Category Archives: The General Chapter

  The morning prayer was centred on the fact that Earth, filled with God’s family (all people and all creation and the richness of our diversity) belongs to all. We are all connected to the earth and to one another, all wounded but participating in God’s healing creation, all connected to one another with respect, humility, patience, open mindedness, and the spirit of forgiveness we have received in Christ Jesus. Each one is worthy of being respected and cared for. We commit ourselves to work together, to build God’s kingdom here today: equality, sharing, compassion, reconciliation will be our way, so that this world may become a place where all people live in justice, freedom and peace.   Through what we have lived these days we are becoming aware that we are like a tapestry welcoming our differences and showing our similarities. . The daily morning “checking in”, as a…

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The new General Council: Sr  Angela Nemilaki Kapitingana, Tanzania (Superior General) Sr Jeanne d’Arc Ouattara, Burkin Faso (Assistant General) Sr Leticia Garduño, Mexico(Assistant General) Sr Małgorzata (Gosia) Popławka, Poland(Assistant General)     Sr. Angela Kapitingana, new MSOLA Superior GeneralSr. Angela Nemilaki Kapitingana (Superior General) I was born on 5th January 1969, of Tanzanian nationality. I started my religious formation with the MSOLA in Mwanga –Singida (Tanzania) in 1991. I joined the postulate in Arusha in 1992-1993. I had two years of apostolic experience in Mufulira (Zambia); then I joined the novitiate in 1996. I made my first profession in Arusha on 25th March 1998 and my final vows on 25th September 2005 in Arusha. I have lived my mission in Mufulira (Zambia), in Kisubi (Uganda) and then in Arusha (Tanzania) as formator at the postulate. Then I was sent to South B, in Nairobi (Kenya), to Kigali (Rwanda), and to…

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  The present moment of the chapter is seen as new life but, like it happens in the seed, the splitting of the seed-shell is painful. We all carry this new life within us, but also the pain of letting go. We need a lot of compassion and patience in our hearts, feeling responsible for one another as we live this painful moment with compassion and respect. Each one of us is responsible for the new MSOLA plant that is developing.   As in the Ninfa Garden we visited yesterday, where something new has been built on the ruins of the past, in the MSOLA congregation too, each generation is adding something to the present garden. Today, we need to add our newness to the congregation. The difficulty we had with the technology at the beginning of the prayer showed us that even if things have been well prepared, any…

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  On the Sunday after the elections, an outing had been planned for those of us who wanted to visit the small town of Cori and the Ninfa gardens in the Lazio region, south of Rome.   The weather forecasted rain but to our surprise, as we waited for the bus, the rain stopped. All along the way, the sky and the mountains were covered with clouds, but as we approached the province of Latina, where Cori is located, the clouds started to dissipate. On the way we saw some small towns on the hilltops. Sr Gisela had prepared maps and directions on what to see in Cori. When we arrived, spontaneous groups formed and we set off in different directions to discover the old town, which already existed 350 years before Christ. Its narrow, medieval streets were decorated with banners, flags and exterior window hangings of the Virgin Mary.…

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Friday May 12th was the day dedicated to the election of the Superior General of the MSOLA congregation. The capitulants began the day with the Eucharist asking the Holy Spirit to fill the hearts of the sisters in that important moment of the election of the new leader of the congregation. The whole day was dedicated to prayer, including a recollection animated by Fr. Dave Sullivan, Missionary of Africa. The morning was for personal discernment and in the afternoon the election took place. Sister Angela Nemilaki Kapitingana, Tanzanian, was elected Superior General. After all the hugs and congratulations, the singing and dancing expressed the joy of having a new leader of the congregation. Then, the capitulants went to the grotto of Our Lady which is under the house where the chapter is being held, to sing and express our thanksgiving to Mary. We ended with the Sancta Maria, the congregation…

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  Morning Prayer was centred around being clay in the hands of the master, letting ourselves be moulded and shaped in ways that will enable us to respond to the needs of those to whom He will send us. He has chosen us even though we are broken and vulnerable, so that we pour ourselves out to others as He pours himself into us.   How to liberate our positive power We thank the Lord for our experiences during which our inner space is opening up to transformation, for us and for all of humanity. The Holy Spirit with our participation, is shifting our awareness and creating a new narrative in us. If we haven’t experienced or don’t trust our God-given “power within”, we are either afraid of power or we exert too much of it over others. Enduring structures of “power over”, like patriarchy, white supremacy, and rigid capitalism,…

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  The morning prayer was a thanksgiving for all that had been lived the previous day. Joy was expressed by singing and dancing while joining hands forming a circle-community, which brought a lot of energy. This energy carried the capitulants through the whole day.   The experience of the eve showed that when things are said in truth, reconciliation is possible. Personal woundedness can be healed when each one speaks in truth.  As we advance, transformation is happening. The learnings of yesterday may help to make our orientations more concrete. Richard Rohr tells us that “Our healing and maturing always begins with us acknowledging what is there” … and with what “I” and “we” have experienced.   Yesterday, the communities of the Monarch butterfly and the Mango worked together to unify the documents each group had produced, and the result was a very good document. From that experience we learned…

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  The Prayer was centred on “New Wine”, a time to connect to myself, to become aware of what is happening in me. Under difficult situations God makes a new wine, opens new paths of freedom, so that we may walk together in the way of truth and justice. The Co-Facilitators noted with appreciation and affirmed the evident shift that was happening in the here and now. They brought it to the awareness of the Capitulants that along the process the working groups / teams had become communities! Transformation was already happening. Each of the Capitulants was responsible for this shift. We are becoming aware that along the process the working groups have become communities. The work of the day will be centred on Mission and XXX. I take time to see first in me and then in the group/community what is happening in the processes we experience in our…

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  The prayer was centred on God inviting us to co-create with him the new reality we want for our congregation and for each one of us. We had the joy of receiving a video from our elderly sisters from Cartierville community in Canada, giving their personal message for the chapter and telling us they are praying for us. The program of the two weeks to come was presented. The capitulants were reminded to keep in mind what needs to be changed and what needs to be transformed.   The butterfly framework becoming alive in the MSOLA chapter. A framework is a tool that gives boundaries within which to work. The butterfly model is the framework for the MSOLA chapter. To deepen the transformation attitudes, the animators looked at how transformation is happening concretely during the chapter and how because of the “here and now”, plans have been changed.  …

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  After a week of hard work, Sunday, the long-awaited day of rest arrived! Sisters chose different ways to enjoy the day. The Eucharist was celebrated Saturday evening to allow those going to Rome to catch the early buses and trains… Picnics had been prepared for those going out.   The day rose magnificently, with a shining sun, birds singing, and a gentle breeze caressing the many trees surrounding the property of Fraterna Domus in Sacrofano where we are holding the Chapter.   After breakfast many sisters headed off to catch the bus, which would take them to the train station… It turned out that going to Rome from Sacrofano was quite an adventure… The nearest stop was crowded and the bus too small to accept the sisters. So, a few walked back the 2 km dreaming of eating an ice-cream, in Sacrofano, while others continued by foot to the…

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