When

6 Parish Bulletin
SYA Weekend Retreat
by Rocky and Yen Chan
",We are Rocky and Yenyen Chan. We have
HI " been married for five years and have been
blessed with two children, Marion and Marco.
While we were still dating, we decided to join
the Single Young Adults (SYA) Weekend Retreat
together. Rocky was excited to join the community
because he "grew up" in the parish, having been
active with the Antioch community when he was
younger. I had my reservations. Although I wanted
to be part of a faith community, I doubted whether
SYA was the right one for me.
It has been 7 years since we joined SYA
and joining the Weekend has been truly rewarding
for us. The community has played a big role in our
personal and spiritual growth both as a couple and
as individuals. Through SYA, we have met true
mentors who continue to guide us through our
personal and career decisions. We have made
great friends with whom we share similar interests
with and consider them to be some of our closest.
The SYA community, through its various activities
like prayer meetings, masses and recollections,
has enlivened the practice of our faith as a
couple. Being married with kids, the temptation to
get caught up with "real" life can easily put our
spiritual lives on hold but despite our being no
longer single, SYA always gives us reminders and
opportunities to do the more essential things that
is prayer, reflection, sacrifice and service.
As a couple, we firmly believe that to fully
live out our faith, acts of service must play a large
role. And it was through our participation in SYA
that we eventually became adult leaders for the
Luke18 community, our parish-based community
for teenagers. As adult leaders of Luke 18, we have
to constantly reflect on how we are practicing our
Catholic faith and how we can share this with the
"Lukers" and, of course, our own children. In order
to effectively fulfill our roles as adult leaders, we
are in constant communication with each other on
how we can improve our spiritual lives. Through
brainstorming we come up with ideas to help the
"Lukers" grasp a better experience of our faith and
because of this, we ourselves find ways on how to
be better Catholics.
Although we are no longer single (though still
young!) SYA continues to be our faith community. It is
where we continue to learn and grow as Catholics. It is
where we always go back to for guidance and nourishment.
It is home.
Notice
To the contributors of the
Parish Bulletin, please
be reminded that the last
working day of Holy Week
is March 27, 2013. Articles
for publication for the Easter
Sunday edition should be in
by March 24, 2013.