Monthly Newspaper • DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT

By Joe Pisani

BRIDGEPORT—Fifty years ago, Father Ricardo Arganaraz was on track to become a papal nuncio for the Vatican, but then something happened that changed his life forever. And it would change the lives of thousands of others.

The Holy Spirit led him in a new direction, a direction that inspired him to found a community of believers committed to the New Evangelization and to bringing people to a life-changing encounter with Christ.

The priest from Argentina had a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit and left the Vatican because he realized the Lord was calling him to something different, so he withdrew to a secluded mountain area in Italy with three others to pursue a life of prayer, work and study.

During those early years, while living in solitude, they laid the foundation for what would become the Federation of Koinonia of John the Baptist, a worldwide community that has attracted thousands of the faithful, hungry for a life of prayer, sharing and evangelization in the tradition of St. John the Baptist.

The community spread through Northern Italy to Europe and Asia and North America. Today, the community of 15,000 people worldwide, includes families, consecrated brothers and sisters, and priests. Koinonia is a Greek word that means “fellowship, sharing in common and communion,” and its mission is “to promote the New Evangelization through activities, training programs and the formation of community.”

Now 88 years old, Father Arganaraz recently visited Bridgeport to spend time with one of the newest communities at Our Lady of Good Counsel Chapel at 163 Ortega Ave., which began two years ago with the approval of Bishop Frank J. Caggiano and has been called “an oasis of Bridgeport.”

In an interview conducted in Italian by Sister Maire Close of the local community, Father Arganaraz talked about the role of Koinonia in proclaiming the Gospel and bringing people to personal encounters with Christ.

“In truth, the Koinonia was born as a community that evangelizes,” he said. “Not a catechetical community but a kerygmatic community, that is, a community which goes all around the world offering kerygmatic formation through the proclamation of Jesus as Lord: Jesus, true God and true man, who has given us his Spirit.”

Sister Maire explained that “kerygma” is a Greek word that means “to shout out loudly or proclaim” and that the first step in evangelization is to make a proclamation about Jesus as Savior and Lord, who loves us personally and unconditionally. With that comes a recognition that we are sinners and Jesus is our Savior, who died for us and sent us the Holy Spirit to give us new life.

Father Arganaraz said the Lord uses different signs to reveal “where he wants us to be” and that Bishop Caggiano was such an instrument, leading Koinonia to start a house of prayer in this diocese.

“His availability, openness and willingness to birth a community of Koinonia here gave us great joy,” Father Arganaraz said. “It’s important therefore to realize that we are important for the diocese because the bishop wanted us!”

In addition, the Koinonia community fulfills a need in Fairfield County, he said.

“I don’t see other communities that make such forthright kerygmatic proclamations of Jesus, and this must be the first step in evangelization,” he said. “It’s the foundation of the house, and catechesis is the roof of the house.”

His hope for the future is that the courses and sessions about evangelization, which Koinonia offers, will prepare the faithful of the diocese to proclaim the kerygma. Koinonia’s primary work is to encourage people to come to the experience of Jesus with one another and experience firsthand the personal love of the Risen Christ.

“This is our characteristic as a community: planting schools of evangelization and wherever possible a center for evangelization,” he said.

The prayer community is part of the Charismatic Movement, which began after Vatican II.

“The Charismatic Movement is very important because it reminds us that catechism is not enough,” Father Arganaraz said. “Catechism is an evangelization after the person has received the Lord Jesus and has received the Holy Spirit. To catechize before the experience of Jesus is incomplete because catechesis is to form the person who already knows Jesus and whose life is under the action of the Holy Spirit. So the Charismatic Movement is an extraordinary event of the Spirit as a response to the years of Vatican II because it comes out of the experience of Vatican II.”

Father Adriano Biccheri, who was named priest moderator of Our Lady of Good Counsel more than a year ago, has worked to spread Koinonia worldwide. He first came to the United States in 2005 and stayed for a month to help set up a Koinonia house of prayer in Brooklyn.

Father Biccheri also served as the secretary to the founder of Koinonia, Father Arganaraz, and traveled around the world, promoting the New Evangelization.

“I received a lot of experience being with him and seeing how the Lord was using this man of faith,” Father Biccheri said. “That was a tremendous experience. I had the privilege to meet many people of faith, and the Lord accompanied me to let me know these wonderful people.”

“My roots are very Catholic, and I knew the Lord Jesus in a personal way when I was 19; I belonged to an ecumenical prayer group and discovered the charismatic renewal,” he recalls. “After a year, I met Koinonia in Rome, and practically from the first meeting, the Lord gave me a lot of signs he was calling me into that community as a consecrated brother. When I was 20, I entered the first year of discipleship in the community of Rome.”

Joining Father Biccheri are Sister Maire Close, Sister Letizia Girelli, Brother Michael Bertaja, Sister Aide Roman-Escamillo, Sister Katka Barkociova and Brother Pablo.

“We are consecrated and lay people together, who see ourselves as disciples of the Son of Mary,” Sister Maire said. “When you bring people to an encounter with the Lord Jesus, it changes your life.”

Sister Maire, who is from Northern Ireland, joined Koinonia in 2001. She said: “It’s a tremendous blessing to be here because the Lord is doing something tremendous in Bridgeport and Connecticut. Our focus is on the New Evangelization, and our mission is to evangelize in the spirit of John the Baptist. We help people grow in their relationship with Jesus through prayer and through community.”

By Ann Yanetti

NORWALK—What does women’s spirituality look like as we navigate a culture of materialism, consumerism, and individualism? That was the question Sister Sally Norcross, CND, sought to answer at an event that drew over 80 women at St. Matthew Parish, hosted by the Catholic Daughters.

“There are many different kinds of spirituality,” said Sister Sally. “Some encourage people to search for the sacred, others find God in nature, and others in mindful living in the present moment. Gerard Manley Hopkins, an English poet and Jesuit priest, spoke about an incarnational spirituality built upon the coming of God in the flesh. Franciscan spirituality focuses on poverty and on the humble humanity of Christ, whereas Ignatian spirituality is marked by the desire and ability to find God in all things.”

Sister Sally noted that spirituality is much more than saying a Rosary, praying novenas, taking pilgrimages, or attending Adoration.

“All those are good, and they help form our spirituality, but spirituality is much more than that,” she said, adding that spirituality has nothing to do with one’s title, position in life, or whether you are a religious or lay person.

As a member of the Congregation of Notre Dame and her great love for Our Lady, Sister Sally focused her talk on Marian Spirituality and how it has shaped her own spiritual journey.

“Marian spirituality seeks to imitate Mary’s virtues in such a way that we do not only seek to pray to Mary, but we seek to be like Mary,” said Sister Sally, highlighting the distinction between “praying to” and “being like.” When we pray to someone, we ask for intercession. When we pray like someone, we delve deeper into the life that person lived while on earth, and we attempt to model our own life on theirs.

Sister Sally explained how the Mysteries of the Annunciation and the Visitation can offer insights to inform our spirituality.

“In the Mystery of the Annunciation, Mary was free to say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Mary engaged in dialogue with the angel and when satisfied with what she was hearing, she makes her own decision,” she said.  Once she gives her consent to a mission that involves her whole life, she made a commitment and waits in trust for God to work things out.”

What does the Mystery of the Annunciation teach us about praying like Mary?

“Simply put, it means I live my life in such a way that Jesus can be incarnated by the way we live and the example we set for others,” Sister Sally said. “I do not even need to use words. My actions speak for themselves.”

In the Mystery of the Visitation, we get another insight into Marian Spirituality. In her visit to her cousin, Elizabeth, it is not about Mary’s need to see Elizabeth.

“Sure, she wants to see her,” said Sister Sally, “but Mary decided to go because her cousin was in need. Mary perceived a need, put her own need aside, and decided to be with the other.”

When Mary showed up at Elizabeth’s door, “Elizabeth affirmed Mary’s faith by saying, ‘How has it happened to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?’” Sister Sally notes this is a great “show of solidarity between these two women. If Mary had any doubts, her feelings were liberated in the greeting from Elizabeth.”

Mary’s visit teaches us that Jesus touches others through us.

“When we take the time to reach out to others, to really put our own needs and desires aside, we become more and more like Mary,” Sister Sally said.

The women at the retreat were encouraged to personally reflect on the Mystery, asking themselves how do they recognize God’s actions in others? Can they recall anyone in their lives who empowered them to bring forth something new?

“I see Visitation as an important part of women’s spirituality in this 21st century,” Sister Sally said. “It is not about a title, prestige, money, or position, but spirituality is the essence of our being. Yes, all life long, we will need to nourish it by prayer, Christian practices, retreats, spiritual direction, yoga, and other devotions that are meaningful to the person. However, in the end, it comes down to who am I? What is the essence of my being?”

Recognizing that putting other peoples’ needs before our own is not easy living in a fast-paced society, Sister Sally challenged listeners to make Marian spirituality come alive by supporting one another and tuning into each other’s needs as well as their own need for God.

“Just remember, that it was Mary’s quality of her being that defined her,” she said. “Mary was the Valiant young woman who is spoken about in the Book of Proverbs, Chapter 31.”

There are many different ways to be a virtuous woman, Sister Sally noted.

“Each of you is one of them: joyful, strong, patient, loving, sharing.” Sister Sally emphasized the importance of sharing perspectives and how this can lead to new insights and understanding, quoting John Shea, a contemporary theologian: “The spiritual life is, at root, a matter of seeing. It is all of life seen from a different perspective…the spiritual life is waking, sleeping, dreaming, eating, drinking, working, loving, relaxing, recreating, walking, sitting, standing, breathing … Spirit suffuses everything. Spirituality comes from within.”

Noting how Jesus valued women and listened to their perspective, Sister Sally quoted a recent article by Sister Joan Chittister, OSB: “The Church taught us that God made male and female equal, and that Jesus came for all. I believe in the Jesus they showed me: the Jesus who listened to women, and taught theology to them, the Jesus who sent women to teach theology and raised women from the dead.”

Sister Sally said that society has come a long way since her religious formation days in viewing the role of women in society, in politics and in the Church.

“Those in top male positions need to be open to the female voice,” she said. “I am convinced that more good can be accomplished with the two voices coming together. Religious women remain the

heartbeat of parish life, managing schools at all levels, and now religious and lay women are assuming the position of Diocesan chancellors, as well as other influential positions across the country and in the Vatican.”

In the days and years ahead, Sister Sally said it is her hope that women will continue to walk in the footsteps of Mary, “walking hand in hand with anyone who would like to join us. Together, may we continue to use our God-given talents of service to help the poor, the marginalized, the voiceless. Together, may we continue to bear Christ to a world that is hungry for peace and truth, justice, and love.”

Sister Sally’s talk left attendees grateful and in awe.

“Her talk was phenomenal and engaging. It was educating and entertaining. One of the best talks I’ve heard in years,” said Pat Poremba.

Sister Jaculyn Hanrahan, CND, opened the Retreat with a Prayer Service featuring music, scripture readings, and psalms. Together, attendees prayed a modern version of the Magnificat.

“The Prayer Service was so wonderful, I realize that it is something we should always begin with,” noted Nancy Piro, Court St. Matthew Catholic Daughters Regent.