feast of the cenacle

“You are my witnesses.”

May 23, 2026

“You are my witnesses.” Homily delivered by Fr. Edilberto Cepe, CSsR on the: Feast of Our Lady of the Cenacle, Local Bicentenary Celebration and 35 Years of Cenacle Presence in Cebu@Saint Francis Xavier Chapel, Sacred Heart Parish, Cebu City23 May 2026 Let me begin by saying to you: “The Resurrection is real.” Well, among the Cenacle Sisters here in Cebu, that has become our running joke. I have not been seen in their community for my SD for many months, and whenever I send a message, they reply: “Hala, “Nabanhaw siya!” (He is risen!) Sisters, I am now standing before you. Tinuod gyud ang Resurrection. (The Resurrection is real). But joking aside, I mean it when I say: the power of the Risen Lord is real. That is the reason for our gathering today. The Risen Lord, who ascended to heaven, did not leave us alone. Together with the Father, He sent us the Spirit of Love, the Holy Spirit, who enables us to be witnesses of His love in our world. Today, as we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Cenacle, we also offer our thanksgiving and praise to God as we commemorate the bicentenary of the founding of the Congregation of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Cenacle, the Cenacle Sisters, and their 35th year of presence here in Cebu. For two hundred years and for 35 years here in Cebu, God has blessed the Church through your presence and mission. The Congregation exists to continue the beautiful mystery of the Cenacle: the disciples gathered with Mary in prayerful waiting, expecting the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit, who would send them forth as witnesses to the ends of the earth. Yes, the power that raised the Lord Jesus from the dead is the same power given to the disciples and to Mother Mary in the Cenacle. It is the same Spirit who gave birth to the Church and who is given to us today. And it is this same Spirit that called the Cenacle Sisters to continue the mystery of the Cenacle through their life of prayer, community, and apostolic service. And the readings for this feast remind us that God’s power is always at work among His people. In the first reading from the prophet Ezekiel (36:23–28), God promises to gather His scattered people, bring them back from exile, and give them a new heart and a new spirit. God restores them so that the nations may know that Israel’s God is faithful, loving, and powerful. As Ezekiel 37 tells us, this power is so great that it can bring forth human life from a valley of dry bones. This is the same God who raised Jesus from the dead and sent the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, as we hear in the second reading from the Acts of the Apostles. There we find the disciples gathered in prayer with Mary, waiting in hope. And in the Gospel of Luke (24:44–53), Jesus gives them their mission: “You are my witnesses.” The disciples are not merely to remember Jesus. They are to continue His mission and show the world the Lord’s love, mercy, and compassion. Those words remind us of the Church’s mission and that of every baptized Christian. They also remind our Cenacle Sisters of the very reason for their existence and charism in the Church. For two centuries, the gift of the Cenacle Congregation has been precious to the world. Ours is a world that is busy, noisy, distracted, divided, and often tired. Many people live without silence, without prayer, without interior peace. Yet the Cenacle charism reminds the Church that before mission, there must be prayer; before speaking, there must be listening; before going out, there must first be entering the Cenacle. The Sisters teach us that the Church is not only active but also contemplative. The Church does not only work; it also prays. The Church does not only organize; it also waits upon the Spirit. Yes, the Church is active because it is contemplative. Through retreats, accompaniment, spiritual formation, prayer ministries, and quiet fidelity, the Cenacle Sisters continue to create spaces where people can encounter God, rediscover themselves, and once again listen to the Spirit. In a world hungry for meaning, they become witnesses that God still speaks. And this celebration naturally leads us to tomorrow’s feast: Pentecost. The Feast of Our Lady of the Cenacle prepares us for Pentecost because the Cenacle is where fearful disciples became courageous witnesses. And that is also the call for every baptized Christian, for each of us. We, too, are invited to enter the Cenacle, not only as a place but as an experience. We are called to pray, to listen, and to wait upon the Spirit. And then, like the disciples, we are sent out: “You are my witnesses.” Not only priests. Not only religious. Not only missionaries. All of us. As parents, teachers, youth, workers, and consecrated persons – wherever we are – we are called to witness to Christ through our words, kindness, service, compassion, and faith. We can only become active and courageous witnesses if we remain rooted in the Cenacle. My brothers and sisters, today’s feast of the Cenacle and tomorrow’s feast of Pentecost remind us to always return to the roots of our Christian life and mission. To close, let me return to where I began: The Resurrection is real. Yes, the power of the Risen Lord is real, not simply because I am standing here before you today after many months, but because the Church, born at Pentecost, continues Christ’s mission. Because the same Spirit that descended upon the disciples still animates the Church today. And because the same Spirit that called the first Cenacle Sisters two hundred years ago continues to enrich and renew the Church in our time. Dear Cenacle Sisters, thank you for being witnesses and for keeping alive the spirit of the Cenacle. May Our Lady of the Cenacle continue to guide you. May the Holy Spirit strengthen you. And may your lives continue to proclaim to the world: The

Homily | Feast of Our Lady of the Cenacle @ Quezon City

Homily | Feast of Our Lady of the Cenacle @ Quezon City Homily delivered by Fr. John Chong, SJ on the Feast of Our Lady of the CenacleCenacle Retreat House23 May 2026 Today is the spiritual birthday of the Sisters of the Cenacle. It is said that Sr. Thérèse Couderc came to a profound realization of the mystery of self-emptying in the contemplation of the Cenacle, the Upper room in Jerusalem. The self-emptying and humility she discovered / meant making space for the Holy Spirit to work, and “believing that God is already at work.” Since the pandemic, we too have experienced once again a sense of God’s absence. After the Ascension of Jesus, the disciples had no choice but to accept His absence. At that moment, they gathered in the upper room, Cenacle and prayed for God’s next activities among them. Like St. Thérèse Couderc, who understood the humility and self-emptying of the Apostles, let us also make room for the Holy Spirit and trust that God is already at work. Through today’s Mass, let us pray earnestly that the grace of humility and self-emptying may be given to all of us. There are moments in our lives when God seems absent. We pray, but heaven feels silent. We search, but cannot find clear answers. We believe, yet still feel as if something—or Someone—is missing. And yet, the mystery of faith tells us something surprising: what we call “absence” may in fact be a different kind of presence. Today’s celebration of the prayers in the Upper room, the Cenacle, and the coming of the Holy Spirit leads us into this mystery. It brings us into the Upper Room, a place where silence becomes prayer, and waiting becomes hope. 1. The Ascension: not absence, but a new and fuller presence. The Ascension of Jesus is not simply His departure into the sky. It is not a disappearance. Rather, it is a transformation of presence. Christ is no longer limited by time or space. He becomes present in all places, in all moments, in all human history. We might imagine it this way: like entering a glass elevator that rises higher and higher. The higher we go, the wider our vision becomes. What once seemed separate now appears connected; what once seemed distant now becomes visible in a single horizon. So too with the risen Christ. From the perspective of heaven, nothing is lost. Everything is held. Everything is seen. Everything is present. The disciples, however, experienced this differently at first. They saw His “absence.” But instead of falling into despair, they gathered in the Upper Room —the Cenacle— and prayed. Their waiting was not empty. It was the beginning of a deeper communion. 2. The Holy Spirit: the One who reveals the hidden traces of God We are people who search for God. But often, God seems hidden. It feels like a divine “hide-and-seek.” We seek, but do not immediately find. We long, but do not always see. And yet, God never abandons us in hiddenness. He leaves traces. He leaves signs. He leaves whispers of His presence in creation, in history, and in the depth of our conscience. But these traces are not always easy to recognize. This is why Jesus sends the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (cf. Jn 16:13). He teaches, He reminds, and He bears witness to Christ (cf. Jn 16:14). He does not speak on His own, but leads us into the truth that we cannot see by ourselves. Without the Holy Spirit, God can remain near—but unnoticed. With the Holy Spirit, even the smallest trace becomes a sign of love. In this sense, the Holy Spirit is not distant or abstract. He is the quiet interior presence who allows us to recognize that we are not orphans, but children of the Father. 3. The Church: renewed in the Upper Room of prayer and waiting The Cenacle—the Upper Room—is not only a place in history. It is a spiritual identity of the Church. It is the place where fear becomes prayer. Where waiting becomes hope. Where absence becomes preparation for new life. After the Ascension, Mary and the apostles did not scatter. They gathered. They prayed. They waited. And in that waiting, the Church was born. Today, we find ourselves in a similar moment. After the pandemic, many communities feel weakened. Church participation has declined. Structures have been shaken. And there is, at times, a sense of loss or even forgetting. But this is not the end of the story. It may be a return to the Upper Room. Because the Church is not renewed first by strategies or numbers. It is renewed by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. He strengthens us in our weakness. He speaks in our conscience.He gives courage where there is fear.He gives hope where there is discouragement.And He makes us witnesses again. So today, we stand in the mystery of the Upper Room. We are invited to see differently: what seems like absence is not abandonment. What feels like silence is not emptiness. God is already at work. And the Holy Spirit is given so that we may recognize this hidden work of God. Like Mary and the apostles, we are called to wait—not in fear, but in hope. Not in confusion, but in trust. And like St. Thérèse Couderc, we are invited to humility, to self-emptying, and to the simple faith that God is already present and already acting. So let us return, in our hearts, to the Upper Room. And let us ask once again for the Holy Spirit— to open our eyes, to strengthen our faith, and to renew the Church with His life. Amen.