Foreigner and Thai join their praises on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary

Foreigner and Thai join their praises on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary

Bishop Werak of Cheng Mai together the con-celebrating priests officiated the mass on the Feast of Assumption Church around 10:00 am on August 18, Sunday.

The Stigmatine Priests who attended the celebration were Fr. Winai, Fr. Michael, Fr. Watanasak, Fr. Paul and Fr. Jim. The novices who witnessed the celebration were Nov. Carlos, Nov. Nidhin, Nov. Jobin, Nov. Fab and Nov. Louie.

A good number of parishioner gave life to the solemn mass. It composed of foreigners and Thai parishioners. Though came from different country, they were joined together by their belief. The unity and diversity of culture was very evident on that occasion.

Bishop Werak thanked the people who were there in the celebration for making the event more solemn and special.

The rite of Communion and confirmation followed after the homily. Several children received gladly the sacraments.

Bishop together with the priests and the parishioner offered prayer to Mary before the final blessing. While singing the recessional hymn, all offered roses to Mary as a sign of their gratitude.

Lunch was served to the people after the Eucharistic celebration.

Gospel of Saint John 1:45-51 (Reflection of Fr. Watanasak, CSS)

Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth."
But Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him."
Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."
Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this."
And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Reflection (Fr. Watanasak, CSS)

Today’s Gospel tells of Nathanael’s call, but he is usually known as Bartholomew. In John’s Gospel he is always called Nathanael. The others use the name Bartholomew.

Bartholomew received one of the most beautiful compliments from Jesus. “He is a true Israelite.” There is no guile or duplicity in him. Jesus could read the hearts of people; he saw the honesty and integrity of Bartholomew. He is real and true. What about us, are we transparent before God and others?

Bartholomew also combined two attitudes which are ideal for a person who searches for the truth. He was both critical and open-minded. He was critical when he reacted to the claim of Philip that he found the Messaih. He said “Can anything be good from Nazareth?” Therefore, we can say that was very frank person too. He was also open-minded when he followed the suggestion of Philip to come and see for himself. Honesty and critical open-mindedness are still the best attitudes for anyone interested in finding the truth.

If we want to be truly honest and sincere then we should imitate St. Bartholomew in his readiness to express what is truly in his mind and heart.

3rd Monthly Recollection (09 August, 2013)

The atmosphere is more quite than the normal days. In the morning around 8:30, the Novitiate house filled with silence. The melodies of the song of the birds and the sounds of the insects were very audible. The sound of the backhoe engine and the Myanmar conversation of the workers at the back of the chapel can be heard but very little.

The novices has an inner peace and good atmosphere for their 3^rd monthly recollection. They started their recollection with a Taize song. Then the Gospel of Matthew 16: 24-28 was read by Jobin. Again, the Taize song was played. Then few minute of reflection and meditation followed. They also prayed the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin.

At 10 am, the talked begun. Their speaker was lay man. He was a former General Manager of a renowned hotels in Phuket. He has 3 children and a beautiful wife named Maria. His name was Mr. Supachard. He used to be a seminarian for 6 years.

The reflection of Mrs. Supachard revolved around his life experiences. He stressed this 3 important notes in his life journey with God.

1. “God’s company never terminates anybody”, He said. Anyone is welcome to work in God’s company. No need of resume and application letter. The only requirement is this: “Whoever wishes to follow me must deny his very self, take up his cross and follow me.”

“In the corporate world, my boss never understood me. My boss always pushes me to work hard. But God always understand.” He said.

2. “Let His will be done.” He shared that he used to be a seminarian for 6 years but because of being too materialistic he left the seminary. He work hard outside to provide his capricious wants in his life – car, house. He started from the low position in a hotel before he reached the higher position. But because of his vain motive he failed many times. He lost his job. Worst thing was, he lost his father. This mark the turning of his life. This incident made him realized that “life should not be accumulating material things” but “let God’s will be done.”

3.”The best thing is to get closer to God.” He said. Until now Mr. Supachard has remaining debt but he is happy now with his family. For him what matter most if their relationship in the family and with God. He said, “I see how much God loves me through my family.”

Though he never became a priest as he desired early in his life but he was able to send someone to the Holy Order. One Singaporean businessman who is his friend was ordained last month of this year.

Whatever areas we are going to spend our life, we will be successful and happy if we allow Him to be the center of that of our quest in life. “Let His will be done not our own.”