First Friday Devotion: a prayer and reflection

Recently, I am so confused about so many things. Working life seems too complicated for me especially if these things come up with additional 'seasonings' like family problems and accountable partners. 

I have been prayed for my family since I was in school. Sometimes, I prayed for something that obviously I want or I need, but now, I just couldn't describe my feelings and thoughts, too many anxiety and worries that I know, it shouldn't been a problem because I have Jesus. The light, the way, the love, the redeemer of my life.

For 23 years of my life, I haven't finished my promised by myself to God. I used to use my situation to limit myself in serving Him. I had promised that I would offer my life to Him, particularly because I could be more independent since I work as a teacher in Sentani. I know that my saving and allowance would not be enough to fulfill my desire to have a happy and fancy life like my friends in Jakarta. I made up my mind by devoting my time and life to serve Him there fully, through neighborhood, church community and absolutely school as my second home.

This prayer and devotion bringing me over to a composure and contentment that all my worries should be gone, why? Because it is more than a prayer, it is a promise of assurance and an answer from God.

These writings about about First Friday Devotion  help me much to understand why and how I should pray. I hope i could strengthen you too, pals... 

So that wherever you are, whatever your problems and worries, we can devote ourselves to God in the way He had promised us. To God be the Glory!

History of First Friday Devotion 

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is of great antiquity in the Church. It was St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, however, who made this devotion widespread. In 1675, within the octave of the feast of Corpus Christi, our Lord appeared to her and said: "Behold this heart which, not withstanding the burning love for men with which it is consumed and exhausted, meets with no other return from most Christians than sacrilege, contempt, indifference and ingratitude, even in the sacrament of my love [the Eucharist]. But what pierces my heart most deeply is that I am subjected to these insults by persons especially consecrated to my service."

To those who show him love and who make reparation for sins, however, our Lord made a great pledge: "I promise you in the unfath­omable mercy of my heart that my omnipotent love will procure the grace of final penitence for all those who receive communion on nine successive first Fridays of the month; they will not die in my disfavor, or without having received the sacraments, since my divine heart will be their sure refuge in the last moments of their life."4

The great promise of the Sacred Heart is most consoling: the grace of final perseverance and the joy of having Jesus' heart as our sure refuge and infinite ocean of mercy in our last hour.

 To gain this grace, we must:

• Receive holy Communion on nine consecutive first Fridays.
• Have the intention of honoring the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of reaching final perseverance.
• Offer each holy Communion as an act of atonement for offenses against the Blessed Sacrament.

The Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

1. "I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life."  

2. "I will establish peace in their homes."  

3. "I will comfort them in their afflictions."  

4. "I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all in death." 

5. "I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings." 

6. "Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy."  

7. "Tepid souls shall grow fervent."  

8. "Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection."  

9. "I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be set up and honored."  

10. "I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts."  

11. "Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out."  

12. "I promise thee in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Divine heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment."

Litany of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

V/ Lord, have mercy. 

R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Christ, have mercy.

R/ Christ, have mercy.

V/ Lord, have mercy.

R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Jesus, hear us.

R/ Jesus, graciously hear us.

R/ for ff: have mercy on us

God, the Father of Heaven,

God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,

God, the Holy Spirit,

Holy Trinity, One God,

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father.

Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,

Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,

Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,

Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God,

Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,

Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,

Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,

Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,

Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,

Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,

Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,

Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,

Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,

Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased,

Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,

Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,

Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,

Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke you,

Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,

Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,

Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,

Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,

Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,

Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,

Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,

Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,

Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,

Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins,

Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in you,

Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in you,

Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints,

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world.

R/ spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,

R/ graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,

R/ have mercy on us.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart.

R/ Make our hearts like to yours.

Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of your most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which he offers you in the name of sinners; and to those who implore your mercy, in your great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. 

R/ Amen.

Bolang episode Kuala Lumpur 16-19 Juni 2014 (2) LOST IN KL!

Saya tiba di KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) 2 sekitar pk 00.00 waktu KL. (akhirnya saya terbebas dari 2 orang bawel di sebelah saya)
Saya celingukan, secara baru pertama kali gitu tiba di airport sekece, semodern dan serapi ini plus di luar negeri pula! ahahahaa... Ini spoiler foto2nya, captionnya cukup jelas.
TIPS untuk berpergian ke luar negeri pertama kali: jangan malu tanya2, ikutin petunjuk arah dan ikutin orang2! hahaa...

city lights! wonderful!

semua pesawat parkir cantik, ga pake turun naik tangga segala, cukup nyebrang pake tangga belalai itu loh...

hello KL! this is me selfie-ing sambil ngantuk-ngantuk

so clean and in order :)

following the crowd ajah lah..hahhaaa...

 

queuing for immigration, prepare your passport and boarding pass! 

first stamp on my passport! Yeah!

bolaaang si bolaaang.. si bocah ilang (loh?!)

got so thirsty! MYR 1,8 my first transaction with foreign currency!

find the way for hostel by bus

this is the star shuttle, stopping in KLIA and KLIA 2

bus ticket RM 10, so easy!

 I used wifi connection in airport to get contacted with Kak Dwi, I got some directions from him, and I just tried as confident as I could haahahaa...
I slept as soon as I did not have anything to observe. I arrived in Mydin near to my hostel around 2 a.m. Kak Dwi said that he would take me there, but there were so many taxi drivers that offer their service, I couldn't think straightly, I just tried to look the landmarks or famous places by the map that Kak Dwi gave me via whatsapp before I left Jakarta. Then I saw a seven elev*n store across the Mydin, confidently I walked that way and asked the store employee about the famous hotels and the hostel that I wanted to go.
I just walked but I didn't find the hostel, I saw so many India people and stores also hostels and 24-hour restaurants.  I assumed I had been walked for 3 kilometers and saw nothing about the hostel. That was oppositely from Kak Dwi said that the distance is only about 100 meters or 10 minutes walking. I started to think that I was LOST! Oh my God, it's better to give woman a direction than a MAP! I saw a big FUR*MA hotel in the way that i walked, based on the map there will be my hostel after that famous hotel, but unfortunately I was totally lost in the middle of night :( i just wanted to cry!
I asked the receptionist in a hotel the way to my hostel and he said my hostel has been far away from my current place, I had to walk for about 4 kilometers back to the Mydin and walked to different direction from there. That's a big mistake! He suggested me to take taxi because it would be dangerous if I walked.
I asked the taxi driver in front of the hotel and he offer me RM 20 for escorting me to my hostel, since my money was really limited and my feet had been so tired I just accept his service.
He asked me where I came from and guessing that I thought he is a Chinese. I tried to keep calm. Finally I was arrived in the hostel about 3 am and just grumbling to Kak Dwi because of this 'tragedy' hahaa...
Disappointingly, the hostel room was not comfortable and clean as in the pictures that I'd googled. But, it's okay I would be okay for these 2 nights!

kesulitan? iya dimaafkan

Young People should be Connected!

Young people should not stop in one place, they should explore what they have, who they can be, where they can go, and how they can be on the top.

 We sometimes limit ourselves with family, financial, education and so many things that should not be a limitation but a way to be a great young people! And I think, young people should not only think about themselves but also about other people. These things are made up in one organization called Global Explorers. For me, this is not the first time I met a group of foreign young people that wanted to know about Indonesian culture, but in Papua? Yes this was my first time and I am excitedly impressed with them.
I thought you don't need to finish up your savings only to travel in Indonesia. I have read some blogs that said Indonesia is classified as a third or fourth class for backpacking countries, which means a daily cost for being in Indonesia will not as expensive as in Europe, US, SG, HK, and so on. However all my thoughts about Indonesia is 'cheap' destroyed since I heard a testimony from Pastor Nico Syukur, OFM. Students in Global explorer who came to Indonesia from Netherlands should collect their own money by part-time work, find sponsors and even asking money from their families! what a hard work!
I haven't been so long in Sentani, only one year, but I think that I might be not here if I could choose my own place to teach. I would choose a place that close to hometown and beautiful... That's why I haven't been so long to join Youth Catholic in local church. Actually, this is my first time to join a youth because I often to limit myself. Therefore I am so excited to join the events and routines that Orang Muda Katolik (OMK) Sang Penebus Sentani holds.
For welcoming friends from Global Explorer, we had been rehearse for several times during last two weeks. I am not a good singer, but one thing that I am confident with, singing in choir especially for serving God would not require the best voice, but a sincere heart that will make the me sing with my best. There were some songs that we sang last Sunday (July 20, 2014): Hatiku, Mipa Yesus, Blessed the Lord, one more song I forgot the title :(
These are the photos of the mass that we had. It was so deep o:)
Special thanks to Ko Willy who took the photographs, i think pictures say more than words, isn't it?

Pastor Nico lead the mass

Soloist singer for Psalms

OMK's guitarist leaded "Mipa Yesus" song, Papua language song

Consecration

Holy Communion (some OMK members)

Holy Communion (friends from Netherlands)

After mass, may God bless our friendship :)

another picture of us! 

After having mass together, we were get ready to have an outdoor recreation together in Amay Beach, Depapre, it was about one hour by car. We went separated, they went by bus and OMK went by SAR truck ;p
Actually there was so unorganized when we arrived there. I think there should be games or activities that can make us feel more togetherness. I just enjoyed the beach by sitting in the sand and have a deep sharing with one of them. Lisa, the birthday girl is a smart and tough girl, she is 21 years old, now studying Anthropology of cultural development in university and have much passion in social work. She has her part-time work in a elder social house or panti jompo. She has been traveled to some other countries to learn the culture and helping people. I was so impressed, how come a younger girl could travel countries with her own hard work without expecting any complimentary? If I been her, i would choose to travel to some other beautiful and popular countries! Hahaaa.. (I think that's why God sends me here ;p)

It was an unforgettable experience for me and blessed indeed!
If you want to know more about them i found the website :http://www.global-exploration.nl/wordpress/


Happy exploring young people!

 “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

Bolang episode Kuala Lumpur 16-19 Juni 2014 (part 1)

Dream comes true is the best phrases for my adventure this vacation. I extremely wanted to go aboard to see ‘another’ world. I want to see new places, foreign people, listen and talk in foreign language and accent, try local foods, take pictures, and shop!

Purposely I made passport in Cirebon immigration office last year before I went to placement, because I had been that I would made my first trip aboard with my own saving. (*gayaaaaa*)

Some preparations had been made from January, I read blogs about backpacking to Singapore and searched for cheap tickets,  hostels and promotions (limited budget mas, mbak… hehee). Nah, kenapa ceritanya ngebolang ke KL tapi carinya tiket ke Singapura? Rencananya saya emang mau 5 hari 4 malam di singapura terus kalo ada waktu trip ke Malaysia sebentaran doang. Ngiler pas baca blog para backpacker yang seru, hemat dan menantang ;p

As a reward for myself to finish my half-first year as a teacher, I decided to book flights Jakarta-Singapore and Singapore-Jakarta for this June. Actually, I planned to have joint trip with my college-friend, Meyliana. But she said that she would be with her mom, so she couldn’t promise any trip together as you all know, having trip with mommy won’t be easy.

I was asked by my college senior to join a trip that he arranged. After bargaining with him, I got final price for 3 days, 2 nights in Malaysia included flight ticket from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur, hostel for 2 nights, local transportation, and sleeper train from KL to Singapore. Got two stamps in my passport? Why not! As I read in blogs of backpacker and flashpacker, I allocated some of my savings to buy SGD because it IDR has been weaken in 2014. And thanks God, my best brother wanted to help me buy it when I was in Sentani. Yeah, I am a teacher in Sentani, Kabupaten Jayapura. This is not an inland area, my rent house is near to Jayapura the mother city of Papua Province but ironically, there is no money changer here :(

I had flight on Monday, but it was reschedule from 11.40 to 21.40. I was so disappointed with Li*n air because it made me missed my day trip :( i should had trip to Bukit Nanas, KL Tower, chinatown and some other places that i had researched before.

Saya berangkat dari Mangga Dua Square tempat toko koko saya (kakak laki-laki) karena setelah dihitung-hitung akan lebih hemat jika saya naik damri dari situ dibandingkan dengan naik taksi dari rumah cici (kakak perempuan) saya. Ternyata bisnya cukup nyaman, ber-AC, wifi dan ada colokan di dalamnya. Sesekali saya melirik-lirik penumpang lainnya atau sang kondektur kapan bayar dan cara bilang mau ke terminal berapa, maklum baru pertama naik bis itu hehee.. bisnya ada setiap 1 jam sekali mulai jam 7 hingga jam 7 malam kalau tidak salah. Bisnya saat itu agak terlambat dari jadwal, saya menunggu bis jam 5, bis datang jam setengah 6 dan berangkat jam 6. Ternyata jalanan Jakarta cukup padat tapi tidak macet sehingga saya tiba terlalu dini dari jam check-in. Lalu lalang di bandara jadi kegiatan yang pasti saya lakukan karena saya bahkan tidak tahu dimana counter check-innya! Biasalah, segala tempat di Indonesia minim petunjuk :(

ketika berlalulalang ria saya berpapasan dengan beberapa wajah familiar yang biasa saya tonton di infotainment, Irwansyah dan Saskia Sungkar. Juga banyak kelompok2 yang berseragam sama dalam kelompok, saya terka antara jemaah haji atau TKI..saya juga mengamati bagaimana travel agent amatir bekerja dengan group check-innya. Saya yang hanya bermodalkan sebuah tas backpack merasa amat leluasa bepergian tanpa perlu menyeret2 koper dan lainnya.

setelah sekitar 1 jam bolak-balik sambil kepikiran mau cobain check-in di counter tiger air karena saya masih punya tiket jakarta singapura utk jam 19.40. tapi setelah ngintip-ngintip orang yang antre check-in saya tau bahwa airport tax utk internasional itu dibayar di counternya langsung, batal deh rencana koleksi boarding pass hahahaaa...

beberapa saat kemudian counter check-in lion dibuka, tapi loh..loh.. kenapa antreannya sudah panjang sekali? ternyata orang-orang sudah antre setengah jam sebelum counter dibuka saat saya sibuk mengamat-amati berbagai hal di bandara internasional. Biasalah.. orang Indonesia suka bikin barisan-barisan virtual, pura-pura ga tau baris di sebelah antrean lalu nyerobot, tapi saya ga begitu ya..hehehe.. sebagai warga negara yang baik saya mengantre dengan tertib. Spontan saya bertanya dengan nada yang sudah saya usahakan untuk terkendali karena emosi itenary saya jadi kacau semena-mena maskapai reschedule flight saya. tapi saya tidak mendapatkan jawaban yang berarti. Saya hanya tersenyum kecut sambil mengambil boarding pass saya. Lalu saya ikuti petunjuk dan orang-orang yang masuk ke area imigrasi, saya melihat sebuah counter yang menarik, kalau tidak salah namanya autogate immigration. Jadi di area tersebut ada petugas yang tugasnya mem-verifikasi paspor dengan sidik jari kita, tujuannya supaya ketika imigrasi keluar kita tinggal scan paspor dan sidik jari saja dan gate pun akan terbuka otomatis, rasanya canggih banget! hahaa.. saya pun ditanya-tanya sama petugas imigrasinya saat mengurus sistem autogate tersebut dalam rangka apa ke KL, kerja dimana dan sebagainya, mungkin tampang saya terlalu kanak-kanak jika dibilang saya seorang guru dan mengajar di Papua.. di bagian paling belakang paspor saya lalu diberi cap AUTOGATE.

Saya celingukan lihat sederetan duty-free shops mata saya jelalatan dan iseng keluar masuk counternya, secara boardingnya masih 1,5 jam lagi gitu.. saya kurskan setiap harga, ternyata lumayan juga ya bedanya dengan harga di mall, ada yang lebih murah tapi banyak juga yang bikin shock...hehehe...
Setelah puas window shopping dan melihat rombongan turis korea yang berlaluan saya kembali ke track boarding saya yang sesungguhnya sambil membaca majalah-majalah traveling yang ada di seperjalanan saya ke waiting room. Saya kebingungan sambil tertawa geli setiap ada orang Malaysia yang berbicara mirip-mirip bahasa Indonesia tapi saya tidak begitu mengerti maknanya. Saya duduk sambil mencharge hp saya di sebuah corner yang disponsori oleh sebuah perusahaan bernuansa merah. Saya mencoba-coba tongsis yang baru saya beli, kira-kira kece ga ya saya foto pake tongsis hehehee...

tet-teret-tetet, akhirnya flight number saya dipanggil juga, saya langsung bergegas mengikuti arah orang-orang yang akan sepesawat dengan saya, saya duduk dengan dua perempuan yang kelihatannya masih kuliah dan habis fieldtrip ke yogyakarta, mereka bawa beberapa penganan khas Yogyakarta macam bakpia dan lain-lain, salah satu diantaranya bukan warganegara Malaysia, she looks like african or indian. They are too loud and talkative, they said Indonesia is more expensive than their country, bla..blaaa...I couldn't sleep for almost 2 hours flight. *sigh*

I saw different landscape during flight, yeah i have been several times flied at night to Jayapura, but the views were so different, from Jakarta to KL i just saw big cities with city lights. What a view! I really wanted to take pictures but i just couldn't because it was so hard to take picture with movement by digital camera. I just pray that God bless my trip since it was different than I planned and I read there's not suggested to have solo trip at night, it could be dangerous. Thanks God, i am safe sound! :)

this my budgeting table for my first trip aboard, murah ga ya? ga juga sih, tapi so far saya cukup senang dengan segala pengeluaran, kecerobohan, dan penghematan yang saya lakukan :)

No.	Expenses	Amount
1	Tiger airways ticket CGK-SIN, SIN-CGK	Rp      752,000.00
2	Kuatur trip	Rp      780,000.00
	CGK-KUL by Lion Air
	Hostel 2 nights + breakfast
	in-city transportation
	Sleeper train KUL-SIN
3	MYR 95	Rp      348,650.00
4	MYR 81	Rp      300,000.00
5	MYR 20	Rp        76,120.00
6	MYR 25,7	Rp        94,000.00
7	SGD 136	Rp  1,056,820.00
8	Airport tax SHIA	Rp      150,000.00
9	Damri M2Square-SHIA	Rp        30,000.00
10	Damri SHIA-Gambir	Rp        30,000.00
		Rp  3,617,590.00
No.	Notes	Amount
1	Sisa 26,3 MYR	Rp        92,050.00
2	Sisa 37,70 SGD	Rp      358,150.00
3	Saldo + deposit EZ Link 12 SGD	Rp      114,000.00
		Rp      564,200.00
TOTAL EXPENSES 4D/4N 2 Countries 3 Cities		Rp  3,053,390.00

next post my stories how to survive aboard with limited amount of money  ;p

Hatiku - a song of commitment and true love

Hatiku kusembahkan pada Mu
Kasih abadi Kau limpahkan kepadaku

1. Hati Mu slalu murah dan penyayang,
hatiku slalu cenderung berdosa
Tapi cinta Mu mengiring langkahku
Yesus penebusku.

2. Kuasa Mu slalu memeluk diriku,
kuasaku slalu menentang hukumMu
Tapi cinta Mu mengiring langkahku
Yesus penebusku.

3. Jalan Mu slalu mengarah ke Bapa,
jalanku sering diliput gulita
Tapi cinta Mu mengiring langkahku
Yesus penebusku.

this song was sang by Orang Muda Katolik Paroki Sang Penebus Sentani last Sunday. I have heard this song before, i think it was when I was in high school. Unconsciously today I repeated this song several times during teacher on duty time. I think this song is amazing, it tells us how commit ourselves to Jesus as the True Love. His heart is always kind and lovely, but our heart tend to be in sin. His power embraces us, we always defy His laws. His way heads to Father, our way were so dark.His love guide our steps, Jesus our Redeemer.

 thanks OMK Sentani to teach me how to sing this song, how to commit myself more by singing this song and how to be a part of this community.I was so blessed indeed!