Post on 13-Jun-2020
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C O N T E N T S
STORIES
I. HAMMER: YOUTH
THEOLOGY
PROGRAMME
II. SAN DAMIANO
SPIRITUALITY
CENTRE: GRECCIO
ROOM
III. LOST: ST. ANTHONY’S
FEAST DAY
IV. HE’S MY BROTHER
UPCOMING
I. ‘LOST’ PROGRAMME
6 MONDAYS
(18 JUN – 16 JUL)
II. OUR PORTIUNCULA
FEAST
(31 JUL – 2 AUG)
FEATURES
I. GAUDETE APP
Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ,
Pax et Bonum!
This month we feature one of the main rooms in SDSC,
Greccio, and share its significance in Franciscan
Spirituality.
We hear from one of our theology students from the
“Hammer” programme, and from an attendee from the
St. Anthony’s Feast Day Celebrations.
SDSC has also started an outreach activity; a brother
reflects on his experience in giving and receiving love
from his brothers around him.
We pray that this issue will inspire you to walk closer to
God through the spirituality of our brother, St. Francis.
With love,
Clare and the staff of SDSC
San Damiano conducts theology classes for youth aged 18-
21, under the programme “Hammer”, named after St
Anthony, Hammer of Heretics. Chloe Chong, 20, shares how
the classes have shaped her faith journey and life.
“Hammer” has been an important chapter in my
journey of faith and growth. It has inspired me to
explore the depths of my faith, with truths that
shape my faith as a young Christian person, and
help me choose the freedom to love despite our
warped culture and secularism.
Blessed with this platform, I have found great joy
in unveiling heart truths together with brothers
and sisters who share similar desires to grow
closer and know God despite initial uncertainty.
We have studied Scripture, Liturgy, Dogma,
Church History, Morality and Spirituality, New
Evangelization, and currently Mariology. Each
module is approached from a Franciscan
perspective.
In Scripture classes, we explored Christ as the
personification of God's abundant love for
Creation, expressed in Scripture, which are God’s
love letters. In Morality and Spirituality class, we
learnt about God’s nature of goodness and His
humility to love and draw close to Man. This gave
me insight as to what it means to respond to
God’s love, to pray and to pursue fullness of our
human nature to love and live freely.
Liturgy challenged the faith I practiced, and
helped me understand how and why certain
things are done. We learnt about what it means
to actively participate in Mass, the truths of our
baptism, and the essence of what it means to be
Church, a part of the Body of Christ.
Learning has never felt so close to the heart for
me, in being able to practice these truths as a
Catholic. It has influenced my relationship with
God, when I pray, when I attend Mass and when
I grow in relationship with the people God has
blessed my life with.
In essence, “Hammer” has brought truths to my
faith and things I believe in. It challenges the
practices we are so used to, questions things we
think we already know and ignites our desires to
learn more about God, who is all-powerful yet
closely intimate, whose love one can't fathom
and yet is so warm and familiar.
Ryan teaching during a ‘Hammer’ class
HAMMER YOUTH THEOLOGY PROGRAMME
GRECCIO
Written by Ryan Colond
In 1224, St Francis of Assisi replicated the Nativity
scene of Bethlehem in the little Italian town of
Greccio. Some say he was so moved by his own
experience in the Holy Land that he desired to
commemorate the powerful event of the
Incarnation back home.
Francis does not strike me as someone showy. In
fact, in his biography he appears to be quite the
opposite— choosing to be hidden and lesser in
society. So why this fuss about re-creating the
entire scene? Perhaps for Francis, Greccio was not
just a story about a Palestinian Jew who was born
in a stable some 2000 years ago. For Francis, the
story of the Incarnation was linked to our
Incarnation. Our God chooses to become flesh so
that He is a part of our story. The re-creating of
the Nativity is more about us than it is about an
event that happened 2000 years ago. The
Incarnation reveals a Love so humble and giving,
a Love that “did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped” (Phil 2: 6). It is not that
we are trying to participate in God’s life but rather,
God participates in our lives.
In the Incarnation, our lives matter and God
makes it known to us. In the Incarnation, God
does not make a demand of our time, attention
or affection. In the Incarnation, God takes the first
step in loving us, even while we are unaware. It is
for this reason SDSC named our Spiritual
Direction room, “Greccio”. It is here we wish to be
grounded in the message that Christ desires to
love us, unconditionally. It is Christ Who first prays
instead of making a demand of our prayer life. Nativity scene in Greccio, Italy
As a spiritual director, I have encountered so
many people who are beaten down by the
message that they are guilty in God’s eyes. Many
feel that their sins define them and that God’s
love is conditioned upon how they have “loved
God faithfully”. Many have measured their prayer
lives and come seeking to improve it, so as to
gain God’s favour. The story of Greccio reminds
me that Christ makes no demands of us before
showing us love. I am therefore constantly
humbled by how I too should make no demands
on another person, especially those who seek
spiritual counsel. Spiritual direction is chiefly a
matter of how loved each one is and how we are
guided toward this realisation.
I trust that if I am faithfully able to reveal how
much the Father loves each one of us, our lives
are radically changed. Turning away from sin and
preaching the Gospel is the effect of
encountering this Love. So it is my prayer that
pilgrims who visit SDSC, who seek spiritual
counsel, never lose sight of God’s sincere love for
them.
Greccio in Italy
LOST: ST ANTHONY’S
FEAST DAY CELEBRATIONS
Written by Jeanette Chang
SDSC recently held a triduum celebration from 11-
13 June 2018, to commemorate the feast of St
Anthony of Padua.
Having grown up Catholic, all AWOL
paraphernalia was easily entrusted to St Anthony.
As I got older, loved ones who left the Church
were placed on the same list. I did however pray
for them with admittedly less fervour than my lost
textbooks. For one, I wanted to find my
textbooks, and never needed to question if my
textbooks ever considered themselves ‘lost’.
The theme for the celebrations this year was
“LOST”— an open invitation to all who felt lost
and had left the Church, to rediscover and renew
their Catholic faith. The line-up of activities
included Mass, preaching on the life of St
Anthony and the humility of God, fellowship and
a 6-week follow-up programme, also titled
“LOST”. It was to be an opportunity for returning
Catholics to dialogue about what had pushed
them away from the Church.
I found the first two days reasonably attended
and heard that the final evening was also well-
received. When it came to the first Tuesday of the
Lost Programme however, no one turned up.
Perhaps it was a marketing mistake. Nobody likes
to be considered ‘lost’, even if we have taken the
same wrong turn three times. But to me, the no-
shows that evening were a personal mistake. I
know someone who comes to Church but has no
sense of a personal God. I know someone who
stopped attending Mass because life became too
complex and ritual could not help. I know
someone who stopped coming to Church
because the faith seemed irrelevant. Were these
three persons suitable candidates for the LOST
Programme? Perhaps. Did we have an existing
relationship that they could trust as a bridge
between themselves and the Church? No.
Praying before the feast at the piazza
Ryan preaching on the Humility of God
Receiving St Anthony’s blessing
Congregation sharing in the feast at the piazza
All this time I have reasoned that “faith is
personal, God is faithful”, everything is “in God’s
time”. Now I question if these were comfortable
words to avoid uncomfortable conversations.
Jesus in the Gospel continually called for
repentance because the Kingdom of God was
near. Indeed, God’s time is now, in opening up
about long-held grievances, in embraces risking
rejection, in resolute patience and continuous
entreaty for Love’s sake.
Participants sharing in a feast together
My takeaway from the triduum was that my faith
has been too private, too selfishly ensconced in
my own comforts. My challenge is to recognise
that the distance of a soul from God is as urgent
a petition as a lost house key, and my joy is that
we have St Anthony, who prays with us for these
worries
All gathered after the feast day celebrations
HE’S MY BROTHER
Written by Kevin Tomy
They build our roads, fix our public infrastructures
and most of the time, get noticed only for
wearing their muddy boots on the train, or having
a stench at the end of the day on public transport.
I had the blessed opportunity of spending time
with our construction workers this afternoon. We
gave these workers bread and water, shook their
hands and made conversation with them under
the sun, asking where they came from, how long
they have been working in Singapore, enquiring
about their family.
This experience taught me the value of
community. We all desire to be loved. We crave
attention sometimes. But do we love back fully in
return? Do we love conditionally? Loving
conditionally is something I am guilty of. And so
today, when I went out to meet these
construction workers, it wasn’t merely with the
intention of feeding them or quenching their
thirst. It was to thank them for the work they do.
To tell them that hey, I may not know you
personally, we may not spend time together
everyday, but you are my brother, and I love you.
I may not be present in your life physically, but as
I give you bread and water, I give you my
affection and gratitude for your presence in this
world and in my community.
One particular worker had not met his wife in two
years. He did not have enough money to go back
home. He felt lonely. Why can’t we be his family
then? We may not be his wife or kid, but we are
his brother and sister in Christ. I asked myself this
question. This worker’s identity was not that of
construction worker. His identity is that of my
brother. Why do I shun him, judge him for his
appearance or smell? He works hard to earn a
living, just like we all do. There was no
fundamental difference between me and this
brother of mine. I was called to love him beyond
the surface.
I saw Christ today in these workers. A Christ who
wants my love and attention. And for once,
instead of focusing on the unhappiness and
struggles in my life, I wanted to show my affection
to these workers, who more often than not get
ignored by society, or get attention for the petty
things.
And so as much as I might never meet this worker
again, or cross paths with him, I remember him in
prayer, I remember him as my brother, and I
remember the Christ in him I encountered. His
smile filled me with happiness. Sometimes, it
really just is that simple.
A volunteer with construction workers
Handing out bottled water to construction workers
UPCOMING EVENTS