Words of Wisdom—A Sacrament of Intimidation?
By Eunice Frances Chan

Confession - a word which is frequently heard of during Lent and Advent, often conjure feelings of uneasiness, evasion and maybe fear for some individuals. The truth to this, is we tend feel this way because we do not see how exactly confession can help us in our spiritual growth.

When we have sin unconfessed, it becomes a growth-like creeper wrapping itself around all of us until we become paralysed and agonised. This painful agony can be read in Psalm 32:3-5, as described by King David.

When sin is left unconfessed, a wall goes up between us and God. Even though the sin may have been discontinued, if it hasn't been confessed, it will still weigh us down, dragging us back towards the past we are trying to leave behind and keeping us from moving into the future GOD has for us. Even if we feel justified in our anger or bitterness, we still must confess it because it misses the path of what God has for us and if we do not, its weight will eventually suppress us and we suffer from negative feelings such as low self esteem, fear and guilt - which are not feelings of GOD.

For confession to be effective there must be repentance in the individual. Repentance means a change of mind, turning your back and having a deep resolution never to do that something again. It also means being aligned with God's thinking. All sin has to be confessed and repented for us to be free of bondage, whether we actually feel bad about it and if we recognise it as sin or not. Even if you are committing the same sin again after having confessed it, don't let that come between you and GOD. Confess it to HIM again. Remember God, "knows the secrets of the heart" (Psalm 44:21).

Like a pipe which is choked, it remains choked unless a plumber fixes it to allow clean water to flow through so that it becomes useful and serves its purpose again. Similarly, for the graces, mercies, blessings and purposes of God to flow through us constantly, confession and repentance needs to be an ongoing process as we are not perfect. Therefore, the sacrament of reconciliation rightfully should be a sacrament of celebration for us all, and not a sacrament of intimidation!

The Fine Line Between Talk and Action
By Elaine Chow

I am not the kind of Christian that likes to flaunt my faith. I don't wear a crucifix on my neck. I don't have WWJD (what would Jesus do?) bracelets or bumper stickers. And I don't evangelise to my colleagues. I believe that faith is something that should be lived and practised, rather than preached or taught, especially when in a secular environment like the office. In my cubicle at work, I allow myself a small picture of the Divine Mercy on my mini whiteboard because there's a nice prayer on it at the back that I like to say. But that's about as much Catholicism as I would usually display among my non-Christian colleagues.
Last week, I broke out of this norm by announcing to my lunch buddies that I'm going to start bringing my lunchbox to work more often after Chinese New Year. You see, I have a lunchbox gang at work, where we pack our own lunches three days a week. So when I told them that I might start doing it more often, they naturally asked why. And I said, "I'm thinking of giving up meat for Lent, so it may be better for me to bring my own lunch." To my surprise, the three of them found this to be extremely hilarious, and made light of my revelation by saying things like, "Why don't you give up your money? Then you can give it to us!" In that instant, I was offended, furious and embarrassed all at once, and tried to change the subject as soon as I could.
It is never easy to talk about religion or even the practice of religion in a secular, public environment. What is the balance that one should strike? Aren't we all called to evangelise to our non-Christian brethren? What if we offend someone of a different religion? These are tough questions that I can't answer. I just try my best to live out my faith as best as I can. Action-wise, I pray before I eat, I abstain on Fridays and I explain when I have to leave work on time to attend Mass on holy days of obligation. Behaviour-wise, I try my best not to be judgemental of my co-workers, not to gossip and not to utter profanities. I'll have to admit, though, that I still have a long way more to go on my behaviour. But at least I can be sure that when I behave in a Christian way, I probably won't be persecuted as much as if I were to talk about my Christian faith.

What has Global Warming gotta do with me?
By Aaron Low

Flip open any newspaper or magazine, and chances are there is a story about global warming or the ailing Earth.
The fact is, we, not the cows whose flatulence was once blamed by a US president for greenhouse gases, are responsible for destroying the Earth.
So says the some 1,000 scientists who are 90 per cent sure that human activity is causing a meltdown of the Earth, in a report to the United Nations.
How far we have come indeed, when God created the world and it life, including us, to live on it.

But what we have done, we can also undo. The only problem is how much are we willing to sacrifice our personal comforts for the greater good?

Perhaps we should start small but soon. In this period of Lent, where fasting and abstinence is encouraged among Christians, one we can do both our bodies and our heavenly body some good is to think green.
A suggestion: Give up 2 hours of air-conditioning a night, set the timer to stop the air-conditioning earlier instead of stopping it only when you wake up.

Or take the public transport to work a day or two of the week. Sure, you end up have to smell people's body odour but while you are enduring you can also offer that up as part of your sacrifice.

And as always, prayer moves mountains, and can save the world. Spare a minute or two to pray for the Earth and the people who inhabit it.
We should never think a small gesture is too small to be useful. It always is

Superman Returns: why Hollywood needs a Saviour
By Rina Rudyanto

I watched this movie long after hearing various people's comments on the movie. Of all the superhero genres, I must say Superman has never been a character whom I am familiar with beyond his red tights and cape, despite his many appearances in the silver screen and TV series.

In the film, Superman returns after a five-year absence. Resuming his guise as Clark Kent and his old day job as a journalist at the Daily Planet, Superman found that the world has moved on. The old characters are still there; Percy White still heads the Planet, Jimmy Olsen still works there, but Lois Lane, is now engaged to another man, raised a young son whose father is not quite revealed, and has written a Pulitzer-winning article on why the World Does Not Need a Superman. His old nemesis, Lex Luthor, has managed to dig up yet another source of Kryptonite and crystals which Jor-El left in Superman's isolated lair.

A relative unknown Brandon Routh wore the red cape admirably; channels his manners and expressions well to convey both Superman's idealized masculinity and vulnerability. The director has also given plenty of Superman's heroic adventure from saving a burning airplane in a thrilling save-the-world scene to helping a damsel in distress.

Without much preconceived insight of Superman therefore, the director's portrayal of a Christ-like figure seemed to me to come very strongly from the moment his origin was introduced: Jor-El, Superman's father, sends his "only son" down from the heavens to earth to save humanity by being a light "to show them the way." His depiction of Superman as a noble selfless saviour was reinforced in several overt scenes: him hovering in the earth's orbit telling Lois Lane, "You say the world doesn't need a saviour, yet every day I hear people crying out for one"; him hurtling down towards the earth arms extended cruciform greatly weakened by Kryptonite, and a Passion-Death-Resurrection experience. Superman also gave reassurance that he will remain with them always ("I am always around").

Is Superman Hollywood's answer to the world's cry for a saviour? It seems that packaging Superman thus worked, whether it was a pure marketing ploy or a genuine interpretation of this 'need', because many Christians embraced the Superman hero when a trailer for the new movie was released using the words of God-the-Father-like depiction of Superman's father Jor-El. Never mind the suggestion that Superman may have fathered a child out of wedlock.

And yet this is where the similarity between Superman and Jesus Christ ends. While Jesus Christ embodies mercy, weakness, and suffering, Superman, faster than a speeding bullet, endowed with superlative qualities that the world worships, offered a human depiction of the attractiveness of virtue in a contemporary culture that is at once both cynical about idealism and hungry for heroism.