Our Mother Mary & Infant Jesus

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Start of year end holiday

Closing Ceremony

Today, we had the Sunday School closing ceremony. The participation from parents surpassed all our expectations. All in all, I think we had one of the more successful closing ceremonies in that the parents were fully supportive in terms of giving moral support to their children and helping out financially and in the preparation of food and refreshments. The mood was happy and jubilent. The children were simply wonderful - maybe the fact that a long holiday is looming had something to do with it. ;D

Hopefully, our camera girl who was supposed to come out with photos and video clips from the occassion won't disappoint us. Watch this space.

In the meantime, St Mary's CCD wish you all a very happy and blessed holiday. We shall see you all next year.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Another year end is round the corner. And that means the end of the current sunday school curriculum in 3 weeks' time. It has been quite an eventful year which has slightly disrupted the running of our Sunday school classes and had resulted in unplanned holidays. Not that all children are complaining, I am sure. But still, I hope we teachers had done our very best and had put in our 110% effort to pass on our faith of the Catholic Church to our children.

Last Sunday, 10th October 2010, was Cathecatical Sunday. We had the blessing of the sunday school teachers and volunteers after the oath taking. Thereafter, all parents were invited to attend a session with Fr Vegeer to discuss on the role we all have to play, be it as parents or teachers.

Yesterday, we had a brief teachers' meeting on the coming closing ceremony which is to be held on 14th November 2010 at St Mary's Church Hall. The Coordinator in charge of this ceremony is Mr Bernard. Prior to this closing ceremony, most classes would be given a year end exam to check on whether our teachers have been successful in imparting Bible knowledge to the children. Presents for these deserving children would be given during the closing ceremony. So parents, do your part and help your little loved ones to revise what they have learnt during the classes.

Watch this space for more info on the upcoming event.

Is the heartache worth it?

Every year this time, we hear of some upset parents' frustration and despair when their children could not quite make it to the Sacrament of receiving the Holy Communion. Tears of anger and frustration; feelings of being short-changed by the church; feelings that the church is out-dated in its understanding of the modern world; feelings that the church is being unreasonable in imposing stringent requirements; feelings that the church is pushing away rather than embracing our children; and least but not last, threats of converting to another more understanding church of different denomination.

Cries of "what! another year of my children sitting through the communion class? another year of us parents ferrying our children and waiting for the extended hours of communion instruction classes?" "Doesn't the fact that we parents put in all those extra time justify our children to receive this Sacrament of Holy Communion?" "Just what more can the Church want from us?"

While all these cries do not go unnoticed and unsympathatized by the Church, nor by the teachers of these instruction classes, the Church holds steadfastly to certain basic requirements to be satisfied by parents of these children before they can be declared ready for this Sacrament.

And this basic requirement is - that parents would be willing and responsible enough to continue exposing and bringing their children up in the practice of our Catholic faith - both in and outside Church - both in and outside their homes. In other words, an active practising Catholic. There is no room for negotiation in that requirement.

Personally, I think the Church is right in upholding this requirement albeit it's painful to watch parents rant and rave against the Church for this seemingly unfair decision. I know of 2 families who did not do more than sent each of their children to the communion instruction class and confirmation instruction class at the relevant time. They were lost in space prior and in between those years of communion and confirmation. They were lucky to get their children through to confirmation before this stringent requirement was insisted upon by our St Mary's church. I have been observing these children over the years and not surprisingly, they do not manifest a desire to learn more about our faith. On the other hand, one is now studying aboard and the last I heard, he has stopped going to Sunday mass. As for the rest of the siblings at home, their mother told me that she has to drag them by the ear just to attend sunday masses - when she attends - sometimes.

I am not saying that these children would surely be heading for disaster time in the future. Nor am I saying that children from active practising Catholics would never ever come face to face with trouble in the future. But why should we turn away from the principle (ie of cultivating a loving and personal relationship with our Lord) for which our church rules are made to serve? Why should we deprive our children from every opportunity of finding that loving and personal relationship with our Lord?

So parents, take heart. And I am very glad to say that most parents, inspite of their cries of blue murder, do take heart and presevere to lead their children to the Lord. And I am sure that at the end of the day, when these children finally make it to receiving their first holy communion, no one would be prouder and more gratified than those parents who had hurled cries of anger and anguish against the instruction class teachers, the priest and the church. For is it not true of the saying - that the more difficult it is to achieve something, the more valuable that something is when you finally have achieved it.

So parents of this year's children who made it, congrats and God bless. Parents of those who need to go through another year, take heart, presevere and God Bless. May good things come in the end.

Walt Disney





Some years back, somebody pointed out to me that there were signs of satanic influence in the Walt Disney logo. Hud? walt disney cartoons? those wholesome family cartoons like Lion's King - Dumbo - Ariel - to name but a few. Those cartoons had been my secret weapon and ally for so many years in keeping my children totally engrossed and out of my hair while I snatched some precious quiet time to myself. How on earth can those wholesome cartoons be anything but wholesome and a beacon for decent family entertainment? Anyway, I soon put that out of my mind as my children grow out of the Disney years. And I seriously could not buy the idea that based on a simple logo, the whole production and the entertaining cartoons it produced could have had satanic influnence.

The reason why I choose to ponder on this issue today is because I came across an article in this month's issue of today's Catholic (Vol 22 No 8). That's right. An article on Why does Disney hate parents? Now isn't that confusing? I have always thought - and I dare say - that a lot of other parents too have thought - that Disney cartoons love parents. They love parents because they produced films of family values. And yet, there is this article written by a Sonia Poulton which pointed to the contrary.

Reading further on, Sonia pointed out the common thread among all these stories is the absence of parents or based on a single parent theme. In Lion's King, Simba was implicated in the death of his father and ran away in a vain attempt to escape his misery. Dumbo was a fatherless elephant who got separated from his mother. Neither Ariel (the Mermaid) nor Belle (Beauty and the Beast) had a mother. Think of Bambi (abandoned by his father before birth), Finding Nemo (spent most of his time estranged from his father and no mention of a mother) and Cinderella (an orphan ill-treated by her step-mother).

Apparently Walt Disney production, which has been accepted all these years without any question as the most child-friendly of organistions, appears to have something of a parent problem.

Well, Sonia Poulton's this month's piece had only been Part I, so I assume Part II will be following very soon. But in the meantime, perhaps, we parents should think twice before we sit our children down to another Walt Disney production just so we can have some quiet moments to ourselves. After all, we don't want our children to grow up thinking that it's ok or great to have a dysfunctional and broken family.

Monday, October 11, 2010

God's Wings

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God's wings...

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick.

When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings.

The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies.

When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live.

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge" (Psalm 91:4)

Being loved this much should make a difference in your life. Remember the One who loves you and then, be different because of it.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Happy Easter

Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year and we celebrate this day in observance of Jesus Christ's resurrection two days after his crucifixion. In conjunction with the festive season, St Mary's Sunday school has organised an Easter Treasure Hunt during the usual sunday school slot. Prizes will be given out to the group winners who collect the most treasure during the hunt. Please encourage your children to come and participate.

I will now like to share with you all a very moving Easter story which I have had the pleasure to come across. Read and be inspired.

Philip was born with Downs Syndrome. He was a pleasant child . . .happy it seemed . . . but increasingly aware of the difference between himself and other children. Philip went to Sunday school faithfully every week. He was in the third grade class with nine other eight-year olds.

You know eight-year olds. And Philip, with his differences, was not readily accepted. But his teacher was sensitive to Philip and he helped this group of eight-year olds to love each other as best they could, under the circumstances. They learned, they laughed, and they played together. And they really cared about one another, even though eight-year olds don't say they care about one another out loud.

But don't forget. There was an exception to all this. Philip was not really a part of the group. Philip did not choose, nor did he want to be different. He just was. And that was the way things were.

His teacher had a marvelous idea for his class the Sunday after Easter. You know those things that pantyhose come in . . . the containers that look like great big eggs? The teacher collected ten of them. The children loved it when he brought them into the room and gave one to each child.

It was a beautiful spring day, and the assignment was for each child to go outside, find the symbol for new life, put it into the egg, and bring it back to the classroom They would then open and share their new life symbols and surprises, one by one.

It was glorious. It was confusing. It was wild. They ran all around the church grounds, gathering their symbols, and returned to the classroom.

They put all the eggs on a table, and then the teacher began to open them. All the children gathered around the table. He opened one and there was a flower, and they ooh-ed and aah-ed. He opened another and there was a little butterfly.

"Beautiful!" the girls all said, since it is hard for eight-year old boys to say 'beautiful.' He opened another and there was a rock. And as third-graders will, some laughed, and some said, "That's crazy! How's a rock supposed to be like new life?" But the smart little boy who'd put it in there spoke up: "That's mine. And I knew all of you would get flowers and buds and leaves and butterflies and stuff like that. So I got a rock because I wanted to be different. And for me, that's new life." They all laughed.

The teacher said something about the wisdom of eight-year olds and opened the next one. There was nothing inside. The children, as eight-year olds will, said, "That's not fair. That's stupid! Somebody didn't do it right."

Then the teacher felt a tug on his shirt, and he looked down. "It's mine," Philip said. "It's mine."

And the children said, "You don't ever do things right, Philip. There's nothing there!"

"I did so do it right!" Philip said. "I did do it right. The tomb is empty!"

There was silence, a very full silence. And for you people who don't believe in miracles, I want to tell you that one happened that day. From that time on, it was different. Philip suddenly became a part of that group of eight-year old children. They took him in. He was set free from the tomb of his differences.

Philip died last summer. His family had known since the time he was born that he wouldn't live out a full life span. Many other things were wrong with his little body. And so, late last July, with an infection that most normal children could have quickly shrugged off, Philip died.

At his memorial service, nine eight-year old children marched up to the altar, not with flowers to cover over the stark reality of death . . . but nine eight-year olds, along with their Sunday School teacher, marched right up to that altar, and laid on it an empty egg . . . an empty, old, discarded pantyhose egg.

And the tomb is empty!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Happy Chinese New Year 2010

Hi Parents and children. Sunday School shall be closed next week in conjunction with the Lunar Year celebration. It shall be reopened on the following sunday, ie 21 February 2010. In the meantime, we wish all our Chinese parents, their loved ones and friends a very Blessed and Happy Chinese New Year and all our parents and loved ones a very Happy Holiday.
See you next week.
Irene Chang

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Saturday, January 9, 2010

First CCD teachers' meeting 2010

So, we had a full session of this year's first CCD teachers' meeting this afternoon. And below is the list of teachers who have been assigned to their respective classes. To ensure easier communication between the parents and Catechists, the teachers' contact numbers are also listed:

Kindergarten
Irene Chang - 019 819 6383
Sister Imelda - 013 566 0719
Joyce Loh - 014 682 9009

Primary 1
Kassandra Hii - 012 888 5667
Suzanne Wong - 016 884 8608

Primary 2
Michelle Ong - 019 834 8175

Primary 3
Juliana Yii - 019 886 7729

Primary 4
Joseph Loh - 016 889 8099
Lydia Ling - 016 889 8099

Primary 5
Wilson August - 013 820 5787

Primary 6
Bernard Wong - 016 891 9336

Form 1
Anne Pang - 016 872 7358

Form 2
Jessica Teo - 016 878 2352
Patricia Wong - 084 333 248/016 855 0188

Form 3
Christus August - 013 820 5787 / 014 697 1737

Form 4
Sir Charles Harry - 084 312525

As you can see, we still have classes with no helper. We need to have at least one helper for each class so that he/she may cover for the teacher when the latter cannot make it on any particular day. So hopefully, we will get some voluntary helpers among the parents.

For tomorrow, students are to bring along with them RM5.00 for their registration fees. Also bring along at least RM20.00 for the books which will be provided tomorrow, except for the kindergarten class, as books for this class are yet to be decided on. The prices of the books will be stated on the back cover.

Finally, it has been decided during the meeting to start a "Sunday School Collection". During class, a Sunday School Collection Box will be passed around for children to make their own contribution to the Sunday School activities. This project is set up for for a few reasons:

1. to teach our children to save up some of their own pocket money for the church. This is especially true for school going children as most of them receive pocket money during the weekdays. Encourage them NOT to spend every cent but to put aside some for Sunday School Collection. Start with something really small, maybe ten or twenty cents. Hopefully this will cultivate in them a habit of saving up to help the church when they are older. However, parents, please note that this collection is purely on a voluntary basis. There is absolutely no obligation to contribute to the collection box before they can attend sunday school. This is especially true for the kindergarten class. So please do not let your children be deterred from attending Sunday School classes if they do not/are not able to save up some contribution for the box.

2. Even though our ccd classes are run by volunteers, as with any other organisation/body, we do need some funds for the better running of our classes. Funds are required to buy presents for the children during the few festive seasons/competitions held throughout the year. Although we are presently receiving some financial help from our St Mary's Parish Council, an increase in funds would mean that we can do more for the children and parents alike. The contribution from the Sunday School Collection Box will be used for this purpose.

Thank you.
Irene Chang

Monday, January 4, 2010

New CCD Year 2010

Happy New Year, everybody. Hopefully, everyone is feeling refreshed and raring to go after the long break.

Registration for this year's CCD classes will be on Sunday, the 10th day of January @ 9.15am. All those with children of age 5 and above are encouraged to enrol their children. As had been announced previously, certain changes have been made to our CCD classes (please prefer to our previous posting heading "Newsletter"). Thus we shall need more volunteers in teaching and/or helping out in these CCD classes. Hopefully, more parents will come forward to volunteer as our children is our responsibility. If you are interested, please come to this year's 1st CCD teachers' meeting on this coming Saturday, 9th January @ 2.30pm at St Mary's Parish Hall.

For more info on the teachers assigned to their respective classes and the syllabus that will be taught, watch this space. It will all be settled and confirmed after our teachers' meeting.

Irene Chang