In the 23rd year since its foundation, the Toronto mission of the Shalom Catholic Community had the grace of receiving a visit from its founder, Moysés Azevedo, on November 11 and 12. On the occasion of the 1st Shalom North America Congress, Moysés began his pastoral trip at the New York mission in the United States, then continued on to Toronto, Canada, where he gathered the Life community, Covenant community, and the Shalom work for two intense days of prayer, formation, and fraternity.
Accompanied by the community’s general assistant, Fr. Saulo Dantas, and the regional head of the Shalom Community in North America, Fr. Cristiano Pinheiro, their first stop was Life community’s missionary house, where they were warmly welcomed by the local missionaries. They shared lunch with the Founder.
Later that same day, all the members from the Life and Covenant community gathered to celebrate the Eucharist together as a community. After the Mass, there was a special moment of Q&A, during which the founder of the Shalom Community spoke about the challenges and graces of evangelization in today’s world, and about how the community is called to live a spousal relationship with Jesus and evangelization according to the Shalom Charism.
The local coordinator of the Community in Toronto, Reimar de Jesus, highlighted the importance and grace of this moment:
“These days of our founder’s visit were a great blessing for our community. His words as a father invited us to grow in holiness and deepen our friendship with Jesus.
The moment that touched me most was presenting the Shalom Work of Toronto to him. Hearing the brothers share how God has acted in their lives moved me deeply. Through fragile instruments, God continues to work wonders — to Him be all honor and glory.”
The young missionary Janayara do Nascimento, Apostolic Coordinator of the Toronto mission, commented:
“Having Moysés with us was truly a blessing. The moments we shared with him, and listening to him, renewed our offering. His presence filled our hearts with joy. It was definitely a milestone for our missions in North America.”
On the following day, November 12, gathered with the community, with the Shalom work, and with friends of the community who collaborate with the mission, the founder led a special Q&A session in which the youth and families of the Shalom work shared with him their personal experiences with the Charism and asked questions on topics such as unity, intimacy with God, and evangelization in the light of the Charism.
During these moments, various members of the mission shared how the founder’s presence touched them deeply:
“My experience with the founder of the Shalom Community, Moysés, touched me deeply. To me, he is simple, approachable, humble, yet extraordinary. His words encourage and motivate young people like me. What inspired me the most was when he said that the greatest obstacle to the growth of the work is himself. His words reminded me of the importance of intimacy with God and His burning love. With this love, we can reach more and more people and help them come to know God’s love through our own experience.” — Teresa Diep, member of the Shalom work.
“For me, the evening with Moysés highlighted the importance of personal prayer and remaining close to the love of God. The Shalom Community was born from this inspiration and continues to live and grow from it.” — Anya Maria, member of the Shalom work.
“Having Moysés here in Toronto was very inspiring. He was so kind and full of wisdom, which showed me how God uses him to touch people’s hearts through his beautiful testimony and his life.” — Cristiane Duarte, member of the Shalom work.
“Meeting Moysés was a great blessing and a gift of God’s grace. I had the honor of asking him a question, and his answer was so profound, clear, and intimate: ‘Evangelization begins with the purification of our own heart.’” — Charlie Brewer, member of the Shalom work.
After the two days of events, Moysés returned to the United States to visit the Shalom mission in Boston, the location of the congress that brought together representatives from across the community’s North American region.
For a future visit to the Toronto mission, Moysés expressed three great desires: that the community reflect the cosmopolitan character of the city, bringing together people of all languages, cultures, and nations; that the brothers and sisters grow in unity and mutual love; and that the people in the mission become, more and more, a people of deep prayer.
