ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF M. ASCENSION’S BEATIFICATION

“Tell them to go to Galilee, we will meet there”.

In this month of May, it was 19 years ago that M. Ascension was beatified. And 109 years ago she arrived in Maldonado. As we recall these events, she becomes present in our lives once again; we remember something of her trajectory….

The reflection in the liturgy of this time (after Easter), recalls the life of Jesus, his absence and his presence among the apostles and in the first Christian communities, full of uncertainties as well as new securities; everything was typical of the beginning of the life of the Church and of every journey of new life and journey towards the Kingdom.

The new presence of the risen Jesus, with the apostles, after the desolation caused by his death, and even the news of his new life, was a bewilderment to the group, who did not know how to understand him, nor how to react. Jesus instructed the women to tell them to go to Galilee, where they would find him.

Galilee! To return to the first human experience of Jesus, a humble place, where the announcement and beginning of the new Kingdom was made, would now be the “starting” point to extend God’s promise to the world.

1. Ascension, together with the first sisters, in Maldonado, started a new time, with doubts and uncertainties, not only for us, but for the whole of the feminine Religious Missionary Life, guarded then inside the monasteries, from where it gave its particular contribution to the Church.

We had to get closer to humanity, even if this meant leaving many things behind; opening “the door” to go out to the poor who needed us and to insert ourselves in the world. M. Ascension guided our first steps in this direction, with a trip to the Amazon jungle, first, and without stopping there, to reach distant villages, together with missionaries, who had already begun evangelization a long time ago, but lacked the feminine contribution that was fundamental to support, integrate and complete the announcement of the Kingdom, as Jesus had done.

Apart from the many difficulties and anecdotes that we heard about these first experiences in Maldonado, the most important thing is that there were forged, at the side of M. Zubieta and M. Ascension, the foundations for our Congregation that in spite of the changes and constant adaptations necessary, today are still the foundation of our being Dominican Missionary Sisters:

-The clarification of OUR MISSIONARY CHARISM.

• -A new experience of God, as perceived by M. Ascension: “I never felt God as close as in Maldonado”.
• -The deep and determined OPTION FOR THE POOR.
• -The clarification of the need and style of organization of the MISSIONARY COMMUNITY.
• -The immense responsibility and dedication to the PROMOTION OF WOMEN.
• -The responsibility of our support to the MISSIONARY CHURCH.
• -The richness of knowing, assuming and valuing other CULTURES.
• -The urgency and richness of coexisting with different groups and races, feeling more integrated in a new humanity.

“And Jesus said to them: go into the world and proclaim the Gospel….”

Cecilia Valbuena