I had great hopes for this year’s Carnival retreat as the Cluny Prayer group, comprising basically of young people, were spending a second year with us here in the Sacred Heart parish of La Brea. But I never expected it to be so good. I wish that more young people from the parish could have experienced it.

The prayer group arrived on Friday evening, but the real retreat took off on Saturday with the celebration of Holy Mass as these young people packed the church and shook it with praise.

After lunch we were given a lesson in Catholic faith and truth by the prayer group leader, Aunty Thora. I felt empowered. All the young people present were divided into groups and went out to evangelise in the village.

It was a first time for me and truly an invigorating experience, seeing and being an evangelist. Normally I would be on the receiving end but now I was one of those Catholic youth spreading the gospel, and inviting the people we met to the Sunday evening crusade.

We returned to the church around 6.00 p.m. and praised God, forming a holy train which moved up and down the aisle, and in and out of pews. I can say without a doubt, there is no feeling quite as wonderful as the one you get when praising God. We then shared our evangelising experiences and ended the night with a healing session where the Holy Spirit was truly present.

The young people from the parish and I were given the option to camp out with the other young people on the retreat. We decided we would participate in the activities but sleep at home. I wanted to go the carnival celebrations but I had a greater desire to spend the time with the youth on retreat, something there was greater than the wine and jam and lime. So I returned Sunday night for the crusade.

It started with the rosary led by five young people. This paved the way for a praise and worship session. My heart was heavy that day but I decided to extricate it all in praise. That night I jumped, I danced and waved.

It was like an all-inclusive fete and Jesus was the MC. I felt so free. By this time many people from the village were at the crusade jumping up and down, engulfed in praising and worshiping Jesus. I felt so high on God and I thought if many people experienced this kind of high they would stop using drugs.

Aunty Thora then gave an insightful talk on eternal life causing us to examine our own life. This lead to the healing session where hands were laid, the Holy Spirit was called upon us and we were encouraged to ask God for what we needed. As Uncle Kirk prayed over me, I sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit as I swayed slightly.

Aunty Thora spoke a word of healing proclaiming that God was healing someone’s heart. I knew it was me. Ever since that night I felt different and closer to God. All that was bothering me before was gone and I thank God that I was able to truly receive Him that night.

On Carnival Monday there was Holy Mass in the morning and a parade of the bands and gospelypso competition that night. The public was invited to the competition. Since everything was free, many people showed up, young and old.

It was truly a beautiful night. Two of the pretty mas bands were titled “Seasons of the Church” and “Heavenly Warriors”. The gospelypso competition was exciting.

All the songs carried messages of God’s love, repentance, and praising God. The masters of ceremony that night were Uncle Kirk and Jason Williams, who kept the crowd entertained.

Everyone received a prize. Special prizes were given to the monarch and road march king/queen, and for the most original composition and the composition with the most scripture texts used. The night was full of smiles, laughs and food.

Thanks Cluny. It was a Carnival well spent and one that the Sacred Heart Parish will not forget.