Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Midnight Mass at St.Michael's in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Christmas is one of the most holy day for Christians all over the world. Here in Ipoh at the Saint Michaels Church, Christmas was celebrated with joy and humility, where the members of the congregation gathered by the hundreds. Mass started at 11.30pm on the 24th December 2008, in the year of our Lord. Reverend Father Michael Cheah said mass. Christmas is celebrated by Catholic or Protestant, Christian or Non, believer or nonbeliever. For on this day we are all believers in a sense. We are believers in goodness, in beauty, in nature, in love, in the bright faces of our children and the angelic light reflected from their eyes and demeanour.
All the way through Christmas is the expression of life, from the birth of the savior, to the symbol of life and nature expressed in our fragrant evergreen Christmas trees, to the sheer joy on the faces of our children. For all of us in the movement dedicated to the life and freedom of our people, Christmas should be a holy day and Christmas eve a holy night, a silent night of wonder, beauty and meaning. The most daunting enemy of our people is hopelessness and despair. We who are fully aware of the persecution of Christians across the world, should pray for their deliverance.
We have been given the gifts of Christmas. One gift we have is the Internet by which our people can communicate wherever they are in the world… in an instant. We now have the ability to get the truth out to our brethren at the speed of light wherever our people dwell.
Right now as you read or hear these words, there are teenage boys and girls in their own homes around the world who hear these words along with you. And these words sing to their hearts as they do sing from mine. What is the song we sing? It is the song of love of family and people, it is the song of life and of freedom, it is the song of beauty and achievement, it is the song our people have sung in their hearts from the time from the time they got to know our Lord. It is a song that we shall sing as we awaken and it is a song that will stir in the hearts of our descendents even as they travel to the infinite stars.
We have to keep the faith, keep the beauty for which we strive in your hearts, contemplate these things in the silence of Christmas eve, and celebrate them in the unrestrained joy of Christmas day with family and friends, for these days are your days, make them meaningful.
Oh silent night, oh holy night! Let the love of kith an kin fill our hearts. Let these days renew us and rededicate us to our heritage and our freedom. I would take this opportunity to thank the St. Peter's Choir, the Chinese Choir, the Indian Choir, our brothers and sisters of the Filipino and Indonesian Choir. They performed splendidly, words are not enough to describe their performance. I would also like to thank the 177th Scout Brigade from Dublin, Ireland for participating in the activities of our Church. May the events be carved in your hearts as fond memories of the Church of St Michael. May God bless all our parishioners, our priests, Fr Michael Cheah and Father Anthony Chong. Merry Christmas to all believers in Christ all over the world. God bless you all. Here is a Google Upload of the same event:
