Friar Phillip Tay, OCD, and participants of the Lenten retreat at the Church of the Visitation, on March 4 and 5, 2023
By Girly Joseph
Mar 20 2023
SEREMBAN – In preparation to embrace the risen Christ, a two-day Lenten retreat by Fr Philip Tay, OCD, was held at the Church of the Visitation, March 4 and 5.
Titled The Catholic Family: The Light of the World and the Salt of the Earth, the retreat, organised by the Visitation Prayer Group, welcomed 103 participants, mainly from the home parish. Some attendees came from Port Dickson and Sepang.
In the first session, the Carmelite friar talked about challenges currently faced by Catholic families and the degradation of several fundamental rules on how a family should function. Fr Philip said to help battle these challenges, families should pray, study the Bible together and communicate respectfully and lovingly. He added that couples should thank God for their spouses and surround themselves with like-minded couples who will strengthen and encourage them.
During the second session, Fr Philip spoke on how Catholic families must be the salt of the earth, in that we need to pass on the faith to the next generation and those around us. As Catholics, we cannot only focus on ourselves and our relationship with God. He reminded the retreatants to build relationships with others and be the salt that helps them preserve their faith and nourish their souls. The friar said we should not destroy the faith of another by our actions.
“Our love of God cannot be separated from the love of neighbour. He who does not love his neighbour does not love God, so do not shut people out due to our differences,” said Fr Philip.
The following session focused on family as the light of the world. The Carmelite friar shared his faith journey and how some people around him became the light for him through examples of their faith life.
“I had people around who encouraged me to say the Rosary, pray novenas, and attend youth rallies, among other things.” The fact that he studied at a Catholic school meant he was probably around more people of the same faith, and he could pray at the chapel in his free time. Sadly, chapels in schools are few and far between these days.
“Not only do we need to encourage children to be priests, we must also inspire them to be teachers so that some mission schools may still be run by Catholics, to help preserve the faith environment during school hours. There is also a large need for teachers who are counsellors in schools today.”
The fourth session was on how the family and BECs have a mission to accomplish. Jesus’ mission for us is to make disciples of all nations. This mission is divided into an inward mission and an outward mission. The inward mission is to minister to our brothers and sisters and to help and support each other in times of need. The outward mission is to spread God’s love to others.
In the final session, Fr Philip talked about raising hope. What threatens our hope is the soft and subtle despair we settle into when we live in ways that rob us of the higher good that God wants for us. The desert experience – where we encounter illusions, and evil temptations are part of life.
Lent can be a time we start a slow process of conversion into the perfect image and likeness of God. The desert of Lent purifies us and gives us knowledge and freedom. It is a time of renewal where we learn to unclutter our lives and live simply. We do not hope alone, we hope together with others who help us along the way. In this desert, we begin to experience the Shalom of Easter. – Herald Malaysia
