Monday, December 05, 2011
st. bern's (too!)
Hi guys, just wanted to share a few of my reflections from the recently concluded St. Bern’s confirmation camp. On a whole the camp was amazing; it was really a different and new experience ministering to non-SFX youth who have not had a church camp before. Somehow, it felt refreshing. There weren’t any expectations or pre-conceived notions by the participants – we just went in to do our thing, and they responded with that childlike enthusiasm and interest. To them, it seemed as if everything was so new, so impactful, so amazing. It was really a blessed time to be able to see them having their own spiritual awakening, so praise God for all that He has done!
As for myself, I’ve been praying for faith and humility the past few weeks – I remember Fr. Brian saying that these were the two things the centurion had (“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…”), during his homily at weekday mass. Looking back, God did answer my prayers through my role as a facilitator during this time!
Faith has been something that I’ve taken for granted. It’s always been there, something that I never really had to think about. It wasn’t really tested in an extreme way as well, since life has been pretty smooth sailing for me. But recently (and unconsciously) that faith had been shaken somewhat. It’s was a long struggle during the month in which Gwen was sick and never seemed to recover – praying and interceding seemed to have no effect. I remember even desperately praying the rosary every night for a week. I guess it’s in these circumstances when you don’t have any answers that you can only depend on God, but at the same time your faith is affected in a subtle way.
And so I entered the camp with the realization that I was broken – and I had been too worried and preoccupied that I had forgotten about the state of myself. It was only when I was called upon to minister that I looked at myself in the mirror… and I’ve seen better days. There was this small seed of doubt that had been sowed into my heart, and I didn’t even realize it. This manifested in me struggling to believe that God was going to use me powerfully during the praying with session at night, and I felt heavy hearted and burdened as we had our spiritual preparation. But praise God for Mark Abraham’s sensitivity to the Spirit, and after the initial prep he invited the rest to pray over the facils who were struggling to believe in God’s victory.
To cut the long story short – yes God was faithful (He always is...), and it was through His grace that I was able to put his doubt aside and to speak His truth into the lives of the confirmants. The learning point for me (and I hope for you as well) is to never take this gift of faith for granted. Just as it is given, it can be taken away if we do not protect and nurture it. In my own words: don’t think you laojiao so can shake leg and relax!
This brings me to the next point, that of humility. Initially when Mark Abraham asked those facils who were struggling to move to the centre to be prayed over, I resisted. I didn’t want the rest to know I was struggling – after all I’m supposed to be the “strong” one, the group IC… there was this portion of my ego and pride not wanted to be bruised. But praise God for allowing other brothers and sisters to respond first, and this encouraged me to be humble enough to step forward as well.
This camp also humbled me as I recognized how God worked so powerfully through the service team. Gone are the old times in SFX where experience and age mattered. God does not look at appearances, but looks at the heart. I was (and still am) blown away and amazed by how God worked through the younger ones at camp. Greg, Andrew, Stephen etc… as someone said it is easy to forget that they were only confirmed 2 years ago. What God desires and looks out for is a willing, faithful, passionate heart, and with that He can do wonders. I experienced humility – I learnt and was inspired by those younger than me, those who have less experience in camps, those whom were supposedly “less spiritually mature”. It is humbling and yet at the same time a hopeful and joyous encounter, to see God raising up a younger, more passionate generation in His name. So once again, praise God!
Lastly, this camp reinforced very powerful truth. It is this – that young people desire God and want to know Him, and will respond passionately if they encounter Him. I’ve literally seen lives being changed in this camp. It’s even more pronounced because for majority of the youth at St. Bern’s this was their first encounter with God in their 15 years of living. I have seen their transformation with my very eyes; unbelievers turning to believers, doubters turning to faithful followers. Imagine that you didn’t know God existed, and suddenly you did – that was the impact it had on the youth.
To bring Christ to others we have to fully embrace this truth. Every person we meet, whether it is a non-Christian, a lapsed Catholic or even an Atheist, hungers for God. Especially so for youths, who are on the cusp of life and are searching for something worthwhile and lasting to base their lives upon. We need to be the ones to whisper the truth and reality of His love and presence into their lives. We need to be like John the Baptist, the voice that cries out in the wilderness of life. We need to be, leaven for God.
Love,
Soo.
st. bern's (too!)
Hi guys, just wanted to share a few of my reflections from the recently concluded St. Bern’s confirmation camp. On a whole the camp was amazing; it was really a different and new experience ministering to non-SFX youth who have not had a church camp before. Somehow, it felt refreshing. There weren’t any expectations or pre-conceived notions by the participants – we just went in to do our thing, and they responded with that childlike enthusiasm and interest. To them, it seemed as if everything was so new, so impactful, so amazing. It was really a blessed time to be able to see them having their own spiritual awakening, so praise God for all that He has done!
As for myself, I’ve been praying for faith and humility the past few weeks – I remember Fr. Brian saying that these were the two things the centurion had (“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…”), during his homily at weekday mass. Looking back, God did answer my prayers through my role as a facilitator during this time!
Faith has been something that I’ve taken for granted. It’s always been there, something that I never really had to think about. It wasn’t really tested in an extreme way as well, since life has been pretty smooth sailing for me. But recently (and unconsciously) that faith had been shaken somewhat. It’s was a long struggle during the month in which Gwen was sick and never seemed to recover – praying and interceding seemed to have no effect. I remember even desperately praying the rosary every night for a week. I guess it’s in these circumstances when you don’t have any answers that you can only depend on God, but at the same time your faith is affected in a subtle way.
And so I entered the camp with the realization that I was broken – and I had been too worried and preoccupied that I had forgotten about the state of myself. It was only when I was called upon to minister that I looked at myself in the mirror… and I’ve seen better days. There was this small seed of doubt that had been sowed into my heart, and I didn’t even realize it. This manifested in me struggling to believe that God was going to use me powerfully during the praying with session at night, and I felt heavy hearted and burdened as we had our spiritual preparation. But praise God for Mark Abraham’s sensitivity to the Spirit, and after the initial prep he invited the rest to pray over the facils who were struggling to believe in God’s victory.
To cut the long story short – yes God was faithful (He always is...), and it was through His grace that I was able to put his doubt aside and to speak His truth into the lives of the confirmants. The learning point for me (and I hope for you as well) is to never take this gift of faith for granted. Just as it is given, it can be taken away if we do not protect and nurture it. In my own words: don’t think you laojiao so can shake leg and relax!
This brings me to the next point, that of humility. Initially when Mark Abraham asked those facils who were struggling to move to the centre to be prayed over, I resisted. I didn’t want the rest to know I was struggling – after all I’m supposed to be the “strong” one, the group IC… there was this portion of my ego and pride not wanted to be bruised. But praise God for allowing other brothers and sisters to respond first, and this encouraged me to be humble enough to step forward as well.
This camp also humbled me as I recognized how God worked so powerfully through the service team. Gone are the old times in SFX where experience and age mattered. God does not look at appearances, but looks at the heart. I was (and still am) blown away and amazed by how God worked through the younger ones at camp. Greg, Andrew, Stephen etc… as someone said it is easy to forget that they were only confirmed 2 years ago. What God desires and looks out for is a willing, faithful, passionate heart, and with that He can do wonders. I experienced humility – I learnt and was inspired by those younger than me, those who have less experience in camps, those whom were supposedly “less spiritually mature”. It is humbling and yet at the same time a hopeful and joyous encounter, to see God raising up a younger, more passionate generation in His name. So once again, praise God!
Lastly, this camp reinforced very powerful truth. It is this – that young people desire God and want to know Him, and will respond passionately if they encounter Him. I’ve literally seen lives being changed in this camp. It’s even more pronounced because for majority of the youth at St. Bern’s this was their first encounter with God in their 15 years of living. I have seen their transformation with my very eyes; unbelievers turning to believers, doubters turning to faithful followers. Imagine that you didn’t know God existed, and suddenly you did – that was the impact it had on the youth.
To bring Christ to others we have to fully embrace this truth. Every person we meet, whether it is a non-Christian, a lapsed Catholic or even an Atheist, hungers for God. Especially so for youths, who are on the cusp of life and are searching for something worthwhile and lasting to base their lives upon. We need to be the ones to whisper the truth and reality of His love and presence into their lives. We need to be like John the Baptist, the voice that cries out in the wilderness of life. We need to be, leaven for God.
Love,
Soo.