11^th Annual Feast of the Divine Mercy held in Haarlem, The Netherlands

 
Text and photo by Agnes van de Beek-Pavia
FCC The Hague
Haarlem-The Netherlands
May 6, 2019
 


Haarlem, NL –April 28: – More than 200 faithful believers from different places in the country gathered for the 11^th Annual Feast of the Divine Mercy celebrated at the St. Bavo Cathedral last April 28, 2019. The Divine Mercy Sunday (also known as the Feast of the Divine Mercy) is celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. On Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church calls us to celebrate the mercy of God, to trust in the divine mercy, and to renew our commitment to showing mercy to others.





In April of 2000, on the day of Sister Faustina’s canonization, Pope John Paul II instituted the feast for the whole Church.  Since then St. Faustina’s  loyalty and perseverance to Jesus, His message and the devotion of Divine Mercy has been passed on to all Catholics.





The celebration began at 2p.m. with the Divine Mercy Adoration, chanting of the Divine Mercy chaplet followed by the liturgical service celebrated by Bishop Johannes Willibrordus Maria Hendriks, Coadjutor Bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam and concelebrated by Fr. Ruben Torres and Deacon Philip Weijers.  There was a deafening silence a t the moment of Adoration and that profound feeling intensified when the chanting of the Divine Mercy chaplet filled the Gothic cathedral. 



 It was a moment of sacred silence and personal communion with God accompanied by the intimate and joyful praises sung by the FCC The Hague choir.  The congregation was in blended harmony while praying the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Those moments of prayers were peaceful, fervent, faithful and powerful.Shortly before the liturgical celebration started, Bishop Johannes Hendriks blessed the image of the Divine Mercy, which is located in one of the lateral chapels of the cathedral. This blessing marked a significant moment for many faithful believers as this chapel becomes their permanent sacred place for prayers and meditations to the Divine Mercy.



After the blessing of the Divine Mercy image the crowd gathered for the procession. Men, women and children of varying ages joined the solemn procession; each one of them carrying the iconic image of Christ, with rays of red and white pouring from his heart.  The presence of the young altar servers at the procession and at the altar was an important witness, reminding the crowd that Catholics of every age have gifts to offer.



The bishop reminded the crowd that “The Lord created us with a free will and at the same time He revealed Himself, His intentions and the desires of His heart to saints like sister Faustina. If we look at the image of the Lord that was given to us through her, we are invited to contemplate the mercy of Jesus, His meekness, His radiating love .”  And he added that “what really counts is the desire of our hearts to become more and more like Jesus, compassionate, humble, loving, meek and sweet and He wants us to battle for that .” 

Bishop Johannes Hendriks spoke with determined and inspiring words, leaving the crowd with a challenging message of creating unity and not divisions saying:  “Hatred never conquers a heart, it just creates more violence and divisions, therefore our words and actions must be inspired by love and mercy, even if measures of caution have to be taken and people have to be protected. We have to try to bring people together and make them live like brothers and sisters; we should not create divisions.”



In closing his homily, the bishop invited the crowd to open their hearts for Divine Mercy, to let the rays of that mercy enter their hearts so that step by step their hearts will be healed.





The Divine Mercy Feast was an afternoon of inspiring and powerful prayers for hope and faith.  It was a solemn and heartwarming celebration powered by the vigorous and joyful singing of the FCC The Hague choir and the passionate involvement of the members of the Divine Mercy Apostolate in Holland, the FCC The Hague (Filipino Catholic Community) and the Marian Group in The Hague.  The day ended with the sharing of food and the possibility of meeting old and new friends.  There was an abundance of refreshments and all sorts of light snacks from sandwiches, to cookies to rolls and sweets.





This year’s celebration of the Feast of the Divine Mercy was successfully organized through the active leadership and spiritual commitment of Malou Pimentel with the Divine Mercy Apostolate in Holland in cooperation with the FCC The Hague and the Marian Group in The Hague.