Moment to ponder :)

Dear brothers and sisters,

Pax et Bonum!

I received this story in an email forwarded to me and I would like to share it to all. I know this story is classic and everyone knows it. But since it is recess, I think we can take a moment to stop for a while and reflect about this story. Have we done everything with the right purposes and reasons? God bless you!

"Vanity of vanities, the Preacher says. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. For so, it is that a man who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successfully must leave what is his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all. This, too, is vanity and great injustice." (Ecclesiastes 1:2,2:21)

"Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God's right hand. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and it that image there is no room for distinction... There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything." (Collosians 3:1.9-11)

"Watch and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man's life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs....So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God." (taken from Luke 12:13-21)



An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, "Only a little while." The tourist then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs."

The tourist then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."

The tourist scoffed, " I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; rventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" The tourist replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then?" asked the Mexican.

The tourist laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." "Millions? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos“

The Mexican fisherman replied, "Then what do you think I am doing now?"


Yours faithfully in Christ,



Adhika Lie
17th ExCo
Publication Officer
“To make our home in Jesus”

21/09/2007

Brothers and Sisters,

Time flies so quickly and now, we are already in the middle of the semester. We hope that you could cope with your study although assignments, quizzes and projects deadlines are piling up. We really pray that you would persevere with the Lord. From him, we will draw our strength and we believe that after all this, we who have proved ourselves to stand firm when trials come will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him (see James 1:12).

During the recess, there would be no our regular Wednesday and Friday Mass in campus. However, we encourage you to come to any weekday Masses in your parishes especially when we are celebrating so many feasts during the recess week: St. Cosmas and Damian, St. Vincent de Paul, Feasts of the Archangels St Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael. It is our pride of us being Catholic to have the communion of saints to pray with us and for us.

Last but not least, the 17th ExCo would like to encourage us all to come and visit the blog and drop a comment or just say a "hi!" to all there. Together, let us make our home in Jesus, being united as one family in faith, hope and love. The grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you always!


Yours faithfully in Christ,


Naomi Pratiwi
17th ExCo
Honorary General Secretary
"To make our home in Jesus"

19/09/2007

Brothers and Sisters,

Pax et Bonum!

We have just launched our theme for this whole year: “To make our home in Jesus.” It is indeed a very beautiful theme that speaks about a family, a home in Jesus. The word home reflects the peace, love, warmth, unity and growth of a family. On top of that, our home is in Jesus, our Lord and Father who never fails to shower us with his love and blessings.

Let us all pray that this theme would be reflected in CSA. We pray that CSA would be a place where all people can call it a home, a loving family bonded in Jesus Christ himself. And it is our hope that our lives are changed and grow in this spirit of family in Christ.

Today, we have celebrated the Mass for Ministries. I am personally so glad that many of you have offered your hands to be the hand of the Lord. Let us pray that God will bless our intention to serve and take the control of our service. If any of you are still interested in joining any of the ministries, just contact the officer. The contacts can be found in the link aboutcsa above.

In the upcoming week ahead, there are so many feasts we would encounter: St. Matthew (21/09), St. (Padre) Pio da Pietrelcina (23/09), St. Cosmas and Damian (26/09). There will be a special link to the information of the saints on the right column updated accordingly. So, come and visit the website regularly. Together in the prayer of the Saints, I wish you a very blessed week ahead!


Yours in Christ,

Adhika Lie
17th ExCo
Publication Officer
“To make our home in Jesus”

CPG

Vision: to be a renewal FLAME in CSA
Mission:
- to be a renewal Faithful worshiper of God in CSA
- to be a renewal Loving family in Christ in CSA
- to be a renewal Anointed disciples of Christ in CSA
- to be a renewal Messenger of the good news in CSA
- to be a renewal Empowered servant of God in CSA


FLAME is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Pentecost day. Charismatic Prayer Group exists as a small community under CSA through which all of us are formed to be more open to the working of the Holy Spirit in our daily activities, including study and ministries. It's a community that seeks a deeper relationship with God through prayer, the Sacraments, service, community life and word of God. In other words, we want to invite all CSA members to be the FLAME of Christ our God and we facilitate one another to grow together to a deeper relationship with God.

Prayer meeting
We have prayer meeting conducted every week. Started with praising and worshiping God as our form of thankfulness and admitting His presence in the midst of us, prayer meeting is then continued with a testimonies time where one can step up to share one’s experience about faith to strengthen each other. After that we will be having a teaching session aimed to enhance our knowledge about our faith and our God. Form of fellowship is realized at the end of prayer meeting where each member can know each other more and strengthen our bonding as one family, one church. Prayer meeting is held every Tuesday 7.30pm at Nanyang House Seminar Room 2, contact ucup(81820235)

Intercessory Prayer Group (IPG)
IPG is another session that we have in every week. As children of God, we believe in the power of prayer. Thus, through this IPG we gather and pray for the intention of our brothers and sisters. A lot of prayer had been answered and a lot of miracles happened through the power of prayer. If any of you need any intention to be prayed, you can send it through the website www.ntucsacharismatic.org or just contact john (98624119).

Life in the Spirit Camp (LISC)
LISC is one of our main events. It is held every year in the form of retreat. Through this event, we would like to invite every member of CSA to spare a couple of days just for God. In LISC every participant is facilitate to deepen their relationship with God in a very personal way. You may see the testimony of LISC participants in the website.


Ucup
17th ExCo
CPG Representative
"To make our home in Jesus"

Spiritual Ministry

VISION:
To build a community, in this case CSA, where God is present in all aspects of our everyday life, especially the life of a student.

Mission:
• To care for the spirituality of the members of CSA
• To care for the spirituality of the executive committee members of CSA

Is spirituality an aspect of our life? Instead of an aspect, I would rather say that it is something that should be present in all aspects of our life. As a student in NTU, we are usually too much engrossed in our hectic daily activities. We become unaware of the actual presence of God in what we do, when He should be present anywhere and anytime. What is the effect? One example of the effects is we are getting more and more ambitious in what we do without remembering why we did it in the first place or maybe, in contrast to being ambitious, be discouraged. Therefore, we need a time to sit down, escaping from the hecticness of our life, just to reflect on ourselves or to hear what the other says so that we may improve ourselves or restore the saneness of our mind. This is the vision of this year's spiritual ministry elaborated.

Spiritual ministry's activities will include the RCIA and the organizing of spiritual sessions for the CSA members, such as talks, prayer ala taize, etc. Members of the ministry will be required to help in the RCIA sessions, as sponsors or observers, or prepare sessions as mentioned above, or both. Continuous contact between the members of the ministry is also required as we are one team that share the same boat, heading towards the same direction, for CSA, for the glory of God.

In Christ,
Gibran Limi Jaya
CSA 17'th Exco
Spiritual Officer
"To make our home in Jesus"

Publicity

The publicity ministry, which serves to enhance the relationship of CSA in public, aims to be creative in every aspect of our work. We are in need of creative and artistic talents. To be part of this ministry, you need to have a strong interest in the fields that are associated with designing and originality. The ministry main job scope is to handle the creation of Miracle, banners and posters. We also welcome people to join us in taking pictures for all the events. Writers and journalist wannabe are also welcome to join us in writing for the weekly miracles. So do not hesitate and let your words and creativity touch the hearts of everyone around you!




Alex
17th ExCo
Publicity Officer
"To make our home in Jesus"

Publication Ministry

Publication Ministry serves the community through the media. The publication ministry takes care of the Canticle and the CSA website. We believe that through this media, we can be God's instrument to proclaim the good news to all people. To be part of this ministry, although computing skills like Adobe Photoshop, Flash, HTML, etc may be very advantageous, but the desire and thirst to serve God (in this ministry) is the most important as we let the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us.

1. Website
The website would be updated on a regular basis. There is a need to "equip" the website with updated articles and events and information, therefore those involved in this ministry need to update the website on regular basis. Moreover, enhancing the website with a better look such as by utilizing the flash presentation for the pictures and animations for various announcement is also needed.

2. Canticle
The aim is to make Canticle to be a more appealing magazine to the youth in CSA family. Those involved in this ministry will help to make the canticle to be an enriching and entertaining reading. We will need columnists, editors, layouters and many writers to "face-lift" the canticle.


In Christ,


Adhika Lie
17th ExCo
Publication Officer
"To make our home in Jesus"

Music Ministry

Music Ministry ( aka. Musmin) is a place where people come and share the same passion: singing in praise and thanksgiving to God. To quote St. Augustine, "To sing is to pray twice", each song we sing contributes greatly to the prayers of the community, as well as to our own spiritual growth. The Musmin provides a platform for the talented to use their gifts to serve the community through exciting activities such as Xmas Caroling, Musmin workshops and our own musical. Most importantly Musmin is also a family, where we appreciate each other's love, bonding and sharing amongst us.

No music background is needed. No talent is needed. A heart for God, a passion for music, a willingness for service, a cheerful spirit to sing with mind and soul and you can be apart of us.


Core activities:

 Practicing and singing for Wednesday Mass (and probably for Friday Mass also)
 Christmas Caroling
 Music Workshop for members
 Joint University Mass
 Musical

Focus for this year:

Focusing more on the spirituality of singing, and keep encouraging each member to develop their talents through practices and training.
Building a strong bonding among Musmin
Attracting more talented people to join and trying to retain them with love and patience.


Klein
17th ExCo
Music Officer
"To make our home in Jesus"

Mass Ministry

Mass is the summit of our worship as Catholics. Not only it signifies our communion with God but also the unity the community. For this very reason, a warm environment that welcomes people to this celebration is crucial; and a proper understanding and appreciation of Liturgy, which means public worship, is an essential part of our spiritual exercise.

Mass Ministry serves the community by providing and creating a conducive environment for Mass that makes people feel welcomed and comfortable during Mass, and fostering spiritual growth through a deeper appreciation and understanding of the liturgy.

In the mean time, the subcoms needed are lectors. Training and regular meeting will be conducted for the Mass Ministry Subcommittee members, so that the subcoms not only serve the community by proclaiming the Scripture but also able to be nourished through reflection and sharing based on the Scripture.


Bobby
17th ExCo
Mass Officer
"To make our home in Jesus"

ACTS Ministry

Mission of ACTS is to create a path connecting the desire to keep our catholic faith as an integral part of our lives and relax and have a good time during the study in NTU. ACTS is a ministry created so that we can come together every week to share our faith, our ideas, and our lives as Catholics at NTU in small groups so we can strengthen our bonds and find a group of fellow students closest to our hearts.

Job Scope for ACTS leaders
1) Conduct the weekly ACTS meetings.
-Facilitate discussion -Provoke thoughts
-Find a suitable time and place to conduct the meetings
-Communicate with the group members so to make sure they attend regularly
-Join the ACTS formation (if necessary, will be decided based on the view of ACTS officer and the ACTS leaders after Sub Com recruitments)

2) Be a shinning light that brighten up the lives of others

Nirmalee
17th ExCo
ACTS Officer
"To make our home in Jesus"

ExCo Commissioning

Brothers and Sisters,

Pax et Bonum!

Today, the 17th ExCo are commissioned. Like the disciples of Jesus, we are sent to proclaim the Kingdom of God. In this journey, like the disciples, we are asked not to worry about anything but to trust in God’s providence alone (Mat 10:5-15). The disciples were not those gifted people, neither are we. But yet God still worked marvelously. We also do believe, He still continues his marvelous work in our lives today.

In carrying out our mission to serve God in the NTU CSA community, we humbly ask all of you to continue praying for us. We, too, are mere human beings with our weaknesses. And to carry this mission, the strength that could only be provided by the power of prayer is absolutely needed. Let’s pray together for NTU CSA, for Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as in heaven (Mat 6:10).

Next week, we are going to celebrate the Mass for Ministries. It will be the Mass for our various vocations in CSA. All of us are called to serve the Lord in various ways. Be it in the music ministry, in the publication and publicity ministry, in the ACTS ministry, in the Mass ministry, Spiritual ministry or even in the Special Project ministry, we can touch people’s heart with the love of God. In various ways, through the media, singing or the fellowship and activities we have, we can proclaim the Kingdom of God.

During this week, we ask you all to discern your vocation in CSA. We will pray together with you in your discernment. Next week, we will offer up all of our thoughts and intention to serve Him together in the Holy Eucharist.

If you have any doubts or concerns, do not hesitate to contact any of the ExCo.

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and the other things shall be added unto you” (Mat 6:33) So, fear not and have a blessed week ahead!

Yours in Christ,


Adhika Lie
17th ExCo
Publication Officer