A screenshot of part of Archdiocese of Kuching JDR participants on Zoom, 3 Sept 2022
By Ivy Chai
Sep 9 2022
“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Rev 2:7)
Kuching — The Archdiocese of Kuching held a Joint Day of Recollection (JDR) on 3 September via Zoom with priests, religious, parish pastoral councillors and lay leaders.
While half of the 300 plus participants logged in individually, the others congregated as groups in their locations to attend the JDR.
What is the Holy Spirit telling our Church?
Archbishop Simon Poh shared his spiritual input on the recent Pre-Synod Assembly, the forthcoming 2nd Kuching Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly (KAPA) taking place on 1-2 October, and the 50th Anniversary of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC) that is scheduled for 12-30 October in Bangkok.
“What is the Holy Spirit telling our Church?” he asked. “Today, we have called for a RECOLLECTION for ONE reason: To PRAY, REFLECT, LISTEN to one another and to the HOLY SPIRIT.” By doing this, “what we propose and plan may not be just from our human wisdom and knowledge but is in line with what our Lord Jesus desires for His Church, our parishes and our families,” he explained.
Archbishop Simon said the pandemic had illuminated issues such as succession plans and the need to look for godly people to serve the Church; social problems, unemployment, and a rise in mental health issues and suicides, just to name a few.
With the reopening of all churches, there is now a hive of activities in all parishes. However, the prelate suggests that the Church “LISTEN to your heart and SEEK the LORD” and not be overwhelmed with organising programmes without discerning if we are “working” for the Church or “doing” God’s work.
It is time for us to spend time in prayer to build a personal relationship with Jesus, so as to stay connected with Him, as Jesus is “our true vine” and “we shall draw life from Him and then bear fruit.”
Archbishop Simon also said in the past, specifically during the ACTS of the Congress in 2012 and the 1st KAPA 2017, the focus was on FAITH FORMATION as disciples of the Word and to strengthen COMMUNION and solidarity among parishes in the Archdiocese. He felt it was time to now go out and serve – to be in MISSION.
After the Archbishop’s reflections, all participants were divided into small groups and transferred into “breakout rooms” to reflect and discuss on what has happened in our lives and how we responded when faced with difficult and challenging situations. Are we still able to trust that God will make a way for us “when there seems to be no way”?
APC Chairperson Christina Eng also shared a short re-cap of the Archdiocesan Synodal Journey, and the synthesis report on the outcome from the Malaysian Pre-Synod Assembly held on 11 July in Penang. – Today’s Catholic
