12.12.2019
Enlarged Council - 2020 Explanation of the Motto and the Logo
The motto: Embody love with joy
This is imperative for our mission in the world context. Pope Francis says that there is a Sister, there must be joy. Those who evangelize must be the incarnation of love with joy, and must be the living memory of Christ ver they are present. It is not about talking about love or smiling, but being the revelation of Christ to others, letting Him appear in our attitudes and words.
The 2020 Enlarged Council logo was created with the participation of many eyes, hearts and hands. The initial idea came from the young Jaqueline Aparecida Leite Dias, who was a novice of the Sisters of St. Joseph, and today, volunteers in one of our projects in João Neiva, in Espírito Santo. There was also collaboration from the journalist and employee of the Colégio São José de Pelotas, Henrique Giovanini, and Sister Eliana Aparecida dos Santos.
The logo expresses the incarnation of the Son of God. Jesus is love that has become Word and made flesh, assuming the human condition, to show that love radiates light and expands into the entire universe.
The green, blue and brown colors resemble forests, oceans, seas, nature, living beings and all diversity.
The hands that care for and protect life, are the hands of God and also our hands called into being, to care for and to protect life, in all its forms and manifestations.
The movement is circular and open, expanding. It expresses that incarnate love, the word that comes into being, that cannot be encapsulated. It overflows moves and acts. It is Mary\�s attitude when who goes hastily to meet Elizabeth, not to seek refuge, but to help. Love meets others and especially the ones in need. The attitude of leaving and going to the other is contagious, it is perceived, it is felt, and it is recognized. Elizabeth is ecstatic upon the visit of the Savior\�s mother. A simple visit can inflame the heart, make one vibrate with joy. Moved, Elizabeth says, "And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?" And on the part of those who offer love, Mary, the result is an explosion of recognition, a hymn of gratitude. Then Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord!"
The goal is to awaken in each Sister the desire to embody love in her mission spaces: ad gentes, among people, at a hospital bed, in a hospital, in a school, in a nursing home, in a kitchen, among migrants and refugees..., to develop the attitude of Mary and Elizabeth, to care for and protect life, in all its forms and manifestations and to care for our Common Home, the Earth (holistic ecology).
