Mar 2001 - Risen Christ Charismatic Prayer Community

The Voice
PralcrCroup
ofThe Chuch ofTle Risn Ckisr Cha'ismaric
A newsleder
volumc2lssueI -Mdch 5.2001 Forintemd cnqkdon onl)
Our 23rdAnnivercaryErcharislic Celebration
you." (Acts l:8) He did not mean
The Chrrismrtic Prayer Group
on
that the powerwould belongto
celebratedits 23d Anniversary
20'hNovember2000.The theme us but He would fill us and
is "EMPOWDR US FATHER operatethrough us. We are the
TO SHARE THE LOVE OF
CHRIST."
If you are reading this right
now - this messageis directedat
you.YES!!!ruST FORYOU!!!
So, what are you going to do
Is yourlife
aboutthe message?
a channel of blessing?Are the
light and love of Christ shining
and flowing through you? Are
you readyto serveGod?
The Archbishop Emeritus
Gregory Yong in his homily
described us as "Kingdom
People".Big hearts,willing ears
and gentl€ handsarc pafi of the
profileofGod's people,
sistersand brothersandtouch the
souce within them that activates
their faith. Each day we have
many opportunities to touch
othen tenderly.
The,{rchbishopEnvritus Grcgory yong
sharing thejoy of tlp Prayr Group
containers,the vesselsand the
channels. The more we mrsl
Him, the more He is ableto use
usfor His Kingdom,
Our call is to grow to
maturity in Christ, not
only as individuals but
as a body. God's plan
is that we standunited
and work together in
love.
Most of us have
participatedin the Life
in The Spirit Seminar
Facesbeaning $,ith sniles
and have gone though
highliaht
the celebratorynood
the Baptism of the
Holy Spirit. We were
cod dwells within us, conslantly
given a new birth, a new life
through His Spirit when we seeking an expressionaloutlet.
acceptedJesusChrist asour Lord He calls us. Only by loving and
sharing, which is going beyond
andSaviour.
self unto another,can we hear
Jesus said, "You shall receiv€ the voice of God. As we share
power, ability and might when God's love, we stimulate the
the Holy Spirit has come upon life-giving force within our
Make the commitment
today,put your faith in
God for the power to
carry it out. Tell Him
you are willing to be
used as a channel for
His love to others and
be readyto step out in
faith whenHe provides
the opportunities.
Nothing about us or
our lives has been
accidental up to this
Point.
Weore:
A peopleof PR4,lSt - praisitrg
whether
God in all circumstances
they seem good or bad, trusting
that God is using them to unfold
His wonderfulplanfor us;
A peopleof ,rOR^SFP - sharing
our faith and witnessingto God's
goodnessandgracesin our lives;
A people of LovE - sewirg
others and making fellowship
with the Holy Spirit a daily
joumey and a living experience
for othersandourselves.
So let's step out and be "Pilot
Lights" buming with God's love
today.
Thz Voice Mudr5,2o0l
Jubilce Triduuttt: 'The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Jubilee and bqond'
A Triduum wash€ld ftom I td to
l3'h December 2000 with
ReverendFatherGino Henriques
asthe speakerfor the threenights
andalsothe celebrantat the Mass
held on the third night.
The Church of the Risen Christ
sawa capacitycrowd who started
coming in way before the haise
andWo$hip beganeachevening.
The people werc eagerto listen
and leam. They participated in
the servicewith deepferyour.
The thrce-night talk was a
progressive one in nhich the
congegation leamt \a{ut Jubile€
was in the bible daysand what it
is today. Or! the first night Fr
Gino told the congregationthat
we are Jubilee people
geetly blessedto b€ alive
at this sp€cialtime. He said
rhat we needed to be
empowered. He traced
Jesus' empowermenl
tbroughthe Holy Spirit and
said \a€, being followers of
Christ, should imitate Him
and so be empowered.Fr
Gino pointed out thee
\Nays\re can continue our
empowennent. They are
thrcugh prayeN, tbe Word
of God and rcpentance. He
stessed thal r€Dentanceshould
go with forgiveness,sojust aswe
ar€forgivenw€ loo forgivc.
ue allow God to touch us. like
"Moses minored God, ve can
also mirror God".
The ftid night, Fr Gino
rau€ht that the rqson for
our empowerEeot and
commissionis 'TlE wants
to make a new Heavel
and a new Earth - GOD
qants to b€ ALL IN
ALL - to fill everything
with HIS GLORY!".
Fr Gino Elling ttp congregationthd
we are hbilee people
olr the secondnight, Fr Gino said
tbal our empowerment is for
mission.This missionis to bring
the GoodNells to others.WE arc
to bring this GoodNewsnot only
'Ihe
cq@ity crotrd singing
pmises to God in onewice
This wonderful Good
News for us wasbroughtto
us though numerous examples
of Chdst's experi€nce.Fr Gino
quoted the Bible widely, both
tom the Old as well as from the
New Testarnents.He emphasized
that Jesus\ ,83baptisedand $,ent
process of
through the
empowement not b€caus€ He
neededit but b€caus€we needto
leam from His example.
Th0ughout the three talks he
stressed that empowermeot
brings courage and tnowledge
ltecause empowerm€nt coEes
though the Holy Spiiit. During
t h e m i n i s t €r i n g , m a n y
experienced healing *fien Fr
Gino prayed and led rhe people
ln prayer.
tbrcugh preaching but also
thrcughthe $ry we live and if
Our Regular Actiuities
The lst Monday ofthe motrtb - EuchrristicCelebrrtiotr,7.30pD
The last Mondry ofthe motrth- Sirgrporu Archdioc6rtr Crthollc Chrrismatic Rcnewal
Thc other Moldeyr
(SACCRE)Pnyer Meetbg, 7.45pm
- Pnyer Me€tirgr, 7.30pm
The2ndWedD€rdry
ofthe month - EoV Hour rt theSisters'Chrpel,
MrrymoutrtConvetrt,
E,00pm
ThootherWcdrerdrysoftbe moltb - IntercelroryPrryen rt theUpperRoom,
Mrrymo||trt Cotrvert,8.00pm
Fc dstolb, d.or. .dcr to cr mncc bocd in ltE Clu.h Hlll
me YoicerMafch5.2001
Faith Formation: 'Unconditional YESto God'
Fr Tom Forrest,the international
director of Evangelisation2000,
animatedly proclaimed God's
salvific plan to a gatheringof His
peoplein the Churchof the Risen
Christ on 14 January 2001. He
presentedthe truth that 'GOD IS
LOVE' for love is His essence,
His being and His only action.
Thus,accordingto him, Cod made
mankindin His imageand gaveus
the freedom to choos€ to grow
volunt rily more like Hift i.e.
grow in love. Yet, humanitywas
harm€dby the 'Yes' of Adam and
Eve who were tempted by the
prince of
darknessto become
selfish; thereby causing future
genemtionsto inherit the original
sin ofselfislmess.
However, Fr Tom was quick to
add that God, in His me.cy, sent
us His Son that we might be
saved.God's plan for saving us
lies in the mystery of the
Incamation of Christ i.e. God
the Father and to bea ng our
sinfulnessthroughHis passionand
crucifixion. Thus, the Word was
made flesh and visibly dwelt
among us so that we could s€ethat
God is love and learnto love like
Fr Tom then invited the
congregationto panicipatein the
ongoing mystery of salvationby
saying 'YES' without any 'if,
'but' or'ma/re' in the sameway
as Abraham,Moses, Samueland
Fr TomForr"st urging the
Pope John Paul II did. We were
cangrcgationto sag
unconditionalYes'to Cad
challenged to give God our
unconditional'YES' in order to
made flesh. This was fulfilled becomeon earih the visible body
when the Virgin Mary willingly ofchrist so that otherscan seethe
love of Cod in us. And thus like
spoke the important word 'FIAT' and broughtto mankind Paul,we can declarethat "it is no
the greatestblessingin the power longer I who live, but it is Christ
ofthe Holy Spirit.Fr Tom turther who fives in me". (Cal. 2:20) The
emphasized
that the Son of Cod work of evangelisationcan then
Himselfsaid'YES' to the will of continue not in proclaiming the
Word but in becomingthe Word.
Testimony
Life was one rut race for me
beforeI cameto know God. Like
the typical hardworking
Singaporean,
my dayswerefilled
with responsibilities
anddeadlines
that I never had the time for
anyoneor anfhing. In pursuitof
my objectives, I was never
apologetic
aboutmy behaviour
or
actions. If I was rude or
impatienlit wasbecause
I hada
deadlineto fulfill and if I was
ruthlessin deliveringa decision,
it
job
was because
I had a
to do.
Althoughpeoplehatedme for my
"guts", I was toleratedard even
respected
for my capabilities.
The
more successful
I got, the more
arrogantI became.
going tlrough lessons as a
catechum€n
fo. my baptism. It
was a difficult journey. There
weretimeswhen I questionedif I
did the right thing by not
respondingthe way I normally
would. At wod<,my "humble"actions were misconstruedas an
admission of defeat and
encourageda greaterattack tom
the other party. My confidence
was rocked when the people
whom I had alwa)s defendedand
supportedstartedquestioningmy
lack of authority. On the personal
ftont, I wasgoingthough a tough
time.I felt confused
by whatwas
going on aroundme. It was easy,
underthesecircumstances,
to feel
that God was nol keepingto his
promlse.
focusedon followingGod'swill.
The Sorrowful Mysteries, in
palticular, remindedme of what
Ctuist had to go tlrough for our
salvation. I started praying
regularly and it built my faith in
God's love. I accepted that
ever),thingI was going thlough
was pan of God's plan for me.
This engenderedan interesting
transformalionin me. I still have
to run my rat race but I now
commit that race to God. I
understand
that God hasgivenme
the talent of leadershipfor His
glory andI shalluseit to gloriry
his name.Before every mce, I
pray to do God's will. Whatever
the outcome, I know I have
fulfilledHis planfor me. Thishas
given fte peace of mind
securityI have neverexperienced
untilnow,
I was humbledwhen I cameto
know God. I experienced
humility,disappoinhnent,
behayal I was taughtthe rosaryprayer in
and p€$ecution and all these catechismclass and found it
happenedat the time when I was
useful ir helping me to keep CarolynKhiu
flre Yor.erMarcht.2001
An Invitation
For you,who havealreadyknown
WELCODTE
BACK
and experienced
God's love and
are looking for a deeper Perhapsyou were once aftending
relationshipwith Him and a the PrayerMeetingsbut for one
tullnessoflife in His Spirit.
reasonor another,you no longer
participatein them. Much has
For you, who are burdenedand "Let him whois thirsty,come.Let happenedsinceyour lastdatewith
have reached the depths of
him who desirestakethe WATER us. There are new areas of
despair
andwantto riseagain;
ofLIFE asa GtrT." (Rev22:17) involvement and commitment,
more eventsto look out for and
For you who are full of fearsand God is callingyouto a New Life muchmore.
arxieties and feel hardenedand with Him. He wantsto reachout
closed;
to you. He lovesyou. AnswerHis To you, we want to WELCOME
call,cometo him andreachoutto YOU BACK. You may be
For you, who are on top of the Him.
surprisedat what God hasin store
world, but feel an emptiness
for you.
withini
At thismoment,ifyou arereading
this newslenerandhaveootjoined
usat anyofour PrayerMeetingsthis INI4TAT|ON is especiallyfor
YOU:
Corning Euente
Video Sc.eeritrg
Thefollowingvideoswill be screened
in theChurch:. "Take the First Step-Forgive"presented
by Fr RobertDecrandison Monday,l2'h March 2001,at
7.30pm
. "TheNeedfor Evangelism"
presented
by Fr JohnP Bertolucci
on Monday,2l" May 200l, at T.30pm.
Lrss2001
Featuring
localandoverseas
speakers,
theLife in theSpiritS€mina$will beheldfiom l9'nApril to 28" June,
everyThursday
at 7.30pm in theChuch.Registration
is available
atprayermeetings
andweekend
masses
till
theendof March.
SACCREConference
rrd PertecoltRally
Singapore
Archdiocesan
CatholicChadsmatic
Renewalwillbeholding:.
.
a two-dayConference
on Saturday
2ndandSunday
3'dJune2001at StJoseph
Institution
a Pe ecostRallyon Sunday
at 7.00pmat thelndoorStadium
T'hrc
themeis" Behold,I MakeAll ThingsNe.ll"andwill focuson therenewalin theJd millennium.The two
renowned
speakers
areFr Lou Cerulliofth€ Peac€,
Freedom
& H€alingMinistryandFr JohnH Hampsch
cur
ofthe ClaretianMissionaries.Both of them are basedin the USA. Registrationfo|ms for the Conference
arcavailable
ftomCharismatic
PmyerGroups.
Frith Form.tiotrProgrrmmes
Fr FiorelloMascarenhas
s,andDr RenuRita Silvanoocv,srowill be thespeakers
for the followingeventsin the
Church:
. a teachingon "fre Workingsofthe HolySpitit in theEa y Church"
(withreference
to theActsofthe Apostles)
on Saturday
9' June2001,tom 2.00pmto 5.30pm,and
Swdayl0'" June2001,from 1.00pm to 5.30pm
. aRa,llyon"LettheFireofthe SpiritBlazeOa" on MondayIl'hJune2001at7.30pm
For co.r.mentaand, contribution of articles,
pleas€
sendthemto th€MediaMinistryby fax(tel.2506778)
or email([email protected]).