07.11.2021

CHAPTER JOURNEY / 07-10

Journeying with the Charism that unites people and their differences

The second day of the Chapter Journey was very intense and enlightening. After the prayer led by the sisters of the Norwegian province, Sr. Marian Murcia - the facilitator of the process - asked the capitulants to freely share their “thoughts and feelings,” so as to make the plenary resonate with what had accompanied the participants in the night after the first day of this second chapter session. The feedback was followed by a reflection from Sr. Marian Ambrosio that served as a link to yesterday.  She recalled that religious life is a sign from God which must be understood by the people. The charism is the light that calls to serve God. Therefore, the charism in the Congregation unites different people and their differences.

Listening and Sharing

The capitulants were then invited to work in mixed language groups to reflect on the 27 priorities gathered after a long process that involved the entire congregation over the past months. The challenge that Sr. Marian posed, was to try to identify priorities that would have the seal of the charism of communion - typical to the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Chambery.

The work in the groups was very interesting.  After a time of mutual listening, in which each delegate shared a single priority, the group was called to come to a consensus on two priorities that was most appropriate and share the same at the plenary.  A time of very intense and enriching listening saw the sisters involved for more than an hour. Subsequently, the secretary of each group shared the two priorities and the reasons that led to the choice.

It was almost startling to immediately see a strong convergence. Of the initial 27 priorities, with the analysing made by the 8 groups, two priorities were emerged with a very high number of preferences, along with a few other expressions that – as someone recalled – it is good not to leave out since God speaks through the voice of minorities. “Recreate or reinvent our way of living the mission at all stages of life in order to meet today’s needs and witness to God’s loving presence” (No. 23) and “Develop a deeper understanding of what it means to live an intercultural lifestyle, open to deeper listening, dialogue, forgiveness, acceptance of each other and knowledge of and respect for cultural differences” (No. 15) are the main orientations to which some of the younger ones ask to give greater concreteness, a legitimate concern that, certainly the outcome of the process will allay. We must now be patient, continue to listen and allow ourselves to be questioned, without arriving at hasty conclusions.

Be an angel for the other

Finally, Sr. Marian Ambrosio invited each one to be an angel for the other who spoke and watched over the life of St. Joseph even when he was asleep, from the moment he decided to live protecting "the child and his mother."

Sr. Rosalba Scaturro - Province of Italy