charitable activities

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My Prayer Intention for Friday, 9 August 2013

1. For the victims and survivors of the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki, 68 years ago on this day. May the Lord who is loving and merciful protect and be with them throughout their ordeal and difficulties, and may He welcome those departed into His loving embrace in heaven. That they will not become bitter through their suffering, but remain loving and forgiving, that they may bring others into understanding about their plight and push further the cause for the complete ban of any Weapons of Mass Destruction.

2. For Singapore and all Singaporeans, who are celebrating their 48th Anniversary of Independence today. May the Lord continue to bless and protect Singapore and all its people, as He had always done for these past forty-eight years. May He continue to bless her people with love and awareness, of the plight of others less fortunate, that they will not be engulfed in excessive and endless pursuit of money, wealth, and worldly pleasures, and instead being active citizens of the country and this world, helping one another and supporting those who are in need with love, compassion, and kindness.

3. For our Church. May the Lord continue to shine upon our Church and all of us His beloved people. May our Church continue to provide God’s love upon many who are suffering, from the lack of food, the lack of care, and the lack of love. May we, the people of God’s One Body in the Church continue to work hard and do our best to contribute to the charitable activities led by the Church to bring God’s love and light to others.

May the Lord who is merciful and loving, listen to our prayers and the humble petitions in our hearts, that He will exercise His divine grace and power, interceding for our behalf. God bless us all. Amen.

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Peter’s Pence Collection, Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Peters Pence

In case any of you are wondering what is Peter’s Pence, which is collected every Sunday nearest to the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles, which falls on 29 June every year (Therefore this year Peter’s Pence is collected on Sunday, 30 June 2013, 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time), Peter’s Pence is a special collection in which the collection will not go into the local church or parish fund, but gathered from all over the world and sent to Rome, to the Holy See. Thus, the collection made during the offertory this Sunday will go directly to Rome.

What is the purpose of the Peter’s Pence collection? Exactly to support the numerous charitable activities and organisations managed by the Holy See, by our Church, all over the world. There are thousands, tens of thousands of charity under the supervision of the Church, and to be able to continue with the action, funds are definitely necessary to provide a solid backing. That is why, Peter’s Pence is done once every year, on the Sunday nearest to the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.

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Why Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul? That is because on that day lie the great celebration of the two great saints and apostles that defined our Church, because they met their martyrdom in Rome. St. Peter, the Prince and leader of all the Apostles, whom the Pope is the successor of today, met his martyrdom in what is now Vatican City, through crucifixion, and St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, and author of the Epistles in the New Testament, met his martyrdom in Rome, through beheading.

Peter’s Pence itself had its origins in the late dark ages and early medieval period, particularly from England, where it got the name Peter’s ‘Pence’. Pence is the unit of money still in use until today in the United Kingdom and the related monetary units. ‘Peter’ simply point to the fact that the collection or ‘pence’ is intended to be sent to Rome, to the Pope, in order to support various Church activities.