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. All of my experiences in life are grace from God because grace is everywhere. Being alive in this time of pandemic is already a grace because many people die of different causes, but here I am surviving this crisis. Having a complete family is also a grace because not all children experience having a complete family, and I am grateful because I am not one of those children. However, I feel sad for them because no child deserves to experience having an unfortunate family. Lastly, studying comfortably in this time of crisis is also a grace because I am privileged enough to have all the necessities I need to study without having so many difficulties. I am grateful for all the graces God has bestowed upon me and my family, no matter how big or small, because graces are gifts from God. 

3. The Lenten Recollection is truly a great help for students because it expands our knowledge of God and the reality of life. After the Lenten recollection, I realized that God is good even though we have sinned many times against him. He is always ready to accept us no matter who we are or what we are. He is just waiting for us to come to him. I have also realized that in order to be with God, good works are not enough because we should also trust and believe in him. Moreover, the Lenten Recollection made me realize that we should always be grateful in life because our life is God's grace. All the things we have now are all God's grace. We owe it all to him. He does not hesitate to help us because he is our father and we are his children. God is good to us, so we should also be good to our neighbors. 

Brother Andreus shared a lot of insightful ways on how we can strengthen our spiritual immune system. When life's difficulties arise, God's promises are what protect us from falling to fear and doubt. The Bible is the only source where God's promises may be obtained. Daily intakes of God's Word are essential for spiritual health to be maintained. Prayer, should be the first thing we do when trouble arises. Pray for courage, wisdom, and assistance. Most importantly, pray for persistence and faithfulness. In prayer, we proclaim God's promises.

 

Every day God gives me grace, and living, being safe, and protected by Him is already a grace I’m always thankful for. However, to be specific, there is this one time when. I’m so overwhelmed by the activities and lessons that the school gave. I can’t blame them for giving us that much workload because those things are for my betterment and for me to have the knowledge and be educated as times pass by. Going back, family problems and my academics are slowly falling. I’m lost and don’t know to whom should I open my problems, but I realized that God sees and He is here for me. I told Him my problems. Things happened in a snap, the connections between me and family are back, much stronger this time. My academics are slowly going well. All things are possible with Him, and He will provide all the time. 

 

I believe there are a lot of times that I felt God’s grace, even the barest minimum. But maybe I wasn’t able to appreciate all those things and that damaged me somehow, I should always praise and thank Him. That makes me realize that God is Good. Even if I wasn’t able to notice the grace He has given, He still continuously loved me. Like what Brother Andreus mentioned, God is Good because God gives us grace and serves us with His unconditional love. 

 

These are the few things that l would always cherish as I learned them on the recollection: 

-      God first loves us, and we respond. I should stop trying to love God because I should open ourselves and let God loves me.

-      High or low, it is fine. As long as you are with God, you are at peace. God is with us all the time, and He won’t leave us. He will always provide. 

Brother Andreus has inspired me with his words as he shared His multiple experiences with God’s grace. To strengthen my spiritual system, I must pray and deepen my relationship with God. We must love Him as He has loved us. We must admit our mistakes, ask for forgiveness, welcome God’s grace, and thank Him for His love.

I am not a perfect being. I do wrong and make multiple mistakes. I often feel anxious and overwhelmed. I believe that with the power of God’s grace, I was able to overcome these challenges. I also believe that the fact that I am still living and safe from the virus is from God’s grace. I am truly grateful for all the blessings He has given me.

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

After the Lenten Recollection, I feel like I have gotten to understand God even more. I realized the importance of God’s grace. The discussion has made me appreciate all the things God has given me. God is truly Good and I want to let others realize how lucky we are to have such a loving and forgiving God.

Brother Andreus made me realize how essential the Spiritual (immune) system is to us since it connects us to God more during our ups and downs. We may find greater joy, self-love, and thankfulness by strengthening our Spiritual (immune) system. He mentioned a number of strategies to improve our Spiritual (immune) system, but one of the most important is to build our relationship with Him. Building our relationship with him means that we should trust him all of our life. God is the only one who will understand us in everything. 

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

Every day I always feel God’s grace in my life. As I wake up in the morning, I thank God that all is well. There are times that I’m very sad about things happening. And we can't avoid you. Sometimes you get overwhelmed by academics, problems, and the news. but I know that God is always here on our side always.

The Lenten Recollection is the time where we reflect on what it truly means to be a follower of God. It prepares us for the coming of Easter by getting close to God and repenting our sins. It made me realize that God is always good and he will do anything just for our own good. He doesn’t fail to make us feel his Grace. We set aside things that are special to us to remember God’s unending love for each one of us. 

Because of Brother Andreus, I have learned and realized that God will always be there for us. He shows us His grace through other people. We can strengthen our spiritual system by always having faith in God. We go to church to strengthen our bond with Him. He has never let us down. We can spread the Word of God to the world. However, we should always remember that we are not supposed to force people to believe in God, but we should encourage them and tell them about God. Being good to other people always strengthens our spiritual system, since all of us are made in God's image.

Even before the pandemic and during the pandemic, I feel God's grace. This is because everyday me and my family are safe. He gave us blessings and most importantly, He forgave us for our sins. God is always watching us and that is something that I will never forget. I know that He will lead us to the correct path of life. I will never forget that God always has a plan for everyone.

My main realization after the Lenten Recollection is that all of us are blessed. We should always be thankful for what we have. We should accept God into our lives because He will always be there whenever we need someone to lean on. Through our highs and lows, He never failed to show His guidance, support, love, and protection. Us people need to have faith in Him and we should never doubt Him. 

Amidst the struggles that the world faces in each day, it is not only crucial to remain vigilant of the imminent virus, but also our spiritual state. As emphasized and exemplified by these events, faith cannot only grow but could likewise deplete when we lose faith during challenging situations. Given such conditions, we must strengthen our defenses against losing our faith and trust in God by nourishing it. 

 

Brother Andrew states that we could strengthen our faith in the following ways. Reading the bible allows us to establish a personal connection with God. Moreover, these passages could be relayed to our daily lives and be applied within the struggles we face. Prayer is another effective way to communicate with God. However, prayer not only serves as a mode of communication with the Lord, but it gives us access to a calmer, more collected version of ourselves. Prayer is an effective way to understand our personal conflictions and doubts as a result of past events. If we understand the significance of our Spiritual (Immune) System, we could strengthen our connection to God. 

 

 

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

I feel God’s grace when I am grateful for being safe and stable in terms of my well-being. Another instance where I could feel God’s grace is whenever I am surrounded by something that I am passionate about. As someone who is inclined towards many talents, God’s grace is something that I could connect to these gifts;

In connection to this, I could recall a specific time period in which I was conflicted on why I was becoming more and more insecure. Not only in terms of my appearance, yet in terms of my academic achievements. These events made me feel unaccomplished and uninspired. Months within this dilemma, I made the realization that God was the only aspect of my faith and self that I could turn to. This was my most memorable experience of grace from God.
 3. What are your realizations/insights after the Lenten Recollection?

 

Our relationship with God could be nourished by self-reflection, gratefulness and growth. An important realization that I have learned from the discussion was to be honest and to open myself to God. My insight to these discussions is riddled with hope and inspiration. I learned that God’s goodness is something that can grow. Like many aspects that are related to our personality, growth is present in all aspects of our lives; whether this would be in a skill, or our personality. Growth is something very important in order to nourish and renew our faith and ourselves. Nonetheless, I have realized that God’s grace may not feel or seem present in particular circumstances such as mine. The pandemic, financial losses and lack of inspiration are one of the many things that could cause this. However, not losing hope and remaining motivated are ways to overcome such instances and reconnect with God. 

2. Share some experiences wherein you feel God’s Grace.

- One of the moments when I felt God’s grace was when I met a friend at the exact time I was feeling despondent. That friend helped me get up and helped me through the different challenges in my life. Motivated, encouraged, and inspired me to continue fighting every day. I always thought that he was my guardian angel sent by God to give me a sign to never give up.

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

- After the recollection, I felt like I was closer to God. Especially with the sharing of Brother Andreus, his sharing really made me realize and appreciate the little things in life.

According to Brother Andreus, it is possible to strengthen our spiritual immune system by extending our relationship with God. Ways to extend our relationship with God is by praying more often, reading the bible, etc.

I always feel God’s grace when I'm with my Friends and Family.  When I need help they are there to help me. They are there to support and comfort me when  I have problems. When I am with them, I feel safe and comfortable.

After the recollection, I feel like it expands my understanding of God. It also made me realize the importance of  God’s grace. Also, it made me more appreciative of all the gifts God has given to me.