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HOLY FAMILY NETWORK IN LATIN AMERICA
An historic event for the Holy Family took place on our continent on the 25th and 26th April. In Resistencia (Argentina) there was an assembly of 46 Sisters, two of them contemplatives. In this meeting we launched the Holy Family Network of Latin America. Many Sisters and Councils sent their good wishes and prayers, expressing their union and affection. During the meeting we remembered sisters who were absent or who have died – sisters who had strong links to
Latin America. Some of the sisters who participated in this meeting give us their impressions of this important event.
…At the beginning of the assembly, some questions arose for us:
How is a network formed? What desires and feelings well up within us at this moment? What gives us life for which we wish to give thanks? We, ourselves began formulating answers:
A Network is formed: with simple attitudes of love, forgiveness, availability, collaboration, relating, and co-responsibility…
In the presence of this event we experience feelings of trust, joy, peace and hope. But also we feel the challenge of opening ourselves up to the wider whole and to be available for all.
This is why we wish to remain in an attitude of discernment, dialogue and openness. We hope that this union will enable us to live our Holy Family charism, giving it a Latin American “face”. May this new beginning be life giving! May we journey together rooting ourselves in what is fundamental without imposing on one another! May we all feel equally valued in this process and may there be no exclusions; may we grow more and more in a sense of our own identity and with a sense of responsibility not as isolated members but as a community.
Faith in God Alone gives us confidence and hope for the future. We wish to move forward as members of the Holy Family in
Latin America. We do not wish to be held back. We are convinced that the Holy Spirit is leading us to life, in spite of differences. This is a new way of living the spirit of God Alone.
We give thanks for God’s action in our history during these past 100 years of presence in
Latin America as a religious family. We give thanks for the richness of each country, which fosters the mission; for the whole Apostolic Family, which, with its life makes the prologue to the Constitutions a reality; for the work we do together to build authentic relationships; for the many tasks carried out in humility; for the sacrifices and joys of so many sisters.
The two contemplative sisters said: “ There is one Holy Family monastery in Latin America situated in Argentina. We are always very present during important events in the life of the Family and we keep everyone constantly in our prayers. We feel very much inserted in this Latin American reality.”
A message sent by Margaret, Superior
General to the Holy Family Sisters in
Latin America expresses the main thrust of this meeting: “…Today marks the beginning of a new way of being Holy Family in Latin America; 69 Sisters from four countries meet together to form a community, a group, a network. They come from very different cultures and countries, with different experiences and histories. What makes this network possible?
There is no doubt that the answer to this question is a commitment to follow Jesus in the Holy Family. “ Our religious consecration bears witness that God is the foundation of all life. It is a sign of Christ’s covenant with his Church and anticipates the time when the whole human race will be one in God” (Constitutions Art. 10)
We have responded to the call to follow Jesus and he invites us to “seek and love God Alone in all things”. United in mind and heart, we live the same spirituality, which gives us the necessary strength and inspiration to journey together in truth and love.
Second we are committed to the mission, the same mission that unites all the members of the Family all over the world. The mission is our raison d’ệtre; it calls us to put aside all differences in our world. It invites us to live unity in diversity. The gift of diversity and communion in a group such as ours is a great witness for our world today”.
As we reflect on these words, we hear calls that lead us to interrelatedness, to an appreciation of plurality of cultures, to interdependence and new relationships characterised by forgiveness and a desire for integration. We are called also to grow in responsibility as members which gives us a greater sense of belonging. We need to accept our fundamental responsibility to promote life with a new cosmic vision and to move forward together, step-by-step, day-by-day along the paschal path.
We formulated some possible responses, responses that are quite concrete, and centred very much in the present. These responses focus on mutual relationships, community life for mission, the new cosmic vision, the promotion of life and choosing life in very specific ways. The atmosphere in the meeting was one of simplicity and truth. As responsible members at the service of the common mission of communion, each one expressed what she hoped to offer to enable us all to go forward as Holy Family in
Latin America.
The assembly ended with a Eucharist within which the installation of the council of the Holy Family Network in
Latin America took place. Lay Associates, Contemplative and Apostolic Sisters were present at the Eucharist.
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