Divine Mercy feast celebrated in a joyful celebration
we pray for peace together with our pope Leo XIV
In Nieuw Vennep we celebrated the feast of Divine Mercy with many catholics from the Filippino community, and many others as well. During H. Mass Marcel van Lochem was instituted an acolyte in preparation for his ordination as a permanent deacon. Mons Jan Th. Limchua, chargé d'affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature joined us in this special celebration.
Divine Mercy
The Church of Our lady's immaculate conception in Nieuw Vennep was full of faithfull who came this sunday afternoon to honour Divine mercy with a holy hour of adoration and praying of the rosary of the Divine Mercy and the celebration of holy Mass. Many were dressed in red and white, colours of Divine Mercy.
The day was organised by Divine Mercy Apostolate and Couples for Christ.
Concelebrants
Besides mons. Limchua, the priests of the parish, Fr. Albert Toppo and Fr. Pierrot Mazono, concelebrated, as well as Monsignor Gerard Bruggink.
Institution of an acolythe
Mons Gerard Bruggink was there as former rector of the formation for the permanent diaconate, because the new rector Fr. Luc Georges could not attend because of other duties. He presented the candidate for the institution as an acolythe. This institution means that the candidate becomes an extraordinary minister of holy communion, and is called to live from the sapiritual source of the holy Eucharist, more and more.
We congratulate Marcel and his wife Benny on this beautiful occasion!
We live by Divine Mercy!
IInd EASTER SUNDAY - DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
Dear brothers and sisters,
signs of God's mercy
It is a joy to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday with you today. We all live by Divine Mercy. We are nothing in ourselves; what we have and can do, and also what comes our way, has been given to us. Everything is a sign of God’s mercy, even the difficult things.
Spiritual growth
I know an intelligent woman who is going through a very difficult period, having had a highly successful career. Her illnesses are bringing her to the brink of death. It is intense. And yet: I see her growing, growing spiritually. Everything is now becoming more of a gift, and her struggle is to reach a a spiritual attitude of surrender and confidence. But she is growing!
Saints who suffered
There have been saints who no longer wished to be rid of their lot - illness and suffering - such as our Dutch saint Liduina or Saint Mara Magdalena de Pazzi of Florence. They had, often through great struggle, been able to discover God’s mercy in their suffering. I think such saints are still there!
Looking back...
And sometimes, looking back on those difficult stages of our lives, we are able to discover in them God’s mercy and guidance. Let us implore today for ourselves and for all people the grace of having an open eye and an open heart for God’s mercy.
Gift
The life we have been given is a gift of God’s creative omnipotence; the eternal life we hope to receive after this life will once again be a gift of God’s endless mercy.
Peace be with you
Peace be with you! That was the Easter wish of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which He repeats in today’s Gospel; that is also the wish with which our Pope Leo XIV began his pontificate. That peace begins in our own hearts: may there be peace in our hearts because we accept what we cannot change, because we have peace through surrender, by accepting our life situation with its difficulties as coming from God’s hand. I am still a long way from that myself, but this is indeed our path!
Powerless
Of course, in these weeks we hear much and often speak about war and peace and about the major flashpoints in the world. How can peace come about and what can we do about it? We certainly feel rather powerless in the face of all the violence. But we pray, together with our holy Father.
The path to peace
There is only one path to peace: turn to Divine Mercy. Peace cannot come only when everything around us is perfect; there is no peace in thins going your way; and, by the way, perfection will only be found in heaven. True peace cannot come from human beings; we pray for a gift that transcends us. Peace is found when we can entrust ourselves to Divine Mercy. Ultimately, peace is in our hearts.
Saint John Paul II
When Saint Pope John Paul II in the year 2000 canonised Sister Faustina, the great apostle of Divine Mercy, he linked her mission to the great wartime events of the twentieth century, which had cost so many people their lives. And he wondered what the future would bring: “What will the years ahead bring us?”, the Pope said, “What will man’s future on earth be like? We are not given to know. But, he added: “Humanity will not find peace until it turns trustingly to divine mercy” (Diary, p. 132). A spiritual change must take place, and this begins with every individual and in every social situation.
Our holy Father's call
Last Tuesday evening, the Pope once again made an urgent appeal not to proceed with the bombing of Iran’s ‘facilities’, which would severely affect the people of Iran and other nations. He questioned the moral permissibility of such an action. The Pope called for a return to the negotiating table. In the hours that followed, a first step in that direction was taken, thank God. Let us continue to pray for a favourable outcome... In that spirit, we pray today in unity with Pope Leo XIV: Grant us peace, Lord!
The peace of Christ
Peace is therefore more than a ceasefire. “The peace that Jesus gives us is not the kind that merely silences weapons,” said the Holy Father at Easter, “But the kind that touches and transforms each of our hearts. Let us convert to the peace of Christ!”
Saint Pope John Paul, pray for us!
On the eve of this Feast of Divine Mercy, Pope John Paul II died in 2005. He was closely connected to this day, to Sister Faustina and to Divine Mercy. Today we also wish to ask for his intercession, that the light of Divine Mercy may illuminate the path we must follow and that the world may know peace.
Thomas
Today is also a day of faith, since Jesus met with the Apostle Thomas. Thomas was not present on that first Easter Sunday when the risen Lord Jesus came to His disciples, and he believed that he had to see and touch first before he could believe.
We do not hear where he was at that Easter sunday, but the following week he was there again. Perhaps we have all been in a similar situation at some point, when we were not there, perhaps in a moment of weakness, and did not seek support in God’s merciful love.
The story of Thomas shows us that the risen Lord then comes to meet His disciple; He is not angry with that Thomas was not there on Easter, He is always glad when we are back, and He is merciful and wants to help us start afresh.
Peace be with you!
As the Apostles once did, today all of us and the whole of humanity must welcome the risen Christ, who shows the wounds of His Crucifixion and repeats: Peace be with you!
Peace will be possible if humanity allows itself to be touched and filled by Divine Mercy and thus by the Holy Spirit. It is He who heals the wounds of the heart, breaks down the barriers that separate us from God and divide us from one another.
Through Your Divine Mercy, O Lord, may there be peace in our hearts and in this world.
