As we all are aware, the awaited 20th General chapter, had to be postponed due to the pandemic COVID 19.  However, the chapter commission continues to work with the facilitator, Mr. Matthieu DAUM, seeing the possibilities of how to proceed, re-energizing the members with the preparatory work begun.   For this, zoom meetings were organized, the first of which was held towards the end of July.  The second, scheduled from 25 to 28 August is on these days. Here are some photos taken in the Generalate while the meeting is going on. We see Geni Dos Santos, the GLT link person to the Chapter commission and the two translators helping the team. Surely in the near future, you will be updated with details of the results of their work. 

The whole world is shaken by the spreading of corona virus. Here in Uganda we began to feel it directly on 21.03.2020 when the lock down was introduced for whole country. Most people were in difficulty because daily earners had no way of earning their living. Movements were restricted and people had to remain in one place. Those who happen to be away from home had no possibility of return. Some young people were caught up by lockdown while in Kampala and the only option was to walk from there to Kabale. (407km)
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A group in Dublin, led by Lynda Ennis,  responded to the Television News about some women in a community centre in Donegal who responded to the need for protective masks for people at the ‘frontline’.
Sr. Pauline Harney was invited to join the effort and Pauline, in turn, invited Sisters of her community who wanted to join with her. She also invited women from outside who might wish to be part of the project in making the masks.
 

The masks are made of cotton and therefore washable and re-usable. Special filters are inserted into the masks and are regularly replaced after use.
Thanks to the devoted efforts of seven women in the sewing team, as well as  several of our community, seventy completed masks have already been sent to Donegal to be distributed throughout Ireland.
Pauline contacted the community Gardai (Police) to help with transporting  materials.
Bikers also joined the project to deliver material and completed masks to different nursing homes and to servers. Pauline also invited her nephew, Shane, who is a biker, to pick up material from the Convent and deliver it to the ladies involved in the sewing.

As a Community, we donated towards the cost of buying some material. There were also donations from people outside.
Those of us involved are convinced it is a worthwhile project, not only for hospitals and nursing homes, but also for ourselves – simply because instead of feeling helpless we know our community is making its own contribution to the struggle against Covid-19.
Holy Family Community, Newbridge Ireland
 
 
 
 
 

It is God’s mission we all are engaged in… it is collaborative!  The ‘Bienvenu Shelter’ in South Africa, is a collaborative effort to serve ‘the most vulnerable and destitute mother and their children with humanity and dignity.’  Here is a tribute to the Holy Family Sisters on the occasion of the bicentenary.
Bienvenu Project PDF 
Click here to view the PDF file 

My name is Durga. I have a sister named Devamma. We both come from the Scheduled Tribe community. We live in the forest of Andhra Pradesh. Our parents go for coolie work (daily wages) and we were kept as bonded laborers in the house of the land lords. Our parents borrow money in advance from the landlords to run our family. But they were not able to pay it back, so, we, their children, were forced to be bonded laborers to them till our parents pay their money.

We were working in two different houses. Our main work is grazing the Buffaloes. We were accommodated in a Buffalos shed to spend our nights. We got two meals a day. We had to get up at 5am to work: clean the Buffaloes‟ shed; wash the utensils, clothes of the family members; and do other household works. At 9am, we had to go for our routine chorus of grazing the Buffaloes and we should be back at 7pm. The remaining meals from these families were our daily bread.

Whenever we come across children who go to the school, playing, and walking together with their companions, our hearts were longing to follow these children. We used to question ourselves on why we were not sent to school. After a long period, the Holy Family Sisters from Ramnakkapeta met us. They spent time with us to trace our history. They met our parents and Land lords. But their efforts were in vain. Our parents and the land lords did not allow us to go to school and they rejected the Sisters‟ request. With much difficulty and pain, Sisters motivated us and our parents to send us to school. Even after going to school, we boycotted school and went back to the forest. Our Sisters never gave up their goal to see that we continue our studies. They took the trouble to change the area and put us in a hostel far away. We need to raise our hands to God for all His blessings in our life. Now, I have completed my 10th std and my sister is continuing her studies – 7th std.

We thank the Sisters from the bottom of our hearts who gave life to us. It is our joy and privilege to be ever grateful to our sisters for fighting for our rights with the landlords and other structures. Thank you,Sisters,for saving our lives. It is because of you we are able to continue our studies and able to sense the meaning of equality and justice.

I am always inspired by the words of our former President,APJ Abdul Kalam,“Every pain gives a lesson and every lesson changes a person”
Durga Ramanakkapeta
INDIA 

I remember a beautiful experience of God in Isangi, in the in DRC, at night, when the electricity was turned off.  Over my head: the dark sky with millions of twinkling stars; below, in the field, hundreds of fire-flies blinking their little lamps off and on.  I felt that I was with Abraham with his flocks at night, under the same stars.  In that beautiful moment, Abraham came to believe in one true God. The first human being we know of who came to faith in One God. I was struck both by the grandeur and majesty of God, as well as the intimacy and friendship of the Triune God.
As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity and 200 years of the life and mission of the great tree of Holy Family, this mystery of God, both awesome and intimate, touches us very deeply.  These two celebrations come together and bring us before the God of love, of life and communion.
The Scriptures today do not have the word, “Trinity”, but speak of the One who is revealed as a communion of love.  The reading from Exodus proclaims God as merciful and gracious, rich in kindness and fidelity, who desires to be close to the people. Moses invites God to come along in our company, to live in their midst, protecting them and leading them to fullness of life. He asks God to receive us as his own!  Paul celebrates God as a communion of love and peace.  He tells the community that all who follow Jesus, are to reflect in their lives this God of peace, making amends, living in peace with one another encouraging each other and agreeing with one another.  In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus speaks of a God of unconditional love, whose love is eloquently shown in that, while we were still sinners, the Father offered his Son for the life of the world.  God wants us to have abundant life!
Le bon Père, Père Noailles, experienced God’s unconditional love, and his response was to give himself entirely to God, his only source of happiness, who entrusted him with a mission.  His devotion to the Holy Family helped him grow in love for the Holy Trinity.  “He often contemplated the Holy Family whom he referred to as ‘the lovely image of the Trinity’ and in his intimacy with Jesus, Mary and Joseph”, he sketched out a spiritual path for a great family to be witnesses to this God of love.  Three dimensions, among many others flow from this relationship: closeness (familiarity, intimacy), holiness and communion.
CLOSENESS (intimacy, familiarity)
His friendship with the Trinity, seen through the love and simplicity of the Holy Family of Nazareth, brought him the experience of a God who is love and very close to his people.  In the aftermath of the French Revolution, le bon Père longed for a Church that revealed a family face, witnessing to the closeness and tenderness of God.   He was inspired by the communion, simplicity and joy of the community of the First Christians.  Don’t we think of Pope Francis’ message to us today, to go out, to be present among the wounded and suffering and to show tenderness, love and mercy?  The Holy Family Sisters and your Associates are witnessing this throughout the world through your lives and ministries.
HOLINESS
Another consequence of his friendship with the Trinity, seen through the love and simplicity of the Holy Family of Nazareth, brought him a deep awareness of the mystery of the indwelling of God communicated in the sacrament of Baptism.  His conviction that all the baptized are called to holiness, anticipated Vatican II.  The good Father envisioned a great tree with many strong branches.  This represented a truly inter-vocational Family with 5 vocations, each member living the diversity and beauty of the charism in a variety of ways: apostolic and contemplative sisters, Consecrated Seculars, Lay Associates and Priest Associates and friends.  I think of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, calling us to live a “practical holiness” in our everyday lives! You have been inspired to do this since the time of le bon Père, with joy and simplicity!
COMMUNION
The encounter with the Triune God and the Holy Family, also led le bon Père to live the spiritual legacy of communion, exemplified in the Holy Trinity and in the lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph at Nazareth.  Solidarity with and among all peoples, consciousness of the poor, the vulnerable and those marginalized in society, especially to women, have been at the core of your lives, as you read the signs of the times and respond to them.  In creative fidelity to the Holy Family charism, this spirit of communion embraces the depth and beauty of connectedness of the whole universe and calls you to experience intimate union with Creation, respect it and caring for it with tenderness.  Again, you anticipate Pope Francis’ call to care for our common home and to care for the poor. 
We celebrate your creative faithfulness to the vision of Père Pierre-Bienvenu, witnessing in your lives, the closeness, holiness and communion of the Holy Family and giving thanks for your missionary dedication around the world. 
I borrow Paul’s words:  “My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in… to take in the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, filled with the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:14).
Happy anniversary!
Louis Lougen, OMI
June 6, 2020
 

https://saintefamillebordeaux.org/v2/en/content/prayer-text-200-06062020

International Day of Families proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, is observed on 15 May every year. Family is the core of any society.  It is within a family that all of us have grown and become who we are today. And so we have reason to celebrate the gift of ‘family’.
We live in a world where many families are scattered, broken, wounded because of socio-political, economical reasons, above all, because of unloved.
Today, with the situation of COVID19, some families are privileged to spend more time together while still other have to live apart because of their generous services to humanity. We remember all of them with gratitude and love.
At the start of Mass on Friday (today) of the Fifth Week of Easter, Pope Francis turned his thoughts towards families. “Today is the International Day of Families. Let us pray for families, that the Spirit of the Lord – the spirit of love, respect and freedom – may grow in families,” he said.
We as Holy Family, pray on this special day, for LOVE and UNITY within the nuclear family, the human family and the whole universe family.

The month of May is approaching,it is traditional in this month to pray the Rosary at home within the family.For this reason, I want to encourage everyone to rediscover the beauty of praying the Rosary at home in the month of May. This can be done either as a group or individually; you can decide according to your own situations, making the most of both opportunities.
– Pope Francis –
https://saintefamillebordeaux.org/v2/sites/main/files/English_1.pdf

Dolors Massot | Apr 19, 2020

If we lose our peace by loading ourselves with messages every day, there is something that can help us master that urge.
In many countries the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to be vigilant. To avoid massive contagion, numerous governments have decreed a state of emergency and require that we be confined to our homes .
Overnight, we have found ourselves within four walls, unable to go outside, with  few exceptions,  and with a health hazard that causes us to be on  the alert.   
Mesmerized before the screen
The shock of such an elevated death-toll has made us stay glued to our screens, just as we did on 9/11. At that time, the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York created such a powerful reaction in us that we were “hypnotized” by the television .      
Now something similar can happen: as soon as we get up, we connect with the radio or television to find out how things are in our country, we follow the news, the press conferences of the authorities, the political gatherings, the “magazine” programs … Viewing of television and other screens has risen stratospherically since the pandemic began.  The coronavirus has taken over communication .
 
Do we need this much connection?
With the restriction of our activities, the danger of the pandemic and the need to know the situation on our context and way the pandemic is evolving, it may happen that we are continually glued to some screen.  
Added to the news are the communications via WhatsApp and social networks . There is a bombardment that does not distinguish between memes, contested information, hoaxes, “fake news”, rumours, humour, feelings, different work activity, etc … Everything attracts our attention and we pay attention to everything ” in case it might be of interest . ”   
Anguish and hopelessness
While we are naturally driven by our survival instinct,  at the end of the day -or after a few weeks- we begin to take stock and realize that the overload of messages of all kinds generates stress , tires our minds, causes us to waste time and – what is worse – leads us to despair . 
Life has changed , and we lose our  peace
This combination of events  can make our 24 hours quite frenzied . At the end of the day, we see that we have been running, trying to cope with everything that has come our way, with the feeling that we are up to our necks. But in the process, we have lost our peace.  
Saturated? We have to take back control
Paying uncontrolled attention to any event has its downside. It can lead us to saturation-point, exhaustion and hopelessness. We are full of data but we have let go of the reins of our life. 
Go to the essential
In order for this not to happen, it is worth considering a fundamental question: what is the purpose of my life? 
We must make an effort to focus our thinking and be able to reflect on our reason for being. Let us put it in writing or engrave it on our hearts. For this we have an excellent tool: intelligence and will-power.  These rank above the mere instinct for survival and must be put to work.        
Once we have remembered what our life purpose is, we will be able to examine whether our journey is directed towards that objective or whether we have deviated from the path.
Activism is a form of materialism
Perhaps in this time of quarantine we have immersed ourselves in activity. Even though space is more restricted, it is easy to fall into activism. Do, manage, change, adapt … all are action verbs. If we stay on that plane, activism is a clear form of materialism .  
There is materialism if there is consumerism. Perhaps now we are not consuming material products but rather an excess of ideas, information, entertainment, leisure … 
Give transcendent value to our day
The situation will change radically if from now on we give our day-to-day activities a  transcendent value . How to do it? Simply by attending to our own human nature, which has a spiritual dimension . 
Each concrete action can hold a spiritual dimension: we can connect with God while we telework, while we help the children with school tasks, while we cook or clean. We can live continuously in God’s presence , because God is  always available to us and because we can offer Him everything, our entire 24 hours. “God walks among the pots and pans,” said Saint Teresa. And today God is there among the papers, emails, cell phones, microwaves, laundry and children’s toys. 
We will return to calm
When I fill my life with press releases, whatsapps , news and memes I move only on the material plane, but if I seek God there , He will also help me to distinguish the urgent from the important . Not every novelty described as urgent will deserve immediate attention. We can lower the rate of our craving for data.  
When we let God into our lives, He helps us find the measure of things: what value do I attach to  them, what do I  really need to be informed about, where do I detect that curiosity or superficiality is taking the upper hand, or that  vanity is  dominating me in a selfie …
A pause to speak to God
In this quarantine situation that easily causes information  overload and saturation , taking a break in the day -or several times a day – to dedicate time to prayer , to help us to reset, get back at the wheel and adjust the course of our lives. 
Peace is earned by battling, but that battle can be as small as clearly deciding: “Now I switch off the television” or “I turn off my phone for a while.”
Let us listen to God in order to master ourselves
Being present to God and talking to Him , listening to God within us, is something simple but very deep that changes the  landscape: it is what restores our balance, hope and strength, so that we can be fully ourselves even during quarantine, even in the most difficult  circumstances..