Participants were invited to think about the power of silence during an Advent recollection organised by the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service on December 10 at the Caritas Hall in Caine Road.
The theme for the day was “Come Holy Spirit Move in Power” with invited guest speaker, Dominican Father James Dominic Rooney.
About 150 people attended the recollection and most were members of the different Englsh-speaking communities and a few from the Chinese group.
The afternoon kicked off with the audience joining in a praise and worship session led by Loved Flock Catholic Charismatic Renewal Ministries.
Father Rooney is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Albert the Great (Chicago, IL) . He is an assistant professor of philosophy at Hong Kong Baptist University and his work is primarily in metaphysics, medieval philosophy, Chinese philosophy, philosophy of religion and political philosophy.
“Silence is hard but necessary,” he said as he started his talk.
He continued to say that when we think of silence, we think of it as an absence of noise. While saying that silence is different from being empty-headed, he said silence is important for our relationship with God as it is an activity focussing on God. “Silence is an intention. It involves absence of distraction, absence of emotions in any kind,” he said. One must focused without distraction so that the fruits of the Holy Spirit can act within us, and this produces peace and joy. He also mentioned that perfect silence can be compatible with speech.
The recollection concluded with a Mass celebrated by Father Rooney and Father Jay Flandez, chaplain for Filipinos. SE
