September 5, 2020 marked another successful occassion for members of our Catholic Community in Gouda! The community has successfully held its second Holy Retreat despite setbacks caused by COVID-19 restrictions. This time. Rev. Fr. John Onoja, C.S.S.p led and facilitated the said holy retreat, which was held at Aalberseplein, Gouda.
Songs of praises made the occasion solemn but lofty! As usual, the occassion began with a prayer, whereby attendees were given a time to reflect and write their prayer petitions on a piece of paper, which was later blessed. Afterwards, Father John gave a brief discussion on the meaning and significance of having a retreat.
In his talk, Father John explained that the word ‘retreat’ is commonly associated with the military. The General or Commander of the troop or battalion calls for a retreat because the enemy is gaining the advantage! And in many cases, the general has to withdraw his men from the battle field not only to save his remaining men from further injury or death but most importantly to have to rest, recuperate, and regain the strength needed to live and fight the next day. In a spiritual sense, having a retreat connotes setting aside one’s everyday routine to reconnect in a deeper level with God through prayers. It is the time to re-collect, re-member and re-examine one’s self in the light of the questions, “Who I am?”, “Where I am?“ and “What I am?”.
But how do we pray? Father John tackled the aspects of Praying. Silenceis a one aspect. With our culture being addicted to the noises and distractions of our televisions, internet, radios, friends , work and family, praying in silence seems unachievable. Praying in silence means to be quiet in mind and heart and being in a state of meditation . Only through praying in silence will we hear God speak. Only in nothingness can God fill you!
“ Come to me, all you are weary and burdened and I will give you rest . Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
Jesus calls for those who are weary and burdened. This means those who are physically or mentally exhausted from unmet dreams, financial burdens, sickness, guilt, regrets, trials and temptations to name a few. Some will seek a temporary solutions for the weariness by doing drugs , buying anti-depressant medicines, looking answers from fortune tellers, and many more unreliable ways of solving problems.
The Bible undoubtedly says follow Jesus. He is our perpetual and everlasting solution. He will want us to take his yoke for He will teach us and lift us up until we can find the inner rest we are seeking. But what is this “yoke” Jesus is telling us to carry with Him? Father John explained that back in days , farmers used a yoke, a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attched to the cart that they are to pull. It is to bind an older cow with a young cow or donkey . Because of the yoke the young cow with learn from the older cow on how to plough the fields. Just like Jesus ,our teacher and us , His students. He promised us that his yoke is light and easy to carry!
After the first talk, Father John gave us a moment of silent and meditation. Then we sung beautiful songs of praise and worship. Right after we went to the Blessed Sacrament for silent adoration and an apportunity for confession.
The second talk was all about ,”Keeping the faith in times of a pandamic”. The corona virus temporarily halted our daily routines, our vacation plans, family or friends visit , church activities and so on. This pandemic is temporary but it may feel like a forever struggle to slowly find normalcy in our lives and in our society!!
Jesus did not abandon us during this times , He was always with us! This pandemic gave us the realisation of the things we took for granted before because suddenly our movements are restricted and we hate it. Now, we call Jesus more than before , we value church gatherings like this retreat , we feel more closer to one other and we lend our helping hands and ears to people around us! And the most important message amidst the chaos this virus engender is that Jesus wants us to keep the faith. Keep it burning for He alone is our light and hope!
To conclude, the retreat ended with a Holy Mass and with participants happy to go home with a clearer understanding of what a retreat means and what it does to our spiritual growth. Among the general feedback are as follows:
“I understand clearly the meaning of retreat. At first it’s like hard to explain pag me nagtanong. Now, i understand very well.”
“The retreat is very fulfillin. It’s a time well spent and happy I went. I love the atmosphere, love the preachings, and love the time spent on praying.”
The regular 4th Sunday mass celebrated by the Filipino Catholic Community of Gouda & Surroundings is back! On July 26, 2020, the community happily celebrated the mass at OLV Hemelvaartkerk after months of COVID-19 lockdown. Every year, FCC-Gouda celebrates Family Fun Day, a social gathering of all members of the community and their families for merriment, fellowship, and communal dining. But due to COVID-19-related restrictions, this year’s Family Fun Day celebration is cut into an hour gathering with few games, just drinks, and the annual raffle draw fundraising event.
FCC-Gouda needed to raise funds and push through with the planned raffle draw despite the foreseen difficulty of selling tickets and possibility of a cancelled event. By God’s grace, the 4th Sunday mass at the church and the Family Fun Day gathering and fundraising went through successfully. Winners of the raffle draw are as follows:
GRAND PRIZE WINNERS
1st Prize (€75): Ticket # 101— Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe
2nd Prize (€50): Ticket # 384 — Eva Donaire Kroeze
Best Raffle Ticket Sellers: Marivic Adema & Susan Horn-Perez
YOU ARE ALL WINNERS! To all who supported us for this cause, from producing the raffle tickets to giving your donations for the prizes, selling the raffle tickets, buying the tickets with a cheerful heart, consolidating all sold tickets, drawing the winners, and making a financial report, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Together, we’ve raised a total of €465!
WORDS OF THANKS FROM THE FCC-GOUDA BOARD
Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
Thank you so much for your continuous support to our once-a-year celebration of Family Fun Day of the Filipino Catholic Community of Gouda and Surroundings. We are very happy to have you. Your donations have been able to help our activities & diaconal work. Your continuous support helps us build a strong foundation that fosters growth and enriches the worship life of the Christian community. You make the difference, especially in this time of crisis. Your help sustains our mission, and we are sincerely grateful for all your help and support.
Our special thanks to our volunteers and donors:
Marivic Adema
Myra Colis
Elpi de Clercq
Elpi Aziatisch Kleding Reparatie
Susan Horn-Perez
Mar Jane Streefland
Amor van Os
If you have any questions regarding our work and how the proceeds will be put to use, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The Filipino Catholic Community of Gouda organized a social gathering event. Members of other Filipino communities, like the FCC Dordrecht, as well all interested guests were welcome to participate. The purpose of the event was to create more social and spiritual conviviality among members and to offer opportunity to people who like to connect with the community, especially those who share similar ideals and needs. It was also meant to offer opportunity for growth and transformation in various areas of the human person. Thus, the activities were planned to touch on the spiritual, emotional, social and relational dimensions such that participants would be enriched in one way or the other.
It was a well
attended event and participants were blissfully engaged and fully enjoyed
themselves. The hall was packed with over 60 people. It was vividly an evening
to remember; an event like no other because aside from the bible reflections
and dances presented, there were
testimonies given by those who wanted to share their spiritual journey as well
as experiences with the FCC community.
The evening started with Father Marcel leading a bible reflection session with the Theme: Encounter with Jesus. The encounter of two biblical figures with Jesus formed the basis of the reflection. The first reading was taken from John chapter 4 verses 1 to 10 . It deals with the meeting of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Jesus, passing through the town of Samaria , was tired and sat down by the well. Then came a woman of Samaria to draw water from the well, and Jesus asked if she could give him some water to drink. The woman, hesitant, told Jesus, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” ( Bear in mind that during that time, Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus replied, “ If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you the living water. With that request for water, Jesus opened a conversation with this stranger, who in turn got so engaged in conversation that she began to ask deeper questions regarding true worship as she noticed that Jesus could be a prophet or someone special. “ The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman so touched the latter that she went to invite members of her village to come and experience the good news regarding this man called Jesus.
Fr Marcel leads bible reading
Socio-gathering participants
The second
reading was taken from Luke chapter 19 verses 1 to 10. This is the story of
Zaccheaus, the tax collector, wealthy and despised by his fellow Jews. Tax
collectors worked for occupied Roman forces. They collected taxes for the
imperial rulers and enriched themselves through smart but corrupt practices. When Zaccheaus heard that Jesus was passing
through Jericho, he wanted to see Him. But due to the crowd surrounding Jesus,
he could not gain access to Jesus. He ran ahead and climbed a tree. Jesus saw
him, asked him to come down and told him that he must stay at his house.
Zaccheaus came down and welcomed Him gladly, showed repentance by offering to
give half his wealth to the poor as well as pay back fourfold to anyone he
defrauded.
These two bible passages
were the focal point of the bible reading, though other passages like the call
of Matthew (Matthew 9:9-13) and the encounter with Mary Magdalene in the house
of Simon (Luke 7:36-39) were brought in to highlight certain points, including
the following:
Jesus did not meet any of
these people in the church or where people refer to as holy places.
Jesus neither looked down on any of them nor condemned them. When you
condemn someone, you don’t have time to love him or her. Only
love changes people, not force or condemnation.
None of these people expected
that Jesus would meet them and that there would be a great change in their
lives.
People murmured against Jesus
meeting with these people due to their reputation in the society.
The disciples were surprised to
see Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman alone in such an open place.
The ‘holy’ people complained
about Jesus eating with Matthew and Zacchaeus.
Also against the sinful woman (Mary Magdalene) that anointed Jesus in
Luke 7:36-39
Jesus’ encounter with these
people brought so much changes in their lives that made them became productive
and examples of Christian living. Besides, they ended up being great men and
women of God. This is a great encouragement on what we can become with the
grace of God.
The woman at the well became the first evangelist, even before the disciples (He spoke about Jesus to the people even before Jesus could send out his disciple for the first time).
Zacchaeus became a philanthropist and an example of restitution as a sign of repentance.
Matthew became the writer of the Gospel according to Matthew which is the first book in the New Testament Bible.
Mary Magdalene became the first to see Jesus after the resurrection (Mark 16:9).
Sharing reflections
Sharing ideas
Sharing smiles
Sharing thoughts
Sharing experiences
Participants were divided into groups to discuss on any of the two passages. Guiding questions given to facilitate discussion on the topics were as follows: 1. What encounters have brought something new to your life? 2. What is your personal encounter with Jesus? 3. What are the obstacles to building a strong relationship with God? 4. How has/can the FCC family improve(d) my relationship with God. Members who wanted to share their testimonies about life experiences , spiritual journey , and whatever they want to share with the group could do so.
FCC Dordrecht testimony
Pascal Kroeze testimony
Tess Arcilla testimony
Those who gave their testimonies are from FCC Doordrecht and from FCC Gouda , Pascal Kroeze , Kathy Grimme , Tess Arcilla van As and Lita Henke
Jesus was neither allowed by tradition to have a conversation with a Samaritan woman because he is a Jew nor was he permitted by social convention of his society, as a Godly figure, to be friendly with a tax collector because of the latter’s unpleasant reputation. These, however, did not hinder him from reaching out to these people condemned by society because he is there for everyone, without discrimination. Relating to the two biblical stories, which were interesting and practical, the participants had engaging and fruitful discussions. The testimonies that followed were all uplifting and inspirational.
Participants took time to
share how contact with FCC has brought them closer to God, strengthened their faith,
gave them new friends and a community that is there for them during their
darkest moments. FCC in like manner,
extends it’s helping hands to everyone in the community, undertakes visits
to prisoners, organizes novena for the departed loved ones or for the sick,
helping with some documents, sharing or giving a ride and sending uplifting
words or messages. But among the testimonies , two people gave an extraordinary
story of strength and faith.
Kathy Grimme shared her personal battle with cancer. She
bravely shared that inspite of the hardships she went through during doctor’s
appointments and chemotherapy, she saw silver lining on the cloud as she
remained positive and trusting in God in the midst of the overwhelming darkness.
More important is the fact that she was given time to prepare her loved ones
emotionally, especially her two little girls. She gave all her burden to the
Lord and that made it easier for her to face the challenges ahead. As she
successfully won one battle, another was readily at hand. Eventually her left
foot was amputated. But that was a victory considering the fact that most of
those who suffered the type of cancer she had never lived to tell their
stories. Despite all these trials, Cathy remains unfazed , her strength comes
from her family and friends’ support and above all, from her firm believe in
Jesus Christ.
Pascal Kroeze’s testimony is also one of triumph. He recalled the difficulties
of growing up and being negatively influenced by peers. He lost knowledge of
God like most of his peers and took a path of spiritual decline thereby
experiencing negative spiritual, emotional and physical consequences. . His
life changing moment came when he was diagnosed with a tumor on his right
kidney and that gave rise to a chain of bad news: his health deteriorated, he
lost his job and lost his car. During those times, he recalled his past
mistakes and realized he needed to have a change in the direction his life was
going. During this dark period, he needed God to convince him of his loving
presence, which he received in an extraordinary manner. With the help of few
believers around him, especially his wife who prayed earnestly with him, he made a decision to give his life to
Jesus and strengthen his faith in Him. This
led to his baptism and active participation in the life of the Christian
community. By the grace of God, the operation to remove the tumor was
successful and he is now building a stronger relationship with Jesus Christ.
The fun continued after the testimonies. Both the FCC Gouda and FCC Dordrecht members showcased their dancing talents with some Filipino cultural dances as well as other heart-warming dancing steps. The event also provided sumptuous dinner including some Filipino delicacies. The night ended with everyone being happy, inspired and rejuvenated.
