Early Christmas Present

My dearest friend Angela Stadelman came to visit me for Christmas in Austria...early! Angela has been a missionary in Nigeria at a Catholic school and she needed to leave the country earlier than planned so we quickly changed her flights and she arrived her in Wednesday, December 15th! Wow...it is so great to see her and our whole team is so blessed to have her around. This past weekend she was able to go with our team to help with "Following Jesus" seminar in Croatia. Unfortunately, I had to stay at the base with the flu. Last Tuesday some of us on the team went on a prayer walk for about 14 miles in the cold and after that...I started to feel very funny. Then the next day I traveled quickly to Budapest and back to pick up Angela at the airport and after all the running...I was in bed for several days. Praise God...He has a plan for all of us in all circumstances and I had a great weekend in prayer and conversation with Our LORD!

The weekend in Croatia was powerful and a lot of healing is taking place there. Please continue to pray for the 'Good Shepherd' community in Zagreb.

Hope for Europe – European Network of Communities (ENC)

The last few days in Poland were spent with the ENC. Bruce (founder of Kerygma Teams) and Deacon Johannes Fichtenbauer (Cardinal Schönborn’s coordinator for Ecumenical affairs in the diocese of Vienna) have formed this network for Europe. ENC is a free/voluntary association of semi-autonomous Catholic and Ecumenical Christian fellowships from across Europe. These groups embrace a number of common values and are committed to actively supporting one another wherever possible in fulfilling their God-given commission. The majority of the members are lay people who have roots in the Charismatic Renewal. Many members are Catholic but some are ecumenical and evangelical who share a passion for Christian Reconciliation, re-evangelization of Europe and beyond, formation for lay leadership and the mobilization of youth for the work of the Gospel. This is all part of a movement of new types of Christian fellowship communities. Countries such as Lithuania, Romania, Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, Austria, Poland, Germany, U.K., and… were represented.

Most of the Communities hold three common foundations: they began after an outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Charismatic Renewal; they started because they sensed an urgency regarding the 2nd Coming of Jesus; and they heard a “call” from God to build community. The lay leaders were truly inspired in this weekend and I continually thought of my own community that I am a member of from Steubenville, Love of the Lamb Household. I met some wonderful new friends and was inspired by the hope that each community holds to being a light to the nations!

Journeys in Poland

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception! The last post I left discussing God’s revelation of His Father heart for the people of Israel meaning the Jews. I would like to pick up the topic again. On Saturday, Nov. 27, some of our team left for Poland for 10 days. The Americans (Carole, Adam, and I) who do not have permanent visas needed to leave the country for a few days to renew our allowance to stay in Austria. Our “Exile from Austria” was a blessing for the people of Kerygma.

<> We stayed at a retreat house in Lanskorona near Wadowice, Poland where our Holy Father John Paul II was raised. God blessed us to visit JPII’s birthplace, small villages in the mountains, salt mines containing extravagant carvings made by minors, the convent and burial place of St. Faustina of the Divine Mercy, castles in Krakow, and beautiful Polish Advent markets. The most impacting of all these journeys was our spiritual pilgrimage to Auschwitz and Berkenau WWII concentration camps. We prayed and fasted as we walked on the same soil so many Europeans, especially Jews were murdered. It is not possible to fully describe the impact of seeing this land of death that until now was only a page in a history book for me.

Ecumenism and the Messianic-Jews

Some very interesting events have taken place in my life these past 2 weeks. First, I would like to introduce you to Fr. Peter Hocken. Father Hocken is a convert to Catholicism from the Anglican Church in England and is now a Catholic theologian and author of several books. He is also a “walking encyclopedia”. From November 24-26th, Father was a guest speaker/ teacher for us and he spoke about the movement of the Holy Spirit in the ecumenical movement since the beginning of the 20th century until today. He emphasized the impact, which Vatican II and the Charismatic Renewal have made on Ecumenism. There are 2 big results because of Vatican II, one being realization for the Church's need to take a greater stance in defending the dignity of human life in all ways. Secondly, there is greater awareness of the need to pray about and understand what position the Church takes on the movement of those Jews who believe that Jesus truly is the Messiah. There is a sense of urgency for us to understand what the Holy Spirit is doing in the Church today after several events such as the holocaust and the re-establishment of the state of Israel and allowance for Jews to return to their promised land.
I was so filled with joy during Fathers visit. After studying catechetics and Vatican II documents for several years, he truly spoke to my heart. But, here is the “interesting” turn of events. Father is greatly involved with TJCII (Toward Jerusalem Council II). This is an ecumenical movement/discussion of church leaders to discuss the position of Messianic Jews in the Church. Many Jews are beging personally convicted that Jesus truly is the Messiah they have been waiting for. Father made many references to the Catechism, Scripture, and historical events about the prophetic signs of this Messianic Jewish movement.
I believe that in this time, we are truly sensing a call for urgency in examining our lives and the amount of acceptance we have given to understanding that Jesus is truly our Messiah and Savior. Do we know Him? Do we see Him? Do we hear Him? These are crucial questions. Two months ago I was blessed to hear one talk at TJCII’s 2nd meeting in Vienna. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Austria was the speaker and when he spoke to a room consisting of Protestants, Catholics (Roman and Eastern Rite), Messianic Jews, etc. – I was moved by the Holy Spirit and found myself longing for the closeness that the Jews had with God and the beauty of the Tradition they hold. Oddly enough, while Fr. peter was visiting us, he asked me a stirring question one day. As we walked to our kitchen he shockingly asked me, “Are you Jewish?”…aka. Have Jewish background? I had no idea and told him so. He proceeded to say, “I bet you are.” Hmmm…never in my life have I thought about this. The next day he asked me about my ancestral background and the last day he spoke to us, he asked if he could pray with me. While praying with Father Peter I truly sensed the love and compassion of our God for all His people, especially His love for His chosen sons and daughters of Israel, the Jews. I do not know if my ancestors were Jewish, but I am seeking answers these days.