16 September, Tuesday — A New Awakening

Sep 16 – Memorial for Sts. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr; and Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr

St. Cornelius (d. 253) was elected after a year-and-a-half period, during which persecutions were so bad that papal ascension was a quick death sentence. He worked to maintain unity in a time of schism and apostasy. He called a synod of bishops to confirm him as rightful pontiff, as opposed to the anti-pope Novatian. Cornelius was eventually exiled by Roman authorities to punish Christians in general, who were said to have provoked the gods to send plague against Rome.

St. Cyprian (190-258) was baptised when he was 56. By the time he was bishop, he had been a Christian for only 3 years! When the Roman emperor Decius persecuted Christians, Cyprian lived in hiding, covertly ministering to his flock; his enemies condemned him for being a coward and not standing up for his faith. He supported St. Cornelius against the anti-pope Novatian. He too was exiled and martyred when Decius’ successor continued with persecution of Christians.

• Patron Saint Index

1 Tim 3:1-13
Lk 7:11-17

“Young man, I tell you to get up.”

As one of 7 worship leaders (WL) in the centre where I serve in the music ministry, I am considered the ‘baby’ among the group. Last week, I was blessed and privileged to have served as a co-WL in the Conversion Experience Retreat (CER) #75. Just for some background, I attended CER#24 in May of 2011, and have been serving in the same music ministry since then, after my encounter with Christ.

Over the years, I have been serving in the same retreat in various roles and, since 3 years ago, was called to serve in another retreat, the Prayer Experience Retreat (PER), as the main worship lead. I was blessed to be led and guided by the Holy Spirit, as well as the ‘elders’ in the music ministry, who entrusted me with the role after I shadowed 2 of them for a few PERs.

But for CER#75, a 5-day stay-in retreat, I was given the task to ‘run’ the retreat — making all the necessary announcements, coordinating with members serving in the various other ministries. Inevitably, I made a few ‘boo boos’ along the way. I must confess, in the lead up to the retreat, I got a bit anxious about all the ‘unknown unknowns’. Yes, the other WLs had offered me snippets of what to look out for, and even gave me various documents (hastily prepared) on the various segments over the course of the five days.

That said, once the retreat began, a sense of calmness came over me as I told myself that I should approach each day with a child-like faith. And to trust that the other WLs who were serving with me were there to support me and, along the way, offer me their words of wisdom and encouragement.

Needless to say, the 5 days went by relatively smoothly – barring a few comments/prompts each day from the other WLs who were ‘supporting’ me, for which I was glad. Then, at the end of day 5, as we were listening to the testimonies from the retreatants, I came to the realisation that I needed to ‘step up’ my commitment for this particular retreat (there are 3 per year, depending on the schedule of our bishop, who is the retreat master).

A week later, I shared with my Core team that CER#75 was a ‘wake up call’ for me and hence, have decided to step back from my other duties in the centre.

Brothers and sisters, I have shared before that sometimes, saying ‘yes’ to God means having to say ‘No’. In this season of my faith journey, I think it is time to relinquish my lead role in PER and focus my attention on the CER. God certainly gives every one of us a ‘wake up call’ at times, especially when our service has come to an ‘end’ and He needs us to refocus our efforts elsewhere. It is His way of shaping, moulding and pruning us as we toil in His vineyard.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Desmond Soon)

Prayer: Abba Father, we pray that you never stop pruning us as we serve in your vineyard and that we remain rooted in humility and love for others when we discern your calling. Amen. 

Thanksgiving: Thank you Father, for your constant love and faith in us, in spite of our human failings.