Tuesday 29 July 2014

Dressing Modestly and with Decorum in Church - A Wedding Drama

Every once in a while, I come across couples planning for their wedding and in some instances, the bride then asks whether she could dress a little more stylo milo in one of those modern wedding gowns. The bride is advised to dress modestly and conservatively, since the wedding is taking place in church and a certain amount of decorum is expected. After all, you wouldn't wear shorts and t-shirt, or some other inappropriate clothing, when you go to a banquet or attend a function where a VIP (Very Important Person), Dignitaries or members of Royalty, are present. So, in church, one should dress modestly, properly and appropriately.

However, sometimes I come across a bride who "berdegil" or is stubborn.


At one wedding day, a bride came dressed in a round neck strapless sleeveless wedding gown (similar to the wedding gown of this picture), supported only with don't know what item together with her upper anatomy (possibly trying to show off certain parts). As she was walking down the aisle, all of a sudden, the upper part of her wedding gown gave way and the whole thing dropped down. It seems that the poor lady was not wearing anything inside and everything above her waist was revealed. I quickly closed my eyes and looked elsewhere, not wanting to see the consequence of the clothing malfunction, but the cameras and video recorders, I am told, caught the whole sequence of revelation.

Naturally, the poor bride was red with embarrassment and in tears. Her mother at least had the presence of mind to get her husband's coat and cover up the poor bride. Then the sobbing bride was led away. The wedding certainly could not continue till a later date.

So, if you are planning for your wedding, just be mindful that unexpected situations could occur. As some may say, "malang tidak berbau" or "kejatuhan tidak boleh disangka" (loosely translated as "calamnity or accidents cannot be predicted and may happen"). Dress properly and modestly in church, as it is a sacred place and God's dwelling, and not some concert hall, fashion show or opera house. Later at some other place such as the wedding dinner or banquet, you want to dress shockalingam or stylo milo, that is up to you.

Thursday 3 July 2014

“愛”或是“爱”成为我们今天的挑战

假如我们仔细观擦以上的繁体和简体字“愛”和“爱”的分别,你会发现到很多有趣的事情。

繁体字“愛”上面有“爫”或是“爪”,而下方有“夂”。上下两者都显示“动作”词。“爪”是动物脚趾或手指端长出的硬物体,有紧抓或是拿着的意思;致以“夂”的意义是“慢步行走”。“心”是人体重要的器官。因此繁体字“愛”告诉我们爱别人不但要以行动去表示,而且还要有一颗善良爱心,慢慢地开导他们。

致以简体字“爱”,虽然上面部分和繁体字“愛”一样,但是下面部分就不同了。取而代之的是个“友”字,而且中间的“心”字不见了。所以简体字“爱”就让人觉得我们现在爱别人只是当着朋友而已,并没有一心一意地付出。

让我们反省一下,在爱别人时是否真心相对?或者只是把他们当着普通朋友一般,缺少一 颗诚恳的愛心呢?

Quotes and Anecdotes Throughout Ministry (The Story of our Lives so far)

Having been a priest for several years, I have from time to time come up with interesting quotes from different sources. Some of these quote...