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Association of Pauline Cooperators Annual Retreat
The retreat included a talk, sharing, adoration of the Eucharist and participation in the Mass. Thanks to Sister Yan Yan for taking the time to prepare the talk and Sister Maria Chang for her efforts in arranging the venue. Thanks to God, 14 of us could participate in this one-day retreat at St. Benedict's Church in Shatin. The retreat started at 10:00 a.m. with Sister Yan Yan’s talk "Living with the Holy Spirit in the World."
Sister Yan Yan had participated in the spiritual activities organized by the Korean priest, Fr. Thomas More Song. She benefited a lot from these activities and extracted some interesting content to share with us. To begin with, she motivated us with a short video about a man with color blindness. On his birthday, he received a gift from his family. The gift was a pair of magical glasses which cured his color blindness. His joy of seeing the different colors in the world was beyond expression. Just like the man, because we have the Holy Spirit with us, our joy is also indescribable.
Sister Yan Yan then talked about the history of salvation. The history of salvation can be divided into three stages: the first is the period of the prophets, the second is the age of Jesus, and the third is the age of the Holy Spirit, that is, the present. Since the Holy Spirit is intangible, Sister Yan Yan quoted several passages from the Bible to give us a more specific idea of the virtues of the Holy Spirit and the huge difference the Holy Spirit can make in a man. For example:
Sister Yan Yan also cited many examples to help us understand how the Holy Spirit propels us to pursue God’s will. She used a picture of a large inverted tree with roots facing the sky. The roots absorb the essence from God and then nourish the trunk and branches, so that the tree can thrive and develop downwards.
In addition, worldly things affect our search for the Holy Spirit. Sister Yan Yan suggested that we should learn from the lotus flower as it “grows out of the mud but is not stained." Although we live in the world, we should not be polluted by worldly things.
Indulging in worldly things is dangerous, and Sister illustrated this with the example of "boiling a frog in warm water". When we are in the pursuit of worldly pleasures, we have unconsciously emerged ourselves in a pot of boiling water and we are scourged and killed without being aware of it.
“growing out of the mud but not stained"
Sister Yan Yan cited another example of being too addicted to the good things of the world and unconsciously losing self-control, just like what happened in the story of "Xi Shi and the drowned fish". Xi Shi was one of the four beauties in ancient China. She was so beautiful that the fish jumped up to look at her. They were so enamored that they forgot to swim and were eventually drowned. Indulgence can be deadly. It can drown even natural swimmers like the fish, let alone people!
Sister Yan Yan went on to talk about the qualities of the Holy Spirit. When we receive the oil of the Holy Spirit, we are protected, like a duck whose oil keeps its feather waterproof so that it can stay afloat in the water. However, if the duck is only concerned with foraging and forgets to secrete oil, its feather is no longer waterproof and the duck sinks and suffocates.
The Holy Spirit rewards believers without reservation, and wonderful things can happen if they rely on the power of God with all their hearts and minds. Sister Yan Yan gave us an example of Ms. Laura Wilkinson, an American female diver who competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She suffered from a severe foot injury before the Olympics and was unable to move for months. She knew that she could not win the competition on her own and could only entrust herself to her almighty God. The result was unexpected and she was overjoyed with the gold medal she won.
"The Christian receives the sacrament of solidification in order to fulfill the grace of the sacrament of baptism, and like the sacrament of baptism, the sacrament of empowerment places a divine seal or an indelible mark on the soul of the Christian." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1316-1317)
Sister Yan Yan summarized the talk with the following verses:
She also encouraged us to strive to follow
the Holy Spirit in our lives. Because we
are very limited in our abilities, only by following the guide of the Holy Spirit can
we break through our limitations.
"But when the Holy Spirit descends upon you, you will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit … Be a witness for me." (Acts 1:8)
"Unless touched by the Holy Spirit, no one can say that Jesus is Lord." (1 Cor 12:3)
"I tell you, if you follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you will never satisfy the lusts of your nature." (Gal 5:16)
"But the effects of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, softness, moderation." (Gal 5:22-23).
In the last part of the talk, Sister
Yan Yan gave us more than
a hundred photos to choose from
and talk about in the sharing
session. This arrangement was much
appreciated. Our choices of photos
were different but we felt the call of the
Holy Spirit in our hearts. The sharing
touched all of us and we benefited a lot.
The talk has indeed enriched us and everyone hoped
that such talks could be held regularly so that we could
learn from various spiritual leaders. Everyone showed their appreciation to Sister Yan Yan for her meticulous
preparation of the talk. We also thanked Sister Chang
for all her efforts and arrangements for bringing about this retreat. May God bless them with good health and fill them
with the Holy Spirit in their service to Him.