Hand in hand with the Spirit: March 2009

28 Feb 2009, Saturday was the day of our DOR. This is my sharing on what I learnt that day. I found it totally useful =) Thank you Eugene! (theres the urge to call u brother still haha.)

Activity 1: Silent amazing race

Rules: No talking unless instructed to do so.

Only the leader for that station is allowed to read out the instructions.

Station 1: Walk to ECP (mind you we were at QOP!) in a single file and each to pick up a handful of sand and a seashell.

My thoughts: Oh man...just when I'm getting all hyped up, he makes me play this game which has no talking...its rarely that i have so much energy in me...now i gotta supress it -_-

Anws, i can live without talking. Lalala..oh wow the nice warm sun after coming out of that freezing cold room. (after walking for 10 mins)...crap its damn hot...oh how nice the clouds r moving to give me some shade =) oh now got some wind =) wow God is good =p he listens to my complains haha! Thank you! k i should stop complaining...

now that we are reaching ECP..what were we supposed to do again? Oh i only rem something bout everyone having a handful of sand. Oh phew, ben rems the seashells. ok sign language isnt tt effective. Anw what i learnt here was tt after a long journey, thru all the toils n snares =p we forget our Mission! But no worries, that's y we travel in a group, each helps to rem different stuff. We need reminders every once in a while =)

Station 2: Going to Holy Family Adoration rm

My tots: Wow..i had catechism lessons for 2 whole years in holy family n I've never been into the adoration room! Tsktsk, this just reflects my longing for my wanting to be in God's presence. I'm ashamed.

(Damien joins us at holy fam with his car)

Station 3: Find the lamb with the 7 seals, where the shamrock resides, by bus.

We never guessed the right place(holy trin)...we got stuck at st pats. We are tired n lost! Can we pls go back! lets call eugene...can we skip to station 5 (which is QOP)? due to time constrains..yes =) we managed to skip station 3n4.

Station 5: Split into groups of 2 or 3. Able to talk to own group mates. Take a bus back to QOP.

My tots: omg its finally over! Ah who cares bout the toking...n the bus! Let's take damiens car!

BIG LESSON: *I sold my FREE WILL for convenience, saving face..etc*

Why? We compromised so many rules, taking the car, talking to each other in the end ..etc. Why did I take the car? Caz I was tired and everyone was going to take the car. Why did I not tell my grp to not take his car? Caz I tot its ending..plus its just a game..we dun have to stick to the rules..or more like caz i knew everyone wanted to take the car and objecting would be so malu. Why did I talk to the other grp? caz we were in the same car n i did not want to seem as if i was such a sticker for rules.

My resolution: Next time when making decisions, I should look deep into the real reason of why I'm choosing that. Is it out of convenience? (usual thinking: no harm breaking stupid rules with no consequences right?) even when I know it is wrong.

Activity 2: Pick fotos that relate to me

http://www.herronisland.org/home/geoduck/Blood....jpg this isnt the exact picture but same meaning...It represents me falling down and getting dirty and hurt.

http://www.naturalperson.com/New%20Website/5%20Advance/Adv%20Site%20Pics/Red%20Pill%20Hand.jpg pill in hand. I have my pride, I hate eating med or going to doc, just like how I dislike receiving external help. I try to do everything on my own first. But I realised, for a speedy recovery (from my falls), I should humbly accept this external help.

http://www.michigan.gov/images/mdch/hands_in_sand_243183_7.jpg (if u go search goolge for "hands" you will find my hands doing many things. Our pair of hands have served us well, they can do millions of things. What more if we be humble and work together. We would be able to acheive 7X 70 X 70 million. =) Each hand has a different talent. Isn't that beautiful.

http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1433/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1433R-102025.jpg If only I kept quiet more often and tried listening to God. I would be able to c the beauty in everything around me http://media.photobucket.com/image/meditation%2Bhands/Xina1/Fantasy/l_8861f96a51c72e77950a1774b698be-2.jpg I know God loves me =)

Activity 3: The Seven Sacraments

Reconciliation: We can do this in our daily lives when we allow forgiveness to happen. Not only do we have to forgive others, we should let others forgive us...and let us forgive ourselves. Reconciliation is the reuniting of 2 parties, to have a closer relationship.

Eucharist: Jesus sacrificed himself to allow others to live. Have I sacrificed anything to help others live better? Eg: Sacrifice my time to listen to other people's complains, so that they know and feel that other pple care for them. Hence they feel more like living.

Holy Orders: A priest or nun?! I do not have to be any of those to live this our in my life. I can spread the word of God to others in my daily life! If people do not go to God, I can bring God to them. =)

Marriage: This seems so far away..I'm still studying...but guess wad, Marriage is about commitment. Commitment to love others thru thick and thin. I can love all my YM members =) even though we do dumb things and get angry over stuff...Unconditional love means that there are no "if's". There is no "if you were good, or if you did not have AIDS, or if you did not smoke, then I would love you." NO! I love you no matter what you do, or have or are. =) Ez to say..hard to do...but with God, nothing is impossible =)

Anointing the sick: Caring for people when they are in need of SOMEONE, not something. To be there for the person. No early thing (ipod, car, house..etc) can or will console a dying person. What they need is to know that someone is there with them, and they are not alone. Do not be afraid.

Confirmation: The bishop says "Be sealed with the Holy Spirit" and in the past, they give you a tight slap!(WAKE UP!) We are to be soldiers for Christ! no more babies drinking milk. Soldiers means we defend and protect. We fight for what is right! Has anyone insulted your friend and you did not say anything to defend him/her? How about ur religion? Do you feel unprepared or ill armed with knowlege? For me honestly...yes. My plan =) is to go for more courses and read more to learn more n more...never ending amt of learning.

Baptism: We are to give 3 promises which lead us into 3 missions

3 promises are Poverty (poverty of spirit meaning that we depend solely on God), Chastity (in Latin it also means love...to love only God) and Obedience (listen to God, willingly, becaz you love Him, not becaz u are afraid to go to hell)

3 missions: Priestly (bring Jesus to people)

Prophetic (the voice that dares to speak the truth)

Kingly (we are heirs to God's Kingdom, let us BE a good example)

In these 7 sacraments, we have to bring God to ourselves first before we can bring them to others. How do I love others if I do not know what loving myself is?

BIG question to ask yourself: Who owns YM?

if your answer is WE DO! the answer is wrong/insufficient. The correct answer is I DO!

When we say "we" there is this idea that if I do not do xyz, someone can cover for me. Hence it is not a 100% commitement from each person. If you say "I" then there is a 100% commitment for each person! so imagine how much more powerful we are =) 10X100=1000% ! Do not underestimate yourself and what God can make you become. God takes the weak to shame the strong.

After all this, what are you going to do about yourself? What are you lacking that could be improved? How can this improvement help YM? What is YM lacking? How can I improve that?

Hand in hand with the Spirit

Monday, March 23, 2009

Day of Recollection (DOR) for YM

Saturday, March 07, 2009

God's answers to your problems