OUR LADY OF JOY, HANCEVILLE ALABAMA
Recently, I spent three days with this community, listening to the young men, their parents and to the foundress, Mother Elvira, who flew in from Italy for the anointing of the new community house and the celebration that followed. Mother Elvira's life story is on par with Mother Teresa. She is an Italian nun who heard the call from God to snatch souls from Satan by delivering young men and women from the demonic grip of addiction. She gave up everything familiar, walked straight into the wilderness and wound up becoming a living legacy for desperate families everywhere.
For more than two and a half decades, Mother Elvira has inspired the renewal of the heart, mind and soul through the unconditional Love of Jesus Christ, profoundly evident in the Holy Eucharist and implanted in the hearts of those who openly embrace this simple yet powerful school of life.
It took a simple, humble woman to believe that God could and would conquer death...It took the persevering heart of a woman of faith to see the light of hope buried under the weight of total despair.
When I met Mother Elvira I marveled at her mystical quality. As we locked eyes it was as if she knew what was in my heart. Without missing a beat she said, "Do not cry when you see your son. Show him you are strong and joyful, otherwise he will become anxious and worried." Those were the exact words I needed to hear since I had just been feeling the weight of missing him...and wondering if it would be more healthy for me to show all my sons how sad I sometimes feel.
My oldest son Johnny has been living in community for a year and a half, entering in St. Augustine Florida before being transferred this summer to Borgoro Italy where I'm told he is almost fluent in Italian. We probably won't see Johnny until next year and as much as I miss him, I am so grateful that he had the courage to accept help and to submit his will completely to the will of God.
Johnny is on a spiritual journey that is liberating him from the evil that once held him in bondage. He is coming to know a new peace and a new freedom that is growing stronger with each passing day. As his mom, it is my responsibility to walk with my son, attending monthly parent's meetings and allowing the spirit of God to transform my heart and the heart of our family. Learning to live in this world without being consumed by it is a challenging task, but it's comforting to know that I am not alone.
Today the Cenacolo community has sixty houses around the world that operate on the principles of disciplined prayer, Mass, daily Eucharistic adoration, confession, work, community and family support. They are cenacles of prayer, pulsating Love and radiating a contagious joy that is life transforming...Healing individuals, families and entire communities.
Clearly, the Cenacolo message is counter cultural yet it is powerfully revolutionary...Changing the way doctors and lawyers, judges and the judgemental view the seemingly hopeless addict. They are witnessing firsthand that with God all things are possible...And sometimes downright miraculous!
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