CEFAS (Ecclesial Communities of Faith and Love), produces and distributes resources to help communities through their guides and their families to be aware of the latest teachings of the Pope, to know various suggestions to live the human and Christian virtues that help to be better people, as well as the attitudes to take care of our common home.
In these twenty years, they have gained experience in organizing and accompanying the community guides and witnessing their interest in making known the love of God and the Virgin Mary, as well as their availability and generosity in guiding the communities in their diverse and often difficult life circumstances. This has fostered an awareness of recognizing and being grateful for God's presence in our space and circumstances.
Mónica Castellanos, one of the co-founders of CEFAS, shares her testimony:
There are apostolic projects that mark a person's life. Being part of CEFAS, I was fortunate to have my life enriched by what I consider to be one of the most important experiences where encountering Christ in the other made me see how great his love is.
It all started with an idea on paper, working on it and turning it into reality meant fulfilling Jesus' command: “Go and evangelize the whole world.”.
A mandate that found its form in the Ecclesial Communities of Faith and Love. A place where The dignification of the person and his personal and family improvement went hand in hand with the knowledge of Christ as the only love that gives fullness and meaning to life itself. The challenge was enormous, many times it seemed unattainable and not infrequently the fear of failure came as a temptation. The arduous hours of planning in the office, the training of guides for the communities, the visits to the parishes so that CEFAS could be part of their councils, were worth every minute.
I carry CEFAS “tattooed” in my heart, it always accompanies me, as all great works of God usually do, but with its particularity, because it wanted to associate the smallness of my life and that of many other people to make it a reality.
CEFAS is a gift for all of us who have had the good fortune to collaborate in its activities over the last twenty years and I trust that As long as there are people who listen to Christ's invitation to collaborate in it, it will continue to fulfill its mission faithfully.
Learn more about CEFAS
The Centro de Estudios Familiares y Sociales, A.C., CEFAS, is a civil association that promotes and organizes small communities to promote the self-improvement of its members and their responsible participation in the community development of their environment.
The association was founded in 2000, in Monterrey N.L., Mexico, by a group of volunteers responding to the call of the apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America (n.41) which recommends the organization of small communities as an effective method for the New Evangelization.
In 2020, CEFAS joins the FIDEI Pastoral Center to have a greater evangelizing presence by creating synergies with other works and simplifying administrative processes. To learn more about the work of CEFAS visit their website website.
