Author: Amelia Apsari

God of All Comfort

Posted on by Amelia Apsari

Orang bilang kalau seorang pemimpin haruslah bisa menjadi teladan bagi anggota-anggotanya, dan prinsip inilah juga diterapkan kepada para servant leaders di AmoreDio. Teman-teman yang menjadi servant leaders diharapkan untuk bisa mendalami iman Katolik mereka dengan lebih lagi, melalui devosi harian, datang ke seminar / acara-acara Katolik, dan recently dengan membaca buku-buku yang berhubungan dengan Katolisasi.

Beberapa bulan lalu kami membuat video singkat tentang buku yang kami baca. Udah liat belum videonya? Check them out on our Youtube channel if you haven’t already! 🙂

Nah, untuk sesi review dan sharing buku v2.0 ini, kami tidak melakukannya melalui video melainkan tulisan. Yuk kita simak bersama-sama ulasan buku yang pertama dari teman kita Rani:

Book title: God of All Comfort
Author: Hannah Whitall Smith

Memorable quote: “Because of His unfathomable love, the God of love, when He sees His children resting their souls on things that can be shaken, must remove those things from their lives in order that they may be driven to rest only on the things that cannot be shaken.” (page 100)

Siapa sih yang nggak guilty of holding on to something / some activities / someone yang kadang ngejauhin kita dari Tuhan? Entah itu too much addiction with games / online shopping, too much browsing on Instagram / social media, too much involved dengan negative vibes colleagues, etc. sampe kita sendiri ga punya waktu or worst, turn against God.  Passage ini terutama act as wake up call for me, karena beberapa bulan terakhir my work consumes my time so much yang membuat gue jauh dari Tuhan.

Berdoa sering ketiduran, waktu morning devotion juga sangat tight, kadang nggak selesai / setengah hati, serving di ministry juga berkurang, dan setiap kamis sekarang I hardly go to cell group because I work overtime everyday. I literally barely have time for myself, let alone God. Nggak cuma time aja, I’ve also turned into someone whose impatient, bitch easily, and worst of all, unable to serve my family which was my goal in the first place.

I guess logically kita semua tau kalo kita mesti get rid of things yang bikin kita menjauh dr Tuhan. Tapi susah ya dilaksanakan? Like the above example, I know the solution is easy. Just quit the job, right? Tapi the enemy selalu saja bisa manipulate and tempt us;- there’s ego inside me that insist that I can overcome this, stop being a pussy and just suck up, and I know I will prove myself that I’m capable of doing well in this job – there’s worry and doubt inside; what’s gonna happen if I’m unemployed? Will I find another job easily? Should i stay in Indo? Or should I head back to Singapore / Australia? What’s gonna happen with my family? etc.

Indeed, the devil is the mastermind of evil acts that pull ourselves away from the Lord. Apalagi di masa2 lengah dan trial and when you’re so far away from God. 

But I noticed that it all comes back to trust and surrender to Him. There is only one permanent, unshakeable, immovable factor in our lives and that’s God and our relationship to Him. That I must “depend on the Lord and His strength and always seek Him for help” (1 Chronicles 16:11). After all, even Heavenly Father look after birds and grass, who do not labor or spin (Matthew 6:25-34). 

That I should take courage to leave behind or remove things/people that further my distance to God, because when I “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt 6:33).

I’m so blessed that even in these trials God still equipped me with angels: there are friends who fervently pray hard for my faith (2 of my friends encouraged me to do morning devotion of Litany of Trust), that He always found me (again and again) when I’m lost.  

So in this new year, I decided to quit my job; enrolled myself in retreat at the end of January, and serve my family (so they can get to know God more). I trust that He will provide my needs, I trust that He will lead me to things that He has planned for me… on top of the overwhelming peace I felt, I’m super stoked and excited of the new chapters He will bring!

What Should I Do in Adoration?

Posted on by Amelia Apsari

(Image taken from Life Teen)

Entering an adoration room for the first time can be a calming and yet a little intimidating experience at the same time. Not because we fear being with Jesus in prayer, but rather wondering what should we do when we are in the room.

As we aim to be closer to God and to be more like Him in our everyday lives, Adoration is a perfect time to sit in silence, to reflect and to pray. It’s when we put ourselves in the presence of the Lord that we learn to listen and open ourselves to His Grace that flows from the Blessed Sacrament.

Back to the question – what should one do in adoration? To help you with that, here are a few suggestions for your next trip to the Adoration room:

  1. Slowly read Sacred Scripture until something hits you. Then listen.
  2. Say the Holy Rosary.
  3. If you can’t say 15 decades, say five decades.
  4. If you can’t say five decades, say one decade (something like what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has mentioned)..
  5. If you can’t say one decade, say one Hail Mary very slowly.
  6. If you can’t say one Hail Mary, say “Holy Mary”, like a little child saying “Momma”.
  7. Pray as you can, not as you can’t.
  8. Look at the Good God, and let Him look at you.
  9. Consider that the Sacred Body of Jesus came from Holy Mary. Thank her.
  10. Tell Jesus something that made you happy. Then listen.
  11. Tell Him what you are afraid of. Then listen.
  12. Tell Him what angers you. Then listen.
  13. Speak about your loved ones.
  14. Pray for an enemy.
  15. Talk with Him about work.
  16. Pray to St. Joseph for a happy death.
  17. Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
  18. Sing a song for Him in your heart.
  19. Promise to trust Him.
  20. See the Blessed Virgin kneeling next to you, adoring her Son and praying with you.
  21. Realise that your Holy Guardian Angel is with you. Ask him to coach you in holiness.
  22. Renew your loyalty to His Church.
  23. Ask your patron saint to pray for you to know and do God’s Will.
  24. Lean on Him. Tell Him you love Him.
  25. Thank Him for the Sacraments.
  26. For a time, don’t DO anything. Be with Him, as a friend, while He works.
  27. Ask Him if that is perhaps what he wants you to “do” more often.
  28. Tell Him your failures. Ask for help. Then listen.
  29. Slowly recite the Beatitudes.
  30. Say one Our Father slowly.
  31. Say the Creed slowly.
  32. Slowly recite a favourite psalm. Perhaps Psalm 50 (51), the Miserere, one or two lines at a time.
  33. Pray for a great love of the Cross.
  34. See Our Lord in His Passion…stand there, with Him, as Our Lady does.
  35. Lean into the hurricane of graces coming from the monstrance.
  36. Consider the blinding Uncreated Light shining out from Him.
  37. Be aware that He is sending out graces to the world right then through you.
  38. Pray the ‘Jesus Prayer’: Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
  39. Pray Jesus, mercy… and listen. Pray Mercy, Jesus… and listen.
  40. Tell Him: Jesus, I trust in You…strengthen my trust.
  41. Ask Him: Lord, what do you what me to do? And how do you want me to do it?
  42. Ask Him to show you the next step.
  43. Talk to Him heart to Heart.
  44. Pray for the Holy Father.
  45. Pray for vocations.
  46. Look at yourself. Count your gifts. Then thank Him.
  47. Pray for the world.
  48. Enjoy just being in His Presence.

(List taken from article originally appeared on Catholic.sg)