The invisible hands of Christ

May 01, 2021

“I went from a lukewarm listener to an enthusiastic participant, and after three hours, I  was converted.”

That was one of the reasons that prompted me  to write this. Prior to this session, Caritas to me  was just one of the many church-based organisations that oversee the Catholic teachings of the  Church. 

However, that took a 180-degree turn after  attending a community development course on  Pastoral Spiral, see-judge-act by Caritas Malaysia. There were three speakers and the topics  were equally interesting but it was the first topic  that struck me the most, an overview of social  problems in Malaysia. 

Broken homes, broken hearts and the disintegration of family values are the fruits of most  social problems and I was a witness to it. 

Depression is an illness that needs to be looked  into. Most depressed people are outwardly happy. Why? Because they are so good at hiding  the signs. And most of the time we fail to see  these signs even within our own family circles.  Even if we did, we usually take the tough-love  approach, hoping that it will bring positive behavioural change! Wrong move. 

When God leads He will deliver. Having attended the Pastoral Spiral course, I learnt that  there are three things to consider, the see-judgeact method. This is a method that helps us to  stop, stand back and reflect before we jump in  and take action. A method that I wish I had taken  when dealing with a depressed person before. 

Having shared this, I hope to be a witness to  God’s Love, a beacon of light and hope to the  people around me and be the invisible hands  of Christ on earth. Thank you. — By Juliana  Kimin, Diocese of Sandakan