You have probably heard about Paray-le-Monial, a small city in the center of France, 2 hours from Paris by train, where Jesus appeared to St Marguerite Marie Alacoque in the 17th century to tell her about His Sacred Heart and His thirst to be loved by people.
In that city Emmanuel Community organizes summer sessions of 4 or 5 days where 20,000 to 30,000 visitors come each summer.
Days start with praise (can you imagine 5,000 people praising together? The tent is on fire!).
We have mass and teachings every day, but also adoration and possibility of confession, and sharing groups. Service is an important part of the session and a beautiful opportunity to meet others. There are beautiful vigils at night.
Children and teenagers have their own program.
If you would like to (re)discover Paray but feel shy, or concerned about the language barrier, we’ll be happy to help you organize, give you all the information you need, contacts in Paris or Paray… We can also arrange to go together and we’ll translate for you! Let us know by e-mailing Eva via eva@emmanuelcommunity.com.
English-speaking pilgrims are welcome at all sessions, although a dedicated international session with teachings in English will be held in July 23-28, 2019.
To discover a little bit about Paray you can listen to Philip in this little audio interview. Also, one of older posts in this blog included a video: Paray-le-Monial sessions for English-speaking pilgrims
And please keep all Paray visitors in your prayers. Each year there are beautiful testimonies of people who came “by chance” and lived a strong encounter with God. These sessions are possible because Emmanuel Community members volunteer to organize and serve. We can all contribute with our prayers!
Eva & Bertrand (MA)