The Saint Francis Xavier Mong Ha Church held a one-day retreat in the Vila São José on the 12th December, Saturday.
The topic of the retreat was “Christ has already come and will come once more,” centering on the relationship between the birth of the Son of God and our faith in the three dimensions of the past, present and future of Jesus Christ.
Fr. Chong Chi Kin and Sister Lau Suk Chun introduce the main topic, followed by Eucharistic adoration, individual meditation, group, and large group sharing sessions.
The Lord Jesus is present in the past, in the present, and in the future.
He has been with us always, for the whole human race. He came into human history to love us, to be among us, to be with us, and to experience everything we do as human beings: birth, growth, work, community, and even the painful and difficult moments of death. He taught us how to live and how to face death, from His birth to His death, and He gave us life.
Today He is among us in the Gospel, the Sacraments, in prayer, and He sustains us and all mankind with His Word. Can we see the presence of God in our lives and how He walks with us?
When He comes again is the end of history. This thought moves us to discern whether we belong to Jesus Christ and whether we are living according to his command. He rewards and punishes depending on whether we have loved or not.
Fr. Chong used Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment painting in the Sistine Chapel to explain Matthew 25 which talks about those who will enter eternal life: those who cared for the hungry and thirsty, those who welcomed the sick, the homeless and the imprisoned.
Sister Lau brought in the conclusion: we must be clear about the direction of our life and our choices, whether we love God and love people or not. It is sometimes difficult to do good in life, but we can invite the Lord Jesus to walk with us, to invite Him into our lives, our work, our service, to listen to Him, to speak to Him, to develop a relationship with Him. When we have this intimate relationship with Jesus, we will not be afraid of the judgment.
After the participants had shared their thoughts with one another, the Advent retreat ended at 5:00 pm in a joyful atmosphere.
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