How do we gift others the abundance we have received from God?

There are many ways, and one of the simplest are to look for opportunities to reach out with hospitality and gift the love we have received from God, to one another.

 

“It is not about how much you do, but how much love you put into it that counts”

– Mother Teresa

 

Come As You Are

Many of us come as we are at different points and phases in our lives. And that’s how I came to encounter the love of Christ through the many sisters and brothers in our parish when I was a nominal catholic and had first moved to this area and had first started coming for Eucharistic Celebrations (ECs) here.

 

My Cold Indifferent Heart Started to Warm

And at this time, I was moving to this area and started visiting CSM… Coming back to a parish, I felt myself saying “wah, so many holy people“. I felt I was I was “too cool” and was “too busy” chasing after accolades in the corporate world. But these first welcome and personal invitations and experiences warmed my indifferent heart

  1. Over time, because many people “caught me” at the registration counter to sign up for activities and because of the warmth i eventually signed for many activities over the years
  2. I also ate the famous mee siam many times at the canteen because I was  often waved to go over and made many friendships because of that
  3. People smiled at me and struck up conversations first and that made me feel comfortable enough to not squirm out of the church that I had many bite- sized hallway chats
  4. Personal messages of “hey how are you, I saw you the other day” type of messages kept me saving contacts in my mobile and remembering names

 

My Parish Community Encouraged Me

Because of my personal encounters with the many people whom God sent and who were also consciously working with the Holy Spirit “looking for opportunities to reach out”, that I was spotted as a “newbie”. I was touched by numerous sincere and personal invitations, I was drawn to the “Kampung Spirit” of close-knit community, warmth, hospitality, care, and a sense where the church belongs to us. I was a recipient of all God’s wonder of hospitality.

“Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up”

– 1 Thessalonians 5:11

 

Opportunities to reach out in October with our parish activities

Let us look for opportunities to reach out this month of October by our parish activities:

  1. Reaching out with a text message or attend the celebration with our 8 families whose little babies will be baptized this weekend- Infant Baptism- 17 Oct 2020
  2. Offer up our prayers at this weekend’s EC for the mothers whom you know in our parish community and submit your prayer petitions here
  3. Pray for a fellow parishioner and have prayer warriors storm heavens with you in  October weekly devotionals. Submit your October prayer petition here
  4. Type a short message prayer to a fellow parishioner friend whom you have not seen this Covid-19 period and tell them you are thinking of them. Pray the rosary together in October online
  5. Join Bethany Prayer Group in praying with the community in Columbarium Monthly Prayers on 18 October
  6. Participate in an Outreach programme in our parish. Follow our social media to get the latest updates

When we receive the Eucharist, we become a living tabernacle to GO OUT to glorify the Lord with our life. But first we have to encounter Christ in prayer before we can go out and share that with others we meet. Let us continue to deepen our relationship in constant prayer and ask Mother Mary to intercede for our us in this month of October.

 

Julianne Danielle Lim