Entries from December 2007 ↓

What is Christmas anyway?

To some, it is a season of peace, a season of joy, a season of hope, a season of sharing, a season of forgiving and the list goes go. Yet to some, it is just merely a season of buying gifts and receiving gifts. Moreover, Christmas has become so commercialised that people nowadays do not really understand why the whole world is celebrating Christmas.

Santa Claus, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeers, snow flakes, pine trees, red-coloured socks and the like are slowly replacing the manger, the baby Jesus and the meaning of Christmas itself. This is what Christmas is all about to those non-believers.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to my readers! I am truly experiencing the joy and peace of this Christmas 2007. Carolling is has just ended, the best time of the year for family is coming up, and more importantly the hope of waiting for the birth of the King is so profoundly joyful.

I love the song - Oh Holy Night a lot. The reason I like this song very much is that it tells us the meaning of Christmas. This is the best carol! Allow me to put the words from the lyric into paragraphs.

The stars will be shining brightly on a holy night, this will be the night of the dear Saviour’s birth. The world has long laid in sin and error pining until He appeared and the soul shall feel its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world shall rejoice, for yonder shall break into a new and glorious morn. Let us be led by the light of a star so sweetly gleaming above just as the three wise men from the Orient land were led to the place where Jesus was born.

In all our trials He was born to be our friend who simply knows our needs and our weaknesses. Truly has He taught us to love one another. His law is love and his gospel is peace. Let us fill this Christmas with sweet hymns of joy and grateful chorus. Merry Christmas!

A recent search on “Cathedral in Kuching” in google led me to cdason’s blog. To date I have only set foot on two Cathedrals in West Malaysia, namely Cathedral of St. John, Kuala Lumpur and Sacred Heart Cathedral, Johor Bahru. Yet there is none as grand and as serene as St. Joseph’s Cathedral of Kuching. I do not mean to compare among the Cathedrals, but having born and brought up in Kuching I simply love my cathedral.

Front view of St. Joseph’s Cathedral

The entire shape of the cathedral and its harmonious setting welcomes anyone with open arms. A visit to Kuching, in my opinion, is never complete if one does set foot to this cathedral. Although I have left Kuching for 6 years, my love for this cathedral never fades. Whenever I am back at my hometown, the first thing I do is to allocate some of my time to pay a visit to this cathedral. I will give you a short tour around St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Perhaps we should visit the exterior of the cathedral first before entering the cathedral.

Statue of St. Joseph

Let me take you to the statue of the patron saint of this cathedral, St. Joseph. This just makes the cathedral looks so harmonious and peaceful. You have to agree with me, will you?

The majestic bell tower

Somewhere on the left of the cathedral is where the bell tower was erected. It was constructed on a piece of grassy area where children just like to sit on the soft green field.

The rear view of St. Joseph’s Cathedral

We have just arrived at the rear side of the cathedral. A few years ago, the cathedral was extended and renovated to accomodate more parishioners. Inside the cathedral also stands a small chapel specially dedicated for believers to pray. The Parish Office where the priests and administrative personnel are working is just somewhere behind the cathedral.

The main entrance

Now, I shall bring you to the interior of the cathedral. Hold your breath! You will be pretty amazed with how beautiful the cathedral is.

The altar and the crucifix

View from the right wing of the cathedral

I just love the way the ceiling was built. Anyone has any idea why the ceiling or roof of most churches was built in such a way? According to my calculation on the seats provided, the cathedral has a capacity to accomodate 2000-3000 parishioners at a time.

The “open” wall with glass decoration

Signboard on the time of Mass

Now, having brought you around the cathedral, will you tell me if you have a strong urge to visit Kuching next time? I will be glad to be your personal tour guide provided if I happened to be in Kuching. Just to add to your general knowledge, there are a total of 9 cathedrals in Malaysia, there are namely Cathedral of St. John (Kuala-Lumpur), Sacred Heart Cathedral (Melaka-Johor), Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (Penang), St Joseph’s Cathedral (Kuching), Sacred Heart Cathedral (Sibu), St. Joseph’s Cathedral (Miri), Sacred Heart Cathedral (Kota Kinabalu), St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral (Keningau) and Cathedral of St. Mary (Sandakan).

[Special thanks given to cdason for allowing me to change the watermarks on these pictures. Do drop by his site to discover more destinations which he has covered.]

I wasn’t really that bothered after receiving a text last night but now I am deeply bothered and distracted after a short chat with one of my leader. There is something bothering me hugely.

Sometimes it keeps me pondering. Suppose you have two groups of people who are of different background, work attitude, and perceptions. Both Group A and Group B are, according to the organisation structure, put under the centralised leadership of Leader AB. Group A has a team of leaders which I will just address them as a singular Leader A, this applies to Group B also.

I am in many ways considered a somewhat new member of Group B, specifically in not knowing the thorough setting history and present environment of this group. My attachment to this group is at the moment sort of surficial and the bonding is yet to root deeply.

Hard have I tried to recall why I was even elected to lead Group B. Perhaps it was a setup, or perhaps it was God’s will, or perhaps it was mere coincidence. Whatever the reason was, I have to bear this responsibility with full integrity and faith.

Long have I forgotten the importance of reading between the lines and using the correct terms/words in a two-way communication. Somehow something struck me hard last night reminding me that I should not be so surficial but to think deep and to ponder the challenges ahead. I mumbled a lot those days, but the day has come for me to delegate and ponder as a member of Group B.

When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder. ~ James H. Boren

In pursuing the common interests of Group A and Group B, certains harships and indifferences have to be addressed at the leadership-level. I strongly believe that since this is a non-profit organisation and that serving is the essence to keep this organisation alive, one should really heeds Mother Teresa’s advice.

I don’t claim anything of the work. It is his work. I am like a little pencil in his hand. That is all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. ~ Mother Teresa

We have to remind ourselves we are the little pencils and not the Creator. Being a new leader, I shall apply one lesson which I have learned from my involvement with my previous organisation - respect your stakeholders (in this case, those senior members who once were leaders). Having said that, these people are of great influential and should not be neglected in my decision making.