Musings during the Pandemic #25

Being a Catholic follower (by now), I felt more optimistic and motivated in my daily life as well as dealing with my work. I was told by my sponsor to pray the Rosary daily. And I followed his advice to pray every night since then. It felt so great to have the prayers. Self-reflection is important for me since I can realize what I have done by now or in the past.

Let me share with you little things about me. I have a unique Christian name, Jenson, which was given by my mother since I was born. Interesting thing is I was not a Christian at that time. Thus, a lot of my schoolteachers and schoolmates kept asking me “Are you a Christian?” I had asked my mom “Why you gave me this Christian name, but we are not Christian?” She answered me that “It is easier to call by your friends and us”. The fact is that she is a fan of Michael Jackson, so she purposely named me as Jenson.

I was a free thinker and never put my faith on any religion in the past. Instead, I put my faith on my mom. She was my everything, my motivation in studying and working. This was because I am close with my mom. And I do not have much connections with my father since he never cared about our family and they divorced in 2010.

In the year of 2016 (August), this is the moment that I am unwilling to recall it as my mom passed away due to sudden heart failure. My whole life collapsed as I had lost all my faith. I am grateful to have my friends and my beloved one (my fiancé, Janet) to support and bring me out of this saddest moment.

After the saddest period, I started to feel so empty in my life since I had no faith to push me forward. I would be so demotivated in working or doing things. Hence, I decided to plan trips with my best friends. However, I still could recover from it. Until I have a trip with Janet to Shanghai (China), one of our planned destination (St. Ignatius Cathedral, a Roman Catholic Church), when I stepped into the Church, I felt so peaceful and holy while listening the choir. Apart from that, I felt strong connections when I looked at Christ and Holy Mother of Mary statues. This feeling I could not explain it as it felt deeply inside my heart.

I shared my feelings with Janet, and she told me that she has the same feelings when she visited a Roman Catholic church in Krakow, Poland. And then I gradually wanted to know more about Catholic and Christ. At last, we decided to find our college mate for his assistance since we knew he is a Catholic. Therefore, he introduced us to his uncle and aunty who became our current God parents. They guided us a lot on Catholic pathway until we were baptized on 1stApril 2021. It is truly a blessing to have them in my faith journey.

In a nutshell, thanks to God and Christ for giving this opportunity for me to become a true Christian. Amen!

Dear God,Thank you for bringing me into your family of believers and connecting me to my brothers and sisters in Christ. You have a special plan for my life and I will do my very best to fulfill your will in my life and to bring you glory in everything I do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.