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.

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.

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

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

Church of St Francis Xavier Golden Jubilee Prayer

50th Anniversary Prayer
Heavenly Father, ever powerful and compassionate God, we thank you for your faithfulness in leading us to our 50th anniversary. We pray that you continue to lead us through your Spirit to live "As Church in Faithfulness to Christ".

Help us to encounter you in your Word and in the teachings of the Church. Through the witness of our lives, may we courageously share our faith in justice, service and love. May we deepen our relationship with you through faithful participation in prayer, the Liturgy and the Sacraments.

All this we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever, Amen.

Holy Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us. St. Francis Xavier, pray for us.