Dear Friends of Magdala:

Every time a group of pilgrims arrives to Duc In Altum I ask them, “Who is the person who has impacted your faith and values the most?”

The answer, 99% of the time, is “my mother.” Occasionally it has also been a person´s grandmother, a teacher, a catechist…. But only on a few occasions has someone said it was a man.

This is a very important fact that resonates in Magdala. In Duc in Altum, the columns of the Boat Chapel commemorate Jesus´ apostles while the columns in the Women’s Atrium remember the women who accompanied Jesus in his public ministry. This is to say that they are symbols of this spiritual edifice. In other religions its members are considered “living stones of a spiritual building.” This is also acknowledged in Christianity, especially in the letters of the New Testament.

In reality the members of a society, like the members of a religion or of a country are like the “living stones” of a building; each one reflecting a mission, a necessity and a role in their particular society.

We are now moving  ahead with the construction of the pilgrim’s guesthouse of Magdala. This is so important. We need many stones, many columns, windows and square meters of floor — but this is not the most important thing. Our goal is not to just have a nice building, but instead to have a building where “living stones” are edified — a place where our visitors make the most of their experience, an experience we hope changes and improves their lives. This is what is important. Had you thought about it? The physical building that we construct will helps us construct spiritual buildings — people, families and societies.

Today more than ever we need to advance in the construction of the building of the Magdala guesthouse. We are at a good time to make progress and we would like to finalize our inauguration date, at least for half of the building. Our goal date to open the guesthouse is October 1, 2017. We need your help! We need your enthusiasm and your generosity! Join us in our construction efforts to build a better world, of a livelier faith, of a community which will make us dream of the future with tranquility.

Thank you for your friendship and your support. God Bless you.

Fr. Juan María Solana, L.C.