"DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO" (John 2:5) By Susan Alexander in Kuala Lumpur
Smitten By Faith Issue # 00054 24th December 2022
Today, Christmas Eve, I am delighted to share with readers, my friend Susan Alexander’s joy as a Christian - particularly as a Catholic. Susan Alexander’s journey of faith is most appropriate on this special day when all Christians joyfully keep vigil awaiting the arrival of the birth of the Messiah, the baby Jesus.
When I look at the trajectory of Susan’s life and her spiritual journey, I see an accomplished and unusual woman who listened and did what God wanted her to do. Docility and Obedience.
In the modern iteration of the word ‘obedience’, because of the adoption of ‘individualism’ and the ‘freedom’ movements, the concept of obedience has been quite misunderstood. We think that ‘obey’ means to comply with an order and submission to authority.
The classical Greek for this word is hupakoé ( ὑπακοή, ῆς, ἡ ) which means to ‘hear’ or ‘to listen intently’ – a response to someone speaking. The word in Hebrew ( Shema ) in the Bible also means ‘to hear’ - hearing the word of God and acting on it. It implies aligning our will to God's will; doing what God has asked us to do and completely surrendering to HIS authority. When we base our decisions and our actions on His Word, docility and obedience to God is not necessarily a conscious response; it in fact takes courage and humility.
Or as Susan writes in her article below - we need to stand still, listen and learn.
Left : Susan Alexander
Right : Blessed family memories from Susan’s photo album.
At the height of the Pandemic in late 2020, Susan returned to her home in Malaysia, after living abroad for 23 years - the first 16 years working in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong and then the next 16 years giving up an international corporate career to serve full-time with a Catholic organization in India. In 2020, she uprooted herself again – leaving India to return to her home in Malaysia, which after so many years away, had become the new unknown. Susan said that it was to embark on a new phase of her journey of faith; one which has not been easy. As she says now after a long silence of almost 2 years, “all I can say is our God is always full of surprises. The key for me is to be ‘always available’ as St. Philip was for God!”
I have Susan’s permission to publish here excerpts from some of her posts – especially the most recent one written ( after almost a 2 year silence ) on 29th August 2022 and published in her blog :
https://alwaysajoy.blogspot.com/
Susan’s title for today’s ‘Smitten By Faith’ is a quote - the very simple words of the Virgin Mary to the servants at a relative’s wedding in Cana in Galilee. Mary tells the servants : "DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO". As wedding guests, Mary and her son Jesus Christ were happily enjoying themselves when Mary notices with dismay that the host had run out of wine. With her compassionate heart, Mary then goes to her son and makes a remarkable intercession. She tells him very simply that “there is no wine”. It was not yet time for Jesus Christ to perform his first miracle. But Mary was his mother. He obeyed. Mary then turns to the servants and tells them, “Do whatever he tells you to do.”
With these simple words, she sets in motion the first miracle of Jesus Christ - before he had planned it. Such was the power of a mother’s word and her expectation. Just as she is today - Mary, the bright beacon of hope who now points the way to her Son and tells us to “do whatever he tells us to do.”
Right : The Wedding at Cana by Giotto di-Bondone ( circa 1305); the Arena Chapel Frescos, Padua. On the right, you can see Mary telling the servants to do what Jesus tells them to do. Jesus is seated on the far left. At his command, the servants pour water into jugs. On the left you can also see Jesus raising his hand in blessing. (Note the configuration of Jesus’ fingers.) Now, look back on the right; see the steward (in red) tasting the wine that Jesus has just changed from water.
Left : The other painting is a modern painting by the well-known Russian artist, Vasili Nesterenko. His ‘Marriage Feast at Galilee’ is among some of his group of magnificent Gospel paintings. In this painting, Mary is seated next to her son, Jesus as the servants fill the jugs with water.
Do we ‘obey’ ? As Susan shows us in her life and in her words, in order to be able to do whatever God tells us to do, we must first listen, recognize God’s voice, seek his help in prayer, discern what he is asking us to put in practice and surrender our own plans to follow God’s. This in essence is what happened in 2020 when after living 23 long years away from Malaysia, Susan listened to the voice of God and obeyed; making the difficult decision to leave her happy comfort zone in India to return home.
But, Susan first had to STAND STILL, listen and let God move.
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MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: "DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO" (John 2:5)
By Susan Alexander in Kuala Lumpur
[ Editor’s Note : Before reading the article, Susan would like you to please click on the link below, listen and watch on the YouTube link the uplifting song : "Stand Still and Let God Move". See how it resonates in your heart as it utterly does in mine. ]
The pandemic has led me to a different path in my life's journey.
Moving back to Malaysia in November 2020, after living overseas for 23 years, has been a challenging transition. It was difficult after being in full-time ministry for 16 ½ years too. While I listened to the clear voice within me saying with great clarity, “Go back to Malaysia” and acted upon it, it was an enormous act of faith for me. I bought the one-way ticket on a mercy mission flight to Kuala Lumpur within 3 hours and left most of my personal stuff in India when I left 2 weeks later, at the height of the (pre-vaccine) COVID-19 pandemic [ in November 2020 ]. It was a complete surprise to me. I had no plans to live in Malaysia again as I am one of those Malaysians who love Malaysia when I am far away! Plus, I had no place to stay in Malaysia and my siblings lived in different countries.
Our Lord sent me a wonderful friend who was an angel in my time of great need, Jeniffer Fernandez, who had been offering me a place to stay since the pandemic began. I will always be grateful for her love and care during my 1st 3 months in Malaysia. I will never forget my friends and siblings who rallied to help me live in Malaysia again. It was like living in a new country.
Being in India at the start of the pandemic was difficult. In Kerala, India, we were in lockdown from mid-February 2020 until I left on 07 November 2020. To put it mildly, it is one thing being in isolation at home, but when a busy retreat centre is closed, it is difficult to explain how strange one feels. No one could leave the campus; people all over the world were getting used to the working from home (WFH) setup. It was not at all an issue with me. Most of my ministry was online from my 1st day (18 June 2004) of full-time service in Divine-Potta ministry.
There were only six passengers (including me) on the mercy mission flight. The emotions I experienced on the flight were indescribable. I had no clue what my future was. In fact, I had no inkling of what path my life was taking. I was numb from exhaustion from all the clearing and packing I had tried to do in India - not knowing when I could return to India. It was very unsettling. Why was I going back to Malaysia … with ….limited scope for Catholic mission work. It was only when I started my 2 weeks hotel quarantine that I realized—it is a whole NEW beginning in my faith journey and life. What did I do? Well, I slept for nearly 3 whole days!
While it happened swiftly, this phase of my life's journey had actually begun 2 years earlier.
I experienced an “epiphany moment” during the 1st night of the Kerala Floods on 16 August 2018–an unexpected experience out of the blue. I "saw" a clear vision (I was wide awake) and heard a pure, clear voice of great clarity in my heart. The 1st question was, “Susan, are you answering God’s Call in your life?” My spontaneous heart’s response was “No!” It shook me. There was no electricity and about 12 feet of swift floodwaters. This was an "epiphany" moment for me. As the waters rose steadily higher to twelve feet swiftly, I was watching it rise with many silent thoughts in my heart and mind - about my life, my aspirations. my heart's passion and the people whom I am grateful for. There are so many who made me laugh, who were there for me when we needed each other's friendship and care, encouragement and the sheer joy of being able to be open and to just be ourselves… There is so much in life to be grateful for…What I have learnt is that what truly matters is that each of us live true to who God created us to be. Many of us were blessed with loving families and friends from whom we learnt of our life's and faith values. It is truly a gift of God we should never take for granted. [ Editor’s Note : On 16 August 2018, catastrophic floods affected Kerala in South India where Susan was staying and among those who suffered the worst flood in a century. More than 500 people died and a million people were evacuated ].
On 11 July last year, during the online Monthly Friday Healing Adoration in Holy Family Church, Doveton, Australia, Fr. Michael Payyapilly V. C. called out my name with this message, “Open your heart to Jesus and he will lead your vocation to journeys that you would never have thought about – journeys that will bring fruits for His Glory.” This message came when I had questions about how I could continue to answer God’s Call.
Yet I was very unsettled in Malaysia until January this year, not knowing why God brought me back. An inner peace came into my heart of trusting Jesus with my life. The message regarding my vocation last year was like a little sapling sprouting from a grain of wheat. In April 2022, I returned to India to make the final closure of my life in India–it was 16 ½ years! It was a journey of great inner peace and joy. There was no sadness.
On 19 August 2022, the 1st night of the 9-day online Novena & Consecration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary by Fr. Michael Payyapilly V.C. (now the Superior in Divine Retreat Centre Colombo, Sri Lanka), my name was the first name called out and the Holy Spirit-inspired message was, “The Lord touches your heart. The Lord strengthens your heart.” At the start of this 9-day Consecration, I had made a brief prayer, “O God, if it is Your Will, please give me a message to inspire me to live for You.”
Praise God for His Loving answer! For the 1st time since 2018, I could pray freely in tongues spontaneously. The painful frozen right shoulder I had since June 2021 has vanished by over 90%! I can lift both my hands upright with no pain since Day 1. I feel so much joy and inspiration in my heart and mind ever since the Consecration began.
Immediately after Day 2, I felt a great holy zeal to begin the 4 initiatives placed in my heart since 2018. I had done a lot of praying and thinking—the time has come to take action! Fr. Michael shared this point about discipleship in one of his talks during this Consecration. I have begun the 4 evangelization initiatives and started my research/outlines of the projects. What seemed burdensome is now exciting and seems effortless. There is no more doubt within me or fear of the future. It is only this year I have felt the genuine joy of praying the Holy Rosary and a personal closeness to Mother Mary. It was a struggle before.
During this time, my mother returned to our Lord on 13 July 2022. It was a time of grief and a time of joy. My Mum's pilgrimage on earth was over. She earned her crown after her last race on earth. She had a holy death receiving the Anointing of the Sick and Holy Communion the day before. It was a deeply touching funeral mass by His Excellency Bishop Sebastian Francis. It brought great comfort to our hearts.
Do I know clearly what my life is going to be like in Malaysia or on my vocation journey? No, I do not know. What I know is the Call of God in my heart and the path being lit by Christ’s Light for me to act in faith. I praise and thank Jesus for helping me to discern and to take action in living for Him. Consecrating my family and my life to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has been a most beautiful and grace-filled experience. Like St. Philip. I want to be "always available for God".
….I know now that I needed this time to recalibrate my life to live with joy and zeal for Jesus once again. To let go of all that had cluttered my life. It is only in August this year that I finally felt liberated to live as how I feel called by God. Not to what is being expected of me. What does God want of me? How do I do so with the Joy of our Lord? There are no immediate answers.
Life in Kuala Lumpur has blessed me. I have a great circle of loving Catholic friends whose faith are like bright burning lights of Christ in my life. So even if my light gets dimmed, their light will ensure mine brightens up again. This is the embodiment of our Catholic faith. We are a community of Christ and we are never alone. Ours is a living faith because Jesus is alive every single moment - in our past, our present and in our future!
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