I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

Dear ZJ,

I wonder how many people will ever read this post, perhaps none, perhaps one. But I still decided to share anyway.

Today's reading was from St Paul's letter to Timothy and yes, the sentence above encompasses everything I feel. After rising and falling and rising once more in my own spiritual journey and life; after answering then questioning, doubting and learning;I'm more than glad to find back my gift of faith and prayer.

It's simple, really. I think the period of uncertainty and questioning that my school friends and I went through the past few months and one year has been necessary, because before that, faith was too innocent and naive though strong- I feel. My friend once reassured me that the time of questioning is really when we are getting to know and understand our faith more, and the result of all that will be a much more convicted and experienced faith that we can be empowered with. Praise God!

Many people go through these 'dry' periods, where the seeds of God's Word fall on hard, dry soil and cannot grow roots. Many people don't really share either, and sadly, the 'soil' gets more parched day by day. I prefer to call it 'a fight of logic VS faith'- one that I'm increasingly overcoming. I'm thankful for community, for perseverance, for everything and everyone in my faith journey thus far! :)

My aim, at the end of life, is to be able to proclaim boldly St Paul's words of conviction: "I have finished the race; I have kept the faith." I have indeed found back my faith and Jesus is a stabilising force in my life, no doubt about that. Knowing that I'm rooted in Christ is a very powerful tool indeed, for the confidence that I'm filled with due to this knowledge is the fuel I run on, in the race of life.

I pray that anyone reading this will also find, acknowledge and treasure the gift of faith and prayer that God has blessed you with. We're all in this race together, let's finish it with -faith-!

-Hilda.

Dear ZJ,

What Are You Called To Do?

You are the salt of the earth...Matthew 5:13 NIV

Observe: 1) What Bothers You?

Your calling is often connected to what troubles you deeply. For Moses it was the oppression of his people. So God used that, and called Moses to lead his people to freedom. For Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, it was the injustice of a society that enslaved and oppressed African-Americans. So he dreamed, preached, marched organised and boycotted, and the Civil Rights Movement was galvanised.

If you want to discover your calling, begin praying about what troubles you deeply. Usually we try to avoid unpleasantness, but if you have a sense that your calling involves helping the poor, spend time around those in poverty. Allow your heart to be moved, carry within you the conviction that things must change, and keep praying, 'Lord, make me a change agent.'

2) What Your Calling Means

Your calling means God believes in you. When Jesus called His disciples, they didn't look like winners. Jesus picked a doctor, a tax collector and fishermen and said, ''I believe in you. What I know I will teach you.' He promised, ' He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also ' (John 14:12 NKJV). No wonder they left their nets!

Jesus empowered His followers to go out to live as He lived. Today, that's what He is calling you to do.

Adapted from "Word for Today" with Bob Grass

-Hilda.

The Good Shepherd & a Hired Man- Which one would you like to be?

Suddenly, I draw this inspiration from the Gospel reading from the Good Shepherd Sunday. The gospel contrasts clearly between a good shepherd and a hired man. Yes, both of them may serve the church. However the approach and attitudes are very different and thus, the impact on the people and the different fruits they bear.

The hired man as indicated in the gospel ‘abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming’ where ‘he has no concern for the sheep’. Here, the hired man sees himself as being separated from the sheep. When things go smoothly, he is no different from the good shepherd carrying out his duties. However, when difficult times come, this is the very person who will protect himself first since the love for self surpasses the love for God and the sheeps, and take the easiest way out by escaping, not considering the life or death of the sheep. The sheep is not part of him. He is only seeing his duties as jobs without the heart for the well being of the sheep. Definitely, this sheep is never seen as part of himself.

However, the Good Shepherd ‘is one who lays down his life for his sheep’. He is also carrying out his duties as called. These duties are carried out out of love for the sheep. He sees the sheep as so part of himself that he is willing to die to his self centered self to expand his loving world to embrace the sheep as part of himself. Jesus, an example of the Good Shepherd, died through the crucifix in order to break himself to expand this own world into the Catholic (universal) world to share his broken self among the sheeps though He knew that they would betray including Judas who ultimately betrayed Him. This divided body which ironically to be shared among the sheeps brings them into whole complete Love in God. He knew that what He had, He did not own but to be broken and shared among the sheeps. The most wonderful matter is this Love from the Good Shepherd is acted through His death according to his free will in obedience to God’s will.

It’s just a free will on our part if we choose to be a hired man who does the duties seeing them as merely jobs or jobs which self glorify, or a Good Shepherd who carries out the duties out of love for God and people as all of us make up the Body of Christ. This affects our approaches, attitudes towards what we do. This will in turn determine what kinds of fruits we are going to produce. Would you like to be the self being broken for others to share your divided self out of Love for God and the sheeps to bring them into the whole complete Body of Christ or would you be the intact self which is not willing to be broken but dividing the Body of Christ instead?

With Love,
Elena

GOT VOICE?

Dear ZJ,

I saw this cute picture with three frogs lined up in a row, one with mouth shut, one with mouth ajar, and one enthusiastically baring its mouth for all to see. And I thought of ZJ. The slogan in the picture, ‘GOT VOICE?’, is actually a publicity slogan for the rock concert in my school. But to me, it also made me question if as ZJ members, we have our voices, or not.

Voice for what, you might ask? Well, I feel firstly that we can use our voices to voice our ownership of Zion's Joy as our ministry and community. Of course, actions do speak louder than words, but the question is, have we even expressed in words our ownership of ZJ as ours to grow and develop?

Are we proud to voice that we are from Zions Joy, a youth charismatic group in IHM; that we are striving for a deeper relationship with God, particularly the Holy Spirit our advocate? Do we do so? I know I do, to my friends and teachers in school, and they are interested and happy for me. J Thats wonderfully affirming. And can we then translate our enthusiasm as a ZJ member into actions, through outreaching or during session time or stepping up to share and pray… Really, there are so many opportunities to share this love for God! It only depends on whether we want to or not.

On our personal journey with Christ, lets ask ourselves, like I tried asking myself: “ Hilda, got voice?!” (Pardon the broken English.) I was asking myself if I have the voice, and of course the desire too, to praise God or just talk to Him in the midst of my daily life. At school, on the MRT, walking to the bus-stop or home, during the times I feel indifferent about work- I find myself conversing with God, confiding in him about frustrations, fears; thanking him for achievements and happiness; singing a song of praise inside or out loud for the day’s events… Im trying to remind myself to turn to the invisible but present Jesus in my heart as naturally as possible. Hmm, I think I might even talk too much sometimes!

Still, the point is, Im trying to utilize my voice (both inner and outer) to worship God, to share my day with Him, to journey spiritually with Jesus in my heart. Its hard, no doubt, but I'm trying. And I daresay I've got my conscience, thoughts, values and feelings sorted out a lot more clearly through my conversations with Jesus!

So, do we have the voice to talk to God and open ourselves to being a child of God in the midst of the busy world we live in? Actually, those of us who feel so inclined to sing praises to God with our voices might even have an inherent desire to lead in praise and worship or help out in some way to share our joy!

Nevertheless, praising God and praying in humility should really be a natural part of our lives and something we look forward to.

Sounds impossible? Give your voice a try first, really. Try and see, you will enjoy how we become much better people, in tune with our mind and soul, with Jesus leading the way.

May we be bold in using our voices (especially for God’s glory),

Hilda.

Accepting and Loving Faith Community through the Power of the Eucharist

......Over lunch with a friend, she complained to me how she recently left her Catholic community because everyone seemed sanctimonious. For instance, she was told ‘her heavy schedule was no excuse for not doing her spiritual journaling’ before coming for sessions. She felt censured and uncomfortable. Perhaps her faith community was so caught up in doing it ‘right’ that they had forgotten how to be a true faith community – one that accepts, forgives and loves.

......Her story made me recall how there was a mini-exodus of ZJ members during the pioneer years. I asked some of them why they left. Many gave ambiguous answers in the form of sheepish laughter. One particular friend, however, said she left because she felt almost everyone in ZJ appeared to ‘holy-moley’ and seemed to live a holy life when she couldn’t. She also felt that some in community tended to impose judgments on her ‘unholy’ way of life. She was very uncomfortable with the perceived differences.

......The nature of a faith community should always be accepting and loving, never sanctimonious or self-righteous. This is achieved through a common focus on Jesus. If the focus is on Jesus, the fruit of acceptance and love will be hope for all who seek Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 23:8, ‘Only one is your Master and you are all brothers'. Jesus is the same yesterday as He is today. Jesus is one who approaches every kind of person - women and men, the small and the great, the good and the evil - in order to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom with truth, simplicity and love. In Him, a faith community finds the "Way, the Truth and the Life" (Jn 14, 6). The ZJ faith community draws its inspiration, courage and joy from Jesus.

......At the centre of every faith community should be the Eucharist, the source and summit of the life of the Church. If one celebrates and then lives the Eucharist, one makes progress in love of God and neighbor - thus contributing to the building of the Church as communion. For instance, although I do not see eye to eye with some people on many ministry matters, it is the power of Christ that I receive through the Eucharist that allows me to continue to grow and serve alongside them. This is the grace that I continually claim – that my friendships with these people will always be rock-solid as long as I claim the friendships to be built on Christ. It is in the Eucharist that Christ first loved me and continues to do so; therefore, I too, can respond to His Church and my community with love.

......The Eucharist is the foundation of the Church. It is through the Eucharist that Christ unites all the faithful as one body – the Church. My participation in the Eucharist is the foundation that keeps me in the Church. Through Holy Communion, I feel renewed, at peace and this deepens my union with the Church. It is Eucharistic love that motivates acceptance and forgiveness of brothers and sisters in faith community.

......May we always pray for and claim the grace to be a Christ-centered ZJ community that celebrates the Eucharist deeply in everyday living.

-Wilfred-

A precious walk down memory lane with ZJ...

Laughs and smiles on our birthday boys and girls- we love birthdays as well as the cake.

Remember Zj's Ponggol Park session: Colin's ambushing Ah Pun- now, what can be as intriguing as the foot of a tree, really?


A scrumptious dinner at Ryan's house. Mario's not super mario.. He's super hungry mario!

The blue babes act rather cool at the back whilst the good ol guys pose gamely.
Not forgetting our models at the Youth Alive Thanksgiving Dinner- Pun and Zebrina sure made their mark!

Besides the food and fun, our group prayers and intercessions are integral in helping us gain that personal God-experience we all desire. The power of prayer is conveyed through us for we are humble prayer ministers- the hands, feet and mouth of Christ.

Regardless of whether we are in groups, pairs or alone, as long as we have a genuine, selfless and willing heart, the Holy Spirit will move in us and we will pray as we have never prayed before.
Basking in the candlelight as we soak in the joyous atmosphere at the long-awaited Easter Vigil. As we continue to bask in the new life offered to us, we praise God for the gift of Zion's Joy, our faith community!

Love,

Hilda.

Dear ZJ,

The programme for April, as shown in our emails, is encompassed in the entwined circles below!

A trilogy of A Forgotten Love: My Story, His Story, Our Story.

Come and listen to these wonderful stories!