Doha's Encounter with the Lord

by: Regina D'Costa

How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7).

It was exactly these sentiments that were echoed by the people of Doha, a small city in the emirate of Qatar in the Middle East on October 1, 2, 3, 2008 at the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. Indeed our God reigns,in all his majesty and power. This message was brought to all of us who had thirsted and waited patiently in praise, prayer and fasting for the visit of Fr. Rufus Pereira for many years. God made it possible in His time.

The three day retreat had as it's theme 'Alive in the Spirit'. Being alive in the spirit, necessarily means becoming the temples of the Holy Spirit and being in tune with the Holy Spirit in our lives. Fr. Rufus during the course of the Retreat, asked the question, Jesus asked his apostles in Mathew Chapter 16, "But who do you say, I am? Peter's unhesitating answer was, You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God'. Jesus response was, 'Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in Heaven'. It is the same question, he said, we were asked today and all of us needed to answer it. Jesus had to be the Lord of our lives if we were to be alive in the Holy Spirit.

However, there could be some blocks in our lives that could be impediments to our being fully alive in the spirit. Fr. Rufus described sin as a 'slap' in the face of God. Strong as the word is, if we look deeper it is just that. How much do we offend a God who loves us and whose promise even in our sinfulness is 'to make us white as snow even if our sins are as red as scarlet'. Blocks in our spiritual life could also be from our unrepentance ,unforgiveness, past hurts and wounds, giving into the occult practices or as a result of occult practices.

All these blocks were explained gently and without a trace of condemnation one by one. If at all, Fr. Rufus' face reflected an empathy with the suffering people of God and a desire to help. Again the question asked was the question Paul asked in Romans 7 vs 24, 'Who will rescue me from this body doomed to death? Thanks be to God, who does this through our Lord Jesus Christ!' was the answer given by Paul himself.

That is the Good news, 'Our God reigns'. That Jesus came to give us life and life in abundance. The Good news is that Jesus came to set the 'captives free'. Captives of pain and suffering, captives of sin and bondages, captives of evil and illnesses. In the name of Jesus, there is healing and there is deliverance. That was the Good news preached by Fr. Rufus. For the Good news is, in Jesus there is no condemnation, 'theold has gone, the new has come'. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God's immense love would be poured into our hearts, clearing away the pain and sinfulness. The Good News also was the promise of Jesus to be with us always, even to the end of time. He was not going to leave us orphans but to give us the Holy Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit we would rebuild individual lives, rebuild families and communities.

Fr. Rufus echoed the words of Jesus in John 14:12, 'the one who believes in me will also do what I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father'. That is a promise of Jesus that is true for all times, because he said 'I will be with you always'.

Single handedly, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, Fr. Rufus ministered to 600 plus Indians, Filipinos and other nationalities who had given up their Eid holidays to be in the company of Jesus for three blessed days. In a place filled with anointed praise and worship he brought God's love to his hurting people, healing them and delivering them in the name of Jesus. Throughout the day and sometimes till late, he patiently counseled, prayed over people and heard confessions. One was amazed at how Fr. Rufus coped throughout the three days packed with preaching, teaching, praying, counseling all done with a tremendous peace in his heart that was evident on his face. Never was there anything in his manner that betrayed he had come to the Retreat literally straight from the airport or that he had been awake and on his feet all day. We praise God that through His power, Fr. Rufus is able to minister to so many people around the world. Some of us had been to his previous retreats but the great majority were exposed to the charismatic praise and worship for the first time. None returned empty, the Lord was generous touching each and every soul. Most we believe returned to their homes praising and thanking God, for having in his mercy allowed them to experience the marvels of the Lord.

Three days of love and power were concluded by a Holy Hour and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the main church and attended by over two thousand people who had gathered for their Sunday mass.

Earlier on the first day, our Parish Priest Fr. Tomasito OFM Cap, introduced Fr. Rufus to the people and on the last day Fr. Andrew Francis, OFM Cap, the Spiritual Director of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Parish, conveyed his words of gratitude to Fr. Rufus for bringing God's love to his people in such a tangible way. The English charismatic and the Filipino charismatic groups who initiated Fr. Rufus' visit to Doha were just so very grateful to God for this tremendous opportunity.