God visits His people while they wash dishes together - Interview with Lawrence Chong
How would you describe your faith journey? As you reflect on life, what particular experience(s) or person(s) played a significant part in your faith development?
From a young age, I have been a vivid reader of the pocket books of lives of the saints my mother would buy from the bookstores. I remember that as a young kid studying in Assumption English School, and having glimpsed into the lives of the saints and their zeal of faith made me wonder “why isn’t everyone Catholic?”. In the footsteps of my father who was and still is an active member of his parish, I was involved in many ministries. I joined the choir, was an altar server, a member of the youth group amongst other ministries. These are all good. Yet something felt to be missing still. There were questions stirring from within me and I was seeking for answers which had yet to convince me. The turning point came when I was invited to a retreat of the Focolare in Thailand. The retreat called Mariapolis (City of Mary) had the usual elements of testimonials, sharing time, and so forth. What I had not expected was my experience of an ordinary activity after lunch, to be specific, dish-washing. It was as if the gift of grace enveloped me with an awareness of the moment as the group of us washed dishes with great smiles and much mindfulness in the task at hand. It was the joy of that moment in that activity of washing dishes as a community – a businessman, religious sister, priest, and my twelve-year old self. That was the beginning of discovering a deeper living experience of Church and opened me to a worldview and understanding of John 17:21, “That they may all be one”.
In what ways does your faith help you in your daily life?
With the help of the Focolare community where I have been actively involved since 1990, there is a deeply rooted understanding of the connection between faith and life. In the words of Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare movement, it is the living out of the call to be “world-men”, men and women with the spirit, heart and mind of Jesus and, therefore, able to recognize and interpret the needs, the concerns and the hopes that shelter in every man’s heart.
I see my daily life as a place of active conversation with God and living every action of my work as an action of love. In many moments, be it decision-making moments in my personal life or turning points of my professional life, it has been this intuitive sense of paying attention to the promptings and invitations of God. As each moment of life can be seen in the light of noticing God’s presence and activity, it is like finding God’s pearl in each moment, whether it was a moment of difficulty or providence.
Being a professional in your field, you are in a position of influence, how do you live out your faith in this context?
Begin with dialogue and wherever possible relate how my faith has inspired my creative thinking and approaches. I feel that every Catholic inspired by the Gospel and with the confidence of faith should love to the point of dialogue. And authentic dialogue is dialogue of love and truth being truthful of differences, yet open to the wonders of diversity which is a reflection of God’s immense presence in the world.
What religious practices or disciplines have been helpful or meaningful to you? How do you pray?
As prayer and loving fuels each other, I find my strength from the daily reflections of the Gospel readings. Living an intentional discipleship at work and at home, the Eucharistic celebration has deeper significance as I take this time to internalize all that God has done.
What are your hopes for our Church, and what do you wish to see unfolding?
The Catholic Church is always the bridge builder. I feel that New Evangelization starts from love for the other – it begins from friendship in the same way we learn in Scripture how Jesus encounters each person. My hopes for the New Evangelization efforts in Singapore is that everyone can experience faith as desirable and not doctrinal in our living as joyful people inspired by the Gospel. And to all who are not afraid to dialogue, come forward!