Community Events – Comunità dei figli di Dio

THE OPENING OF FATHER’S CAUSE

On Saturday 25 September at 4 p.m., in the Florentine basilica of SS. Annunziata, the entire Community, in deep communion with the Florentine Church, will experience the grace of the opening of the Cause for the beatification of our Father and Founder. An intensely awaited moment for years, it has seen us engaged in constant and confident daily prayer. The celebration of this important public ecclesiastical event, which therefore involves the participation of the faithful, will include the singing of Vespers in the memory of St Sergius of Radonež, presided over by the Archbishop of Florence, Cardinal Betori, the first Session of the Inquest aimed at the oaths of all the Officials of the cause who undertake to faithfully fulfil their office and to maintain the secrecy of office.

The members of the Historical Commission, appointed by the Archbishop, who will have the task of studying all the as yet unpublished writings of our Father, as well as each and every historical document relating in any way to his history, will also be involved in this solemn and hope-filled moment. From that moment we will be able to call our Father “Servant of God”. and to invoke his intercession there will be a single prayer formula, proposed by the Postulation and approved by the Archbishop.

This prayer will be distributed to everyone, and it will be our task to spread it as widely as possible outside our religious Family. If we have prayed so much during these years of preparation of the Cause, we shall pray even more during the proceedings, which will see many witnesses giving their sworn testimony before the Tribunal and, at the same time, the members of the Historical Commission digging deeply into the material collected and kept in the Archives at Settignano.

We already feel that we are accompanied by Fr Divo himself and by the many brothers and sisters of the Community, who have already completed their earthly journey and can only support us with their closeness in prayer and in the religious commitment that is asked of us all by such a great grace.

p.Agostino

Ordination to the priesthood

The brother of common life Charbel ordained a priest on Saturday, July 3, at the Madonna del Sasso.

We are happy that a brother of the Community is ordained a priest in the Shrine that we now consider “ours”. We join him in prayer for this great gift that the whole community receives.

The next day, Sunday, July 4, always at the Shrine of the Madonna del Sasso, he celebrated the first solemn Holy Mass.

Thanksgiving from Fr. Charbel

4 July first Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Charbel

Thank you brothers and sisters in the Community, and all those who receive our Newsletter, for praying for me during the preparations for my priestly ordination. It was good to stay for a while at the hermitage of the Holy Trinity at La Fornace to devote myself more to prayer and recollection before the big day. Fr Benedetto made himself available to accompany me in this mini-retreat. The text we meditated on was one of Fr Barsotti’s books on priesthood. It was beautiful.

I must confess that I have not got over the emotion, the amazement caused by the great joy of priesthood, even though four days have passed. In any case, as many have said, it takes a lifetime to perceive and contemplate the mystery of having been chosen to serve the Lord in the Church as a monk and priest.

Not being able to answer the various messages by telephone or e-mail, and being on the eve of my departure for Benin together with Fr Benedetto and Sr Marie Madeleine, I would like to say a profound thank you for your affection, for your gifts and offerings, for your presence but above all for your prayers.

I implore on all of you the graces and blessings of the Lord.

I hope to see you again sooner or later when I return from Benin…