IMPORTANT: Sponsor Me To Rome!

Recently I have been introduced to the Emmanuel School of Mission (ESM) which is a Catholic missionary formation school based in Rome. According to its brochure it is a "one-year experience, rich in missionary, spiritual and doctrinal formation." And - "Whoa!" - is exactly what I thought. The more I mull over it the more interested I become; as I begun to imagine how it must be like to be in Rome, learning the curriculum and going on missions! ... So what's stopping me? Money, or rather the lack of. :P

You see, the school runs for 9 months from October to June and the cost of going to ESM is 700 Euros (or around RM3500, i think) per month, which translates to RM31,500! This calculated lump sum is enough to pay for my tuition for least 6 semesters... So now you see why I cannot possibly approach my parents to sponsor me to Rome.

That is why I would like to appeal to all of you reading this post, that you would be generous with your money to sponsor me for my studies in Rome. In return, in addition to my regular blog posts, I pledge to create weekly podcasts (possibly video podcasts) updating you guys of my recent happenings whether when I am in Rome or on missions! How 'bout that? Sounds good? ;)

By the way, I would like to make it for this year's intake in October so that means I have about less than 3 months to raise funds. So please hurry and sponsor me to Rome! Any amount big or small is appreciated. Please contact me at celestinetan@gmail.com :)

p/s: I would gladly email you my curriculum vitae if you decide that you would like to know more about me before making your contribution. Also you are most welcome to request for verification, to determine whether or not your contributions would be channeled to my studies in Rome.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF BROCHURE FROM THE EMMANUEL SCHOOL OF MISSION

*Philosophical Chews: Brilliance

The brillance of an invention is dependent on the brilliance of the inventor. However, the invention will never be as brilliant as the inventor. For instance, a computer is only as good as the engineer who built it, but it is not equal to the engineer for its intelligence is only a fraction of its creator.

Therefore if the sophistication of the computer is derived from the engineer, where does the sophistication of the human derived from? Just in case you were wondering - no... the word "random" is not in the answer scheme. ;) If you don't already know it, press CTRL+A for the answer.

Answer: God.

*I was inspired to write this after reading my philosophy text

The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

"It is not sin that most grievously wounds My Heart, but what rends and lacerates It, is that after sin, men do not take refuge in It once more."

- JESUS (message to Sister Josefa Menendez, 29 August 1929)

Seeing God in Freud's Theory

I know of many Christians who dislike Sigmund Freud and are disgusted of his theories on human personality, namely his controversial theory on psychosexual development. However despite that I do appreciate Freud's theory on the ego, superego and id because somehow I find it interesting to see that it sheds some light on my faith as a Christian.

Allow me to give you a crash course on Freud's theory. According to Freud our mind is made up of the ego, superego and id. The ego is the largely concious part of our mind, the superego is the largely unconconcious and the id is in the unconcious. The id is like a child: pleasure-seeking and totally selfish. The superego however is like the judge and it wants us to be moral in our actions and induces guilt when we break moral codes. And the ego is the mediator between the id and superego; sort of like a middleman who negotiates and makes a compromise between the two. These three distinct components of the mind is crucial and we cannot have one without the other because they work together as a whole.

So what has this got to do with my faith?

For starters I find it fascinating that in Genesis the Bible mentions that "God (editor's note: who is Trinitarian in nature) created man in his own image" and that we ourselves possess an inner trinity (i.e. the id, ego and superego) which is inseperable and has distinct "persons" within, just like the Holy Trinity! Of course, ours is no where as united and perfect as the Holy Trinity and I attribute the cause of the disunity and conflict between the id, ego and superego to our fallen nature.

I have a few questions running through my mind and I would like to share it with all of you. :) Could it be that the superego is the law God has put in our minds and has written in our hearts? And the id is the consequence of our fallen nature? What about the ego? Could the ego be "the willing spirit" which Jesus mentioned in Matthew 26? And "the flesh be another word for the id?

Ahh... I love psychology. :D

Apologetics: Da Vinci Code

Tired of reading long explanations on why Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is fiction in every sense of the word?

CLICK HERE to download a concise two page (A4 sized, 223KB) article: "20 BIG LIES IN THE DAVINCI CODE".

Print it. Read it. Spread it.

We are mirrors of God

I find it amazing to know that the God who made us, did so in His own image and likeness - whoa, imagine the dignity we all bear! And we reflect Him in a variety of ways. For instance, we are skillful artists because He was the painter who first coloured the sky. We can invent to improve our lives but only because He was the one who invented life itself. We come from families of two parents (a father and a mother) because God is a family of three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Most significant of all, we are able to love because God is love. :)

Blessed Trinity Sunday.

Stiff neck

Good Lord, I have a stiff neck! It's been three days now. I can't look up or down, nor can I turn left or right without cringing in pain. Arrggh!

Oh by the way, the potrait on the left is of St. Andrew, patron saint of Scotland AND stiff necks.

St. Andrew pray for me.

Friary / The Omen

Technically I was at the friary and it was different from what I had expected it would be but I enjoyed it still. This was what I gained (in no particular order):

• Learnt how to discern my vocation
• Made new friends
• Got to know my existing friends better
• Experienced mediation with the whole of creation just as St. Francis of Assisi did
• Got to know the life of the Franciscans and the different charisms of each order
• Had a good rest and solid prayer sessions

I still have yet to discern my vocation because it is a PROCESS, well I guess I am still young and when the time comes I'll know. :)

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Oh yeah, I watched the Omen this afternoon with Tessa and Su-Lynn at GSC OneU. Thank goodness we paid only RM6 each, the movie sucked BIG-TIME: It was very predictable (although, I have forgotten how the original was like), cheap scares abound (and I got startled only ONCE throughout the movie) and the actors were not convincing enough (therapists breaking confidentiality, hello?)

QUESTIONS: What's up with Catholic priests/bishops acting like some ignorant Christian fundamentalists? I.e. using bible verses to support the fundamentalist notion that current tragedies (e.g. 9/11, tsunami, etc. ) are signs of the End Times. And what's up with the Final Destination moments?

In comparison to Emily Rose, this movie would have scored 1 out of 5. On it's own... well, I give it a 1.5 out of 5. The 0.5 is for effort. See? I am being appreciative.

Now someone please recommend me a really creepy movie! *sigh* It's so hard to get a good scare nowadays. :P

Weekend at the Monastery

I am going to a Franciscan Monastery at Cheras later in the day (i.e. after class) for the weekend. No, I am not (yet) joining the Capuchins - just the vocations retreat for now. Sorry for the lack of posts, I have been in the mood to procrastinate lately. *sigh* Looks like I can procrastinate no more since the semester's already here. Do keep me in your prayers, I need to know what God wants of me despite how much I dread to know.

A big thanks goes out to Mark who agreed to "chaperone" this Friday's cell group while I am away and to George for bearing much of my responsibilities this coming weekend. I know that you guys don't read my blog, but if you do: please know that I appreaciate the help and support you give me. :)