Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear Family and Friends,

All our lives, especially during this time of the year, we read the Gospel account of the birth of Jesus and the Magi from the East who travel to Bethlehem, following a star, in search of Him. The Magi were not Jews, God’s chosen people, who had been awaiting the coming of the

Messiah for centuries. Their religious beliefs were not the same at all. Why would they be moved to go far beyond their world in search of this baby, whom the Israelites believed was the Savior? “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and

have come to worship him.” (Mt 2:2) We hear the readings at Mass and, countless times since we were children, we have sung the Christmas carols that speak of the Wise Men, who “traverse afar, field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.” Who knows if it’s correct, but I’ve always pictured them as long-haired guys, who may appear rough because their lives have been tough, but whose hearts truly are tender and good. Their hearts are so simple and open, as a matter of fact, that they quickly respond to the outpouring of grace from God, His mercy that invites them to an encounter with a baby, the Savior and Redeemer, who has come “to heal the broken hearted (Is 61:1)…to bring good news to the poor…to proclaim liberty to captives and

A Modern Day Wise Man

DECEMBER 2014

CenacoloA Hope Reborn

from the darkness to the Light

Our Lady of Hope Mary Immaculate St. Maria Goretti Our Lady of Joyful Hope

1050 Talleyrand Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32206 www.hopereborn.org

recovering of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” (Lk 4:18) Yes, He has come for every single one of us who suffer, who are afraid, who have fallen into darkness, who are wounded—for every person in the entire world, not just at that moment but until the end of time. Their gentle hearts easily welcome the mercy, which compels them to step out of the familiar, the normal, and the usual when the unfamiliar, the abnormal, and the unusual enter their life. Perhaps people, including their friends and family, laughed at them or thought they were foolish to believe that the star could lead them to the Messiah, but they didn’t allow people’s opinions or any fear of criticism to stop them. They take the initiative and step out with a question, with action, and with abandonment, following the star and the sweet movement of grace in their hearts that lovingly calls them toward Life and Love Himself. Well, I feel like I recently met a modern day Wise Man. His name is Dave. Here’s the story. At Comunita Cenacolo America, we just had a Parents and Families Retreat, where 500+ family members gathered together. Two priests of Comunita Cenacolo came from Italy to join us. One of them speaks English well; we translated for the other priest. We were blessed with powerful talks about the love, forgiveness, and mercy of God, which lead

to three hours of long lines for Confession with six priests prior to a delayed lunch and about two more hours with four priests after lunch! We laughed, cried, prayed, sang, danced, repented, received forgiveness in the Sacrament of Mercy, adored our Eucharistic Jesus, and received our Savior in the Holy Mass. Mercy embraced us all! Individual hearts, marriages, and families found peace! We all experienced a cascade of mercy and joy! When the retreat ended, a group of us went with our two Cenacolo priests to a local restaurant that overlooks the water. We walked into the outside eating area with our priests, so that they could see the beautiful view at sunset. One of our priests was in a full black cassock and the other in his clerics. We could hear the music from the bar in the adjoining room, where two men were playing a guitar and a violin. Both the guitarist, a long-haired man named Dave, and his curly, white haired friend on the violin are probably in their 60’s. We stood at the doorway of the bar area, probably 8’ from the musicians, listening to the soft John Denver era songs for about 15 minutes. Then Dave asked if we had a request, and we gave him one, which they gladly played. At the end of the song, he beckoned me over, so I walked over to speak to him. “Are they men of the cloth?” he asked. Realizing that he was not Catholic, I responded, “Yes, they are both Catholic priests, visiting here

Fr. Andrea Fr. Massimo

from Italy.” He gently asked, as he raised his eyes toward heaven, “Would you please ask them to put in a good word for me? The doctors think I have cancer,” he said, pointing to his throat. I felt deeply moved by his humble spirit and his open heart: “Of course I will. Would you like them to pray for you right now? They would be happy to do it.” With sim-plicity and abandonment, Dave said, “Oh, yes, thank you!” and he announced that he was taking a ten-minute break. The five of us stood about three yards outside the bar area, with the restaurant tables around us in the outside eating area. Dave said to us, “My mom and my sister died of can-cer, and I’m really, really scared.” Fr. Andrea, who speaks English well, shared with him about the merciful and compassionate love of Jesus and the Blessed Mother. Fr. Andrea and Fr. Massimo laid hands on Dave and prayed aloud over him. With peace and gratitude in his eyes, he thanked us. Spontaneously, we all embraced him, feeling immersed in God’s mercy! Yes, Dave reminds me of the Magi. Dave’s star was the cassock and the clerics of our two priests, clearly something unfamiliar, abnormal, and unusual in his world. Like the Magi who were not Jews, but knew that God was calling them to find the “king of the Jews” (Mt 2:2), Dave is not Catholic, but he knew God was calling Him to seek His healing and life through our two Catholic priests. Exactly like the Magi, Dave responded to God’s merciful invitation by stepping out of the familiar, normal, and usual aspects of his world to ask, “Are they men of the cloth?” and to seek the Savior by humbly requesting, “Would you please ask them to put in a good word for me?” His travels did not take him into a far off land through the danger of “field

and fountain, moor and mountain,” but rather a few yards into the danger of ridicule and negative comments, of public embarrassment and humiliation by everyone sitting in the bar and in the restaurant, not to mention possible negative repercussions by the restaurant owners. Like the Wise Men, Dave didn’t worry about people laughing at him or thinking he was foolish. He took the initiative and stepped out with action, abandoning himself to the gentle invitation of grace that tenderly calls him to Jesus, our healer and Savior. Please pray for Dave. We know with certainty that, in God’s marvelous and unfathomable mercy, Dave is the reason we went to eat at that particular restaurant on that specific night. The doctors confirmed that Dave does, in fact, have cancer; but when he said his surgery is December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, our hearts rejoiced!!! Mary is embracing her son Dave, who has yet to meet her! Our loving Daddy God is drawing Dave to Jesus and our Blessed Mother, just as He drew the Magi, so that he may see “the Child with Mary his mother…rejoice exceedingly with great joy…fall down and worship Him.” (Mt 2) May we search for Jesus, our Redeemer, with the humility, courage, and abandonment of the Wise Men and of Dave. We pray for you and all those you love! Comunita Cenacolo America

O Star of Wonder, Star of Night,Star of Royal Beauty Bright,Westward Leading, Still Proceeding,Guide Us to Thy Perfect Light!