In the Divine Office, Psalm 107 begins with the following words: ‘My heart is ready, O God; I will sing, sing your praise.’ This reminds me of the first two sessions of the Conversion Experience Retreat [CER] where Father William Goh reminded the participants that the most important component of the retreat was prayer and that we needed to give to God totally with all our hearts, minds and souls. The pre-requisite then was the need to have a deep hunger and thirst for God. It is interesting to note that God has already created in us a heart that thirst for Him and if we desire for God, our hearts will ‘expand’. This is so true for according to Deuteronomy 15:9, the heart is the source of thoughts, desire and deeds. In fact, one’s plan and purpose also lies in the heart, according to Isaiah 10:7.
I entered the CER asking myself if my heart was indeed ready. For if I was, my soul will be awakened and I will be able to sing praise and thanks to the Lord. I will experience the inner conversion of my heart, soul and mind leading to a deeper intimacy with my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
There were many things that happened in the CER which really touched me. But one very significant thing which impressed on me and moved my heart so deeply was the very inspiring Christian witnessing I experienced in the people who serve in the different ministries at the Catholic Spirituality Centre. I observed that they were very clear about their focus which was to give glory to God alone! And that seemed to be where their hearts are. During the praise and worship session, I was touched many times when I noticed that the St Jude’s Choir members were so focused on praising God and were not out to seek attention for themselves. They fulfilled their role excellently as they were able to encourage and move the participants to do the same: to be fully engaged in worshipping the Lord through songs and reflections. On a few occasions, when some of us participants got a little distracted with the self, I could see the gentle efforts the music leaders made in steering their attention solely to the Lord. The gifts of humility and counsel these stewards of Christ had were joyfully and generously used in gently directing the participants to always honour, give glory, give thanks and praise to the Lord. They set good living examples of Christians who seek to decrease so that Christ may increase. They themselves have been touched by the Lord and in turn consistently assisted us in preparing our hearts to be touched by the heart of Jesus.
The second stanza of this Psalm in the Divine Office: ‘O God, arise above the heaven; may your glory shine on earth!’ reminded me of the song which we sang so loudly and deeply: ‘Be exalted O God, above the heavens. And your glory be over all the earth.’ Personally, this song was like the anthem of this retreat for me because we spent a considerable amount of time exalting the Lord for his incomprehensible love for us.
May God continue to bless abundantly the people who serve in the Catholic Spirituality Centre so that they will continue to radiate God’s love and mercy to all who come into contact with them and together cooperate with the Spirit of the Living God in renewing the face of the earth!
I entered the CER asking myself if my heart was indeed ready. For if I was, my soul will be awakened and I will be able to sing praise and thanks to the Lord. I will experience the inner conversion of my heart, soul and mind leading to a deeper intimacy with my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
There were many things that happened in the CER which really touched me. But one very significant thing which impressed on me and moved my heart so deeply was the very inspiring Christian witnessing I experienced in the people who serve in the different ministries at the Catholic Spirituality Centre. I observed that they were very clear about their focus which was to give glory to God alone! And that seemed to be where their hearts are. During the praise and worship session, I was touched many times when I noticed that the St Jude’s Choir members were so focused on praising God and were not out to seek attention for themselves. They fulfilled their role excellently as they were able to encourage and move the participants to do the same: to be fully engaged in worshipping the Lord through songs and reflections. On a few occasions, when some of us participants got a little distracted with the self, I could see the gentle efforts the music leaders made in steering their attention solely to the Lord. The gifts of humility and counsel these stewards of Christ had were joyfully and generously used in gently directing the participants to always honour, give glory, give thanks and praise to the Lord. They set good living examples of Christians who seek to decrease so that Christ may increase. They themselves have been touched by the Lord and in turn consistently assisted us in preparing our hearts to be touched by the heart of Jesus.
The second stanza of this Psalm in the Divine Office: ‘O God, arise above the heaven; may your glory shine on earth!’ reminded me of the song which we sang so loudly and deeply: ‘Be exalted O God, above the heavens. And your glory be over all the earth.’ Personally, this song was like the anthem of this retreat for me because we spent a considerable amount of time exalting the Lord for his incomprehensible love for us.
May God continue to bless abundantly the people who serve in the Catholic Spirituality Centre so that they will continue to radiate God’s love and mercy to all who come into contact with them and together cooperate with the Spirit of the Living God in renewing the face of the earth!
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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Gregory Chan on 6th Apr 2011.
Stay tuned for the next post by Br Gregory Chan on 6th Apr 2011.
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