Lenten reflections from the cardinal: With God, tomorrow will be better

By Cardinal Stephen Chow, S.J.

Pope Francis has proclaimed 2024 as the Year of Prayer, so for this year’s Lenten reflection, I will tell five stories using the five steps of the Ignatian Examen of Coinsciousness.

Examen is a way of reflecting prayerfully on the events of the day to discover God’s presence in our lives and to discern the direction in which he is guiding us and the different choices we are making in response.

Examen prayer is an ancient method of prayer in the Church that helps us see how God’s hand is at work throughout our experiences.

This week’s story is about myself! Since I became bishop, I have been working a lot more than before. There is no big problem if I have more work, because there are colleagues in the diocese who can help me. And for the work which I have to do myself such as pastoral letters and homilies, I only need to work a longer if they are urgent. I will always be able to finish it. 

The problem is that I have to attend more events than I thought, and this is where the problem lies. As an introvert, I am not willing to face the unknown. I remember when I first had to attend these events, I felt very uncomfortable. Luckily, the big installation reception two years ago happened during the pandemic when everyone wore masks, so there weren’t many opportunities to talk and I was able to get through it.

But then I had to meet with different groups and people from different walks of life. It was fine to just sit at a meeting, but when I was at a reception or some kind of ceremony, I felt even more uneasy! I was especially not used to meeting influential people. It had nothing to do with them, I just didn’t know how to deal with them.

I was also not used to people greeting me when I was walking on the street or being recognised when I was eating. So when I go to restaurants, I always liked to sit with my back to the entrance so that no one would see me so readily. I know they were all friendly, but I was just not used to it. 

In retrospect, I was actually scaring myself from beginning to end! Because everything came so suddenly and was so complicated, I was not aware of God’s presence and didn’t let him help me. I should have let him teach me how to deal with my friends, listen to them, and not to think of them as people who came to get me into trouble. Most of them wouldn’t give me a hard time, and they just wanted to get in touch with me and for us to get to know each other.

I feel much more comfortable because I know that God is with me no matter whether I am happy or not. With God in my life, I feel safe, secure and relaxed because I am not alone, but with God. As I look ahead to tomorrow and the future, I know I have God’s enlightenment and companionship, so tomorrow will be a better day.