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DSE CONVENTION – Dusseldorf, 6-8 January 2017

This year the meeting of the young Dominicans of Europe took place 6-8 January in Dusseldorf, Germany, as usual. There were 20 Dominican Sisters from different European Congregations. The theme was, welcoming the stranger. We talked about hospitality in Sacred Scripture, in Dominican tradition and in the daily life of our communities, and about how and when we welcome strangers; we talked about hospitality as the global theme for the United Nations, and the challenge linked to the call to extend a welcome into our communities, into our countries, and into our continent of Europe. When we welcome a stranger, we are in communion with God, with ourselves and with others, experiencing God’s blessing, salvation and healing. Jesus said that whatever we do to one of the least, we do to him. In fact, in Matthew’s gospel (25:35) Jesus says: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome”. These words of Jesus explain to us that hospitality is a divine action, and puts us in contact with God through the human person in

front of us. Today, the rate of migration has increased more than ever. In a brief period of time, more than 244 million migrants have left their countries, exceeding the annual birth rate. What shall we do, as Christians, as Dominican Sisters ... to meet the present situation? What steps are we taking to contribute to a positive outcome of welcome to strangers, visitors and immigrants? Do we recognise our role and our responsibilities? In Holy Scripture, beginning from the OT, Abraham received strangers, not knowing that they were angels; Ruth the Moabitess welcomed immigrants and married one of them. In the NT, Christ himself accepted to be a stranger right from his infancy: Mary and Joseph searched for a place to stay and did not find one … when Jesus was born, he was laid in a manger; his parents fled to Egypt because of the threats of King Herod, who wanted to kill him ... Jesus assumed the role of an unknown person, of a sinner, of those not accepted in society. We have also the example of the lives of our saints: St Dominic, St Catherine, St Martin de Porres, Bartholomew de Las Casas, our foundresses Mother Gérine Fabre and Mother Teresa Solari, our sisters who sacrificed their life for others; all were people ready to listen to needs, to the cry of the least, who prayed for people and with them, dialoguing with God and speaking of God, who felt compassion when they saw the suffering and sin, poverty and ignorance of the world around them. In our day, we are called to be preachers able to respond to the challenges of the contemporary world, just like St Dominic, who placed himself beside the people of his time and cared for them, even listening to heretics. He did not condemn them or judge them, he accepted them, showing that he had something to learn even from them. As Christians and consecrated Dominican sisters, we have been given an urgent call to action, to opening the door of our hearts, to educate ourselves for an effective concretisation of the principles laid down in the Declaration of Human Rights, to become welcoming and to overcome our fears, our suspicions and our insecurity.

 

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Going out gave an opportunity for meeting and getting to know others, for friendship; to discover the richness of the iconostasis, icons of friendly persons who have gone before us into heaven and who give us an intuition of a reality beyond our earthly existence.

The second meeting, at Pordenone, took place in the Temple of the Baptist, via Grigoletti. Evangelical austerity encountered the particular spirituality of Rumanian Orthodoxy with its songs of praise, songs for the

assembly, and with Catholic preaching by Don Frederick Zanetti, who commented on Mary Magdalen at the Tomb, emphasising the importance of how she met Christ and then received his mission. Secretariat of the Churches: During the celebration at Pordenone, there took place the passage of the Presidency of the Secretariat of the Churches. We are in the third year of this process, and now it is the turn of the Romanian Orthodox Church; Fr. Octavian Schintee takes on this task. It is no formality: the three Churches have an equal responsibility and dignity (as happens in all ecumenical organisms) to give way to the next member. The only condition is: to believe and to spend oneself for unity. Ecumenism and Dialogue: This year we want to occupy ourselves with the Christian realities which do not enter the ecumenical circle, particularly Pentecostal communities, which are vibrant and widespread but difficult to approach because they are so characteristically diverse. We are also interested in getting to know something about the Islamic religion around us and reflect on it; and to make this knowledge available to the diocese. Ecumenical Events: The Lutheran Reformation is being celebrated. There were echoes of it at the meetings in the week of prayer for the unity of Christians. It is wonderful that what divided us has been transformed by the Churches walking a new pathway together.

Interculturality::  aa  GGoossppeell  ccaallll  iinn  oouurr  oowwnn  ttiimmeess  

On 25 January 2017, we sisters of the General Council had a day of formation on the theme of interculturality, led by Sr Elisabetta Flick, the executive under-secretary of UISG. With a beautiful picture of an iceberg, Sr Elisabetta helped us to understand, by analogy, how the “knowledge of the other”, especially of someone from another culture, is a very complex challenge: external behaviour, habits, customs and languages manifest only a small part of a person’s reality. We do not see their reference values, their vision of the world, their mentality or their emotions …

At present, the Church is calling us to live an out-going religious life. While walls are being built in various parts of the world, we have to dare to break down walls, break down all those barriers that impede living in fraternity. Break down the barriers for our mentality, in our Congregation, at the institutional level.

To welcome the other, to practise hospitality, these are not only a testimony that it is possible to live together; it is a reciprocal enrichment, the indispensable condition to revitalise the prophetic dimension of religious life in a fruitful living together in our differences.

We gave particular attention to communication, both for its importance in the building of relationships and because of the different modes of communication: not everything is expressed in words or in the

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rational form typical of Western cultures; others speak with their silence. There is no one and only way to communicate.

We became more aware that multiculturality is something that has not yet been achieved in our Congregation, but is something that has to be built. The fact that we have lived with sisters from different cultures does not mean that we have truly integrated our differences and learned to live in relationships of reciprocity.

Our democratic style of government is an important challenge in the pathway of interculturality. Because of this, it is important to be aware that we

may have only a partial vision of reality and that we are called to place ourselves in the other’s point of view to understand better. We have to let ourselves be challenged by the signs of the times and renew our sight.

We concluded the day with a time of sharing the resonances, inspirations and lights which will help us to continue along the path ...   

PROVINCE OF LATIN AMERICA  

Provincial Assembly From 26 to 29 January 2017, the sisters of the Province of Latin America reunited to celebrate their annual Assembly, in line with the directives of CLAR, taking the theme of Inter-Generationality and Culture of the Meeting. The objectives proposed for the sisters were: - strengthening the construction of significant inter-generational relationships, beginning from different ways of seeing and experiencing – having as our reference the icon of the Visitation. - exercising ourselves in the culture of the meeting just as Jesus did; he who is urging us towards an “out-going” mission. Hospitality was provided by the community of Cañuela, and the liturgy was enriched by the creativity of each community. The days were organised for study and reflection around the icon of the Visitation, with a focus on relationships, on “going out” and on the meeting, through age-groups with sufficient time to identify the cries, the convictions and the challenges of each generation in our religious life. The sisters, in age-groups and mixed groups, were able to deepen their understanding of the culture of meetings born from the relational style of Jesus. They did this through the illumination of the biblical text of the Visitation and the work of Sr Lorena, who focussed on the psychological aspects of inter-generational relationships expounded by Graciela Senosiain, a lay psychologist. In one part of the day,

the sisters participated together in an inter-generational mission experience organised by Sr Eli and Sr Elisa, which was to visit the families in our Cañuelas community as a gesture of nearness, listening and integration. The Assembly ended on 29 January with a lovely celebration and the participation of several families visited during the mission. There was a simple, lively and welcoming atmosphere, the consequence of our experience in the days of reflection and building of fraternity.

Sr. Maria del Rosario

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of the sisters of the Community of Montevideo on their participation in the Provincial Assembly

This  year  our  community  of  elderly  sisters  has  been  able,  through  the  communication  services  of Whatsapp,  to  participate  in  the  Provincial  Assembly  in  a  new  and more  profitable  way,  not  only accompanying  the  sisters  with  prayer,  but  following  the  theme  that  was  developing  during  the meeting, and sending messages to the sisters gathered in Cañuelas.  Knowing, more or  less,  the  theme  for  the day, during  the day we  found ourselves  talking about and reflecting on the same theme  in an  informal way; but we celebrated Vespers with songs, the psalms, the  proclamation  of  the  Word  and  the  Salve  Regina  with  the  help  of  the  internet,  with  words appropriate for the theme. After the Proclamation of the Word there was free sharing or praying of our reflections during the day. Our neighbourly sisters at Cañuelas sent us photos, and we sent them ours in return.  During  these days, as well as  rejoicing over  this  communion, we were aware  that our prayer had a depth and strength that made us feel in communion and in step with all the sisters of our Province.   

It was a great joy, for which we thank the Lord, the sisters, and all the modern means that help us to come close to each other. Sr Patricia and community 

PROVINCE OF PAKISTAN

From 27 to29 January, the prioresses, the heads of schools and the formators met at Faisalabad, at the convent of the Sacred Heart. The subject of our reflection was “Community Life and Mission” based on Jean Vanier’s book, “Community and Communion”. This reflection resulted in the following conclusions:

- if we want our communities to be united, then we have to work together. If we are together, there will be peace, harmony and integrity, etc. ...

- to build a community it is essential to practise unity, sharing, acceptance, to love communication, listening, belonging, openness; and to consent to the work of the Holy Spirit in our communities, otherwise there will be war and disquiet.

This requires a witness of transformation.

We reflected on “Religious Life is changing” by Timothy Radcliffe O.P. “Common Life and Mission – hope for the Future”.

Life in community is a challenge for our mission. The generation gap and changes are both riches and barriers. It is accepted that without crises there is no growth in the community. It is for us to decide how to face them.

"I think that today it is more important to let God live in us in such a way that others can feel him there, and come to believe

because they have felt that God dwells in us”. (T. Radcliffe)

Our conclusions after the meeting are that we want to underline the testimony of the Jesuit Bishop of Port Pirie in Australia, Gregory O’Kelly, reported by Fr. Timothy in his reflection “Religious Life is Changing”: “Poverty is all we have: chastity is all we are; obedience is all we wish to be”. Our way of living the religious vows is evolving and at the same time is giving shape to our way of living in the world.

The meeting ended in an atmosphere of happiness and fraternity.

Fr

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“In the midst of yesterday’s and today’s “carnival”, this is the reply of Jesus and of the Church, this is the solid support in the midst of a “fluid” environment: the good works we can accomplish thanks to Christ and his Holy Spirit, and which arouse in our hearts thanksgiving and praise to God the Father, or wonder and the question “why?” - “Why does that person act in that way?”: the world is disquieted when it encounters the testimony of the Gospel. But in order that this “disquiet” may occur, it is essential that the salt does not lose its taste, that the light is not hidden (cf. Mt 5:13-15). Jesus tells us very clearly: if the salt loses its taste, it is no longer good for anything. Alas for the salt that loses its taste! Alas for a Church that loses its taste! Alas for a priest, for a consecrated person, for a Congregation that loses its taste! Today we give glory to God the Father for the work which St Dominic, filled with the light and salt of Christ, carried out 800 years ago; a work at the service of the Gospel, preached with words and with his life; a work which, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, has helped many men and women not to lose themselves in the “carnival” of worldly curiosity, but rather, to experience the taste of sound doctrine, the taste of the Gospel, and become, in their turn, light and salt, artisans of good works … and true brothers and sisters who glorify God and teach others to glorify God, with the good works of their lives”.

Generalate Calendar February 2017 – April 2017 12 - 18 February: the Vicaress General, Sr. M. Emilia, and the Assistant, Sr. M. Rukhsana, visit the communities of Tamai, Pirano and Petrovče.

20 - 24 February: days of General Council 1 – 20 March: it is envisaged that the Prioress General will visit Nigeria for the accompaniment of the community of the International Novitiate for Africa, and that the Vicaress General will also be there to make direct acquaintance with the Delegation communities. 5 - 9 March: The Assistant Sr. M. Romina will be in France for her task of “Tutelage” in the schools. 23 – 26 March: The Vicaress General Sr. M. Emilia with the Assistant Sr. Maria del Rosario will be present at the Assembly of the Province of Italy.

27 – 30 March: days of General Council

Commitments for April 2017 are not yet definite.

Contact us at: srconsuelo@quipo.it 0434.606758 Via S. Margherita, 23 – 33070 Tamai di Brugnera –PN