I prayed for her that our Lord would fill her with His presence and also a prayed to our dear Mother Mary to at her side.
Also earlier when as I was waiting for my turn for reconciliation. I saw a Chinese lady a regular at our church in her sixties limping pass me in pain. I didn’t think the Lord was highlighting her to me at the time.
After Mass had ended, I went to McDonald’s to buy dinner for my daughter.
It was across the road from the church and after my making my way back to the bus stop, which was across the road at the church end I happened to see that lady again, I could tell that she spoke little English from brief encounters from the past, but I reached out to her and asked her how she was and that I noticed that she had leg pains and was struggling.
She said, it was very painful and she was suffering for almost a year already. So I asked her name and she told me it was Agatha.
So I prayed for her healing there at the bus stop.
As I dwell a little this evening, I have come to realize that. That If I did not open my eyes, or if they were closed by sin, then I would not see the Lord’s highlights, and I would not be able to pray for them.
In the Sacrament of reconciliation, he had lifted the guilt of my sin so that I was free once again in His love. And my eyes were once again open to see my brethren through His eyes.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, God my Father.
Thank you, Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Today as I waited in line for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a parishioner, a brother in Christ, sat beside me. While waiting for the priest to come by, I felt the Lord highlight him to me to pray for. While we have greeted each other many times, just a general greeting, I never caught his name. So today, I asked his name. After that, I asked him if it was all right if I prayed for him. I prayed for the Lord’s presence to fill his heart, among other things. He thanked me, and then we sat quietly, just waiting for the priest to come.
Then I heard the prompting of our Lord wanting me to share with him that he was loved, among other things that I had to share with him that was on Lord’s heart for him. I’m sure he was surprised, but it fully resonated with him. So glory be to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
About three weeks ago, I was standing outside the foyer of the church, where I met a fellow brother in Christ who works for the church. I asked him how he was, and he grimaced in pain, saying his knee was giving him problems. I was just sharing with him that folks our age are prone to wear and tear, and when we least expect it, something out of the ordinary happens.
A very dear brother in Christ, and who is also a professor, Jake, was just sharing with me, when he was in Singapore, that he was just crossing the street when he, if I remember correctly, was trying to avoid a car, and just there and then his knees just gave way. . He was in excruciating pain constantly thereafter. He had to go for physiotherapy and the works.
So, as I was sharing with this brother in the church, I told him that normally I would pray for him there and then, but because our parish priest had already given direction that no layperson should pray over anyone, in the Church premises, so in obedience, I told him that I would lift him up at the Holy Eucharist and pray for his complete healing. He was thankful.
During mass, from the start to the point where the Holy Eucharist was lifted up, I lifted my brother in Christ there and then, and I prayed earnestly for a complete healing. Praying that our Lord is the Lord of the impossible, and nothing is too great for him. I had also lifted both my mother and mother-in-law too, and an encounter ministry classmate were all lifted up at that very Holy Eucharist.
Today, three weeks later, I bumped into that same brother again, and he was sharing with me that the very next day, he had a complete healing. So, praise and glory be to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
At the same time, I also remember that my encounter classmate also had a healing, which was, in itself, a miracle. I wasn’t praying for her alone. There were many people praying for her. But together, we praise and glorify our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has heard our prayers, for he is truly the Lord of the impossible. Amen.
Blessed are the bold in spirit for the Lord, for he will cause his face to shine upon those he sends our way.
This evening, as I made my way for the sunset mass with my wife and daughter, I had no intention of praying over anyone. My only focus was to go for the sacrament of reconciliation, even though I had gone the week before, because I had failed and I needed his grace to be whole again.
As I was waiting for the priest to come, I saw a brother in Christ’s mother walking past me with a walking stick. In my heart, I felt she was highlighted to me to pray for, and I would gladly do it once I was reconciled fully with God. Immediately after reconciliation, I sought her out and she was happy to see me because we have not seen one another for quite some time. I prayed over her and she was so happy after. I then made my way to my seat beside my family.
During mass, the Lord highlighted this young girl, no more than 13 or 14 years old. I could see she wore a brace under her blouse. I’ve seen her before when she was much younger; she was actually in crutches, but now she was walking on her own. The brace was very clear from her back, she must have had a twisted spine or was born that way. Suddenly I just felt a profound sadness to think that she had to struggle all her life in this condition. I prayed with all my heart to the Lord, saying, “Yes Lord, you are the Lord of the impossible. And if it is your will, you will heal her. So I pray that you release her from this bondage, her suffering at such a tender age.”
I thought to myself, did the Lord highlight her to me wanting me to pray for her? Was I worthy enough to pray for her and to be so bold as to pray for healing? I wasn’t clear. I just didn’t know why he highlighted her in that way to me. I wept internally for her, just thinking about what if she was my daughter. I spent the better half of the mass just lifting her up together with my mother, my mother-in-law, who are old, as well as for my ex-classmate from encounter school and a few others that came to mind at the Holy Eucharist.
My daughter noticed I was looking in that girl’s direction. She was sharing with me that she had a classmate who was wearing this same brace of sorts for more than seven years, but she’s finally rid of it. However, she was not completely healed, but at least she was now able to do things without wearing the brace any longer—so when mass ended, I was still looking her way. My daughter looked at me and said, “No, don’t do it.” She more or less knew that I had the intention of praying for her, but just didn’t know how to approach either her or her parents.
After mass, I waited at the foyer, but they didn’t come out. I told the Lord, “Well, if you want me to pray for her you will lead her my way.” Then, I left the church and made my way to the bus stop. We were waiting pretty long for the bus to come. Lo and behold, I saw the girl and her parents walking towards the bus stop. I thought to myself, do I have time? Do I have the courage to approach them? It didn’t take long for me to walk up to the father and introduce myself. I just asked him, “Hi, is this your daughter? May I know her name? And is it all right if I pray for her?” The father said, “Sure, go ahead.” “her name is Neve” I stood in front of the daughter touched her shoulder and started praying for her. She was so sweet. She was so very grateful and thanked me. after that, So did the father. I just smiled at them and quickly got up the bus which had arrived and my family had already got on.
As I sat down on the upper deck of the double-decker, I saw this old man whom I knew was a fellow parishioner. He was with a walking stick making his way up to the same deck on the bus, which impressed me because with a walking stick and that age, I myself would be hesitant to walk up the flight of stairs up.
As we reached the bus depot I noticed he made his way down first, I caught up with him and said, “Hey, where’s your wife?” They’ve always gone to church as a couple, but today the wife was missing. He told me that his wife Carol was sick. While we were still waiting to disembark, I said, “Is it all right if I pray for Carol and use you as a proxy?” I just held his shoulders and I prayed for Carol’s healing. He was so touched. We chatted for a while as we got off. He told me he’s already 80 years old, but he’s still working because it keeps his mind active and stable.
After that little conversation, as we parted our ways, I just thought to myself, how great is our God that He would allow someone like me to be His instrument of grace, even though I still feel so unworthy. So all glory be His, now and forever. Amen
Listen to Pathways worship Jan26.m4a by Catholicjules.net on #SoundCloud
https://on.soundcloud.com/3NClKRBPRE6xwcsQj4
Today, on the holy day of the Epiphany of the Lord, I experienced a personal epiphany. I realized that all we need is obedience, patience, and the Lord will manifest His glory through our actions, especially when we reach out to help others in love.
During Christmas Eve of 2025, I was at a small family gathering at my mother-in-law’s house. My wife’s aunt was there, suffering from severe knee problems. She wore a knee guard and was clearly in a lot of pain. Although her family members are Catholics, they aren’t practicing. They occasionally attend mass but are mostly immersed in secular life.
In that moment, I prayed silently, “Lord, if it is your will, let me bring your presence into this home.”
As the night progressed, I noticed she needed to go to the bathroom. She took her walking stick and slowly made her way there. I waited outside with a chair, and she was surprised to see me when she came out. She asked if I needed to use the bathroom, but I told her I was waiting for her because I wanted to pray for her. I gestured towards the chair, inviting her to sit, and she was thrilled.
I prayed for her healing and general wellbeing. Afterwards, she expressed her gratitude and mentioned to my wife that I had prayed for her quietly. That evening, knowing my mother-in-law was leaving for the Philippines, I also prayed for her and she was thankful.
A few days later, I inquired of my wife if there was any improvement. She told me her aunt experienced very much less pain than usual that very night when she got home, which I was thankful for. However, what came next was truly the epiphany. Her eldest uncle, who had been there that night, saw me praying outside the bathroom. He later asked his sister if I had prayed for her and mentioned that it was good because I had prayed for him when he was hospitalized with dengue fever early in 2025.
My wife and I had visited him, and I prayed over him then. What I didn’t know until now was that he told his sister that the day after my prayer, his platelet count had significantly increased, leading to his quick discharge from the hospital.
This revelation was profound for me. It reminded me of my initial reluctance to pray for healing for others, then later realising that whether anyone is healed or not is not dependent on me. It is the Lord alone who heals according to His Will. Through His grace, mercy, and kindness. He can work wonders through us, if we are simply obedient. Amen. ❤️
Today, our long-awaited advert longings is fulfilled as Jesus is born again into our hearts. We are renewed and rejoice because the living word, our Lord and God has chosen to dwell within us. Let His light shine forth from us and His face shine upon everyone we meet. For we carry the joy of our salvation with us.
Let us go forth, from house to house, from the mountain tops to the valleys, carrying the gift of peace, love, and joy into every home and every heart..
Merry Christmas, everyone. May his love, peace, and joy fill your hearts and the hearts of your family and friends. Amen.
________
First reading
Isaiah 52:7-10 ·
Rejoice, for the Lord is consoling his people
How beautiful on the mountains,
are the feet of one who brings good news, who heralds peace, brings happiness, proclaims salvation, and tells Zion,
‘Your God is king!’
Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices, they shout for joy together, m for they see the Lord face to face, as he returns to Zion.
Break into shouts of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord is consoling his people,
redeeming Jerusalem.
EThe Lord bares his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
________
Second reading
Hebrews 1:1-6 ·
God has spoken to us through his Son
At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
God has never said to any angel: You are my Son, today I have become your father; or: I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Again, when he brings the First-Born into the world, he says: Let all the angels of God worship him.
________
Gospel
John 1:1-18
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us
In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in Him and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.
A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.
The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and he was coming into the world. He was in the world
that had its being through him,
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of him who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh or will of man
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
‘This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me ranks before me because he existed before me.’
Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received –
yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God;
it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
After mass and breakfast this morning, I walked a short distance to see if there were any other nice places for food for tomorrow’s lunch.
When I returned to where my wife was seated, I saw her talking to a nun. Who apparently recognised Frances from church the day before.
I introduced myself and as she walked away Frances shared that the nun would attend daily mass then walk to sisters of hope or something like that five minutes away as she runs a soup kitchen.
Hearing this I ran and caught up with her. She shared that she was Sister Vatima, when I asked if I could pray for her. I prayed among other things for the Holy Spirit to fill her to the brim and over as she ministers to His children. She was thankful for the ‘best gift of prayer’ . Please pray for sister Vatima. ❤️
From our hotel room we have an aerial view of the church. Anyhow during the Eucharist celebration I received the Eucharist from an elegantly dressed Eucharist minister wearing a headpiece. After mass we had breakfast at a coffee shop across the road from church. About ten minutes later the lady Eucharistic minister with her husband sat at a table beside us. At first her husband asked to seat at a different table, but I saw her motioning to him to sit at the table beside us. I took it as a sign from our Lord.
“Peace be with you” I said looking at her. She smiled and replied with the same greeting. I introduced myself and told her we were from St Anthony’s Parish in Singapore. She introduced herself as Tina and her husband’s name is Vincent. I asked if everything was okay with her pointing discreetly to her headpiece. She shared that she was going for chemotherapy and had stage 2/3 breast cancer. I asked it if was okay if I prayed for her. She got up and turned in my direction. Told her to please sit while I placed my hands on her shoulders and prayed for her healing amongst other things. Her face lit up and was profoundly grateful. She felt blessed as did we for the divine appointment.
Told her that we would attend mass again tomorrow and hope to see her again. Must remember to take a wefie if we do.
Praise the Lord! ❤️
“May the abundant peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ dwell with you. Having recently composed this prayer, I have committed to it with fervent devotion for the few days. It has been a source of unwavering steadfastness, bold conviction, and singular focus on my mission. It is my deepest prayer that this testament of faith will be of equal aid to you, my cherished sisters and brothers.”
Blessed are You, O God, our Heavenly Father, Lord of the Universe. I thank You for the gift of life itself, and especially for the new life I have been given in Christ Jesus, my Lord and Savior.
Bless and anoint me afresh this day for the fulfillment of my identity and destiny in You. Cover me with Your precious blood to purify, sanctify, and shield me from all evil and harm.
Keep my heart anchored to You, O Lord Jesus. Grant me Your sight, that I may look upon every person as a fellow child of God, deeply loved by our Heavenly Father.
I declare that I am Your beloved child, a child of Your light in this world! I am sent and empowered by You, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to bring healing, deliverance, love, joy, and peace. Amen.
On this solemn All Souls’ Day, the Lord blessed me with extraordinary encounters that illuminated the warmth of His presence.
While waiting in line for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I was graced by a truly humbling moment. As a brother in Christ passed to join the queue, he gently patted my thigh. It was Andre, a renowned Catholic radio personality—a simple, deeply humble soul. I felt the pure warmth of Christ transmitted through that brief, innocent touch. Finishing my confession, I made sure to seek him out and give Brother Andre a proper hug, a small gesture to return the blessing.
What a wonderful surprise when my God daughter sat beside me in the pew! I had only expected her mother (who affectionately calls me “son”) to be there. I immediately felt a profound call to prayer for my goddaughter, a former Lector in our parish. When I finished, her mother took my hand and, in a beautiful act of faith, placed it upon her own head, asking me to pray for her as well. What a precious blessing to pray over them both!
Later, my mother-in-law, whose failing kidneys have been a constant concern, joined us. I had been longing for an opportunity to pray for her health. After our lunch together, as she waited for her taxi, the moment finally arrived. I prayed over her, committing her care to the Divine Physician. Praise the Lord for making a way!
Today marked the final session of the Bible Timeline series, and the sharing portion was deeply moving. During the reflection questions, both women seated next to me offered sincere thanks for my contribution. One even welled up with tears. I honestly don’t know what I shared that touched her so profoundly—it must have been the Spirit of the Lord working through imperfect words.
In a lovely discovery, I learned that one of these sisters in Christ, who had been sitting beside me for the last few sessions, is the mother of a youth my wife and I know! We exchanged numbers, promising to share more of our respective faith journeys—a new fellowship born in the pursuit of scripture.
✍️ A Disciple’s Resolution
Just as the session concluded, I felt a powerful inspiration to pen a personal prayer. This is a prayer I intend to use to help me remain steadfast and focused on my mission as a disciple of Christ Jesus my Lord.
Praise the Lord for a truly Blessed All Souls’ Day!
Eternal rest grant unto our dearly departed, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
I remember distinctly four people I prayed over in the last month.
One was a brother in Christ at a Pathways talk. He asked me for prayers, but I suppose he didn’t expect me to pray over him on the spot. After the prayer, I prophesied a little on what the Lord wanted him to know. He was surprised and touched. It resonated fully with him.
Then another opportunity came when the Lord highlighted the patient beside my dad. He was a steward who had his leg fractured while experiencing a terrible air turbulence on a flight. His name was Muhammad, a Muslim. When I was casually speaking to him, the Lord highlighted that I should pray for him. I asked him if he was open to prayers and he told me that he was. So I started praying for healing for his leg, for the pains to go, and also for the Lord to be present with him throughout the two operations that he would be going for. After the prayer, he was thankful and grateful.
The third time was during my dad’s wake. It was the second day where a Sister in Christ from St. Joseph’s Dying Aid Prayer Team came to pray for Dad. I noticed she had a bandage on her wrist. So after they prayed for dad, I went up to her and asked her how she was. She unwrapped the bandage to show me that the area from her palm to the wrist was swollen. So I offered to pray for her. The next day, when she her team came to pray again, I asked her how she was doing. She was so excited to show me that the swelling had gone down a lot. But it was still a little painful for her. So I asked a fellow Encounters School of Ministry classmate Elizabeth who came to the wake to team up with me to pray over Teresa. And again, she was thankful for the prayers. It was nice to see the big smile on her face when we had finished praying.
The other unique opportunity I had was when the guy, Wilson, from the company that was going to handle my dad’s sea burial, came to speak to me about the process. He started off by asking about my faith background. I told him I was Catholic. And so I asked him about his faith background. He said he was a believer. So curious, I asked him what he meant by that. He shared that he believed in Jesus but was not baptized. I asked if I could pray for him, he seemed a little surprised and was agreeable. I prayed for the presence of Christ to be with him in his journey, and that it our Lord would fill him with His presence, peace, mercy, and love. Wilson was thankful and grateful.
If we are attentive, the Lord will definitely highlight people for us to pray for. Glory to You O Lord Amen. 🙏❤️
A Parish that lives up to its name!
Church of Divine Mercy
When mum and dad were staying with my sister in Bedok, Eric from Holy Family church would give Holy communion to mum and dad. When they moved to Tampines and Eric started teaching again, he entrusted the care of giving Holy Communion to the ministers from Divine Mercy. Initially because mum and dad belonged to another parish mum reached out to them first. The initial answer from that parish was no! Approval needed to be gotten first and that there was a process in place. Disappointed with the curt response she approached Eric for help.
Thomas and Gayle from Divine Mercy gladly embraced the task of bringing Holy Communion to dad throughout. They were patient, loving and very helpful. Fr Venus a very loving and humble priest came to Bless their home and would visit from time to time giving dad anointing of the sick. Sometime in Feb, I posted about how the Parish produced a wonderful and meticulously thought out Parish booklet, with everything one needed to know about the Parish from directions, contacts, ministries, process and procedures from baptism, to cathechesis, funerals and so on.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19aYKFTp38/
When dad was critical we tried to reach Father Venus, however as he was away on a pilgrimage, Thomas and Gayle managed to get the Parish priest, Fr Damian to give dad the anointing of the sick. Mum asked him if we could have the funeral mass at divine mercy if anything happened to dad? Without hesitation, Father Damian said sure! Dad got better and lasted more than a month.
When dad passed we were worried as all the priests were on retreat starting on the day, dad passed. However they managed to reach Father Damian and he insisted he would celebrate dad’s funeral mass. We heard later that Fr Venus wanted to do it as well. The funeral minister Peter contacted us to guide us through the whole process.
Mass (Thursday) was held in the chapel with a full choir and organist. Altar servers, communion ministers even, the legion of Mary was represented. Fr Damian gave an impactful and wonderful homily. After mass we were told that mass for dad was offered by the choir or was it the legion of Mary? Anyhow it was for Sunday 6th July 1130am. Later on I received a text from Peter with the contact number of someone from the NCC (neighbourhood community) for them to reach out to mum.
The whole family attended Sunday mass at Divine Mercy, Frances and I were the offertory couple! What an extra blessing. I later learnt from mum that the priest who celebrated mass today Father Peter was the one who baptised dad when he was serving at Risen Christ church in 2000.
Love also that they have blessings for married couples celebrating their anniversary every month!
Like many churches the folks are made up of imperfect people but I honor the folks of church divine mercy who extended the divine mercy of Christ to us. May our Lord continue to Bless and keep them in His loving care. Amen
Love Julian
catholicjules.net
❤️
Sunday 29 June 2130hrs to 30 June 2025, 0200hrs
Both Geraldine my sister and I were at my dad’s bedside as he was struggling to breathe. It was surreal that this would actually be the last moments we have with him.
Growing up I had bad asthma attacks. Dad was always by my side with his healing hands rubbing my chest with talcum and comforting me. When sick with high fever he was there with a handkerchief and a bowl of water to bring my temperature down. He did likewise for my younger sister. Ever patient and loving.
So today we were hoping he felt comforted by our touch and affirmation. We were blessed to be present at his bedside when he breathed his last finally at peace, no more pain! No more struggling to breathe. He is now in the loving embrace of our Lord Jesus Christ. ❤️
Love this from Papa Francesco…
There is no saint without a past and no sinner without a future. Pearls are born in the wound of an oyster! Jesus, with his love, can heal our hearts and turn our lives into genuine pearls.
❤️
Catholicjules.net
The Lord had truly blessed me and opened many doors for me. Never in my wildest dreams could I have hoped to serve Him the Way he has willed me to. I was nothing and He lifted me up, Blessed and anointed me.
I have had the privelleged and had the honour to serve Him as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. Facilitating a first Holy Communion programme in which many families were brought into a deeper relationship with Jesus. I had access to the sacristy where I helped to prepare adoration sessions. I served in the choir and as a lector. I had served as a Steward in the Banquet. Through His grace I had led communities into a deep personal relationship with our Lord such that they later became disciples serving others passionately. I have given talks and led worship sessions. Have ministered alongside sisters and brothers in Christ, bringing healing, deliverance and prophesying while uplifting those He sent to us.
As I look back from where I began, it was only possible through His great love and trust in His lowly servant, who once didn’t even know how to pray properly. If He can do such great and wonderful things in my life, He can do the same for You. All you need do is say, Yes Lord, be it done to me according to Your will. Amen
This is what I try to reflect upon daily, I pray it helps you grow deeper in Your relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord. May you also become a powerful witness of His love.
Love in Christ,
Julian aka Catholicjules
🙏❤️
What a Blessed Saturday morning, while waiting for my daughter’s cathechism class to start, three ladies old friends came up one after the other to say Hi. Helen, Marilyn and Mary. Sharing the names lest I forget, remembering names is a little harder now. 😊
Small talk is not often easy but it seems easier with fellow sisters and brothers in Christ. All was good with Helen and Marilyn, except Marilyn did mention she was experiencing empty nest syndrome since her boys were all big now. Still she has kept busy with serving in church and attending mass. All this has eased her mind.
Mary has a very warm and bright smile, and she’s simply a joy to be around. She speaks with a gentle soothing voice. However I sensed something was troubling her behind that smile. Apparently she had volunteered to teach a Cat class since her Parish was really short on Cathechists. However she wondered if she was getting through to her students. After sharing that she wished me a blessed day and was about to go about her day. I jumped up and offered to pray for her. I placed my hand on her shoulders and prayed. Shared a prophesy with her and invited the Lord and our Blessed Mother to fill her with their presence. She was a little overwhelmed and began to tear. I wished her a Blessed weekend and left to have a drink and a nearby coffee shop.
Thank You Jesus for the opportunity to bring Your Holy presence. Amen
Truly love the Sacrament of Reconciliation!
Post sacrament and Eucharistic Celebration the Lord highlighted a sister in Christ who was wearing a mask. Asked her if she was okay, and she shared that she was still recovering from the flu. She was wearing a mask so as not to spread it. I offered to pray over her and she readily accepted. Post prayer she gasped and said “Wow! Julian wow! Beautiful and… “ “You felt His awesome presence right? I did too” I replied it’s all Him, for He is good! Praise the Lord!
A sister in Christ who had fractured her toe and whom I prayed over two weeks ago, came up and thanked me then shared. That in her recent follow up with her doctor, he was amazed at her accelerated speed of recovery.
Glory to God in the highest! Amen
Truth be told, ever since my classes ended at Encounter School of Ministry, I have been feeling out of sorts. Not quite on fire as when I was applying what we learnt week after week. So, in desperation I made a decision to overcome once for all any and all habitual sins! Last week on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus I consecrated myself to His Sacred Heart.
I started to feel whole again but wondering why I had not heard His heart for another! Then this evening as I attended the first night of the triduum of St Anthony. I was invited to do penance (just kidding) by getting on a ladder and filling the top portion of St Anthony’s flower wall before the devotion and Mass.
During Holy Eucharist I noticed a sister in Christ who was seated in pew, walked back after receiving communion seem to have lost balance and was walking awkwardly. Another sister in Christ who sat beside her caught her and helped her stabilize a little before leading her back to her seat. I waited after Mass approached her and told her I noticed she was in pain in her leg region. She pointed to her right toe and shared that she had fractured it. I prayed for her swift recovery and for any pain to be gone. Yay!
Then I saw a brother who is still in Seminary but is currently attached to our Parish standing at the foyer talking to some folks from SVDP. I waited patiently for him to finish, then asked if I could speak to him a few minutes. I shared with him that as he was standing close to the Altar, I sensed the Lord wanting me to affirm and encourage him. That he may be experiencing some doubts or facing some distractions. But the Lord is pleased that he is keeping the faith and to the path laid out for him. And will be with him every step of the way. I offered to pray for him as I touched his shoulder. After the prayer his face lit with amazement and asked if I was part of any charismatic group as what I said was prophetic and resonated with him. Praise the Lord!
I then decided to continue praying for others even though I had been awake since 4am! So, I logged in and join the prayer rooms in Sri Lanka via zoom. The Lord sent me two folks with biggie prayer request! One was suffering with incurable Chron’s disease and the other needed prayers for his month suffering from severe depression. Please lift prayers with me for Ashan and Lakshmi.
When we hunger and thirst for souls as He does, He will open doors of opportunity for us. Keep the faith my dear sisters and brothers! Love and miss you all! ❤
On this day as I celebrate another year, alive in the Lord; I take a moment to reflect on a fundamental question I have asked and answered, again anew. A renewal of mind, body and spirit if you will.
What is faith? What is my faith?
It is a divine grace and gift of God our Heavenly Father to me that I have come to believe wholeheartedly. That is in the birth, death, resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for love of me.
What I have is NOT a blind faith! But one in which I see, hear, touch, smell, and experience through the one whom I love and worship. His intimate presence has brought me deeper into the depths, breadths and heights of Him who loves me! Prophecies for me and my life spoken through the lips of my brethren, has lifted me high above Heaven. I am affirmed, encouraged and empowered.
I pray with a grateful heart, that You Lord, continue to Bless and anoint me. That I may go forth boldly proclaiming Your love to all this and everyday of my life. Amen
May the joy of our Resurrected Lord fill your heart and the hearts of your family. May His face shine upon all of you and give you peace. Having risen to new life in Him, we are empowered to share the joy of the Gospel with everyone we meet. Happy Blessed Easter!
Love Julian aka Catholicjules & family. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
It was such a Blessing to attend Christmas as a family. But as I entered the church hall I felt something was missing? The joy in my heart was missing! As I was praying the Rosary I looked up and saw a sweet only aunty and her husband taking their seats. I made my way there and sat beside her and asked if I could pray a Christmas blessing over her. After that the joy that was missing filled my heart. I then quickly went out to the entrance of the church, and prayed over the couple I had chatted with at the wedding dinner on Sat. Joy was overflowing within me!
Then at the consecration I received a prophetic word for a lady steward of the Banquet (warden) and shared it with her as soon as the Eucharistic Celebration was over. It was wonderful to see the joy on her face!
After lunch my kids left with their mum to send their grandmother home. I tried to make my way to the bus stop but it was pouring with heavy winds blowing the rain horizontally! I was going to be drenched even though I had a small umbrella with me. Then I saw a lady I recognised from church standing beside me as she waited for her husband to get the car. I wished her a merry Christmas, then she asked how I was getting home? Told her I had an umbrella and would be making my way to the bus stop. She then offered to give me a lift home. I shyly declined, insisting I would be fine. But she was not having it, saying it is along their way so no worries at all! I thanked her and having arrived at the shelter of my flat I prayed a Christmas blessing over them. Alicia aka Eva and Bernard.
Thank you Jesus for the joy to be shared with all! Amen
Took a short clip of the rain, Alicia is the lady in white.
________
First reading
Isaiah 52:7-10
Rejoice, for the Lord is consoling his people
How beautiful on the mountains,
are the feet of one who brings good news, who heralds peace, brings happiness, proclaims salvation, and tells Zion,
‘Your God is king!’
Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices, they shout for joy together, for they see the Lord face to face,
as he returns to Zion.
Break into shouts of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord is consoling his people, redeeming Jerusalem.
The Lord bares his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
________
Second reading
Hebrews 1:1-6
God has spoken to us through his Son
At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
God has never said to any angel: You are my Son, today I have become your father; or: I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Again, when he brings the First-Born into the world, he says: Let all the angels of God worship him.
________
Gospel
John 1:1-18
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us
In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.
A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness, as a witness to speak for the light, so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light, only a witness to speak for the light.
The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not accept him. But to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of him who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh or will of man but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
‘This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me ranks before me because he existed before me.’
Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received – yes, grace in return for grace, since, though the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
Testimony of someone I had the privilege of praying over a couple of weeks back, just met in him today for a short while at a retreat…
Hey Julian, i wasn’t able to catch up with u earlier. Anyways about my knee, the past week i felt some improvements. 🙂 it’s a bit stronger. Before i keep havibg the “loose” feeling, but now it feels tighter. Praying That God will continue to heal me. Thanks for the prayer brother!
Then as I was about to leave our Parish feast day dinner.. A lady ask me to pay for her and her young uncle present…
When you prayed over me and Thomas just now, all I felt was a sense of peace. A peace I know that has come from God. I’m a little overwhelmed by life right now. Things have been a little busy with work, our feast day, and my mom just had a mini stroke and is still in SGH.
That peace I felt just now, was the peace I need. So thank you so much Julian!!!!!
At a wake last week I was catching up with a sister in Christ whom I had not seen in a while. She was asking how I lost so much weight, from 105kg at one point to 83kg. I was sharing with her my new change in lifestyle, diet and exercise. She was also curious about my faith journey.
I shared with her just how amazing it has been journeying as a student of Encounter School of Ministry. How I had been bolder in praying for people, healing and ministering to them through our Lord. But as I was speaking I confessed that I was not as zealous as I had been in the first three quarters of school. This last quarter on inner healing and deliverance inadvertently zapped away the fire somehow. But after our long talk, I offered to pray over her. After which I asked how she felt. She shared that her heart was pounding as I uttered the prayer for our Lord’s love to pour out and fill her heart. Praise the Lord!
Then on Thursday 8 June I met Brother Jake a visiting Professor in Theology from the Philippines for lunch together with my daughter. It was a wonderful opportunity to share my adventure in the Lord with this very humble servant of the Lord. The fire in my heart was rekindled and so while attending the 2nd day of the triduum leading up to St Anthony’s feast day, the lord highlighted an elderly Indian lady dressed in a beautiful Sari. She was limping in pain to a seat in a pew a few rows in front of me. I went up and sat beside her and told her that the Lord put in on my heart to pray for her and if she was OK with it. I then proceeded to pray for the Lord to fill her with His peace and the healing of her leg. She was touched that a stranger would come up and pray for her.
Then at mass on the last day of the triduum the Lord led me to pray for four fellow sisters and brothers in Christ. For one brother, He put in my heart fifteen minutes before mass was to start, to buy a loaf of bread and give it to him. I ran about 80m to the supermarket across the road to buy two loaves one for him and one for my family. There was a blessing of the bread, and so after mass I sought that elderly brother out. Prayed over him and presented the loaf for him to bring home to his family. The Lord truly makes all things new! For had the Lord not put it my heart to buy the loaf for that brother I would not have gone out there and then as I wanted to finish the devotional pray to our Patron Saint. Praise the Lord.
We had a Healing practicum on 18 Mar 2023. There were a number of prayer groups comprising of Encounter Ministries’ first year students and invited guests who needed healing that Blessed Saturday morning. This is the feedback we got from 3 out of 4 guests who came to our prayer room. I am still reeling from excitement and in awe of the goodness of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Even through zoom He extended His healing grace, and we got to be a part of and witness to His glory! Amen
Today after the morning Eucharistic Celebration at Church of St Michael’s; my wife, daughter and I were having breakfast at ‘Angel’s Corner’
The yummy breakfast of the day was cous cous sautéed in butter. We were seated at a table with four seats. One lady from the breakfast team showed an elderly lady to our table and offered to get her a plate and coffee. While we were eating, I introduced myself and she told me her name was Irene. She lived within walking distance and was thankful for that because her eyesight was failing her and she was not confident to travel farther than what she has to, to reach church.
After breakfast I offered to pray for her and asked if she had any prayer request. She asked for prayers for her eyesight and prayers for her husband who had failing kidneys and was in great pain lying in bed at home. I told her that I would pray for her first then later fur Richard her husband. I asked if I could place my hand on her shoulder as I prayed she agreed.
After I prayed, I asked if there was any improvement? She quickly replied, “Not so fast one ah! And smiled” I asked if she felt anything? She said it got very warm when I prayed for her. I told her that I sensed the Lord had great love fire her and healing has already begun. She should test it out when she got home. I then started praying for Richard. After the she was saying that she was so thankful to have met me. I told her to thank Jesus instead for creating this opportunity.
Praise the Lord!
11 Feb 2023
Today I asked these questions…
Jesus what did you see in this moment when people came up to You for healing and deliverance?
What walls of protection or anything I have put up that prevents me from feeling or reaching out to those sick and demonized?
He first showed me a time, a few years ago when I was serving as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. When on a Sunday, He showed me a glimpse of His heart for each and every one who came up to receive Him. I was overwhelmed with the love He had for them and how it did not matter how they had sinned against Him, He loved them all the same.
Then the picture changed to last month in January when I saw at a Food Centre, a Chinese man who was helping an indian man walk as he was limping in great pain. I had a thought that perhaps I should pray for him but did not do anything thinking it was just my own thought. Then later on I took the escalator up and saw him alone but did not step up in boldness to do so.
The Lord put this on my heart….
That it breaks His heart to see His children suffering, but it also breaks His heart when we His disciples do not step out in boldness and faith to heal His suffering children.
Today I decided to attend mass at Church of St Anthony not expecting to pray for anyone. Still I was open to my Lord’s prompting. As I walked in I saw Clement my brother in Christ, whom I was eager to share my recent prophesy praticuum adventure. Before I started sharing I asked how he was doing and was surprised to learn he was not too good. He was having diarrhea and was going to meet a couple who after mass to answer their questions about our Catholic faith. They were keen to join RCIA but had some questions before signing up. Clement thought his diarrhea might be the evil one’s work. I leaned in to pray for his swift recovery.
Later at mass I happened to see Aunty Alice seated a few rows in front of me. She is the mother of a good friend who had migrated to Australia. Aunty now in her late seventies, early eighty is battling cancer all alone ever since her husband passed on last year. In the past she had volunteered for many years at the coffee corner at our Parish serving, coffee, tea and milo for free. (reimbursed by the church) She had also taught line dancing and even performed at events from time to time. She attended daily mass and had a generous heart. I was so happy to see her up and about and attending the Sunday Eucharist. I was sure the Lord wanted me to pray for her. So immediately after mass ended I rushed to where she was seated, sat beside, hugged and offered to pray for her. As I prayed over her, I told her that I sensed the Lord wanted me to tell her that He was pleased with her faithfulness over the years. And that He had asked His mother our Blessed Mother to accompany her to the very end. She was not alone! She teared, thanked and commented ‘what a beautiful prayer’ I kissed her on her head and bid her farewell.
As I was leaving church, I saw Sharon, Clement’s wife. She looked a little worn out. Probably because she was caring for her aged mum who had just been discharged from the hospital for having seizures. I prayed over her that the Lord would rejuvenate her drooping spirit. And for a renewed, reinvigorated body, mind and spirit.
I am just so very thankful for this blessed Sunday, for being able to minister to His beloved ones. Amen
Wow! The Lord was truly present.
Group 3 first guest/s to come in was an elderly couple who happened to be the parents of a lady in our group and her husband too was also in our group. For the elderly lady I sensed the Lord saying to her that He knows how much she loves Him. And in her desire to have a deeper encounter with Him all she needed to do was to lift up her hands and He will lift her up in a loving embrace. For the uncle I saw the word struggling. Told him that I didn’t know what he was struggling with, only that it was nothing physical more a mental struggle. However as uncle was taciturn, he remained silent. Later when he left, his daughter shared that her sister was going through something and he was struggling with it. Praise the Lord.
The second lady who came in was in her 60s, requested we pray for her health issues and wanted to know what the Lord thought about what she was doing for Him. When it was my turn I shared that the Lord was pleased with her. She had a mother’s heart for people and wanted her minister to others out of that mother’s love and heart. As for her health issue, as she did not share what it was I had the sense from the Lord that it was her legs. I asked her for confirmation and she teared as she shared that she had just recently come home from the hospital and of which her legs were healing up. I leaned it to pray for her healing.
The last lady to come in, I prophesied that the joy of the Lord was upon her. The Lord knows she is a rather joyful soul and she brings joy to others. That being said she hides her own problems behind her smile. The Lord knows it and will be with her throughout.
Group prophesy is a amazing because we each uniquely carry our Father’s heart for the person He sends our way to minister. Collectively we bring about the fullness of God His love He has for them. Amen
29 Sun Church of St Michael
A cold, morning with light gentle showers of Blessing. Managed to arrive safely with my family and had just enough time to go for the sacrament of reconciliation.
Sat next to a nice lady who was attentive to hear me say to our kids that there was enough room for their mum who hadn’t yet come in. So she moved in closer to her husband so that we all could sit together in the pew. At the exchange of peace, I introduced myself and Suzy did likewise. So after mass I offered to pray for her. Apart for the healing from an itchy throat and cough, I had the sense while praying that the Lord was pleased with her and that He wanted her to minister to those He will send her way with that motherly heart. Praise the Lord!
Then I met a brother from my parish, Church of St Anthony who is serving at CSM under some food and beverage ministry of sorts. They serve free breakfast after the early morning mass. I was very interested to know what goes on behind the scenes and how they manage it. It was amazing to see parishioners intermingling, talking and getting to know one another over breakfast. I offered to pray over him. As I prayed for a fresh anointing from our Lord I suddenly stopped mid prayer, as I saw a vision of a powerful waterfall, I declared it to him saying it was the anointing over him. Immediately he said he saw and received it, then started tearing. He shared then whenever he experiences a powerful presence of the Lord, he starts to tear.a Praise the Lord!
As I walked over to the library two lovely ladies, ex parishioners of CSA now serving as wardens at CSM came up to greet and hug me at the same time! I was delighted at such a warm reception and held them with each arm and prayed over them. Just as I was about to announce that rays from heaven were descending upon them, the lady on my left just plopped her head on my shoulder thankfully her legs were still stable as the other lady beside her gently lifted her head up. She shared later that she had felt a very warm session come over her. Praise the Lord!
Will I be given this wonderful opportunity every week? The Lord only knows… As I shared before, here I am Lord, I come to do Your will. Amen
Over the last a month and a half, I was invited by two fellow students of Encounter to join a prayer team via Zoom exactly or very close to our praticuum.
I have participated three times so far. The first time, I was paired up with a fellow student who was more experienced in this. The last two times I was alone because of a shortage of prayer ministers.
Basically what takes place before the the prayer room is opened, we attend a live meeting taking place in Sri Lanka. It is a charismatic prayer meeting with Gospel sharing/formation and healing service. After that the rooms are opened for those who cannot make it in person.
It was a little overwhelming in the beginning because the participants that come in generally have multiple prayer requests for themselves and very often for their families. Also I had never encountered a simple prayer request so far. Egs. Apart from healing prayers, there were requests for deliverance, protection against evil spirits, pension to make medical bills and employment to feed the family.
Still I will continue to lean in to pray and minister from my Father’s heart. Amen
As the year draws to a close, I am especially thankful this year to have drawn closer to my Father’s heart more than I have ever been. To learn or rather re-learn about His heart for me and for others.
There are three such learnings and all three, are more deeply embraced when a decision is made to live and apply them daily.
First is speaking words of my Father into the hearts of all that I meet. It has the power to transform, comfort and heal. It carries the grace of our loving Father and is life giving. Hence just as my words have the power to uplift, so too it can tear down. Hence if my desire is to reflect the heart of my Father then I must be always careful with what I say and how I say it. If I cannot be life giving then I should be silent till I can.
Second is loving others with the heart of my Heavenly Father. I must see everyone beliver and unbeliever alike with the heart and mind of my Father for them. His children whom He loves and adores. While it is far easier to love those who love and respect us. It is far greater to love those most difficult to love. For if we love them with our Father’s heart then we become fully aligned with Him. We enter into full communion with Him, by taking up our cross and following after His Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who loves us after the heart of His Father.
Third and finally is that I must carry the joy of my Lord wherever I go. For I carry His very presence with me. I can speak His peace, love and joy into any situation, place or atmosphere. How then can the joy of His presence not be reflected on my face, in all that I say and do? I want to bring His joy with me always. Amen
In all my endeavors I shall seek progress not perfection. For I know I can only be perfected through Christ my Lord. ❤️
Having attended many different community meetings over the years to learn the culture and spirituality of the meetings; as well as to bring some joy if I could by my own personal testimonies to the Lord. I have found that such communities built upon the foundation of our Lord the Rock not only stands the test of time but thrive and grow.
Three such communities apart from the one I belong to which is LTW Ephraim and will always hold dear to my heart; they are Focolare, Servants of the Lord and Community of the Risen Lord (CRL).
These three encapsulates what it means to put love in action! They are welcoming, loving and most of all they seek with the Lord’s heart progress not perfection! For they know we can only be perfected through Christ our Lord.
Thank you, dear sisters and brothers for inviting and always welcoming me to journey alongside you. Praise the Lord
03 Dec 2022
I’m still reeling with excitement over today’s activations, speed-prophesying for one another. I saw first hand how easily one might fall into a performance based mentality instead of trusting fully in our relationship with our loving merciful Father who desires progress not perfection.
The whole learning process was encouraging, affirming and edyfying! While I’m quite sure it would have been daunting for anyone to have two priests to prophesy over I felt it was a real privilege an honour. First Fr Ken Barker founder of Missionaries of God’s Love and later Fr Chris Eaton both affirmed that what I had shared resonated with them. I also had the opportunity to prophesy over two ladies, one said it fully resonated with her while the other from the same order MGL said she needed more time to discern what was shared.
I was edified by all the prophesies for me. But two really stood out, one about God our Father wanting to have fun with me, like Father and son playing cards. The other was about ministering out of God our Father’s abundance. When I think that’s it there is always more. After she said it I felt an outpouring of grace. More Lord… More. Amen
It is on my heart to encourage more of you my fellow sisters and brothers in Christ; to step up boldly to pray over others especially those the Lord shows you or directs you to. He will show you familiar folk in the beginning before leading you to more which will put you outside of your comfort zone. Which is perfectly fine because He will be with you.
I have been doing so more and more when I have an opportunity. And it dawned on me just how many are happy to have someone pray over them. To see the Lord touch them!
It was my privilege to pray for a former EMHC who is now wheel chair bound over at another parish on Sunday, and at the end of mass on I searched out and prayed for his devout wife as well. The look of joy on her face was priceless. Thank you Jesus!
I was walking with my daughter to the bus stop from mum’s place to go home, when I heard a guy call out “uncle” from behind me. As there was an old man walking towards me I thought the couple walking behind me was calling out to him. But the old man neither acknowledged their call nor did he even look their way. As the old man passed me by I heard a loud call “uncle” again so I turned to have a look.
Lo and behold the tall lanky Chinese guy in his mid fifties wearing a surgical mask was actually calling out to me. He asked if I was a Christian and I replied yes but curious how did he know? It turns out the t shirt I was wearing had ‘Servants of The Lord” printed behind. We then had a wonderful chat all the way to the bus stop.
Turns out Joseph and his Filipino wife are missionaries who just returned from the Philippines two months ago. He is from an independent non denominational church. He shared that ever since he was baptised some 18 years ago, he was called to the Lord to go on mission. And has done so on His providence all this while.
I was curious how he encountered the Lord to begin with. Apparently prior to a car accident, Joseph was a ‘Tang Kee’ which is a Chinese medium. When he had that terrible accident he saw a vision of the Lord reaching out and pulling him out of the wreck. He did not know who Jesus was at the time. A few months later he was led to a church and when he saw a picture of Jesus he broke down and cried. He was later baptized and had ever since ministered to people through healing and leading them to the Lord.
I briefly shared my own journey with him till his bus arrived first. Told him I would look him up if I was in the neighborhood again. Afterall he is starting two floors above my mum.
Praise the Lord for such a meaningful encounter with a fellow brother in Christ!
On the way to Sunday Eucharist I was contemplating on how to move forwards with a renewed mind and ministering as a temple of the Holy Spirit. I met with a fellow brother Christ just outside the entrance and sharing the joys and wonders of my current journey. And at the same time my fears. Which on hindsight I should have none if my mind is renewed in the Lord!
As I walked in I met with his wife who stood with a sister in Christ, welcoming me. The wife shared that our sister was leaving Singapore for good, first back to Philippines then to Japan. She was going to leave in December. I asked if she had any prayer request? I was surprised to hear her share that she had an ovarian cyst issue. I paused a little stunned then realised my call to step up in faith and love! I offered to pray for her on the spot, held her shoulders and commanded for the cyst to shrink and disappear in Jesus’s name and for complete healing to take place. I then paused and shared a vision I had for her. I felt the awesome presence of our Lord. After praying I went to take my seat. Then remembered that I should ask her to keep me updated on her situation so I can give thanks and glory to God.
When I sat down I took out my Bible and was looking for Romans 12:12 about living with renewed minds but was led instead to Romans 12:12-13
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
I believe the Lord was affirming my act in faith! Praise the Lord!
Today as I look back, I want to thank and give praise to God for having given me the opportunity to do my little bit in sharing my faith and His Word through this blog. Praise and Glory be His alone!
Catholicjules.net was born 10 years ago when I started truly growing in my faith. Before its birth, I had started blogging a few years earlier under the moniker Juleslife and the title of my Blog was ‘Living Life With A Passion’ which had a garnered a decent enough following. But as I started growing in love with my Lord, I found that truly living life with a passion and in the fullness of life itself, is only to be found in a deep personal relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
And so with great desire, I wanted to share this truth with others. So I began posting my faith journey both on WordPress as well as on Facebook and started the sharing the links with both family and friends. Needless to say that in the beginning year or so, I had very few followers and wondered if I should continue. Well I prayed about it and decided that the whole idea to begin with was simply to share the faith and of my journey into greater faith. And so if just someone out there in the world was inspired or comforted then that would be enough!
If memory serves me right it was only towards the end of 2012 that I began my personal daily reflections ‘On Today’s Gospel’ and did this from Monday to Saturdays. This of course still continues to this very day. For Sundays, that is on my day of ‘rest’, I would always post Dr Scott Hahn’s Sunday Reflections. Just so you know, posting everyday six days a week, is not without its many challenges. I had persevered to do so even while on holiday overseas, at retreats, in sickness and in health. And continued to do so even though there were many, many, many, times I just did not feel like doing it! Or having sinned found it extremely difficult to share my reflections without feeling like a hypocrite! Each time however I would pray and entrust everything to Jesus asking Him for His mercy and grace to continue. I would pray to the Holy Spirit to guide me and inspire me, that whatever I shared would be according to His Word and Will for me to share. I am deeply aware of this great responsibility. For always in the back of my mind, I envision myself before the Lord upon my return home to Him, and He asks of me this very question, “I have asked you to feed my sheep and lambs have you fed them well?” I would like to be able to answer “YES Lord I have!” And then to hear Him say to me, “Well done my good and faithful servant, come dine with your master.”
Do pray for me dear sisters and brothers in Christ, that I may continue to share the light of Christ with all. Amen
Here are some of the statistics for Catholicjules.net
Here is a list of the countries who have visited the blog from Jan till Sept 2021
Two Most Unique & Beloved Monstrances to Adore our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
One is the figure of Christ with the Blessed Sacrament in place at His Heart. The other is the figure of our Blessed Mother with the Blessed Sacrament at the very centre.
Dearest Blessed Mother of Christ, our Beloved mother, we are grateful for your unending love and intercession for us. We your children love you with all our hearts… Happy Mothers day!May the loving grace of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, be upon all mothers this day and everyday . Amen
CatholicJules.net 