The opening of a new foundation: The Ouarzazate community in Morocco
Sr. Maria Carmen Ocón Moreno, Sr. Rehema Toiwoki Kimesera, Sr Angela Kapitingana and Sr Maria Julia Alonso Martinez From Sr. Rehema Toiwoki Kimesera and Sr. Maria Carmen Ocón Moreno We are delighted to share with you that the official opening of the Ouarzazate community took place on Sunday 14 July. The ceremony took place in the only church that exists, St. Therese which is attached to the sister’s house. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero and, curiously, it was the only time since we have been here that there were no people other than the sisters, in this case our Congregational Leader, Sr Angela Kapitingana and Sr Maria Julia Alonso Martinez representing the NOUA leadership team and ourselves. It was probably a sign of how we are called to live our missionary presence in this place, with discretion and simplicity, but with great…
“… if you have love for one another”
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” John 13:35 By 5 MSOLA temporary professed sisters Sr. Anosiata Keneema in mission in Kinshasa, DRC, Sr. Eliane Nzoyisaba in Bunamwaya, Uganda, Sr. Eunice Kyohairwe in Tikondane, Malawi, Sr. Sylviane Rouamba in mission in Dar-es Salaam, Tanzania and Sr. Xaverine Mukatabaza in Malindi, Kenya Dear sisters and friends, greetings of peace to all of you. We are glad to share with you our joys, discoveries, insights gained during the session that we had online for three days. Indeed, it was a very rich experience. This session was given by Fr. Joseph Baru, O.C.D. We were more than 100 sisters among whom 5 MSOLA Temporary Professed sisters who actively participated in this session. The topic was: “The vowed life lived in contemporary society”. As religious, we need to have the…
Synodality – A new way of being church
the Klettenberg home and chapel From our Klettenberg community, Germany When we were young, we didn’t know the word “synodality”. For some years now, we have come across it more often, first in the writings of Pope Francis and more recently in connection with the synodal assembly in Rome. Today we understand it as a new way of being church. Jesus did not want a dictatorship for his church, he did not want a democracy either. He wanted the reign of God to be established. Today, synodality seems to be the best way to build the kingdom of God together. We have tried to describe synodality: • Travelling together, moving forward towards a common goal, praying, thinking, discussing, deciding and acting together, guided by the Spirit. • Everyone is responsible; in manageable groups everyone can have their say. Listening is the key to synodality. • Allow differences, accept…
Synodality and my MSOLA ministry
Sr. Francine Maas, first at the left, in a meeting of the parish council in Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Winooski For me, synodality means living and working together with other Christians to live our faith not only in words but in action. It means that the leadership is horizontal/circular and not vertical, thus the parishioners/community members have something or more to say about the running of their parish/community. Synodality in our parish In the 2 ½ years that I have lived in Winooski, VT. I have not heard or read a word about synodality in our parish or diocese. I go to Mass three times a week at the parish, including Sundays, so if it was mentioned, I would have heard about it. However, there is some progress. In 2023, our new pastor launched a request for people to be members of a parish council, which…
Synodality as Mission in mission
Our recently professed Sisters wanted to share with us how they understand the novitiate was an experience of lived synodality. For us, synodality means a journey traveled together through attitudes of listening and discerning the will of God. Walking together is the call that the bishops invite us to live. In this same sense, the theme of our general chapter of 2023 invites us to walk together without fear, to expand our tents in collaboration with others. Our journey together has been marked by several things. First, we all felt one day the Lord’s call to follow him in a radical way following the example of the first disciples. We have been on this journey on a personal level and as a group. We also did this discernment with our accompanists who helped us to better understand the Lord’s call. Then, during our journey through the novitiate, we learned…
Synodality, our common path
The community of Trier Seniorenzentrum in Germany. Sr. Theresia Flesch, in front on the left, died on 26th December 2023. From our Community in Trier Seniorenzentrum, Germany In February 2024, some of our sisters celebrated their jubilee. They remember their common journey: We walked the path together years ago. We were sent out on mission to spread and live the Word of God. Together with people of different cultures and religions, we built something. For us sisters, there was no difference between the peoples, everyone was and is equal. We listened and respected the opinions of others. We also accepted and supported their way of life. In the words of Mother Salome: “Love and help one another” Our life was and is always a life in community. It is our synodal way. “We are travelling together with the aim of gaining Christ” Even today, in our old age, we…
God’s dream became mine
Sr. Flora Ridder shares the Final Commitment of Sr. Magdalena Orczykowska on Sunday 21st April 2024 in the parish of St. Anthony the Abbot, Mẹcina, Poland On Friday afternoon the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa set off from Lublin to Mẹcina, the home village of Sr. Magdalena. There she prepared to make her perpetual vows on Sunday. The two entity leaders of Euro-America Sisters Marceline Nemeyitora and Maite Sanz de Pablo, Sr. Mamaalifar from Rome and Sr. Flora from Germany joined the sisters of Lublin for the celebration. In the village we were heartily welcomed by the parents and the sister of Sr. Magdalena. The uncle had put his house, next to the parents’ house, at the disposition of the sisters who, sharing rooms, all found accommodation. The meals were shared in the parents’ house. They were times of sharing, getting to know one another…
Reflection of the 2023 Synod
Sr. Maria Cimperman is a Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She participated in the first assembly of the synod on Synodality in October 2023 in Rome. Sr Maria offers our readers some particular perspectives from the Synod Assembly 2023 in light of the following questions. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share these reflections with you, particularly as I am aware that Conversation in the Spirit was a methodology used during your 2023 General Chapter. I imagine your General Chapter was your synodal experience. What made “conversation in the Spirit” (CIS) such a powerful tool during the Synod experience? First, CIS was a great equalizer. In the process, during round one and two each person has the same amount of time (and is kept to it) to speak and to be heard. The time was the same for a cardinal and a student, for women as…
Celebration Guide to Laudato Si week
This Laudato Si’ Week and Pentecost, let us gather in community to contemplate and nurture seeds of hope for our “suffering planet” (LD 2). Laudate Deum is a reminder about the urgency of the Laudato Si’ message and the need for both personal and cultural transformation amidst our ecological and climate crises. This year’s Laudato Si’ Week theme is inspired by the symbol for Season of Creation 2024, “firstfruits.” Let us be seeds of hope in our lives and our world, rooted in faith and love. “There are no lasting changes without cultural changes … and there are no cultural changes without personal changes” (LD, 70) Inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, this eight-day guide seeks to motivate tall people of good will to protect our Common Home through concrete actions and simple changes in the way we live. Here is the link to download the…
The sisters of ECA common retreat
From Sr. Marie Sakina, Lilongwe Community, Malawi How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity. Psalm 133:1 I would paraphrase this passage of psalm 133:1 “How good and pleasant it is when sisters pray together in unity! That is what I would say of our common retreat which we had in Uganda from 15th to 24th October2023. Those who lived this retreat would bear witness with me. At least that is what I felt. Our congregation in its constitutions (No 48 paragraph 3) states the following: To keep our lives centered on Christ in faithfulness to his call, we take time for a daily examen, a monthly day of recollection and an annual retreat. This shows that making an annual retreat is one of the “perks” of consecrated religious life for us consecrated religious. Moreover, doing the retreat together as…