Jubilee/Jubilee 2000

The gift of the Missionary Cenacle Family to the Church in the third Millennium

The Missionary Cenacle Family is celebrating the Jubilee year by taking counsel on the gift we bring to the Mission of the Church as we enter the third Millennium of Christianity. Our founding charism developed from the efforts of Father Judge to foster a missionary laity. Every member of the Cenacle has a vocation as a missionary in the Church. Nearly a century after Father Judge called the first associates we would express our charism as:

A Mission.

Our specific mission is to preserve the faith in those areas and among those people who are spiritually neglected and abandoned. We seek out mission opportunities in the "providence of everyday life." In all of our works, the chief effort of the entire Cenacle Family is to promote a missionary spirit in the laity with the goal that every Catholic be an apostle.

A Method.

We gather in small apostolic groups to share prayer, faith, counsel and our experience of mission. Taking counsel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit produces an ardent zeal carrying us into mission. Counsel produces among us a sense that:

•  relationships are essential, since the Cenacle Spirit is "charity aflame,"
• reconciliation and healing are important elements of our life together,
•  the giftedness of each individual for mission must be respected and affirmed,
•  collaboration among the branches in mission is a value to be pursued,
•  lay and religious members of the Cenacle work as peers in mission,  simplicity, authenticity and genuine concern for humanity should characterize our work.

A Spirituality.

The Cenacle spirit is a prayerful spirit. We make the Eucharist the center and sun of our apostolic lives. We strive to develop among our membership a "devotional knowledge" of the Trinity, the Incarnation and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, which generates a "faith that is restless until it finds expression in good works." In a particular way, we cherish the naked, abandoned Christ of Calvary who inspires a desire for personal service to the economically poor.

The Future.

The gift that the Missionary Cenacle Family brings to the church is still unfolding. Different environments and cultures call for varied models of being a Cenacle Family. We ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us in peace, unity and charity. Particular challenges include ensuring adequate formation of the membership, committing ourselves to taking counsel as a family, developing leadership within the Cenacle, attracting young people to the missionary life;, and forging an international identity. We are convinced that the Missionary Cenacle Family is especially gifted to respond to the Church's call for a New Evangelization and the vision of Pope John Paul II that America is one mission field. For this reason we enter the Third Millennium praying that the Missionary Cenacle Family will produce the most beautiful fruits for the glory of the Triune God.