Life In The Spirit

I've been on a spiritual low since the Lenten days and now that it's Easter, I thought I'd be okay but somehow deep within, there's still this gnawing tug that draws me in to succumb to feeling even lower. And so reading what Fr William Goh had written yesterday, it had hit me spot on nail on the head. Here's what he said:

"Today, the gospel reminds us that the Spirit is free, for Jesus said, “Do not be surprised when I say: You must be born from above. The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.” We must be open to how the Spirit is moving and acting in our lives. This does not mean that the Spirit is against the institution. No, the institution is meant to protect, and not stifle the Spirit. But we cannot reduce the Spirit to an institutional mode.

How then can we recover this Spirit, if it’s not the need to strengthen our personal relationship with the Holy Spirit? We need a renewal of the life of the Holy Spirit in us, especially for those of us who are active in Church ministry and not merely those who are inactive in Church. If we feel that our enthusiasm for the Lord is lacking and that we are simply working for the Lord or for the Church, accomplishing our work as tasks and forgetting the real objective of bringing the love of Christ to others, then we will find Church ministry burdensome and stifling. We need a recharge and a rebirth in the power of the Spirit. There is no other way to do this then to deepen our prayer life, our love for the Word and the Sacraments. For those who have been working in the Church, either as volunteers or full-time workers, an annual retreat is indispensable. If not, we lose our focus and Church ministry will become no different from secular work. Unless we constantly remind ourselves of the need to build and strengthen our relationship with the Lord, we will lose our fervour and faith in Him. We must pray for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that our faith will neither become institutionalized, nor our relationships with Him become ritualized. Once we lose the Spirit, we lose the power of the gospel to effect transformation in the lives of people whom we minister to."

By Rev Father William Goh
Read his full writings here:
http://csctr.net/16-april-2012-second-monday-of-easter
(2nd Monday of Easter, 16 April 2012, Readings taken from ACTS 4:23-31; JN 3:1-8)

A Wonderful, Blessed Surprise!

Blessed Easter to all my readers! :) Hope the Easter joy of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ resonates in your heart!

Today is a very special day for me. After ten long years, I had managed to get back in touch with a special friend who had been like a mentor to me in my late teens. We had worked together to form a young girls' group called "The Mustard Seed" for girls aged 12 to 15. This must have been in 1998 and I had always been thankful to have her as my mentor and friend. In 2001, I started a job that required me to work shifts, hence I could no longer commit to the group and had since lost touch with her.

Just some short weeks ago, a friend was sharing with me about a 1-day Lenten retreat and that they had invited this lady to conduct the session. In an instant, I just knew it had to be the same person and immediately tried my best to make contact. So I managed to get hold of her email address, dropped her an email and she replied! 

So today was a really wonderful day as it was meant to be. After 10 years, God had intended for us to meet today as she's leaving for Wales in 2 weeks time! She's now a trained Counselor and a truly wonderful person. I am just really happy that we managed to meet today :) 

Thank you Lord!

P.S: I brought along my camera but I guess in my excitement and we were too busy playing catch-up, I had forgotten to have a photo taken with her!! oh well, hopefully I don't have to wait another ten years!! :) hehee..