Home of the Mother

Last weekend, February 26-28, 22 girls from Seville, Toledo, and Madrid came to the Sisters’ house in Getafe (Madrid) for a get-together.

Helena and Marta of the group ACIM have been in Playa Prieta since February 26, as they say, “to help out however we can.”
Every day of the week they do medical consultation from 8:30am to 1pm, not only here in Playa Prieta but also in Pueblo Nuevo, a town about 10 minutes’ car ride from here. On Saturdays, they run the clinic from 9am-12pm.

It's been three and a half years since the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother arrived in Playa Prieta, within the parish parameters of Riochico, in the Province of Manabi, to take over the administration of a local school.

On Sunday, February 28, we had a retreat for young women. On Friday, there were only two girls signed up and we had decided to cancel it. But then, it became obvious that Our Blessed Mother wanted this retreat to happen...because on Saturday, we suddenly found out that several girls who we thought would not be able to make it, were coming. In the end, there were 15 girls all together.

On Saturday, February 20, Fr. Rafael and the Servant Sisters had the first get-together of the Home of the Mother in Valencia, Spain.  There, waiting for us, were the lay members of the Home in Valencia and from other parts of Spain, to begin the Home in Valencia.

We gathered together in Our Lady of Sorrows Parish at 12 and we watched the Presentation Video of the Home of the Mother.  There were several new people there who didn't know of the Home, and the Presentation Video helped to give them a general idea of what the Home is.  We had a brief meeting afterwards, in which we spoke of the Home, our missions, and our activities.  After lunch, we watched a few videos produced by HM Television and discussed them afterwards.

This past Sunday, February 21, several families and Servant Brothers of the Home of the Mother came together for a Mass celebrated by Fr. Felix Lopez, SHM, in the parish church in the town of Monte Reinaldo (Ascoli Piceno, Italy).

Two consecrated lay women from the ACIM (Apostles of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary) in Spain, Helena and Marta, have been here with us since February 2. Helena is a doctor and has come to do an internship for practicing rural medicine.

We now have information available on this year's Holy Week Encounters. This year, as in the past, there will be Encounters in Ecuador, Florida (USA), and Spain. For the first time, there will be one held in Canada.

The Holy Week Encounters began in Toledo, Spain. They were organized by a group of young people of the Home of the Mother who wanted to live Holy Week in an atmosphere of greater reflection and profound joy.

This past Sunday, February 7^th, 5 days after the Feast of Candlemas, from 4:30-7pm, nearly 350 babies born and baptized in 2009 were presented at the Shrine of “Nuestra Señora del Águila” (Our Lady of the Eagle) in Alcalá de Guadaíra, Seville.

_January 31 was the feast of Saint John Bosco and, therefore, was a great feast in the “Oratory” of our Parish of “San Apollonio” in Lumezzane. We also celebrated a Day for Peace, as it was the last day of the month dedicated to peace.

In the morning, there was a special Mass at 10:30am. After the Mass, there was a March for Peace through the local streets, in which the children carried balloons with messages for peace. When we reached Paul VI Square, which is just behind our house, we all prayed the Angelus, praying especially for peace and the children let their balloons go into the air.

We can finally announce that the Home of the Mother of the Youth has begun in Italy. On Saturday, February 6, First Saturday of the month, a group of 6 girls entered the Home, the first members of HMY in Italy.
Every Saturday we have encounters for girls and adolescents. Usually about 35-40 of them attend them. The week beforehand, we had told the girls about the Home and told them to think about whether they would like to enter or not. And on Saturday, February 6, there were 6 girls who wanted to. During the time for prayer that we always have in our chapel, we had the entrance ceremony. It was very simple, but very beautiful at the same time.

On Friday, February 12, the Sisters and girls from Jacksonville went to Tampa for a get-together for girls and lay members of the Home of the Mother. We stayed at the Rectory of St. Anthony's Parish, where we also met up with some of the girls from Tampa.

“Our greatest need is to be silent before this great God, with our mind and heart, for the only language he hears in the silent language of love.” (Saint John of the Cross)

This past weekend, it was the boys' turn to have their Silent Retreat at Ave Maria University in Nicaragua. It was held at the “Mount Carmel” Retreat Center, located adjacent to the Convent belonging to the Carmelites of the Divine Heart of Jesus, in San Marcos, Nicaragua.

We, the Servant Brothers in Rome, are in awe! It is so great to be able to study in the Heart of the Church! Every day, we are able to see that the Church encompasses every continent, as many of our companions at the university are from all over the world. Also, we are able to listen to the Pope. He has given all of us, the entire Church a Year in which to meditate on a beautiful vocation: “How great is the priest. If he realized this, he would die. God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host.” (Benedict XVI, quoting the Cure of Ars) Such a close intimacy with God requires that the priest renounce any kind of protagonism, and to the degree in which we decrease, Jesus can shine forth. This is what we are called to live!

On Sunday, February 7, Fr. Rafael, along with Servant Sisters, Servant Priests/Brothers, members and friends of the Home of the Mother, all came together at "San Maurizio" Parish, located on the outskirts of Rome, for the baptism of Baby Pablo de Maria Tridente, son of Laura and Giovanni Tridente (members of the Home) and now a child of God.

This past weekend (February 5-7), 24 girls from Ave Maria University – Nicaragua attended a Silent Retreat led by the Servant Priests of the Home of the Mother, Fr. Dominic and Fr. Jose Javier, along with Sr. Marta Ponce, in the Carmelite Convent nearby.

This past Saturday, February 6, in La Aldehuela (Getafe), we had this year's first get-together for grade-school age girls. There was time for everything except being bored. The youngest girls helped Jennifer find virtues, thanks to a secret map. They made a beautiful jewelry box and they did a "show" in the afternoon. We had a skating contest, games and dancing, and to top it all off, a Holy Hour to console Jesus in the Eucharist.

HM Television, together with the Holy See’s Congregation for the Clergy, presents “Alter Christus”, a fast-paced film on the many aspects of the priesthood in the life of the Church. Centered on the life of St. John Vianney, the topics covered range from the Priestly Identity to the Sacraments, from Celibacy to the Mission. The video is included in 5 languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German.

On Saturday, January 16, Rosa Duque, pediatrician and member of the Groups of Prayer of the Sacred Heart, came from Madrid to Alcala de Guadaira (Seville) on a “quick apostolic trip” to give a talk on sexual education entitled: “Created to Love.”

On Saturday, January 30, we left by bus for Montilla, Cordoba, with the mission of gaining an indulgence. We were a group of about 40 people: adults, several married couples, young people, two children, and one that was still yet to be born...and the four Sisters here in the Servant Sisters' community in Alcala (Seville, Spain). Montilla is famous for its wine, but we had come to see two great saints: Saint John of Avila, Patron of Spanish Priests, and Saint Francis Solano, whose Jubilee Year is being celebrated.