Week 1: Church groups for you and me

When I read the first topic, I was nervous and also relieved. I belong only to a Church group, Legion of Mary. Therefore, I don't have any option, but to write about it. Although Legion of Mary is not very popular among the youth, but if I didn't join the Legion of Mary, I may still be a Catetaria Catholic or even lapsed Catholic. So here you find my journey of faith in the Legion of Mary.

My dad was murdered in 1998. Not long after that, I became a lapsed Catholic; I went clubbing weekly, didn't go to church, didn't pray, I was even doubting the existence of God, because the suffering I experienced in my early life.

One night in June 2003, I dreamt about something that changed my life forever. In my dream, I was given a Rosary, so it's very specific calling to me; I had to find my way back to the Catholic Church. I was 18 years old, no Catholic friends and I've never been to a Catholic Church in Singapore, what should I do?

When God calls you, He will help you to answer His calling. A little research on the Internet, I was able to find the Indonesian Community in Singapore. Three months later I was in the Legion of Mary. As I mentioned above, I felt that I was called by the Blessed Virgin Mary to return to the Church, so the Legion of Mary could be the perfect Church group for me.

The legionaries are given allocated works weekly. Usually we go in pairs. My praesidium's priority is for Indonesian Catholic patients who come to Singapore for medication. At first, it was so difficult for me to go, because we have to do spontaneous prayer. You all know that I was just returned to the Church, so I couldn't pray at all. I remember once, my partner wanted me to pray after him. So after he finished his part, he waited for me to continue. I was stubborn enough not to say a single word for few minutes! I always cringe whenever I remember that moment.

In the past, I always thought that I was the smartest and the most efficient and effective legionary in my praesidium and often looked down on other members who couldn't do better than me. I didn't realise that I was blinded by pride. One day, I read a quotation by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

...when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, He will not ask, "How many good things have you done in your life?," rather He will ask, "How much love did you put into what you did?"

It was a slap on my face, because all this time, I felt good that I could do so much good thing, God must be proud of me. I was wrong! I changed the way I do things. I no longer look for efficiency and effectiveness in the Church ministry, but how much love I put into everything that I do. I learnt to respect other people, not because of what they can do, but as God's children. I became a better person and more loving towards others. My prayer life is improving tremendously. I think another reason why my praesidium is very strong because we have excellent officers who really put their heart and soul into it. They are the leaders but they have the heart of servants. Thus, they are the role models for other members.

I'm finally able to understand the different between Church ministry and social work. I do Church ministry because I experience God's amazing love in my life, hence I want others to feel His love also.

There are many Church groups; Youth ministry, Media ministry, Family Life, etc. These are to cater to different people. God calls us to serve His kingdom and He has given us the specific charisms for that; some people are gifted with beautiful voices, thus they can serve better as choirs. Some people are IT savvy, which enable them to do better in the media ministry. All of us have different calling, we should not feel discourage if we have different talents from our friends. Honestly, if I were to join the choir, I will definitely be uncomfortable because I will be an embarrassment to the choir group and I think many parishioners will avoid the mass that I'm in, because I'm just not gifted with a decent voice!

We must remember that, despite many Church groups, there is only one goal for all the Church groups, which is to glorify God by doing what Jesus commanded the disciples 2,000 years ago, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Matt 28:19-20).