Courage Singapore

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As we celebrate the Lunar New Year, a time of gathering with our loved ones, we also welcome the start of Lent this Ash ...
18/02/2026

As we celebrate the Lunar New Year, a time of gathering with our loved ones, we also welcome the start of Lent this Ash Wednesday. In this similar vein of reunion, we would like to invite everyone to journey with us with this year’s theme, “Homebound: Finding Our Place in the Heart of Christ”.

The prophet Joel calls us with this invitation: “Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks – come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning. Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn, turn to the Lord your God again, for he is all tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness, and ready to relent.”

The invitation here is clear: God wants us to return home, to turn to Him again. He desires our sincere inner repentance and genuine contrition from sin. He desires these over the outward superficial displays of grief or religious rituals. Jesus echoes this sentiment in the Gospel reading. So let us use the reflections over Lent to Holy week to approach God with contrite, yet hopeful hearts, trusting in His mercy that forgives and redeems us for Himself.

Let us do this by journeying home to God together with Christ this Lent – with Him, from the desert to Calvary, and to His Resurrection. Shall we?

(Photo credits: Yashodhan Mohite on Unsplash)

The Grace of the Walk - The sight of 2 persons on the road (from 4th Sunday of Advent) can trigger memories in us. To so...
26/12/2025

The Grace of the Walk - The sight of 2 persons on the road (from 4th Sunday of Advent) can trigger memories in us. To some, it is an image of reconciliation, from a period of mutual estrangement. To others, it mirrors a road travelled with a loved one whom we remember. It may also reflect the solitude we share with Jesus, in a space once marked by years of self-delusion, self-loathing and self-alienation. This image reflects the deepest intimacy we all long for – to be seen, be accompanied fully, without being overtaken or left alone on the road. Recall a beautiful walk you might have had with someone special in your life – the kind of walk you wished will never end…a shared space where words were no longer needed. The walk became nourishing in its own way, full of care and presence, an honest space that builds a life-giving and lasting bond.

May I now invite you to pray together, “Lord, I fill my life with many distractions. I am not always at home in my silence. If silence is the language you speak, I am not always ready to listen well. This Christmas, please give me the grace to make a bigger space for you in my cluttered heart. Grace me with opportunities to identify specific roads in my life where you are keen to walk a little closer with me, especially in secret unlit pathways which I struggle to accept or name. Let me not forget the brighter spaces too, past roads where I am grateful for and have often found joy reliving them.

Jesus, my heart contains many roads and I have sometimes given up on one road in exchange for another. I give you permission to walk every road with me, trusting in Your mercy, always stronger and higher than my clumsy sense of pride to manage every route on my own.

Insecure as I may sometimes be, Lord, please intrude as gently as you can. Come, be on the road with me so that I can know you more deeply as Lord and personal friend, one who gives meaning to communities I belong to or be brought to new places of truth and emotional freedom which were once usurped by obsessions or lies which limit the kind of long term contentment and anchor you wish to impart into my life.”

(a personal reflection by fellow pilgrim from Courage)

We Make Room in LoveThank you for meeting me. This is something I often think about when I ponder on my interactions wit...
22/12/2025

We Make Room in Love

Thank you for meeting me. This is something I often think about when I ponder on my interactions with friends from Courage/enCourage. I thank them for being on this journey of life with me – for doing life with me.

The two figures, walking intimately on a winding path, embody a profound spaciousness in their shared existence. They don’t appear driven by a rigid direction or a singular goal, but rather by the very act of walking together as the round winds. This openness to the unknown path ahead creates a vast internal and relational space – a readiness to receive and live God’s love in the process. The light now surrounds and illuminates all things.

This Advent, I pray that God’s love makes its dwelling in me. I pray for the grace to move from cautious self-preservation into this spaciousness He has created, so that I may extend welcome to others through a shared presence. I pray for a spaciousness that isn’t just empty space, but a fertile ground for possibilities – mirroring the expansive love Christ calls you and me to embody in our communities, relationships, Church, and the world. Lord, grant me grateful joy that opens Yourself to embrace me and many more.

(a sharing by Moses, a Courage member)
———
In this final week of Advent, we contemplate the profound truth that the Word became flesh (John 1:1–14). God chose embodiment, affirming that our bodies, identities, and stories matter. God’s light shines in darkness, not away from it. Our wounds, fears, and histories are not obstacles, but places of revelation. No darkness can ever overcome Christ dwelling in us.

From Christ’s fullness, we have all received grace. Love multiplies; it is not scarce or divisive. We are now the dwelling place of God. God made room in us so that we, in turn, can make room for others.

Making room in love is not optional; it is our mission. Let us be light for the world as we carry Christ’s light into places of loneliness and exclusion.

For our reflection:

Where do I sense Christ dwelling in me?
Who is God inviting me to make room for?
How is my community called to be a place of welcome?
What would it look like to be “light” for someone this Christmas?

There is a sort of classic imagery when I think of our blessed Lord, Jesus in the manger. A sort of trough, a hut, and M...
19/12/2025

There is a sort of classic imagery when I think of our blessed Lord, Jesus in the manger. A sort of trough, a hut, and Mary holding her child. I imagine these familiar elements, but in a different setting. This is the brightest photo – out of the whole series of 4 images – not designed to be a grand spectacle, but to exemplify absolute acceptance in this humble space. The smallness of the manger has now been expanded into a wider space.

We often speak of Jesus being made man and coming as the infant that is God’s visible sign of love for us. Mary exemplifies this too in the tender care for her son. She is completely focused on being there for her son. She will then continue to be with him in places of miracles, rejection and simplicity too.

God makes room for me right there in these moments. I belong not because I’ve earned it, but because God’s love chooses the place of simplicity as the perfect place for welcome. Lord, grant me grateful joy that You opened to embrace me and many more.

(a sharing by Moses, a Courage member)

Jesus was born into a world that had “no room” for him (Luke 2:1–20). From his first breath, the Savior knew what exclusion felt like, beginning his life on the margins. God chose the manger, a simple feeding trough, over palaces, making it a symbol of radical welcome: open, simple, and accessible to all.

The manger reveals a God who is both approachable and vulnerable. We don’t need perfection to come close; we simply need to be open and ready to receive. God draws near in fragility. Mary, witnessing this profound mystery, treasured and pondered these things, choosing contemplation rather than control, even as God’s ways surprised her.

Belonging - this is what the manger also expresses. It becomes the first church: a place where all gather, where all find room, and where God’s love is accessible to every person. This week, let us contemplate the profound room God makes for us.

For Reflection

Where have I experienced “no room” in my own life?
How might God be drawing close to me in vulnerability?
What does the manger say about God’s welcome?
In what places do I most feel like a shepherd—and how is God meeting me there?

Advent Recollection is an invitation to all attending to prepare for Jesus’ coming at Christmas. Filled with God’s grace...
15/12/2025

Advent Recollection is an invitation to all attending to prepare for Jesus’ coming at Christmas. Filled with God’s graces from last Thursday evening, Courage and enCourage communities give thanks to God and the parish of Church of the Sacred Heart, Singapore for the opportunity to serve in “The Promise of Light - Journeying with Emmanuel” together with Father Adrian Danker. The fellowship that followed was also blessed with warmth and generosity.

Let us continue to pray, through the intercession of our blessed Mother Mary and her Immaculate Heart, for the love, mercy and guidance of the Holy Trinity to be upon Sacred Heart parish, our loved ones, the world and our Church to prepare well for Christmas.

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to Your Word.”(Luke 1:38)This was Mary’s profound...
14/12/2025

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to Your Word.”
(Luke 1:38)

This was Mary’s profound response at the Annunciation when the Angel Gabriel foretold that she would become the mother of Jesus. She said “yes” even when she didn’t fully understand the immense impact of what was to come.

We often prefer to be in control of our lives, amassing as much knowledge as possible so that we can obtain our desired outcomes. Feelings of doubt and uncertainty will clutter our hearts whenever we are faced with challenges or situations that are not in our favour. And so, we often ask God, “Why me?”

At our recent Advent retreat, I found the answer through a “Prayer with Art” activity where we were asked to design mosaic sun-catchers with beads and broken glass. I learned that it is only when we create space that light can shine through to magnify the inherent beauty of the beads and the broken glass of our lives.

Mary’s answer to our doubts and uncertainties is her courageous willingness to let go and allow God to take control. This surrender is beautifully captured in her prayer of praise to God, the Magnificat, “My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my saviour… The Almighty works marvels for me, holy is His name!”

As we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception this week, may we strive to emulate Mary’s trust in God by making room in our hearts during this holy season. When we do, His light can shine through the spaces to illuminate the darkness around and within us.

- 2nd week of Advent reflection by Dominic T, a Courage member.

You see familiar elements in this compared to the last week’s image: similar windows and rays of light streaming into t...
09/12/2025

You see familiar elements in this compared to the last week’s image: similar windows and rays of light streaming into the room. However, this is slightly different. Mother Mary remains the main character but she adopts a very different posture. She leans into the Light.

We know from scripture that Mary was troubled when Angel Gabriel visited her. I often imagine what happened after. Did Mary worry? Did she pace around her room anxious? Did she have to text someone or speak to someone about it?

Mother Mary is one who struggled with what the angel revealed to her, but then intently sat with it, looked inwards and responded in faith. She is brave. She then had the composure to move closer to her wounds and unsettledness, and invite God into that space. As in the picture, her posture now is one of comfort and acceptance. Her courageous; ”Let it be done to me according to your word” ; was a surrender. Her trust in God’s plan allowed her soul to be anchored. Mary lived her full human experience fully, with all its ups and down. All she had, she put to great use. Here she discovered how to love in its complete expression – by giving her all as she made room to trust.

I always imagined that after the angel left, she found a deep, peaceful rest, knowing she had placed her life completely in God’s faithful hands. Lord, give me the courage to open my whole being to receive Jesus.

(a reflection by Moses, a Courage member)
———
When the angel came to Mary, it wasn’t in a grand temple, but in Nazareth, a nowhere town. God chooses unlikely places, and unlikely people, for grace. Mary wasn’t troubled by the angel’s presence, but by being called “favored” (Luke 1:26–38). Like many who feel marginalised, she questioned her worthiness: “Me? Favored by God?”

Mary responded with an honest question: “How can this be?” God does not demand blind acceptance but welcomes our sincere wonder. By trusting, Mary became the first home for God, literally making room for Love.

For Reflection:

Where do I find it hard to believe that God favors me?
What questions am I afraid to bring to God?
What might God be asking me to say yes to?
Where do I need the Holy Spirit’s help to trust?

Hope: The Thread God Wove Through Every RejectionAdvent invites me into a hope that is not passive but confident, a trus...
07/12/2025

Hope: The Thread God Wove Through Every Rejection

Advent invites me into a hope that is not passive but confident, a trust that God is guiding and renewing me, just as Isaiah 40 declares. “Comfort my people” reminds me that God sees every struggle and rejection. Nothing I’ve been through is wasted; each hardship is part of His shepherding.

When I look back, I see a rhythm in my life: teaching, mission, pruning, and sending, over and over. God brings me to places where what I’ve learned can bless others, then lovingly prunes me again. That pruning is often painful and humbling, yet it prepares me for a deeper mission.

Rejection has been a familiar theme. My Singapore PR journey stretched across multiple jobs and years—each attempt ending with the same line: “We regret to inform you…” My career was another spiritual bootcamp: a draining first job, a second job with constant blame, and self-esteem crushed to the point of wanting to go back from Singapore to the Philippines. Yet God sent lifelines, an HR who believed in me, a fresh start, and finally a job that took me to Switzerland. Later, illness hit me hard, leading to poor performance and that painful question again: “Lord, why?”

My relationships told another story. I trained myself to stay emotionally detached, pretending to enjoy a “single, drama-free life,” while quietly wrestling with my identity and faith. Illness and anxiety shattered that façade. Longing for love, I searched in all the wrong places until God led me to Courage, where faith and my sexuality could breathe together.

Healing took years of prayers, retreats, recollections, and honest inner work. I learned that pleasing everyone without boundaries is not the right way. The turning point came when I realized that healing begins with caring for myself—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Through it all, hope never left me. My lessons: Failure shapes success. Rejection is God’s redirection. I cannot fulfil God’s mission if I keep abandoning myself. And often, God’s answer is already right in front of me, while I wait for a burning bush.

———1st Week of Advent reflection by RB, a Courage member.
Image: Alexander Grey on Unsplash

It is sometimes more comfortable remaining in familiarity. Even my own hurts have a familiar texture that I’ve come to r...
30/11/2025

It is sometimes more comfortable remaining in familiarity. Even my own hurts have a familiar texture that I’ve come to recognize and dwell in. I often look down – having been overwhelmed by the many things going on in my life – loneliness, failed career plans, discord in the family. I wonder if even God is tired of all these.

During our Courage Advent Retreat 2025: Love Makes Room, I’ve come to realize God’s faithfulness in my life. He is the constant light, streaming into the rooms of my heart. It is I who have grown fatigued. There is only a need for me to look up. Light is flooding in! There’s a whole new space God is inviting me to move toward. In my prayers, I feel the Lord’s invitation to look up and out. Out of the old into a new spaciousness this Advent.

The Lord invites you and me to a more expansive space. Will we look up to see what we are being invited to? Can we trust and look towards it? Lord, help us savour how good your love is, especially when it opens up space.

(a sharing by Moses, a Courage member)

———

As this season of Advent begins, we invite you to pause and spend a few moments each week in quiet reflection. Our reflections this year are rooted in the theme of this year’s Courage Advent Retreat, “Love Makes Room”.

On this first week of Advent, we encourage you to begin your reflection journey where “God Makes Room in Promise.” We focus on recognizing the deep comfort and tenderness God offers you, especially in those quiet, “wilderness” places in your life.

The Prophet Isaiah speaks to a people still weary in exile (Isaiah 40:1–5, 9–11). This Advent, God’s first movement towards us is the same: not judgment, but with comfort and tenderness. Even before we repent and convert or feel worthy to respond, God says, “Comfort, comfort my people.” Our spiritual life begins not by striving, but by receiving this comfort. Our first task this Advent is to allow ourselves to allow God to hold us close to Him.

For our reflection:

Where is the wilderness in my life right now?
Where is God trying to comfort me?
What obstacles do I need God to level?
Where do I long to come home to?

“Love Makes Room” — Advent Retreat 2025.You’re invited to our stay-in Advent Retreat for Catholics who are same-sex attr...
18/10/2025

“Love Makes Room” — Advent Retreat 2025.
You’re invited to our stay-in Advent Retreat for Catholics who are same-sex attracted or identify as LGBTQ.

From Friday, 21 November (7pm) to Sunday, 23 November (4pm), we’ll make space to pray, listen, and celebrate the God whose love always makes room in our hearts for Jesus, who came once in history but who comes everyday into our lives.

Register by 3 November 2025 by scanning the QR code above.

We’d be grateful if you could help spread the word. Peace be with you this coming Advent season.

“Although three days have passed since we came down from the hill, the tranquility, love and joy at the weekend still re...
23/06/2025

“Although three days have passed since we came down from the hill, the tranquility, love and joy at the weekend still remain with me. I was a little afraid of how much of these would be lost as we came back into the real world, but I am grateful to say that the precious insights and revelations continue to feed me as I live my week with my family.” - a sharing by a past retreatant.

Kindly help us to share our upcoming retreat for parents and spouses of people who identify as LGBTQ so that we could benefit from this time of prayer with the Lord to better accompany and support those that we love.

This stay-in retreat will be from 18 July (evening) to 20 July at Lifespring Canossian Spirituality Center, Singapore. Registration is via the link (or QR code) provided on the image above. God bless.

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