Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Your every act should be done with love. ~1 Corinthians 16:13-14
THE verse spells out St. Paul's words of encouragement to the believers in Corinth, following the crisis the Church there was experiencing. It is also the anchor verse of Couples for Christ's theme for 2017—'Stand firm in the faith'.
The CFC Handmaids of the Lord expressed this firmness in the faith by offering the one thing that will make sure they respond to the call stated in the letter to the Corinthians—their hearts. Thus, their International Conference (ICon) for 2017 had a theme that was fully expressive of their commitment to Jesus: “My heart in Your hands”.
About 6,700 HOLD leaders and members from 24 countries and all over the Philippines converged at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City, Rizal over the weekend of April 21 to 23 for the 24thHOLD ICon, eager to learn and ready to entrust their hearts to God.
The ICON opened with the HOLD on-Tour fellowship night on Friday, April 21. As Edythe Avendaño, HOLD International Coordinator put it, the occasion is the one time when the Lord gathers thousands of women from the different corners of the world to have fellowship, as well as to experience love and friendship.
Playing tour attendant, Heidi Magnaye of MM North B gave the delegates a guided tour of Africa, Europe, Oceania, the Americas, and Asia via the songs and dances prepared by HOLD members from the various areas in the Philippines, the entire evening culminating in the singing of “It’s A Small World”.
The celebration of the Mass ushered in the second day, followed immediately by the first session titled Journey of Faith with Avendaño as the speaker. She described faith, like life, as a journey, progressing from one stage to another until one reaches the final destination.
In one’s journey of faith, one must first come to the faith, either by being born into it, by man’s search for God (like the Magi), out of curiosity (like the shepherds during the Nativity), by taking that so-called leap of faith, through God’s extraordinary ways, like what happened to St. Paul, or through the witnessing of those who follow and serve God.
But no matter how one discovers the faith, it is only the first step. A person must move further and understand the faith, its truths and traditions in order to progress in one’s relationship with God and live an authentic Christian life.
Quoting Pope Francis in the encyclical Lumen Fidei, Avendaño shared that “if we want to understand what faith is, we need to follow the route it has taken, the path trodden by believers, as witnessed first in the Old Testament.” (LF1:8) This statement brings to mind Abraham as the model, who personified the four pathways of faith: trusting, believing, following and hoping.
Avendaño also mentioned the truths of faith, as embodied in the Apostles’ Creed, the very foundation of the Catholic faith.As a final reminder, Avendaño echoed Pope Francis’ suggestion of not taking the journey of faith alone, but with others—with one’s family, priests, catechists, teachers, communities—all those who touch one’s Christian life.
“And let us not forget that leading us in this journey is Jesus Himself, our Shepherdguide,” she emphasized.
In the next session, Norma Borja, the Continent Coordinator for HOLD Europe, discussed Crisis in Faith, taking into account the impediments to faith found in the letter to the Galatians (5:19-21). However, these struggles and challenges described as happening in biblical times also occur in the present time, making one’s faith journey seem difficult.
Among the crises happening in the world today are the challenges to the truths and practices of the faith (attacks on the family, aversion to suffering and sacrifice, Catholics in authority failing to practice the faith in the face of popular opinion, technology, war, indifference, secularism, moral relativism, the culture of death, to name a few).
At the end of the session, Borja posed this challenge: “Shall we allow our faith to continue being in crisis, leading to its eventual death? Or should we rise to the challenge, stand firm in the faith and protect, defend, and practice our faith no matter what the cost?”
In the third session, Imelda Pagdilao, Regional Coordinator for HOLD Central Europe, spoke of Staying the Courseand reminded the participants that after knowing the challenges to one’s faith journey, they should learn how to stand firm amid the hindrances by looking back and reviewing the 4Ds of spiritual warfare: deception, division, diversion, discouragement.
Why? Because knowing how the enemy works will help remind everyone what he or she needs to guard against. Prayers, the sacraments, knowing and understanding the traditions of the Church and traditions of the family are the non-negotiables the faithful must hold on to in understanding the faith and preparing them to defend what they believe in.
Like Joshua, whose courage came from his full trust in God’s promises when he led the Israelites to battle, or Peter, who after receiving Jesus’ unconditional love and forgiveness, was emboldened to proclaim the Good News, one engaged in spiritual battle must “be courageous, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13b). Such was the premise in the fourth session titled Warriors on Our Knees, delivered by Bernie Cuevas, Country Coordinator for HOLD China.
Cuevas described the four enemies of courage: excessive fear, sloth or laziness, fatigue, and loneliness. These can hinder an individual from moving forward, preventing him or her from pursuing the good.
Developing Christian courage is akin to a body-builder who strives to develop his muscles, in order to develop his physical strength. However, Christian courage is more than brawn. It is developing the strength of mind and heart to make a sacrifice, willingly undergo suffering or risk danger for the sake of doing the will of God and overcoming evil with good.
Cuevas concludes, “Courage not only helps our faith to grow strong, it also stops us from giving up and running away when we need to stay the course.”
The final session, titled My Heart in Your Hands, was given by Didi Galsim, Continent Coordinator for HOLD Americas. She emphasized the five important commands given by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14: Be on guard; Stand firm in the faith; Be courageous; Be strong; Your every act should be done in love.
Galsim stressed that in a spiritual battle, love is the weapon of choice. Love for God and others—these are needed to battle for God’s kingdom. This kind of love builds up unity among the people of God, expands the kingdom, liberates people from sin and evil, and transforms and saves souls. In a word, it can be described as agape.
It is likewise a call to serve. And despite the frustrations, fatigue and discouragement agape may seem to bring, Jesus is ever ready to say, “My child, give Me your heart.”
Galsim asked, “What does giving your heart to God mean? What would it entail?” With Joshua as example, Galsim enumerated the following qualities of the young warrior: Joshua had a hunger for God’s presence and glory; he enjoyed an intimate relationship with Him; because of this intimate relationship, whenever God spoke to Joshua, he heard clearly and obeyed.
Like Joshua, every Handmaid can enjoy the same intimacy with the Lord by giving Him her heart. Offering one’s heart into the wounded hands of Jesus calls for having a deep prayer life, total obedience in God, union with Him in the Eucharist, and a life of service to others. (Alma Arvarez)