It’s a hot yet windy last day for the Icon. Us all 5,000 SFC delegates all stand up and worship giving their all for God and asking for grace and seek Him to empower us. Jus as God is calling us to be hope for others.
As Bro. Dom Apoan, says in his exhortation that the Spirit of God does not make you timid. The Lord does not deserve the answer NO. Let us worship God for who He is. In all His majesty and greatness.
Even though how many trials and struggles are happening in our lives, the Lord’s promise of love and greatness is incomparable. The Lord’s promise of greatness for SFC is incomparable. Greater things await us. Le us all accountable for each other, be accountable for your households. Experience Christ through each other at the same time a greater call is needed and that is to let other people also experience Christ.
The message is simple, yet the challenge is great. That is to let every man and woman experience Christ all over the world.
Session 3, Fighting for the Fullness of Life. Nestle Jeturian speaks about how to fight for the fullness of life. With sharer, Eric Abad who shares his experiences and struggles growing up and how he fought and commit to live a full life.
Bro. Nestle Jeturian
Session 2: The Fool and the Full was given by an SFC Missionary MK Guano. The session was presented like a mini-talk show where MK served as the host. The talk-show entiltled "Let`s Talk" showcased the different kinds of life of every Singles for Christ member who once been living as fools but now have realized God`s presence in their very lives. These sharers are now working on to attain the Fullness of Life.
The sharers were Veejay Posadas, Lucy Lacsamana and Nemboy Rivera.
After a day of workshops and fun activities it was but timely for all to pause and rest. The Holy sacrifice of the mass for the 2nd day of the SFC ICON was celebrated by Rev. Fr. Xavier Olin, S.J. He invited all the delegates to reflect on the scene in the gospel today where Jesus calls out to the tax collector, Levi, “Follow me”. He said, “We see Jesus mingling with sinners, prostitutes & tax collectors. In the gospel, Jesus comes and approaches Levi, who was busy counting coins, earning his livelihood. Just as Jesus came and called Levi, Jesus comes and calls us. However, do we welcome the interruption? Many times we hate to be interrupted from our routine, our work, our comforts, but zooming in the scene for today’s gospel, we see that WE NEED INTERRUPTIONS.”
He proceeded to mention a reality in all the delegates’ lives. “We gather this weekend interrupting our busy lives even taking leave from work. We see that we need and are thankful for these interruptions. Levi, the tax collector, allows and welcomes Jesus’ interruption. He is never the same again. When he responded to Jesus’ interruption he was shown a much bigger world. The gospel teaches us not to be afraid of INTERRUPTIONS and not to hate the “INTERRUPTORS” who lead us to stop and pause from our busy lives.”
He went on to mention several Filipinos who in recent event have become examples of Levi’s response to Jesus’ call – Efren Penaflorida, the Philippines’ CNN Hero, Muelmer Magallanes(Hero during the Typhoon Ondoy) and “Melai”. Three ordinary people who are even poor themselves but chose to respond to “interruptions” and in doing so made significant difference in other people’s lives.
Fr. Xavier Olin, SJ
Fr. Xavier concluded with a reminder to the delegates as we all prepare for lent. “It is meaningful that we come together to STOP from the things we’ve become so familiar with. Let us spend this time to examine our habits, our lifestyles…our lives. He urged the delegates, “the Lord always calls us to collect and gather. To GATHER people and help people GATHER others.” Jesus is here and He calls, “FOLLOW ME.” Live.
A Balanced Life versus the Full Life A Reflection on “Walking the Tightrope of Life”
How does a single person juggle the demands of a career, community life, and family? How can we achieve the balanced life in this fast-paced, modern age? Are we all merely victims of being caught up in this tight rope of life?
These are the questions that cut me off my morning zeal as I go through busy, daily living. It is as if the “balanced life” is a foreign concept that I can never ever grasp no matter how much I try. However, the whole day workshop set me into a new vibe. It just changes everything.
Who would have known that I’m being offered here not just a “balanced life”, but a life lived to the full in His presence?
Walking the tightrope of life was the workshop that dealt with the top 3 most important aspects of the life of a single person: Career, Family, and Health. Most of us believe that the most important goal is to make enough time for all of these (and try not to lose all sanity after). It is as if we’re supposed to “compartmentalize” our time and resources so we can attend to all our activities. While that is good, the fullness of life is more than being on schedule always. It is beyond being efficient in our work and being financially stable, or having family weekends, or going to the gym twice a week.
The life lived to the full is a life that is consist of good priorities translated to activities that are all aligned to what God wants. Everything that you do must contribute to what the Lord wants you to achieve. The full life is a life lived on purpose as designed by God. All the other aspects of living – family, finances, health, social, etc are not distinctly separated from each other if all time spent on these bring God the greater glory.
It seemed to me then that the “balanced life” is not the ideal one then – because the most important thing is the motivation, the meaning behind all you do. People may have a lot to live on, but still have nothing to live for. So aim, claim, and live on the FULL Life in Christ – because the balanced and the good life isn’t “good” enough!
Other workshops that were conducted:
1,) Gospel of Contemplation
2.) God, Sex and Meaning of Life
3.) ICare
4.) Breaking Free
5.) Blueprint of your Purpose
6.) The Pinnacle
7.) The Best 3 hours
8.) Jesus Calling
9.) Our Earth our Home
10.) Heavenly Worship
12.) Poverty Alleviation