Home of the Mother

From the 13th to the 15th of August, Fr. Colum and the candidate Matthew Nobrega, directed a get-together for boys in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary in Merlin, Ontario.

Damien Lee Young, Juan Pablo Hernández, Shaun Udovic, Abe Serrano, David Restrepo, Christopher Udovic, and José Rafael Pérez went to the get-together.

This summer has been filled with a series of very enriching experiences: pilgrimages, camps, the Approval in Rome, the Entrance into the Novitiate, Profession of Vows, spiritual exercises, the HM Family Encounter, etc. In the midst of them all, we have also spent some beautiful days here in Barcenilla (Spain).

We've had a full house since May, which is when the candidates began arriving from the USA. They were followed by an endless flow of visits from families from all over – the USA, Ecuador, Canada, Italy, and England.

This summer, from August 12-15, about 130 of us all got together in Barcenilla (Spain) for the HM Family Encounter. There were people from Italy, England, the USA, Ecuador, Ireland, and Spain.

The littlest participant was one-month-old Gabriel Samino. It was a great joy for us to see the house full of young couples of the Home of the Mother, along with their children. Our days together were marked by a genuinely fraternal atmosphere in which we had time for prayer, Mass, video presentations, talks, round-table discussions, etc.

On August 13th, a group of young people met in Fonda, New York at the Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. The group consisted of four young people, two Brothers, and three adults.

The occasion was to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the foundation of the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs at nearby Auriesville, New York. This Shrine was the old Indian town of Ossernon where Saint Isaac Jogues first entered into Mohawk territory and the place of the martyrdom of Saint Rene Goupil.

The Home of the Mother Youth boys had their summer camps in Ocala, Florida and Blairsville, Georgia. There were 29 boys from ages 8-13 and 31 boys from ages 14 - 17. The younger boys stayed at the Lake in the Forest campsite at Halfmoon Lake in the Ocala National Forest. The older boys went to Vogel State Park in Blairsville, Georgia.  In both camps, the boys had to make the effort to come out of themselves and find the beauty of a life centered on Christ. This was done through a daily dose of adoration before our Lord with points of meditation, mass, rosary, and talks given by the brothers.

Last Sunday, August 22nd, the Sisters who are currently in the community of Rome (Sr. Anna, Sr. Emma, Sr. Hope, and Sr. Maria Luisa), went to Monte Vidon Combatte, a small town in the Italian region of Ascoli Piceno, to visit the home of several members of the Home of the Mother.

Three married couples from the area participated in the get-together, with their children: Angelo and Lidia, Giuliano and Rosella, and Luciano and Maria.

The community of Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Seville), has lived some days filled with very special graces, historical and unforgettable days.

As you know, our main work in this town is taking care of the Shrine of Nuestra Señora del Águila, where the image of the patroness, so revered and loved by all Alcalá, is found. Although the image was remade after the Spanish Civil War, this Marian devotion has been transmitted from father to son for seven centuries.

Annually, a novena is celebated in preparation for the feast (15th of August). This year, to mark the tenth anniversary of the canonical coronation of the image, the novena was done in a very special festive tone. It has been a traveling novena in which the image of the Virgin has traveled 14 km through the streets of Alcalá.

Sisters Ruth Ibáñez and Ruth Alamillo, from the community of Chone (Ecuador), accompanied by Maguito and Kasandra (candidates), Candy and Lorena, left Saturday the 14th early in the morning, at five o'clock, on their way to Manchala, the capitol of the province El Oro. The reason for the trip was to accompany Sr. Miriam Isabel of the Child Jesus in the ceremony of her temporal religious profession. Sr. Miriam is a young woman who was a member of the Home of the Mother of the Youth and is a Carmelite now.

---

After a seven and a half hour trip, we reached Machala, and, after eating lunch, we went to the Carmel and we asked for directions to the place where we were going to stay that night. The Prioress had found a place for us to stay in a house that the Sisters of the Good Shepherd run. They welcomed us with great affection and they did not allow us to do anything while they prepared our bedrooms.

That afternoon we went back to the Carmel for the ceremony. While we waited for the church to be opened, we had the opportunity to speak with some Sisters Adorers from Colombia, with Fr. Johny, the Carmelites' chaplain, and with some family and friends of the sisters.

At 5 o'clock, the ceremony began. It was presided by the Bishop of Machala, Bishop Luis Antonio Sánchez Armijos, Salesian of Don Bosco. We were able to enjoy the ceremony from the front row, next to the choir of the Carmelites. It is a very simple ceremony, similar to ours.  After the examine, the novice pronounces the formula of the profession in the hands of the Mother Prioress. Later she comes out from the choir (passing the grate) to the presbytery. There the Bishop presents the book of the Rules of the Carmel, and the sister signs the formula of the vows on top of the altar.

After signing, her godparents give her a crucifix, which they pin to her habit, under the scapular. Then her parents place on her head a simple crown of roses and trace the sign of the cross on her forehead, simbolizing their blessing.  Later on, she embraced her parents, godparents, family and... the sisters and friends who had come from Manabí.

After the ceremony, we went into the parlor to congratulate the newly professed sister.  We were their talking, first with Sr. Miriam, and later, little by little all of the sisters of the community came in. There are 17 all together, most of them are young and very joyful. We remembered many things that happened when Sr. Miriam was in the Home, and we laughed telling anecdotes. We think that we were all mutually enriched.

The next day, after Mass, we said goodbye, took tons of pictures and got on our way back to Chone. It has been a very enriching experience for all of us and we came back with our hearts inflamed at seeing another community that is so simple and so in love with the Lord.

See Photo Album

The girls of the Home of the Mother in Chone have gotten to work raising money for the trip they are planning to take to Spain next summer, to participate in World Youth Day. There are 20 girls signed up to go and there are 12 organizing the fundraising activities in order to be able to pay for it.

They have prepared a schedule of activities for each week. Every week they make something different: ceviche, pizza, chocolate cakes, ice cream...Then, they sell them to everyone they know and set up a stand in front of the church, for people to stop by on their way out after Mass.

 

Going on a pilgrimage to Rome with the Home of the Mother is truly a unique experience. This can be testified to by our 22 girls who, accompanied by a group of Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, invaded the Eternal City this past August 2-10.

The environment on the pilgrimage was the best imaginable and this is thanks to the girls themselves who achieved it through their constant joy, their positive attitude, and the way they treated each other with charity.

This summer, the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother here in the United States led two summer camps.

The first one was from July 25-30 in Ocala, Florida. About 70 girls, ages 8-13, attended. Thanks be to God, there were also 6 team leaders who came to help us out, too. Without their help it would have been nearly impossible. Each one of them served as a team leader and there were a total of 8 teams.

In August 2011, Madrid will host the XXVI World Youth Day, whose theme is: “Rooted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith” (cf Col 2:7). On this occasion, the Holy Father Benedict XVI will come to Spain's capital to meet with millions of young people from all across the world.

The celebration will take place August 16-21. The Home of the Mother of the Youth is already getting ready to participate in this colossal event. We'll kick off our activities on August 8 in Madrid and the next day we'll be off on our pilgrimage to visit various shrines and other places that were home to saints in Spain. This time will be one of reflection and preparation so as to truly take full advantage, in a spiritual sense, of the upcoming encounter with the Holy Father. On August 15, we will return to Madrid for the WYD events.

At the end of July, here in Alcala de Guadaira (Seville) we had special “Summer Activities Days” for the girls. They were three exciting days (July 29-31) in which 30 girls came to the Home of the Mother to share in the experience of friendship, growing closer to Our Lady, reflection, games, songs, plays, cooking, water, water, and more water...crafts, Confession, and more.

In June, the Sisters in Chone and several members of the Home in Ecuador went on a pilgrimage to two Marian shrines. We thought of the pilgrimage as a way of thanking Our Mother for the Approval of the Home. So, we chose two Marian shrines: “La Virgen de Agua Santa” in Baños (Ecuador) and “La Virgen de Las Lajas” in Ipiales (Colombia).

We left on June 19 at 12 midnight from Chone. We went in 2 buses, one with boys and adults and the other with girls. We reached Baños around 9am, ate breakfast in a park, and went to Mass at the shrine. Later on, we looked around the shrine. From there, we went to visit 2 waterfalls. The area is known for its waterfalls. And finally, we went to a look-out point where we could see the Tumburagua volcano, which is currently active.

June 13-19, the Sisters in Lumezzane organized a camp for girls in the parish. The campsite was in Villa di Lozio, a beautiful location in the mountains of Valcamonica, one of the main valleys here in Brescia. 15 girls took part in the camp, all of them between the ages of 10 and 13. Almost all of them were from our parish of Saint Apollonio, although there were a few from other parishes. We were accompanied by our best assistant ever, Antonella, who is always a great help with any activity we organize and the girls all love her.

On July 17th, we celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for the approval of the International Public Association of Faith, the "Home of the Mother". His Excellency Bishop José María Yanguas, bishop of Cuenca, presided over the Mass, which took place in the Parish of St. Nicholas of Bari, Priego, province of Cuenca, Spain.

In addition to giving thanks for the Home's approval, Br. Jose Luis Saavedra and Br. Rene Zambrano received the Rite of Admission to the Holy Orders.

Nearly 60 girls from the ages of 8 to 22 attended the Home of the Mother summer camp in Leon, Spain, from July 3rd to July 13th, 2010.  The camp started for the majority of the girls in Cuenca, where they began an 8 hour bus ride to Leon filled with songs and games.  Once they arrived, the camp activities began.

From July 3rd to 17th, a pilgrimage for boys to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, took place.  The pilgrimage began with a trip to Fatima on July 3rd, where we spent a few days honoring our Blessed Mother, in the places where she appeared to the three young children.  We were able to celebrate Mass at the apparition site.  The general consensus was that the Rosary processions at night were the highlight of this stop.

Our actual camino began north of Fatima in Rubiaes, where we began our journey of more than one hundred miles, ending at the tomb of Saint James, in Santiago de Compostela.

From June 15th to June 27th,, 2010, a group of 37 girls from the United States, Ireland, and Spain traveled throughout Ireland with the Servant Brothers and Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother.  They visited various pilgrimage sites throughout the country, from the tomb of Saint Patrick to 15th century monastic ruins.

On July 2nd, in the Parish Church of St. Nicholas of Bari, Priego, Spain, we had several celebrations of vows of the Servant Brothers and Servant Sisters.  On July 16th, Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, a large group of Brothers and Sisters entered the notiviate.