MEETING OF THE FIVE VOCATIONS

The 30th of July 2011 was a meaningful and remarkable day in my life. Under the leadership of Srs. Francisca the Provincial of Colombo, Yolande the Provincial of Jaffna, and two Councillors, Chandrani and Selvarani, the co-ordinators or representatives from the five vocations from both Provinces came together for the very first time at Bambalapitiya.






HISTORICAL AND MEMORABLE


MEETING OF

THE FIVE VOCATIONS

 


The 30th of July 2011 was a meaningful and remarkable day in my life. Under the leadership of Srs. Francisca the Provincial of Colombo, Yolande the Provincial of Jaffna, and two Councillors, Chandrani and Selvarani, the co-ordinators or representatives from the five vocations from  both Provinces came together  for the very  first  time at Bambalapitiya. We met in order to share our lived experiences and plan for the future so that we can work together as one family with one mind and one heart.


 


In the recent past, we have been listening to the call coming from the General Chapter, the Council of the Family, the Enlarged General Council and the invitation to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the death of our Founder.  We are being called to create opportunities for the five vocations to come together in order to find ways and means to collaborate in our common mission. The day began with a prayer by Sr. Chandrani.  She led us all, through a meaningful power point presentation that invited us into a deeper relationship with the cosmic family. One person from each vocation was given a cut - out of a branch of a tree and a specific prayer. During the prayer one person was invited to pin the branch to the trunk of a tree, while another said a prayer. By connecting the branches, the tree was beautifully and meaningfully completed. This symbolic action touched us very much and reminded us of our dear Founder who had the dream of establishing one Family made up of five vocations –‘‘diversity of vocations”. We all strongly experienced the family spirit, a sense of belonging and unity in diversity. Then Sr. Yolande warmly welcomed the participants and said that a long awaited desire had come to fulfilment on that day.


 


We all were invited to introduce ourselves, share our feelings, and our expectations. The following points came up in our sharing:


·      All of us expressed that they were very happy to be here with the Intervocational group.


·      It is the first step to work together towards our goal to fulfil our common mission.


·      We are very fortunate and blessed to have the five vocations in our country.


·      Each vocation is unique and important to the family and no vocation is second to the other, so we can be enriched by complementing each other.


·      It is a wonderful chance to come together as five vocations for the first time here, to share our unique way of life.


·      It is a proper time for us to reflect and start something on our common formation.


·      Our longing is realized today.


 


By listening to all, we were renewed, energized and got into the spirit of the day.


Then Sr. Francisca enlightened the group on the theme.  She said the 150th death anniversary of our Founder is a suitable time for us to reflect on how our Founder lived for God Alone and how we can live and make known his charism to the world. Today our responsibility is to make the charism alive. The “Falcon’s story’’ inspired us to start something new, to fly high and change our way of thinking and acting. She also explained about the Council of the Family and the common mission connected with the cosmic family and she ended her talk with this question:


 How are we going to move forward as a Family?


 


This question deepened our reflection and gave us the opportunity to discuss the plan for the future.  We decided to reflect on:”Choose Life” and “Meeting Point” as individuals and groups. In our daily situation, we will endeavour to create the opportunities to share our charism with as many people as possible. The day’s meeting ended with a shared family meal which brought us closer to each other, much happiness, and a deepening of the family spirit.


 


For me personally it was a unique and encouraging experience. I admired and was enlightened and challenged by the experience of being together - the experience of “Unity in diversity”. It encouraged me to live my own dedicated membership in the family and to be more responsible in carrying out our Founder’s dream. I am encouraged to reach out and be more connected to each member of our family and the universe. May Jesus Mary and Joseph be our model and guide in our journey.


 


Sr.Selvarani. A


Sri Lanka (Jaffna)