Pentecost Family Rally as preparation for Pentecost

Jun 26, 2014

By Gregory R. Warrier
More than 200 people participated in the three-day Family rally from May 30 to June 1 at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. The rally and the conference was organised as prelude and preparation for the Feastday, Pentecost.

On the opening night, the rally began with praise and worship combining songs of praise and dance. This was followed by the opening statement by Bishop Sebastian Francis who noted that all present were looking relaxed. He remarked that we are all relaxed because “we are all in love with Jesus and waiting for Him in the Upper Room. Jesus has ascended and is seated at the right hand of the Father. All authority is given to Him so that in His love we will thrive.” The prelate then urged everyone to continue to be in the Upper Room and to be ready for mission when the Holy Spirit comes. The Bishop symbolically broke an arrangement of bricks with a hammer, signifying the breaking of bonds that are holding us from going forward in our mission.

The next day, the talks began. The first topic, The Movement of the Holy Spirit in the Church through the Ages – and Today was by Dr Steven Selvaraju, the Director of the Penang Diocesan Pastoral Centre. His main emphasis was how the Holy Spirit builds the Church, animates and sanctifies it. He traced 10 key movements of the Holy Spirit through events in history starting with Pentecost and up to the Second Vatican Council where the Holy Spirit played a key role.

The second topic was Family of God by Christopher and Eleanor Baptist, a couple active in EE and ME. Together they shared their own experiences and how family values played a major role in their relationship with each other and with their children. They emphasised that being a Christian family, the teachings of Jesus always guided them.

The participants were then streamed into three groups; men, women and youth, and directed to different rooms where they were led in talks and reflection by different speakers. The men followed Dr Steven to an upstairs classroom; the youths were led by Jude Antoine to the second floor, while the women stayed back in the Dewan where three women speakers shared their Christian living experience.

During the open rally at night, after praise and worship, Jude Antoine gave an inspiring talk on the theme that suffering is a necessary key to salvation. He went through some key passages from the Bible as he emphasised this. He said that St John Paul II profoundly explains this in his Apostolic Letter Salvific Doloris. Jude also briefly narrated the stories of the sufferings of St Teresa of Avilla, St Catherine of Sienna and St John of the Cross. The final day’s session on Sunday, June 1, began with praise and worship after Mass and lunch. In his talk entitled Be filled with the Holy Spirit, Jude explained how one must empty oneself before he/she can be filled with the Holy Spirit. He demonstrated this by using two cans of aerated drink, one full and the other empty.

The climax of the rally was the testimonies given by many of the participants who declared either spiritual or physical healing. Some said that initially, they were reluctant to come for the rally but prompted by the Holy Spirit, they eventually came and benefitted from it. Some said that they were encouraged to move forward with the parish mission cry “Score for God.”