Our chaplain, Fr A Christophe, shares with us the last few weeks of his brother, John, a Cistercian monk.

On 21 May 2008, I reached the monastery.  The Abbot, J.M. Couvreur, had briefed me on John’s health condition.  Two months earlier, John had played the pipe organ for the last time.  On 23 March Easter Sunday, the dreadful illness which had spread, took complete hold of him.  When I reached his bedside, John, sitting in bed, was being spoon fed.  He was too weak to leave his bed.  

What was comforting to me was the care given by the Brothers as well as the medical personnel.  More importantly, John was constantly in union with Jesus.  Jesus’ name was often on his lips.  While in pain, he murmured, “Lord, by my strength… Jesus…Jesus.”  Now, whenever his Brother monks were singing Mass or the Divine Office, John, lying in bed, listened attentively to the prayers which were played over a tiny loudspeaker placed next to his bed.  And John looked always more peaceful.  

One afternoon, realizing that I was by his bedside, he called me, “Andre… you were told, were you not?”  Then he paused and went on, “…about my illness…” and paused again upon the last word.  “It is a serious illness,” John gravely added.  I replied to him, “Paul told me everything.”  After that, John felt at peace.  

Days passed by.  A week later, John expressed his wish to listen to music.  His wish was listened to…

Some time earlier, I heard John murmur, “Jesus, the pain is really awful… Jesus, you are slow to come… Jesus, come… do come…”.

And somehow, his sufferings seemed to leave him for the next 12 days, except for the last 2 days of his life when John was groaning.  

Then, indeed Jesus did come on 23 June, between 7 to 7.30pm.  Brother Michael had given John his last meal at 6.15pm.  After which, Brother went away to take his meal.  When he came back, John had already departed.  Indeed, Jesus had come to take John home.  

PS:

My prayer had been answered beyond my asking.  Not only Jesus alleviated John’s sufferings, He shortened his sufferings by calling John back to Him… for, though expected, John’s earlier departure came as a surprise to all of us.  Then, came to my mind the words of a family member, those words put to me years ago on a similar occasion: “For those who suffer, death is a deliverance”.

Reflection 

When someone leaves us, it means that the life-time Mission of that person has been carried out.  

Moreover, the leaving of that person is for some purpose.  Whatever the way Christ chooses to bring us back to Him, let us prepare ourselves for the last day of our life.  Let us accept death and make it an act, conscious and free, as Jesus did.  To Jesus, death was an act of his own free will, as He put it: ‘No one takes life from me, I lay it down of my own free will.’  (John 10, 18).  The day of our death is the most important day of our life.  It has to be the most beautiful one, for we enter into eternal life.  

Today, we will be ‘with me in paradise’ (Luke 23, 43).  Let us be prepared to offer our life and the very day of our death when we come to know that ‘the hour has come for us to pass from this world to the Father…(John 13,1).

Mother was destined not to be a nun, to live a life in the convent. Still, I will tell you her story. Perhaps it may inspire you, just as she had inspired her three sons, John, Paul and myself.

Mother did not publicly profess the vows of any religious order, i.e. Chastity, Poverty and Obedience. Yet, she made her life as an offering to God. After she died, I discovered amongst her papers, her daily missal. In the missal, there was an old holy picture. At the back of it, she had written, in a handwriting similar to that of a 12-year old, an act of consecration of herself to God’s will. She had always put God first.

Mother did not make the vow of Chastity. When my father died, I was only 5. John and Paul were 4 and 2 respectively. Mother was only 35 years old and she chose to live in chastity. Once, she confided in me, “I do not want to remarry and give you a step father. I’d rather work alone to bring you up.” In fact, she took us to daily Mass, and Christ was her constant companion during her 48 years of widowhood, her daily communion. She once shared with me about her life in a boarding school. She had asked a nun, “What time is it?” The sister replied,” It is time to love Jesus with your whole heart.” Mother told me that she has remembered this response ever since, and it had guided her in the upbringing of her sons. Indeed she knew how to correct us, uncannily choosing the most appropriate time and way.

Mother did not make the vow of Poverty, yet she lived a very simple life. After Father died, she took over his trade as the village’s coal distributor. Mother would heave the coals onto the scales, bag them and thereafter haul them for delivery to the customers. She manhandled, perhaps, tons of coal weekly. They were sold to pay for our education in the seminaries. After paying for our fees, she had very little for herself. That didn’t matter, as she was detached from material wealth. For a very long time, she was the only one in the extended family that did not own a television. She read the newspapers to keep abreast of the news. She was contented with the bare essentials.

While she did not make the vow of Obedience, she led a life obeying God’s will. For example, when John was 12, he returned home from an alter server’s retreat bearing a letter from the superior of the Minor Seminary addressed to Mother. It wrote, “Following after your eldest son, Andre, your second son, John, has also expressed his desire to enter the Seminary.” Mother was very surprised. Since he was a small boy, John had always said that when he grows up, he would be a farmer, just like grandfather. Mother looked at John, who was standing quietly by her side. No words came forth. A few days later, John and I knew that she had accepted God’s plan for John.

Two years later, it was Paul’s turn to break the news to her. He too would be entering the Seminary.

I became a diocesan Priest, then joined the MEP and came out to Singapore. John too became a diocesan Priest and later a Trappist Monk. Paul was also ordained, but as he was very scholastic, he taught in the Seminary, and thereafter in a number of Catholic universities in France till he retired some years ago.

Mother insisted on working till she was 65 so as to earn a state pension and not to be dependent on others. During the school holidays, we came home to lend mother a helping hand. Although she badly needed and welcomed these extra young hands, she would at times instead encourage us to go out and take charge of the youth in our village.

John, Paul and I admired Mother’s spirit of sacrifice, her courage and the way she lived her Christian life. Indeed she made the offering of her life to the Lord. She offered all her 3 children to Jesus, whom she loved so much.

Have you seen or noticed any signs of “calling” among your children? Did you encourage them? Did you help nurture them or did you ignore them, or worse, did you discourage them?

Did you notice how many priests in Singapore had recently celebrated 50 years of priesthood? Without new vocations, our Church in Singapore will quickly deteriorate, like it did during the last few decades in France.

May the Spirit of Jesus fill the earth and your minds and hearts!

Send forth your spirit, O Lord. And renew the face of the earth!

This is our prayer today on this great feast of Pentecost. We want to welcome into our minds the Spirit of Jesus. We want the Holy Spirit to renew us and change our world.

In praying these words on this feast of Pentecost, do we mean that we really want the Sprit of Christ to come and renew our world of today? Does today’s world not need to be renewed? Is it not full of injustice, pride and oppression? Is our world not becoming the world of the rich, the powerful and the famous?

What about ourselves? Do we, as well as our world, not need to be changed and transformed by the Holy Spirit? Are we not compromising with injustice, falsehood and pride? Do we allow our minds to be filled with the spirit of this world, worshipping money, power and fame; Or do we welcome into our minds the Spirit of Jesus, which is a spirit of poverty, humility and meekness?

Warning the early Christian, Paul wrote to the Romans: “Do not conform to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.”

Now, what about the Church? Does the Church of today not need to be transformed and renewed in the way Christ wanted the Church to be, when he founded it on the day of Pentecost? Is the Church of today the church of the poor, of the meek and of the humble?

Do we members of the church put into practice the teaching of the church, regarding social justice for instance? For, if we fail to do so, then the message of Christ will lose its credibility.

Do we Christians or do we not want the Holy Spirit to give us strength to change what has to be changed in us and around us, in the Church as well as in our world? If we do want, we can sincerely pray ‘Send Forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

Tonight, we praise the Risen Christ, the One who was, who is fully alive!

Alive indeed, for He stood for Man - Man’s Liberation and Salvation.

We praise the One who was ready to die, in order to make us live. Tonight, we celebrate Life.

The Life which is in Christ. Tonight, we celebrate Christ who is Life. We make an act of faith. We believe that we can live, we can be more fully alive, through the power of Christ’s Life.

But, are we really alive? is there any life in us? Is Life increasing in us?

continue reading » »

There seems to be an apparent contradiction. On one hand, Jesus became a victim of a plot, planned, made up against Him by Judas, the chief priests and the pharisees. One the other hand, Jesus offered Himself conscientiously and freely.

Now, when Jesus was placed into a situation imposed upon Him, three choices were open to Him:

continue reading » »

Jesus knew that the Hour had come for Him to pass from this world to the Father.

He who loved those who were His own in the world, love them to the very end.

He loved them to the extent of giving His life for them.

While they were at supper, Jesus got up, poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of His disciples.

He, the Master, lowered himself.. to the extent of doing the very task reserved for the pagan-slave (the one who washes the feet of his master and the guests).

Why such an example?

continue reading » »

Latest Update: Please note change of dates !!!

Unfortunately, the dorms we had intended for the original dates of the trip have all been booked. However we were able to confirm the dorm bookings for the new dates indicated below. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this change.

Cameron Highlands : May 27th, Tue (evening) - June 1st, Sun (New dates)

Come join us for this family formation experience like no other. We will rediscover the charms of rail travel as we plan to take the overnight train to KL. Enjoy the cool weather up in the mountains and enjoy the company of fellow members and their families.

Cost: $150 for working adults, S$100 for children and non-working adults

Hurry, sign up! Seats are going fast!

Click here to download the Application Form.

Closing date for registration : 20th March 2008 or when seats are taken

NB: Any cancellation 2 weeks prior to the trip may result in the loss of registration fees.

continue reading » »

“Mary gave birth to a Son… and laid Him in the manger because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2, 7)

1. Spouse, children and aged parents need to be given ‘room’. ‘Room’ is ‘time’, attention, love… We are too busy with work, overtime, TV, computer, handphone etc. Let us instead give and make room for regular communication among family members. As we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, let us open our doors to Him who always comes in unexpected ways and greet Him with joy and cheer.

2. Jesus’ birth was at a very humble and inexpensive place. No price tag, no sign of prestige or power whatsoever. At Bethlehem, there was humility, simplicity and poverty. There laid God’s Gift to us, Jesus. Jesus who make Himself Gift to us and to all. How much are we far from… this season gifts consumption! Jesus invites us not to shower presents but to make ourselves Gifts to one another.

3. The little family in the ‘Cave’ in Bethlehem was certainly very far from any worldly greatness. Can there be a greater lesson of humility? Is the infant Jesus lying in the manger, not telling us where He can be found today? It is indeed in the heart of the poor and the humble, that Jesus can still be loved and found.

A night of Love, might I conceive?
With all symptoms, was I deceived?

How could it be? So much wanted,
Fruit of our Love, much desired.

O Great a Joy; so strong, so firm.
I was with child, it was confirmed.

continue reading » »