'Twas the afternoon before Easter...

The time is 4 in the pm. The prayer hall is in complete silence as studious youth cats bury their heads in books... or daydream, trying half the time to grasp that studying is pain and that pain is friend.

Andre giving his best while tutoring year 1s

Amos and Louis engrossed in their work

More youth cats Mel, Joyce and Simeon oblivious of their surroundings

Meanwhile, a check on the older youth cats reveals:

Theo diligently practising her sketchwork.

Justin lost in the world of Terry Pratchet's novel

and a seemingly half-naked Roy (he's got his orange shorts on la, for those who really can't see).

Roy's arrival marked the start of the session with Michael bravely volunteering himself as the naughtiest person of the day.

Said a dissapointed visitor. "Why has my stay here yielded no fruit?"

"Could it be because you lack the courage to shake the tree?" said the
Master benignly.

We immediately delved into a discussion of the above mini-parable (which can also be found in the Reflections page [cough]). Roy got the ball rolling by offering his two cents' worth: Challenge us to challenge you. Any experience would be meaningful only if You take that first step to explore and discover more. Many other interesting questions such as these were raised:

What if I'm shaking the wrong tree (think lamp post)?
What if no fruits fall off the tree?
What if the fruits aren't the ones I expected?
How hard should you try to shake the tree?
When do you know that you've tried your best?

Davina also pointed out that this could be about instant gratification and perhaps we need the patience to wait for fruits to yield. All in all, it was an extremely fruitful session as we got to hear from all the year 1s, with Joyce leading the discussion. This, however, is only the tip of the iceberg and the questioning will only get deeper as we journey further as a group. Let's all pray for the courage to challenge ourselves and to grow in faith and strength together.

P/S: Happy Easter!!!