For the past week, I think God has been making things clearer about what direction I ought to take.
It all began last Saturday while I was attending CTS class--Kingdom of God and Mission. Perhaps it was something the professor said but instead of focusing on the lecture, I found myself daydreaming about how I wanted to participate in this missio Dei. How I, E _ _ _ _ S _ _ _ _ _, could write in the horror genre for young adults as a Filipina writer in the footsteps of Tolkien-Gaiman, producing works that at heart are all about Christ.
The idea was tantalizing. Could it be that this was my niche in the greater scheme of things? If I could be a successful writer, then I could participate in the things I would really like to do. There would be both time and money to volunteer in GK, sing in the choir or facilitate SRA for kids... there are just so many possibilities!
That night, I attended a vocation festival held at Rogationist. At two of the booths I visited, there was a glass bowl of rolled up pieces of paper with a scripture verse or quotation that you could pick out. At the first booth, I returned the paper because it did not speak to me. But at the other booth, the words leaped out and seemed to confirm the morning's inspiration.
"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire!" - St. Catherine of Siena.
And in the two days I was at the Kerygma Conference, the message was confirmed, reinforced, and dare I say, anointed?
On day one, Fr. Raniero Cantalamesa, OFMCap, gave the first plenary talk. Reflecting back on it, I believe God was reminding me to immerse myself in him, to ask the Holy Spirit to empower me, for ministry must come from an overflow.
"... stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." - Luke 24:49
The first verse, the key to the conference, was taken from Phil 4:13:
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
I was being reminded that I needed constant renewal. It is not a one-time thing. Fr. Cantalemesa recommended we pray daily to the Holy Spirit (Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in us the fire of your love...). Connect to the power source. Seek first the Kingdom. All else will follow.
From the plenary, I proceeded to the first class I chose for the day: Forming a Winning Team: Maximizing Your Members for Ministry. The speakers were Bro. Obet Cabrillas, Benedict Hernandez and Ghika Bernabe.
What struck me from this class was the role of mission in team building. A clear mission made the difference between a ho-hum job and capturing people's passion and purpose to propel everyone to strive for a common goal.
My take from this talk is: give people a clear vision of how they participate in God's mission and you will have captured their passion and purpose; the team will give all they've got to get the prize--which in our case is the crown of life (the crown-of-life insight actually came from the next class, but it just seemed so connected, I had to mention it here).
Other learnings to remember: it's okay to ask for help; recruit a person who is best at your weakness; when you've reached one goal, set the bar higher--new mission, next mission.
The next class I picked out was: Meeting Your Members' Deepest Needs. The speakers were Fr. Steve Tynan and Bro. Jon Escoto.
What struck me from this class was that each person's ultimate need is salvation. So in everything I do, it has to somehow help someone get to heaven... "facilitate the conversion of hearts," even when it means speaking the painful truth. From the depth of true conversion, holiness of life--and everything else--flows."
Conversion does not come at the snap of a finger. It is a process. And it is painful. But to choose a false peace--keeping quiet to let another person go about making sinful choices at the cost of his or her soul would be doing that person a great disservice. May we choose faithfulness over popularity.
But the balance to this teaching is to know our limitations and boundaries. We are not supposed to intrude. But when we are asked, then we can come in and hopefully speak the truth with love to facilitate the ongoing process of conversion. Meet the person's deepest need--eternal life.
The plenary talk by Fr. Dave Concepcion reinforced the message for me.
1. Stay focused.
Focus on the prize--eternal life. We are only pilgrims in the world. Remember what we are really after.
2. Know your priorities.
What will bring you to heaven? Is what I am doing bringing me (and others) closer to God? If not, drop it like a hot potato.
3. Live a balanced life - ora et labora
Pray as if everything depends on God; work as if everything depends on you.
4. Choose to be brave.
Make painful decisions for God.
(to be continued...)
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