The plenary Assembly of the UISG (International Union of Superiors General) will take place in Rome from 7 to 11 May 2010.

The plenary Assembly of the UISG (International Union of SuperiorsGeneral) will take place in Rome from 7 to 11 May 2010.

Theme:

Drinking “from the fountain
that springs forth and flows … although it is night”
(St. John of the Cross)
 

 

This theme refers to, two essential characteristics of religious life: Mysticism and prophecy.

In the invitation letter to the SuperiorsGeneral of the world the President of the UISG, forwarded the following contents of the topic:

Religious life finds itself today in a situation of deep searching, of creativity and pruning. The Spirit, who dwells in us, continually quenches our thirst with water from the Fountain that is always replenished. We are drawn and inspired by a love, which calls us to fill situations of darkness with prophetic light and to dwell courageously in new horizons. The future of religious life lies in living fully our mystical yearning with our traditional calling to prophecy. 

If you are interested in following the daily news of the Plenary Assembly, you can access the websites:  

www.uisg.org
www.vidimusdominum.info

 

SisterMargaret Muldoon
SuperiorGeneral
 

 

Vankalai is a predominantly fishing and farming village situated in Mannar District of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It lies along the Nanattan Road with the sea on its west connects to Indian Ocean. Its northern boundary is the historic Hindu shrine of Thiru Ketheeswaram.

 
 75 YEARS IN VANKALAI
 
Vankalai is a predominantly fishing and farming village situated in Mannar District of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It lies along the Nanattan Road with the sea on its west connects to Indian Ocean. Its northern boundary is the historic Hindu shrine of Thiru Ketheeswaram. Apart from fisheries and farming, there is also an educational and professional tradition. There are a number of teachers, government officials, clergymen, nuns and professionals from the area.

Vankalai is a Christian village with Roman Catholics being more than 99% and Protestant groups comprising the remainder. Vankalai has become now one the largest village in Mannar. Currently its population figure is a little over 8,000.

The Portuguese invasion and destruction of the Tamil territories between 1505–1658 caused most of Mannar including villages such as Vankalai to become Catholic villages. In the center of this village there is a huge ancient Catholic church called St. Anne’s Church. St. Anne’s Church was originally built during the Portuguese colonial period, an important landmark in Vankalai.

Today  we with gratitude look back last 75 years of the presence of the Holy Family in Vankalai we are overwhelmed with lots of feeling of gratitude, joy, togetherness and family. To make our long story of the Holy Family presence in Sri lanka short, the sisters arrived in Vankalai at the request of the then Parish priest  Fr.Soosaithasan OMI, Holy Family sisters came to work in Vankalai in1935. Rev.Srs. Monica, Louisa and Alphones were the three chosen strong young women who set foot in the soil. Their main apostolate was education by which they tried to inculcate Christian values in the society and they concentrated on the wholistic formation of the younger generation. They established Christ theKingGirlsSchool in the same year and were able to give a sound education to the girls of Vankalai and of the surrounding villages. Their leadership and discipline attracted many students and they maintained a good standard so that under their guidance many came up in their life.

The services of our sisters were very much appreciated by the people. Having attracted by the exemplary life and service of our sisters young girls came forward to embrace religious life with us  and other religious congregations as well and they even opted to be missionaries. This is a great witness to the fact that how our sisters toiled hard to work for the people of God. For this reason Vanakalai has gained a name –“A fertile ground of Vocations”. Vocations to priesthood and religious life flourished and still it continues. The credit goes to the Holy Family sisters who by their witnessing life, continuous animation and pastoral care promoted vocations.

With the aim of raising standard of the school to the higher grades it was amalgamated with St.Annes’ M.M.V and started to function in a different place. With the creative Leadership, the sisters were able to extend their services through pastoral work such as family visits, Catechetical work, preparation of the Sacraments, distributing communion to the sick and youth ministry etc…

6th of January 1985 was a sad and unforgettable day in the history of Vankalai. 

Rev.Fr. Mary Bastian who was ordained as a priest in the year 1975 served as parish priest  in Vankalai along with 10 others were shot allegedly by the Sri Lankan Army personnel, point blank range in front of the local St. Anne’s church.

His body was dragged and laid at the entrance of the convent. The sisters were asked to come out to the main church and to stay in knees for a long time. They were interrogated by the Security forces.

Due to continued harassments and fear, the people moved  out of the village and so the sisters, and the convent too was closed in 1990. The people returned  in 1992 and at the request of  the people the sisters came back in 1997. The sisters were real source of strength and support to the people who lost everything and their near and dear ones. It was the time the formation of the associates was born. The members were very much taken by the spirit of the family and began to offer their service to the needy. It followed by the formation of the children of the Holy Family. The convent which was destroyed by the war was renovated and the sisters started a home for the girls who were the victims of different kinds. There are 22 girls now in the home continuing their education.

Now at present we form a community of five sisters one is engaged in the teaching in the state school. Another one is looking after for more than 6 months the elderly people who were released from the IDP camps and who have no one to care. The diocese was providing all the help they need. Now some of them were reunited with their families and the rest was sent to the home for the elders in Mannar. The other three are actively involved in pastoral activities.  

Together with the associates they are trying build communion and to work for the glory of God Alone! Join us to thank and praise the Lord for the marvels He had done for us.

Holy Family Sisters
Vankalai
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

“Moved by our passion for God’s reign, to discern the calls of the Spirit in the signs of the times, especially….by being alert to all that destroys and threatens the life of our planet; to work as a body, in close collaboration with the other members of our Family and with others to ensure sustainability”

April 22 is Earth Day, and our we allow our Corporate Commitment to challenge us:

“Moved by our passion for God’s reign, to discern the calls of the Spirit in the signs of the times, especially….by being alert to all that destroys and threatens the life of our planet; to work as a body, in close collaboration with the other members of our Family and with others to ensure sustainability”

All over the world, there is a growing awareness of the beauty and vulnerability of our planet.  There is a growing awareness that we humans, the conscious element of the earth, gifted with the power to reflect, to decide, and to ACT, have the capacity both to destroy it and all its life forms, or to safeguard and nurture it, for its own sake, for ourselves and for all life to come.

Here in Rome,  we have not prepared a specific prayer or campaign for earth day. We simply share a little of what we found with a very quick search on the World Wide Web.  There are therefore various resources in English, French and Spanish which we share with you.  There are surely many more that those of you with internet access can find for yourselves!

April 22 is certainly a day when we need to pray for our planet… but it also a day that reminds us that we are called to listen very carefully and to open our “inner eyes”, so that we will hear the Spirit suggesting what we may do, how we may learn more, and with whom to collaborate in celebrating and preserving the wondrous life on this earth which we are so privileged to share.

JPIC  Rome

Prayer for Earth Day – April 22 – 2010

 
 

Earth Day Novena

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chad is a beautiful country with a great diversity of landscapes and ethnic groups. The Holy Family community has been inserted in Gounou-Gaya for some time. Gounou-Gaya is a small town …

Our Presence
in Chad

Chad is a beautiful country with a great diversity of landscapes and ethnic groups.  The Holy Family community has been inserted in Gounou-Gaya for some time.  Gounou-Gaya is a small town 400 kilometres from Mokolo in the Cameroon.  There are four sisters in the community; they are engaged in pastoral work in the parish, working with families, young people, justice and peace groups, and catechesis.  They also work alongside the priests in the Community College of the Daughters of Gounou-Gaya.  Our community is represented in the college by two sisters, one of whom is the director.  The situation of women in Chad is very precarious given the prevalence of certain socio-cultural realities: polygamy for example, where women are regarded as property to be inherited.  Women have no economic power and this makes them very vulnerable.  Girls are not educated and those who have had the opportunity to attend school seldom finish because they are obliged to marry or they become pregnant or it is simply not the custom for girls to continue their education.  This is certainly the situation in our region of Mayo Kebbi. 
 

The girls’ college was founded to help young girls to overcome this situation.  The objectives of the college are to enable all girls to have a good education, to help them become aware of their role in society and to form future mothers who would be capable of assuming responsibility for the upbringing and education of their children.  Since the school was opened in 2001, more than 300 girls have been educated there and a group passed the baccalauréat in 2008 The presence of sisters in the school is reassuring for the young girls.  The sisters help create a feminine atmosphere in the school.  The young girls are encouraged to work hard and commit themselves to their studies knowing that they have the same capabilities and qualities as men I have observed that the girls have changed a great deal in the past year.  To begin with they were reluctant to listen to and obey their feminine teachers and even the female director of the establishment.  They are more used to obeying men rather than women.  Past pupils of the school are very grateful for the education they have received.  They are well able to do their intellectual work without cheating.  There is an excellent atmosphere at the college because there is good collaboration among the teaching staff, friendship among the pupils and fruitful rapport between the teachers and the students.  This means that there is real harmony among all in spite of the fact that students and staff are from different religious denominations.  The school runs well and difficulties that are often encountered in a school where there are women only are surmounted with the help of God
 
                                                                           Sr Jolanta Okupniarek sfb

The UISG (International Union of General Superiors) challenged religious institutes to confront the different forms of human trafficking prevalent in our world today: forced migration, political exiles, organised prostitution, human slavery, trafficking in human organs, paedophilia and disintegration of families.
SPEAKING OUT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The UISG (International Union ofGeneral Superiors) challenged religious institutes to confront the different forms of human trafficking prevalent in our world today: forced migration, political exiles, organised prostitution, human slavery, trafficking in human organs, paedophilia and disintegration of families. Some congregations, encouraged by the Conference of Religious in Brazil have begun to tackle this national and international problem and they have formed a network called “A Call to Life”. “The importance of networking in order to confront human trafficking”.

The solution to this serious problem requires much more than the determined initiatives of a dedicated group of individuals.  For this reason, the network is represented in the United Nations and the Government of the country has set up a “National Plan to confront Human Trafficking”.

In October 2009, the religious members of the network met in Sao Paulo.  They came from all parts of Brazil, bringing with them the cultural richness of the different regions and the pain of the massive social wound caused by the total lack of respect for human life.   The theme of the meeting was: During the meeting, a leaflet entitled: “A Biblical Reflection on the trafficking of human beings” was launched.  This reflection was produced by the Conference of Religious of Brazil with the guidance of Father Carlos Mesters.

The religious assisted at this meeting in an attitude of faith and courage.  This is an invitation to us, as Holy Family to consider the benefits of working in collaboration with others in order to carry out our mission more effectively.  We get to know one another better and we are opened up to important issues such as human trafficking. 

Geni Camargo
Community of Vila Morael – Brazil

 

 

In Spring, the power of nature causes the sap to seep out of the maple tree, producing a liquid which humans will transform into something delightful. The sap is a symbol of strength, energy and vitality and shows us the wonders and power of creation.

WOMAN WHO ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? 

 
I began to walk with Mary towards the empty tomb, to enter into her experience so as to experience it as though it were my own.  Perhaps after Mary the mother of Jesus it was Mary of Magdala who encountered the Risen Lord first and experienced the EASTER JOY. First she looked into the tomb and then moved away from the tomb. She had to grope in the dark, she saw that the stone had been taken away; she experienced the loss of Jesus.  But she kept on searching till she found her loved one. She had to change her direction so as to experience the tomb as a life-giving womb. There she was told that her Lord was waiting to GREET her.  

With Mary I need to go through this experience of the empty tomb, the stone being taken away. Then in my daily life I will hear the challenging question. WOMAN WHO ARE LOOKING FOR?  Still fixing her eyes on the tomb Mary would have been engrossed in her loss experience. She had gone through a PASCHAL journey; her heart was burning and yearning with love for her lost one. She had gone through a Paschal journey. But it was Jesus who was looking for her. “MARY! …” It is to say: “I know you…..”  “RABONI” was her reply… “I surrender…..” A new journey begins.  “Do not hold on to me but GO to my brothers and sisters….”  Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had SEEN the Lord and related to them what he had told her.   Called to live for GOD ALONE; being sent like Mary to proclaim the Easter joy brings back to my mind the apparition of Jesus. In the Eucharistic miracle and the words heard by Milady Peychaud.  

Do I seek him alone?
                     Have I a passion to make him known? 
                               If you seek me you will find me. 

Lorenza PONNANWILA
Contemplative (Nagoda)

_________________________________________________________________________________

Sign of Life in the Congo: human promotion: women and the poor.

In the Congo, our different apostolates: the care of the sick, the education of youth, manual work, our commitment to pastoral work among women and children, are all signs of life.  These two photos illustrate this.   Here is the photo of a young man John, physically disabled, abandoned by his family at a very young age, has found joy again in the company of the sisters.

And this older mother, abandoned by her husband finds joy and a means of livelihood thanks to the work that the sisters have given her.
Other signs of life

 
 
Health care

 
 
 
Education of youth 

 

 
Impelled by our new cosmic vision, we emphasise our relationship with nature

  
 
_______________________________________________________________________
 

We spontaneously thought of the maple tree which signifies for us the arrival of Spring and new life!

The Sap :

In Spring, the power of nature causes the sap to seep out of the maple tree, producing a liquid which humans will transform into something delightful.  The sap is a symbol of strength, energy and vitality and shows us the wonders and power of creation.

Province of Canada

 
 

How do ecological issues, such as global climate change, impact on our celebrations of the Eucharist? How is eucharistic worship related to ecological action and life-styles? What is it to live an ecological vocation before the God of Jesus Christ?

EUCHARIST AND ECOLOGY
(Denis Edwards)

How do ecological issues, such as global climate change, impact on our celebrations of the Eucharist? How is eucharistic worship related to ecological action and life-styles? What is it to live an ecological vocation before the God of Jesus Christ? What is the relationship between ecological practice and Christian spirituality? In this last chapter I will attempt a response to these questions, taking up, first, some suggestions for an ecological theology of the Eucharist, and then some reflections on spirituality and praxis.

Towards an Ecological Theology of the Eucharist.

The proposal advanced in this section is that, when Christians gather for Eucharist, they bring the Earth and all its creatures, and in some way the whole universe, to the table. I will explore this proposal by working though fives steps: Eucharist as the lifting up of all creation, as the living memory of both creation and redemption, as sacrament of the cosmic Christ, as participation with all God’s creatures in the Communion of the Trinity, as anticipation of the participation of all God’s creatures in the life of the Trinity and as solidarity with the victims of climate change and other ecological crises.

The Lifting Up of All Creation
Like many Othodox theologians, he sees human beings as called by God to be “priests of creation.” He distinguishes this priestly task from notions of sacrificial priesthood that he associates with medieval and Roman Catholic theology. He sees each baptised person as called to be, like Christ, a fully personal being. This involves being relational rather than self-enclosed, being able to go out of self to the other, in what he calls ek-stasis.  Persons are always ecstatic, in the sense that they achieve personhood only in communion with others. Humans are relational beings. Their vocation is to relate in a fully personal way to God, to other humans and to other creatures of God. According to Zizioulas, humanity and the rest of creation comes to their completion in the life of God through each other.

When humans come to the Eucharist, they bring the fruits of creation, and in some way the whole creation, to the eucharistic table. In the Eucharist, creation is lifted up to God in offering and thanksgiving. The gifts of creation are lifted up to God and the Spirit is invoked to transform the gifts of creation, and the assembled community, into the Body of Christ. The exercise of this priesthood is not confined to the ordained but is the God-given role of all the faithful. It is not restricted to liturgical celebrations but is meant to happen in the whole of life. It is meant to involve all human interactions with the rest of creation.

Long ago Louis Bouyer pointed out that the early Christian eucharistic prayers had their origins and models in Jewish prayer forms used in synagogues and especially in homes, above all in the Passover meal. These prayers begin with a blessing of the gifts of creation. They are based on the memory of and thanksgiving for God’s work that involves both creation and salvation. Zizioulas makes the same point, insisting that all the ancient eucharistic liturgies began with thanksgiving for creation and then continued with thanksgiving for redemption in Christ, and all of them were centred on the lifting up the gifts of creation to the Creator.

When we come to the Eucharist we bring the creatures of Earth with us. We remember the God who loves each one of them. We grieve for the damage done to them. We feel with them. We can begin to learn the kind of ethos that Zizioulas speaks of, an ethos that leads to a different way of acting.

We remember the vulnerable state of the community of life on Earth today and bring this to God. All of this is caught up in the mystery of Christ celebrated in each of our Eucharists In the great doxology at the end of the eucharistic prayer, we lift up the whole creation through, with and in Christ, “in the unity of the Holy Spirit” to the eternal praise and glory of God.

Sacrament of the Cosmic Christ
The Christ we encounter in the Eucharist is the risen one, the one in whom all things were created and in whom all are reconciled (Col 1:15-20). God’s eternal wisdom and plan for the fullness of time is “to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10). Even when, in the Eucharist, the focus of the memorial is on Christ’s death and resurrection, this is not a memory that takes us away from creation. On the contrary, it involves us directly with creation. It connects us to Earth and all its creatures.

When we remember Christ’s death, we remember a creature of our universe, part of the interconnected evolutionary history of our planet, freely handing his whole bodily and personal existence into the mystery of a loving God. When we remember the resurrection, we remember part of our universe and part of our evolutionary history being taken up in the Spirit into God. This is the beginning of the transformation of the whole creation in Christ. The Eucharist is the symbol and the sacrament of the risen Christ who is the beginning of the transfiguration of all creatures in God. In eating and drinking at this table we participate in the risen Christ (1 Cor 10:16-17).

All matter is the place of God. All is being divinized. All is being transformed in Christ: “Through your own incarnation, my God, all matter is henceforth incarnate.”  Because of this, Earth, the solar system and the whole universe become the place for encounter with the risen Christ: “Now, Lord, through the consecration of the world, the luminosity and fragrance which suffuse the universe take on for me the lineaments of a body and a face—in you.”

Participating with All God’s Creatures in the Communion of the Trinity.
Every Eucharist is an eschatological event, meaning that it is an event of the Spirit that anticipates the future when all will things will be taken up into divine Communion. The Eucharist is profoundly trinitarian. Our eucharistic communion, our communion with each other in Christ, is always a sharing in and a tasting of the divine Communion of the Trinity, in which all things will be transfigured and find their eternal meaning and their true home. This trinitarian Communion which we share is the source of all life on Earth; it is what enables a community of life to emerge and evolve; and, in ways that are beyond our imagination and comprehension, it is what will be the fulfillment of all the creatures of our planet, and all the wonders of our universe. As we participate in the Eucharist, we taste in anticipation the fulfillment of all things taken up into the divine life of the Trinity.

This means, as Tony Kelly has said, that the “most intense moment of our communion with God is at the same time an intense moment of our communion with the earth.” By being taken up into God, we are caught up into God’s love for the creatures of our planetary community. This begins to shape our ecological imagination: “The Eucharist educates the imagination, the mind, and the heart to apprehend the universe as one of communion and connectedness in Christ.” In this eucharistic imagination, a distinctive ecological vision and commitment can take shape. With this kind of imagination at work in us, we can see the other creatures of Earth as our kin, as radically interconnected with us in one Earth community of life before God. We can begin to see critically – to see more clearly what is happening to the Earth. We are led to participate in God’s feeling for the life-forms of our planet. An authentic eucharistic imagination leads to an ecological ethos, culture and praxis.

Solidarity with Victims
The Eucharist always involves the memory of the cross. The theologian Johannes Metz speaks of this as a “dangerous” memory. The cross of Jesus is an abiding challenge to all complacency before the suffering of others. It brings those who suffer to the very centre of Christian faith. It challenges self-serving and ideological justifications of the misery of the poor and the victims of war, oppression and natural disasters. The resurrection offers a dynamic vision of hope for the suffering of the world, but it does not dull the memory of the suffering ones. They are always present, forever imaged in the wounds of the risen Christ.

The Eucharist, as a living memory of all those who suffer, calls the Christian community to a new solidarity that involves all the human victims as well as the animals and plants that are destroyed or threatened. Solidarity involves personal and political commitment to both of the two strategies that have been identified as responses to climate change, those of mitigation and adaptation. Adaptation will mean re-ordering society, budgeting in readiness for ecological disasters, training personnel and allocating resources. In a particular way it will involve, as a matter of justice, hospitality to environmental refugees.

When we Australian Christians gather for eucharistic celebrations, we gather in solidarity with Christians who assemble for Eucharist in Kiribas, in Tuvalu, and inBangladesh. We gather in solidarity with those who share other forms of religious faith in the Pacific, in South-East Asia, inAfrica, and in all parts of our global community.

We pray in solidarity with the global community, that the Eucharist that brings us into peace and communion with God, may “advance the peace and salvation of all the world” (Third Eucharistic Prayer). We commit ourselves again to discipleship, to an ecological ethos, lifestyle, politics and praxis, as people of Easter hope.

We encounter Jesus, in all the healing, liberating love poured out in his life and death and know again his presence as the risen one transforming all things from within. In the power of the Spirit, we participate in and taste the eschatological Communion of the Trinity. In the Spirit, the assembly is made one in Christ, in a communion in God that has no borders, but reaches out to embrace all of God’s creatures. Every Eucharist calls us to ecological conversion and action.

 
 

 
 
 

Towards the middle of March of this year, we realised a dream that we have had for over a year. We set up a community vegetable garden with the collaboration of three mothers who participate in the catechetical formation in one of the chapels of the parish in the district of Primavera.

COMMUNITYVEGETABLEGARDEN

Towards the middle of March of this year, we realised a dream that we have had for over a year.  We set up a community vegetable garden with the collaboration of three mothers who participate in the catechetical formation in one of the chapels of the parish in the district of Primavera.  These women have 8, 5 and 3 children respectively, all of school age.  When we visited them in their homes, they all expressed the desire for a vegetable patch so as to improve their children’s diet.

In sharing the word of God, we have been able to discover how, in these difficult times, Jesus encourages us to value unity, solidarity and fraternity in the living out of our daily lives.  This is essential, not only for our own family but also for all our brothers and sisters because “He has come that we might have life and life to the full”.  John 10:10.  It was wonderful to hear that the people wanted to form a united group and that they saw the need to commit themselves to pray in order to carry out a common task.  They accepted the challenge of working to create good relationships among themselves and to collaborate in making the dream of a common vegetable garden a reality.

Other mothers joined the group.  And the project got under way: they visited the head of the school, they talked about their concerns and he gave them a large piece of land belonging to the school; he even made a commitment to do some work himself.  The women sought estimates for the purchase of some basic tools, seeds and so on.  Two of the fathers installed a hosepipe which brought water from the school.  Mothers and children began to prepare the ground..  The excessive heat was no obstacle to them and they worked hard passing “tereré” (cold tea) from one to the other as they toiled.

What a thrill it was to see the first shoots!  Soon the first spinach plants and cabbages appeared on the family tables.  Even those who did not participate in the work received a share of the fruits.  Of course we had very little experience of how to care for a vegetable garden and unfortunately our brothers the ants made off with the greenest of leaves in a single night.

In August, when the moon was waning, manioc was planted and as one of the mothers, Miriam, said to me: “God willing, Sister, we will have a good crop at the beginning of February”.  Manioc is called “the bread of the poor” in these parts.

A coordinator from INTA visits us every week to advise and help us.  It is really wonderful to see how people are working together and helping one another to achieve a better quality of life.  We earnestly hope that this will continue.

The following is the prayer that we say at group meetings:

 
Blessed are you Creator, God of life, blessed are you for your creation,
for the earth and the air, for the sun and the rain,
for the miracle of every small seed,
for the great miracle of the food you provide for us every day.
Blessed are you O God for the wonderful taste of fried manioc,
roasted potato, toasted peanuts and popcorn.
Blessed are you for the memory of the wise voices of our Guarani,
Creole and European ancestors who remind us
that the earth is not the property of those who inhabit it but rather
of those who respect and care for it.
We must return to mother earth,
we must cultivate and care for the earth. 
Help us to select and preserve good seed.
Creator God, thank you for all that you provide for our families,
for the food in our pots and on our tables,
food that will nourish our children and grandchildren.
As we journey on this earth on route to our heavenly home,
we continue to dream of the table
where all are welcome to share as sisters and brothers. 
For this we pray. 
Amen.

   

Sister Elsa Santana
Community of Wanda-Argentina
 

 
 

Since the 9th of March the contents of all the boxes and cases that were blocking up the corridor have been put safely away and we are learning how to open and close the many doors leading from one place to another.
 

/*–>*/
We’re off…Martillac’s new community has been launched….

Since the 9th of March the contents of all the boxes and cases that were blocking up the corridor have been put safely away and we are learning how to open and close the many doors leading from one place to another.
Joy, high spirits and no doubt other feelings are shared…. And the sun is shining down on these first days that are full of hope.
Marian came to accompany us during our first few days here and now the arrival of Margaret and Marie Carmen invites us to lay the first foundations of our life together.
On this first morning – March 16th – Margaret invites us to turn from “the here and now” towards “the future”.  The Lord who makes all things new is calling us to build something new.
The presence of our Contemplative sisters : Bernadette and Teresa  who is a member of our team expresses clearly our decision to journey together as two vocations in solidarity with one another, living unity in diversity, collaborating in the same project each contributing our own “colour”.
Margaret explains that Lydwine will bring her own expertise in all that concerns administration and thus contribute to the Martillac project.
The aim of this meeting is to help the group to build up the community, to organise itself and begin to plan the programme of animation for the Institute.

A time of prayer invites us to open ourselves to listen to the Lord, the God of tenderness at the heart of the world who is calling us:

it is he who is calling us into this community
it is he who is asking  each of us to give our lives for the mission
it is he who urges us to set out with courage on the road of this Holy Family project.

              With hearts full of joy, we want our response to be “yes” every day. 

 Mary,   Assunta,   Lydwine,   Françoise,   Adela,   Carmeline,  Geneviève, Christaline 

 

/*–>*/

The Word of God that is at the origin of the created world is also at the origin of our community.

                      His word is faithful!
                      The world is filled with his love.
                    

  The plan of the Lord endures forever
  The projects of his heart subsist from age to age….

Thanksgiving pours from our hearts for:
All the sisters who have preceded us, and in whose footsteps we tread, and we think very specially of Lorette, and confide to the Lord this time of renewal that she is just beginning.
The pastoral district and the diocese that is welcoming us.
The different Holy Family vocations and all those other people who will come and enjoy Martillac…

And we remain confident in God’s hands as we earnestly pray: 

Give us the light we need to find our way through what is now unknown.

And he replies:

      – Enter into the unknown and put your hand in mine.  That will be more useful to you than a light and more sure than a well known path.

International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

 

 
International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United NationsGeneral Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

What defines the quality of water?  

Water quality is an important parameter touching on all aspects of ecosystems and human well-being such as the health of a community, food to be produced, economic activities, ecosystem health and biodiversity. Therefore, water quality also is influential in determining human poverty, wealth and educational levels. 

From a management perspective, water quality is defined by its desired end use. Consequently, water for recreation, fishing, drinking, and habitat for aquatic organisms require higher levels of purity, whereas for hydropower, quality standards are much less important. For this reason, water quality takes on a broad definition as the ‘physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of water necessary to sustain desired water uses’ (UN/ECE 1995). It needs to be noted that after its use water usually returns back to the hydrological system and if left untreated can severely affect the environment. (read more…)

More information:

http://www.worldwaterday2010.info/
http://www.jpicpassionist.org/
Booklet for the liturgy: 
http://www.jpicpassionist.org/Water/English/World%20Water%20Day.pdf