His journey, from the Charismatic Renewal to studies at the  Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, shows how the grace of God transforms life and opens up mission horizons for the Church today, promoting the  formation of lay people  for the new communities that are emerging within it.

Fabiana was born on March 23, 1980, in Recife, in the Northeast region of Brazil, and today she is in her final year of a Bachelor’s degree in Canon Law, thanks to the CARF Foundation, which provided her with assistance during her studies.

A transformative encounter with Jesus

I am Brazilian, born in the city of Recife, in the state of Pernambuco, in the northeastern region of Brazil. I am the youngest of four siblings. My family has always been Catholic: my mother, a deeply committed and practicing Catholic, and my father, although not practicing, encouraged my siblings and me to participate and follow my mother. I grew up in an environment where Christian values ​​were presented and exemplified by my parents as a reality of daily life.

But it was around the age of 13 that I had a personal experience with the living Jesus through the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. From that experience onward, Jesus became someone close to me, someone who lived with me, who accompanied me during my studies and also during my leisure time, when I was with my friends. Jesus was with me every day. He wasn’t just a God who gave me rules (the Ten Commandments) to follow, but a God who wanted me to be joyful and happy in the everyday moments of my life.

The experience renewed sacramental practice and prayer life

Through this experience, participation in the Holy Eucharist acquired a new meaning: I began to attend daily, not just on Sundays out of obligation.

A desire arose within me  to read the Bible, to learn more about the Catholic faith, and to participate more fervently in the sacrament of Confession. I began to join a prayer group of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, to take an interest in social activities and works, hoping that others could also have that same personal encounter with Jesus that gave new meaning to my life.

Everything good became even better, and what I previously considered negative, I learned to see differently, even discovering the meaning in the difficulties.

This personal encounter with Jesus was a turning point in my life. I am so grateful to God that it happened at the beginning of my adolescence, giving me a fundamental foundation.  A desire for holiness was born within me: to do everything well and to do it for God , giving meaning to the values ​​my parents taught me to the attitudes I saw in them, which now found a more profound meaning in God’s love for me, for my family, and for every person.

From the Charismatic Renewal to service in the new communities

However, over the years, I began to feel that God was asking more of me and that I, too, desired to give more to the Lord. It was then that, for the first time, I considered living in a new community. After several months of prayer and discernment, I found the courage to seek out the founder and the leaders of the community,  Behold Your Mother—Work of Mary, to share my feelings and express my desire to have a community experience.

Years later, I came across the Behold Your Mother Community—Work of Mary, a new community born in the Várzea neighborhood, where I lived in Recife. Upon meeting the first members of the community, I experienced mixed feelings: on the one hand, I was impressed by their courage in leaving everything—their parents’ home, their city—to live in community with the goal of evangelizing; on the other hand, it seemed like an enormous challenge. My first thought was, “What about my plans? What about my dreams? Am I going to give up everything? It’s not necessary… I’m already following Jesus; I’m already doing my part.”

This is how I embraced the charism of the community as a way of life: to evangelize in every way, with joy, helping the local Church in its various needs, inviting everyone to bring the Virgin Mary into their homes, both physically and spiritually. To evangelize and serve the Church like the Virgin Mary, guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit. To carry out the community’s mission, I was sent to our mission house in Rome, where we developed our apostolate in a parish on the outskirts of the city.

The formation of laypeople: discovering Canon Law

After a few years in Rome, a friend from the community told us about the course  “Ecclesial Movements and New Communities,” organized by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. He said he had already taken it and that it would be very beneficial for me and another missionary to participate as well, to help with the community’s needs. I spoke with our founder, and after sharing it with the General Council, we received the proposal to take the course. That was our first contact with the PUSC.

From that course, we better understood the need for some members to delve into the world of Canon Law, both to provide special assistance to the community and to prevent future errors. Initially, we thought it was something intended for the  formation of priests. However, after sharing this with the course organizers, we were encouraged to recognize the importance of lay members of a new community also dedicating themselves to the study of Canon Law, given that this reality is still new and requires the preparation of lay people.

With some trepidation, but also with enthusiasm, I took my first steps at  ISSRA  and later in the Canon Law course. Over time, I came to recognize as divine providence the opportunity to study Canon Law, especially at PUSC, where it is always presented to us with its true purpose: contributing to the  salvation of souls. Without this objective, the study would become cold and detached from the mission for which the Church exists with its entire structure.

CARF Foundation grants, key support for training

The funding of study grants managed by the CARF Foundation, thanks to the generosity of thousands of benefactors and friends, is key to the training of seminarians and diocesan priests, but also for religious men and women of new and established movements in the Church.

“Provided this opportunity to receive a solid education, my desire with the Licentiate in Canon Law is to help my community, but also other communities and movements in Brazil and around the world. I wish to serve better and be faithful to the call the Lord has given me, and for this I am enormously grateful to the benefactors of the CARF Foundation for giving me this great opportunity to receive concrete support in my formation,” says Fabiana Valdevino de Souza.