Welcome into His Presence

by Marcia Lawrence

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On April 26 and 27, 2019 the annual Nelson Diocese Charismatic Conference

took place at Christ the Servant Parish, Cranbrook, with John Connelly, of

Sacred Mission Today, as the guest speaker. To open the conference, Father

Obi of Creston presided at mass, co-concelebrated by Fathers John Kellogg

and Harry Clarke. Following mass, the priests and prayer teams offered

prayers for healing to individuals who requested them.  

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                     Speaking at the mass, Fr. Sylvester said, Christ's resurrection began when he forgave while   

                     on the cross; “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”(Luke 23:34) This forgiveness

                     included his close friends and family who deserted and denied Him; this caused them to be

                     wounded too, with guilt and fear. Though Jesus still had the wounds of Good Friday, those

                     hands prepared breakfast at his “post-resurrection” appearance, to feed His disciples. He

                     continues to feed us with his own precious body and blood.

                     Though the wounds from those closest to us can hurt the most; Christ calls us to that same

                     forgiveness in our families. The Lord won the victory over sin and death and he will heal us.

                     Peace be with you is the Lord's message for all.

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                     John Connelly's message was: “We have a ‘God-sized’ void in us that

                     needs to be filled with the Presence of Jesus. We must learn to walk

                     in the presence of Jesus and teach others to do the same. This

                     presence of Christ heals us; the truth is, that a third of the gospels

                     are devoted to the healings of our Lord. The ultimate sacrifice of

Jesus, His total ‘letting-go’ of His life, saves the world. He wants us to imitate that

‘letting-go’ into His presence, so He can continue to save the world through us.

“Without me you can do nothing” or “NADA” as John of the Cross puts it. Sin

makes us spiritually blind and creates the illusion that we are somehow separate from

God; the truth is we are utterly and completely dependant on the almighty for everything.

We heard that we are all called to be saints and then Mr. Connelly provided prayer strategies, which were used by the Saints to grow in the spiritual life. Each prayer is to be used daily and is summed up with a Latin word title. His advice is to begin by spending five minutes on each prayer and eventually lengthen the total time spent to an hour. The catechism of the Catholic Church says, “Every Catholic should practice contemplation for one hour a day.” John’s prayer card is attached to this article and is summarized in the following paragraph.

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                                              The prayers are as follows: Oblatio, Meditatio, Contemplatio, Missio, and

                                              Examino. OBLATIO is to surrender all to the Holy Spirit in humility, thanksgiving

                                              and praise. “MEDITATIO” is to listen with love to what the Lord is saying to me

                                              when I read, meditate, and dialogue with him. CONTEMPLATIO is resting in the

                                              heart of Jesus; your heart and his together. This involves attentiveness,

                                              worship and communion. MISSIO is to love all the people of the earth, through

                                              intercession, evangelization and blessing. EXAMINO is an evaluation of your day by examining your conscience and asking these questions. Did I love today? Where did I fail in love? What areas need to be confessed? Where does my life need healing?

John stressed that the time spent with JESUS in prayer is more important than doing it exactly according to formula; and this is from me and not from John; Jesus does 99% when we sit down with him to our 1% effort so we can't fail when we give that time to him. If you wish to explore these teachings more fully you can contact John at: sacredmissiontoday@gmail.com

               “It is prayer which roots us in this truth. It constantly reminds us of the primacy of

Christ and in union with him, the primacy of the interior life.”

                Prayer teams were available after the healing mass and throughout the weekend;

exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, confessions , refreshments and a lovely luncheon hosted by the parish C.W.L. were a few of the many moments of this wonderful conference. Next year's April Charismatic conference for Nelson diocese will be in Summerland with Fr. Nathasingh from Trinidad. Amenski!

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Marcia Lawrence is a leader in

Our Lady of Lourdes Prayer Group

in West Kelowna.

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