The sisters of the Almazora community, Pilgrims of Hope, joined the celebration of the Jubilee of Consecrated Life from October 6th to 9th.
We dedicated October 6th to "setting out on the journey," warming our hearts with the experience we were about to LIVE. We recalled everything related to the jubilee (meaning, motto, logo, prayer...) and the section of the Bull under which we could gain the indulgence. We joyfully received the pilgrim's kit.
October 7th was the moment for the penitential celebration. In the light of the beatitudes, we expressed our desire for inner renewal; we had the opportunity to approach the sacrament of penance and receive the blessing of the pilgrims.
October 8th and 9th, just as in Rome, were the days dedicated to the jubilee itself.
On October 8th, our house became a place of pilgrimage. With the jubilee cross at the front, we began to walk at our own pace, with wheelchairs and walkers, with small and slow steps, but with our "hearts celebrating"... During the journey, we sang psalms, stopped before a "Marian shrine" to remember Mary, "pilgrim of faith and hope," and prayed the litany of the saints. The door of our chapel invited us to enter, as a community, into the place that gathers us as Church... we prayed for the intentions of the Pope; and with the light that our parents and godparents lit at our baptism and which we still keep today, the Creed flowed from within us as a sincere expression of our faith. We ended the day proclaiming the Magnificat alongside Mary.
On October 9th, at the same time that Pope Leo XIV was celebrating the jubilee Eucharist in Rome, the Vicar of the Diocese celebrated the Eucharist in our community. An immense act of thanksgiving in which we joyfully renewed our consecration, and the offerings were the expression of our LIFE LIVED until today:
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The light of daily fidelity
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The sunflower of the constant search for the Lord
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A notebook full of names, the places we have been, and the people we have lived with. A LIFE LIVED "Through Christ, With Him, and In Him."
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The bread and wine of self-giving, an expression of our renewed daily commitment.
We concluded our Jubilee of Consecrated Life with the hymn "Gloria a Ti, Virgen María" (Glory to You, Virgin Mary).
Four very intense days in which we have CELEBRATED, REJOICED, LIVED, AND SHARED... a unique experience that remains engraved in our hearts and for which we give thanks to God. Pilgrims of Hope, we continue walking...