The Filipino Catholic Community of Gouda held its annual Flores de Mayo (flowers of May) and Santacruzan (holy cross) last May 22, 2022. Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan are typical devotional native celebrations of the Filipinos to Mama Mary in the month of May.
A procession outside the Josephkerk in Gouda was led by Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe, CSSp and Fr. John Bosco Ezedimbu, CSSp. The Community, holding flowers, sung songs in honor of the blessed Virgin Mary. At the end of the procession was the Reyna Elena bearing the traditional cross, representing the true cross of Jesus found by Helena of Constantinopole. The procession ended inside the church, where each participant offered flowers to the Virgin Mother. Thereafter, the cross held by the Reyna Elena was placed at the altar. The priests then prayed and blessed the celebration while the community continued to sing Mary’s song in between.
Below are some photos taken during the Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan celebration.
I was one of the 13 participants of Father Marcel ‘s Leadership training last April 30, 2022 at Gouda.
He immediately mentioned that a Leader’s actions or role does not necessarily comes from official authority unlike that of a manager, the latter’s role comes from the official authority given to him/her by the organization’s big bosses.
A leader is not necessarily a salary based role while a manager is. A leader is an influencer, motivator, mentor , inspires , empowers the team, guides and directs everyone to a common goal. A manager follows the set of responsibilities given to him/her and will want the team to accomplished a task within the set of guidelines and deadlines established by the organization.
Further, a good leader is giving the time and effort because he/she is committed to the team. Someone who is passionate and charismatic in dealing with people.
With that said, I had a flashback when I was in high school and college days. I remember I was always chosen to be the leader perhaps because no one wanted to take the responsibility or maybe they saw that I can lead. But now I realized, I was not a good leader because when we were tasked for example, in our science subject, to bring materials for an activity, I would assigned my team what he or she will bring but I will bring every materials needed without my team’s knowledge. I was just afraid , they will not bring any material and we will get low grades!!! I took all the responsibility. There was no ‘WE’ but only ‘I’. It was indeed a good realization .
Father Marcel also made us open our minds and hearts that Leadership in Church is not easy. Take an example of Jesus, He emphasized the importance of being discerning with regard to others without seeking to control them. He was not only a servant-leader ( John 13:1-7) but also a good shepherd ( John 10:14) . He was also a steward as mentioned in Luke 22:27.
Another example of a good leader was Nelson Mandela , a former President of South-Africa, who showed heroism through his selfless and dedicated acts, by fighting to bring liberty and justice for all his people and risking his life for the equality of all.
Besides the fruitful discussions we had , we participated also on a self -reflection activities based on the questionnaires about Behaviour as a leader, Exercise on Personal Effectiveness for Leaders and Analysis of behaviour in the Leadership Team and Group Dynamics.
Father Marcel ended the training with a quote by Simon Sinek , “ The role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas but to create an environment in which great ideas can happen.”
Participants were Norie Dalisay, Marissa van der Graaf, Nova Villaver, Elpi Gutierrez, Teunis Blanken, Hans Oostenwijk, Jenny Luna, Tessa van As, Ronald Kaesteun , Joylyn Subtenente, Rosavilla Hoogendoorn, Gene Boon , Luz van de Starre, Maria Lovella vd Weiden and the speaker Father Marcel Uzoigwe, CSSp.
We zijn erg dankbaar voor deze educatieve en informatieve training. De boodschap was duidelijk, een goede leider kan leren tijdens het proces. Dank u pater Marcel voor de wijsheid, ervaring en presentatie. We hebben veel geleerd en hopen dat we het kunnen toepassen tijdens ons vrijwilligerswerk in de kerk voor de verbetering van het team, de organisatie & de gemeenschap. We hopen ook op een vervolgsessie van de training voor dit jaar. God zegen ons!
Homily of the Second Sunday of Easter (Acts 5:12-16, Ps.117:2-4.22-27, Rev. 1:9-13.17-19 & Jn. 20:19-31)
Today, in a special way, we celebrate the mercy of God our Father. In the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope John Paul II proclaimed the Sunday after Easter a Sunday of Divine Mercy. The Pope himself was a great devotee of Divine Mercy and died on the eve of Divine Mercy in 2005.
The decision to declare the Second Sunday after Easter a Sunday of Divine Mercy came from the devotion to Divine Mercy. This originated with the Polish visionary Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938). Sr. Maria Faustina had several apparitions of Jesus who revealed Himself to her as Divine Mercy. He told her to dedicate the Second Sunday of Easter to Divine Mercy from then on. It is, therefore, a time to reflect on God’s mercy towards us. It is also an opportunity to ask ourselves how merciful we are towards those around us, especially in this period that we celebrate the joy of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.
The joy of the Risen Lord is quite overwhelming. It gives the power that is beyond human understanding. The first reading narrates how the apostles continued the work that Jesus began out of love and mercy for those suffering. The apostles were able to work many miracles and healings by the power of the risen Christ that brought many to believe in Jesus and come to faith in Him. The people brought their sick to the streets for healing. Even the shadow of Peter was sufficient to bring healing and succor to the sick. And the second reading (Rev.1:9-13.17-19) narrates how John received the revelation from the Risen Jesus who commanded him to write down what he saw. Jesus described himself in the vision as the First and the Last (Alpha and Omega), the one who died but now lives forever and holds the keys of death and of the Underworld.
Jesus’ resurrection gives courage to all who suffer as a result of their Christian faith. This explains why, within this period of Easter, the Risen Jesus keeps appearing and re-appearing to his disciples at different times and at different locations in order to revive their drooping spirit. Last Sunday, the First Easter day, we read how very early in the morning of the First day of the week, Mary of Magdala and other women met with the empty tomb and later met with the Risen Lord himself who informed them to go and tell the brothers that he has risen. In the Gospel reading of this Second Sunday of Easter (Jn. 20:19-31), the Church presents us with the second part of that very story and of what happened later in the evening of that very First Day of Easter, as well as what happened subsequently eight days later.
The gospel reading of today is about two appearances of Jesus to his disciples. At the first appearance, Thomas was absent. When he was told about it, he did not believe it. He wanted to experience it himself and put it to the test by inserting his fingers into Jesus’ wounds. For him, seeing, and even touching, a kind of checking of facts, was very important. And that is sometimes understandable. You don’t always have to believe what people tell you. Sometimes you have to check the facts, even though there are so many truths that cannot be physically checked.
Thomas is not alone in this kind of thinking. In our time, when you talk to people about the resurrection, you usually get nothing more than a shrug or a pitying laugh of incomprehension in response. Even for those of us who hold to the belief in the resurrection, it is not easy to imagine what we actually believe. That is why there are many who do not want to speak about it in public anymore. In the light of science and all our knowledge and experience, which is always based on evidence, for many, the resurrection is nothing more than one of the stories from the Bible. It is therefore possible to understand the predicaments of Thomas when he was told that Jesus has risen from the dead. He might have been consumed with inner grief because of Jesus’ torture and death. And that brings doubt to his mind. Obviously, doubt is something that afflicts our minds a lot. There is a part of us that wants to question the existence of God and spiritual realities. There is a part of us that wants to question and doubt some of the mysteries of our faith. There is a part of us that wants to question and doubt the reality of the Resurrection, the reality of the Holy Eucharist, and so on. What we need to realize here is that the mind is the battlefield. Whatever takes control of a person’s mind has conquered the person.
If Jesus, after his death and resurrection, had appeared to Pontius Pilate and the soldiers, to Caiaphas, to King Herod, to all those who sat in the high court, the Sanhedrin, no one would have doubted his resurrection. But that is not how it happened. Jesus appears only to his disciples. Why did Jesus appear to those who believed in him and not to his enemies? It is certainly because ‘seeing’ and ‘appearing’ is something else than simply ‘seeing’ with the naked eye. His post-resurrection apparition is not meant to be an ‘exhibition’! It is an act of faith and has the goal of strengthening the faith of his disciples rather than being a public event to gain worldly glory and acclaim. We see that in His apparition to Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul could hear Jesus speak but those around him could not. Jesus did that to call Paul to faith for the mission he had for him.
Many saw the earthly Jesus from a close range. But the question is, “what did people see in Jesus?” The high priests, the Sadducees, and Pharisees saw in him a blasphemer who broke the law, especially the Sabbath law, one who ate with sinners and tax collectors, who touched the unclean and put God’s merciful love above law and commandment. The others, especially his disciples, saw through him. And by his words and deeds, they realized that he was the messenger of God and the Messiah. He was their ‘beloved Master’. But His death on the cross blinded them. In their culture, death on the cross was meant for one cursed by God and man. Out of fear, the disciples locked themselves up behind closed doors with closed hearts. However, they were together with the same questions and with the same experiences. Together they were sad, desperate.
Slowly a light went up for them. They began to realize that this Jesus, whom they had known, was no ordinary man, who had died and been buried. Jesus showed himself to be the true prophet who had died a martyr’s death out of love for God and man. They were, as it were, awakened and came to repentance. Jesus came back into their lives. Not as before, not as the earthly Jesus they could just see, but as the glorified one in God in whom they could believe.
The disciples of Jesus were able to come back into the light through the mercifulness of Jesus who came to them in spite of the fact that they had left him during his way of the cross to death on Golgotha. He gave them the Holy Spirit to come to understanding and to believe in him again as the Envoy of God. Now They have to proclaim it all over the world. Without the Holy Spirit, you cannot understand anything about God, because the naked eye and the naked heart can only see and understand naked earthly things.
We ourselves have not seen and known the earthly Jesus. The apostle Paul, for that matter, did not see Him either. On the basis of the gospels and the many testimonies of Paul and the first Christians, we have seen him in faith. We do not see him with the naked eye. So, we may count ourselves blessed because we are privileged to believe in Him, even without seeing Him (John 20:29). That Jesus is calling us now to go out like the apostles of old to proclaim Him everywhere and do the same works that he began. His Holy Spirit is with us. Let us, therefore, strive to bear this testimony and, like Thomas, proclaim our faith: My Lord and my God. Amen.
Saturday, March 26,2022 the Filipino Community of Gouda organized a Holy Retreat event. It was a well attended event and participants were able to have a reflection , meditation about themselves.
The day started with Fr. Callistus Offor with a bible phrase “DO NOT BE AFRAID FOR I AM WITH YOU” Isaiah 41:10 . Followed by questions:
What is a retreat? Why am I here? Why did I decide to come?
Among the numerous reasons to attend the retreat are.
We need rest, we need time to express or share our feelings, we need some moment to reflect. Moments to look at ourselves if we have grown. Need to be open to changing our life and need prayer.
The main topic of the event was about “FEAR”
What is Fear? and How do we deal with fear in our daily lives?
Fear, something can do a lot of damage in our daily lives. Something we are afraid of. Has a lot of negative impacts: Social life, Physical life, Personal life, Spiritual life. It steals our time , values, status and can destroy peace of mind, happiness, health and sanity.
Everyone was given a chance to share what kind of fear they have encountered in life. Participants were divided into 3 groups and each group was able to share and discuss it. And it comes with a discussion that mostly has a fear of being alone in life, the fear of aiming high because of lack of confidence, lack of focus, fear of being rejected, fear of being neglected, fear of what will happen if time will come of dying and so on.
Fr. Callistus discussed the “Strategies of Fear”
A short story was shared and came out with a conclusion that If you feel you are a victim don’t be afraid stand up and fight back know what you are capable of. Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of.
Each of us must confront our own fears, and must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it. Develop self permission, don’t put yourself down. There is power in prayer, there is power in the words of God.
Use your time, use your talent and that you can live your own life.
The day ended that everyone feel inspired ,happy and feel blessed.
The Parable of the Fruit -bearing tree: What does it mean to be a fruitful Christian?
When Jesus mentioned of this Parable in Luke 6: 39-45 . He was telling us that God sees the heart . We may put on a great show of words and actions but it is what is in our heart that is so visible to God. Jesus asked us why do we observe the splinter in our brother’s/sister’s eye and never notice the plank in our own? Jesus said, “ Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your yes first and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s/ sister’s eye “.
In these modern world, we try to focus on the faults of others , no matter how true, to take the focus off our own.
Then Jesus proceeded to mention that “there is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit. Figs are not taken from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man produces goodness from the good of his heart ; an evil man produces evil out of his store of evil. Each man’s words flow out what fills his heart. “
Father Emmanuel made us realized that a fruitful Christian means that there must be genuine love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness in our hearts that reflects our actions to others. But only when we first acknowledge our own faults and be a better person then our actions will bear good outcome for our children, family ,friends and to the community.
He even reminded us of the on-going conflict between Russia and Ukraine . This is the time to be a fruitful Christian, to bear good fruits of good deeds and including them in our prayers for the conflict to end.
After the Mass, our Priest requested couples to come forward. He blessed and prayed for their successful Marriage and Family life. Father Cyril also requested the single ladies whose partners are no longer with us and the ladies who are still looking for a lifetime partner.
The happy, blessed couples of the FCC-Gouda Community
