Home of the Mother

This past extended weekend of December 3-8, which included the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a group of us girls from the school “Colegio María Inmaculada” in Belmonte, Cuenca (a school in Spain run by the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother) went to do Spiritual Exercises in the new house of the Sisters in Valencia. It is a beautiful location, with tons of space. The weather was great and we took some beautiful walks!
Fr. Rafael led the exercises. The majority of us were young people, but there were also a few adults. It was a great experience for all of us. We learned a lot, even though it was a little hard to get used to the silence, as it was our first time doing Exercises.

This past November 25 to 28 in Florida, more precisely in the retreat center of "Camp Shalom", about 140 of us came together for the Thanksgiving Retreat.

The main topic of reflection was the recent approval of the Home of the Mother and its spirituality. Brian Jackson and Kevin Hernandez gave talks, one on Thursday and the other on Sunday.

The Sisters here in Fabero have started working with the young people preparing to make their Confirmation in the town of Toreno, about half an hour from Fabero. For a little over a month now, we have been giving catechism classes to a total of 40 boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 14. Last Saturday, November 27, we had our first retreat activity there.

The girls and boys all arrived at 11:30 am for a Penitential Rite, with priests available to hear confessions. The parish priest had also invited the boys and girls from the other Confirmation classes.

The community of Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother in Rome, accompanied by a small group of university students, started the Advent season, in union with the Universal Church, with the celebration of Vespers (or Evening Prayer) for the First Sunday of Advent presided by Pope Benedict XVI, in St. Peter’s Basilica, on November 27. The evening of prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was also a Pro-Life Vigil for unborn children. The vigil was promoted on an international level and was observed on this same night in parishes throughout the world, once again manifesting the singular beauty of the universal attribute of the Catholic Church!

This past November 20, a box office hit was showing at the SHM house in Fabero.

Perhaps our news update sounds a bit strange this time, but it’s only because last Saturday we were very content with how our activity with the girls from catechism class went. We defied the cold by erecting a “movie theater” in our house. The girls loved the idea and they all got to work in the preparation of box office tickets, popcorn, money, the HM Store, etc... And then... they went to the movies (the dining room of our house).

 

The weekend of November 6th and 7th was intense for the Home of the Mother in Lumezzane, thanks to the special presence of Fr. Rafael, Mother Ana, Fr. Felix, and Brother Jose Luis.

A group of adults of the Home of the Mother began in May and they were really looking forward to meeting Fr. Rafael, as they had only seen him once here and had not really had the opportunity to get to know him personally.

On Saturday, November 6, the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother and a group from Fabero were able to accompany the Holy Father on his visit to Santiago de Compostela. The Sisters, along with 3 young people (Laura, Ester, and Marcos) and an adult (Maria Luz), went along with the diocesan pilgrimage that had been organized by the Youth Ministry Department of the Diocese of Astorga.

Saturday, the 30th of October: A group of boys and Servant Brothers of the Home of the Mother met up for a weekend retreat. The day began with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. We left Urroz, a small town close to Pamplona, to go to Torreciudad, where we visited the shrine built in honor of the miraculous cure of St. Josemaria Escriva when he was very young. After admiring the beautiful sanctuary and praying before the Blessed Sacrament, we ate sandwiches beneath the shade of some pine trees.

We can't deny that this past weekend, November 6-7th, has been very intense for all of us who have followed the Apostolic Journey of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, to Spain. Once again he has impressed us with his humility, his love for the Church and for every soul, and his self-giving...Thank you Holy Father!

We consider that every word he said to us in these days is worth listening to, and we would like to bring them to you. Therefore, below, we have placed some links to the Holy See's official website where you can find the speeches and the videos of the different ceremonies.

 

 

Interview of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI with journalists during the flight to Spain

 

 

 

 

Welcoming ceremony at the International Airport of Santiago de Compostela

 

 

 

 

 

Visit to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

 

 

 

Eucharistic Celebration at Plaza del Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela

 

 

 

 

 

Eucharistic Celebration on the occasion of the dedication of the church of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

 

 

 

 

Recitation of the Angelus in the square in front of the church of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

 

 

 

Visit to the Obra Benéfico-Social Nen Déu in Barcelona

 

 

 

 

Farewell ceremony at the International Airport of Barcelona

On November 1, 2010, Feast of All Saints, some of the Servant Sisters and all of the Servant Brothers in Rome gladly accompanied our Founder, Fr. Rafael, traveling by car to Loreto, a town located about 3 hours north of Rome near the Adriatic Coast. It is home to the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, which contains the brick foundations from Our Blessed Mother's house in Nazareth, brought to Italy by the Crusaders (or, according to legend, “angels”).