Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lima (Agenzia Fides) – The I Congress on Sodalite Spirituality concluded on January 31, with great enthusiasm and gratitude for all the graces received in the event, which was attended by over 100,000 members of the spiritual family living in various parts of the world.
During the final day of the Congress, there were talks on “Sin, a key part of anthropology,” given by Catalina Lopez, member of the “Fraternidad Mariana de la Reconciliación”; “Approaching spiritual authors of the 15-17th centuries,” by Gustavo Lopez, member of the “Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana”; “Vision of the human person in modern writers,” by Felipe Peligrinelli, member of the “Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana”; “The Lord Jesus, reconciling and revealing the meaning of the human person,” by Ignacio Blanco, President of the Organizing Committee of the Congress and member of the “Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana,” and lastly, “The human person and his free cooperation with grace,” by Fr. Jorge Olaechea, priest of the “Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana.”
On this day, the participants visited a popular art festival that focused on the Marian advocation of the Sodalite Family, Our Lady of Reconciliation.
In the closing ceremony, Ignacio Blanco told participants that the Congress “has been an undescribable experience, and the first sense is one of gratitude to God, as it is He who has brought us together, sustaining these friendships and fraternity in our family.” And he asked all the members of the spiritual family to “take up the demanding task of responding, forming ourselves, living in an attitude of listening, welcoming, and interior reflection like our Mother Mary, and making this more and more our way of life.”
The founder of the Movement, Luis Fernando Figari then offered closing words to the participants. After profoundly thanking God for this experience, he mentioned how the Holy Spirit “moves us to open our hearts; to express what He tells us...to live our Christian experience with greater depth and launch ourselves in the world to preach Jesus.” Luis Fernando also affirmed that the presence of Bishop Alcides Mendoza, the youngest Bishop to participate in the Second Vatican Council, at the Congress, reminded him of the fact that the Council is “a great, strong and intense gift for the Church of our time.”
Recalling the words pronounced in 1972 by the then Auxiliary Bishop of Lima who supported the Sodalite Family in its beginnings, “the Sodalitum is a full expression of the Second Vatican Council,” he told them and asked that they take up their “responsibility of communicating the Council's message to the world.”
He then recalled the words of Pope Benedict XVI: “He takes nothing away and gives everything.” “He gives Himself to us, showing us our identity, the horizons of our existence, the true happiness our heart longs for and that comes from giving ourselves entirely to Christ.” “We should make it our life,” the founder continued. “We should focus all our attention on the Lord and not allow ourselves to be distracted by the world's idols, by the hostility of the world that turns its back on God, for a culture that is more and more negative in its view of human life. We should not let ourselves get distracted, we should hold up and present our faith, let this flame that burns in the Heart of the Virgin Mary, burn in our hearts, too, so that the flame of faith becomes a living torch that moves throughout the world setting hearts on fire, giving life to new initiatives in a world walking in darkness: this is our mission,” he concluded. As part of the Closing Ceremony, there was a Mass presided by Bishop Alcides Mendoza Castro, who imparted his blessing on all the participants of the Congress and on all the members of the Sodalite Family who in these days accompanied the event with their prayers and fraternal communion. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 2/2/2009)
