Do not be afraid, God is with you – Archbishop to SEA students

If amid writing the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam you start to get anxious or confused, and you’ve finished your section but can’t go on, remember to “breathe.”

“And every time you breathe, remember Jesus. Remember, this exam might be important, but Jesus is more important than the exam. And remember, I failed the people exam, and it wasn’t the worst thing that happened in my life. I turned out okay…'”

Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon gave these words of comfort at a Mass for SEA students at St Charles Borromeo RC Church in Tunapuna on March 14 ahead of their upcoming exam Thursday, March 21.

The celebration was hosted by the Suburban Vicariate and facilitated by the Catholic Education Board of Management (CEBM). Parish priest Msgr Esau Joseph concelebrated while Rev Terrence Caesar assisted. Member of Parliament for Tunapuna, Esmond Forde was among the invited guests.

The Archbishop reminded the SEA students of the importance of going into the exam calmly. The only way of accomplishing this, he emphasised, is to remember who is with you: God.

“Say it with me: do not be afraid. Do not be afraid because your God is with you.” He told the students that being anxious doesn’t make them think clearer; it makes them think slower.

The Archbishop then taught the students an exercise to practise between now and exam day for three minutes. He first invited them to sit up straight and thank God quietly in their hearts.

“Take three deep breaths from your belly. Fill your belly up so your belly starts going out as you’re breathing in, slowly in, slowly out. And I want you to slow it down and take three more even slower than those first three, breathing in, hold it a little bit, breathe out, hold it a little bit… Talk to Jesus about what you’re feeling right now. Tell Him what’s in your heart right now. Speak to Him like you speak to your best friend, explain to Him what’s happening inside of you and what do you need from Him,” the Archbishop said.

He then asked the students how they felt after this exercise. “Relaxed,” some shouted.

“If we do this every day, you’ll go into the exam more relaxed than you are right now. When you go into the exam, you can’t do all of that, but you can do the three deep breaths… and just say, ‘Jesus help me, Jesus help me’, in each breath,” Archbishop Gordon said.

He closed by inviting the students to pray especially for their parents because “they are more anxious than y’all. Pray for them too!”

By Kaelanne Jordan
mediarelations.camsel@catholictt.org