Saturday, October 24, 2009

Exam Blessing Mass

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ:)

Pray for us & all those who will taking exams.

------------------------------

Bear in mind everyone that we will held our 1st ever....

STUDENT & EXAM BLESSING MASS 2009

Celebrant: Fr.Simon

Date: 6th November 2009
Time: 630pm-930pm
Venue: G407, Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus.

Fees: RM5/person. This is for our dinner after the Mass :)

The Lord gives strength to His people,
He blesses them with peace. Psalm 29:11

Please confirm your attendance by
# 1. Approach any of the members of Swinburne CSS
# 2.Drop us an email at swinburne.catholic.society@gmail.com or
# 3.Simply wrote in the Swinburne CSS Group page wall!

BY or BEFORE : 4TH NOVEMBER 2009/Wednesday


See YOU there!

Regards,
Swinburne CSS.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Exam Blessing Mass


Student & Exam Blessing Mass

Swinburne University of Technology
Sarawak Campus


Shalom, Everyone!

Time flies very fast right??

And now is week 10!

Meaning that we only have 4 weeks before the FINAL EXAMS!

And now, pretty sure that everyone is very busy with tonnes of assignments and tests!

Panic? Please Don't.

Swinburne CSS brings you good news!

For the 1st time ever....we will held the...

STUDENT & EXAM BLESSING MASS in the campus!
Really?? YES! In our CAMPUS!


Where?
Lecture Hall G407, G Block
Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus

When?
6th November 2009/FRIDAY

What Time??
630pm-830pm

We're very blessed that we have given the opportunity to celebrate Mass in our campus.

So, don't miss it! Save it to your calendar entry!
Help us to Spread the news around :D

Regards,
Swinburne CSS


Saturday, June 27, 2009

Something To Share

Former Drug Addict now an inspiring Priest


In Hanoi, Vietnam:-

Only after spiraling down through gambling, drinking, drug abuse and prison did a man born into a wealthy family become the symbol of hope he is today: a priest who knows how a prodigal son can return to God.


Fr Francis Xavier Tran An, 39, now lives at the Benedictine monastery in Hue, central Vietnam, where he receives others who have struggled through a troubled past before seeking spiritual growth. Most of the numerous visitors from many provinces have had lifestyle problems — gambling too much or abusing alcohol and drugs — and some are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that usually leads to AIDS. But they all want to turn over a new leaf, Fr An said in a recent interview.


For this they seek the advice of this once-wayward monk, ordained a priest in January 2008. Many come for confession and catechism. Two school drop-outs, aged 19 and 23 with a history of gambling and selling their families’ belongings, turned up recently. Fr An not only heard their confessions but arranged for them to study computer skills as a way to make a new start.


“I listen to my visitors and share my life story,” he said. “God loved me and saved me. So I try to do something useful for the poor, the sick and the sinners.”


Born into a wealthy family in Vinh, about 320 kilometres northeast along Vietnam’s coast from the former imperial capital of Hue, Fr An made a lot of money trading gold and antiques after he graduated from high school. But he quickly spent it all gambling, drinking and using drugs. When the expenses of his profligate lifestyle exceeded his legitimate income, he resorted to stealing from his family and other people.


Soon he joined a local group of gangsters and got involved in their fights, until he ended up in a prison — a grim place where he spent a year and was beaten severely. He also felt loneliness grip him when he learned his girlfriend had married another man.


Once free again, however, he slipped back in with his old friends. His moment of truth came only when his mother caught him using drugs at home. Her agony and shock was so deep that it moved him to pray to God for help. He then made up his mind to leave drugs and his dissolute lifestyle behind.


In 1992, his father sent him to stay with a parish priest. Two years later, he joined the Benedictines, a monastic order.


Even so, family members did not believe him when he wrote that he had taken his perpetual vows, he recalled. They did not understand how much he had changed until local Benedictines confirmed he would be ordained.


Family, friends and even some former gangster associates attended the ordination and congratulated him. “They said they could never have imagined I would become a priest,” Fr An said. “Now I am very happy that peoples from my home parish warmly welcome me and ask me to pray.”


A 25-year-old Catholic man, who became infected with HIV after sharing needles with other drug users, acknowledged that Fr An’s story has inspired him.


“The priest treats me as his friend, he listens to me,” said the man, who visits Fr An regularly for confession from Da Nang city, 100 kilometres away. He added that his own relatives avoid meeting him for fear of being infected.


Another HIV-positive man said local nuns introduced him to Fr An. “The priest taught me how much God loves sinners like me,” he said. “So I decided to become a Catholic.” This man, 64, studies catechism with the priest three days a week and is scheduled to be baptized at Easter.


Fr An said his day now begins each morning at 4.00am, when he gets up for prayers and Mass. During the day he teaches other monks, receives visitors and goes to see people in need. Other Religious communities also invite him to talk during their retreats.


He uses the parable of the Prodigal Son to encourage people to return to the Church. “I am a modern prodigal son,” he says.

Monday, May 25, 2009

EXAM BLESSING MASS
when?
Friday, 29th May 2009
time?
530pm
where?
Holy Trinity Church, Kenyalang Park ,Kuching.
SEE YOU ALL THERE:)
Opss..wait..wait..
Can you do us a favour?
Do spread the news among your friends and inform them about the Mass.
Thank You.
p/s
Transportation problem? No idea where Holy Trinity Church is? Don't worry! Let us know:)
Regards,
Swinburne CSS.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Sekadar Renungan


Rosario vs SMS

(Rosary vs SMS)



Hari Paskah yang lalu, saya tidak dapat menyambutnya dengan keluarga kerana tugas. Namun, ini tidak melemahkan saya untuk meraikan kemenangan dan kebangkitan Yesus di tempat asing. Pagi-pagi lagi, saya telah bersiap ke Gereja yang berdekatan.

Timbul perasaan yang bangga apabila saya dapati golongan remaja ramai yang hadir merayakan Perayaan Ekaristi Paskah ini sehingga mengalahkan golongan senior!

Tetapi, semasa Misa Kudus dimulakan, saya terganggu dengan gelagat seorang anak muda sekitar 20-an yang asyik meraba telefon bimbitnya kemudian membalas setiap pesanan yang datang.

Dari gerak badannya, memang dia mengikuti perjalanan Misa Kudus tetapi dalam masa yang sama, jarinya pantas menekan butang telefon bimbitnya. Mungkin badannya sahaja yang berada dalam Gereja namun hati dan fikirannya sudah melayang ke tempat lain.

Gelagat si anak muda ini mengingatkan saya kepada gurauan seorang rakan. Rakan ini merujuk pada teman sebiliknya yang sedang ‘berdoa rosario’ namun sebenarnya sedang sibuk membalas pesanan ringkas(sms).

Membalas sms dan berdoa rosario mempunyai satu persamaan iaitu sambil jari jemari kita ‘sibuk’, minda dan perasaan kita akan dibawa menghayati teks-teks sms yang disampaikan.

Kita akan cuba memahami apa yang sedang dikatakannya dan apa yang sedang dirasainya. Kita cuba sedaya upaya ‘bersatu’ melalui perbualan dalam sms dengan individu tersebut walaupun tidak mendengar suara orang tersebut dan tanpa bersemuka dengannya.

Hal sedemikian juga berlaku ketika kita sedang berdoa rosario. Melalui peristiwaperitiwa dalam doa rosario, kita cuba menghayati setiap peristiwa, terutama sekali perasaan dan fikiran Yesus serta Maria. Kita cuba untuk berinteraksi dengan segala perasaan dan fikiran yang terkandung di dalam peristiwa rosario walaupun kita tidak mendengar suara dan juga tidak bersemuka dengan mereka. Rosario merupakan salah satu doa yang amat berkesan dalam menyelami misteri penyelamatan Yesus. Ia dapat diselami melalui doa dan renungan yang khusyuk.

Ia membawa ke arah pengalaman rohani terdalam yang akan memperkayakan pengetahuan kita tentang iman, kepedihan, kesengsaraan, tangisan semasa Yesus melalui azab sengsara menuju ke Golgota. Doa rosario membantu kita ke arah penghayatan terdalam tentang kisah sengsara Yesus. Doa tersebut membantu kita fokus kepada peristiwa yang disebutkan. Doa yang berulang-ulang ini memisahkan kita dari gangguan sekeliling dan memusatkan segala fikiran dan perasaan kita kepada peristiwa. Dengan cara ini kita mampu menghayati peristiwa dalam doa rosari.

Namun bagi sms, ia tidak membantu dalam memperdalamkan penghayatan perhubungan. Ia cuma sekadar di permukaan kerana masih terlalu banyak yang perlu diketahui dan yang ingin dilihat. Ini hanya akan terjawab apabila dua individu tersebut bersemuka.

Generasi muda Katolik kita perlu dididik dan belajar untuk menghayati segala peristiwa dalam kisah sengsara dan kebangkitan Yesus agar generasi Katolik yang akan datang tidak akan disebut ‘cantik di luar, buruk di dalam’.

Ia merupakan contoh kepada sindrom kurangnya pengalaman peribadi bersama Yesus, penyakit yang melanda generasi muda kita hari ini.

Namun, generasi masa kini lebih cepat belajar sms daripada belajar doa rosario. Ini adalah perubahan yang amat jelas. Perubahan yang kadangkala pedih untuk mata melihat, sedih untuk hati memerhatikannya. Walaupun sms penting untuk menghubungkan kita dengan rakan rakan, kita sebagai belia harus juga tidak lupa untuk sentiasa memelihara perhubungan dengan Dia, Sang Pencipta kita. — Pierre Kee

p/s Thanks to this article-->will try not to text in Church anymore during Mass!!

Bahasa Malaysia Edition


Mengapa Tuhan Tidak Mendengar Doa Saya?

(Why God did not listen to my prayers?)



Soalan:
Pada masa-masa kesusahan, saya selalu merasakan Tuhan itu begitu jauh. Tuhan seakan tidak mendengar doa keluhan saya. Saya pernah mendapatkan nasihat dan mendengar jawaban daripada orang lain, tetapi jawaban yang diberikan tidak memuaskan hati saya. Bolehkah Paderi membantu saya?

Jawapan:
Mungkin penerangan dan jawaban saya juga tidak memadai untuk anda. Tetapi saya percaya bahawa soalan ini timbul apabila kita cenderung melihat Tuhan di dalam iman manusia. Saya menyedari, ramai di antara kita yang menganggap Tuhan itu adil dengan cara menghukum mereka yang bersalah dan memberi pahala kepada yang melakukan kebaikan. amun, sekiranya kita menghayati Firman Tuhan, cintakasih dan belas kasihan-Nya adalah tidak dapat diukur sebaliknya Dia sentiasa mahu membuat kebaikan untuk kita.

Apabila kita membaca Perjanjian Lama, kita dapat melihat dengan jelas belas kasihan Tuhan terhadap penderitaan manusia. Tuhan melihat dan merasai penderitaan orang-orang Ibrani. “Aku telah melihat betapa kejamnya umat-Ku dianiaya di Mesir ... Aku tahu akan segala penderitaan mereka.” (Keluaran 3:7). Tuhan turut menderita dengan mereka: “Aku diam dan menahan diri. Aku akan berteriak seperti perempuan yang bersalin” (Yesaya 42:14). Penderitaan Tuhan ini turut dipamerkan di dalam Kitab Yeremia ketika Dia memujuk Rahel yang kehilangan anaknya Efraim, “Engkau anak kesayangan-Ku, anak tercinta, buah hati-Ku. Aku mengasihimu; Aku akan berbelas kasihan” (31:20). Petikan-petikan ini adalah di antara contoh yang memperlihatkan sifat Tuhan yang sangat mengasihani.

Di dalam Perjanjian Baru, kita dapat melihat buktibukti jelas tentang belas kasihan Tuhan di dalam banyak cara. Di dalam pelayanan-Nya, Yesus banyak memberi kelegaan, menyentuh mereka yang sakit dan menyembuhkan serta mendekati semua orang, bukan sahaja orang-orang yang tidak diterima oleh masyarakat tetapi orang-orang kaya serta berpengaruh.

Yesus tidak menyatakan kepada umat untuk menanggung penderitaan mereka sendiri atau penderitaan itu datangnya dari Tuhan. Yesus merasai penderitaan yang ditanggung oleh manusia misalnya Dia menangis kerana Yerusalem, Dia meratap kerana mahu melindungi umat-umat-Nya di bawah naungan sayap-Nya sambil berharap mereka akan membukakan hati untuk menerima tawaran cintakasih-Nya. Tuhan tetap bersama dengan kita di dalam penderitaan dan kejahatan. Malah Dia berada dekat dengan kita dan menderita bersama-sama dengan kita.

Apabila kita memperkatakan mengenai penderitaan Tuhan, selalunya kita berfikir dari sudut pengalaman manusia. Penderitaan bagi manusia selalunya mengancam keutuhan iman tetapi ini tidak ada kaitannya dengan Yesus.

Tuhan bekerja di dalam diri kita ketika kita menderita. Biasanya penderitaan yang kita alami mengancam dan merosakkan perhubungan kita dengan Tuhan. Kita mula mempersoalkan cintakasih dan keadilan Tuhan semasa penderitaan.

Kita tertanya-tanya sama ada kita boleh terus berdoa kepada Tuhan yang kita anggap menghantar atau punca kepada penderitaan ini. Seharusnya, kita harus teguh dan kuat dengan kehadiran Tuhan seperti yang dinyatakan oleh pemazmur di dalam Mazmur 23 “Walaupun aku melalui tempat yang gelap gelita, aku tidak akan takut gelap gelita, aku tidak akan takut, ya Tuhan.”

Tuhan memberikan kebebasan kepada manusia agar mereka bersedia dan ‘merdeka’ di dalam memilih bagaimana untuk mempersembahkan cintakasih, penghargaan dan melayani Sang Pencipta. Perhubungan yang lemah tidak akan dapat mempersembahkan penghormatan dan kemuliaan kepada Tuhan yang banyak memberi kita rahmat. Penderitaan hanyalah bersifat sementara. Terdapat misteri yang sangat mendalam mengenai penderitaan dan ini sukar difahami sebagai manusia yang mempunyai banyak kelemahan.

Kita boleh menyatukan penderitaan dengan Kristus dengan datang kepada-Nya di dalam doa dan renungan. Mazmur merupakan doa-doa yang datangnya dari penderitaan dan pasti ada satu yang memenuhi keperluan doa anda.


Di dalam penyembuhan juga memerlukan kita untuk menjangkau orang lain. Datanglah kepada Bapa Yang Mengetahui seperti Yesus berdoa kepada Bapa- Nya, Dia berdoa ketika di dalam senang, kesyukuran dan penderitaan. Tuhan mampu menukarkan penderitaan dan memperbaharui semangat hidup kita, dengan ini kita akan merasai pengalaman kebangkitan yang sebenarnya.


Oleh itu, kita boleh mengatakan seperti yang dikatakan oleh Petrus “Sekarang aku bersukacita kerana boleh mengalami penderitaan untuk kepentingan kamu. Dengan penderitaan jasmani, aku melengkapi apa yang masih harus diderita oleh Kristus.” (Kolose 1:24)— Oleh Sr Louise Zdunich, NDC


Saturday, April 11, 2009

Swinb-CSS Welcoming Gathering


Swinburne CSS Welcoming Gathering 2009























It was a very fun and exciting night! make sure that you can come for the next gathering ^_^

Friday, April 10, 2009

Why Good Friday?



GOOD FRIDAY


Good Friday, called Feria VI in Parasceve in the Roman Missal, he hagia kai megale paraskeue (the Holy and Great Friday) in the Greek Liturgy, Holy Friday in Romance Languages, Charfreitag (Sorrowful Friday) in German, is the English designation of Friday in Holy Week -- that is, the Friday on which the Church keeps the anniversary of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Parasceve, the Latin equivalent of paraskeue, preparation (i.e. the preparation that was made on the sixth day for the Sabbath; see Mark 15:42), came by metonymy to signify the day on which the preparation was made; but while the Greeks retained this use of the word as applied to every Friday, the Latins confined its application to one Friday. Irenaeus and Tertullian speak of Good Friday as the day of the Pasch; but later writers distinguish between the Pascha staurosimon (the passage to death), and the Pascha anastasimon (the passage to life, i.e. the Resurrection). At present the word Pasch is used exclusively in the latter sense. The two Paschs are the oldest feasts in the calendar.

From the earliest times the Christians kept every Friday as a feast day; and the obvious reasons for those usages explain why Easter is the Sunday par excellence, and why the Friday which marks the anniversary of Christ's death came to be called the Great or the Holy or the Good Friday. The origin of the term Good is not clear. Some say it is from "God's Friday" (Gottes Freitag); others maintain that it is from the German Gute Freitag, and not specially English. Sometimes, too, the day was called Long Friday by the Anglo-Saxons; so today in Denmark.

Taken from Catholic Encylopedia

A Miracle in Nibong Tebal


Bible not burnt during FIRE at Prayer Room





NIBONG TEBAL:
A fire broke out in the prayer room at the Church of St Anthony on Feb 9 at about 4.30am. The curtains, the carpets, the wires, the fibre-glass Cross of the World Youth Day, the vine decoration, a few wooden stands, cushions and pillows were all burnt leaving the tabernacle, the crucifix and statues with a thick coat of pitch black smoke on them.

However, the miracle was that the Bible which is the living word of God was untouched by the devouring fire. “Isn’t the Lord telling us that though there had been a human carelessness which led to damage and loss yet, He, the Lord our God through His living word, is always with us even through the burning furnace of fire.

So, have faith and take courage!” asked Parish priest Fr Francis Xavier Selvarajoo.
Yes, miracle O miracle! It is indeed a powerful manifestation and miracle of the living word among us. Incidentally, it is the same Bible which Fr Francis Xavier usually uses to pray over the sick and even to “exorcise”.

Taken from HERALD Malaysia Online

Published on March 02 , 2009

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Welcoming Gathering


Date: 28th March 2009, Saturday

Venue: St. James Room, Level 1, St. Joseph Parish Center
Time: 7.30 p.m. - 10.00 p.m.

Ticket: RM 5 per person (Refreshment)

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Chrism Mass



Chrism Mass
(What is Chrism Mass? please click on the above)


Venue: St. Joseph's Cathedral
Date: 18th March 2009, Wednesday
Time: 7.30 p.m.




Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Coming Soon


Welcoming Gathering
Date:has been postponed

Singai Camp 2009
Date: Has Been Postponed to a later date

more details up soon ;)