A Wedding Feast
by Ada Locatelli, fkm
As we join the Church this August in celebrating the feast of
our saint and patron, St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, we would also
like to share with you, our dearest friends and members of the
MI around the United States, the joy and blessing of a special
event for our consecrated family, the Fr. Kolbe Missionaries
of the Immaculata.
From October 2003 until October 2004, we are observing a Jubilee
year, celebrating some very important events: our 50th anniversary
of foundation and the 60th anniversary of priestly ordination
of Father Luigi M. Faccenda, founder of our Institute. These
dates coincidentally occur within the 150th anniversary of the
proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. At the
beginning of the great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the Holy Father,
John Paul II, wrote, "Every Jubilee year is like an invitation
to a wedding feast." This expression is very true and particularly
applicable to us as well.
This Jubilee is a "wedding feast" because the Fr. Kolbe
Missionaries are called to celebrate the fidelity of God to the
wedding pact he undertook with us fifty years ago, inspiring
this charism of a life totally consecrated to him in the Marian,
missionary and Kolbean spirit. However, we do not simply want
to commemorate an event, but we want to consider these fifty
years from the perspective of faithfulness. As we reflect on
the past, we also look forward toward the future.
Creative fidelity goes in harmony with courage, strength, imagination
and fervor, rather than with fear, timidity, routine and repetition.
For this reason we have chosen as our Jubilee motto an expression
of St. Paul, "Stir into flame the gift of God which is in
you" (2 Tm 1:16). Above all, we wish to stir into flame
the gift of our vocation, in order to be witnesses to the beauty
of a life totally consecrated to God. We wish to stir into flame
the gift of our Marian charism, in order to continue promoting
by all possible means the knowledge of and veneration to the
Immaculata. We wish to stir into flame the gift of our call to
mission and evangelization in every country and continent, according
to the most urgent needs of the Church and of society.
On October 11, 2003, we held an official opening celebration
in all our communities - Italy, United States, Argentina, Brazil,
Bolivia, Poland and Luxembourg. Together with many relatives,
friends and benefactors we listened to the direct testimonies
of the very first Missionaries.
Our story, begun in poverty and simplicity with them, today is
still animated by the same great passion, "To conquer the
whole world for Christ through the Immaculata. We are very aware
that the gift we have received does not belong to us, but that
it has been entrusted to us so that we may share it with others
and thus contribute to the spreading of the Kingdom of God.
We entrust ourselves also to your prayers and support, that we
may faithfully and enthusiastically live our call to be a sign
of Mary's presence and a reflection of God's love and mercy in
the world. In the Immaculate Heart of Mary we also renew our
gratitude for the generosity with which you support and encourage
our work of evangelization in this country.
(c) Copyright 1998-2004 The Militia
of the Immaculata. All rights reserved.
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