Praying with Mary

Last February 9-11, 2018 Marians from all over Mindanao were gathered at the Mother Francisca Retreat Center in General Santos City for the Marian Lenten Retreat for the Lay in a Continuous Cenacle, with its theme: Repent… Believe the Good News. This retreat was organized by the members of the Marian Movement of Priests (MMP) with Bishop Guillermo Afable, D.D., the MMP National Director as the Retreat Master, Fr. Roland Sayman, STL, the current MMP Regional Responsible for Mindanao, as the facilitator/speaker and the newly appointed MMP National Responsible Msgr. Ruben Espiño, a military Ordinariate of the Philippines, as speaker. The retreat talks included the following topics: The Redemptive Suffering of the Cross, Conversion, Prayer, Fasting, Mortification and Penance and Cenacles of Prayer.

The Marian Movement of Priests is a private association of Catholic clergy and lay associate members founded by Italian priest Fr. Stefano Gobbi in 1972. During his visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima in Portugal he was inspired to begin this work of encouraging Consecration, especially of priests, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and wholehearted fidelity to the Magisterium of the Pope. Fr. Gobbi has traveled throughout the world holding Cenacles of Prayer on every continent.

A cenacle of the Marian Movement of Priests consists basically of the following: Invocation to the Holy Spirit, Recitation of the Holy Rosary, Prayers for our Holy Father, the Pope, Reading and meditation on one of more of the messages given in the book, “To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons” (The Blue Book), and The Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

“Cenacle” is a word for the upper room where the Last Supper was held, and where the Sacraments of the Priesthood and The Eucharist were instituted. It was also in the cenacle where the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and the Blessed Mother.

Praying the Cenacle is praying with Mama Mary.The retreat participants went home more inspired to multiply cenacles of prayer and to become apostles of cenacles in every part of the world. (Manilee Araune)