From Sr. Iwona Cholewinska, La Marsa, Tunisia
A deep conviction that has accompanied me since my novitiate is that we, the MSOLA, have a spirituality of our own.
I would like to look at it in its three dimensions: interior, horizontal and vertical, by joining the definition of Delia Mamon. For her, spirituality is “the connection to one’s inner being, to others, to the whole, including to that which surpasses us.”
Our MSOLA spirituality is first of all the spirituality of the personal relationship with the Lord. It is nourished by Ignatian Spirituality which leads us with its many means to the deepening of this relationship and leads us to a true experience of Life.
Our MSOLA Spirituality is enriched by certain aspects of African Spirituality which recognize the sacred character of life and a deep connection with its source. The Ubuntu philosophy and its adage “I am because you are” touches our various ways of being in connection with others.
The Wisdom of Our Ancestors
It was Cardinal Lavigerie’s personal relationship with Christ that allowed him to perceive the suffering of the people of his time and got him involved. For Cardinal Lavigerie, the apostle is nothing other than the one who makes himself all to all. This is the source of his apostolic and spiritual life. The strong attachment to Christ and the conviction of being able to find Him in all things, even in unpleasant situations–this is the invitation that Cardinal Lavigerie gives to his missionaries.
Mother Marie Salomé sets herself the priority of loving and serving by knowing how to listen, perceive, and anticipate needs. She showed that above all else, the authenticity of missionary life is revealed in the ability to respond to every emergency, to every call from a suffering humanity, in constant fidelity to God. Convinced of being God’s instrument, Mother Marie Salomé constantly reminds her sisters to remain the moldable clay in the hands of God.
The inner dimension – a deepening of who we are
Today, we MSOLA, women apostles, are called to be joyful witnesses of the love of Christ, so that people can recognize it in us, not only in our way of doing, but especially in our way of being. In recent years, as a Congregation and in accordance with the new orientations of the Church, we have grown in the understanding and recognition that “we are mission”. We therefore no longer limit the mission to our apostolic activities and projects, but we rejoice in being mission in the simple actions of our daily life and in our encounters. The values and attitudes that have characterized us since our origins are: discernment, obedience, simplicity, humility.
The horizontal dimension – an outpouring of the heart towards human beings and all creation
Our MSOLA spirituality is a spirituality of the one who is Sent. Since our origins, we have carried within us this characteristic mark of going out towards others, of reaching them where they are. We are called to come out of our mentalities, our prejudices, to go towards people, religions, cultures to let ourselves be transformed by the other, by the environment that welcomes us, to marvel at the gift of the other and their specific contribution to humanity.
Strengthened by the transforming love of the Risen Christ, we are ready to be sent to make our contribution to God’s dream for the African world by being “all things to all”: all things to God, all things to ourselves, all things to others and all things to all creation. As pillars of this dimension, I seethe expressions “loving and helping one another”; “all things to all”, “all things to all creation”; Ad Gentes (going out towards), Inter Gentes (letting ourselves be encountered and transformed by others), Cum Gentibus (engaging together), Muslim-Christian dialogue…
The vertical dimension – an aspiration towards God
It is the authentic and profound relationship with Christ that allows each of us to claim our character as beloved, which gives us the courage and confidence to respond to his call in love. Following the example of Mary who knew par excellence how to love, look, listen and do what the Lord told her, we contemplate Christ in the attitude of a disciple who listens, who learns, who lets himself be transformed in the service of God and others. Then we find God in all things, reality being, for us, a “sacrament of God”: through it, God speaks to us. Every person, every reality, has a special place in God’s plan of love. Then we can become bearers of hope in any situation…
Our MSOLA spirituality is alive.
Living it fully in its three dimensions is the fire that leads us to risk everything and to bear witness to God who counts on us, the women apostles, who share the gift of love received freely and without limits. This suggests a life centered on the Master, on Christ, the First-Sent-One of the Father.
The call to follow Him and to give ourselves totally to his mission unifies our life as apostles and religious, a life that invites each of us to take care of the quality of our communities and our apostolates.
