To Choose, Ponder, Formulate…
This morning in chapel, where we live our times of community prayer and the Eucharistic Celebration, we found at the foot of the altar a marvelous wave of small origami birds fashioned in different colors by our Japanese sisters. In Japan, the bird is a symbol of both peace and suffering so today, more than ever, we prayed for peace and for our sick sisters.
For peace, asking that it will envelop the world with a fresh surge of life and that we will channel that outpouring toward our apostolic choices, our editions and our relationships.
For our sick sisters of all ages because suffering, when accepted and offered, is an invaluable occasion for renewing our yes to God for the benefit of the Congregation’s journey and its renewal. We feel supported by the precious yes to God made by our sick sisters in this special time for our Institute, including today, when we began to compare ideas in our small groups and in the assembly on every single part of the Work Instrument.
We brought a whole array of nuances to our work tables because, as you know, even though we all have a single charism and are part of the same body, we also have many differences, cultures and languages as points of reference…and therefore a wide range of perspectives, expectations and perceptions. In all this can be found our present, our future, our past–which we have received as a heritage–and also the voices of our sisters, in whose name we are here.
And then there is we ourselves, who, in the light of the Spirit, hope to make choices from God’s perspective. It is not a matter of moving ahead by means of majority votes. We are asked to confront ourselves, reflect, detach ourselves from our positions and look to the greater good…perhaps a good that is inconvenient, but nevertheless greater.
It’s not easy…the risks are many but your prayers are stronger. Ask God to give us the gift of his dynamic Spirit so as to give our human obstinacy a good shake and enable us to find ways to advance God’s plan for us.
See you tomorrow! #staytune #capitolo_ON #restiamoconnessi
Ariccia, 24 September 2019
