theology of the body / life updates / emergence

hi y'all - due to some build up of work recently, i haven't updated my blog for some time ... here's a run down of what i've been up to lately ...

i've been attending a course on the Gift and an Introduction to the Theology of the Body by Christopher West in SFX. a terrific course, and to think i only wanted to stay there for the first session because i was sceptical about the contents of the course. :P

in essence, this course deals with the most fundamental of issues - where does our body stand from the viewpoint of theology i.e. how do we as Christian Catholics relate to sex, marriage and/or celibacy and our bodies. i really did think it was about the body of Christ at first ... so yeah, a real eye-opener.
i learned that body DOES NOT equal sin and that marriage is to give us a foretaste of what heaven will be like.

where does this leave me? with a greater awareness of who i am, and that my body is worthy of love and respect and while the world keeps on screaming about gratutious sex, i'll learn to see it for what it is - an act of love that is bounded by sacrament. and mostly that the infinite fire within us cannot be quenched by small flames of sexual desire. we do really need God in the end.

it ends next week, and hopefully i'll be able to make it for the course on Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) in St Ignatius the following Monday. :)

***

attended 2 weddings of 2 terrific friends from uni days recently - RAZ better known as Raja Ahmad Zahir and Idris Seydalavi aka Idris C'est La Vie. the first was in Putrajaya (i was there on a weekend for a change, fancy that!) and the second was in Batu Pahat.

Siew Wee, Yin Harn and i drove down in SW's trusty Saga, and we managed to make our way to BP, home of Chua Soi Lek and the sex dvd story ...
-driving down neverending kampung roads at 80-90 km/h disregarding signs saying ' KAWASAN KAMPUNG - SILA KURANGKAN LAJU. :P
-watching out for stray cows, chickens, goats and little kids on bicycles. we didn't want to end up the subjects of a Pengetahuan Moral question. :P

and to cap it off, we stayed in the same hotel where a certain Dr Chua was caught on film cavorting with his female companion. no complimentary sex dvds though. and any person who had a hidden camera would have been bored silly - YH was listening to her MP3 player, i was reading and SW was playing with her laptop. and we were all talking in turn nonsense, current affairs in Malaysia and across the globe and gossip.

the weddings were inspiring and i participated in my first majlis bersanding at Idris' wedding. it was a fantastic experience and i sincerely wish both my friends a wonderful marriage ahead. God bless you guys. :)

***

emergence is slow, but worth the wait. as what comes forth comes from daring to face the truth, it becomes easier to make choices. patience is what makes the taste of the fruit sweeter. indeed, patience itself is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

and God helps those who help themselves. although in the end, truly, what man proposes, God disposes. Amen.

He's not even asking for tremendous success from me. He's only asking that i try and trust in Him. so there!

Festival of Rights 2007

Festival of Rights 2007

BROUGHT TO YOU by the Bar Council Human Rights Committee

Date:	Sunday, December 9, 2007
Time:	7:00am - 2:30pm
Location:	SOGO Complex and Central Market
City/Town:	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

'As I Believe: Freedom of Expression through Art, Music, Culture and Conscience'

Part I: 0730 SOGO Complex - Peoples' Freedom Walk
Part II: 0900 Central Market - Festivities and Conversations

Human Rights Day is celebrated worldwide on 10 December every year. The Human Rights Committee continues the celebration of the 'Day' by hosting the "Festival of Rights" once again. The theme this year is "As I Believe: Freedom of Expression through Art, Music, Culture and Conscience" showcasing the indivisibility, interdependence and inter-relation of various rights in our daily lives.

The celebration will be in two parts. Part I starts at with the 'Peoples' Freedom Walk' from the SOGO Complex through Dataran Merdeka to Central Market. We will congregate in front of the SOGO Complex at 0700. This Walk is open to everyone who is welcome to bring along banners highlighting human rights issues that they are concerned about.

Part II will be held at the staging area of Central Market. Participants will be served refreshments while enjoying the festivities. Among others, a multi-religious panel will discuss conscience rights in the 'Conversations' segment titled "When Faith Meets Law". We have invited key religious leaders to take part in this session where everyone is encouraged to express their views.
The programme is as follows:

Part I

0700 Congregate in front of SOGO Complex

0730 Short briefing on the ‘Peoples’ Freedom Walk’ (Amer Hamzah)

0800 Walk from SOGO to Central Market through Dataran Merdeka

Part II

0900 Welcome speech by President, Bar Council (Ambiga Sreenevasan)/Chair, Human Rights Committee (Edmund Bon)

0910 “Speechless”: Lip-reading of the UDHR (led by Wong Nyok Mei)

0925 Breakfast and prize-giving ceremony for essay competition 2006 winners (BM and English)

0935 Poetry Reading (Noreen Ariff)

0945 Conversations: “When Faith Meets Law” (multi-religious forum)
- Deputy Director, Jabatan Agama Islam, Perak
- Zaid Kamaruddin, JIM (TBC)
- Bishop Paul Tan, Christian Federation Malaysia
- Datuk A. Vaithilingam, Hindu Sangam
- representatives from Sikh, Taoist and Buddhist communities

(colouring session for children commences)

1100 Cultural performance by the Orang Asli (Pusat Kebudayaan SPNS)

1115 “I wish that ……” session (led by Fadiah Nadwa Fikri)

1130 Stage performances by various artists/activists

• Fahri Azzat & His Soul Brotha (1135 – 1150)
• In Torment (1155 – 1210)
• The Wave (1215 – 1230)
• Lai Chee Hoe (1235 – 1250)
• Amer Hamzah & Cassarrah (1255 – 1310)
• Dr Wan Zawawi (1315 – 1330)
• Couple (1335 – 1350)
• Tina and Dipendra (1355 – 1410)
• KL Legal Aid Centre (1415 – 1430)

1435 Closing speech by President, Bar Council (Ambiga Sreenevasan)/ Chair, Human Rights Committee (Edmund Bon)

We hope that everyone will be able to join us and take part in this celebration. There will also be booths to cater for all ages at Central Market - the kids, the young and the old.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Rezib Mohamad, at 03-20316367 or rezib@malaysianbar.org.my