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Friday 13th October 2006
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| Legion of Mary's members giving out candles . |
It was Friday the 13th. For the superstitious, it's a day to avoid. But for Marian devotees, it was a very special day. Thousands gathered at the Risen Christ Church in Toa Payoh this year in honour of our Lady.
The special day began with Mass. The main celebrant was Fr John Sim and he was assisted by Fr Adrian Yeo.
In his Homily, Fr John elaborated on the Gospel (Lk 11: 15-26), where Jesus was mocked for casting out the devil. Jesus took all the criticisms for love of us. He even gave up His life for us. But, people were jealous of Him.
Fr John asked the congregation to take comfort from the Gospel, especially when it's hard to love our neighbours.
Fr John reminded the people that Jesus will be with them in whatever trials they have to go through. That's because Jesus himself has gone through them first.
He concluded the Homily by telling the parishioners to ask the Lord for strength and courage to have faith in God, in whatever trial they face.
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| Parishioners holding up their candles to be blessed. |
Statue of Our Lady being carried out of the church for the candle-light procession. |
Fr John Sim blessing the candles. |
Mass was followed by possession around the church compound, which was led by the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. It was a beautiful sea of people, everyone holding on to their candles and rosaries.
The rosary was recited in three languages namely English, Mandarin and Tamil.
It was on this day in 1917, that Our Lady appeared for the last time to three young Portuguese children, in a field called the Cova de Iria.
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| Our Lady : Up, Close and Personal. |
The procession begins. |
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| A sea of people with their candles, reciting the rosary in three languages: English, Chinese and Tamil. |
An aerial view of devotees. |
Senior citizens taking a rest. |
The area is near a small village of Fatima, about 70 miles north of Lisbon. And on this day, she identified herself as "Our Lady of the Rosary" and the dramatic episode of the dance of the sun took place. It was witnessed by a crowd of 70,000 people, in which the sun seemed to tumble from the sky.
In total, our Lady appeared six times to the children in Fatima, between May and October 1917.
The possession in Risen Christ Church ended at the grotto. After the final hymms in all three languages, Fr John Sim gave the parishioners his blessings.
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| Altar boys leading the congregation. |
The procession ended at Our Lady's grotto. |
Devotees singing the final hymn. |
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| Fr Loiseau and Fr Adrian Yeo accompanying parishioners who are deep in prayers. |
The rosary and candle-light
in honour of Our Lady. |
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