Yesterday afternoon, June 6, the Shalom Family Gathering began in celebration of the Jubilee for New Communities and Movements, currently taking place in Rome and continuing until tomorrow, June 8, with the celebration of the Solemnity of Pentecost.
The San Lorenzo Center hosted this initial gathering of the Shalom family, where missionaries and pilgrims from Brazil, , Hungary, , and Italy came together joyfully to celebrate a jubilee day. It began with preaching by our founder, Moysés Azevedo, who reflected on Christian hope within the context of the Jubilee.
“The foundation of Christian hope is a person—Christian hope is Jesus, crucified and risen. Christ is the source of our hope. When we believe in eternal life, earthly life is completely transformed. As Christians, we are not heading toward a dead end or a dark abyss. We are on our way to meet the Lord in glory, in eternity. Let us fix our gaze on eternity. Eternity is the fullness of joy. Bringing heaven closer to our daily lives—this is how Christian hope works.”
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The Church calls us to celebrate this Jubilee with open hearts—not just in any way—live your Jubilee! We must stretch our hearts wide to receive the abundance of grace that the Church is pouring out upon us in these days, a time of grace. A time of hope, a time to let heaven transform our lives. Living the Jubilee depends greatly on the disposition of our hearts. Let’s live this hope!” emphasized Moysés.
Our founder shared several ways to open our hearts to deeply experience the Jubilee:
“First, by welcoming mercy into our own lives. We know the wounded heart of Christ was full of love. In encountering the heart of God, we are pierced by mercy, and our lives can be even more transformed.”
He added, “It would be helpful in these days to make a good and thorough confession. Confession is nothing more than two hearts meeting. Welcome God’s mercy and be merciful to others. Let us forgive always and generously, without measure, just as God has forgiven us.”
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Moysés recalled the words of Pope Francis when he described the Community as full of “creative courage, welcome, and missionary zeal.”
From the June 6th meeting with Pope Francis, our founder recalled the Holy Father’s opening words: “Peace be with you.”
“As a Community, we are joyful at the Pope’s greeting of peace and also feel the responsibility to be bearers of that peace.”
Referring to the recent meeting with the s of New Communities, Moysés highlighted the Pope’s words:
“Thanks to the charisms that gave rise to your communities, many people have drawn closer to Christ, rediscovered hope, experienced the motherhood of the Church, and wish to grow in the Christian life and share with others the gifts they’ve received through evangelization.”
“So, the Pope invites you to collaborate with him in the Church’s mission. We have received a charism for the mission of humanity in today’s world. The Pope looks at new communities with hope. May we respond to this call from God and the Church,” said our founder.
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Finally, referring to Pentecost, Moysés Azevedo reflected on the coming of the Holy Spirit:
“We are here, participating in the Jubilee in Rome, to ask for the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit in our lives, in the Community, in the Church, in the world. Let us pray together for the Spirit—we are here for that. The Spirit is the divine fire, to set our hearts ablaze. The Spirit is the dimension of spousal love, so that our hearts may fall in love.”
“We cannot fall in love by our own strength. Love awakens in us as if from outside—it hits us and makes us fall in love. May the Spirit come and touch our hearts to enable us to fall in love with God and with humanity,” he concluded.
