![\"Mario](\"https:\/\/neocatechumenaleiter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Camino_Neocatecumenal_Mario_Pezzi-150x150.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\nIn this celebration of the Eucharist, we thank God today for having Kiko been born eighty years ago and, at the same time, we remember with gratitude in prayer his father and his mother who gave birth to him.<\/p>\n\n
Another reason to thank the Lord for having endowed him with so many and diverse gifts and for having given us, through him, in collaboration with Carmen Hern\u00e1ndez, the Neocatechumenal Way, to which all of us here are debtors and grateful.<\/p>\n\n
The Fathers of the Church speak of first birth, the natural one, and a second birth that happens \nat baptism, when the Church welcomes us into her bosom. We can say \nthat this second birth, thanks to the long Neocatechumenal Way, \ngradual and progressive, has brought forth and grown in all of us the \ngreat riches and potential of our Baptism, by which \nwe have been regenerated “not from a corruptible seed, but immortal, it is \nto\u00a0say of the Word of God, alive and eternal “, in our communities \n(1Pt 1.23).<\/p>\n\n
Already Pope John Paul II in his meetings with the Neocatechumenal Communities of the Parishes of Rome had spoken of this seed of eternal life received in Baptism, like an almost dead seed in the lives of many Christians,
\nbut in the Paul VI hall, in the audience granted to the youth of the Way
\nin preparation for the world youth day in Denver, he
\nstrongly emphasized: \u201cBaptism is not statistic. It is registered in the
\nparish books and that’s it. But no, it is not a statistic, it is dynamic<\/strong><\/em>: it provokes
\nprecisely a way of the Christian life \u201d(Rome March 28,
\n1993). The dynamic characteristic of Baptism, a hidden treasure with
\nenormous developmental possibilities to make us enjoy
\neternal life in the present.<\/p>\n\n Our presence here today is a manifestation of gratitude to God and Kiko for having allowed us to find in our life THE FAITH, this “precious hidden pearl” that has changed
\nour lives positively, sustained and helped by catechists and
\nby the action of God in our life and in the brothers of the community.<\/p>\n\n Today is fulfilled in our midst the Word proclaimed in the first reading of the first letter of Saint John in which states: “We have known and believed in the love that
\nGod has for us. God is love. Who remains in love,
\nabides in God and God abides in him \u201d(1Jn 4:16).<\/p>\n\n Dear brothers, the root of the deep communion that unites us today in this celebration is precisely in the love that God has infused in the life of each one of us, for
\nwhich celebrating Kiko’s eighty years is a joy and a gratitude
\nimmense towards him, to Carmen and to the Lord in this Eucharist that we celebrate.<\/p>\n\n The Gospel of Mark that we have proclaimed is also fulfilled in our midst today.<\/p>\n\n We have heard “Jesus immediately forces his disciples to get into the boat and
\nto precede it on the other shore \u201d. Also Kiko and Carmen, and then
\nall of us have, been drawn to Jesus Christ by the announcement
\nof the Kerygma and we have been forced to get into the boat of the
\nNeocatechumenal Way to pass from stage to stage to the other shore, as
\nCarmen has madepresent many times, beginning little by little to
\nexperience the presence of God in our hearts to reach out to
\ncontemplate the face of God in eternal life.<\/p>\n\n Thinking of Kiko, after having lived almost fifty years with him, as he himself has testified inhis book “Reflections”, I have been able to verify how the charism that Godhas given him, communicating an extraordinary zeal that has pushed him to givehis own life day after day, following the instructions of the Lord, hasat the same time, experienced his own weakness and inadequacy in the face ofa mission that he felt greatly surpassed his human strength.<\/p>\n\n Like the apostles in the Gospel of today, he has experienced fear when threatening waves assaulted the boat of the Neocatechumenal Way. Accusations and slander, misunderstanding,
\nthreatening waters. But over and over again the Lord has calmed the waters,
\nmanifesting his presence and giving his strength and comfort.<\/p>\n\n After fifty years we are all witnesses to the wonders that the Lord has wrought in our midst and\u00a0for this reason, together with Kiko, we thank the Lord in this celebration of
\nEucharist.<\/p>\n\n Not being able to talk more so as not to abuse of your patience, I would just like to refer to the apostolic fruitfulness in these eighty years of Kiko: the communities scattered throughout the
\nworld, the zeal and generosity of the itinerants, of the families in
\nmission, of the seminarians and priests who emerged from the numerous
\n“Redemptoris Mater” seminaries, from the “Missio ad Gentes”, from the “Comunitates in
\nMissionem \u201d, not to mention the great contribution to the renewal of the
\nArt and Sacred Architecture in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council,
\nas well as in the field of sacred music composing hymns and songs
\nand lately the Symphony dedicated to “Suffering of the Innocents”.<\/p>\n\n To conclude I would like to invite you to read the speech delivered by Cardinal Rouco in the presentation of Kiko’s book “Reflections” recently in Berlin.<\/p>\n\n It is the first speech by a excellent theologian and Canonist, as well as Archbishop Emeritus of Madrid who has always accompanied and sustained Kiko and Carmen with closeness, love an affection. In this speech, Cardinal Rouco describes the social and ecclesial environment during the last years of the Second Vatican Council in which the
\nLord has inspired Kiko, through the Virgin Mary, to form
\n\u201cCommunities that live in humility, simplicity and praise. The other is
\nChrist”. A prophetic inspiration that we see happening today, thanks to
\nsupport from Pope Paul VI, from Pope John Paul I, from Pope John Paul II,
\nof Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis who in the solemn celebration
\nof the 50th anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way in Rome, he has stated: \u201cDear
\n\u00a0brothers and sisters, your way is a great grace from God to
\nthe Church of our time \u201d.<\/p>\n\n For all this, let us now join the Song of thanksgiving (Eucharist) of our Lord Jesus Christ, in
\ncommunion with the whole Church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear Brothers, In this celebration of the Eucharist, we thank God today for having Kiko been born eighty years ago and, at the same time, we remember with gratitude in prayer his father and his mother who gave birth to him. Another reason to thank the Lord for having endowed him with so many and diverse gifts and for having given us, through him, in collaboration with Carmen Hern\u00e1ndez, the<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neocatechumenaleiter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Camino_Neocatecumenal_Papa_Kiko_Arguello.jpg\")
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