21/10/2018 -

Jeanne Valérie writes:

Here we are in the ninth week of our preparation for the Vows. The first session of the week plunged us into the Lived Vows experience.

The Morning Prayer was shared around the Pope's homily at the canonization of the seven new Saints on October 14. We started the session with a reflection on Baptism, the Transfiguration of Jesus and the Annunciation of Mary in connection with our religious consecration. Thus we rediscovered the external signs that confirm the mission of Jesus:

• at baptism God's voice, the Holy Spirit as a dove, the presence of the crowd, Jesus was praying, water etc.
• at the transfiguration, in front of some of his disciples, a voice to be heard and the mysterious presence of Elijah and Moses. The disciples are transformed by this experience.  
• At the annunciation Mary was also confirmed in her mission by the presence of the Angel Gabriel, and various events in her life. 

Like Mary by our consecration, we are set apart to be “all to all”. We belong to God and to our brothers and sisters.

In our religious consecration we received also very strong signs through events, people we meet, our family and our congregation that confirm our mission, our commitment following Christ.

 Our Constitutions have helped us to review the vows as a means to fully live our mission and be witnesses of Christ. We closed the session with three different role-plays. We have seen how the vows transform us; allow us to grow in the unconditional love of God. Then we can also testify to this love in community and in our mission. What is required is our responsibility, our availability our maturity our generosity and fraternal charity.

On Thursday we had a guided tour with Father Paul Walsh, a Marist father, to the different places of Father Colin’s journeys in Rome. The principal aim of Father Colin was to present the plan of the Society as a whole to the Holy See.

After his experience in Rome he realized that Rome was a place of grace and favour for the new Society.  Colin was deeply drawn to the Jesuit aims, but he insisted that the Marist “style” or way of proceeding was to be different.

Back from our visit we now understand better the foundation of our Marist spirituality.

Our last session of this week was on Community/ Interculturality. From our sharing we noticed that each one comes to community with various experiences and we are called to learn about each other’s culture and background, to leave our comfort zone and to help each one to grow and build up intercultural living in community, not just form a multicultural community

To attend that aim we need to appreciate everyone’s differences. We should never forget why we are here in this mission.

Be Patient with oneself, with others, with circumstances; clarify the vision, continue to persevere, and strengthen personal commitment

We ended the week with a visit to the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

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