Letter from Father Jeff:
JESUS IS LORD!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It has been said that forming covenant community is nothing less than a miracle.
It takes sacrifice, total dedication and radical commitment to live and share
new life in the Holy Spirit with brothers and sisters in Christian
Community. In a historic gathering on Pentecost, May 20, 1998 of the new ecclesial
movements, among them the leaders of covenant communities, Our Holy Father
Pope John Paul II stated: "In our world, often dominated by a secularized
culture which promotes models of life without God, the faith of many is sorely
tested, and is frequently stifled and dies. Thus we see an urgent need for
powerful proclamation and solid, in-depth Christian formation... There
is a great need for living Christian communities! And here are
the movements and the new ecclesial communities: they are the response, given
by the Holy Spirit." The Pope encouraged them saying: "Christ
depends on you! The Church depends on you!"
These same sentiments where again expressed three years latter by Bishop Stanislaw
Rylko, Secretary for the Pontifical Council for the Laity, while delivering
the personal greetings of Pope John Paul II at the 2001 North American Regional
Conference of the Catholic Fraternity of Covenant Communities: The process
of formation is demanding. Christ requires radical choices from his disciples.
The whole gospel needs to be taken seriously and lived to the fullest. Sweetened
forms of Christianity in the long run do not convince anybody. We need to
have the courage to aim high, especially with the youth. One of the secrets
of success of the movements is that they do not restrain from demanding decisive
choices from people. The movements are not afraid of placing high demands.
The Church needs the ecclesial movements! The Church needs the Renewal
in the Spirit!
The Mother of God Community is a response to the movement of the Holy Spirit to form a living Christian Community. I pray that your visit to our webpage will give you insight in to our life together as we share new life in the Holy Spirit.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Jeffrey J. Kegley
Spiritual Director