For some reason it felt like my birthday last Friday for I received many gifts, some material, some spiritual, that made my day. God is indeed good all the time.
It actually began with New Year's Day morning mass celebrating the feast of Mary, Mother of God, followed later on in the afternoon by the combined ordination mass of Jude David and Terence Kesavan.
T'was good to share in the joy and rejoice at how God had led these two young men into a deeper covenant with Him. Listening to both of them speak reminded me of my own journey, and my upcoming Covenant in two weeks' time.
I will be joining the Institute for World Evangelisation - ICPE Mission as a Companion on January 19. What this means is I will be making a serious commitment, a Covenant, to grow in, and share my faith, in solidarity with a community of like-minded brothers and sisters.
As a Companion, I will not live in a residential community and I remain where and as I am, with one exception, I fully embrace the spirituality of ICPE Mission and their passion to evangelize with apostolic zeal. I also undertake to prize and nurture my relationship with every community member, viewing them as beloved and unique individuals.
Pope Francis wrote:
An authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better that we found it. Evangelii Gaudium, 183
I believe that as an ICPE Mission Companion, I will be better able to live out my faith more authentically. To misquote an old African proverb, it takes a village to change the world. I need my village people to help me grow as a person and to crystallize my gifts more fully so that together, we will change the world as different parts of one Body.
Staying close to the source, the Word of God, the Spirit of God, through prayer and contemplation is vital to keep faith vibrant, fresh, creative and true. This will always be a challenge and I therefore look to the strength of united but diverse numbers to keep me inspired and disciplined.
While I am excited and eager, there is apprehension, even fear. The covenant is, first and foremost, a covenant with God; to say to Him, Lord, I am a woman of unclean lips, but here am I, send me! I am your instrument, your willing disciple.
Am I up to the task? Of course!!! As long as I remain seated at His feet, and keep my gaze on Him. And when the going gets tough, I just need to remember, His grace is abundantly sufficient.
Being a member of ICPE Mission makes me a lay missionary. I am a little shy to call myself that for I always find labels suspect. Plus, this one will probably be extremely hard to live up to, but, right down to the core of my soul, I feel that, as Pope Francis put it:
...to believe in and to follow him is not only something right and true, but also something beautiful, capable of filling life with new splendour and profound joy, even in the midst of difficulties. Evangelii Gaudium, 167
If that is my belief, then I must proclaim Christ, in all I see, hear and do, with immense joy and gentle persistence. Only then will His birth, life, death and resurrection mean anything and bring epiphanous relevance to this world.
It actually began with New Year's Day morning mass celebrating the feast of Mary, Mother of God, followed later on in the afternoon by the combined ordination mass of Jude David and Terence Kesavan.
T'was good to share in the joy and rejoice at how God had led these two young men into a deeper covenant with Him. Listening to both of them speak reminded me of my own journey, and my upcoming Covenant in two weeks' time.
I will be joining the Institute for World Evangelisation - ICPE Mission as a Companion on January 19. What this means is I will be making a serious commitment, a Covenant, to grow in, and share my faith, in solidarity with a community of like-minded brothers and sisters.
As a Companion, I will not live in a residential community and I remain where and as I am, with one exception, I fully embrace the spirituality of ICPE Mission and their passion to evangelize with apostolic zeal. I also undertake to prize and nurture my relationship with every community member, viewing them as beloved and unique individuals.
Pope Francis wrote:
An authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better that we found it. Evangelii Gaudium, 183
I believe that as an ICPE Mission Companion, I will be better able to live out my faith more authentically. To misquote an old African proverb, it takes a village to change the world. I need my village people to help me grow as a person and to crystallize my gifts more fully so that together, we will change the world as different parts of one Body.
Staying close to the source, the Word of God, the Spirit of God, through prayer and contemplation is vital to keep faith vibrant, fresh, creative and true. This will always be a challenge and I therefore look to the strength of united but diverse numbers to keep me inspired and disciplined.
While I am excited and eager, there is apprehension, even fear. The covenant is, first and foremost, a covenant with God; to say to Him, Lord, I am a woman of unclean lips, but here am I, send me! I am your instrument, your willing disciple.
Am I up to the task? Of course!!! As long as I remain seated at His feet, and keep my gaze on Him. And when the going gets tough, I just need to remember, His grace is abundantly sufficient.
Being a member of ICPE Mission makes me a lay missionary. I am a little shy to call myself that for I always find labels suspect. Plus, this one will probably be extremely hard to live up to, but, right down to the core of my soul, I feel that, as Pope Francis put it:
...to believe in and to follow him is not only something right and true, but also something beautiful, capable of filling life with new splendour and profound joy, even in the midst of difficulties. Evangelii Gaudium, 167
If that is my belief, then I must proclaim Christ, in all I see, hear and do, with immense joy and gentle persistence. Only then will His birth, life, death and resurrection mean anything and bring epiphanous relevance to this world.
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