Keningau SS holds recollection on Eucharist

KENINGAU – KSFX Parish Sunday School held a recollection themed “Knowing and loving the Eucharist” at Dataran Keuskupan Keningau on 10 Jan 2015.  The 333 participants, who attended the recollection, were catechumen candidates under the care of the KSFX Parish.  The recollection sessions were presented by Bishop Cornelius Piong and Seminarian Wilfred, and constituted as part of the program to assist the faithful of the diocese to live out the Diocesan theme for 2015.

In his session, Bishop Cornelius Piong presented the meaning and way of celebrating the Eucharist, which is spiritual food for the faithful.  The faithful coming into the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist must come from a deep yearning from the heart to be united with Jesus who is the Source and Summit of their life, and not as an enforcement.

The prelate shared his own experience when he was first ordained as a priest, and how he spent his whole time to discover the wealth and richness contained in the Eucharist.  When he became a bishop, he feels the onus on him to educate, teach and lead the faithful towards a deeper sense of knowing, loving and worshipping the Lord in the Eucharist.

In winding up his session, he pleaded with the faithful and urged them, “Let us come to the Eucharist on Sunday not because it is a Church’s law, but that we come because it is in the Eucharist that we encounter Christ.”

In his turn, Seminarian Wilfred brought the participants to know the Eucharist from the historical roots: the institution, symbols and why it is the Source and Summit of the life of a Christian.

The objective of the recollection was not aimed at giving the participants a theologized account of the Eucharist but as an experiential experience to open the eyes of their heart to know and love Jesus in the small piece of Consecrated Host.

One way to enable the participants to better assimilate the knowledge received was to talk about it and to share their experience in small groups.  These small group sharing would in turn serve as their life’s testimony to spread the love of the Eucharist.  As catechumens, the new found knowledge would better prepare them to accept Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer.  Their growth in faith would continue to deepen as the Holy Spirit enlivens their knowledge received from such recollections.

The recollection ended with a lunch fellowship and the catechumens came away with a sense of gratefulness to God for this faith-building experience from the onset of the new year, which has served to heighten their longing to receive Him in the small Consecrated Host. – Aldrin Benedict/CS