thOse tHree 'Lil wOrds...

I LOVE YOU
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Homily today was absolutely beautiful!! And touching!!! I was fighting back tears while Fr spoke to us...
This week being the 'celebration' of the Feast of Corpus Christi (Feast of the Body of Christ), Fr Chua ran us through the meaning of receiving Communion at Mass every week... of the many reasons as to why we receive Communion, this is probably the one i love most: how each time we receive the Body of Christ we become closer to Him... "As our Bodies are strengthened by bread and wine, so are our Souls by these tokens of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The act of receiving Communion is to 'feed' our Souls." Can't remember where i read this from, but yes, this is what i remember clearly. Because He loves us so much, He was willing to die for us, and in doing so, we are given the chance to receive His Body and Blood... how powerful and awesome His love for us huh?
For most part of Homily this morning, Fr Chua asked us to think about what it truly means to say those three little words to someone... could be anyone really... to God, to our parents, our brothers and sisters, the kids, our partners...
To be able to freely and wholeheartedly declare ilu to another person, is to say, "Hey! Yes, ilu THAT much and i'm ready and willing to make sacrifices for you."
Fr shared with us what he called 'his little love story'... of how the first time his then 6yo niece turned to him to say ilu, and he, coming from what he called a typical Chinese family who shows love but never says ilu(s), was so stunned he didn't know what to say. He finally muttered those words back to her when he realised the kid was waiting expectedly for him to respond to her declaration of love. Heehee! It took him little time to realise though, that there was nothing wrong saying ilu to those nearest and dearest to you. Ah, children... their innocence is sOOooo sweet!!
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"Say what you mean, and mean what you say".
Indeed!
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Everything Fr talked about today struck a chord with me...
How often do i say ilu to those who matter to me huh?
True, it's so easy to sign-off a letter "with love"... or to send a text to a gf saying "luv u babe"... but is that enough?
I dun do it enough... im sure of it.
Although we're not your typical typical Chinese family - at least amongst the sisters we're not, but my parents are still the generally "show love but seldom say ilu" kind. Thank God the sisters and i are more open and willing to express our love for one another. And to the kids! Claire and Louis are always running up to say "二姨我爱你". Heehee! And of cos they expect me to say it back too "Claire-claire / Louis, 二姨也爱你".
But with friends... and to him...! Am i saying it enough?
Fr was so right when he said there was absolutely nothing to be shy about, in declaring our ilu(s).
At every opportunity that i get... I should be letting those that matter to me... those people i genuinely love... the ones im willing to make exceptions for, and make sacrifices for...... i really should be letting them know i love them at every chance that i get.
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......
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Starting today.