Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 11-13, 2024


 Presentations of the two Brazilian provinces

The day started off with prayer, song, images and movements that reminded us we are women of Earth wind, fire and water, responsible to help care for our beautiful earth.











This was followed by a PowerPoint presentation by each province, showing us the various realities of each province and the prayer, presence and work our sisters are doing in response. Sr. Monica of Sacred Heart of Jesus Province, São Leopoldo, anointed each of us as a symbol of the power of the human response in bringing about healing.  And both provinces gave us many gifts.















These presentations were followed by mass, where we heard the readings and the homily in Portuguese. Sr. Vera graced us with some words of wisdom around how simply the Kingdom of God comes to each one of us--in the little things of every day. Our challenge is to open ourselves to the surprises of God.


Then in the afternoon, Sr. Debbie helped us reflect on the Chapter theme using small stories/images from our sources--Sts. Francis and Clare and Mother Magdalen. Debbie provided a small journal with a little mirror inside, focusing our reflections on "reflecting" and seeing that which is hidden in plain sight in our founders and in each of our lives.  Thank you, Sr. Debbie!





And now we introduce you to our helpers: we have Mary McCarrick, our facilitator, Mary Serbacki our secretary; and we have 4 translators: Silvia Lass-Adelmann, German; Br. Titus, Indonesian; S. Aniela Gomolka, Polish; and Sr. Fatima Rosa da Veiga, Portuguese.  On October 12, Silvia had to leave, so her mother Jennifer Neuhann came and took her place.  The chapter would not happen without the assistance of these talented people. 







     







Saturday, October 12 - a day of reflection and discernment in La Verna















And there's always time for a little socialization and fun.












Then Sunday was another free day, to catch up on sleep, to shake off some of the sicknesses that have been going around, and to go out to Rome and have some food and be among the people. Here are a few pictures.













And, just because, here are more pictures of Franciscan bingo from Thursday night. We really enjoy laughing and playing together.



































Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
 Saturday, October 5, 2024 Our Dutch Sisters speak of their Current Reality through their current Provincial Minister Katharina Kluitmann.  The Dutch sisters can't help but notice that, having started their province with one  Catherina Damen, they now come  full circle in having Sister Katharina as one of their last provincials--and also starting this new ending phase of their life with a sister from Germany now assisting her Dutch sisters.        Sister Katharina presented to us in a very simple way, sitting on the ground, using simple props of a Dutch and  a German flag, a scarf, and some crosses. At the end, the Province of Divine Providence handed out gifts--those crosses that were props.  These crosses had belonged to the Dutch sisters who are now in heaven and were given now to each participant--"you are now to live in the spirit of Mother Magdalen and our Dutch sisters."  There were many, many tears.... The last part of the d...
Read more
Image
General Chapter of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity Rome, Italy October 4-24, 2024 Grounded in the Gospel,  we walk the synodal way  with compassion for our world.   Day 1 - Feast of St. Francis - October 4 Opening Eucharist Opening Ritual - Preparing the Path  We are sisters of earth, fire, air, and water With our Dutch sisters we pray--"Peace and Hope." All sisters from all of our continents send greetings of peace and the joy of being together.  We pray with our ancestors and with each of you as we speak of our current realities and discern our future together.  
Read more

Wednesday, October 9, 2024 - Meeting with the Pope

Image
  Waiting patiently, receiving words of encouragement from Pope Francis in many languages, and finally getting to shake his hand (some of us) and take a picture with him (the official picture will come later).    Pope Francis is in good spirits--joking with us:  "What did you do to make the General Minister sick that she is not with you?"     We felt very blessed to have been with Pope Francis, to receive his optimism and his human-centered message--"let the Spirit take you out into the streets, to serve all and to find unity among the differences."  This is an important message for us in the U.S. as we approach another national election where polarization threatens unity and stability.   And we regret to inform you that we have many more pictures and things to say, but are struggling with the technology and the inconsistencies in internet service here in Rome.  We have two more days before this to upload, but until now, we haven't...
Read more