On Significant Encounters

Reading ‘The Road to Daybreak’ later in the evening, I came across an entry in Henri Nouwen’s diary that told of his reflections on the Gospel of the Visitation. He talked about how Mary went to look for her sister Elizabeth once she had found out that she was to bear God’s child. Together, both of them would be able to share each other’s burdens of carrying the Son of God and the prophet who would prepare the way for Him. Nouwen believed that this encounter between Mary and Elizabeth was a significant one, and he reiterated the importance of community in the Christian faith. We cannot live alone. I agree with him, that our lives as Christians are intertwined with the lives of other Christians around us. A part of our very selves is constantly shaped by the people we meet and interact with. Every now and then, an encounter with another person rubs off on us so significantly that it either ignites a change in us or sets us on a new path.

So often, new life appears in the Church because of an encounter. Dorothy Day never claimed ‘The Catholic Worker’ as her own invention. She always spoke of it as the fruit of her encounter with Peter Maurin. Jean Vanier never claims that he started L’Arche on his own. He always points to his encounter with Pere Thomas Philippe as the true beginning of L’Arche. In such encounters, two or more people are able to affirm each other in their gifts and encourage each other to ‘let it happen to them’. In this way, new hope is given to the world. ~ Henri Nouwen

I can also say that my life has been about a series of very significant encounters with godly people who have been used by God to change my life. The encounter with Joshua Loh in Form 2, the encounter with Paul Yong in Form 3, the encounters with all the people that I have met in CF and CG, and not least among them the encounter with Annette Arulrajah. Of all the people that I have met since going to university, no other person has had such an impact on my life.