Serving The Great One By Helping The Little Ones

In the book of Matthew 25: 40, the Lord says to those who have lived righteous lives: Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you have done for me. Though these words are simple, they are extremely difficult to put into practice. It is so hard to see Jesus in other people, when all we can think of is how annoying they are.

The volunteer group that went to the Good Shepherd Centre, a homeless shelter for men, in downtown Toronto on November 30, 2008, numbered about 30 people, half of which belonged to Couples for Christ (CFC) and Singles for Christ (SFC). Although the majority of SFC volunteers were from the Toronto-East Chapter, a number of volunteers from the Toronto-Central Chapter, including their chapter head, Ferdie Velasco, also participated. Most of the SFC volunteers did not quite know what to expect because it was a first-time experience for them. It allowed the volunteers to get a glimpse of what it was like for people who had next to nothing in their lives.

There is nothing like chores to get people to bond while working together. When you think about it, the Centre can be likened to a single household—only taking care of many different people every day. The volunteers were roughly divided into three separate groups with specific tasks assigned to them. One group had kitchen duty, helping the chefs prepare the meals for the day, including the lunch that the same group of 30 had that day (which was delicious); another group had to make the beds, where those who came to the shelter slept; and the last group was given laundry duty, which required cleaning almost every linen item ever used in the place.

After finishing the assigned tasks, and after a hearty lunch (where most of us had to caution the servers to go easy on the food they were piling on our plates), some were assigned to the food line, where volunteers (the more the merrier) were tasked with sorting piles of boxes of foodstuffs so they could be packaged and labeled.

Whatever the task assigned to the volunteers, it not only provided them with a new life experience, but it also gave them a great opportunity to get to know people. The volunteers also learned new skills and made them appreciate what they have and how privileged their lives were.

You don’t have to be rich to be fortunate in life. The people that the shelter takes care of are a prime example. Most of us pay no attention to those that are less fortunate and downtrodden because we pay more attention to those who are more pampered and privileged. We spent most of our time asking why God has blessed these people with the lives they lead, and some of us even blame God for the poverty and misery of the people around us, whenever we deign to notice our impoverished neighbours.

In our adopted country, Canada, we can clearly appreciate how they take care of the less privileged in our society. The government has the appropriate funds to ensure that those who have no means of feeding themselves receive the care and nourishment they are entitled to as a basic human right. Other nations do not have that luxury. Every day, thousands of people starve to death.

We often ask ourselves if what we do will make a difference, because we do not have the privilege of seeing the larger picture. No matter how small the task is set before us, even if it’s just seasoning food, making the beds, folding the sheets, or sorting cans into boxes, we need to do it to the best of our ability, because although we don’t see the people we serve, we can be confident that we have done our part to make certain that the food they eat and the bed they sleep on will be a comfort to them during the most difficult time of their lives.

It is not what we do that is important, but how we do it. Regardless of our task or occupation, doing it to the best of our ability enables us to improve ourselves as well as help others. A job well done in the service of others is a job well done in the service of our Lord. We don’t have to be socially active to serve (although most of the volunteers expressed a sincere desire to “do this again”), but be socially conscious that we can serve in any small way. Even a smile is enough. We may not be able to see Jesus in the people we serve or smile at, but He certainly knows those who do.

Racing Toward The Goal: Life In Jesus Christ

The 2008 SFC Singles Leaders Retreat

In his letter to the Philippians 3:13-14, St. Paul said: Of course, my brothers, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.

St. Paul had the right idea when he wrote this message to the Philippians. Just like St. Paul, the 71 SFC participants from Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal who attended the Singles Leaders Retreat (SLR), on October 31 through November 2 at Shadow Lake Centre, Stouffville, Ontario, were invited to run the race for God. Now as to what exactly this race is for the individual participants is something between them and God and the Holy Spirit.

Throughout all the activities planned by retreat leaders, Efren “Butch” and Grace Baria, the participants were given opportunities to listen to the voice of God counselling them on the next step of the journey they are taking through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Silent Time was an innovative activity (never before done in any previous SLR) wherein the participants were asked and encouraged to maintain total silence for the time duration of 11:30 p.m. on Friday, October 31 until early Saturday morning, November 1. The aim of the activity was to leave room for the voice of God to be heard in the silence of the participants’ hearts and minds in order for them to discern what the next step will be according to the path God has mapped out for them.

Participants reflected on objects that best described how they loved others, and how they would like others to view their love for them. This allowed the participants not only to search deep within themselves, but also to share what they discovered with others.

In between these reflective and contemplative exercises were numerous loud and vociferous “exotic” games from the sunshine state played by the gleeful enjoyment of the participants. These games not only provided the catalyst for the participants to relax and let down their guard, it also enabled them to see sides of each other that they normally would not see in other situations. This allowed them the opportunity to get to know other participants who they wouldn’t get to know unless they were in a conference or a retreat.

On Saturday, we celebrated Mass for All Saints’ Day. According to the officiating priest, Father Gilles Bleuant, The happiest people are those that live their lives according to their convictions. This statement pretty much sums up the rest of the retreat. After searching within themselves, the participants were asked to gather together first in their respective households, and then their units, and afterwards their chapters.

After self-evaluation, each participant had to collectively decide the path that would be taken to best improve each area, to better serve present and future participants, and to discern ideas that pebble the path God has laid out for us.

First, we go back to the basics: the SFC Identity and Mission, which is Families in the Holy Spirit renewing the face of the Earth by Building the Church of the Home and Building the Church of the Poor. As to the SFC Identity, it has been firmly established that the main difference between SFC and the other CFC Family Ministries (KFC – Kids for Christ and YFC – Youth for Christ) is that SFC is a “decision” ministry where one discerns to be a priest, nun or get married or choose single blessedness.

SFC members are “loving, passionate professionals working in partnership with CFC and the Family Ministries. The word “professional” oftentimes have different connotations to different people, mostly in a negative light, since it is inferred that “professionals” are those who have an upper class professional career. The word can be defined simply as individuals having a sense of pride in what they do, whatever happens to be their calling / vocation.

The rest of the talk given by Butch Baria dealt with the Pastoral Formation of SFC, which elaborated on how God, the Self, and the World are interconnected in the bid for service. Through prayer and knowledge of God, we define our identity through how we define ourselves, our purpose, and how we interact with one another, bearing in mind that we are stewards of creation, and we must give back more than what we are given.

In the final talk, we discussed implementation, where we used the 4 E’s, namely, Explore, Expose, Evaluate, and Execute to further God’s Kingdom here on earth. We explore what God has in store for us, we expose ourselves to different paths in order to evaluate which one we must follow and execute to fulfill our promise here on earth.

Finally, we end this article with the same passage that we began with. We determine our goals in our personal lives, our households, units, and areas. Though there are differences in the paths we must run through toward our personal goals and the goals of the collective, the same message is still given to all of us: run toward the prize, which is life in Jesus Christ.

One More For Jesus

Faithfully leading the fall Christian Life Program (CLP) in Our Lady of the Assumption Parish last September 21st till December 6th, 2008 has been a humbling experience. For one, the harvest was bountiful! In this time and age, keeping young adults for 13 weeks, is a tall order. And secondly, it was my first time. And my being inexperienced in this particular undertaking is no excuse to evangelize! In all of these, I trusted not on my years of expertise in human relations and leadership, but on what appears to be the mustard sized faith I have when I started this journey.

My faith has led me to this mission of evangelizing people. I simply wanted to serve but when I was tasked to lead the CLP, I took it upon myself. If this is what it takes to serve the Lord, then bring it on! But I have to admit, I took the leadership because I think I have what it takes to pull it through – skills, charisma and experience. Taking lead and reaping success is nothing new to me. I am a pro! Or so I thought. But guess what? I was a rookie in the game and I chose to fight! As a rookie, I was open to learn new things, to build and strengthen relationships, to follow.

The entire course of the CLP allowed me to re-tool myself into a more willing vessel as I picked, on a regular basis, the word of the Lord as spoken through the talks, least study it, in case the speaker will not be available. The word of the Lord became more and more meaningful to me as I continue to live the life of a true Christian. Oh yeah, I stumbled along the way, but the CLP and the Singles For Christ community has always provided an inspiring and encouraging environment to move on and learn all over again.

The CLP also took me, along with my team members, to a new level of expressing and discovering new talents and skills for God’s service. It was an opportunity to grow in a non-competitive platform and to harness untapped talents from the community. The Praise Fest during our dedication rites was fantastic, phenomenal and spirit-filled!

I have never prayed harder and more often in my life. I learned to pray as if prayer was the only answer. More importantly, it has strengthened my personal relationship with the Lord. I enjoy the common prayer time that I have set as a venue to communicate and seek wisdom from God, and I am of the conviction that the power of our combined prayers is key to the success of the CLP.

I honour my brothers and sisters, especially those in the CLP teams, for continuously sharing the gift of friendship and love throughout the CLP. It was no accident that they were part of the team and that their presence and availability was mutually reinforcing the mission of the Singles for Christ and their mission as Christians.

Despite challenges and conflicting schedules, we continued to brave the raging seas holding on to His promise that we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us. In the process, we learned to respect each other’s strengths and weaknesses, gained trust and more friends. I would not have been able to do it all by myself, and I could not ask for more from my team.

All throughout the sessions, I also learned to realize that if our plans will not be blessed by the Lord, then nothing and nothing will ever be possible. We yielded to the Lord’s master plan for the CLP. While we had our own plans of how to execute the program, how many to target as participants, at the end of the day, we obeyed and we followed His will. I remember at the start of the CLP, we aimed for quantity. If God planned a great harvest for fall and if that would mean 42 new members, then I say “AMEN” to a bountiful feast. It is also timely that the dedication for fall CLP is during the Advent season as it provides for the strategic opportunity to be fishers of GOD’s people and an instrument in bringing them closer to GOD!

It just felt like I moved mountains after the CLP. I also moved my own mountain. And He made it all possible for me and for the team. Notwithstanding the ordeal, the experience was worth it. It made me a better Christian by making myself as an instrument of the light that shines before man so that they may see His goodness.

And as I marvel in awe of God’s magnificence with one more for Him in me, I give back all the glory, at the end of the CLP, for the 42 more for Jesus. Isn’t that amazing?!

Leaders Assembly GTA

January 24, 2009

FORWARD IN CHRIST
CFC & Ministry Leaders Assembly
with Bishop Richard Grecco
8:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Our Lady Of Assumption Parish
2565 Bathurst Street (North of Eglinton)
Phone: 416-787-4547

$7.00 fee, includes lunch and light snacks

For more details, contact your household leaders.

Hillsong United | With Hearts As One

After a hugely successful slew of worship albums, Hillsong United has once again commanded the masses into a feverish love for praise. In this latest double CD installment, we get samples of various live recordings of the worship band in different countries, and even in different languages. It is a compilation of many old favorites, and brand new compositions from the multitalented Aussie phenomenon.

This album just confirms, once again, and always, that love becomes the only language, and “With Hearts As One”, singing love songs to God knows no bounds.

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