The
word “Cenacle” comes from the term for the Upper Room in Jerusalem
in which Jesus and the apostles gathered for the Last Supper
(Cena) and where the apostles gathered around Mary in prayer,
waiting for the Holy Spirit which came to them on Pentecost.
St. Vincent tells us that we must live “as if we are living
in the Cenacle, praying always in love and awaiting an increase
in the gifts of the Spirit.”
Cenacles
are groups of persons, mostly lay, who aspire to follow the
ideals of St. Vincent. These groups, according to St. Vincent,
are to be like the Holy Family of Nazareth, united in mutual
love and sharing. United in faith and love, the members seek
to grow spiritually by following Christ, Apostle of the Father.
Through their apostolic activities — work, prayer or material
help — they serve the Church in her mission of evangelization
and sanctification.
Cenacles
are centers for apostolic formation and action. Laity together
with priests and religious aim at becoming a leaven of animation,
cooperation and service to the People of God in whatever environment
they find themselves: their parish, their workplace, their
civic community. Not a social club but a spiritual family,
Cenacles seek to learn how to become witnesses of God’s love
and heralds of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
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| To
be associated with the Union one must commit
oneself to the revitalization of faith and
charity at home and to the spreading of it
to the remotest places of the earth. In this
way the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ
will reap and extend the fruits of redemption.
Can anything be imagined more pleasing to
God! |
| St.
Vincent Pallotti |
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