GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. How can you strengthen your "SPIRITUAL (Immune) SYSTEM" based on the sharing of Brother Andreus? 

2. Share some of your experiences wherein you feel God's grace. 

3. What are your realizations/insights after the Lenten Recollection?

2.  There's this one experience where I felt God's grace, and it was the time I was so lost and destroyed because I felt so stressed. So after that, I cried and cried, and the thing is, I felt God's goodwill or grace because I thought I was done with facing my obstacles, and then suddenly I said, "God is so good for doing that to me." After that, I received a message from my old friend from my previous school, and he said that his parents were comparing him to his cousin. I suddenly clicked back from what happened to me and I thought of sharing God's grace with him that I experienced. 

3.  My insight after the Lenten recollection is that we may do bad things in order to meet our expectations because I do not want to disappoint myself over and over again. When he said, "I cheated on my exam because I did not review, and the fact that it was my first time cheating, I realized that what if I did that because I did not want my parents to be mad at me." I said to myself, "In doing that so, I just don't want to experience being failed, so if I try doing that, is it for doing a good thing for myself or for doing a bad thing for real?" 

 
2. Share some of your experiences wherein you feel God's grace. 

A challenging experience I faced was some time, at the end of February 2019, my parents and I noticed that I became extremely sick, went to the hospital and the doctor said I had dengue. I was 11yrs. old. I had to stay in the hospital for a week. And some point in that time I would still hallucinate, I got worse, and my final exams were the next week. After hearing all of this I was devastated, being confined, I could not even go to the bathroom without assistance. I prayed to God that I would get well soon and will be able to take my exams.

I felt God’s grace when God answered my prayers, I recovered and was in perfect health. I was able to take my exams even if I was a day late. I am very grateful that everything turned out A-Okay. In this experience I felt God’s grace, my prayers were heard, and everything started to get better. As they say ‘’God is good’’, and I truly believe in this. Through His grace, I recovered, and I am forever grateful and thankful for that every day.

 
3. What are your realizations/insights after the Lenten Recollection?

 
My realizations/insights after the Lenten Recollection are that for one, we must have faith in God and learn to accept His grace. His grace comes from His unconditional love for us. In John 3: 16 he shows his unconditional love for us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’’. His grace is a gift with no strings attached. 

 

Second, I realized that during trying times, we must have hope and trust that God has a good plan for us all no matter how difficult things get. We must learn to avoid temptation because temptation leads to sin. We must be united during this pandemic as one community, for the devil wants us divided but our Lord wants us united. 

 

And lastly, we must always be reminded that everything that happens to us is for a reason because ‘’When God Closes a Door, He Opens a Window’’. Without question the most important lesson/takeaway from the Lenten Recollection, in my opinion, is that ‘’God is good, all the time’’ and he always is and will always be. 

2. When I feel particularly hopeless and anxious about anything, I always have an experience when I felt God's grace. When I couldn't think of anything else to do, I simply prayed to God. Sooner or later, I gathered the strength to eventually go through those difficult moments, which I accomplished.

3. I really like words "God's grace is always available" as well as the topic he shared with his family experiences, especially with his mother, it made me realize that God is always with us, ready to assist and guide us in our daily lives, and we need to spend more time with our family because we never know when God will take them back to the kingdom of heaven. I am certain that God does actually lead us in the correct route and makes us aware that He is always present in our lives, manifesting Himself by blessings and miracles.

1. I strengthen my spiritual immune system by the ability to withstand and thrive in life, through all its ups and downs, and to connect more deeply to myself and the community. Love and positivity can boost our spiritual immune system. Keep smiling.

2. I am fortunate to be healthy and safe at home. I think that no matter where you came from, there is benefit from more love, grace, and acceptance. One of the most touching experiences is when I saw my cousin struggling from death, but in God’s grace I know a miracle will happen she is now fighting for his life. God works I think in mysterious ways, and I trust Him. 

3. I had realized that even if you don’t believe in God, he will still love you and take care of you, God will always be there every time you need Him no matter what. Making others happy, can help spread happiness and gratefulness and impact others’ lives and make others aware of the true meaning of the lent season. 

 

I can strengthen my spiritual immune system by spending time with those I love as much as I can. I learned from Brother Andreus’ talk was to love life and live it according to God’s will. Attending this recollection made me realize how God has a way to make things work according to plan. So, whenever I get overwhelmed by my school work or have problems in my personal life, I will remember to ask God for guidance to lead me to the right path and reach my goals. 

 

I felt God’s grace during my third (3rd) open-heart surgery. The first two, I wasn’t completely aware of what was happening because I was only 10 months old in the first one and 3 years old in the second one. I was 11 years old when I underwent my third operation so I knew everything that was going to happen and it terrified me. The thought of death flooded my brain on some days. But on the day of my surgery, I was nervous yet I felt assurance that my heart was already healed before I even got to the operation table. I felt God’s presence which assured me that I was safe and that He was always there, by my side, in my times of suffering. I felt the power of His love when He healed me and all my dark thoughts were suddenly gone and I knew He had already healed me. 

 

After attending the Lenten recollection and listening to Brother Andreus, I realized love conquers all and to live life by spreading the word of God and sharing His unconditional love to others. From Brother Andreus’ story about his mother, I realized that life is short, so don’t waste time by not telling those you love how much you appreciate them, before it's too late.