Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The ONE Youth Rally

On the 7th of September, a day after the big annual procession (pic on the right) in honour of Our Lady and for the 60th anniversary of the Novena in Singapore, the RMT organized the One Youth Rally. Actually we were really scared, because we haven't organized anything on this scale for a very long time. And we were scared whether or not people would come, but thank God come they did. They flooded in by the thousands! OK, maybe just one thousand:)

Some of our youth among the crowd at the youth rally.







And right from the start with the performance of the theme song 'One' and the echo 'Tonight's gonna be a good nite', it was a very good night indeed.
It's rare that I say much about the Spirit but it was present in a big, big way that night. Everything improved so much from the rehearsals and flowed so smoothly that it must have been the special blessing of God. I've always believed that God blesses our good intentions and sincerity. So if you want to honestly do something for God and to serve the people, hope this is encouraging for you.




The Vine and Branches, Altar Servers and the Emperor from Star Wars put up a great skit.









...and the altar severs sing for us. Well done lads!

Of course we wouldn't have been able to pull it off without a lot of help, so among others, thanks to-
The Altar Servers and the Vine and Branches for doing the skit and all the other dirty work;
Michaela for singing and the Boys Town boys for dancing;
The band from Immaculate Heart of Mary (above) who seriously rocked the house and gave mighty praise to God;
Jerome for being the MC and Prem for sharing;





Bro. Cel and Fr. Gerard trading insults! And Prem shares his life story.


Redemptorists Bro. Celestine and big boss of Novena Church Fr. Simon Tan for doing their bit;
And all the others for their help and support, we really appreciate it very, very much.
And thanks so much to all who came to support us and to praise God. We look forward to see you all again.



Missions; Missions; Missions!!

It has been busy couple of months in August and September. We have been to a number of schools;

SJI for the Sec. 4 retreat;
CHIJ St. Theresa's for the follow up mission;

St. Anthony's Convent for the Sec. 4/5 missions; and,

Assumption English School also for the Sec. 4/5 missions.

The SJI 360 degrees retreat was fantastic and was a great experience being with the 94 Josephians at the St. Francis Xavier Major Seminary. You guys were a wonderful bunch, full of life, energy and of course faith. (Here you can see them looking to the heavens for inspiration) Its always a great experience for me going back to my Alma Mater. So long live SJI!!

If there are one group of girls I can think of who love to have fun, it would be the Theresians, so its fortunate for us that we have a total of 4, yes 4 (four) days of mission with them throughout the year. We always go back in August or September for the follow up, just to make sure they remember what we have thought them, and if they don't...then they're in big trouble! Here's to all the graduating Theresians, a big howdy to you all.






Josh and Prem feel like rock stars as the girls go mental!!

Next stop was St. Anthony's Convent for their Sec. 4/5 mission. And as always the SAC girls are very fun and enjoyable. And we hope to see much more of SAC next year and in the future.
Final stop before a break for the exams (a break for us that is, but not for you) was Assumption English School. The Assumptionites were really concerned about their exams so our prayers are with you in a very big way.

We know that the exams are around the corner or here already and that most of you will be really stressed out (and if you're not, you're either really smart or you're in denial or you've just given up) but what we want you to know is that when the RMT pray together (and we do try to pray every day), we will be remembering you in a special way. So go well, take care and all the best.

Gerry

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Fr. Gerard in Roma

So what did you do for the June holidays? Guess I was lucky because while you were slogging at remedials and battling H1N1, I was having a Meditteranian holiday in Italy! Well it was'nt all a holiday, I was sent by the Redemptorists to attend a course on the Redemptorist spirituality, history and lives of our founder St. Alphonsus and the saints held at our mother house which is near Naples in the south of Italy.

I thought the course would be relaxed but it turned out to be 6 hours of lectures every day! But I got to see and do so much! We visited and stayed in the houses that Alphonsus himself founded. His room and his belongings are still intact. For 2 weeks we were at St. Gerard's Basilica where his tomb is. Here's a picture of me with some of my coursemates, Redemptorists from around the world at his tomb.
St. Gerard is also a Redemptorist and is very popular with the people in Southern Italy, (not me by the way, the real St. Gerard) and many pilgrims come to the basilica throughout the year.

It was really great meeting all these Redemptorists from around the world, Asians, Africans, Americans, Europeans...to get to know them and to share our experiences, usually over a cappucino and gelato at the village coffee shop.

After the course, I also had an opportunity to tour Italy. It is such a beautiful country; nature, art, architecture, history, everything, and food!! I came back with an extra 4 kilos! Perhaps the highlight for me was to attend mass with the Pope at St. Peter's. That was an amazing experience, and it has always been my dream. Here's a picture of the mass.


But after all that, it is good to be home in Singapore, and to the good old routine. On a diet and exercise programme to work off all that spaghetti! I feel very refreshed, more inspired about being a Redemptorist and living my faith. And I was praying for you all there and look forward to meeting you all at missions.
God Bless
Gerard

Monday, May 25, 2009

HOMECOMING


So that time of the year has come and gone again, the SJI Sec 3 Retreat. Lord of the Rings, swordfighting and all! I'm sure you guys enjoyed it. I for one, always love returning to my old school as I am a very proud Josephian. I am always glad to see the Josephian spirit and the Catholic identity of the school still very much alive. So keep the flame burning guys. SJI Forever!!
Now the mission team can take a little break and try to recuperate. Some of us are sick and trying to rest. I will also be leaving for Rome this Saturday and I'll be there for a month studying our Redemptorist Spirituality and History. Pray for me and I will also be remembering all of you when I visit St. Peter's and the other holy shrines. Photos and write ups will definitely follow. Will try to send you some updates through my travels in Italy.
So the June holidays are upon us and in this fast paced Singapore of the 21st century that is not much a of a break for most of you school goers. Still I hope it is a breather and restful time to some extent. Happy resting, studying and catching up.
Blessings
Fr. Gerard

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

just a note!

Hey Bros & Sistas,

How is everyone? Yes yes yes....mid-year exams are round the corner ah.Hope all of you all studying well.When you are all on your exams we are on our break.We retreat,discuss and plan for the upcoming missions or retreats.

The first half of the year,we went to a lot of schools......and we really enjoyed ourselves.I look forward to next half of the year,don't know whats in store for us..but we look forward to the challenges that lies ahead...

With this...take care everyone..keep us in your prayers and we will be praying for you all..
Peace!

with big love love love,
Joshua Pillai

Sunday, April 5, 2009

It's Done!!!!

Hey STC GIRLS...

The photos are up in our photo section......

Just a shout out to the STC girls for making our mission days with your school really fun!
The team enjoyed every day with each one you all...

I think the last day seeing you all come together putting up the skits...songs....dance....really brought a smile to each one of us...

With this we just wanna say...

RMT LOVES YOU ALL!!!

Peace & Ez,
RMT

Monday, March 30, 2009

The Magical World Of Music

Hey All,

Firstly to the STC Girls, thousand of apologies.I know the photos are not up yet and hopefully it will be up soon. Once it’s done we will also share some of our experiences at STC .Well all I can say is that I enjoyed myself for sure and I think the team as well….we laughed,we cryed and most of all we had fun. The team sure looks forward to the booster session in September.

Anyway a lot of missions we play music. I always had a lot of people asking me about my music…djing…and also about what music I like…and introduction to some artist or bands. So here goes. Here are some artist/bands/djs/producers you all should check out. I invite you all to just be open to it .Spread the love,Spread the music!

1)MGMT- Time to pretend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9GH-yvPHSY
This band is quite new.I love their style.This is one of their big tracks.Catchy riffs and tune.

2)DJ Vadim-Terrorist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD2gAjFtZ1A
Dj Vadim a Russian dj/producer.This hip-hop track he produced was really nice.I love the beats and the lyrics…really funny…the rapping is done by Moshun Man

3)Jazzsteppa-two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GomWadOALPE
This is a DUBSTEP group.Dubstep is a genre of music . It’s very big in UK.
This kinda sound consist a lot on abstract beats and heavy basslines.So remember to crank dem speakers!!!

4)Benga & Coki-Night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNStVlJWy88
This is another dubstep tune.You all may find it weird But it’s a really catchy sound and riff. Check the video on this one!

5)Jan Driver-Kardamoon(victor magan remix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtssAflRSr8
this is called tech house.Nice dancing beats with some tribal elements.I like the track at the 1min 32s mark…it has this middle eastern vibe sound!Happy dancing

6)M.I.A-Paper Planes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__HQGvSqZ5I
M.I.A a sri lankan rapper that spent most of her time growing up in the UK.This track some of you all heard it. It was featured in the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack!

7)Santogold-Creator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VnPrpONJvk
She sounds a bit like M.I.A.Nice track and vocals!
Enjoy!

8)Lifehouse-Storm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL5UYbDTv-c&feature=related
Most of you all probably heard of Lifehouse.But this track is dope.The song is a bit more on the rock ballad sound.Nice lyrics…and I think most of us can relate to it!

9)Switchfoot-Only Hopehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kC3r_poOl8
Isabelle’s fav band. Some of you all may have heard their anthemn track called “meant to live” and “dare to move”.This is nice !

10)The Cinematic Orchestra-All tha I give
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F1RVXfiWEE
this is really a good orchestra. I love their sound. This track has got this girls vocals(fontella basse) wow…it’s crazy! So soothing….so calm!!!

11)Bassnectar & kraddy – Snake Charmer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebEgvaUVM30
This sound is called big beat.A genre that inspired a lot of big bands.This track is nice. The Indian flute and horns make it really cool!Simple lyrics!

12)DJ Shadow-Six Days(Soulwax remix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySBQC8ao3Bk
Dj Shadown is an American hip-hop/dj producer. This track was featured in the movie Fast And furios however this is a remix.So yesh enjoy it!

13)Freestylers-Ruffneck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUFLnj6gNCA
This group producers a lot of BIG BEAT tunes. Really big in the UK. I caught them live in Singapore and it was crazy!!!!!!!i love this song especially the MCING

14)Kanye West-Goldigger(High Contrast remix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgl1KtgbzAc
Yes you all know this song however this remix is a Drum N bass remix.Check out what Drum n bass sounds like .Really fast drum patterns and crazy basslines.

15)Buraka Som Sistema-Sounds of Kuduro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CkXhtw7UNk
Check this group out…M.I.A is also featured in this song.This video is nice ….check out some world music and how the guys and girls rap!!!

Okay…15 diff artist for you all to go check out!!! Hopefully you all like the selection.One more thing I gave you all the links not all of them are the actual music videos of the song.So do take note!

With this I hope you call can explore more into the MAGICAL world of MUSIC

Peace Everyone

Ez now,
Joshua
The youngest in the team