Divine Mercy Sunday Celebration

Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated on 23 April 2017 at St. Gerard’s was a collaborative effort of the Centre for Divine Mercy and the ICPE Mission.

The celebration witnessed the church being jam packed with about 180 people in attendance to the programme which included a time of praise and worship, a talk on mercy by Fr. John Rea, a short sharing by Shirley (the coordinator of the Centre for Divine Mercy), adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, sacrament of reconciliation, holy mass and veneration of the sacred image as well as blessing of religious articles.

The celebration concluded with a time of refreshment and fellowship. The Divine Mercy of God has indeed touched His people through this celebration and we thank God for His mercy.

Lenten Retreat at St Anne’s Hall

On 19 March 2017, a Lenten Retreat was held at St Anne’s Hall, Newtown. It was a time of preparation of our hearts towards the Easter Triduum. The short retreat began with praise and worship followed by a talk on Salvation. The retreat finished with an incredibly beautiful time of ministry that filled hearts with a deep sense of God’s love.  

Easter Triduum at St Gerard’s 2017

The highest honoured time of the year in the Catholic calendar, the Easter Triduum began with the Maundy Thursday Liturgy. We commemorated God’s love for us through the symbolic representation of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples, the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the last supper and journeying with Jesus at the beginning of His passion and death. This time was followed by adoration till midnight where the Blessed Sacrament was placed at the altar of repose.

 

We continued walking with Jesus through His passion and death with the Liturgy of the Hours prayed at St Gerard’s Church, the Way of the Cross at St Joseph’s church and the Liturgy of the Passion of Christ at 3:00 pm after which we watched the movie ‘Passion of the Christ’.   

On Saturday, we had the Easter Vigil Mass at our St Gerard’s Church where we celebrated the Lord’s Resurrection. Beginning with the service of light followed by the nine readings signifying the history of salvation and watching a brother and sister receive the Sacraments of Initiation. Our sister Emmanuella Teresa Ling received all the three Sacraments of Initiation with immense joy and our brother Dionisius Bisma Pradhana received the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Celebration of the Lord’s resurrection continued at St. Gerard’s on Easter Sunday with mass and fellowship.

Lenten Retreat 2017

The Holy Family Filipino Community from the Wellington area had its annual day retreat on 8 April 2017 at St Gerard’s Monastery facilitated by the ICPE Mission NZ team. It was a time of invitation to come back to Jesus, be reconciled with Him once again and to respond to His love in word and deed through our everyday lives before entering into Holy Week. 

The retreat began with a beautiful time of praise and worship that set the tone for the rest of the day. The retreat was based on the Life in the Spirit Seminar with sessions on God’s Love, Separation from God, Restoration by Jesus alone and Receiving Salvation.

Sylvia who had just completed sometime of community experience with the ICPE Mission community and Helena a member of the ICPE Mission community shared their testimonies of how Jesus touched their lives in a personal way. 

The day ended with a time of silent adoration allowing God to minister to each one individually and empowering all to love Him and be loved by Him.

CE Closing 2017

On 13 March 2017, we celebrated the experiences gained by two of our sisters Sylvia and Beverley in the ICPE Mission NZ community. 

We had a Mass to celebrate the closing of their community experience.  Each gave a brief sharing of their experiences living in the community for the past one year. Both shared their highlights, challenges they faced and how they overcame them. They also shared their love and gratitude for the community.

We were certainly blessed by their presence in and their services to the community and we pray that God continue to be with them and guide them as they discern their next stage in their lives.