The Barefoot Journey Home

 A couple of years ago, I took it upon myself to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a month. This was after a retreat, where during the retreat, I received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time in what seemed like forever, and I felt as though I had a great burden lifted from my shoulders. I came to realise the beauty of the Sacrament, and I even challenged myself to receive the Sacrament from priests who I was closer to and would normally avoid going to for Confession.  However, sooner or later, I realised that I was visiting the Confessional more than once a month. As the adult guardian of the Altar Servers in my parish back then, most of my Sundays were spent in the Sacristy, and I started to cease the opportunity to approach the priests for the sacrament before attending Mass, on an almost weekly basis. The feeling was always the same. I went into the Confessional feeling dirty and guilty for committing the same sins over and over again, and...

The gradual resumption of liturgies within the parishes over the last few months have certainly been a cause for great joy for many Catholics. For many of the young people in my parish, they have expressed that the one time a month that they are able to come for the Sunday Mass is always a source of great joy. Nothing is better than receiving the Lord sacramentally in the Eucharist. Unfortunately, the young ones who are involved in the community do not make up the whole parish.  According to recent surveys, in most parishes across the country, the number of parishioners who have registered under the Archdiocese's Portal for the purpose of booking Masses number around 50%. The number of parishioners in each parish that have actually attended a physical Mass ever since the resumption of the Masses number around 30%. Of course, this is generalisation. There are some parishes where the numbers are higher.  Many people have good reasons as to why they have yet to register to attend...

Over the last few years, one thing that I have noticed about myself is that I have developed a passion for Apologetics. For those who are unsure of what Apologetics is, in the Christian faith, it is the intellectual defence of one's faith, and it is usually considered to be a branch of theology. For Catholics, it is the defence of Catholic Teachings as a whole, and it is usually associated with the fundamental theology of the Catholic Church.  Most people would liken Apologetics to be about the differences between Catholics and Protestants, which of course, I am passionate about. It's no secret that despite placing their Faith in the same God, there are some major differences in theology. Many Protestants believe that the Catholic Church is unbiblical and governed by man-made laws and doctrines. It does not help that the state of Catechetics in the Catholic Church is simply not the best. When a good number of Catholics are questioned by their Protestant friends about their beli...