LONG LIVE THE CENTENARY
“I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me”
“Thank you Lord for the life”
Dear Sisters: At the beginning of the Centenary of our Father Founder, the possibility of communicating with all of you is something we consider very great, so we would like to share with great joy and enthusiasm our first steps in the Congregational Juniorate.
We moved to the Juniorate community on July 22nd and as you know we officially started on the feast day of our Father Saint Dominic; these days spent in the new community helped us to get to know each other little by little. The experience that we are living is good, we feel encouraged and happy in the community where each one shares her experiences, her gifts, her ideas and with them we are all enriched.
In the days before we started at the Juan XXIII Institute, we felt that we were facing a great challenge, that of the language, and we were afraid to think whether we would be able to understand the teacher, whether we would be understood when we spoke… now, after two months of attending classes and doing some assignments, we feel that we can, that we can defend ourselves quite well, although there are always difficulties, so we thank our sister General and her team for this opportunity to study at this Institute and to be able to update ourselves and our pastoral ministry. It helps us to deepen our life keeping in mind the mission. We are also happy with our sisters who are always available to help us in our formation and in the Spanish language.
We hold in our hearts three very important dates, which we have experienced in a very special and beautiful way: Our Mother of the Rosary, that of our Father Founder and that of our martyred sisters.
We organised a triduum and decorated the chapel beautifully, highlighting the figure of Mary in the Church and her discreet and simple participation in God’s Project. This was followed by a meal shared in an atmosphere of joy and brotherhood that is always good for strengthening our relationships and making them grow a little more each day.
For Our Father’s Day we also prepared with a triduum where we were offered the opportunity to deepen our understanding of his life and mission, to stop and think about how he always worked with those who had no voice, with those who meant nothing. He taught us to have compassion, to have a great capacity to listen, to respect and accept everyone but especially the poorest. He is a great example for us, and his spirit drives us towards mission.
This time we experienced the celebration of our martyred sisters in a different and very profound way: we had the privilege, the grace of hearing everything that happened in 1964 in Congo, directly from Sr. Ana Alcalá who lived and experienced all the events. We were touched, it was such a strong experience… she too was moved, we had no words, but she made us discover how great and courageous was the giving of self until the end and moreover lived with joy and much love. They said: “our way is God’s way and if we are to die, we will die, but we cannot abandon the mission” Their faithfulness to the end… We are sure that they are watching over us and helping us from heaven.
A big hug for each of the sisters, wherever you read us.
Teresa, Briska, Cecilia y Tete
Juniorado Congregacional
Madrid