By Viktoriia Havaleshko
A simple community evening among Lay Centre residents, co-founders and alumni became a powerful opportunity to reflect on the value of sharing life with others and building lasting friendships.
On Wednesday, October 22, we had the joy of welcoming very special guests: Dr. Lynda Robitaille and her husband, Dr. Hilmar M. Pabel, from Canada. Together with Dr. Donna Orsuto, Lay Centre co-founder and senior advisor, they inspired us with their witness of faith and their reflections on the history of The Lay Centre and their own journey of leadership.
Community as a Gift
Donna spoke about two of the core values of The Lay Centre — hospitality and dialogue — inherited from the Dutch religious congregation of the Ladies of Bethany. She recounted how, 39 years ago, The Lay Centre was founded as a space for lay people seeking their place in the Church, describing its journey from its early beginnings to its growth from an ecumenical to an interreligious community.
She emphasized that hospitality should teach us to share generously with those who find themselves alone in Rome, allowing the love and mutual respect nurtured within the community to extend beyond its walls.
Lynda spoke about how The Lay Centre had become a true home for her during her academic life in Rome. She encouraged everyone to cherish the gift of community life — the ability to share both joys and challenges, supported by one another.
When asked by a resident how best to live our time in Rome, Donna encouraged us to discover the city — its history, culture, and language — while placing special emphasis on deepening our personal prayer and relationship with God.
Discovering Our Mission in a New Academic Year
The celebration of Mass began with a prayerful remembrance of Saint John Paul II. In his homily, Fr. Lawrence Rywalt, CP, a member of the Passionist community that owns the grounds where The Lay Centre is located, spoke about the importance of discerning the mission that God places within each heart. Life at The Lay Centre, he noted, is a blessed time of prayer and formation — a field where mutual understanding flourishes and where a strong Christian community is built in love.
On October 8, during our first community evening of the academic year, Fr. John Dardis, SJ, general counselor for Discernment and Apostolic Planning of the Society of Jesus, said: “None of you will leave this year without being touched by God.”
His homily offered a profound reassurance of God’s faithfulness, reminding us that while we cannot control every aspect of our lives, we can entrust everything to God, wherever we may find ourselves.
On October 15, The Lay Centre community welcomed Fr. Michele Gianola, undersecretary at the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), who shared a spiritual reflection on living in the Lord — a call to “put out into the deep” and not fear the solitude of prayer. Our journey of faith, he reminded us, is one of continual testing and growth.
“We can begin to taste His voice, His thoughts, and His feelings. Saint Teresa of Avila invites us to develop this relationship gradually — beginning with small things: Scripture, silence, even our doubts. What matters most is to remain with Christ and to grow in friendship with Him,” he said.
Photo: Karina Gandur
