GATHERING ANEW

Refreshed after a day of being together in a different way, the Capitulants gathered in the hall at 9.30 a.m.

Raising their hands to the refrain,

Santo, Santo, Santo,

all in the assembly acknowledged

God as the giver of all gifts.

They placed hands on hearts as a sign of receiving and opened them out in a gesture of sharing all.

Verses from the Gospel of John 14, 8-12 invited to trust:

“Believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me... I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works...”

TASK FOR THE MORNING

It was to be a day of meeting in Discernment groups, Christine explained, to share their reflections on the question given on Friday:

• “In the light of the vision of the Institute what are, for you, the three key questions the Chapter must deal with to give a strong direction to the Institute for the next six years?”

But first, using the slide below, she gave some thoughts on where the Institute now is in its response to CHANGE.

Over the past few decades the Institute has dealt effectively with the first three levels.

It is now time to regenerate sources of commitment and energy for the future of all vocations in the Holy Family to see how to interconnect with the huge mutations in our world.

The Capitulants were invited to look in at our Institute from the outside, to ‘think outside the box’ and find a new language to express what is happening.

The groups took personal time to reflect on the question before sharing, in a session of privileged listening to each one’s word.

The feedback in the afternoon provided a fascinating backdrop for further deepening and exploration of where we are being led.

Christine, in her role as a leadership director took the opportunity to give some input on the complexity that all Institutes, including ours, face in a Global world.

Referring to points on Leadership and Membership, culled from Pope Francis’ letter, Evangelii Gaudium, she demonstrated how we need a new framework for what we are doing.

The day came to a close at 6 pm, as has become the norm, with a request for the house to go silent and an invitation to all to take time to think, pray, let the Spirit speak and see what insights bubble up...

 

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