Church of the Holy Cross

“do the saints even care that we observe all saint’s day?” asked Fr Richards Ambrose.

I was at the Church of the Holy Cross, in Clementi for All Saint’s Day mass. This day falls on the first of november every year and is a day of obligation (Catholics are obligated to go for mass on this day).

Before carrying on, a little about Clementi.

Clementi is a district in the West of Singapore located in between Juring and Dover.

It is today a self-sufficient town that houses some 88,000 people.

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The town was named after Sir Cecil Clementi-Smith. Clementi-Smith was an extremely well liked colonial official in early Singapore. A prominent sinologist, he was the Governor of the Settlement from 1887 to 1893 and was known for squashing the Chinese triads, introducing the Queens Scholarship (today the President’s Scholarship) to fund top students in the region for studies at top Universities in Britian.

Two places are named after Clementi, Clementi Road and Clementi Town. In 1947, the Singapore Rural Board decided to rename “Reformatory Road” (due to the presence of a Boys Home) as Clementi Road.  Most of the present Clementi Area used to be of a huge military camp, the Colombo Camp housing the Singapore Guard Regiment. Today, there is a military base in Clementi called Clementi Camp that is home to the 2 People’s Defence Force. History of Clementi region, building up in 1975-1979.

The Church of the Holy Cross can be found along Clementi Avenue 1.

This place used to be called Sussex Estate, after Sussex county in England. It housed senior British military staff who worked at the now defunt Colombo Camp. Sussex Estate was only demolished in 1997, so I reckon a look into this Church’s archives could throw up some pictures of the former Sussex Estate.

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Today, however, Sussex Estate is replaced by Casa Clementi, NUS High School and Nan Hua High.

The church’s roots can be traced to a small chapel along Holland Road (just north of Clementi Road, geographically) with the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. With the development of the Clementi region the chapel soon became too small and this church as built. In 1980 a church was built, the construction and runnng was entrusted to Fr Nicolas Chia, who would go on to become Archbishop Nicholas Chia. It was, coincidentally, the first posting of present Archbishop William Goh after his priestly ordination.

The Church has undergone extensive renovations, and today serves a parish community of about 8,000. Its latest pride and joy is the updated Marian Grotto.

Tucked in a corner in the church is the cenacle, also known as the adoration room. The word cencale means Upper Room, where Jesus gathered with his apostles to for the Last Supper. It is a gathering of the faithful for the purpose of prayer in imitation of Mary and the Apostles in the upper room.

Through the window, you can just make out where the host is being kept.

I was sweating profusely by the time I reached the church (its quite deep in ya know), so I didn’t stay long to explore the place. I went into the rapidly filling up main church to sit down and enjoy the airconditioning.

These below are saint prayer cards, that show a saint on one side and a prayer to the saint. In Catholic lingo, prayer to a saint doesn’t mean that the saint is a god. It’s prayer in old english. Most of these prayers ask a saint to pray for them, just like we would ask a friend to pray for us. I saw them on the way to finding a seat.

This church celebrates the Holy Cross, a sign of victory. It is also known as the true cross which is a fragment of the cross that Jesus was alleged crucified on. You can find a very small fragment enshried as a relic in this church. It is next to the choir loft.

The true cross is actually rather controversial, just as religious relics are. There are conspiracy theories and people have doubted the authenticity of such relics. However, the Catholic Church is a church of symbols. The importance of a relic is more in its ability to connect us across time and space.  Actually I didn’t even know that it was real. I didn’t even notice it until I saw a comment made online while researching for this, and there was something powerful, that gave me a stronger sense of connection to my faith. You should really go take a look.

Soon enough, mass started. The readings were quickly followed by the pslams and then the homily.

Following on his question Father Richard’s contiinued, “…no, the saints do not gain anything from us when we celebrate all saints day…”

All Saint’s Day is a day that is observed for the average person, to encourage him to look up to the saints as brothers and sisters who can serve as role models in living the Christian life. Human’s who have traveled the path and lived.

To be a saint was to live the gospel and to live the gospel was to live out the Sermon on the Mount.

There are few ways to intepret the Sermon on the Mount but as a radical call to life. In line with All Saint’s Day, all people are called to be saints, and the sermon on the mount is easily one of the most difficult and narrow paths, as narrow as a camel’s eye, but the path to sainthood is that which all Christians are called to work too.

“…but there is a thunderous roar of joy, by the saints in heaven when one more joins their number.”

Will you be a saint too?

How to get there