The Associates of the group from Bignan (France) and the Sisters of the community met on Saturday 27th June to share their experience the Covid-19 pandemic.

A meeting in three parts

 

We began the meeting by speaking of the fear, pain and sadness we had experienced in the face of the pandemic. Each of us evoked something that had saddened us:

• fear for ourselves and for our loved ones, in the face of a highly contagious disease
• the compassion shown to isolated and fragile people during the lockdown
• families living in cramped conditions
• our weariness of being isolated and lonely
• the long time without celebrations, especially at Easter.

But we also spoke of:

• the many communications we had by telephone and Internet
• our prayers for the sick and their carers

The song “The Lord is our help“ ended this first part.

 

Photo taken around the well at Bignan,

• a historical place that speaks of the origins of the Congregation
• a symbolic meeting place in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments.

What made us happy

We then shared on the facts, behaviour and words that had been brought to our attention during this period and that had made us happy.

We noted the attention shown to what our country has been through and how the media have informed us of this.

Among the positive attitudes we saw:

• gestures of sharing, solidarity, and delicacy towards elderly or frail people
• the encouragement given to the carers by most of the population

even if some showed an attitude of mistrust.

“A people of brothers and sisters who share”

The song “A people of brothers, people who share, go out with the Gospel and the Peace of God”.

closed the second part of our meeting. We then took time to pray personally and together.

We left, enriched by our sharing, and looking forward to our next meeting.

 

The community of Bignan, France