An Encounter with Jesus

By Mother Elvira Petrozzi

"Those who suffer truly help us understand who we are inside. We enter again into that sacred place of our heart where man is moved to cry, suffer, and rebel. With the eyes of faith it can be see that pain and suffering are the presence of Jesus Himself in the family. If you receive suffering and welcome suffering, it will save you.

"One day a mom came to visit me and said, 'Our baby girl, who is already six years old and has never been able to walk, has saved our marriage and our family.' This family looked with eyes of love, faith and truth perceiving in that mysterious cross the even greater mysterious light of the Resurrection.

"Some families of our young men were present at a recent Eucharistic celebration. One parent prayed saying, 'I thank you, Lord, because through the drug problem of my son, and then, through the sickness of my son, you have restored and saved our marriage.' Thanks to an encounter with Jesus, what seemed like a heavy cross became an instrument of salvation.

"Our God is Love. He waits, knocking at the door of our heart until He can enter and transform it. We must commit ourselves, not to live alone, but to live in the constant presence of Jesus. He helps us to understand the poor, the sick, and the suffering and pushes us to help them, to get out of our comfort zone and give up something that belongs to us for them. Then we realize that an infinite joy is born within us. We need one another to encounter the joy of embracing the Cross."

Mother Elvira Petrozzi is foundress of Communita Cenacolo, welcoming the lost and desperate in 63 houses in 15 countries.

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