The Women’s Ministry of Malabar parish celebrated its second anniversary on Sunday, March 11 in grand style, beginning with Holy Mass. Many of our members participated in various parts of the liturgy as lectors, singing the Responsorial Psalm, as collectors, Offertory Processors, extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharistic and finally meditation song Hail Mary which we the members sang as this is our theme song.

The day’s celebration, however, did not end there, as we continued with tea on the Top of the Mount, Benet Hall. At this time we also held our Annual General Meeting.

Our President, Jennifer Mahabir reminded us in her message of the small but positive steps we had taken towards fulfilling our mission, to empower and nurture each other and our sisters in an atmosphere of caring, taking care of mind, body and spirit.

2006 saw us stumbling sometimes but we were also able to rejoice in our successes many times. With this experience we are now ready in 2007 to “Launch Out Into The Deep” with confidence, looking to the Lord for courage and support. As the good book says, “look to the Lord in His strength, seek to serve Him constantly.”

With this theme in mind, we were given an interesting motivational talk “Launching out into the deep” by our guest speaker, Ann Marie Richardson, Group leader of the Precious Daughters of the Beloved.

She told us that even though we have been in existence for two years we have been fishing only in shallow waters and just getting our feet wet. She gave us the ultimatum to accept the challenge to go deeper.

Jesus, she said would be there to bear us up. He would be there to support us, to keep us and lead us into various levels of the deep. We all have capabilities to take us as deep as we could as He beckons us.

We, therefore have to let our light shine as we support each other. It is the master who bears us in the palm of His hands and loves each and every one of us.

 We have to trust in the master. Jesus’ mother had the same trust “be it done unto me according to thy word” (Lk 1:38). She told us that as a group of women in the Body of Christ, we should “fear not, we have the master as our guide.”

We are now in the embroyic stage and as proud women of the Lord let us accept the challenge to “Launch out into the deep.”
She ended her talk with the very inspiring quote from Marianne Williamson “Our Deepest Fear”

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine,as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; It’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Women On a Mission to Empower and Nurture