A time of recollection for St Theresa’s parish

Apr 10, 2014

By Christine
Twenty-four members of the BEC Coordinating Team (BECCOT) of St Theresa’s Parish held a recollection on March 15 (Saturday, 9.00am to 1.00pm), to enable the BEC members to take stock of their lives in order to live a meaningful time in Lent. Bro John Pereira, who is currently doing pastoral work in the parish, gave the recollection.

Lent is a time to Repent, Renew, Rebirth, Reconcile, Resolve and Recollect leading us to REJOICE at JESUS’ Resurrection. The purpose of our lives is happiness. We are called to this inner joy in the midst of our fasting and penance. In the liturgical calendar, the Church gives us this spring time, to recollect in order that we may initiate change and experience new growth to live fruitfully all the ordinary Sundays that follow in the liturgical season. How? to move from the ego (I/me/myself) which is self-centred to the True Self (we/integrated self) which is others- centred. Bro John gave us examples in making decisions, especially in our choice of ‘work’ and choice of ‘marriage partner’, that will impact greatly on whether we move towards the Ego or towards the True Self. He told us the story of a father, mother and daughter where each lived for ‘the other’ — the pony, the saddle and the oven. A short video clip was also shown of a teacher and a student, to drive home the message of making decisions for others and thus moving towards the True Self as opposed to the Ego self. How much we put in during the forty days of Lent, will be how much we get out of it.

The story of Hosea captures the spirit of Lent beautifully. Bro John explained the story of Hosea in a nutshell, that despite Gomer’s repeated infidelity, Hosea took her back each time she returned; and received her as his wife in her old and disfigured state at the end.

This is the story of God and Israel, and it is our own story too. Lent has always been associated with prayer, fasting and penance. These must be lived not with a sad countenance but with rejoicing. We were asked to reflect on what is keeping us in Egypt (dark room) and how we can move to the Promised Land (Light), in order to experience the full meaning of Lent and hence living fruitfully as the Church intended for us, rejoicing greatly in Christ’s Resurrection.

The Cheng BEC (one of the seven English-speaking BECs in the Parish), coordinated this recollection and prepared the opening prayer and closing hymn. Three youths from the Parish together with a young adult from Cheng BEC joined us in the recollection and played the music for the Taize songs which we sang.