In Cana of Galilee


The Families of Cana in English

Today, May 13th, the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord, and the Day of Our Lady of Fatima, we have a special gift to offer Mary.

We wanted to present it on this day as an act of thanksgiving because, as St. John Bosco said, “it was She who did it all!”

We wanted to present it on this day, asking for the intercession of the youngest saints of the Church, Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco Marto. After all, just like the little shepherds in Fatima, the children who grow up in Families of Cana, with a rosary beads in their hands, also feel the attraction of sainthood.

We wanted to present it on this day, World Communications Day, because it was on this day of the Ascension that Jesus sent his disciples:

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. (Mk 16:15)

For God, there are no coincidences. When the Lord made our family a multicultural and bilingual one, He surely had the Families of Cana in His dreams. In our house we speak English and Portuguese, so it’s about time we used both these languages in the site too, as a way to reach out to other countries and cultures and of sending the gift of the Families of Cana across borders and seas.

And so over the course of many evenings in, Niall has worked on translating a large portion of the pages as well as some of the latest posts in the In Cana of Galilee section, particularly those that best illustrate our charism. There’s still a lot to translate but the most important parts are ready to go online. As of now, the posts will be published almost simultaneously (or at least as quickly as Niall can get around to translating them) in English and in Portuguese.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, a wonderful Family of Cana has rolled up their sleeves and got to work with us (the Marantes Guimarães family has been living in Canada for the last two years with their four children). As soon as they discovered our Movement they tried to disseminate it but the language barrier was difficult to overcome. They’ve been asking us undertake this task of translating the site for a long time so that the seed of the Families of Cana can germinate and bear fruit in new ground, where they hope to bring us soon. This family will take charge of some of the English language pages on the site, like the Latest News, the Treasure Chest and the Prayer Network. What enthusiasm they’ve shown as they tackle their task! And what a pleasure it has been to work together like this, even with a five hour time difference!

João Miranda Santos, our webmaster and father of a beautiful Family of Cana made all this possible by programming the site so that it could be translated while helping us to navigate in the back office without drowning! We know that without him the site would be little more than a sweet dream.

Now we need everyone on board to disseminate the English language version of the site. We’re going to share it with our contacts and with sites and blogs that we love to visit, sharing the joy we feel by being Families of Cana.

Our Lady Help of Christians, Mother of Cana, who in Fatima visited us with your motherly care 101 years ago, we ask you to bless this our humble instrument of evangelization and teach us to do everything Jesus tells us to do. For you, dear Mother, this gift of love. Amen

4 Comments

  1. Isabel Guimaraes

    Dear Teresa and family,

    Today we have so many things to celebrate!!!
    We are very thankful for all the efforts that you all did to make the English page of Families of Cana possible.
    Today is also Mother´s Day in Canada. So, we also would like to thank you for your spiritual maternity and for all the blessings that your teachings and your example brought to our home.
    We hope more families accept your seed. We already know that the fruits are extraordinary!
    Warm regards to you all from the Marantes Guimaraes family!

  2. Sofia Portela

    Wow, it’s AMAZING! I love it! Thank you Niall! 😀

  3. Congratulations to all!
    The cards from the treasure chest are so beautiful!

    • Isabel Guimaraes

      I am so glad you liked them. I had a great teacher, named Olívia, who gave me very good tips! Thank you!

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