A year. A Soldier Of Christ.

4th December 2006 marks the one year ‘anniversary’ of me being a confirmed catholic. And it’s not about the celebrating that matters. It’s what i felt.

Well, a lot of confirmants make a HUGE deal out of their confirmation… Dress up, look good, invite everyone over for their party, blah blah blah. I agree that it’s great to celebrate. But do most of these people actually live lives of a catholic? I do see some, but very few. Five to seven per batch of confirmants?

Pin-pointing isn’t the main objective of this post.

And I shall proceed to my journey with God this year…

This entire year has been rough, in church. There were smooth times of course. Whatever doesn’t kill me will make me stronger.

As a confirmed catholic, I felt that my fellow parishioners expected more from me. Simply put it, NO ROOM FOR MISTAKES NAT.

I felt that I should not have said that I was ready for confirmation, only because I was confirmed with a COLD HEART. I guess that happens to a lot of people.

But I thank God for that too, I was forced to live up to certain expectations and I was put in-charge of a lot more church activities. It got on my nerve for a while, but I came to a realisation that ‘age’ comes with responsibility.

The first half of the year, I was without catechism class, and I felt that my knowledge of God and the church was slowly draining away. I hadn’t formed any form of close relationship with God… YET. And it was only choir and Legion of Mary bringing me back to church. And I actually have to thank these two groups. If not for them, I wouldn’t even have bothered attending mass.
And it’s also thanks to these two groups that I felt a part of the church.

I thought for a moment that I would slowly fade away… And never keep my promises to my catechist, Uncle Richard. I promised that I would lead the youth in church to greater heights. WOW. Noble mission.

And then, one fine day in June, 4th June. My journey with God took a turn. Some young lady dressed in a brown top and a skirt approached me with an orange card. It said “Into Marvellous Light”. The moment I saw this, I thought “what crap is this mann”. But I decided to give it a listen, and this person (Lydia) introduced me to Youth In the Spirit Seminar (YISS). She promised (another promise here) that my life would change. Haha, I took the risk. $40 for 4 days, and plus AWAY from home. What’s better than that?

I went thru YISS. It was GREAT! Click here for experience.
And I joined Amplify, where my life found its meaning.
Friends who support you, sessions which make you, fellowship that bonds you with other soldiers of Christ.. And a God which loves you.

After joining Amplify, I admit to not spending enough time in Blessed Sacrament, the place where I first learnt about God. My number of weekday masses I attend has dropped drastically, and my level of service is now half of what I used to do. It is after all my parish, I know almost everything about that church, even the aunties and uncles who always praise my singing. Thank God for them.

However, this past half a year in Amplify has been great. I’ve formed a very intimate relationship with God, and I no longer blame Him for all the bad things that happen to me, like how I used to.
And this is one thing which I learnt, the hard way. That God created suffering for only one reason, for us to GLORIFY his name.

The memories at Amplify are priceless.

Being a CONFIRMED Catholic to me meant that I was to go forth and evangelise. I was to spread the Good News. And Oh wow. How was I, a 14 year old, supposed to do that?
Unknowingly, I have already done that. I worked through actions, not word. Personal relationships with people who do not know God that well, and just loving them with all I can, the joy I felt in me was simply great.

I’ve gone on a few journeys in the past 5 months. YISS, CJC JC1 Catholic Retreat, SJC Confi Camp.
And I can safely say, though YOUNG, I’ve made a difference, because of the Holy Spirit.

And I shall continue to work in ways which no other has worked before. Only because I am a SOLDIER OF CHRIST. And I will Love God and all His creation with all my being.