11 - 14 April 2014 Faith renewal retreat for secondary school students St. Paul's secondary
19 April 2014 Easter Concert at St. Joseph's Catholic Church Milimani
27 April 2014 Divine mercy retreat at Milimani Parish
2 - 4 May 2014 Parish Faith renewal retreat Milimani Parish Nyalenda Centre.
ST. ANTHONY RALIEW CATHOLIC CHURCH 12th to 14th
August 2011
RETREAT REPORT
Friday 12th
August 2011
By
evening about 342 youth had already registered and were seated on the floor of
the church after taking dinner. Introductory songs were done then followed by
international Rosary. After the Rosary there was mass that was presided over by
Fr. Luke OP, the homily was about a retreat with Jesus where the youth were
introduced to this wonderful experience they were going to have with Jesus for
the weekend of the retreat.Immediately
after mass the burning bush was set up then a brief introduction done on
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Then we had the great moment to be with
Jesus in the blessed sacraments, to behold his presence, to worship and praise
Him, to experience the power of His presence. As the youth went to bed, the
adults from the local parish remained to worship to whole night. These adults
were from the devotional groups of the parish.
Saturday 13th
August 2011
The morning started with breakfast, praise and worship songs
then the Dominican laity led the Morning prayers. The first session was given
by Br.Thomas O.P about WHO IS JESUS
CHRIST? This session opened up the youth to know who Jesus is and what Jesus is
to each one of them. This
was followed by group discussion where the youth were divided into age groups.
These groups were to help the youth discuss about Jesus and to deepen their
understanding of Jesus. These discussions were very interesting and the youth
asked many questions about the catholic faith. This prompted us to slot in a
session for the answers to the questions of the youth later during the retreat.
It was also evident how much the youth were hungry here more about their faith
that would equip them to handle the difficult questions and challenges they
face from Protestants.
Having known about Jesus and how great He is. It was time
for the youth to make their relationship with Him. They had to know about sin
and confession. Br. Timothy O.P led the youth through the session on the
examination of conscience and the sacrament of reconciliation. It was a moving
sessions. As the session went, we expected to have priests available to minister
the sacrament of reconciliation, none was around, and about four priests
arrived after lunch. The youth thronged the confessional have seen the need and
known the effects of sin on their relationship with Jesus.
After lunch the youth went back to their groups to discuss
about the effects of sin in their lives. So many youth had concerns about going
to confession to priests they already know and have interacted with them. They
said it was difficult to confess sins to a priest you know well and at some
point saw him doing some wrong. The youth also had so many questions on this
sacrament.
When the time for discussions elapsed, the music ministry
started music to invite the youth back to the auditorium. A talk on the call to
holiness was given by Fr. Dominic O.P. He retaliated that we are all called to
Holiness and we have to remain holy. He posed questions to the youth about the
obstacles to holiness and the perceptions of Protestants about Catholics in
this discipline. He gave the youth tips on maintaining a life of grace by
avoiding sin, frequent confession, attending mass, reading God’s word. There
were musical breaks in between the sessions. The international rosary was done.
The mass for the day was celebrated by the Parish priest Fr.
Mathew. There were youth who did not manage to go for confession so a general
absolution was done at the beginning of the mass. In his homily The Eucharist
and the paschal mystery, he emphasized the need to put the Eucharist at the
center of our lives as Christians. Jesus loves us so much that He wants to ever
remain with us in the Blessed Sacrament as our food and spiritual nourishment.
He cautioned the youth that they have a tendency of going to the Eucharist in
the state of sin; one must go to confession before going to the Eucharist. He
also encouraged the youth never to doubt the presence of Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament for he is present with His body and blood, humanity and divinity.
This was a very lively mass, it was different and also many youth had gained courage
after going for confession. A sad lot on Friday were a happy people this day
with songs and dance to the Lord Jesus.
After mass we went for dinner. Then a talk on
reconciliation: The gift of the Holy Spirit, was given by Deacon Vincent.
During the talks there were meditation to help the youth reconcile and forgive
those they had held sins and hurts against. The grace of God was working and
the youth were making resolutions to forgive even the greatest hurts in their
lives. Deacon said that it necessary to forgive to be forgiven. He also
emphasized that the grace of God will only flow in us when we hold nothing
against our neighbor.
As the talks were underway, we started preparing for the
Eucharistic prayer service. When deacon was done, we went to praise and worship
and mediations before the Blessed Sacrament. This session was leading us to the
climax of the retreat, to Experience the Power of the presence of Jesus. The
music led the youth to a deeper contact with the Lord Jesus. The youth had the
opportunity to experience Jesus in a special way. After the Eucharistic prayer
service, the hall was full of jubilation. Songs of praise and worship were done
with the youth dancing and shouting for the Lord for the special encounter they
had with the Lord Jesus. At around 11 pm, they youth were asked to go to bed,
while the adults continued with the all night adoration. For many of the youth,
this will be a night to remember for the better part of their lives as they
testified in the next day.
Sunday 14th
August 2011
Breakfast was served to the youth then the music ministry
started music to invite the youth to the hall. This time all the youth joyfully
joined in the praise and worship session. The Lay Dominicans then led the
morning prayers. Though most of the youth had not been involved the morning
prayers of the divine office, they were happy to hear and participate in it.
After the Morning Prayer, Sr. Basilica FSA, who belongs to a
local congregation of the diocese, led us through a session on Mary Star of
Evangelization. She explained to the youth why we have Mary and why we should
honor her, quoting from the scriptures and the writings of the holy fathers of
the church. From prophesies in the Old Testament to the gospel and the Acts of
the Apostles where Mary was in the first cenacle where Pentecost happened.
After the session we had the international Rosary. Then followed the ceremony
of the crowning of Mary with a procession involving the adults and youth from
different places. We sang songs of Mary with jubilation to honor the Blessed
Virgin for her role in the salvation of mankind.
The youth were asked to write questions they had about the
Catholic faith, the questions were so many that all the answers could not be
given. However, the seminarians, sisters, priests and Dominican Laity members
helped in answering some questions. The rest were compiled, their answers
sought then sent to the youth in the respective parishes and institutions.
The
mass to conclude the retreat was said by Fr. Dominic O.P, the mass was a great
one, and there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm with the youth. Adults also
joined this mass, though they sat outside because the auditorium was packed.
The Homily of the mass was a bout witnessing to Christ (Evangelization). Fr
urged the Christian that they have to keep alive the Holy Spirit in their
lives. He gave the example of a glass of water with sugar, before it is stirred
it is tasteless, but when it is stirred and the sugar has dissolved in water it
is sweat. He urged the retreatants to go with confidence to share with others
the love of God that they experienced for the glory of God.
After mass, about 10 youth were asked to give testimonies of
what the Lord had done to them in their lives. One youth said that he had
suffered so much and wanted to take his life before coming to the retreat. He
thanked Jesus for healing him and giving him joy in his life. He has vowed to
serve the Lord always. Another girl narrated how she got into prostitution and
ended up HIV positive. She vowed that after being touched by Jesus in the
retreat, she will live a Christian life and pray to God to give her a life time
partner whom they can wed within the church. She disowned her former life and
embraced Christ. As the concluding remarks were made for the retreat, most the
youth looked sad, they never wanted to go back home. Some even suggested that
it continues for more days.
7th April - Divine Mercy Sunday Recollection at Nyabondo parish
14th April - Formation meeting and Music ministry practice for retreat mission 17th -21st April - Renewal Retreat for School of Jesus Homabay Diocese- we will be doing music ministry please include us in your intercessions.
By
evening about 342 youth had already registered and were seated on the floor of
the church after taking dinner. Introductory songs were done then followed by
international Rosary. After the Rosary there was mass that was presided over by
Fr. Luke OP, the homily was about a retreat with Jesus where the youth were
introduced to this wonderful experience they were going to have with Jesus for
the weekend of the retreat. Immediately
after mass the burning bush was set up then a brief introduction done on
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Then we had the great moment to be with
Jesus in the blessed sacraments, to behold his presence, to worship and praise
Him, to experience the power of His presence. As the youth went to bed, the
adults from the local parish remained to worship to whole night. These adults
were from the devotional groups of the parish. 
This
was followed by group discussion where the youth were divided into age groups.
These groups were to help the youth discuss about Jesus and to deepen their
understanding of Jesus. These discussions were very interesting and the youth
asked many questions about the catholic faith. This prompted us to slot in a
session for the answers to the questions of the youth later during the retreat.
It was also evident how much the youth were hungry here more about their faith
that would equip them to handle the difficult questions and challenges they
face from Protestants.
The
mass to conclude the retreat was said by Fr. Dominic O.P, the mass was a great
one, and there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm with the youth. Adults also
joined this mass, though they sat outside because the auditorium was packed.
The Homily of the mass was a bout witnessing to Christ (Evangelization). Fr
urged the Christian that they have to keep alive the Holy Spirit in their
lives. He gave the example of a glass of water with sugar, before it is stirred
it is tasteless, but when it is stirred and the sugar has dissolved in water it
is sweat. He urged the retreatants to go with confidence to share with others
the love of God that they experienced for the glory of God.
