by Student Mark Didier
A perfect example of this Love is CLM’s Education Program. I was introduced to CLM at a healing service at the end of the student retreat in July of 2019. Shortly after that I had a meeting with CLM Co-founder Padre Paul in his home and received another healing. I started reading some of CLM’s founder, Ron Roth’s teachings but had minimal participation in CLM. I wanted to attend the spring retreat of 2020, to really get involved and go deeper into my journey. Because of the Pandemic many things, as we all remember, were canceled or put on hold in our lives including this event.
Zoom
My sales team had been using it already on a regular schedule to get together due to our proximity to each other. Because of our large territories, we used it to have meetings with customers as well. Soon enough CLM incorporated Zoom into healing services, monthly topics on Wednesdays, Holy Services on Holidays, and Zoom Retreats, to bring and keep our community together. I’m not sure but I think the Zoom retreats may have gotten better attendance since attendees didn’t have to travel long distances to get there. There were some glitches during the very early Zoom meetings, but we have some amazing technical people in the background that have kept it all evolving.
I embraced the Zoom gatherings and during one of the Zoom healing retreats, during a small group breakout session, I had an experience where I felt every participant’s heart in mine, which brought me to tears. I felt their pain and their glory. During the session the education program was mentioned by several participants and they displayed an amazing ability to communicate their feelings with incredible, honest emotion. So, in October of 2020, I reached out to Virginia, the long-time former director of the student program, to discuss what the criteria was to be accepted into the program. After a short time and fulfilling the requirements, I was in.
There are three levels in the Education program. There is a syllabus to follow to complete each level. As I was told by Virginia in the beginning it is not a race. My goal is to move through each level to raise me up in many ways. I hope to calm my mind, strengthen my soul, and bring the Holy Spirit into my heart to bring me closer to the Divine. Currently, there are over forty of us in the program. Besides working on the requirements for each level, our student community collectively gets together once a month on Zoom to reflect on a chapter of the book we are reading together. The calls are led by Padre Paul and Susan, our current Education Program director, along with others behind the scenes. Their dedication and devotion to the program are what make it Joyful. We are currently reading Padre Pio: A Personal Portrait. About the Christ-like modern-day saint that embraced relentless pain and suffering, offering it up to his Creator. He was a conduit for performing miracles to relieve his followers’ suffering. As our student community has navigated through the chapters, we’ve learned from each other’s very heartfelt interpretations which leaves me with an extraordinary experience each time. If you are interested in improving and growing in all facets of your life, go to celebratinglifeministries.com and you’ll find the education program in the menu at the upper left on the home page (or find the direct link below). By the way, there is an in-person Spring Retreat this year and I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to meeting as many of this amazing community as possible.
Peace, Love, and Blessings,
Mark A. Didier