Women in Scriptures — Signs of God’s mercy

“God does not always choose the most likely or the most talented to bring blessings to the Body of Christ. God, in His Mercy, chose a lowly handmaid t

Jun 24, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: “God does not always choose the most likely or the most talented to bring blessings to the Body of Christ. God, in His Mercy, chose a lowly handmaid to be the mother of His only Son.” These words were introduced to the Women’s Ministry of Sacred Heart Church, Peel Road, by Sister Margarete, FdCC, who gave a talk to 70 parishioners on the topic Women in the Scriptures: Signs of God’s Mercy on May 21, 2016.

Being righteous is not about being right or wrong but about being faithful to the Will of God. With total trust in God, above all other things, true spirituality believes conversion can take place. A spirit of “letting go” is important.

Such spirituality can be found in the lives of three Old Testament personalities, that is, Hannah, Ruth and Esther, as well as Priscilla in the New Testament. It was an enlightening experience for us as Sr Margarete brought us into the various Bible texts.

We learned about the virtue of “waiting patiently” in the life of Hannah. It was most inspiring to discover the link between Hannah’s Song of Praise and the Magnificat of the Mother of God. The Magnificat demonstrates Mary’s knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures.

The second personality was Queen Esther. A cartoon presentation told the story of how her prayers and entreaty to her king saved the lives of her adoptive father and the Jewish people. The life of Queen Esther is a story of how God had a plan for each of us when He chose an orphan girl to become the queen who would save His people.

In the story of Ruth, we learned about her sacrifice and fidelity to Naomi, her mother-in-law, when she chose to leave her homeland of Moab and follow Naomi back to Judah. It was God’s plan that Ruth would become the grandmother of King David.

Fast forward to the New Testament, Sr Margarete shared with us how Priscilla or Prisca and her husband Aquila supported St Paul in his mission. St Paul entrusted the early church to Priscilla and Aquila who also shared the responsibility of passing on the knowledge of Jesus and His teachings by teaching the Gospel.

Talks have no impact if there is no reflection on the topic. Sr Margarete left a memorable impact on us by concluding her talk on each personality with the following reflections.

Hannah: What was the changing point in Hannah’s life? Would there be such a changing point in your life during this Holy Year of Mercy?

Esther: What is the importance of God’s timing in our life? What hinders people from walking in God’s plan?

Ruth: What is the role of sacrifice in our Christian walk? How can we know when to “sit still” and let God work on our behalf? (Clue: prayer, sacrifice and silence)

Priscilla: Are you part of the parish church? What kind of Church would you like in terms of people, structure, commitment and social action?

In his closing address, Fr. Edwin Peter thanked Sr Margarete for awakening the parishioners of the Sacred Heart, Peel Road, to a greater love for the Word of God and challenging them to celebrate mercy by becoming more involved in the parish and BECs. He was most happy with the husbands who accompanied their wives to the talk. — Women’s Ministry, Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Kuala Lumpur

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