“ Console, console my people… speak to the heart… (…) lift up your voice and do not be afraid, (…) Here is your God”
Today, the second Sunday of Advent, the Word of God speaks powerfully, prophetically and consolingly in our Chapter Assembly.
In the morning at the Eucharist the voice of the prophet has already resounded in a special way, asking the people to console and to speak to the heart.
For all the sisters of Consolation, these words have a unique FLAVOR, because they give us roots that are anchored in the gift received from the Mother and give us identity. From the root, WE ARE, and in that being, God gives to the Church a Family that becomes great, like a tree that interweaves the oldest branches, with the most tender shoots... And so, all together, walking along the path of Consolation, we can say, CONSOLATION FAMILY,TODAY WE ARE CELEBRATING.
Celebration because God, faithful to His promise is ALWAYS with His People,
Celebration because we experience the Presence of the Spirit, who instills in us "his light as a source of the greatest consolation",
Celebration, because today, in communion of spirits and wills, we have elected the sisters Maribel Sanchez, Aránzazu Palau, Aurelia Alberto Maheme and Tania Lopez as General Councilors, they will accompany Sr. Loreto, our Mother General, in her journey of animation, in the style of Jesus and Maria Rosa Molas.
It is the Feast of the presence of the Lord who confirms again and again that, when we seek, pray and listen to the Word, with an open and simple heart, He comes to meet us, surprises us and strengthens us in our decision.
It is also the feast of Loreto's life celebrated and thanked on her birthday. In the morning we had a special prayer and at lunch a toast and cake.
In the afternoon we continued with our Chapter activities, working intensely on the final document, fruit of the prayer, debate and discernment of the preceding days.
We ended with a silent prayer, with the Lord exposed in the Blessed Sacrament, to continue listening, at the feet of the Master, so that he may help us to find "the best part" that our Congregation needs today.
On the 11th at noon, after the work in the Communities of Life, we had the Eucharist of Thanksgiving for the Anniversary of the Canonization of our Mother, presided over by the Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Cardinal João Braz de Aviz. His words, his homily, touched us because, in one way or another, they were the object of our Chapter reflection. The Holy Spirit once again confirms us in Hope. Here are a few highlights:
- Without the strong experience of God in our lives, our lives have no meaning.
- The Mother was nourished by this strength of God, otherwise she could not have walked, nor could she have done God's will.
- Today our most important challenge in the Church is to "walk together", but not in any way, but with an attentive LISTENING, to help us together to forgive, to love what is different, to assume and integrate the diverse, men and women. The Church is learning to work and walk TOGETHER.
- It is the Church in movement, what God wants today. Why is it so difficult to accept women in the Church? Life is both parts, not just one.
- From what seems to be extinguished, from what seems to be ashes, fire arises.
After the Eucharist, he went to the dining room and shared lunch with us. He has been very close and affectionate with all the sisters. May God bless him in his ministry.
In the afternoon we continued with our chapter work, outlining the Final Document.
“There was a humble and courageous woman, with a great thirst for God and to serve the poor, who, trusting in Him, left her home, wove threads of fraternity, mercy and consolation, who dreamed powerfully with the little she had and her love became universal....
She gave herself all until she was consumed, but her gaze was enlarged reaching other horizons that she would not see, although they were already in the Heart of God.
She gave herself all and through the holes of the “Tribuna”, she received the anointing of Jesus, and thus she knew how to live and die in love.
Her story accompanies ours... as Consolation Family".
THANK YOU, MOTHER...!!!!!