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| JESUS OUR LORD AND THE APOSTLES AT THE CENACLE. Image from dominicancooperator.blogspot.com via google.com |
The day of the Unleavened Bread came round,
on which the Passover had to be sacrificed,
and he sent Peter and John, saying,
'Go and make the preparations for us to eat the Passover'.
They asked him, 'Where do you want us to prepare it?'
He said to them, 'Look, as go into the city
you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water.
Follow him into the house he enters
and tell the owner of the house,
"The Master says this to you:
Where is the room for me
to eat the Passover with my disciples?"
The man will show you a large upper room
furnished with couches.
Make the preparations there.
They set off and found everything
as he had told them
and prepared the Passover.
- Luke 22: 7-13
It was at the Upper Room, or Cenacle, where the following important events before the Lord's passion, death and resurrection took place:
[1] The institution of the Holy Eucharist
[2] The institution of the Holy Orders
[3] The washing of the feet [see John 13: 1-15]
[5] The giving of the command to love one another [see John 13: 34-35; 15: 12-17]
The Cenacle is also considered to be the place where the following significant events took place after the Lord's resurrection:
[1] The Lord's appearances to the disciples after His appearance to the women and to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus [see Mark 16:9; Luke 24: 13-16, 36; John 20: 14-16, 19-31]
[2] The election of Matthias to take the vacated seat of Judas Iscariot [see Acts 1: 15-26]
[3] The descent of the Holy Spirit [see Acts 2: 1-4]
[4] The meetings or gatherings of the early Church [see Acts of the Apostles]
Hence every small group that would gather in order to read, reflect and share on the Gospel of Holy Friendship, John 15: 12-17 [and 13: 14, 34-35], will be called the Cenacle. And the First Cenacle will always be considered that which is of the Lord Jesus Christ with His Apostles.
The Cenacles will therefore be places or gatherings where the nature and Mission of the Society shall be discussed, meditated on and shared. These shall also be occasions to plan, implement and evaluate activities that will pursue the nature and Mission of the Society particularly that of making "friends" of all nations [see Matthew 28: 19-20; see also Acts 1:8; Mark 16: 15-16].
Since the First Cenacle belongs to the Lord and His Apostles, the Second Cenacle shall be composed of people who will administer the Society in order to ensure that all activities shall be coordinated and nothing shall be carried out which is inconsistent with its nature and the Mission. All other Cenacles shall have the freedom to call, name or title their Cenacles in accordance with Christian values, virtues, characteristics and others. Cenacles shall be grouped into Parishes, these in turn shall compose Dioceses which shall be the main divisions of the Society.
The groupings into Parishes and Dioceses only means that we hope to follow, more or less, the Church's structure in order to simplify coordination - not only within the Society but also with the Holy Mother Church and the particular Churches, that is, Dioceses and Parishes. Of course, proper adjustments have to be made in accordance with the population or physical membership of the Society. With regards to the Online Community, it shall follow the same physical structure as much as possible but there shall be allowance for those who will only remain merely online members, especially due to their lack of membership into a physical Cenacle for whatever valid reason except the mere decision to be alone.
A Cenacle can be composed of at least two or three persons in accordance with the following declaration of the Lord,
"For where two or three meet in my name,
I am there among them"
[see Matthew 18: 29-20].
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