KUCHING — Blessed Sacrament Church held its Parish Joint Day of Recollection (JDR) on 13 July at the Church hall, attended by the church councillors, ministry, and lay leaders.
The rector, Fr Felix Au thanked all present for their attendance and said in order for the Church to grow, it must move with the times. Leaders in the Parish need to come together to pray, listen, and to plan as a parish. We are here to establish God’s kingdom.
He stressed that the Parish’s Vision and Mission statements are not there for window dressing. They are to be implemented and put into practice. We must seek God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit.
The JDR is an initial planning platform and suggestions will be further developed. In order for that to succeed, we should maintain a prayerful attitude and be docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, even to trying something new or different.
Fr Felix said Blessed Sacrament Church has seven Mission statements. The ministries are to discern and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and then exercise the gifts that are inherent in each and every one of us.
In quoting the “Acts of the Apostles” he said, “God is with us and is always in control. The question is, where are we? We must become dependent, and be ambassadors filled and animated, by the Holy Spirit.”
Fr Felix also spoke on the centrality of the Word of God and the Eucharist. He said the Bible is the Word of God. The Holy Scriptures and teachings of the church are guided by the Magisterium, and that faith is to be lived out and experienced.
“The Eucharist is the sacramental presence of Jesus who is the bread of life. The church is God’s people gathered around Christ, and Christ present in the Eucharist. Mass is a Eucharistic devotion, an encounter with Christ. The Eucharist is a sign of God’s love for us and the amount of grace we receive from the Eucharist is dependent on us,” he added.
Besides Fr Felix, PPC chairman Thomas Ting spoke on the Mission of the Parish, Leadership and the role of the laity, and on Evangelisation.
Pauline Lim, who heads the Emmaus Servant Community, spoke on the Recollection theme “Empowered for Ministry”. This translates into working with a purpose, identifying, understanding and exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the common good of all.
Delegates to the JDR were then grouped according to their respective ministries for a workshop session to reflect on, “How can I and members of my ministry grow in our love for the Word of God and for the Eucharist?”
Selected groups were later invited to give their reports and plan of action.
After a group photo session, Fr Felix ended the JDR by celebrating Mass in Church.
