It was by chance that I came to understand there were Friday masses held in a hotel in the Orchard Road area where I used to work. It was way back since Holiday Inn's time. I was then only a Sunday Catholic, never had the time for anything except working long hours from Monday to Friday. One Friday I finally made it to my first lunch time mass and never stopped attending these Friday masses since then. The homilies at these masses are very inspiring and I have learned a lot about God and understand my religion better. I have also discovered that every time after receiving Holy Communion I feel that I am closer to God and wanted to be close to Him every day. This had led me to attend my daily mass despite the fact that every day I have to rush to and from the Cathedral. I feel that God has come into my life by giving me the convenience of receiving Him near my work place although I never had the intention of going to church except on Sunday. The message for me is to love and obey Him. With this message I have tried to be a more patient person and to offer all my hardship to him. Life is easier for me now than before. Amen.

In Nov 1998, God blessed me with recovery from another major illness, stroke which occurred on my left brain. It left me with some impediments to my mental functions. My thought processing and speech have become slow and they tend to cramp up, affecting my right limbs and my handwriting. God gives me two hands, so I developed my left-hand writing to get by. Getting back to mainstream work became a struggle because I could not do things the way I did before and it was quite trying to meet work targets. This was so despite my being moved from engineering field work into the design office with a lighter workload. The move turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I saw a Beacon of Light in the Catholic Prayer Society’s Friday lunchtime Mass at Hyatt Hotel, 10 minutes walk from my office. Nearly every week, save for the times when work spilled over into lunchtime, I could find nourishment for my tired body, mind and spirit, and over the week prior to Friday. I looked towards this beacon for strength and direction to carry on. (My daily routines did not allow me time to attend weekday Masses in church.) Mass on Friday always gets me recharged with strength and hope in life, and I survived more than 6 years. To those curious friends of mine of other faiths I tell them that I am going for a Banquet at Hyatt (and I meant it for it is a Spiritual Banquet), and on some occasions they came along to satisfy their curiosity. However, work demands keeps on growing with new unfamiliar tasks and this “injured aging dog” finds it hard to learn new tricks. Therefore, wisdom prevailed and I chose to retire early to find Peace. Now, being able to attend daily Mass in church, my life is brightened up with many beacons. Still I choose to attend and serve at CPS Friday Mass as it has a special place in my heart. It is a refreshing spring that never runs dry. Blessed be God, who is all good.

I started attending the Friday lunch time mass at Hyatt in 2003. It was my Godfather, Benny, who introduced me to the mass. Since then, I had never stopped attending the CPS masses unless there is urgent work commitment. I find that lunchtime mass is a good way to close my working week. It is an opportunity for me to reflect what I have done and accomplished, or what I have failed to do, during the past few days. At the same time, it gives me peace and makes me feel light inside. The small community here is close and warm and gives me the sense of celebrating the mass together as a family. I sincerely encourage all working Catholics find time to attend the masses organized by CPS.

Congratulations to CPS on their forthcoming 10th Anniversary! I would like to express my thanks to CPS-Shenton Way group for organising the various talks and Masses every Friday at Conference Hall. Being a "Sunday Catholic" my outlook of my Catholic faith was we are very traditional and not as dynamic as other Christian groups but after attending the talks by CPS, I somehow begin to think that our Catholic faith is more than that! The inspirational talks by Fr Terence - "speak up when things are not right" and Fr Bill Heng - "How to pray - Lord show me your Will" and Fr Angel's sermon on how to be closer to God is what somehow one can relate to. Their messages have shown me that our God is always in us and with us. In my times of crisis at work, these messages have always enabled me to overcome whatever problems that come my way and even come out as much happier person and always thankful for God's graces! Why, because God is always with us through prayers! I would like to say a big thank you to the Catholic Prayer Society again for all their efforts and always look forward to attending the Friday's lunchtime services. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND GOD BLESS!

I have been helping our with CPS Outram Lunchtime Mass since its birth. Nevertheless, despite some hiccups and thankful to God's guidance and support, the Mass at Outram continues to run smoothly reaching out to the community and colleagues, deepening our faith and prayerful lives for all. It has been an enriching experience, attending lunchtime Mass, participating in activities organised by the Catholic Prayer Society.

Having to sacrifice 1-hour lunch and taking 10-minutes walk every Wednesday from my office to the Medical Alumni is effortless. I am continuously experiencing great joy, peace and strength receiving Eucharistic and am filled with gratitude to my saviour Jesus for His unconditional love and mercy. Thanks to CPS for organising the Lunchtime Mass at Outram Campus. God bless.

I have been participating in mid-week, lunch-time Masses organised by the Outram branch of the CPS for some years now. I cherish the privilege of being able to do so, subject to my work schedule, as the Eucharist is truly the summit of the celebration of our Catholic faith and endless source of spiritual nourishment. In it, I find peace - as only our Lord can give - and the strength to carry on living in this mad an maddening world of ours. I am also beginning to recognise the profound, if understated, connection with our Blessed Mother bears to Eucharistic celebration instituted by her Son. As the late Pope John Paul II said, with characteristic insight and precision: In a certain sense Mary lived her Eucharistic faith even before the institution of the Eucharist, by the very fact that she offered her virginal womb for the Incarnation of God’s Word. The Eucharist, while commemorating the passion and resurrection, is also in continuity with the incarnation. At the Annunciation Mary conceived the Son of God in the physical reality of his body and blood, thus anticipating within herself what to some degree happens sacramentally in every believer who receives, under the signs of bread and wine, the Lord’s body and blood. As a result, there is a profound analogy between Fiat which Mary said in reply to the angel, and the Amen which every believer says when receiving the body of the Lord. Mary was asked to believe that the One whom she conceived “through the Holy Spirit” was “the Son of the God” (LK 1:30-35). In continuity with the Virgin’s faith, in the Eucharistic mystery we are asked to believe that the same Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary, becomes present in his full humanity and divinity under the signs of bread and wine” (Ecclesia de Eucharistica, no. 55). All praise and honour to God for the wondrous and stupendous gift of his life-giving body and blood. May our Lord Jesus be incarnated in each of us and He once was in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus.

This is a chance for me to thank all those in CPS who make possible the Wednesday lunch-time Masses at Outram, where I having been regularly going for several years now . It is a lot easier for me to go to Mass there than at my Parish weekday Mass which is at times awkward for me as a working person. The Catholic Prayer Society is really in tune with the needs of many working people. May God bless all of you.

We need to turn to Christ, the Word of God who became flesh for humanity’s salvation” (one of the quotes by late John Paul II). Congratulations to CPS for its Tenth Anniversary. We wish and pray for 25th Anniversary and many Anniversaries to come. Praise the Lord. My son, Lawrence Milhous and I are among the regulars attending the lunch hour Mass at the Conference Hall for the past few years. We always look forward to participating in the Holy Mass. Friday’s Mass is my second Mass of the day, as my wife Rajam and I also attend daily Masses at the Holy Cross. My family and I, including my two grandchildren attend Sunday Mass at the parish of St Ignatius’ 8.15am children’s Mass. We really appreciate all the members who come on time for Mass and those who organize it, especially Joseph, Mark Chin and their team. We are grateful to our regular priests, Fr Angel Luciano from St Michael, Fr Antonia Gonzales (Dominican priest), Fr Terence Pereira from St Anthony, Fr William from Novena and other priests. Their homilies are inspiring and everyone benefited from it spiritually. We would like to pray for their good health and intentions. By attending CPS’ lunch hour Mass, my spiritual life is strengthened. “We bring Christ to others and others to Christ”. “Deo Gratias”

Around March of this year, I started attending the Friday Masses/talks at CPS Shenton Way. The weekly Masses are a respite from a busy week. The talks by Fr Bill Heng are very thought provoking, and always makes me reflect about my daily living, while the lectures of Fr Terence Pereira about the Catholic faith are very informative. They help me focus on what is more important, and reminds me of what I should give priority in my life. Despite our hectic schedules, we should always remember that life is more than just work, promotions, and bonuses. Christ is offering us a full life that is certainly larger than our careers.

The lunch time Mass is great because it brings my focus back to God while going through the grind of work life and typical work environment where the focus is on efficiency, money , promotions and doing better than the other person etc. It brings about a sense of peace and I usually leave feeling better and that whatever problem I have I will be able to cope by having faith in Jesus.

The Lunchtime Mass is good break from my routine work and bring my focus back to God. It helps me to be more aware of HIS presence in others and refocus back to HIM. If I happened to have a bad and difficult day, it helps me to overcome these difficulties. Now that I attend the lunch time Mass regularly, I feel odd if I missed it. I started attending the workshop sometime in 2003 and I found all of the workshops useful in our daily life especially in our place of work. The workshop was well planned and organized, focusing on a specific aspect of our faith. I enjoyed most the last workshop "Jesus@Corinth.com" on July 23, 2005. The message was translated and conveyed in a form of a short play. It is difficult to sit down for long to listen to a monologue talk, especially after lunch in the afternoon. With the play sketch, it was lively and easy to follow. I hope CPS will keep up the good work and with all these activities, they will reach out to more and more working Catholics out there and evangelize to the non- Catholics. GOD bless all of you at CPS.

It has been 10 years since the Catholic Prayer Society was registered with the Registry of Societies in 1995. The year before that, I had the the privilege of meeting Dr. Ee Peng Liang before he passed away. The meeting was to consult him on certain aspects of forming the CPS and the manner in which it would operate. With me were Michael Moey, a Catholic lawyer, and Steve Wermert, who now works in Manila. On the day of that meeting, I arrived at the Catholic Welfare Centre about an hour early and stopped by at the grotto of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Queen Street. I decided to say a rosary in that space of time and during the meditations, I placed many questions before our Blessed Mother Mary on whether the CPS ought to be formed The meeting with Dr. Ee came and went. As I had taken leave that afternoon from work, I then went on to a regular talk, then held at the old SIA Building on Robinson Road organized by the Catholics in the CBD. It was being conducted by a someone whom I was seeing for the first time, Father Conor Donelly, an Opus Dei priest. During his talk to about 50 or so people that day, he spoke on every aspect of the questions exactly I had raised them just some hours earlier during my rosary prayers‘ meditation. After his talk, I approached Father Conor and before I could even properly introduce myself to him, I was in utter tears from the immensity of Christ’s response to His Blessed Mother’s intercession for the CPS. I remember Father Conor’s first question to me then was, “Are you facing any problems…?” Well, if forming the Catholic Prayer Society is any kind of problem, then it is the most beautiful problem that anyone could possibly wish for. No, it was not a problem at all and has never been a problem. In the words of the late Mr. Goh Sin Tub, when he was approached to serve as a trustee for the CPS, he instantly said, “It is the work of the Holy Spirit!” To the Catholic Prayer Society and all who work in the Lion City of God, I say on its 10th Anniversary, “Ad Multos Annos !”

My name is Joanna and I have attended the CPS organized Masses as far back as 8 years ago when it started at Victoria Memorial Hall in Raffles Place. Eight years on and I am still attending it. What is the attraction of the week day Mass? For one, attending the Sunday Mass with my family can be quite distracting and stressful especially when my kids fight (I’ve 3 active boys). On the contrary, it is so restful at the weekday Mass, but I am able to quieten down to worship & discern God’s will for me. Well, the Tuesday Mass is the highlight of my work week and my spiritual oasis. I run to the Lord (and to Mass, since I’m usually late) and offer to Him my problems / anxieties and happiness. The Lord in return has given me the strength to cope with the challenges in life: the difficult colleagues I had to put up with at work, the difficult colleagues I had to put up with at work, the anxious moments during my husband’s retrenchment whilst I was pregnant (not once, but twice!), the loss of my 7 month old baby, the frustrations of bringing up my wilful children well, the near death & almost complete recovery of my husband, and the list goes on... All this time, my life is like on a roller coaster, never a dull day but the Lord has been kind to my family & I, always there to pull us out of danger and to heal & comfort us when we hurt. At the end of the day, despite all the battle scars from life, we can see God’s hand in guiding our lives that we can still smile and be glad because we trust in Him. So this is my sales pitch : if you find that you are running low on faith, come to Mass for a re-fuel! It’s Free !!

I have had the coincidental privilege of taking part in and playing a couple of times for some ad hoc lunchtime workplace ass in Shenton Way more than 10 years ago. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would turn out today to be the Catholic Prayer Society with not less than 5 regular, ongoing and organized city-workplace-weekday-lunchtime mass centers – this is indeed the hand of the Good Lord and it is good indeed. I wish one and all at the CPS and other participants – music ministries, helpers, congregation, priests etc.. all the best and congratulations, and pray that the Good Lord will continue to strengthen us as we become bigger and stronger, and that He will always help us shine His light for all to see, while helping us remember that is for His glory that we are doing this, and not for our own. May He and His Mother Mary, our Mother, watch and guide us and our families always.

I praise and thank God for the gift of the CPS family. Through the weekly mass and various CPS organised activities, I have grown spiritually. The mass allows me to "come aside for a while" from my busy office to spend time with God, listen to His living Word and receive the Bread of Life. I am glad to be able to serve as a lector and contribute to CPS. I was touched that Fr Pereira would also make time to organise sessions specially for the lectors. I also look forward to attending the CPS workshops which are always spiritually uplifting and opportunities for fellowship with CPS members and new friends. The weekly Bible study held at the Marriot Hotel which is made so convenient and available for office workers like me is another gift from CPS which I really appreciate. Fr Ambrose has deepened my knowledge of scriptures and what is truly enlightening is God's message made relevant for us today in our daily lives, which previously I was not quite able to comprehend especially from the Old Testament. The CPS is indeed a beacon for many people like me, still on a spiritual journey of faith. Thank you.

Even though I only contribute to the subcommittee in little ways, I'm glad to have been able to help out. The rewards have been tremendous - I've learnt a lot about my faith through the workshops and the friends I've made along the way have given me much hope and courage in my personal journey of faith

This is one of the longest Ministry I serve so far; a place where I truly understand the meaning of "team spirit" and "community love". Although we have our disagreement, argument and problems, with God's grace, we are able to solve them peacefully; i.e. no banging of tables, losing temper, shouting across the table, no walking out of meeting due to disagreement, etc. The only problem we have is "only male survivor"; a torn among the ROSES. Let's pray hard that more brothers will join us to assist in the committee. Can guarantee you (brothers) that the four ROSES (Fr Terence's Angels) will definitely take care of you

To shoo away a very persistent CPS EXCO member who kept asking for volunteers for the workshop some 5 years ago and by saying "yes", I got myself into the Sub Com till today. On reflection, it was a meaningful commitment that I made as I got myself more involved into the workings of the Catholic Prayer Society. When the EXCO felt that we were ready to be left alone and named us as the Sub Com, we then had a team of about 7 to 10 persons. We have now a core team of 5 helpers who have stood through thick and thin as a team. (Hint - we need more helpers). Workshops were planned as an extension of activities for the working people besides the lunch time masses. All of our invited speakers imparted their vast knowledge eloquently in all our workshops on how to live and deepen our faith in and around our workplace. As the CPS celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 2005, our workshops took a different stance. We had a group of youths from the Church of St. Anthony enacting short skits and plays to give the workshops another dimension in our CPS seminars. We wrapped the year up with a forum which saw a pretty good turnout on 22 October 2005 at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul which was entitled, “Baptism in the Work Place” which featured Fathers Ambrose Vaz and Terence Pereira, as well as Brother Michael Broughton, a Lasallian Brother and Deputy Principal of St. Joseph’s Institution. With every workshop that we undertake, we always remember that the Lord is the Organizer of all workshops and we are only his runners. Since I have said my “Yes” to work for Him in areas where He has chosen me, I constantly reminded myself to do what I can and God will do what I can’t. Things have always worked out beautifully in His own time and ways. Throughout all these past years of helping out in the workshops, three in a year, has taught me that I do not walk alone but to share and learn from each other as we meet along the way with Christ as our Teacher.

It was a year after I started my new job in Suntec that I came to know about lunch-time Mass being celebrated in the business district. I attended the first CPS workshop @ Bayview Hotel – conducted by Rev Fr John Paul Tan. And, it was at this workshop that I put my name down as a volunteer for future workshops. Before long, I became “hooked on” to the Catholic Prayer Society – attending Mass regularly and eagerly waiting to be called. Finally the call came, a group of us – strangers from diverse industry background and from four corners of Singapore, came together to plan the first workshop in Year 2002 based on the theme Work Spirituality. What do we know about Work Spirituality? Bewildered, we looked at one another and prayed. The Holy Spirit guided us and we were overwhelmed by the number of participants who came to the workshop! It’s no turning back since – we keep going, working on different themes each year with the Holy Spirit guiding our every move! The four years with the Catholic Prayer Society has not only taught me about team spirit, but most of all – Nothing is Impossible if one, imitating our Blessed Mother, trust fully in God! My faith has “blossomed” over the years and my limited knowledge of my faith has grown spiritually. I thank God for the CPS for bringing weekday worship to the workplace – where one can spend a few minutes of joy and peace being with the Lord.

It is wonderful to see the faith of the people. I feel it's a wonderful way of nurturing their faith and being nurtured by them.