ICPE Mission Singapore, my community, just ran a six-day Pastoral Care Course, PCC, last week. It brought back memories of my own three-week Pastoral Counselling School in 2003, which set me on the right path, or should I say in right relationship with Jesus, and I have never looked back.
As I prepared for this retreat, I spent much time in prayer for the participants that some of them, and eventually all of them, would experience the goodness, and mercy of God such that it would transform their lives, bringing a richness that wasn’t there before. The inner peace and self-satisfaction I have gained from striving to be at one with Jesus through the years come from a place of healing that began in 2003 and continues to this day. I am always super psyched to see others experience the same, and become more effective at living, witnessing and evangelizing.
My wish is that they will each find delight in their own identity as a child of God and never lose sight of what’s most important in life: eternal salvation, something truly worth fighting for. May no one get tired of doing what is good, for each one will reap the harvest if he or she does not give up, to paraphrase Saint Paul in his letter to the Galatians in chapter 6, verse 9.
Some of the concepts and tools presented at the PCC are not new, nor are they rocket science, but they serve to remind us, encourage us and spur us on to greater heights. And we must never forget we are missionary disciples, on a journey to bring Christ to others, as we ourselves have been brought to Him by others. This legacy of paying it forward and of making the world a better place is inscribed in our hearts in the gift of baptism that, for most of us, was a gift we were too young to appreciate fully. This is the main thrust of the PCC, that we are each of us wounded healers.
Of course there is suffering and loss in life, and for some of us, more rather than less, but we do have a secret weapon, Jesus. When we cover our wounds with and in His wounds, we will find resurrection and hope in our own lives. We need to do our part by not losing faith or hope, and persevering in our choices to stand with Jesus no matter how hard it gets. There can still be joy in desolation.
By His grace, I have managed to choose life - His way, His truth and His life - in these intervening years and I have been rewarded with the flowering of my vocation in unimaginable ways. I would urge those who are lost or down to keep walking in faith, dying to self, surrendering one’s life to Jesus, and simply give the Almighty the time and space to perform His miracles. He has never yet disappointed me; in fact, He never fails to astound me.
My SD put it best, discipleship is about being in close relationship with Jesus. An outflow or fruit of that relationship will be service or mission and this horizontal aspect is not so much what we do in any given day, but how we have managed to touch the hearts of those we meet. Heart to heart - from Jesus’ heart to mine, and from mine to the other.
I continue to hold each PCC participant in prayer - may they continue to walk in faith and never grow weary. May they allow healing to flow into their lives and become light bearers and way makers wherever they walk.
On the journey
Face to face
Hand in hand
Heart on heart
Dying to self
Rising in Him
Embracing new life
Healed to heal
Consoled to console
Transformed to transform
Tears to joy
Darkness to light
Connected in love
Centred on Him
Image and likeness
Road remains rocky
Persecution is real
What is left
Suffering and death
He is here
Always with us
Surrender to Him
Again and again
Face to face
Hand in hand
Heart on heart
