Extra grateful today...

Today was an extremely tiring day.

I had 9 lessons. My day started at 8AM and ended at 730PM. I had breaks in between, yeah but today was one of those extra exhausting days.

Just to be clear, I am not complaining.

In fact, I feel quite the opposite. I feel extra grateful today.

My last lesson was with a guy whom I've had a few lessons with. He's a funny guy, nice guy to teach. Today is his last lesson with the center. Again, I'm sad to see a student go. I do hope he learned something from us.

After I left the center, I treated myself to KFC... haha! Because KFC in Japan = Christmas and Christmas = happy day! When I got home, I rested for a short while and then packed a few things and headed out again. My destination was just a few minutes away from the house on foot.

Yeah, I went to the sentou to relax by soaking myself in hot...very hot... water. Haha! It was sooo nice!

Now, I'm back home. It's almost midnight. I'm not in a hurry to sleep because...

I'm not working tomorrow! Hooray! I'm trying to slowly insert a full day off in my schedule. Hehe! For now, I'll try taking two full Sundays off in a month. Let's see how things will go.

Thank you, Lord.

Another slow day...

Hmm, today is another slow day at work.

I'm not sure why, but I'm crossing my fingers that things will pick up by next week. For some reason, I'm not that worried.

Maybe because I know I have no control over this situation. What I can only do so far is just to ask for blessings from above that I hit my target number of lessons every month.

Perhaps, this is the reason why I'm not worried. I put my faith in Him.

Beautiful words...

"Pray continually and never lose heart."

Beautiful words from today's Gospel.

He always knows how to respond to my prayers. Thank you, Lordy.

Long Sunday...

Just a quick post as I’m tired.

It’s been a long day, and I’m just about ready to crash.

But before I do that...

Today started extremely early. I wanted to catch Mass before heading to the office. Since there are only a few Catholic churches in Tokyo, I had to choose one that’s not too far from my house and close to the head office.

Luckily, or maybe it was God working his ways, I found a Catholic church a few stations away from the head office.

The website said that 12NN was the English Mass. That meant that the 7AM Mass was going to be said in Japanese.

I actually didn’t mind. It’s good exposure to hearing the Japanese language and more importantly, the Mass follows a certain “formula.” As such, I do know what is happening.

As for the Mass readings, well, thankfully there were English missals placed on the pew so I still understood what the readings were.

The church was beautiful. I thought that since the Mass was an early 7AM, there would only be a handful of people. I was wrong and I was happy that I was wrong.

Close to 8AM, people started to enter the church and head for the pews. The church wasn’t packed but it wasn’t almost empty as well. I would say that there was good attendance - yay!

After the Mass, I had just enough time to get breakkie before starting work.

Next week, I can actually go to a later Mass since I don’t have work on Sundays. Yay!

Mass at St. Francis of Assisi...

I still haven't been feeling very well.

Thankfully, I didn't have any commitments yesterday. The entire day was spent at home. I spent a few hours for the online course I signed up for.

In the afternoon, I spent time resting and catching up on Game of Thrones.

My only plan for the day was to attend anticipated Mass since I may not be able to go to Mass today.

I thought of going to one of my usual churches but decided on being more adventurous (...or maybe stubborn since I should actually be resting. I shouldn't be tiring myself.).

Anyway, thanks to a website that lists all the churches and mass schedules in Singapore, I managed to find one church I haven't been to.

It's in Boon Lay, an area I rarely visit because I've really got nothing to do there. Hehe.

The church is St. Francis of Assisi. The saint is dear to me as he is the first saint I became acquainted with. He is, after all, the patron saint of our school. As early as prep, I was already invoking his name during prayers, "St. Francis of Assisi. Pray for us." after I call on our Lady, "Our Lady of Lourdes. Pray for us."

It was not that difficult to reach the church. Thanks to gothere.sg, I managed to easily find it. It's a small church with beautiful stained glass window.

The service was good. The church was packed. I'm always happy to see a packed church. Hehe!

Okay, adding St. Francis to the list of churches I've visited.

Several more to go...

1 Peter 5:7

Today's Bible verse:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7

Matthew 6:34...

Tagged by friend Edsel to post a Bible verse for the next 7 days.

I'll start with my fave verse:

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34

Happy Easter...

I attended the Easter Mass at St. Bernadette.

It was the most ideal church before my 730 dinner appointment. I could've gone to other churches closer to town. The reason I like St. Bernadette is because of its priests. I keep forgetting their names but the priests give homilies that are relevant to people's everyday lives.

Today, my takeaway was very simple, yet very meaningful:

"Let us strive to be Easter people, even on days when it feels like a Good Friday. We walk with hope from the light of the Resurrection."

Thank you for speaking your word through Fr. I forgot his name.

Happy Easter!

Merry Christmas...

A blessed Merry Christmas to all!

P.S. How beautiful is the Nativity tableau of the Church of St. Bernadette?!

The growing Madonna collection...

The Mary collection is growing. Hehe!

Before Richie and Mon went to Shanghai for their long weekend hols, Richie asked if I wanted anything from there. I was quick to say, "Hmm, not really, friend." He mentioned a few things they were planning to buy, such as silk, shirting materials. However, I didn't really see the need for those.

Then I quickly remembered what a great souvenir from China would be. I told Richie, "Friend, please find me a small statue of Guan Yin." I even sent him a few photos of the kind of Guan Yin I was looking for.

When Mon and Richie returned from Shanghai, they sent me a photo of what they bought. I immediately got excited because it was a Guan Yin carrying a baby. I didn't even know there was such a version. I thanked both of them and told them it would go perfectly with the growing Mary collection.

I sent the photo above to Tipz so he can see that the collection is growing. He asked if it wasn't sacrilegious to include a Guan Yin statue. Hmm, to be honest, I guess I'm not sure. It's about perception maybe?

To me, she is Guan Yin but I also see her as the Chinese version of Mary and Child. After all, Guan Yin is often seen as the Holy Mary among Buddhists (?). Maybe if I view it from that perspective, it won't be sacrilegious? Hehe!

So, from left to right, Guan Yin with Baby via Mon and Richie; Angkor Madonna; Black Madonna of Montserrat via Tipz; Mary in Delftware style; Bruges Madonna via Tipz. Not in photo is the Pieta statue I bought from the Vatican.

I found someone selling a Madonna in a batik kebaya but it was 8" tall! It's too big for my collection. It is sooo pretty though! Next I want to look for are a Japanese Madonna and if there is one, maybe an Indian Madonna.

Oh, I would also love to see a Madonna in a baro't saya or Filipiniana garb.

Our Lady's boy...

Perhaps it was because I went to a Catholic dedicated to Our Lady. That's the main reason I can think of why I have always been a devote of Our Lady.

When I was still in grade school, my younger brother and I would always pass by the church right next to our school to say a little prayer at the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

It was quite common for almost all the students at our school, since our school is named after the holy place where Our Lady appeared to the young Bernadette Soubirous.

At the altar of Our Lady of Lourdes, there is a pile of stones encased in a glass box. It is believed that Our Lady actually stepped on those stones. Every day, we would pass by the altar and kiss that glass case. (Thinking about it now, the germophobe in me is a bit grossed. Hehe! Just thinking of all the others who have kissed that glass case... shivers... hehe!)

Also, my own Mom taught me how to pray the rosary. I did not have the best respiratory system growing up. I made a lot of trips to the Emergency Room because I needed my nebulizer. Probably because of that, my Mom always prayed to Our Lady. When I was old enough, she taught me how to pray the rosary. That was a habit I brought with me up until today.

This devotion to Our Lady got me started in somewhat collecting unique kinds of images of Our Lady. Last year, I naturally bought a Pieta piece when I visited Vatican.

When PG Boy and I went back to Amsterdam, a thought came to me. Since The Netherlands is known for Delftware, maybe there is one of Our Lady. While we were walking along the canals one afternoon, we passed by a store specializing in Delftware. True enough, I found a beautiful, beautiful piece of Our Lady. It was quite expensive but it was the best souvenir I got from the trip.

During Tipz's trip to Spain and to Belgium, I asked him to find and bring back a Black Madonna and the Bruges Madonna for me. True friend that he is, Tipz got me the two pieces.

Most recently, I found another beautiful and unique Our Lady image in... drumroll please... Siem Reap. Thankfully, we managed to find the only (?) Catholic church in Siem Reap and we were able to attend the sunset Mass. While checking the shop, on display was a beautiful Cambodian Madonna.

Just like the Delftware piece, this one was also quite expensive. Maybe because it was carved out of a single piece of wood. Maybe because the details are very intricate. It is beautiful.

Hmm, I found another unique piece from a friend. It is Our Lady in a kebaya! A Peranakan Madonna, how unique is that?! However, I haven't gotten it yet because it is quite tall (about 9"). I want to stick to the current sizes that I have. Maybe I will find one soon.

I am also quite excited for my trip to Japan. I'm hoping to find a Japanese Madonna and child piece. I know that there's a possibility because I have previously seen a Chinese Madonna and child... at the Asian Civilisation Museum. Hehe!

Still, there might be a chance...

Random thought after Mass...

Almost all the time, there would be a question, an intention, a petition in my mind before the Mass starts.

And on more than one occasion, I've experienced some form of reply come from either the Mass readings or the priest's homily.

Today, the reply came from the Second Reading.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness... for whenever I am weak, then I am strong."

Grateful.

Luckily, I stumbled upon this church...

I woke up this morning feeling like I've been gifted with a new left ankle. Haha! I was so thankful that throughout the night, whatever it was that was supposed to function and heal the "sprain" did its job. I woke up feeling no pain at all and I am just grateful to be able to function normally again.

Needless to say, I was in high spirits when I left the house this morning.

Similar to last Sunday, the morning schedule was packed. I had a museum shift at 1130. I decided to hear Mass before heading to the museum. Thankfully, there are a few morning Masses in the city I can choose to attend.

Originally, my plan was to hear Mass at the same church I went to last Sunday. However, I arrived at the church feeling that there was no Mass that was going to happen at 9AM. It was already 845. I didn't see any church wardens guiding people to their seats. The church lights and fans were still off. There was no choir practicing the hymns. After saying a short prayer, I got up and left the church.

Thanks to my trusted Starhub data plan, I was able to find two other churches I could rush to for a morning Mass. First option was the Church of Sacred Heart at Tank Road. The second option was the Church of St. Bernadette at Zion Road for the 930AM Mass.

It was a few minutes before 9AM and I was having difficulty hailing a cab. I knew I would not make it to Tank Road in time.

I decided to take the train to Orchard and from Orchard, I took a short cab ride to the Church of St. Bernadette. Not only did I arrive early for Mass, I even managed to go to confession. Yay! I've been meaning to go to confession this morning and I'm glad I was able to do so at St. Bernadette's.

It was my first time to hear at St. Bernadette's. From the outside, the church looks old and 1940s. I was pleasantly surprised to see how modern and how spacious it was as soon as I stepped inside the church.

More importantly, I was happy to hear Mass from a priest who knew how to give a good homily. Today's homily talked about fraternal correction. He talked about how truth must be accompanied by two things - love and prayers. If one is going to do "fraternal correction" out of pride, self-righteousness, and the like, it is not fraternal correction. Fraternal correction is when one corrects his/her neighbour out of love for the other person. In my personal opinion, it is a very timely homily, especially in a society where we easily get angry or irritated by the "different" ways of the people surrounding us. Hehe.

The priests at this church and that church should attend Mass here and get pointers on how to give homilies. Haha! Other churches worth the trip because of the good priests are St. Anthony Padua in Woodlands, Church of St. Mary of the Angels in Bukit Batok, Church of the Holy Cross in Clementi, and Church of St. Francis Xavier in Serangoon Gardens.

The takeaway from this morning's Mass is a beautiful passage from St. Paul: "Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments."

Couldn't agree more.