Home of the Mother

About 180 people got together for the Thanksgiving Retreat held from November 27th to 30th in Fruitland Park, FL, located between Ocala and Orlando, at "Camp Lake Geneva".

Fr Rafael, in his visit to Chone, Ecuador, had the grace to baptize three beautiful babies and thus make them children of God:

Ernesto Rafael, son of Anita and Ernest;

Yandri Jesus, son of Yibuti Yandri,

and Jeremy Augustine, son of Maira.

During the visit of Father Rafael, Mother Ana and Sister Montse to our communities in Ecuador, around 160 people got together for an encounter in Playa Prieta. Most were members of the Home of the Mother and the encounter took place from November 21st to 22nd.

The Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother became religion teachers to 800 students when, from November 16-20, they gave religion classes in "Cristóbal de Monroy" highschool.

The Servant Brothers of the Home of the Mother present in the Ave Maria University Latin American Campus went to visit Granada, Nicaragua. Jim Davila, a college student, joined us for the trip, which turned out to be a wonderful day.

Upon arriving at the house of the Missionaries of Christ the King we greeted the sisters there who belong to the same order as Sister Martha, a religious sister who works in the campus ministry. They have a home for girls like that of the Servant Sisters in Belmonte; before they had forty girls but due to difficulties with the government, who wants to close down the house, now they only have sixteen.

What better way to begin Advent than with the Holy Father? On Saturday November 28th, the sisters in Rome went with a group of girls to the Basilica of St. Peter's to celebrate the First Vespers of Advent with Pope Benedict. The Servant Brothers also attended the ceremony with a group of boys.

Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ, so that our peoples may have life in Him. "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." (John 14: 6)

Guided by this motto, on Sunday, November 22nd, 115 students from Ave Maria University in Nicaragua, accompanied by the Servant Brothers of the Home of the Mother, went on a mission trip to La Sabanita de San Marcos, Nicaragua. We arrived at 9:30 am and a group of people were waiting for us with great enthusiasm to begin the mission that day. Upon our arrival we had prayer, sang a few songs and then we split into groups to begin the mission.

We had a silent retreat from November 6th to 8th at "Mary, Help of Christians" in the city of Tampa, Florida. Around 70 girls from Ave Maria University attended.

Fr. Felix, Fr. Colum and Fr. Henry took turns giving talks, points of meditation and homilies. Kathy Dittus added a musical touch to the celebrations. During the talks there was always a priest hearing confessions, which was very good and gave everyone a chance to receive this sacrament.

Yesterday, Sunday, November 22nd, the community of Servant Sisters in Rome went with a group of girls to the city of Viterbo, which is called the "City of Popes" because it was the Papal See for nearly 25 years.

We arrived a little before 11:00 am and went to see the shrine and house of Saint Rose of Viterbo. The incorrupt body of the saint, who died in the thirteenth century, can be found there. We also visited her house, which has now been made a chapel. The Tabernacle is located where the saint died and there still remains a fireplace and a window from the time in which she lived there.

On November 13th, a retreat began for the students of the Latin American campus of Ave Maria University situated in the "La Purisima" seminary in Managua, Nicaragua. The retreat ended in the afternoon of Sunday, November 15th.

Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid, presented today at a press conference the new official website for World Youth Day 2011in Madrid. The Community of Servant Sisters in Getafe were present to record it and you will soon be able to watch the video on our site.

On Sunday, November 15th, a get-together for the families of the Home of the Mother from Ascoli Piceno, Italy, took place. The sisters from Rome: Sr. Kristen, Sr. Anna Riordan, Sr. Emma and Sr. María Luisa arrived there on Saturday evening.

A total of 4 families got together, some of whom are members of the Home, in the village of Monte Vidon Combatte. Those present were: Gioconda and Alfonso, Luciano and Maria, Giuliano and Rosella, and Angelo and Lydia.

We have had the first get-together in our house in Getafe, Madrid. Girls came from the parishes of Móstoles, Toledo, and Madrid.
The girls were very happy and had a great time. We played with them, we prayed, we even had a festival, which we called "Maravillas", which was fun.

These get-togethers will take place every month, God willing, and we are preparing one for the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Please pray that everything will bear much fruit.

In the last weekend of October, an encounter of the Home took place in London, Canada. The sisters currently in the community of Ave Maria, Florida, Sr. María Elena, Sr. Mary and Sr. Kathryn, flew to Detroit, Michigan, where they were picked up by Jaime Arturo, member of the HM Community of Adults, who took them to London.