The community icon

Maranà-Tha, which means "Come, Lord" in Aramaic, is a community of families, born in 1985, who responded to the call to follow Jesus in a simple life based on prayer and sharing, which is realized with the service to the neighbor. Currently six families live together in a big house from which were derived, in addition to apartments for the families themselves, spaces to welcome, a kitchen and a common living room to share meals during the week, a chapel for a pray meeting every evening and other spaces to be together. Maranà-tha welcomes children, single women with children, families in difficulty, people with psychological and social hardships, people in vocational discernment. Maranà-tha is also an operative center of Bologna Caritas where italians guys can perform the National Civil Service. In 1999 Maranà-tha became a volunteer association. Properties and structures are now owned by the association. In 2002 the community was recognized as a social apostolate opera of the Society of Jesus. In the families someone has job outside, while others work full-time in the community. Instruments which help us to live better the community dynamics and renew our actions sense are:

• Shared cash
• Meals together from monday to friday while dinners and weekends are strictly family.
• The community prayer every day before dinner, while in turn a family takes care of children of all.
• A weekly community meeting.
• Personal prayer.
• The Covenant Paper: a document which give us the travel direction.
• Personal annual Spiritual Exercises, as possible.
• A psychological supervision of the "community group".
• Annual meeting of three days, deepening and listening to the Word of God.