I would like to thank the organizing committee for coming up with this program book.

I was wondering what would be the theme of our retreat for this year, I attended an Advent retreat in November last year, it was there that this inspiration came to mind. I shared with the group that I was having the retreat with, “that our association the Catholic Nurses’ Guild Malaysia is also in need of pruning in order that the Christian orientation is maintained”.

It is important to understand that we as Catholic Nurses are not in this profession by chance, we are chosen, chosen to be God’s instrument in healing. Thus in line with this, we have chosen the Theme: taken from John 15 : 16, “ You did not Choose me I chose you, go and bear much fruit”.
I hope that this retreat will help us better understand our calling as Catholic Nurses. Catholics must be spontaneous to the call of Christ. We must live up to certain catholic values and be well rooted in our faith because the vitality of our association depends on the intensity of faith of our members.

We are not members of an exclusive club where everyone is expecting some benefits from one’s membership. It is what we can offer to the association to help and encourage members to have the opportunity to be God’s instrument in His ministry of healing.
It is a great privilege for us healthcare personnel to be in contact with the sick in our daily lives. Members must be updated professionally and religiously inclined in order to be able to give professional and spiritual care to the communities that we serve, be it our patients, be it our members.

I thank His Lordship Bishop Cornelius Sim for being the Retreat master for this 46th AGM of the Catholic Nurses’ Guild Malaysia. I also applaud the organizing committee for their hard work in making this AGM / Retreat happen.

Francisca Malantin.