By CTK OCDS Kuching Community
KUCHING — From 27 to 29 June 2025, we, the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCDS) of the Christ the King Kuching Community, gathered joyfully for our annual retreat—a sacred time set apart to rest in the silence of God, rekindle our Carmelite vocation, and renew our hearts in the spirit of the Gospel. This year’s retreat, lovingly guided by our spiritual assistant Fr Philip Tay, OCD, centered on the spiritual teachings of St Elizabeth of the Trinity, one of Carmel’s most radiant voices of contemplative love. Her words, “Let yourself be loved… so that you may become a praise of glory,” became the heart of our retreat. With this theme, we were invited to return to the center of our vocation: to live fully in the presence of the indwelling Trinity, and to allow our lives to become a hymn of praise echoing through all that we are and do.
The retreat unfolded in a deeply nourishing rhythm of daily Mass, the chanting of Lauds and Vespers, personal silent prayer, spiritual talks, and the grace of confession. In this rhythm, we experienced again the gentle yet powerful heartbeat of Carmelite life: silence not as absence, but as loving Presence. Fr Philip Tay, OCD, in his wisdom and gentle guidance, led us deeper into the mystery of the Trinity, echoing Elizabeth’s call to interior silence, recollection, and surrender to divine love.
A Community Blessed by Vocational Grace
This year’s retreat was especially marked by two beautiful moments of vocational commitment that touched all who witnessed them. On 28 June, during evening Vespers, our aspirant, brother Vincent Teo Chai Lai was clothed with the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Through this sacred Clothing Ceremony, he was officially received into the Novitiate Formation, clothed not only in the habit of the Order, but also in the spirit of Our Lady and the call to walk more deeply in the path of interior transformation.
The following morning, 29 June, we rejoiced as our sister Jenny Pau Su Ging made her Temporary Profession of the Evangelical Counsels—chastity, poverty, obedience, and beatitude—committing herself more fully to the Carmelite Secular vocation. Her offering of self before God and our community was a moving reminder of the beauty of total surrender, and a joyful call for each of us to renew our own promises with deeper love and fidelity.
Fruits of the Retreat
This retreat rekindled in us a deep awareness of the indwelling Trinity, renewing our desire to live as a true “praise of glory” in the world. We return strengthened in our Carmelite vocation, drawn to embrace silence, simplicity, and service with joy. United as one community, we go forth as contemplatives in action, bearing the light of Christ in our families, parishes, and daily encounters, living out the hidden flame of love that burns within.
Spiritually Recharged and Renewed
As we concluded our retreat and returned to our daily lives, we carried with us not just memories, but a spiritual fire rekindled—a quiet but steady resolve to live more intentionally, more prayerfully, and more lovingly. St Elizabeth reminds us that “God is in your soul; listen to Him.” And so, with grateful hearts, we listen, we adore, and we go forth—recharged in spirit and renewed in mission.
May our lives be hidden with Christ in God, and may everything we do become a quiet, luminous echo of God’s love — a living Laudem Gloriae, a praise of glory.
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