A Retreat For Leaders by Fr. Rufus Pereira on 9-12, June 2009 at Sibu Diocesan Pastoral Centre
First of all, I want to thank and praise God for sending this Godly man, Fr Rufus Pareira to this small town called Sibu.
Fr Rufus is in everyway Catholic. He was raised in a devoted Catholic family, had his education in a good Catholic School, grown up in a Catholic Parish. He believed he is what he is today because of all these things that is Catholic..... a devoted Catholic mother, good Catholic Priest and Catholic Principal. He paid much tributes especially to his mother so many times during the retreat. I couldn't but concluded that his mother must have a great & decisive impact on this Godly man. It made me think about the importance of the duties, roles and responsibilities of Mother Mary when Jesus was here on earth. I cannot but feel the importance of the duties, roles & responsibilities of all he mother in the world over their children! There is so much to learn from this living Giant Catholic and his Catholic Mother!
Father Rufus is also a humble man. He shared his testimonies throughout the retreat about his encounters and experiences, being used as an instrument of God to minister to God's people. He started his ministry with the Ministry of the Word, then Ministry of teaching and training church leaders, then Ministry of Healing and then the Ministry of Deliverance on 26 July 1976 on the Feast of St Anne, the mother of Mother Mary. I marvelled at how God trained and walked Fr. Rufus through all these years in his ministries of the word, of teaching and training, of healing and finally of deliverance. Throughout his journey, this man of God, must have asked many many times.... "JESUS, What should I do?". Numerous times he must have asked himself....... "What would JESUS do?".
From the testimonies of Fr Rufus, you can see JESUS is alive and that the Holy Spirit lives in this man. He said Words and Deeds must go hand in hand. Like Jesus, Fr Rufus went about doing good, curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil. His message is one of REPENTENCE.. and BELIEVE.... He preaches again Matt 6.33"Set your hearts on HIS Kingdom first, and on His righteousness and all these other things will be given you as well"
Father Rufus emphasized the importance of deep REPENTENCE hence the need of a confession with humility, honesty and courage for without these there can be no repentence. He preaches writing down everything because it is a serious matter. As we write, we think, reflect and discerned. Then we are open to the Holy Spirit speaking to us, revealing to us ... the root causes of our life's problem. We began then to reflect the stages of our life, from our family tree, from our conception to birth, from infancy to childhood and then our early years of schooling and youth through to our adulthood. During these stages, we have to be constantly reminded to ask these 2 questions: "When did the problems start?" "Do I remember anything happened during the time the problem begin?".
Father Rufus emphasized the importance of removing the blocks or obstacles to healings. These blocks or obstacles are commonly identified as firstly, unforgiveness, secondly, not ready to ask for forgiveness from those who we have hurt and offended and thirdly, not renounce the occult practices that we have been involved in during the past.
There are three sources of problems concerning sin, 1) myself (Adam) 2) human environment that I lived with (Eve) 3) power of darkness surrounding me (Tempter). We need to be aware of these problems and that it is a Spiritual Warfare. So, what should we do? Here Fr Rufus reminded us of 1P5:8-9 "Be calm but vigilant"... "Stand up to him, strong in faith" He assured us with John16:33 "I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.'
On the third day (11 June 2009), Fr Rufus began his teaching on "God is Love". The most important message that Jesus came to us was to tell us that "God Love us". God created us out of Love. God loves us first as we are. God wants to have a relationship with us.
Our God is a demanding God. "Be perfect as I am Holy". When we sinned, when we missed the mark, as we fall short of God's standard, we hurt ourselves. So, our God demands us to "Be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect" because God does not want us to get hurt. At the same time, our God is a forgiving God. In the parable of the Prodigal son, our Abba Father is waiting for us, his prodigal sons, to return home. God is waiting for us. God wants to run to us, clapses us in his arms and kisses us tenderly..... and calls out "My Son" with us responding to him, "Abba... Father.... I have sinned against Heaven and against you."
The most important sign of God's love for us is proclaimed in John 3:16 "God loved the world so much that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life." We need to repent and believe. We need to call upon Jesus, our Emmanuel, God with us and the Holy Spirit, God in us to come into our lives. Jesus send his invitation "Come and See..." Accept Jesus invitation... have a deep experience and encounter with Jesus. Mark 1:15 'The time has come' he said 'and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and Believe the Good News.' The Kingdom of God is within us. It is here and Now! We need to just response to God's invitation and Love.
We need to answer this question "Who is Jesus to me?" Once, we have met Jesus, we need to ask to receive the Holy Spirit to fill us. To do that, we need to empty ourselves and surrender our lives to God. Then, we ask our Almightly God to fill us with the Holy Spirit. When we have received the Holy Spirit, we will see signs, gifts & fruits manifesting in our lives. Signs such as Love, Joy, and Peace. Gifts such as Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord. Fruits of the Holy Spirit such as Love, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self Control.
Father Rufus concluded with this messages. The Gospel begins with an invitation "Come and See" and end with Commands to the believers, to proclaim the Good News. "Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations." Therefore, we too need to evangelise through proclaimation of Words by Actions & Personal Witness. To do all that, we need to first change ourselves. We need to REPENT and Believe. We need to empty ourselves, put on Jesus. Ask & receive the Holy Spirit. Then, we need to go forth and open our mouth to speak, write and live the words of God. We are given a powerful tool, the Bible. We need to study, live, speak of it as a community. Through the bible, we can deepen our relationship with the Lord. All that we do must be supported by an intensive life of Prayers. Mark 1:35 Praying.... quietly, silently and seriously.
Thank you Father Rufus, for sharing your teachings & testimonies. You have glorified our Almighty God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Thank you Blessed Trinity for showering us with your blessings and Graces to learn and listen to Father Rufus Teachings and Testimonies.
