Sharings

A Community in Faith

Have you ever been to one of those talks where they asked you to list 5 of the most important things you cannot do without in your life , then after you list the 5- they ask you to reduce it to 4 then 3 then 2 then 1…

Think back to that time and try to remember what was the second most important thing… not the first because most of you would have said God, but the second most important thing—family? Health? Love? Well for me I would say especially at this time..COMMUNITY ..NOT just family or friends on their own but collectively a community of FAITH..and this is what I miss most and I am sure you do too ..especially when we could not go to church …and could not receive the Eucharist , as one people of God.

How blessed we are to be part of this Faith Community ( CRC) who with the Holy Spirit’s Guidance has kept the spark going and will not let go of us, who have even found a way to meet for our end of year celebrations, thanks to Steph and the core team for their wonderful ideas.

When I first enrolled for the pilgrimage ” In the Footsteps of St Ignatius” in Mar 2019, it was to be in a group where I knew only 2 people and Father Agus. But over the 14 or so days together, thanks to the efforts of Father Agus, we became a caring community, reaching out to each other in helping the weaker and slower ones in our group. There was an elderly couple who were there because the husband wanted his wife, struck with Parkinson’s, to see the parts of Rome he had visited in his younger days! Hand in hand they walked slowly as he recounted his experiences and memories. It was Fr Agus, in his heartfelt way, who slowed down the pace of the pilgrimage to make sure that we supported her as she frequently had cramps while walking. Then one day, another member fell from the bus and twisted her ankle badly- out came the spare walking stick ; the liniment and ankle grip, the nightly massage! It was Father Agus whose first and last question every day was, ‘ is everybody alright?’ as he walked among us on the bus, at breakfast, and at dinner at stops.. Once the bus stopped, the helping hands came out to help others down. Even for our toilet stops, there will be the advance party who will run to form a queue, who if anyone needed it more urgently would give way to them…Love in action, indeed!

Even after the tour, the friendships, and bonds we formed continued with us reaching out to each other on the group chat. When 1 was sick or when I fell and broke my wrist, it was Marianne from the group who offered to pick me for evening Mass daily. One day she even made an extra trip to go for the Rosary first and come from church to pick me up and go back for Mass because that was the day she had made arrangements to meet her grandson in church earlier and did not want to drag me to church so early!

Other members tried to attend the same Mass as me so that they could say hi and pray with me in church. We were Christ to one another, like the 4 friends who carried the cripple and lowered him from the roof of the house…Mark 2 v 1-5  It is their faith that makes them literally tear apart the roof to get their friend to Jesus and it was their Faith that the Lord saw and He was so moved that He cured the paralytic. Where would we be without these angels in our lives?

Let us never lose sight of this community spirit of love, faith and fellowship in these times, let us remember that Jesus who is the centre of all our lives, binds each and every one of us together, that while we are physically apart we are Community, bound by the Holy Spirit , manifesting bonds of love.
Let me Leave you with this verse that I wrote-

Chairs stacked up in corners
Tables with Crosses to keep us apart
Whisper of safety
Yet scream against the closeness of
HUMANITY
Expressed once in Hugs – shows of Fellowship and caring
Of kindness and of love
where once there was closeness, now only space
Have we become an In-human race?
No, Rather let the Holy Spirit be the bridge
In Him we find Community
Through His touch we gain strength,
Share Heavenly insights in God-filled space.
For only in this fellowship of love. Of Family and of friends
Can we once again find that we are One in Faith, and thankfulness
-joined in heart – the Human Race.

Jan 2020