The 10th Commandment
It began with a lesson on the 10th Commandment and the issue of greed and wanting versus detachment and poverty. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours' goods." A simple enough lesson on looking out for "the other" and being a neighbour and friend to those in need. However, it opened up an imporant opportunity for the catechumens to exercise their choice of wanting to actually helping someone or persons in real need of assistance.
That came in organising a dinner and fellowship for a group of Indian migrants who were caught in a recent industrial dispute case where these migrant construction workers were left with almost nothing except with what they brought with them. The construction company that brought them in to work here went bust and could not pay them. These migrants couldn't go back faced a rather uncertain future. They already had accumulated debts back where they came from just to make the trip here. The Ministry of Manpower, after much wrangling and negotiations, managed to get these migrants some compensation and are now sending them home in batches.
And tonight as we brought a group of them who were still around to dinner and gathering this evening in our parish, we made some new friends along the way. Before they left we gave them angpows and other gift items and they were grateful for that gesture. Their spokesman, speaking in Tamil (translated by Fr Augustine Joseph who was with us also), thanked us for our hospitality said that they never in their wildest dream would come to meet with kind people who went out of their way to help them. Their intention was to find work in Singapore but in all the trials that they went through, they found friends who cared and sought to alleviate their plight.
Our gesture wasn't much in making the lives of these migrant brothers any better. However it certainly went a long way to show us that if we really put our hearts and souls in making that step, no matter how small, to making that difference, miracles can occur. It took the tenth commandment to bring that out and there are nine more to go! What other great surprises are in store for these catechumens and all who are currently on this RCIA journey of St Cyril next?
Time will tell....
That came in organising a dinner and fellowship for a group of Indian migrants who were caught in a recent industrial dispute case where these migrant construction workers were left with almost nothing except with what they brought with them. The construction company that brought them in to work here went bust and could not pay them. These migrants couldn't go back faced a rather uncertain future. They already had accumulated debts back where they came from just to make the trip here. The Ministry of Manpower, after much wrangling and negotiations, managed to get these migrants some compensation and are now sending them home in batches.
And tonight as we brought a group of them who were still around to dinner and gathering this evening in our parish, we made some new friends along the way. Before they left we gave them angpows and other gift items and they were grateful for that gesture. Their spokesman, speaking in Tamil (translated by Fr Augustine Joseph who was with us also), thanked us for our hospitality said that they never in their wildest dream would come to meet with kind people who went out of their way to help them. Their intention was to find work in Singapore but in all the trials that they went through, they found friends who cared and sought to alleviate their plight.
Our gesture wasn't much in making the lives of these migrant brothers any better. However it certainly went a long way to show us that if we really put our hearts and souls in making that step, no matter how small, to making that difference, miracles can occur. It took the tenth commandment to bring that out and there are nine more to go! What other great surprises are in store for these catechumens and all who are currently on this RCIA journey of St Cyril next?
Time will tell....
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