By Cheryl M. Luis
Most people today are not just experiencing poverty because of losing jobs or source of income but more of depression, the feeling of uncertainty, and of losing loved ones due to the pandemic.
Each of us has an issue and hardship to tackle and sometimes we forget that Jesus is there to talk with and to trust that everything that happens in our life has a reason.
That’s why, the Jesus Centered Life (JCL) conference started last year, with 20,000 online participants. This year‘s second JCL hopes to attract more participants.
“This idea came because of the thrust of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to help people of all ages like students, parents, and teachers to be able to connect more with Jesus Christ. With the pandemic, everybody needs an anchor to hold on to and we realize that we can make Jesus Christ more known to as many people as possible through the experiences of many speakers,” Mr. Ronnie Gilles, PAREF- Westbridge Associate Director for Personal Formation said.
There are local and international speakers and panelists coming from Australia, Nigeria, Kenya, the US, Hongkong, Canada, Ireland, and many more, who will bring up important topics relevant for parents, young adults, families, students, teachers, and school administrators. These discussions also aim to spread the joy with people from all walks of life.
The JCL conference also features Filipino-based sessions with Tagalog talks, including sharing of best practices among families of different Catholic groups. There are family activities such as Guided Meditations, Family Rosaries, and Holy Masses.
“One example of sharing and talks is about this simple lady, a pre-school teacher named Nica Katigbak. Nica suffers from self-pity because most of her siblings are achievers and she feels that she is not good. During her adolescence, she has a realization that she is a child of God and in front of our father, we are the same. There’s no need for self-pity; she only needs to accept herself and strive for more so she can achieve her dreams. So she begins to join a group and starts to open up her thoughts and feelings which help her become what she is today,” Gilles explained during a phone call interview.
Among the topics covered are:
How can we live a Jesus-Centered life?
How can we focus on sharing the joy of the Catholic faith?
How can our families serve Jesus by serving the poor?
How can we serve with joy by having Mary as our Mother?
How can we help our children discover their vocation?
How can OFW families strengthen their relationship with Jesus?
How can penance bring us closer to our Lord?
How can we make Christ the center of our schools?
How does Jesus accompany us in marital challenges?
The conference is FREE and will start on December 8, 2021, the Feast of Immaculate Conception, and ends on December 12, 2021, which is also the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a back-to-back feast.
To know more about the conference, you may click and register on this link: https://jesus-centeredlife.org/
To know more about PAREF and Parousia, you may also check out:
PAREF – www.paref.edu.ph
Parousia – www.parousiamedia.com
Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JesusCentere /PN
