What is a cenacle?
The concept of small faith-sharing communities is as old as the Church itself. Our Jewish tradition itself is more centered on a home environment than on large liturgical gatherings. The earliest followers of Christ met in the Temple to give thanks and worship to God liturgically, but met in homes to break bread (the Eucharist), absorb the teachings of the Apostles, to pray, and to nurture the communal life (cf. Acts 2). In countries where the Church is persecuted, the cenacle is still the basic unit of our corporate faith: to meet in small groups in homes, sharing our faith and supporting one another in the journey of faith.
The idea contained in the word cenacle is derived from the meeting of our Lord’s followers in the upper room where He celebrated the Last Supper. The Latin word for supper is cena. A cenaculum is where people gathered to have a meal. Several significant events took place in the cenacle: Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist there in the company of His disciples, there He taught them to wash one another’s feet as a sign of of mutual, humble service; on Easter night He commissioned them to forgive sins; and it was there that they received The Holy Spirit at Pentecost equipping them with the power to spread the gospel, the "Good News", that is to evangelize.
The Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy meet in small groups (in imitation of the meetings of the first Christians in the cenacle) to have fellowship, deepen their Catholic faith and the knowledge of the Divine Mercy message, share their struggles and joys in applying it to life in the family and workplace, and to live out this faith together by performing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. More than being just prayer groups, Bible studies, or service organizations, cenacles are a healthy combination of all of these. They are a way for us to deepen our understanding and experience of The Divine Mercy, which our Lord invites us to exercise towards all others.