Day 10 – Changing the narrative
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…
Day 9 MSOLA Chapter 2023 – Co-creating with God a new reality
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. …
Day 8 – Guardian angels caring for the MSOLA on the free Sunday
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…
Day 7 – Trusting the journey
The morning prayer was centered on the Transforming love of the Risen Christ. Then the capitulants looked at the journey done the evening before, regarding the MSOLA identity. Framing the Agenda on Key Area “Spirituality”, the Co-Facilitators, Selina and Yago, brought in the new insights and awareness that was integrated in the Butterfly Framework. These new insights were borrowed from the Book Paradoxology by Sr. Marie Therese Winter – Chapter on Spirituality in a Quantum Universe. The Butterfly Framework calls us to learn from nature and to normalize chaos and confusion…. darkness…. long periods of unknowing…waiting…trusting the natural process etc.…. In her book, M.T. Winter explains the quantum world. This is the world that is smaller than an atom. Things at this scale don’t behave the same way as objects that we can see. The quantum theory points towards a fundamental unity in the universe behind the observable…
Day 6 – Listening to the inner source.
The prayer of the day put the capitulants in an atmosphere of listening, calling them to listen to the inner source that speaks of love and to the Spirit of God guiding them on the way to transformation. During prayer each person received a seed of an oak tree at different stages. Some seeds were just the oak acorn, hard and whole. Others already had some cracks; others had sprouted and several had a few leaves and roots. There was a moment to contemplate the seed received, seeing how the seed had to be broken open and destroyed to be transformed into a tree. The seed reminded us that it is only in the dark and humidity of the soil that the process of transformation to become a tree may happen; and how the inner strength of this small seed is able to break the hard shell to make…
Day 5 – “Yes” to transformation
On Thursday May 4th each working group chose its name in relation with nature. The names chosen were: breath of life, source, mango tree, Monarch butterfly and olive light. The groups worked at choosing the themes that will be worked on during the chapter. The “Butterfly organic model” will be used during the Chapter as a main model of discernment. This model invites us to focus on the present moment. The desired individual and organizational transformation starts with the lived experience of the Chapter. It provides a framework for broad exploration by making conscious connections between the present moment–where information resides, our past experiences and the desired future. It aims at sustainable solutions. The Co-Facilitators, Yago and Selina, presented to the Capitulants the “Butterfly Framework” and explained how it was going to be used as a tool that would support transformation processes and the implications (consequences that unfold…
Day 4 – Apostles creating newness
The General Chapter is a new beginning, an option for life which contains in itself a potentiality that we must develop, with a view to the transformation of the congregation and each of its members. On Wednesday we began the day with a sharing on what had touched each one the previous day, Tuesday: the presentation of the General Council report showing the reality of the congregation with its lights and its shadows. Then, we journeyed together into the life of an apostle: Carol, one of our sisters who lives her mission in her village in Spain. She is creating newness in herself and in those she is sent to. We heard the powerful voices of our younger sisters speaking to us. This awakened many feelings and gave us great joy. Our morning prayer was a thanksgiving for that intense time lived together and for all the new life…
Day 3 – Change and transformation are not the same
The Recollection As the theme of the Chapter is “The transforming love of the risen Lord calls us… to give birth to a new creation”, the continuation of the recollection the morning of the 3rd day, was dedicated to the meaning of transformation. Change and transformation are not the same. While change happens at a point in time, transformation happens over time. While change is a new beginning, transformation begins with an ending. Just when the caterpillar thought her life was over, she began to fly… While change is observable, transformation involves patterns, structures, worldviews and soul. While change is an exterior event, transformation is an interior journey. Transformation implies a shift in perspective, which means to look at the world through different windows. To start this process, we need courage to risk and harness creativity and imagination. (The picture will be bigger). Presentation of the report…
Day 2 – A Day of prayer, reflection and sharing
As athletes train hard before a big competition, the sisters prepared for the General Chapter with a day and a half of silence, prayer, reflection and listening to the Spirit speaking through reality through the others, the inner calls, to discover God’s call for us today. Brother Emili Turu, a Marist, led the reflection. He invited the sisters to be open to the reality of the world, the Church, the congregation and of religious life and to enter the contemplative space of the world realities which he presented in a slide-show. Despite the fact of the world being “upside down” with the difficulty of seeing God’s signs in it, he asked the sisters to search God’s presence in the meaningful images representing both good and bad current realities, and then to share with their neighbours what they saw. The periods of the whole life-cycle of cultures and…
1st session of the MSOLA Chapter
Our General Chapter is taking place from 30thApril to 20thMay. It is facilitated by Fr. Yago Abeledo M.Afr. and Sr. Selina Mbuli, Sister of Mercy. Our spiritual companion of the Chapter is Fr. David Sullivan, M.Afr. During this time delegates and representatives from the different continents will evaluate what the Institute has lived since the last Chapter in 2017, prepare the future of the Congregation, and elect the Superior General and her Council who will implement the decisions and orientations taken in the Chapter. Throughout Saturday, 29thApril, the capitulants and the team accompanying them arrived at Sacrofano, near Rome. What a joy to be able to greet and hug sisters who had not seen each other for a long time and meet others who we had only seen via Zoom. On Sunday, 30th April, the feast of Our Lady of Africa, the capitulants gathered in the…