Act of Self Consecration - Prayers of St. Ignatius Loyola

Take, O Lord, all my liberty, receive my memory, my understanding, and my whole will. All that I am and all that I have come to me from Thy bounty; I give it all back to Thee, and surrender it all to the guidance of Thy holy Will. Give me Thy Love and Thy Grace; with these I am rich enough and ask for nothing more.

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CREDO

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae,

visibilium omnium, et in visibilium.

Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum.

Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula.

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero.

Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri: per quem omnia facta sunt.

Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine: Et homo factus est.

Cruxifixus etiam pro nobis: sub Pontio Pilato passus, et sepultus est.

Et resurrexit tertia die, secumdum Scripturas.

Et ascendit in caelum: sedet ad dexteram Patris.

Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, judicare vivos et mortuos: cujus regni non erit finis.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum, et vivificantem: qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.

Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur, et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per Prophetas.

Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.

Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.

Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum. Et vitam venturi saeculi.

Amen.

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Thoughts of Death ...

Dear Friends,

Be not fooled by the subject of this post. I'm not contemplating suicide dear friends! I'm actually very much in love with this life of mine here on Earth - and I thank God for that =) Deo gratias!

Homo sapiens. Yes, we are thinking men.. and so we shall all live up to what we are called scientifically and really think about what we really want in life - our aims, our goals ...

As pertaining to the topic, I was reading, as I always do, the Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. I found this meditation: "Thoughts of Death" in Chapter 23 of Book I. When I first read this book, I was amazed by how well each chapter portrayed the several fundamental principles of our spiritual life. Quoting from the foreword of this book, " The Christian soul is invited to follow Christ Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. As we study its contents we are convinced that without the Truth there is no knowing, without that Life there is no real living." And thus, I would like to share this chapter with you, my reader, on ... "Thoughts of Death".

The article taken below is reproduced from Chapter 23 of Book I, My Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis, A revised translation. (C) Copyright 1982 Confraternity of the Precious Blood.

Death

A man is here today and tomorrow he is vanished.

1."Very quickly must thou be gone from hence, see then how matters stand with thee; a man is here to-day and to-morrow he is vanished." - 1 Mach . II.63

And when he is taken out of sight he is quickly also out of mind.

Oh, the dullness and hardness of man's heart, which only thinks of what is present, and looks not forward to things to come.

Thou oughtst in every action and thought so to order thyself as if thou wert immediately to die.

If thou hadst a good conscience thou wouldst not much fear death.

It were better for thee to fly sin than to be afraid of death. - Dan. XIII.23

If thou art not prepared to-day how shalt thou be to-morrow?

To-morrow is an uncertain day; and how host thou know that thou shalt be alive to-morrow? - James IV. 14

2. What benefit is it to live long when we advance so little?

Ah! long life does not always make us better, but often adds to our guilt.

Would to God we had behaved ourselves well in this world even for one day!

Many count the years of their conversion; but oftentimes the fruit of amendment is but small.

If it be frightful to die, perhaps it will be more dangerous to live longer.

Blessed is he that has always the hour of death before his eyes and every day disposes himself to die. - Ecclus. VII.40

If thou hast at any time seen a man die think that thou must also pass the same way.

3. In the morning imagine that thou shalt not live till night; and when evening comes presume not to promise thyself the next morning.

Be therefore always prepared, and live in such a manner that death may never find thee unprovided.

Many die suddenly and when they little think of it: "Because at what hour you know not the Son of Man will come." - Matt. XXIV.44

When that last hour shall come thou wilt begin to have quite other thoughts of thy whole past life; and thou wilt be exceedingly grieved that thou hast been so negligent and remiss. - Wis. V.6

4. How happy and prudent is he who strives to be such now in this life as he desires to be found at his death.

For it will give a man a great confidence of dying happily if he has a perfect contempt of the world, a fervent desire of advancing in virtue, a love for discipline, the spirit of penance, a ready obedience, self-denial, and patience in bearing all adversities for the love of Christ.

Thou mayest do many good things whilst thou art well, but when thou art sick I know not what thou wilt be able to do.

Few are improved by sickness; so too they that travel much abroad seldom become holy.

5.Trust not in thy friends and relations, nor put off the welfare of thy soul to hereafter; for men will sooner forget thee than thou imaginest.

It is better now to provide in time, and send some good before thee, than to trust to the help of others after thy death. - Matt. VI.20

If thou art not now careful for thyself who will be careful for thee hereafter?

The present time is very precious; "now is an acceptable time: now is the day of salvation." - 2 Cor. VI.2

But it is greatly to be lamented that thou dost not spend this time more profitably in which thou mayst aquire wherwith to live forever.

The time will come when thou wilt wish for one day or hour to amend and I know not whether thou shalt obtain it.

6. O my dearly beloved, from how great a danger mayst thou deliver thyself! from how great a fear mayst thou be freed if thou wilt but now be always fearful and looking for death!

Strive now so to live that in the hour of thy death thou mayst rather rejoice than fear.

Learn now to die to the world that then thou mayst begin to live with Christ. - Rom. VI.8

Learn now to despise all things that then thou mayst freely go to Christ.

Chastise thy body now by penance that thou mayst then have an assured confidence. - 1 Cor. IX.27

7. Ah fool! why dost thou think to live long when thou art not sure of one day? - Luke XII.20

How many thinking to live long have been deceived and unexpectedly snatched away!

How often hast thou heard related that such a man was slain by the sword; another drowned; another falling from on high broke his neck; this man died at the table; that other came to his end when he was at play.

Some have perished by fire; some by the sword; some by pestilence; some by robbers: and thus death is the end of all, and man's life passeth suddenly like a shadow. - Eccles. VII.1

8. Who will remember thee when thou art dead and who will pray for thee?

Do now, beloved, do now all thou canst, because thou knowest not when thou shalt die; not dost thou know what shall befall thee after death.

Whilst thou hast time heap to thyself riches that will never die! - Matt. VI.20

Think of nothing but thy salvation, care for nothing but the things of God.

Make now to thyself friends, by honouring the saints of God, and imitating their actions,that when thou shalt fail in this life, they may receive thee into everlasting dwellings. - Luke XVI.9

9. Keep thyself as a pilgrim and a stranger upon earth to whom the affairs of this world do not in the least belong. - 1 Pet. II.11

Keep thy heart free and raised upwards to God, because thou hast not here a lasting abode.

Send thither thy daily prayers with sighs and tears that after death thy spirit may be worthy to pass happily to our Lord. Amen!

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Dear friends, I hope you have gained much, as I did, after reading this chapter from the Imitation of Christ.

Truly! This subject is worth contemplating as I believe our whole life centers on this one fact: That we are all going to die one day. And because we all know that we are all going to die one day, what preparations do we make for it?

O Mary! Conceived without sin, pray for us those who have recourse to Thee!

Ave Maria!

Gratia Plena

Dominus tecum

Benedictatu in mulieribus, et benedictus fruitus ventri tui,

Jesus.

Sancta Maria,

Mater Dei,

Ora pro nobis,

Peccatoribus

Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.

Amen.

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O! and here is a picture of one of my favourite Saints:

Introducing: ... Saint Therese of the Child Jesus! =)

+JMJ!

-rach-

New Year Reflections ...

(Not so)Interesting snippets from parts of my life ...

New Year Reflections

First and foremost, I would like to give thanks for all the help rendered to me by God, Mother Mary, my guardian angel and my patron saints. Secondly, I would like to thank my confessors. Thirdly, I would like to thank my parents and my sister. Fourthly, I would like to thank some other people who helped me along the way during the last whole year.=)

Christmas this year was good! My first Christmas (and of course many more) in tradition! =) The Christmas homily by Fr. Davide was really meaningful. It was about the supernatural mystery of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. (You can read all about it in Angeline's blog - I've linked her)

(Anyway it's here for your perusal ... Fr Davide delivered another meaningful homily on the supernatural mystery of the incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ.....how He became man and still retained His Divine Nature as God...and how Jesus depended on his parents-----The Blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph as Man and yet the entire universe still depended on Him ----for He was the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The Blessed Virgin Mary, remained a virgin at the moment of Jesus' Incarnation and remained one after His Holy Birth.....a supernatural mystery which no one can comprehend...but catholics still believe because of FAITH......All the 9 choirs of angels---The cherubims, the seraphims, the thrones, the dominions, the powers, the principalities, the virtues ,the archangels and the guardian angels were present at The Birth of Jesus.....in fact the entire celestial court was celebrating the birth of Jesus .Deo optimo maximoque.(To God Who is the best and the Greatest) !

Also, before Christmas, we had our house blessing! Fr. Davide came to bless our house and Uncle Clement and Auntie Mag together with Angeline and Kenneth came for the house blessing. Angeline even stayed over! =) Can't wait for the next holidays ... Here are some of the pictures that were taken that day ...

Here's a family portrait with Fr. Davide

Denise, Angeline and Me respectively ...

A neoprint with them again .. =)

The Three Sisters!

Again!! =)

Ok .. it's us again! =)

There was also a new year gathering at mrs sumantri's residence ...

We had a real good time there too! =)
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Life has been good. =) I've spent an interesting holiday, mostly thinking of my life, the ways I can change it to become a better person, ways to attain a higher level of perfection of my soul.. to sum it all up, I've spent my entire holidays reflecting on what a person I am, what I want my life to be and how I want to spend my life. Reflecting on all these, with some meditation, prayer and confession, I've finally decided what I want my life here on Earth to be. Because of all these reflections, I've made some interesting decisions. I can never turn these decisions back cos' I know they can't be turned around just like that, but the load that has been on my shoulders has just been lifted and I feel like a whole new person with a whole new perspective of life. I've never felt happier, never felt "freeier" and never felt more close to God and the Blessed Virgin.

Ok. Enough reflecting.. Come Monday, I'll be starting a new semester!! I can't believe that the last semester just flew by. It still seems as if I've just entered the Uni! With all the hassle and bustle and all the excitement of the last sem, I'm entering Sem 2 with a whole new perspective and focus. =) I've just finished with all the bidding and all and I'm proud to annouce, after having a rubbish timetable the last semester, that I finally have a GOOD timetable!!!.. I only start early one morning a week and I end all the days at 6pm, just in time for mass!! (considering that during the last sem I started almost every other day early and ended almost at 7pm every other day and I had one day ending at 8pm.) YAY!!! YAY!!! =)

Next Sem's Modules will be interesting too! (I hope) =) ... here's a peek at em!:

LSM 1103 - Biodiversity

OVERALL AIM: To develop better awareness and understanding of Biodiversity; what it consists of; and why its conservation is important.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, you should be able to:

n Define biodiversity, and recognise its scope.

n Identify, compare and contrast the major groups or sub-groups of living organisms, including
q the key features that distinguish certain organisms from others.
q the key features that relate certain organisms to others.

n Write essays that clearly demonstrate understanding of various groups of living organisms and their key features.

n Understand the need for conserving biodiversity and be able to list the main reasons for doing so.

ST 1232 - Statistics for Life Sciences

An introduction to the basic principles and methods of biostatistics designed specifically for life sciences students who wish to learn modern research methods for analysing and extracting information from biological, biomedical and genomic data. Relevant examples will be used throughout the course to illustrate various techniques. A computer package will be used to enhance learning and to enable students to analyze real life data sets. Topics include tabular and graphical display of data, probability, probability distributions, sampling distributions, confidence intervals and regression analysis, distribution free tests, categorical data analysis, logistic and Poisson regression, introduction to Bayesian inference. This module is essential to students of the Life Sciences.

LSM 1202 - Human Anatomy

Basic introduction to human structure and function, comprising gross anatomy integrated with microscopic anatomy. Histological organization of the primary tissues: epithelial, connective, muscular and nervous tissues. Emphasis on clinical relevance and understanding of cell function at the molecular level.

GEK 1519 - Science of Music

The aim of the module is to introduce non-musicians as well as non-scientists to the underlying science on which much of music is based. Present-day music theory is based on firm physics and psycho-acoustical foundations which may not be apparent to most listeners but which underlie the rules of harmony and counterpoint. The design and technology of musical instruments also has a solid basis in physics and acoustics. Recent developments in electronic and computer music, as well as sound reproduction, have served to bring music, science and technology even more closely together. Electronic keyboards and synthesizers are now widely used alongside traditional keyboard instruments like the pianoforte for music making.

GEM 2003 - Why History? The 20th Century 1914-1989

This module aims to introduce undergraduates to both the main events of the 20th century and some of the fundamental methodological issues involved in the study of history. Major topics will include the First World War, the interwar period, World War II, the Cold War, the 1960s and the collapse of Communism.

This module will explore some of the defining moments and developments of the 20th century while introducing history as a critical discipline. Students will conduct group projects resulting in tutorial debates (at the end of the semester) as well as watch and comment on films. The module will combine many contemporary approaches to history (i.e, cultural, social, political, urban, intellectual, gender and environmental), and lectures will explore the 20th century from multiple perspectives, to show that history involves not only careful and imaginative use of documents, but critical thinking. The combination of lectures, tutorials, readings, and project work should foster both an understanding of historical enquiry and critical reflection about the ways in which we think about the past.

Well ... =) Cheers! to all you busy ppl out there ...

Have a great year ahead and of course! May the Good Lord's blessings be upon you always!

JMJ!

-rach-