Empowered by faith — insights from Alpha
The Church of the Good Shepherd, Setapak, hosted Alpha in the Catholic Context for English-speaking participants from August 1 to October 3.
Oct 26, 2024

By Ruby Jayasuria
The Church of the Good Shepherd, Setapak, hosted Alpha in the Catholic Context for English-speaking participants from August 1 to October 3. The group included a diverse mix of youth, adults, and seniors, with backgrounds ranging from bankers and lawyers to entrepreneurs and IT specialists. The key takeaway for the entire group was the discovery of the Holy Spirit.
Almost all attendees of this session attested that, despite joining Alpha without prior knowledge of the agenda, their weekly attendance over the 12 weeks has been the most blessed, enlightening, and relaxing experience they’ve had.
The insights gained from Alpha for Catholics revolve around relearning what we may have forgotten. As cradle Catholics, there is often a sense of complacency and superiority, leading us to believe that we already know everything about our faith.
Alpha provided us with a check and balance of our knowledge and faith. Many important facts were forgotten as we leave catechism classes and move to adulthood. And Alpha was the grounding to bring us back to what we knew.
Participant Peter shared, “When I first joined Alpha, I had no prior knowledge about it, yet I found myself not only participating but also becoming a host in my group. I thought it sounded interesting, but I was still unsure about what I would do and say. By the second week, I realised that Alpha is all about introducing Christ, the Bible, and the Church to those who want to learn more. While we studied these topics, it felt more like a refresher course. The group sharing was enriching; my group truly felt like a united cell — a small church.”
Participant Harbans remarked, “The Alpha course is a programme where God brought us all together. The stories in the videos illustrated how Alpha is transforming so many lives. Through our group sharing, I realised how these weeks of attending Alpha have impacted our own lives as well. I believe Alpha should be shared with RCIA candidates, catechists, and all levels of ministry within the Church.”
One of the key elements of Alpha that many of us discovered is the importance of invoking the forgotten God — the Holy Spirit. Fr Leo, a visiting priest from India, aptly reminded us, “We often forget that the Holy Spirit is within us. When we were baptised, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into us. As we grew older, we allowed the Holy Spirit to fall asleep within us.”
We were all reminded that the Holy Spirit is our helper and our guide, and that we should invoke the Holy Spirit at all times throughout our lives.
Participant Francis shared, “Alpha is new to me. I didn’t know anything about it until my wife and I were invited by Cassendra, the host and facilitator. I was thrilled to share my experiences of the Holy Spirit with my group. Referring to Revelation 3:20, I felt that when Jesus knocked, Cassendra encouraged me to open the door. I’m so glad I opened that door and joined Alpha because it allowed me to share how to invite the Holy Spirit into our lives.”
Alpha also made us realise the power of our Holy Bible. Every Catholic family owns a Bible, and we often seek the most beautiful edition to display in our homes. But how many of us actually open and read it? Participant Emily captured the essence of this experience after attending Alpha. She shared, “Like everyone here, I had heard of Alpha but didn’t know much about it. I only attended out of curiosity to see what it was all about. Now, I’m so glad I did. Through my experience here, I feel closer to God than ever before. I was never particularly close to Him, but now it brings me comfort. My Bible used to be just a decorative piece on my table, but after Alpha, I’ve started to pick it up and read.”
Alpha caters to the needs of everyone, from pre-believers, young believers, nominal believers, and lapsed believers to mature believers living up to their tagline of Come and See to Go and Tell, where Christian communities are built, strengthened and to evangelised.
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