Sister Viviana Ferero Angulo, dj tells us how the “Breath of the Spirit” touched the Sisters and Associates of the Daughters of Jesus in Colombia as they celebrated the 190th anniversary of the foundation of the Congregation.
Celebrating our 190th anniversary as Daughters of Jesus of Kermaria was an opportunity for us to reaffirm community life as a prophetic sign today. Gathered in Colombia, the Sisters and Associates of the Congregation celebrated the foundation of the first community of the Daughters of Jesus of Kermaria in Bignan, France.
We gratefully recognised the signs of God’s Presence
in the mission entrusted to us today to humanise in the way of Jesus.
Regional meeting
Regional meetings are a grace to strengthen our sense of unity and belonging to the Congregational Body. This time it was a special grace as we allowed ourselves to be surprised by the ‘Ruah’, or Breath of the Spirit, manifested in three moments of the meeting. The first was in the making of the ‘Symbolic Path’ that was built at the time of prayer. The path had three central symbols : the General Chapter Acts of 2022, the fountain of Living Water, and the Light of the Risen Christ. It was a simple but inspiring path.
Little by little, as each community shared the signs of God’s presence in their community and placed symbols it on the Path, it became filled with meaning. It gladdened our hearts to hear songs that identified us, psalms and praises. We heard texts of the Word made flesh, and from our Rule of Life that expressed our reference to the Word out of love and free choice. We were gladdened by the faces and experiences.
We were gladdened by the faces and experiences. We were moved by the obstacles along the way, as these too have strengthened our consecrated, creative, resilient and charismatic identity. The Path remains open to the horizon with faith and trust.
A dynamic of reflection
The second moment in which the Divine Ruah surprised us was in the reflective dynamic around an inspiring text that the Regional Council proposed to us for prayer and reflection. The sharing revitalised our community commitment, a prophetic sign in this global context of fragmentation and war. We felt an invitation to continue walking; as our founding writings say, ‘Casting the same lot together’. This was the experience of the first five Daughters of Jesus. Today, gathered in small communities in the name of Jesus, we allow ourselves to be moved by his love in every event, and together we grow in humanity to serve and to love.
God’s presence surprises
The third collective moment in which we felt that the presence of the Ruah surprised us was the artistic representation of the founding history in its origins through a theatrical piece prepared by the Associates and Sr Esperanza, our Regional Superior. The latter is very artistic and does these things well. We were pleasantly surprised by the whole thing.
The small play was an incarnation of the lives of the founders and foundresses. We saw the audacity of Perrine Samson, who became our first Superior General, Mother Sainte Angèle. They showed us the tenderness of our third General, Mother Marie de St Charles, towards her hard-working Sisters, and the struggles and audacity of Father Noury and Father Coëffic. Every detail in the costumes, make-up, props and more allowed us to enter into the socio-political and religious context of our origins, the context of the revolution that our founders lived. Amidst laughter and comments, we enjoyed this return to the sources.
It was a synodal celebration where each participant expressed and contributed to the celebration from the best of herself and himself. We wholeheartedly listened to each other with respect and openness, feeling that we walk together, and construct this history together. We placed ourselves in the hands of our Protector Saint Joseph who watches over us and has never tired throughout these 190 years of surprising us with his fruitful silence and his care for life.
Thank you so much to each Sister
who has passed through our Region,
doing good, disowning herself
and sowing seeds
that have germinated and borne fruit.
Sister Viviana Carolina Forero Angulo, dj
Bogotá, Colombia
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