Hope is having our eyes fixed on eternity with Christ, by receiving His light in the Eucharist and sharing it with the world

150 brothers and sisters from around the United States met last November in the north of Atlanta, Georgia – a historic weekend for our Community!

During the Mass on Saturday, Therese Miller and David Neira making their steps into formation for Male and Female Consecrated life in the Emmanuel Community. Their perseverance through the challenges of financial obstacles, languages and cultural differences, and pioneering this vocation in the US made their steps even more beautiful. It was also a great opportunity for us to praise God for the gift of this brother and sister specifically, and the gift of the communion of the states of life as a special grace of the Emmanuel Community. What a joy to also to witness 7 steps of Commitment and 3 who made the step of Welcome and Discernment.

The teachings were on: “What it Means to be Emmanuel, Consecrated Life in the Community, Hope in the Darkness, and Enculturation of the Community in the US”.

We learnt that hope is having our eyes fixed on eternity with Christ, by receiving His light in the Eucharist and sharing it with the world. We also received from the Lord that “I have a new wine for you, for the US, for the Church… but you are still in the old wineskins.” We were reminded that we have permission to evangelize, that our authority comes from the Holy Spirit and our light comes from being adorers of Christ, and the Emmanuel Community has specific gifts to offer the Church in the US – especially in the communion of the states of life and in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

As usual, our time together as Emmanuel was filled with joy and laughter. Thank you so much to all the brothers and sisters who made sacrifices to organize and be present at the weekend, and offered their gifts of teaching, logistics, and music. Thank you to all who prayed for our time together.