A CALL TO LIVE AN ABUNDANT LIFE WITH LAUGHTER
by Mary Teoh
On the last weekend of October we were included in a retreat by Fr Philip Chircop on “Living Good Shepherd Mission in Our World Today” who was conducting an eight day retreat for the GS Sisters. Having attended a retreat at Maranatha last year by him we were full of expectations and we were not disappointed. Fr Philip’s pushing the limit and energetic style proved to be an eye-opening and fun experience full of laughter and yet on the more serious side he managed to address our fears and dispel some misconceptions.
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” John 10 :10. What have we done with the abundant life that has been given to us? Have we lived it to the fullest or merely existed. Most of us walk around as if we’re sleepwalking. We really don’t experience the world fully because we’re half asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do.
By living each day as if it could be our last, we relate to each life experience passionately, powerfully and memorably.
“We have to learn how to die before we die, so that when we die, we won’t die.” With this philosophy, “ each instant of life would be laced with urgency and passion. We would remind ourselves of the significance that every human experience can yield. We would pinch ourselves regularly as a reminder to appreciate the moment. We would make all days and events meaningful and memorable—even the so called monotonous ones.”
We live our life of abundance when we give Life by way of giving our time and interacting with those in need as Life is a process and we are an incomplete work in progress and we are called to celebrate the time we have, spending it fruitfully and NOT killing time. We are called to be Creative Pilgrims and not mere Tourists in this journey of Life hence the constant reminder we must embrace life, seize the world and conquer it. As a wise man once said, “Life is not measured by the amount of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
As Christians we are people of the Way and we must see the church as a movement NOT as an institution and breakaway from the “Just in case” attitude derived from fear which blocks our potential. We follow the Good Shepherd who is the WAY, TRUTH, LIFE.
We are called to be loving and compassionate people of God and we are reminded not to use the question HOW ARE YOU? lightly. It must be used with much thought and care and when you ask someone, be prepared to spend time to really listen.
The Vak Tapas, a discipline at the verbal level can serve as a guide for us in our interaction with others. We must avoid verbal violence which is the most powerful and worst form of violence. The words should be truthful, kind and beneficial Vak Tapas requires that we must be very alert. Before coming out, the words must go through a ‘metal detector’ inside us that acts like a quality control meter filtering the words and giving the stamp of quality. We are called to “Be the best you can be, not what others expect of you” Mother Teresa says “Do the ordinary in an extraordinary way” We should learn to “Make our routine into rituals of Grace” and we are called to: “Love yourself - Don’t expect to give something to others which you don’t have yourself.”
Everyone is capable of doing good and having an impact on another’s life and Anita Broderick’s quote says it all “If you think you are too small to have an impact, try going to sleep with a mosquito.”
We were called to Embrace Life and reminded of the lesser known characteristics of the Good Shepherd : Laughter, Joy and Dance in our celebration of authentic Joy and the celebration of the senses.
Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words” says St Francis of Assisi which helps highlight the fact that the better way is always by the natural Law of Attraction when what you do and what you are compels others to gravitate towards you in the quest to have a share of what you have “A candle is a lovely thing indeed it makes no noise at all
But softly gives itself away while quite unselfishly it grows small.”
Simplicity, light heartedness and laughter is paramount when we try to follow the ways of the Good Shepherd and we are reminded that “Hope is learning the melody of the future” and “Faith is dancing to that melody to the here and now.”
We were introduced to PLORK - Incorporating Play and Laughter in work in the place of mere work and PLINISTRY - Play and Laughter in ministry which will help set us apart as people of God when we add in that element of enjoyment in our endeavours as “The Afterlife is already reflected in your life now.”
The poem crumbs serves as an appropriate reminder of the attitude to adopt in our call to serve
Gathering Up Crumbs
Be careful with the crumbs. Do not overlook them.
Be careful with the crumbs; the little chances to love,
the tiny gestures, the morsels that feed, the minims.
Take care of the crumbs; a look, a laugh, a smile,
a teardrop, an open hand. Take careof the crumbs.
They are food also. Do not let them fall.
Gather them. Cherish them.
– Gunilla Norris, in Becoming Bread
Clare Nolan presented the definition of justice as being ‘inclusive’. She challenged us to reflect on our local experience of systems and structures and its implication on formation as we take up our task to prepare new members for Good Shepherd mission. We reflected on the principles of formation in light of ‘who’ and ‘for what’ are we forming new members.
We discussed the importance of communication skills, networking and solidarity as part of integrating Justice in initial formation. We worked at practical ways of linking information and resources that will equip the formation programme to be effective in addressing the realities and needs of our world today.
- I need to respect the cultural differences that shape each person.