COMUNITA CENACOLO-A CALL TO PARENTS!

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We cried buckets of tears, carried heavy bags under our eyes from all the sleepless nights, harbored a heavy, broken heart that felt like it was going to burst-and then suddenly-without warning-relief.

Nothing could have prepared us for that moment, no one could have told us it was coming. We simply would not have believed them. On the day our sons or daughters entered community, we entered a profound feeling of freedom that we had not known could exist. We experienced a new sense of peace and joyful hope that somehow overrode all the past pain and fear. For the first time, in a long time, we felt like living, really living. When the doors of community opened, the door to a new way of life flew open.

This weekend I was reminded of that remarkable reality during a parent's retreat sponsored by Comunita Cenacolo. As I sat and absorbed the talks and the prayer, the testimonies and the teachings, I felt the continuing evolution of all the spiritual principles I have held dear.

Our children who are in community are learning a new way of life. The parents who are participating in the journey, are also learning a new way of life-by learning alot about themselves. I'll never forget the words I heard early on from one community leader, Joyce Aragno, "Your sons or daughters were not born addicts." She said it would be wise to assess our own culpability in this very cunning, baffling and powerful disease.

Nearly two years ago my son Johnny entered Our Lady of Hope in St. Augustine Florida. I asked him to commit to six months and I believed in my heart that God would take it from there. When I saw Johnny six months later he informed me he was choosing to stay because he knew it wasn't his time to go. Johnny said his journey was now between God and him. I was thrilled! However, I wasn't prepared for the spiritual journey that would begin-inside of me.

As I returned home I entered into my own private purgatory. I literally began to see my sinfulness through the eyes of God. I could no longer focus my attention on my son's addiction or his actions, I was now being asked to face the darkness of my own soul. As I surrendered, I clearly saw my own woundedness and the role I had played in Johnny's disease. The painful process of personal purging has been a sobering experience which continues to this day.

This weekend I left the retreat with a greater resolve to continue to look inward at the weaknesses that need renewal, while looking outward to the source of all healing, Jesus Christ. It is through the suffering strength of the cross that I have found my solace. It is through the gift of his resurrection that I am finding my solution.

And I have come to believe in the words of a wonderful Franciscan priest who spoke at the retreat...He suggested that perhaps God had called our children into community not so much for them, but for their parents.

Now that is something to pray about-and believe me-I will!

Visit the Cenacolo Website for more information -- and to provide support : http://www.comunitacenacolo.org/

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