DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE HOLLAND CELEBRATES 4th INTER-COMMUNITARIAN FEAST OF MERCY

 
By Malou Pimentel
The Netherlands-April 24, 2012
     
On a chilly yet  sunny Sunday of April 15, 2012, the Divine Mercy Apostolate Holland celebrated its fourth inter-communitarian Feast of Mercy. The Filipino- Dutch Catholic Community of Haarlem hosted this annual Mercy Sunday at Pastoor van Arskerk in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The theme was:
 
                 “ PROCLAIM TO THE WHOLE WORLD MY UNFATHOMABLE MERCY .”
 


A fitting theme to remind us how our Lord of Mercy is asking us to help Him spread and proclaim to others His Loving Mercy.  To appreciate truly the blessings offered to all on Mercy Sunday, we must understand how the Lord give us His graces on this sacred day. The Feast of Mercy is not a man-made celebration but a gift of God to humanity when He told Sta. Faustina :

                    “ I desire that the First Sunday of Easter be the Feast of Mercy .“ 
                


Our Lord promise to grant complete forgiveness of sins on the Feast of Mercy. The conditions required to receive the unique graces are : sincere repentance of our sins, to place complete trust in God, to carry-out works of mercy, to go to confession, to receive Holy Communion and to venerate the Image of His Mercy. In a world saturated with sin, the Feast of Mercy is a beacon of hope. It offers to everyone a chance to start again and repent of past mistakes. We are being offered the gift of peace and friendship with God for we are all prodigal sons and daughters. We are being welcomed back with open arms. The Feast of Mercy is a symbol of God’s love for every human being.



The Divine Mercy Apostolate Holland has for its goal of mission to bring the Divine Mercy Flame to communities of faith. Instead of communities going and searching for His Mercy. Thus, creating the SPIRIT OF INTERCOMMUNITARIAN, coming together once a year as people of faith, worshipping the Lord as one family of God. The SPARKS OF MERCY has to reach everyone in all denominations, races and cultures “ UNITY IN DIVERSITY “. We praise the Mighty Merciful Lord that parishes in the land have started celebrating the Mercy Sunday.


The apostolate would like to thank  FDCC ( Filipino-Dutch Catholic Communities ) Haarlem under Sis. Teodie Peramo for saying  “ Yes “ as host community. To Marcel & Benny van Lochem for the outstanding powerpoint projection of all the liturgical parts of the holy service thus lending a more profound participation of the devotees. To Jaques Beynon, the parochial church incharge who assisted us kindly so that the services will flow accordingly; To the community of El Shaddai Amsterdam for their powerful choir participation through the guidance of Sis. Roselyn Abugaa. For the song rendition of “ Jesus, I Trust in You “ by Katrina Manaog and violin accompaniment  of her younger sister, Mikaela that brought the devotees to a touching moment of merciful bliss. What a joy to behold the example of these “ KIDS FOR DIVINE MERCY “. For what a world we are experiencing with our youth today: young crimes and all the non-merciful acts surrounding us. These two lovely girls are the daughters of Bro. Jessie & Sis. Cathy Manaog-Malabanan of FCC- Zaandam.

The Manaog-Malabanan Children, Katrina and Mikaela in YouTube:






The presence of our celebrating priests as Reverend Fr. Reuben Torres, Fr. Nico Kerssens and Fr. Schrama topped our Mercy celebration. The seminarians-acolytes from De Tiltenberg  Seminary  added solemnity to the august Eucharistic celebration.

Fr. Torres delivered a deep-provoking homily basing on our theme : “ Proclaim to the whole world My Unfathomable Mercy .“ To all our kids who offered prayers and flowers for Jesus , for all who participated actively in the Holy Mass by way of their love offerings, to the Jubilates De Deo organist Lenny, to all who answered to the call of our Acts of Mercy by donating financially and giving  secondhand items for the flood victims of Sendong in the Philippines; to all who shared their kitchen delight for our feast meal fellowship and for the presence- support of the Phillipine Embassy Ambassador Lourdes G. Morales.
 
To the Divine Mercy Cenacle Westfriesland and to everyone who came from different communities of  Amsterdam, Almere- Weesp, Alphen aan de Rijn, Amstelveen, Bovenkarspel, Bicol Community of Nederlands, Couples For Christ, Den Oever, El Shaddai Amsterdam, Enkhuizen, Leidschendam, Hoorn, Hoofddorp, Hillegom, Hilversum, Purmerend, Nijmegen, Spierdijk, Ter Aar, Zaandam, Zwaagdijk and other areas. To all donors, nameless as you are- thank you!



What a gift of interlocking, inter communitarian spirit you all have exhibited in the name of the Lord. As one devotee put its : “ This is a good sign for the whole FCC communities in Holland to work and pray together. “ From Haarlem, the Divine Mercy Flame was passed on to FCC- Almere-Weesp on April 7, 2013 at St. Laurentiuskerk. Details will be announced later of the year. Come again and bring your family and friends. Mark this date already !



Our hearts are rejoicing at this testimony:
“ Thank you so much for having organized a magnificent feast of Divine Mercy here in the Netherlands. I was indeed touched spiritually and emotionally. After I received Holy Communion I felt the presence of the Jesus King of Mercy and I felt His unfathomable mercy and I was enraptured and transported to another level of ecstatic bliss. I was so at peace and it was an undescribably, beautiful feeling. I felt the Lord take away all my worries and it was such a uniquely sublime experience. I cannot express what I felt as it was divine ecstasy. God bless you and the apostolate. More power to you all as we continue to spread the word of His Divine Mercy.
 
For all these, our gratitude is immense. We can only glorify the King of Mercy ! 

 

 

 

 

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