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.

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.

Praying the chaplet of Divine Mercy

From personal experience, the Divine Mercy Chaplet has been a great source of both spiritual calm and intercession.

A particularly difficult situation at work was largely resolved to the greater benefit of my colleagues and I can only attribute this last-minute reprieve we gained, to praying the chaplet fervently.

Here is a good explanation and description of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

The chaplet may be prayed at any time but the Lord Jesus Christ has also specifically asked for it to be recited as a novena. The second day of the novena in particular is especially for priests and the religious.

Here is an excerpt from the intention for the second day: "Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service, that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven."

One possibility is for you to begin the novena the day before your pledged hour, so that you may pray the second day's intention during your hour before the Blessed Sacrament.

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

Pope: Priests are living witnesses of the power of God at work in our world

"The priest", says the Holy Father in his message to participants in an international spiritual retreat for priests at the French shrine of Ars for the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, "is called to serve human beings and to give them life in God.

"... He is a man of the divine Word and of all things holy and, today more than ever, he must be a man of joy and hope. To those who cannot conceive that God is pure Love, he will affirm that life is worthy to be lived and that Christ gives it its full meaning because He loves all humankind."

Pope: Priests are Living Witnesses of the Power of God at Work in Our World - Catholic Online

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Prayer for Priestly Vocations

This prayer for raising up ardent, gentle and worthy men to priestly vocations comes from Catholic Online:

A PRAYER FOR PRIESTLY VOCATIONS - Prayers - Catholic Online

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Prayer for a Priest

Here's a prayer you may wish to dedicate to a particular priest, especially for those times when he may be beset by challenges.

PRAYER FOR A PRIEST - Prayers - Catholic Online

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Pope Benedict XVI on the role of the priest

The shortage of priests must not come to be considered as a normal or typical state of affairs for the future, the Holy Father told a group of prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil in Vatican City last week.

In this context, he encouraged the prelates "to combine efforts to encourage new priestly vocations and find the pastors your dioceses need, helping one another so that all of you have better-trained and more numerous priests to support the life of faith and the apostolic mission".

For the full article:
Pope Benedict XVI: The Role of the Priest is Irreplaceable! - Catholic Online

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A Prayer for Priests

O Holy Father, may the torrents of love flowing from the sacred wounds of Thy Divine Son bring forth priests like unto the beloved disciple John who stood at the foot of the Cross; priests who, as a pledge of Thine own most tender love, will lovingly give Thy Divine Son to the souls of men.

May Thy priests be faithful guardians of Thy Church, as John was of Mary, whom he received into his house. Taught by this loving Mother who suffered so much on Calvary, may they display a mother’s care and thoughtfulness towards Thy children. May they teach souls to enter into close union with Thee through Mary who, as the Gate of Heaven, is specially the guardian of the treasures of Thy Divine Heart.

Give us priests who are on fire, and who are true children of Mary, priests who will give Jesus to souls with the same tenderness and care with which Mary carried the Little Child of Bethlehem.

Mother of sorrows and of love, out of compassion for thy beloved Son, open in our hearts deep wells of love, so that we may console Him and give Him a generation of priests formed in thy school and having all the tender thoughtfulness of thine own spotless love.

Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897)