Don't Click Unless You Have Watched The American Idol Finale

TAYLOR HICKS: THE AMERICAN IDOL

Taylor you made me proud. :)

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Related post:

MY American Idol: Taylor Hicks

Song of the Sheperd / Rosary Chaplets

Last Sunday me and a few of my church mates caught David M. Sanborn's one-man show performance of the "Song of the Shepherd" at the ACTS Church in Subang Jaya! The acting was good and singing was of Broadway quality (a friend of my commented that it was better than the main lead of Grease!). Believe it or not, according to Sanborn: his script was taken word-for-word from the Bible itself! :) If you do not take my word for it, do check him out yourself; pssstt... I hear he will be performing at Glad Tidings next month. :D

On a different note. Aren't these beautiful! These are rosary chaplets (which consists of only 10 beads) and are mini-versions of the full rosary (consists of 59 beads). The beads you see are actually seeds from a bush called the "mani plant"; which is an incredible plant because its seeds are natural beads (shiny and hard on the outside and hollow in the inside), no drilling required, just push the soft fibre out from its centre. Here's my confession: I did not bought these... I MADE THESE MYSELF! *beams* So far I got two done, both with medals (as opposed to crucifixes) of the Crowned Christ / Mater Dolorosa and St. Benedict's Cross / Image of St. Benedict. Oh did I mention, you may wear them as bracelets? Hehe. :)

Ahhh.. I have found my new love: making rosary chaplets! :D

Anything but the DaVinci Code!

Almost everyone now is talking about the DaVinci Code - family, friends and even ASTRO! Haha! Just yesterday I received an email from a friend:

FW: On May 19 watch a movie "other" than Da Vinci Code

WHAT ARE YOU DOING around the day the Da Vinci Code movie opens. A movie based on a book that wears its heresy and blasphemy as a badge of honor.

What can we as Christians do in response to the release of this movie? Here are the usual suspects:

A) We can ignore the movie. ........

The problem with this option: The box office is a ballot box. The only people whose votes are counted are those who buy tickets. And the ballot box closes on the Sunday of opening weekend. If you stay home, you have lost your chance to make your vote heard. You have thrown your vote away, and from Hollywood's point of view, you don't count. By staying home, you do nothing to shape the decision-making process regarding what movies will make it to the big screen.

B) We can protest. ........

The problem with this option: It doesn't work. Any publicity is good publicity. Protests not only fuel the box office, they make all Christians look like idiots. And again, protests and boycotts do nothing to help shape the decisions being made right now about what movies Hollywood will
make in the next few years. (Or they convince Hollywood to make *more* movies that will provoke Christians to protest, which will drive the box office up.)

But .....

On May 19th, you should go to the movies. Just go to another movie. Save the date now. May 19th, or May 20th. No later than Sunday, May 21st -- that's the day the ballot box closes. You'll get a vote, the only vote Hollywood recognizes: The power of cold hard cash laid down on a box office window on opening weekend.

Use your vote. Don't throw it away. Vote for a movie other than DVC. If enough people do it, the powers that be will notice. They won't have a choice. The major studio movie scheduled for release against DVC is the DreamWorks animated feature Over the Hedge. The trailers look fun, and you can take your kids. And your friends. And their friends. In fact, let's all go see it.

Let's rock the box office in a way no one expects -- without protests, without boycotts, without arguments, without rancor. Let's show up at the box office ballot box and cast our votes. And buy some popcorn, too. May 19th. Mark your calendars now: Over the Hedge's opening weekend.

Buy a ticket. And spread the word. Forward this e-mail to all the Christians in your address book. ( First, remove all headers please) Post it on your blogs. Talk about it to your churches.

And let's all go to the movies.

Oh by the way, he is from Opus Dei. Surprise, surprise. ;)

Saying Grace

Sometimes dining with fellow Christians is quite a bother because there will be the "issue" of saying grace (i.e. giving thanks to God), often outloud. And there will be much delegating,(or taichi-ing, as it is known here colloquially) often to the youngest member of the group to do the honours. I for one get this rather often in the past. :P Not that I have not been asked to say grace these days, it is just less often when there are younger people around me. ;)

Here is a disclaimer: I do not hate saying grace, on the contrary I feel inclined to say grace for most of my meals (unless I am really low on blood sugar, hehe.) It's just that I dislike saying grace on behalf of others and I get annoyed when others expect me to say grace on behalf of them.

QUESTIONS: Why do you need me to be thankful on behalf of you? Can't you be thankful yourself? Can't you be grateful on your own? And if you want me to say grace, then do not complain when I say it my way, whether it is the traditional: "Bless us, O Lord and these your gifts which we are about to receive from your bounty. Throught Christ our Lord, Amen." or the less-conventional-seemingly-flippant: "Thank you Jesus for the food. Thank you and Buh-bye."

So there. *sigh* :)

"Why I am not a priest?"

I was requested by Wei Fen to write a post on this topic. :) However I believe the correct question should be: "Why I am not yet a priest?". ;) Of course, as with most Catholic males, I must admit that I have entertained thoughts of becoming a priest. But there was only one period in my life which I remember that I have seriously thought of joining the priesthood. That period was when the Catholic church went "popeless", as it were; when John Paul II died. You see, I was worried that the next Pope would be one whom I would not see eye to eye. So I figured that the best way to solve this dilemma was to be the Pope myself. Starting with priesthood, then to becoming the bishop, and then a cardinal before finally being selected as the Pope! However that problem was solved when Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI. Hehe. :)

But I confess, every now and then there were fleeting thoughts of joining the priesthood. I must say, priesthood is certainly a tempting career to consider (Just in case you were wondering: I am not in anyway being sarcastic). Job security, you get taken care of rather well; FREE food and shelter and cool perks; parishioners vying to buy you gifts and your own "church" car to boot! Believe me, I am not exaggerating. :)

What is stopping me then? Number one, I have yet to finish my degree of four-years and this is only the start of my second year, and I plan to continue until (at least and hopefully!) my Masters. Read: still a long way to go. And I really really want to be a psychologist! Unless the priesthood is willing to fund my studies in psychology... *Grin*

Number two, I have my family to think of. I am the eldest of my siblings and if I turn a priest who is going to support my family when my parents grow old and weary? Plus, I feel really bad becoming a priest when they have invested in me so much, I know that education ain't cheap.

Number three, and most important one of all: I do not know if God is calling me to be a priest. My cell phone's on but God never called. ;) Seriously, I am not sure which vocation God is calling me to. I love the Jesuits, I think they are really a cool bunch and if I were to be a priest I'll definitely join the Society of Jesus. Funny, I do not remember the topic of marriage ever crossed my mind... Being single seem more appealing. Then again, I am not sure.

So yea, these are the reasons why I am not yet a priest. I think my next serious consideration will be when Pope Benedict XVI dies.

'Till then... ;)