'I was unfaithful to my husband'

"I was unfaithful to my husband more than once." This was not a statement uttered sotto voce during confession. The woman, accompanied by her husband, was addressing the congregation at the Mass I was celebrating.

The couple form part of one of the Neocatechumenal communities of St Helena's parish in Birkirkara. They were visiting different churches in the locality, announcing a catechises course the Neocatechumenal Way will soon be organising.

The woman continued recounting her experience. She and her husband had gone to one of these courses and continued to follow the Neocatechumenal Way. She said that, little by little, they built their relationship with Christ and strengthened their marriage.

I think it takes guts to address a church full of people telling them you were unfaithful to your husband. This is a not a human kind of guts. This courage comes from the belief that Christ loves us sinners and gradually changes us to reflect his own image.

This was another success story of the Neocatechumenal Way. Hundreds in Malta and tens of thousands around the world narrate a similar experience - how our unfaithfulness is changed into faithfulness by He who gave his life for us.

The Neocatechumenal Way started in the slums of Madrid, Spain, just over 40 years ago. It was in November 1968 when the initiators Francisco (Kiko) Argüello and Carmen Hernández started this wonderful adventure. Little by little it spread in many countries, Malta included.

It faced many difficulties until the Vatican gave its final approval to a set of statutes for the Neocatechumenal Way in June 2008. These confirmed the movement's unique approach to adult evangelisation but insisted it maintain close ties with local bishops and parishes and asked for changes in the way it celebrates the liturgy.

Listening to the couple sharing their experience gave me a sweet kind of nostalgia. I formed part of one of the Neocatechumenal communities of Mosta for a number of years. I still remember the wonderfully celebrated liturgies every Saturday late evening. Time stood still while we savoured the Word of God and then the Body and Blood of Christ in an atmosphere of fraternal solicitude.

The midweek celebration of the Word of God was another strong moment in the life of the community.

But there were also things I disliked about these communities, such as their lack of punctuality. On a more serious note, I argued against their lopsided emphasis on just one aspect of Church teaching on family planning.

One of the things that worried me was the attitude of some members - this is an occupational hazard of members of different movements - who looked at their movement as the movement.

Coincidentally, last weekend in Rome Pope Benedict was celebrating with the Neocatechumenals the 40 anniversary of the movement's inception. He described it as "one of the numerous 'ways' brought into being by the Holy Spirit at Vatican Council II for the new evangelisation".

But my overall impression and judgment is a very positive one. I was helped a lot by the experience.

I recommend the experience to all those who feel inclined to this kind of spirituality.