Off the Pulpit

Today on Off the Pulpit, we get to better understand the place and rationale of Marian devotion in our Catholic faith. Fr Gerard Louis CSsR is a Redemptorist and lectures at the Catholic Theological Institute of Singapore in Theology, Christology and Mariology.

We breakdown our discussion into 3 parts:

Mary the Mother of Jesus,

Mary the Mother of God and

Mary the Mother of the Church.

Ever felt like you're not getting anything out of Mass? In Part 2 of Things we should do at Mass with Fr Iggy, we discuss how proper preparation before Mass is crucial. Because the goal for the Liturgy is: to give LIFE to the Christian mission - for we are the Body of Christ, united in body, mind, and voice.

While we may try to explain standing, sitting and kneeling as the rhythm of the Mass, we could also joke about it and say this is what we refer to as our ‘Catho-listhenics’.

In Part 1 of "What we should do at Mass", we ask Fr Ignatius Yeo about the disposition we should have at Mass - the greatest form of worship! How can we give God all the glory, and experience a foretaste of heaven at this profound liturgical prayer?

The media is at the centre of our culture and it's also where we move, live and have our being. As Pope Francis has said, “The flood of information at our fingertips does not make for greater wisdom." What role does media play in our faith? Fr Michael Rossmann, SJ shares how he began the One-minute Homily online, and that relying on the Holy Spirit helps us stay grounded and navigate through the clutter.

The celebration of the Assumption of Mary is one of 17 different memorials, feasts and solemnities in honour of Mary our Mother, found in the Roman Liturgical calendar. Fr Eugene Vaz shares what the Assumption of Mary mean for us and how can we model Mary in her example to ponder and be more aware of God's presence in our lives.

Fr Ignatius Yeo shares on the Transfiguration of the Lord and how did it take place? Why did Moses and Elijah crash the party on top of Mt Tabor? Most of all, how should we contemplate on the Transfiguration in relation to living out our faith here on earth and in our eternal life that Jesus has promised us?

In this episode, Fr David Bellusci, OP speaks about the upcoming World Youth Day held at Lisbon, Portugal, and one of its patron Saints, in particular, a 20th century Lay Dominican who is on his way to Sainthood - Blessed Pier-Giorgio Frassati, also known as The Man of the Eight Beatitudes.

On 31st May, we celebrate the memorial of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fr Joe Lopez, priest of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, and Rector of St Joseph’s Church (Victoria Street), shares with us the significance of this memorial and how we can imitate our Blessed Mother as she "arose and went with haste" to Ain Karim, travelling 160km to where her cousin Elizabeth was. Luke 1:39 is also the theme of this year's World Youth Day. Fr Joe shares more on how we can reflect and respond to these words of the Gospel through our daily living.

With the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord coming in a few days, Fr Ignatius Yeo shares what the Ascension of the Lord Jesus is all about, the key message we can take away as people of faith, and even how the Ascension is related to Christmas.

In Part 2 of this series, Dominican Fr Lawrence Lew shares anecdotes of how our Lady of Guadalupe protected his life and vocation throughout his seminarian years, and gently brought him closer to Christ through the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.