“Fix your eyes on Jesus, press on, bear fruit”
By Rose Ampon (ICM NSW Coordinator)
Day two started with our much-awaited banner and praise parade, where members from each State, after weeks of preparations, showed their interpretation, through dance or drama, of the theme of the year “Fix your eyes on Jesus, press on, bear fruit”.
The day was full packed with talks, praise and worship and the social night. After a praise and worship led by Bro. Eric Juanta, FM coordinator for South Australia (SA), we listened to the first talk on “One Way: Jesus” from our Sis. Margarita McMahon, the HOLD National Coordinator from South Australia.
Her talk focussed on how we can fix our eyes on Jesus. She spoke about the five virtues (SUPER) that we can adapt so we can rest in Jesus’ presence and endure trials that we encounter: S – spiritual stability, U – true Unity, P – Perfect Peace, E – consistent Effectiveness, R - Remarkable Resilience. She also reminded us that we will SINK (S – Sin, I – Isolation, N – Negativity, K – Knocked out) if we do not fix our eyes on Jesus.
Brother Bobby Mathew, a member of the NC-CFCA from Victoria and director of the Family Ministry (FM) portfolio, spoke on “One Desire: To be Holy”. His talk was based on the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church 27; “The desire for God is written in our hearts, because we are created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw us to himself.
Only in God will we find the truth and happiness we never stop searching for.” But as much as we desire for God, habitual sins, temptations and subtle distractions hinder us from truly experiencing Him. Spiritual focus is the antidote to those.
The afternoon session was opened by a praise and worship led by Bro. Ed Cablao from Victoria, member of the NC-CFCA and director of the Pastoral Care and Support (PCS) portfolio.
Talk 3 on “One Choice: God’s Will” was presented by Bro. Raj Rajasingam, member of the NC-CFCA from NSW and our Evangelisation and Mission director. His talk delved on ways we can discern God’s plans for each one of us. When we are presented by difficult decisions, we should practice a “prayerful discernment of spirits” and have an attitude of total trust and surrender towards God.
To keep the high energy generated by the Holy Spirit, a PraiseFest followed. Led by Bro Vitt Lim, head of the North Cluster in NSW, everyone was singing and dancing, praising and praying to God and praying for each other.
After the talks, the delegates gathered for the “Time Travellers’ Ball”. With everyone dressed up in their state’s period (HOLD “Stone age”, Tasmania “Time of Jesus”, Western Australia “Asian Dynasties”, Queensland “Middle Ages”, NSW “War and the Roaring ‘20s”, Victoria “Retro and Hippie” and SA “Futuristic”) everybody literally had a ball, admiring the costumes, listening, and watching all the performances and dancing the night away.
***Photos taken by Cyril Asuncion***
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