Experiencing hope through the Holy Spirit

Experiencing Hope Through the Holy Spirit was the theme for the Parish Formation Weekend for the Taiping Catholic Church, October 20 – 29. It was conducted by Fr Johny Panamthanam from the Congregation of the Society of St Paul who told the participants that “every disappointment is an appointment with God.”

SIN is definitely not a hot topic among Catholics and many would like to ignore it and dive straight into receiving blessings from the Lord. Yet, at every session, the participants were reminded that as long as we are living in sin, it will block the flow of God’s blessings, and without confession and repentance, we can never hope to experience Christ’s promise of an abundant life.

Fr Johny spoke of the healing power of Christ’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Each time we receive Holy Communion, Jesus enters into our hearts to liberate us from all that enslaves us. However, he warned that receiving Holy Communion without preparation by an examination of conscience, confession and repentance can lead to condemnation instead of grace. He mentioned the incident at the Last Supper when Jesus dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas and, as soon as Judas took the bread, ‘Satan entered into him.’ Judas’ life ended tragically because, unlike Peter, he did not confess his sin or seek forgiveness. The same thing can happen to us when we receive Holy Communion without being in a state of grace.

In the session on the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Fr Johny took the participants through a detailed analysis of the Ten Commandments, expanding on the significant effects of each sin in our lives. He compared sin to a nuclear bomb, where you suffer the effects long after the event is over. Sin can be summarised as a refusal to love God and to fulfil His mission for our life.

During the session on Inner Healing, the participants learned that character defects are rooted in how we were conceived, born and nurtured during our first year of life. The following six years are important foundational years in the life of a child as the hurt or nurturing received during that period will determine how the child will function for the rest of his/her life. He urged parents to be aware of this and to seek the root cause of a child’s difficult and problematic behaviour instead of blaming it on others. Every present problem has a past history. To be transformed, we must review our past and allow the Lord to forgive us.

Speaking about the Holy Spirit and hope, Fr Johny stated that a true believer can face the trials of this life through the power of the Holy Spirit and with hope in the Lord. As in the parable of the sower, the seed that is sown will inevitably meet with obstacles but, finally, there will be an abundant harvest. Whatever the worries, pleasures and discomforts that may come our way to choke the Word, we must persevere, and the Word, which never disappoints, will come to dwell in us.

During the talk on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) and the Church, Fr Johny stressed that the CCR is IN the Church and FOR the Church and that its ultimate purpose is the complete renewal of Christian lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. The CCR is not confined to a particular group of people who exercise the gifts of the Spirit, but is the whole Church being energised by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The two challenges facing prayer groups today are the integration of the CCR in the life of the parish and the renewal of parish life by the CCR. The goal of the Renewal movement is to work as leaven within the Church. It cannot exist indefinitely as a specialised group, but must be integrated into the dough.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online