A magnificent retreat of the priests of the Emmanuel Community

The second great international retreat of the priests of the Emmanuel Community was held from from the 9th to the 14th of February at the Foyer of Chairty of Chateauneuf-de-Galaure in France.

180 of the 250 priests of the community were present.  Bishops Yves le Saux and Dominique Rey were the preachers of the this retreat.  Beginning with the foundational graces of the Emmanuel Commuity and particularly from the humble figure of Pierre Goursat, they preached this retreat on the theme of pastoral charity and the priest of the Emmanuel Community today.

The week was an opportunity for priests coming from every continent to deepen the meaning of the fatherhood of a priest, and also what it means to be a brother as well as a son.

It was seen that to be a father is to give life in order to give one's life, to be close to others, to be a patient and benevolent witness, and also to have the courage of being faithful to the truth while at the same time giving the mercy of God to humanity.  To be a brother and a son, this is to accept  to depend, in a simple way, on others, whatever their state of life in the Church.

The Moderator of the Community and the Co-ordinator for priests concluded this beautiful retreat by encouraging the priests of Emmanuel to live community life in a free gift of self, in a communion of the states of life, there wherever they are.  They reminded them of the importance of welcoming the human fragilities and poverties of every person in order to exercise a real paternity which strengthens, encourages and raises up.

Some Fioretti:

"What is urgent is not so much to defend Catholic identity but to be missionary."

"The difficulty of fraternal life...is the brother!"

"To make a good decision requires a good night and a good mass."

"That which you want to light in the others must first be burning in you."

"Paternity is to move from giving life to giving one's life" (said by the father of a family)

"When we don't know where we're going we shouldn't be surprised if we arrive somewhere else!"

"Our little decisions work if they become supplications."

"When I hear my parish priest speak of the Gospel, this makes me afraid; when I see him live it, I am reassured."

(Source)

New commitments in celibacy for the Kingdom of God

Commitments in Altotting.

As every year in the Emmanuel Community, a number of consecrated sisters of different nationalities have recently made a first or definitive commitment in celibacy for the Kingdom of God.*  They include:

 - Marie-Dominique Minne, French, first commitment, in Lisieux, on the 3rd January.

 - Marie-Rose Zerbo, of Burkina Faso, first commitment, in Lisieux, on the 3rd January.

 - Mili Banko, Slovenian, definitive commitment, in the Netherlands, on the 4th January.

 - Daniella Török, from Hungary, in Altötting, Germany.

 - Anna Galikova, from Slovakia, in Altötting, Germany.

 - Silvia Ponte, Portugese, in Fatima on the 28th December.

 - Claire de L’éprevier, French, in Lisieux on the 3rd January.

 - Sophie-Marie Drouineau, French, in Lisieux on the 3rd January.

On the 1st March, Immaculée Kantengwa and Odette Niyibizi (below left to right) will make their first commitment in Kigali (Rwanda).

Let us pray for them!

(*) Celibacy for the Kingdom of God in the Emmanuel Community is a form of missionary life according to the charism of the Community.  In renouncing starting a family, members of the community commited in celibacy live a more complete personal disposition for adoration, compassion and evangelisation.  Today there are about 200 men and women who live this call around the world.  Click here to see the video clip the Emmanuel Community has prepared on the occasion of the opening of the Year of Consecrated Life (+16 000 views), and here to know about more consecrated life in the Emmanuel Community. 

Commitments in Lisieux.

[Source]

Evening for couples coming up in Melbourne and Sydney

Love and Truth has organised an evening for married or engaged couples in Melbourne on 30 August and in Sydney on 13 September.

In Melbourne in Burwood the Emmanuel Community welcomes married and engaged couples for a relaxing and enjoyable wine and cheese evening.  The topic of the evening is "Holy Husbands and Wives in History...Inspiring us today."  Further details, including about how to RSVP, can be found on the flyer when you click here.

In Sydney the evening will be held in Croydon Park on Saturday 13 September.  The evening will include a very nourishing variety of wine and cheese, as well as discussion about "Embracing your Spouses’ Family".  Further details, including about how to RSVP, can be found on the flyer when you click here.

Rome School of Mission posts new promo video.

18 Students.

13 countries of origin.

9 months of intellectual, spiritual, human and mission formation. 

Must be this year's ESM promo video.

St Peter's Square Way of the Cross by ESM students

How to evangelise today?  On Good Friday the students of the Emmanuel School of Mission in Rome prepared and acted out the Stations of the Cross in the most public place of the city of Rome, St Peter's Square.  Seen by thousands of international tourists from all over the world, the students shared with those around them the reality of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ and its importance at the very heart of their own lives.  You can enter into their proclamation by checking out the 6 minute video on Youtube.  Indeed, Resurrexit!

Love and Truth in Sydney 3 May 8pm

Married?  Engaged?  Going out?  Love and Truth are different evenings organised to bring together couples to learn, share and grow through the challenges and joys of relationship and married life - over select cheeses and complimentary fine wines!

The next Love and Truth evening in Sydney will be Saturday 3 May starting from 8pm.  For more details, or to rsvp, please contact the co-ordinators at loveandtruthsydney@gmail.com.

Zacchaeus course starting in Sydney 30 April 2014

New in Sydney this year, the Emmanuel Community is launching the Zacchaeus Course starting on 30 April.

The Zacchaeus course is for any person seeking to live out the relationship to their work, the common good, property and the poor and underprivileged in a more fully integrated way.  Based on the social teaching of the Catholic Church, each week's presentation is followed by guided exercises on the theme of the presentation to be put into practice during the weeks that follow.  In this way, Zacchaeus does not remain a merely intellectual exercise, but rather an opportunity to grow and really change the world where we are.

While requiring a certain level of commitment, those following the course will only need to meet together once every fortnight.  Based at Homebush Public Library, the course will beginning on the 30 April at a one-off cost of $50.

For more details, please contact us via email on zacchaeussydney@gmail.com.