1,000th Hour reached!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The 1,000th Hour in our Silent Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament project arrived at 10am today, May 6th 2010, and the Santa Maria della Strada Chapel was packed with parishioners to commemorate the culmination of this significant undertaking.

Parish Priest Father Simon Yong, Assistant Parish Priest Father Albert Tan (pictured) and members of the Golden Jubilee team were among those who gathered in the chapel for the 1,000th hour.

Later, Father Simon told the congregation that the Church of St Francis Xavier was moving towards a more permanent and perpetual format of Silent Adoration, now that this "project-based" initiative had been well received.

(The 1,000 Hours project was held in conjunction with the Year For Priests as initiated last year by Pope Benedict XVI.)

Suggestions have also been received from parishioners over the past two weeks on how they feel the church could continue to hold silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. These will be reviewed and considered in our effort to reach the "critical mass" - as Father Simon put it - necessary to have the perpetual adoration.

Once again, the Spirituality Sub-Committee would like to thank everyone, especially those who pledged their respective hour for adoration, and those who contributed towards the organising of the project.

God Bless.

All signed up!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We've done it! All the 1,000 Hours of Silent Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament have been fully pledged and the historic 1,000th hour will be marked by an hour of worship by the Golden Jubilee Committee.

That hour will be on Thursday, May 6, 2010, from 10am-11am.

We would like to thank all those who have contributed in one way or another to making this initiative a success.

For those who would like Silent Adoration to be a regular practice in our parish, a suggestion book has been opened outside the chapel. Kindly give us your suggestions and feedback on how we should continue.

God Bless,

The Spirituality Sub-Comittee

Into the home stretch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We have less than a month to go before the 1,000 Hours of Silent Adoration exercise comes to a close, in early May 2010.

But there are still hours available for you to sign up and pledge YOUR time before the Lord. You may sign up at the notice board near the Santa Maria della Strada Chapel, or outside church after all weekend masses.

If you have not signed up yet, now's the time to do so.

The Spirituality Sub-Committee would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed to the 1,000 Hours initiative in one way or another, with their prayers, support, helping to spread the word, and of course, in the "recruitment" drive.

God Bless.

No Silent Adoration during Holy Week

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Just a reminder, in case you have not signed up for the 1000 Hours but still want to go to the Chapel: there will not be any Silent Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from Monday March 29 up to and including Easter Monday, April 5, because of Holy Week.

Normal hours for Silent Adoration will resume at 7am on Tuesday, April 6.

Thank you and God Bless,

The Spirituality Sub-Committee

Praying before the Blessed Sacrament - powerful testimony

“When the Sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work; when all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit: they experience peace and strength....”

In a recent Parish bulletin, we read the above testimony given by our beloved Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta on the strengthening power of the Blessed Sacrament.

This grace could also manifest in your life today. Come and sit; kneel and pray; spend time with the Lord and pray for our Priests before the Blessed Sacrament. Do this and be renewed.

Sign up to pledge an hour before the Blessed Sacrament as part of our 1,000 Hours initiative. Each parishioner is encouraged to sign up for one hour only as we would like 1,000 different parishioners to be involved.

You may sign up on the form outside the chapel on weekdays, or outside the church after all weekend masses.

Always have a plan B

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? Well, for that to happen, sometimes we need to have a plan in the first place.

Therefore, those who have signed up for the 1000 Hours are advised to arrange for a backup in case they are unable to make it for the hour they have pledged.

Remember, this hour is YOUR personal pledge to be in the presence of the Lord; your undertaking to be present in faithfulness to Him.

It is therefore your responsibility to make arrangements with a friend or relative to take your place in the event that you cannot be present owing to last-minute, unforeseen circumstances.

We say this only because there have been instances where those who signed up were unable to be there and their respective hours passed with NO ONE at the allotted seat to be in Silent Adoration before the exposed Blessed Sacrament.

So upon signing up, you should immediately contact someone to be your "Plan B" ... just in case.

A message from Bro. Eugene Koh

Brother Eugene Koh (pic, left) is the new chairman of the SFX Golden Jubilee Spirituality Sub-Committee, having taken over from Bro. Simon Anand at the end of 2009.

Bro. Eugene's message to all parishioners:

"I am glad to continue to uphold the vision of the Golden Jubilee Spirituality Sub-Committee Team which is to promote the spiritual aspect of our Parish life in preparation towards the Parish’s 50th Anniversary Celebration.

"The Team has been working tirelessly to plan and to organise activities which are spiritually nourishing for our people. As such, one of the activities is the 1000-hour adoration to pray for our priests which has received very positive response and participation from our parishioners.

"My hope is that as we participate in the various activities organised by the Church, we will also grow as Church in Faithfulness to Christ. (Acts 2:42)

"God bless you."

Sch. Eugene Koh, S.J.

Have you pledged your hour yet?

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. - Matthew 26:40

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The need for prayer is greater than ever in these trying times. We urge all parishioners who have yet to sign up for the 1,000 Hours to pledge their respective one-hour slots.

Let us continue to pray, not only for our priests and religious, but for peace, goodwill and love to prevail over ill intent and violence; and also that justice be upheld in our country.

We welcome all to join us in this endeavour - this figure of 1,000 hours should not be too hard to reach. As our Parish priest Father Simon Yong has said, 1,000 is just about 25% of the overall congregation.

So, do sign up after any of the weekend masses. The noticeboard and sign-up sheets will be located near the temporary Coffee Morning tables while the front porch is being renovated.

Thank you for your participation and God Bless.

An appeal ...

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As Father Simon reminded us this past weekend, signing up for an hour of silent adoration before the Blessed Sacrament is your PLEDGE to spend time in devotion before the Real Presence of the Lord.

As such, we would like to appeal to all those who have made the pledge to:

* Please be punctual - do not arrive late for your allotted hour;

* Kindly spend the hour in total devotion, FOCUSED on prayer and your silent communion with the Lord. Put aside all connections to the material world for the hour - no mobile phones or other distractions please;

* Stay the FULL hour. Please do not leave before your allotted hour is up.

For those who have yet to sign up, but who use the facilities near the chapel, we humbly request that you refrain from talking loudly or running in the corridor, as sound really carries inside and it can be very distracting to those who are praying before the Blessed Sacrament.

Thank you very much for your kind cooperation in these matters. May this 1,000 Hours pledge be fulfilling and spiritually rewarding to us not just as individuals but as a praying parish.

Yours in Christ,

The Spirituality Committee

A most useful booklet

A special booklet of prayers has been published as a supplementary resource for those who have pledged, or plan to pledge, an hour of Silent Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament in conjunction with the Year For Priests.

A Private Book of Prayers for Priests is priced at RM3 to cover costs and is available from the Parish Office and also after all weekend masses.

The full-colour 32-page booklet is beautifully illustrated and includes such prayers as the Litany of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim; a Daily Offering for Vocations; A Marian Prayer for Priests; and many more.

Several stamped copies have been placed in the Santa Maria della Strada Chapel for use by parishioners during their respective Hour of Silent Adoration; kindly note that these are not to be removed from the chapel.

God Bless and may you have a fulfilling Hour of Silent Adoration.

A word from our outgoing sub-committee chairman

The preparations for the 1,000 Hours of Prayer in conjunction with the Year For Priests were handled by the Golden Jubilee Committee's Spirituality Sub-Committee.

Brother Simon Anand (pictured here in the chapel during the first of the 1,000 hours), who headed up the sub-committee for the last few months, is leaving the parish to continue with the next stage of his journey towards priesthood.

Brother Eugene Koh will be taking over with effect from this month.

It is only appropriate that we include them both in our prayers for priests and the religious, not only during our respective pledged hours of silent adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, but at all times when we pray for vocations and for the religious who serve the church tirelessly.

Bro. Simon had this to say:

As I am leaving for another phase of my journey towards priesthood, I thank all of you who have worked with me throughout this year 2009, particularly in organising events and prayers which prepare us to anticipate the 50th anniversary of the parish in the year 2011 with faithfulness to Christ.

I pray that you may continue to be receptive to the promptings of the Spirit and respond to it wholeheartedly.

God Bless SFX!

Simon Anand

Amen, and God Bless You Too, Brother.

Year for Priests - SFX's 1,000-hour pledge starts today

Greetings, Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Today, the Solemnity of Christ the King, also marks the start of the Church of St Francis Xavier's 1,000 Hours of silent adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.

From now until early May, specific hours have been allotted for individual parishioners to pledge their time before the Blessed Sacrament in the new chapel to pray for priests and religious.

Schedules will be put up outside the church after all weekend masses so that parishioners may sign up. Each hour is to be pledged by ONE individual only, but anyone is welcome to be present.

The hours are:

Monday to Friday:

7am-8am, 8am-9am, 9am-10am, 10am-11am, 11am-noon, noon-1pm; 8pm-9pm, 9pm-10pm

Saturday:

7am-8am, 8am-9am, 9am-10am, 10am-11am, 11am-noon, noon-1pm

Sunday:

10am-11am

Please check back here from time to time for more updates, information and prayer resources.

God bless,

The Spirituality Sub-Committee

Golden Jubilee Committee