Christ is Risen! Alleluia Alleluia! \o/

Happy Easter!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 

1 Peter 1:3

We've passed the half way mark of the SOM and will soon move into outreach preparation.We are currently learning more about the Catholic Church and have just a couple of weeks more of lectures.

Highlights of our lives over the last month:

Titus!

 

 We were blessed to have Titus with us, for holiday and for holiness (he taught this topic to the school among other topics). As we can tell, the participants had a great time with him. :)

International Night!

Celebrating our cultural richness and diversities!

Project time!

Participants turned preachers as they presented on the topics they had learnt in the School. Their faith shone through their teachings, creativity and testimonies. Keep them in your prayers, that they may truly shine like stars as they present Jesus to New Zealand in their missions.

 

 

Birthdays! 

 

EASTER SUNDAY!

What a glorious day! Right from the opening song of the Eucharist, there was such an atmosphere of joyous celebration that carried through the rest of the day and our festivities.

 Father Peter encouraged us in his homily to put God first once again (as we did on Ash Wednesday at the start of our Lenten journey) and to receive the fire of new life from Jesus. Yes, we live again because of Him!

 

The Community Experience participants together with Mely gave honour and glory to God through their dances. We are so proud of these 6 young people who continue to serve God faithfully in all they do and who are open and desiring to grow in their faith.

The big brothers and sister from SOM put together an egg-citing Easter egg hunt for our young ones. glad they all had fun!

 

Taking group photos is one of the rituals of our community here at St Gerard's. We are glad for special days, seasons and occasions where we can create memories together. And we are thankful for the technology that helps us preserve those memories. ;)

Thanks Adri, Christine, Edi.

Is This What You Are Looking For?

Next School of Missions
14 February - 4 July 2010
Wellington, New Zealand


What is it?
It's a 20-week live-in course, chockful of rich and inspiring Catholic teachings topped with a month of hands-on missionary experience.

You'll be immersed in a multi-cultural, international community. Hello Malta, Singapore, Indonesia, Germany, etc under one roof. Hello to shared bathrooms, shared meals ranging from potatoes, pasta, rice and "etc.!"


You'll be in the lecture room and the hospitality room, there'll be worship times and wash-up times, quiet times and madhatter times, roll up your sleeves for projects and toilet-cleaning, or maybe a spot of tree-cutting. You'll know you are not alone as you journey with small sharing groups, a dedicated one to one accompaniment, and simply sharing life with a whole bunch of people that God has called and chosen, each by name.

[Participants of the School that ended in July 09]

Is God calling you to be a missionary but you don't know what to do with this call?

Are you a young Christian looking for something that will give your life a sense of purpose, challenge and fulfillment?

Do you have a desire to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ?

Do you have a stirring in your heart to make a difference in the world for Jesus?

"Do not be afraid to become holy missionaries like St Francis Xavier who travelled through the Far East proclaiming the Good News until every ounce of his strength was used up… Be prepared to put your life on the line in order to enlighten the world with the truth of Christ; to respond with love to hatred and disregard for life; to proclaim the hope of the risen Christ in every corner of the earth”.

- Pope Benedict XVI, Message to the Young People of the World,
XXIII World Youth Day, 2008

Right on! Do not be afraid! Do not fear when God calls you to draw nearer to Him than EVER BEFORE!

Check out the entries on this blog for more insight into our School of Missions. and contact us if you are interested to pursue this.


The crew at St Gerard's

SOM Shine in Hastings!

Do you know your true identity?

The girls from the SOM team shared the message about our true identity in God to many young women in Hastings. You are beautiful inside out, dear sisters! God's masterpiece, His work of art, His beloved daughters. Never forget who you are!

Ju, promoting our programme at Sacred Heart College, Napier

The youth gathering at Sacred Heart Parish was an evening of fun, games, fellowship and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit!

During our time in Hastings, we were blessed by the warm and generous hospitality of the people there, who fed us and accomodated us at their homes. Thank you!

We ran 3 evenings of parish seminars based on the themes of "Knowing the Gift", "Receiving the Gift" and "Being the Gift". They were Spirit-filled evenings. We thank God for the open hearts, eager to receive God’s word for them. People appreciated the variety of the programme and enjoyed the joy and love which shone through the team members.

Young and old came forward to receive prayer, for more of the Holy Spirit, for renewal, for deepening of their faith...the priests were amazed by the number of people who went for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Indeed, God’s grace abounds!

Experiencing the Father's welcome home

Let your light shine for Jesus!!

Using drama, teachings and testimonies, we proclaimed the Good News in St Mary’s Primary School, St John’s College, St Joseph’s Primary School and Sacred Heart College throughout the week.

What a grace to bring the Good News to the young!

Having completed our work in Hastings, we surrender all we have done back to the Lord, and we pray that He who provides the growth, will tend to the seeds sown and bring to completion the good work He had begun in His people. If the Lord wills, this will not be the last time we will see the people of Hastings! \o/

Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city, Amen!

Celebrating that we are Created and Redeemed as Male and Female!

It is an illusion to think we can build a true culture of human life if we do not...accept and experience sexuality and love and the whole of life according to their true meaning and their close inter-connection. (Evangelium Vitae)

The School was blessed to watch Christopher West teach on the Theology of the Body and to listen "live" to the personal testimonies of brothers and sisters in our community. Among those who shared were singles and married persons and couples.

Through the fact that the Word of God became flesh, the body entered theology...through the main door. (Theology of the Body, 89)

Paddy and Millie praying before their sharing. Thanks, Paddy and Millie for your courage to share your life with us. Your testimonies truly gave witness to the power of God's love and fidelity to you and your family. Praise God!

We were equally edified by Petrus and Mely's sharing about their journey from courtship to marriage to parenthood in the Lord. Thank you for your witness of life!

The week ended with a beautiful evening organised by the men during which they honoured the women and lavished attention and care on them.

The evening culminated with the men escorting the women who were blindfolded to a secret location. When the blindfolds were removed, the women found themselves in our church and before the Blessed Sacrament! Indeed there could be no more fitting way to conclude the evening than to present each bride before the Bridegroom Himself! Thank you, dear brothers!

God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 221)

Woman "is the representative and the archetype of the whole human race: she represents the humanity which belongs to all human beings, both men and women. (John Paul II's Letter on the Dignity and Vocation of Women)

Grace is that mysterious gift made to the human heart which frees men and women to become a sincere gift to each other. (see Theology of the Body, 68)

Only the value of the person can sustain a stable relationship. The other values of sexuality are wasted away by time and exposed to the danger of disillusion. But this is not the case for the value of the person...which is stable and in some way infinite. When love develops and reaches the person, then it is forever. (Karol Wojtyla: The Thought of the Man who became John Paul II)


Every person is totally unique and unrepeatable! How cool!

And remember....that person is YOU!