Transform & Empower - Pentecost Online Retreat

By: 生命恩泉 Fountain of Love and Life
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  • Summary

  • For 10 days after the Ascension of Jesus, we will journey together and take a look at how the Holy Spirit has transformed the lives of many since the early Church up till now. We will reflect on some of the effects when the Holy Spirit comes in power in our lives. Mother Mary is the first to abide fully in Jesus, and accompanied the apostles to receive the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost. That is why she is the Mother of the Church. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. (Acts 1:14) Let us invite Mother Mary to be with us in the upcoming 10-Day spiritual journey to pray for us for the full release of the Holy Spirit that we have already received, and a deep desire to be in communion with Him. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.
    © 2021《生命恩泉》Fountain of Love and Life, All Rights Reserved.
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Ministry & Evangelism Spirituality
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Episodes
  • Day 10 – The Ultimate Gift

    Day 10 – The Ultimate Gift
    May 23 2021
    We humans like to know our destiny —— where we are going. We are anxious and worried about many things (cf. Luke 10:38-42) because of the uncertainty of what the future may hold. We want more security as a result! As Christians, we want to know our mission on earth —— where we are called to belong, and who we are called to be. But before we know who we should become, we need to know who we are, our true identity. Identities help us define our roles and missions on earth. Our identity defines everything in our lives!Identity is a relational concept. It relates us to others. Since we are created by God and for God, our identity as God’s children and as Christians are our most important identities. That makes growing our relationship with God first and foremost in our priorities in life. Back to the basic question we asked on Day 1 of this retreat: why is there a need to relate to the Holy Spirit?It is because Jesus reveals to us that it is the Holy Spirit’s role to help us relate to God the Father as “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15) And the Spirit intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. (Romans 8:26). As prayer is the most important means for us to relate to God, the Spirit’s role in helping us relate and communicate with God is indispensable if we desire an intimate relationship with God.That is why Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit is the best gift God can ever give us! "And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. … If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:9, 13)The desire to deepen our relationship with God should translate to a deeper desire for the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit is the gateway to the Father’s Heart. That is why Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given you” because God gives us the Spirit to intercede for us, and what the Spirit desires must match the Father’s will. Practically, the Spirit helps us understand the Truth that Jesus taught us (cf. John 14:17) and thus helps us to be holy, conforming us to the image of God. He conveys God’s Word to us and thus helps us make decisions in life and discern our life’s mission. Finally, He also bestows on us supernatural power by granting us different charisms so that we can do greater things as instructed by Jesus (cf. John 14:12).Oftentimes we do not ask God for the right things and we do not ask enough. Asking MORE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT is our best prayer to God because we are asking for something He desires to grant us. On this Pentecost Sunday, let us ask boldly and wisely to receive MORE of the Holy Spirit into our lives. This is the day to immerse ourselves in the Love of God, who is the Holy Spirit. Ask God to bless us with a life-transforming encounter with Him, with as many gifts as He wishes to grant us to be a channel of His love to others, and with divine power to become bold witnesses for Christ to the world. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)With expectant faith, be ready that all of your wishes above will be fulfilled! And you will come out of the baptism in the Holy Spirit a new creation, with confidence and power!Baptism in the Holy Spirit often takes place in a community setting. Community members experience deep bonds of fellowship with brothers and sisters with whom they share a common life in the Spirit. There is a new recognition of our interdependence in the body of Christ, and our obligation to put our gifts at the service of others. (cf. Page 29 of “Baptism in the Holy Spirit” by the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services Doctrinal Commission) Community setting allows members to use, confirm, and collaborate with one another on charisms given by God to each member. In doing so, members can encourage and reinforce one another to be good stewards of the talents God has entrusted to us and to become the best versions of ourselves! That is why the first Pentecost did not happen privately but when they were all together in one place (cf. Acts 2:1-4).It is in the Church as well as faith communities that we can best grow our faith, exercise our love and charisms, and discern and fulfill our missions. Jesus entrusted the Church to His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, through St. John. She is the perfect collaborator of the Holy Spirit as she has completely immersed herself in Him. Let us learn from our Heavenly Mother to be the perfect vessel of God by emptying and surrendering ourselves to God the Holy Spirit every moment of our lives.TRANSFORMED and EMPOWERED: The Greatest Lover and Giver grants us, the Beloved, the Ultimate Gift of all, the Holy Spirit, so that we, TRANSFORMED into Princes and Princesses of our ...
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    12 mins
  • Day 9 – “Surrender” Holds the Key to Abundant Life

    Day 9 – “Surrender” Holds the Key to Abundant Life
    May 22 2021
    When we think of the Holy Spirit, let’s call to mind one word: MORE! He is someone who desires one thing for us: MORE GOODNESS. And He does it without reservation and hesitation, and without cost. He lets nothing stop Him from granting everything we need to lead an abundant life, to ride out the storms of life, to be a faithful follower of Christ, to accomplish the Father’s will and missions for us in life, and ultimately to become who God wants us to be. And He accomplishes all of the above by first leading us to a more intimate relationship with the Father and Jesus. That is the HEART of everything! The Spirit, who is LOVE Himself, likes to fill our cups to the brim so that God’s love and power for us can overflow to those around us. That’s the Spirit’s work on each one of us personally because everyone of us is precious and unique to Him.However, the Holy Spirit can only give to us up to the capacity we are able to receive. When we are filled and occupied with things other than those from God the Father and the Son, we leave no space for LOVE Himself, and as a result, we leave no space for all the GOODNESS that the Spirit has in store for us. It is an act of our will to either surrender ours to the Spirit, or we deprive ourselves of the will of Him who desires to give us the very best!SURRENDER becomes the key word here, a word that few people like. As Christ followers, it means letting go of one’s desires to seek and embrace the will of God. It involves our surrender to the lordship of Jesus, just as Jesus did to God the Father when He embraced His Father’s will to die for us on the cross. We should place Jesus in the first place and at the centre of our lives just as Jesus did to His Father, especially during His public ministry. Acknowledging and repenting from our sins unlocks the first door towards a genuine surrender to the lordship of Jesus. As we turn to God and surrender our lives, the Spirit fills us with new life. Jesus said to us “He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38)True surrender is not simply surrendering of exterior things, but to surrender our will. While God desires that we surrender our will to Him because it is for our own benefit, He never imposes His desire upon us. This is the basis of His unconditional love for us. To surrender means to stop resisting and start submitting; to hide or fight no more but to empty oneself to make room for the Spirit to act. It requires us to let go of taking control of our lives. It necessitates a humble acceptance on our part that we just cannot control the outcomes of so many things in life. To waste time wrestling with them will only escalate our stress level and make us worry about too many things (cf. Luke 10:38-42). We will feel a huge relief and a renewed freedom when we refuse to grapple with things that we cannot change. The more areas we allow the Spirit to take over, including those areas we think we can control, the easier our lives will become. The resulting growth of our faith in God transforms us into a person who lives in the moment to savor life more fully, radiates with joy and gratitude as we feel the wonders of God more readily, acts tenderly out of love rather than fear, and cooperates more completely with the Spirit to do the Father’s will.After all, surrender is not just a concept but a lifestyle. It is about our decision to make Jesus Lord and King of our lives. The moment we take Christ off His throne in our hearts, we limit the Spirit’s power and influence in our lives. The process of surrendering requires us to first place Jesus at the centre of our lives, to obey Jesus by keeping His commandments, and then to permit the Spirit to take control of our lives. Everything should begin with a humble and penitent heart, together with a deep desire to abide in the Father as His beloved child.Like everything else that is worth doing, there is a price to pay in choosing to surrender. But since our God is a faithful God, we should not be afraid but be courageous in entrusting God with every outcome that He permits. If He did not spare His only begotten Son, there is absolutely nothing that prevents Him from giving us His best! His love for us never fails!Surrender is the only way to walk intimately with God. Let us strive to maintain an unbroken fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit.REFLECTIONWhere in your life is God asking you to surrender?Is there anything in your life that is bigger than God?TODAY’S PRAYERLoving Father, I surrender to You today with all my heart and soul. Please come into my heart in a deeper way. I say “Yes” to You today. I open all the secret places of my heart to You and say, “Come on in.” Jesus You are the Lord of my whole life. I believe in You and receive You as my Lord and Saviour. I hold nothing back. Holy Spirit, bring me to deeper conversion to the person of Jesus Christ....
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    13 mins
  • Day 8 – The Spirit Empowers Us to Serve Others

    Day 8 – The Spirit Empowers Us to Serve Others
    May 20 2021
    Yesterday our theme was “The Spirit Empowers Us to Witness for Christ” and today’s theme is “The Spirit Empowers Us to Serve Others”. In fact, these are the two great commissions by Jesus to us as His followers. He did not leave us to figure out how to accomplish those two missions on our own. He has given us His Spirit to guide us and to empower us along the way. In witnessing for Christ, the Spirit leads us to encounter Jesus and the Father, and by sharing with others our ENCOUNTERS with God, we evangelize most effectively. In serving others, Jesus grants us service gifts through the Holy Spirit to provide us the resources and power so that we can serve one another effectively. These are the two major dimensions of how the Spirit empowers us in life.Today, we will focus on these service gifts. Service gifts, or “Charisms”, are by nature other-focused instead of self-serving. Please note that these are not the same as the seven “Sanctifying Gifts” (Isaiah 11) that we received in Baptism and Confirmation. While those seven sanctifying gifts are meant to make us holy by completing and perfecting the virtues of those who receive them (cf. CCC 1830-1831), service gifts are meant to be used for serving others, and in doing so, lead others to Christ in a way that is beyond our natural human abilities. While there are only seven sanctifying gifts, there are a great variety of service gifts that the Spirit can give us. These charisms are freely and uniquely given to each of us, rather than the same set of gifts being given to everyone. The Spirit distributes these gifts according to our roles, missions and needs. There are service gifts that are extraordinary in nature, for example, miracles, prophecies, healing, tongues, etc., or seemingly ordinary gifts, such as, hospitality, encouragement, pastoring, teaching, etc., that, when exercised, are supernaturally empowered and effective in bringing about God’s love and purposes. “To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:8-10)It is important to note that charisms are not indicators of how holy we are, no matter how spectacular it seems when we exercise those charisms. As we grow in our relationship with the Lord and follow the prompting of the Spirit, we learn to become more effective channels of God’s power and love for others. As gifts, charisms cannot be acquired through our own efforts. Instead, we should discover the gifts that the Lord has already given us. By discovering, discerning and putting into practice the unique combination of service gifts that the Spirit has given us, we can fulfill the missions that God has called us to accomplish.As charisms are gifts and not indications of our accomplishments or level of holiness, we should not be shy to ask for gifts should there be needs in a community that are not fulfilled. It is not prideful for us to ask the Spirit for gifts in order to serve others, nor does it imply that we are not content with the gifts we have already been given. St. Paul said, “Make love your aim and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.” (1 Corinthians 14:1) What St. Paul was teaching us is that as long as we are motivated by love, that we sincerely desire to serve others out of love instead of for personal gain, we should ask the Spirit for more gifts. God willing, He will grant us the gifts we need to serve others and let them experience His great love and power.After all, St. Paul told us that we are in the same Body of Christ. God does not entrust us with individual missions that are disconnected from other members of the community. We are not called to work on individual projects. Just as body parts are given unique abilities to function well to serve the whole body, the missions and functions assigned to us are part of the bigger picture, the shared vision to build the Kingdom of God within the cities of men. There is no differentiation of classes or ranks within this One Body. We are all equal in God’s eyes. Flowing through the Body is LOVE. It is Love, who is the Spirit, that bonds us together! Jesus, being the Head and the Commander in Chief, gives orders to us according to the Father’s will. Everyone works with the rest of the members in harmony, with respect and love for one another. The Holy Spirit acts like the nerves, or communication system within the body, carrying the signals from the head to each of us, and like the circulatory system, bringing us the necessary nourishment to sustain us in life through trials and tribulations, or even persecutions. If we detach ourselves from the body, which consists of the head ...
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    13 mins

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