In the gospel today Jesus meets a man who is deaf and also has a problem in his speech. It is his friends who bring him to Jesus. We note the sensitivity of Jesus. He takes the man apart in order to cure him. We see the gentleness of Jesus in dealing with the man in a very personal and caring way. He doesn't want to embarrass him or treat him as a case. He treats him as another human being in need of respect and gentleness because of his situation.

But more than a physical healing Jesus allows him to go back into society freed to participate in all social and religious activities. The fact is that at the time of Jesus deafness and the inability to speak were seen as punishments from God. So, in healing him Jesus gives him back his religious and social rights and so the man ceases to be marginalized.

In the text neither the man nor his friends get a name suggesting that the man stands for all of us who need to have our ears opened by God to hear what keeps us enslaved so as free us from things that harm us. As a community open to and really hearing the word of God we must show solidarity with those who suffer physically and socially. Today an obvious situation would be how we treat immigrants, asylum seekers, people with various diseases. Very often they are rejected. The gospel text, then, is fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah which says that 'the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.'

In the gospel text we see too that Jesus has crossed the borders from the land of the Jews into what is known as pagan territory to bring the Good News to non-Jews, saying that God wishes to heal and care for all peoples irrespective of religious or other labels. This is an invitation to us to cross the borders to those who do not belong to us socially or religiously, like immigrants, refugees or people of other faiths or indeed those who do not believe at all.

Jesus has gone back to his heavenly Father and he leaves the work of opening the ears of the blind and opening the tongues of the deaf to us. He is not asking us for success stories but rather he asks how we help others to hear by our compassionate listening, by our respectful attitudes. How do we speak to others? Is our manner of speech if in a courteous way not an invitation to others who may be aggressive and angry, etc. to learn a different way of speaking and addressing others?

Finally, Jesus said to the deaf man who had also a speech impediment 'Ephphatha' that is 'Be opened'. Is he not addressing the same words to us? An invitation also to us. 'Be opened' – to the goodness of other people, the innocence of babies, the gentleness of the old, the beauties of creation, the knowing smile, the so many gifts we receive from God daily.

'Be opened' to the unspoken cry for friendship of another, to the call of a lonely person living nearby, the call to share what is surplus to me and no longer needed instead of leaving them in my cupboard when I may never use them again.

Can I practicalize the 'Be opened' invitation of Jesus? We all know that we ourselves and others will be the better for it.

For sure the deaf man with the impediment stands for each of us, woman and man. God speaks to us daily through others in so many ways. Do we hear what he is saying and are our lips continually free from negative comments and other impediments so as to use them to praise and thank God continuously and to encourage others who are down and to try to be positive in our words towards all?

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

Please note that WEEKDAY MASS now starts at 9:15 AM.

The parish is facing a shortage of manpower at the moment, especially Acolytes, Sunday School Teachers, Funeral Services Coordinators, and Filipino Catholic Ministers.We encourage all parishioners to Consider Volunteering for the Church's Ministries.If you are interested, please get the form next to parish bulletin at the back of the church.

Training for the new Eucharistic Ministers will be held on August 29 (Sunday) at 4:00 PM in the church.

There is a story about a saint who, while still alive, was granted the privilege of seeing heaven. He was at the entrance, waiting for St. Peter. While waiting, he walked around, and was very surprised to see hundreds of thousands of human ears hanging all over the place. He managed to ask an angel about those ears. And the angel replied: "Those ears belong to people who were good listeners of the Gospel of Jesus. They loved to listen to the Word of God. But they did not practice what they heard. So, it's only their ears that are here."

Brothers and sisters, following Jesus is not a matter of listening, or talking. Rather, it is a matter of doing and obeying God's will. In the second reading, the Apostle Saint James urge us: "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.This was precisely the problem with the Pharisees.They were good listeners and preachers of the word of God. In fact, they were the acknowledged spiritual leaders of the Jewish people. But they were not doers. After all, listening and preaching are easier than doing what the word of God tells us.

In our first reading today from Deuteronomy, Moses says, "In your observance of the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I am commanding you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it" (Deut 4:2). The Pharisees were definitely guilty of this self-deception, and worse, also of deceiving others. They were guilty of adding, subtracting and distorting God's commandments in order for them to look good and to readily condemn others. They were quick in criticizing others for not observing the ritual washing of hands, as if unwashed hands are worse than unclean hearts. So Jesus pointed out directly: "Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person, but the things that come out from within are what defile" (Mark 7:14-15). And he went on to mention the sins that most of us are prone to fall into: "evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly" (Mk 7:21f.).

The world nowadays has been very successful in deceiving us. We have learned to live with ambiguity, double meanings and double standards, especially in matters of morality and spirituality. We have managed to justify our sins and make them appear and sound harmless by the clever use of words and expressions. Abortion is no longer called murder, but "reproductive rights"; euthanasia which was called "mercy killing" is now referred to as "compassion for the terminally ill"; This is the bitter fruit of what Pope Benedict XVI called "the dictatorship of relativism." We have learned to live with immorality and lies for we ceased standing up for truth and goodness. We have compromised our Christian principles and values in favor of this world. This is aptly expressed in an old adage: "Unless we live in accordance with what we believe, in due time we will believe according to what we live."

The readings this Sunday invite us to have sincere and honest examination of conscience. Once and for all, let us set ourselves free from self-deception. Let the word of God, without adding or omitting anything from it, guide us to the truth, no matter how unpleasant and painful it is. For the truth will set us free and lead us to true repentance and conversion of hearts. The time has come to stop being mere listeners, but doers and followers of the word of God. Then, as St. James said, we will be blessed in all we do.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm. 

Taize prayer will be held on 27 August (Friday) at 8 p.m. at St. Anne's Church, and there will be synchronized playback on Facebook.  

We welcome all brothers and sisters to participate.

1. The 1st Sunday Eucharistic Adoration will be held on 1 August at 2:00 - 3:30 in our church. We hope that more can participate.
2. The parish is facing a shortage of manpower at the moment, especially Acolytes, Eucharistic Ministers, Sunday School team, and Filipino Catholic Ministers. We encourage all parishioners to consider volunteering for the Church's Ministries.  If you are interested, please get the form next to the parish bulletin at the back of the church.
3. Baptism for babies will be at 3:00 p.m. on 25 September ( Saturday ) & 3:00 p.m. 25 December ( Saturday ) this year.  Please collect the form placed next to the parish bulletin at the back of the church.  For further details please refer to our notice board. 

Taize prayer will be held on 30 July (Friday) at 8 p.m. at St. Anne's Church, and there will be synchronized playback on Facebook. 

We welcome all brothers and sisters to participate. 

If you enjoy making music, please join us in the music ministry. We welcome all vocalists and instrumentalists, our members are all ages and all nationalities, and we always welcome new members. We are also looking for a NEW COORDINATOR to help with scheduling and communications. If you are interested to find out more, come talk with one of the choir members after mass, or e-mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

We would understand if Jesus was not recognized by people from other towns. But not to be recognized and even rejected by his town mates in Nazareth is truly heartbreaking. That is why the Gospel said that Jesus could not work any miracle there, "apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them."

There are several reasons why the people of Nazareth did not recognize and accept Jesus. First, they were in error. They thought they knew what a Messiah should be. They rejected Jesus because he did not conform to their mistaken idea of a true messiah. They thought they knew Jesus: that he is the carpenter, the son of Mary, a simple and ordinary guy next door. They were very sure of this because they have known him since childhood. What they did not know was his divinity hidden behind his humanity. They were familiar with him, but it was only on the superficial level. The image they had of him, which they held on to with great tenacity, became a block to their learning more about him. As it is always said, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." It is always prone to errors, prejudices and misconceptions.

Second, the people of Nazareth did not recognize and accept Jesus because "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house." A prophet is the spokesman of God. He speaks what God wants to say to His people, whether they like the message or not. Jesus is the prophet par excellence. In the past God spoke through human instruments; but now God speaks through His own Son, Jesus. It is not surprising therefore, that he will be rejected, even by his own town mates, because his message and teachings ran counter to their values and preconceived notions and ideas about God.

And finally, the people of Nazareth lacked the most important element to be able to accept Jesus: the gift of faith. The Gospel said: "He was amazed at their lack of faith." If faith can move mountains, lack of faith builds mountains that block the hand of God. Nothing is impossible with Jesus. He has the power to do any miracle. But he just could not do any miracle in his hometown because of their lack of faith. He knew that in such a situation, tragic things could result instead of spiritual benefits for the people. Working a miracle for people who have no faith will do more harm than good. As a quote says, "For those who do not have faith, no miracle is enough; for those who have faith, no miracle is necessary."

Let us examine ourselves. Have we truly accepted Jesus as our Lord? The Lord invites us now, not just to be familiar with him, but more importantly, to be intimate with him, to enter into a personal relationship with him so that we will truly know and love him.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm. 

1. Fr. Paulus, the parish priest of St. Anne's Church, will not be in the office from 06 June to 15 August.  Fr. David Tristianto will be the person in charge of the office during this time.

2. COVID PREVENTION MEASURES – Please refer HERE for the latest Chancery Notice with regard to pastoral measures in relation to public masses, guidelines, etc.

MEDITATION is a way of deep praying. Through the silence, it helps you understand yourself and leads you into the presence of God.

Come and learn this silent form of prayer - prayer of the heart.

The St Anne's group meets 7:00 PM every Tuesday in the sanctuary. Come a little earlier to quiet down.

Praying for our children and children of the world.  This group meets at the St. Anne's Parish Hall (1/F) --

Every TUESDAY at 10:45AM (Cantonese)

 Every WEDNESDAY at 10:30AM and 6:00PM (Bilingual)

Nowadays, we see various systematic and concerted efforts from secular society to erase God from the lives of the people. Secular governments all over the world are becoming more and more bold in their attempts to put God away from public life and curtail religious freedom. It is a blatant and deliberate attempt to take away the Christian faith from us. We have to be very vigilant. Faith is a gift from God, and it could be totally lost. Losing our faith is very disastrous to our soul.

In our relationship with God, there are three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Love. St. Paul said that these are the three things that last. And the greatest among them is love. St. Thomas Aquinas added some qualification to that statement. He said that in the order of dignity, it is true that love is the greatest. But how can we love God when we do not know Him? Nothing is desired unless it is known beforehand. It is faith that helps us to know God. And we can love God only if we know Him. So, in the order of knowledge, faith comes first. Losing our faith, therefore, means to lose our means to know God, making it impossible to love Him.

The Gospel this Sunday gives us the story about two miracles done by Jesus: the healing of a woman who was hemorrhaging for twelve years, and the raising back to life of a twelve-year old girl, the daughter of Jairus.

The woman touched the garment of Jesus, uttering to herself: "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured." And in the second instance, Jesus made sure Jairus had faith in him: "Do not be afraid. Just have faith." It is faith that moves the hand of God to do wondrous deeds. It is not the other way around. Some people think that for them to have faith, they need to witness a miracle. "To see is to believe", they say. That is wrong. As the Gospels clearly illustrate, one has to have faith first, and this faith will produce miracles: "Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move.' Nothing will be impossible for you" (Mt 17:20).

Let us, therefore, examine our faith. Every Sunday at Mass we recite the Creed. It contains all the most important and fundamental truths of our faith revealed to us by God. If we believe in something, which is contrary to any of these truths, we are committing sin against faith. It is truly important to know and study the doctrines of our faith as taught to us by the Church since the beginning. Knowing them, we must also adhere and hold on to them with firm belief and conviction.

And secondly, trusting more in one's self, in other persons and things rather than in God is definitely wrong. Trusting in our own intelligence and powers, or relying solely on money or in other persons, totally disregarding God's providence, are sins against faith. We must trust in God over and above everything in this world. We are truly blessed and fortunate that, despite our unworthiness, God granted us the gift of faith. We are duty bound to protect and defend it, and to make sure it is nurtured through study and prayer. And most importantly, God expects us to share our faith with others. The more we share it, the stronger it becomes.

As followers of Christ, it is our duty and our mission to share and spread our faith and thereby fulfill his command: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature" (Mk 16:15).

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm. 

"Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" This is not a simple and innocuous question from the disciples. It is actually an accusation and a judgment: "Do you not care?" When does Jesus not care? In His public ministry, Jesus has shown quite clearly and abundantly His care, compassion and love for everyone, especially for the poor, the weak, and the sick.

In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus gives us two parables of the seeds to describe the reign of God. The first is the Parable of the Growing Seeds. It tells us that God's kingdom, like the seed, will definitely come, regardless of any human intervention. The second is the Parable of the Mustard Seed, "the smallest of all the seeds on the earth." Yet when it is sown, it grows and become the largest of plants. Why did Jesus use the image of the seed in these parables? Certainly, the seed has significant qualities that will help us understand the mystery of the kingdom of God.

First, the seed is small and, in the eyes of most people, insignificant. Only farmers truly appreciate its value. In the parable of the Sower, Jesus pictured God as the farmer who sowed seeds on the ground. And that is precisely how God works – always from humble and small beginnings.

This teaches us the lesson on humility and littleness. Fallen human nature tends to seek for recognition and appreciation. Hence, people aspire to become big – rich, famous, and powerful. But experience tells us that this is not the way to true greatness and happiness. The seed is a reminder that being little does not mean being powerless or insignificant. In fact, as shown by the example of God, it is the way to true greatness. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "A great man is always willing to be little." In other words, it takes a lot of greatness to become little. The way of God is humility; the way of the devil is pride.

Second, the seed grows slowly. It follows the process of nature, which is gradual and slow. There is no shortcut to growth and development. This is the way the Kingdom of God unfolds. Unfortunately, many people nowadays do not subscribe to this truth anymore. Being used to the comforts and convenience in this age of technology, they think that success can be achieved quickly and easily. Everybody is in a hurry and impatient. They hate to wait. But the seed teaches us that the way to greatness and success is a long and painstaking process.

Third, the seed is totally dependent, not on the power of any human being, but on the providence of God. It is God who supplies the minerals and nutrients in the soil, and sends sunshine and rainfall on the seed until it grows and bears fruits. Again, this truth does not resonate with many people nowadays. Progress in the fields of technology and science has made people think they can be self-sufficient, and can now conveniently put God aside. Pope Benedict XVI made this apt observation: "The crisis we are living through carries with it signs of the exclusion of God from people's lives, a general indifference to the Christian faith, and even the intention of marginalizing it from public life."

Finally, the seed, though nurtured by nature and God's providence, still needs the caring hands of the farmer. God seldom operates directly in the affairs of the world. As a rule, He always uses the instrumentality of human beings who cooperate in His plan to bring about His Kingdom in the world. God gives only the seeds of peace, progress and salvation. And He expects us to plant and nurture them to full fruition. This we do by faithfully obeying His will.

Ultimately, it is God who brings about His kingdom, and He invites us to join Him in building it here on earth until it reaches perfection and fullness in heaven.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm. 

I'd like to let you know that I will be stepping down as the Music Ministry Coordinator in September. It will have been 15 years since I started as coordinator, and it is time for me to let someone else take up the post. The main responsibilities are coordination and communication, setting the schedule, and selecting the music.

Please let me know (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) if you are interested to do this, or if you would like to nominate someone who you think would be good for the role. 

Today we celebrate not only the gift of the Eucharist, the Body, and Blood of Our Lord, but the covenant sealed through Our Lord's Precious Blood.

In today's First Reading the old covenant that the Lord established with the people of Israel is sealed with the blood of a sacrifice.

The old covenant involved the shedding and sprinkling of blood. The altar represented God, and by sprinkling the blood on it and the people a communion of life was established that would be maintained for as long as they followed the precepts stipulated.

The Lord didn't need to do it, but, after the sins of humanity, the people of Israel did. That covenant was repeatedly renewed in Jewish worship through the sacrifice of animals and the shedding of their blood, with the hope of atoning for having transgressed the covenant.

This covenant and the sacrificed blood that sealed were just a foreshadowing of the covenant to come.

When God became man, he chose to become that sacrifice, to shed his blood to establish a new and everlasting covenant. If the blood of animals produced a spiritual benefit for those who were offering it, today's Second Reading reminds us how much more spiritual benefit comes from the blood of Christ, who sacrificed himself for the sins of the world.

Moses in the First Reading ratified the covenant with the blood of bulls; the Second Reading reminds us that Jesus has ratified the new covenant with his blood. It's one thing to sacrifice something of value and make amends; it's a whole other level to sacrifice your very self, body, and blood.

In ancient religions sacrifices were made and then partaken of, eating the food or animal sacrificed, to express communion with the deity to which the sacrifice was being made.

In today's Gospel, we see Our Lord in the Last Supper establishing a new and eternal covenant that would be sealed with his sacrifice on the Cross.

Our Lord established the sacrament of his Eucharist in an unbloody way, at the Last Supper, enabling his disciples to partake of his body and blood sacramentally so that they wouldn't have to physically.

However, that didn't preclude Our Lord from physically sacrificing himself on the Cross. We celebrate today the Body and Blood of Christ because they are now the one sacrifice to restore and maintain our communion with God.

We offer and receive this sacrifice in an unbloody manner, under the appearance of bread and wine, in part because Our Lord didn't want our squeamishness to keep us from coming to him as the Bread of Life.

We remember today that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ so that we never forget that a sacrifice has been made once and for all the forgiveness of sins: our sins, not his. 

We are well aware of the fact that nourishment is an expression of love. A mother nursing her baby is a vivid picture of this. Such is also the essence of the Eucharist, the sacrament of love. God so loved us that He gave His only Son, Jesus, who became man and offered his life on the cross for our salvation. But Jesus did not stop there. He went further as to give his own flesh and blood for our eternal nourishment: "For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him" (Jn 6:55-56). "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (Jn 6:54).

This Sunday, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Feast of the Eucharist, let us examine our understanding and attitude towards this most august sacrament. We can discuss so many issues concerning the Eucharist. But we cannot tackle them all in one homily. Suffice it to say, however, that the Mass is not just a meal, or a fellowship, or an entertainment presentation. Rather, the Mass is the one eternal sacrifice of Jesus that he offers to the heavenly Father in atonement for our sins. From this, let me share with you two major considerations that will hopefully help us improve our understanding of and devotion to the Eucharist.

First, the Mass is all about God. It is never about the priest, or the choir, or the sponsors, or any human being. How many times have we clapped our hands during Mass for a "nice" homily, for a splendid "performance" of a choir or for the generous donors and sponsors? How many times have we heard people remark that they like to go to this or that church because it is there that they enjoyed the Mass? For many people, the Mass is not about God but about them – they expect to be entertained, and to get something from it. If not, they leave and look for another church where they will "enjoy" and have "fun"! This is a terrible mistake!

The Mass is never about us; it is all about God! We come to Mass to worship, glorify and praise God – nothing else! Whether we enjoy or not, it is not the point. After all, as Pope Benedict XVI said, "Liturgy is not a matter of 'what you please'." (Ibid., p. 22). For, indeed, liturgy is all about pleasing God. Hence, "Looking at the priest has no importance. What matters is looking together at the Lord." (Ibid., p.81).

The second point: The Mass is all about giving. Failure to consider the Mass as the sacrifice of Jesus being offered to the heavenly Father gives rise to the belief that we go to Mass primarily to get something from God. While the Mass is all about giving – Jesus giving himself totally to God in sacrifice so that we may be forgiven and saved – many people who come to Mass only think of getting. This is truly absurd! No wonder they find the Mass oftentimes meaningless and fruitless – for they have totally missed the whole point.

The Mass is about giving everything to God, about offering our whole selves as we join in the sacrificial offering of Jesus. It is all about dying to self. During consecration, Jesus really dies, and we also should die with him. Then, and only then, can he raise us up to new life when we receive his Body and Blood in Holy Communion.

Obviously, then, the reason why many of us do not anymore find meaning in the celebration of Holy Mass is because we have become too self- centered. We have totally lost our focus on God, Who, by the way, is the real essence of the Mass. So, next time we come to Mass, think only about God – focus on Him, first and foremost!

And make sure we bring something that we can offer to God – not only our surplus, but everything: our crosses, our sacrifices, and our whole selves – and join Jesus in his sacrificial offering. Then, and only then, will the Mass become for us truly alive, profoundly meaningful and eternally fruitful.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.