Share the moment of fraternal communion experienced by the Sisters of the Territory, ‘Les Genêts’, of the Franch Province as they came together to celebrate the 2023 Jubilarians.
Introduction to the meeting
Sr Liliane, the Sister responsible for the Territory, ‘Les Genêts’, of the French Province, began by reminding us why we had come together to celebrate :
« Our coming together today has a double objective :
- to remember and give thanks along with the Jubilarians,
- to encourage exchange and the growth of fraternal communion between the entities.
« 40 or 60 years ago, you put your life in the hands of Him who had called you first. In order to follow Him, you linked your future to that of the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus. »
From left to right : Srs Jeanine Caudal, Annette Le Sauze,
Thérèse Kervinio, Marie Thérèse Hays
Today, we remember along with the Jubilarians. It also means updating and seeing how today we can build with our lives, as we are sent out on the roads of our towns and villages, or simply in the daily life of our communities, here and there, in order to be witnesses of the Good News. »
Opening with a song
« Let us keep alive
the memory of the Lord,
Let us keep in our hearts
the memory of His wonders. »
We remained faithful to this year’s Province theme: « Advance into deep water and launch your nets. » May the force of the Spirit dissipate our fears so that we may welcome the unknown and augment our faith so that we may believe in the fecundity of our catch. We have been sent to fish together: « We are together in the same boat.»
Our old song found all its sense again when we read the orientations of the General Chapter of 2022.
« Believe me, it is worthwhile,
for you and I,
we are sent to fish together.
Believe me, it is worthwhile,
for you and I are embarked
on the same boat.»
After this song had been taken up by everyone, Liliane said to us, « This meeting brings us together beyond our Territory of « Les Genets », It is a time that permits us to open our frontiers, and our assembly has taken on ‘inter-entity’ colours, with the presence of Sisters from Africa and Latin America. »
The meeting continues with a party
Our assembly discovered the room that was to welcome the 40 participants.
The Guidel community had almost had to enlarge its walls to welcome the happy guests. All was perfection: the decoration, the place settings, the beautifully prepared food. It was a festive setting and ideal for a fraternal meeting.
It was an opportunity for the French Province to open itself to other realities as we had among us representatives from Africa, Honduras, and Colombia.
It was also an opportunity to exchange around the richness of our belonging to the same Congregation body, and to listen to news of projects and experiences from elsewhere.
Our meeting gave way to exchange but also to relaxation. A time for listening to songs and watching rhythmic and colourful dances from Latin America. Germaine provided a background of sound on the tam-tam as she accompanied songs that brought back memories of Africa, especially ones that evoked special anniversaries. That, and « C’était du côté de Colpo », a song composed by two Daughters of Jesus, brought together our origins and the present day .
Gestures of recognition
The afternoon ended with a song addressed to the Jubilarians: “The Golden Lotus“, sung by Madeleine and taken up by the assembly.
Then finally, instead of a lotus, we offered the Jubilarians a magnificent rose from the garden in Bignan as a symbolic gesture of our appreciation. It was offered too as a symbol of our appreciation of the day. We let the participants speak for themselves.
« I enjoyed this meeting of Sisters from different entities, different countries, and different horizons. We experienced a warm, dynamic, and fraternal atmosphere. A good experience to be repeated. » Brigitte G.
« The meeting was a time of reunion, where each one contributed to the success and the fraternal atmosphere of the meeting. » Marie Thérèse le G.
« This meeting was a wonderful initiative, the fact of remembering together and joyfully feeling that we were in the same boat, “daring to go into deep waters and cast our nets. » Madeleine G.
« Thank you to Liliane for the initiative of bringing together the Territory Les Genets. This gave us an insight into the communities that make it up. Thank you to the Guidel Community for welcoming us. Thank you to the Sisters who were involved in this wonderful project.» The Sisters of the Defforges community, Vannes
« I appreciated the time of prayer with beautiful songs that reminded us that we are all in the same boat. I enjoyed the presentation of the Jubilees, where I got to know the Sisters. I felt that we were moved by the joy of being together.» Germaine K.
« The presence of Sisters from Africa and Latin America gave an international tone to our meeting. It was very fraternal, well-prepared, and well-run.» Madeleine M.
« A very dynamic, fraternal atmosphere, marked by simplicity and warm attention to each one. » Danielle P.
« It was truly a time of reunion. The Sisters from Latin America enjoyed meeting and talking with the Sisters from the French Province, whom they hadn’t seen for many years. » Jeanine C.
We separated wishing to have other get togethers
here and there,
for the pleasure of all.
The community of the Daughters of Jesus, Bignan, France
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