THANK YOU SO MUCH !

By 26 July 2019Chapter 2019

A WORD OF THANKS:

 

Here we are at the 32nd day of the Chapter, the last day! Are we going to set aside the traditional thanks? Yes and No! No, because we are going to do it. Yes, for it is not as a tradition that we want to express our gratitude, but as an imperative necessity.

 

In fact,

 

Father Marc, we have appreciated very much your discreet accompaniment of persons and of the Chapter assembly, your simplicity, your human warmth and above all your daily sermons which allowed us to enter more deeply and to discover newness in the Word of God. Thank you Fr. Marc.

Father Aidan, even if you have been with us only for a few days, you have proved to us that Canon law is compatible with the joy of living and that it allows society to live fraternally in the clarity of roles. Thank you Fr. Aidan.

Have you seen at the back of the hall our discrete secretaries, Sr. Angela and Despina, armed with their pencils and their headsets not wanting to miss out on anything that was happening. The delicate task of allowing the new general council and all those who will need it, a faithful echo of what is said in a Chapter, is a heavy and tiring task.  Thank you, Angela and Despina, for having done  it with courage, tenacity, competence and above all without counting the cost of the time spent on it. Thank you.

In an international meeting, there is another indispensable activity, that carries an important responsibility. I want to speak of the translators. Headsets in place, gaze fixed on the hall, attentive to capture the words and the nuances of sentences, you allowed all to understand, to interconnect and to get to know each other better and slowly to form the Body. A big thank you to you: Sr.Liliana and Sr. Zoila, Nevi and Sr. Helen, Sr. Carmen and Evina, for this service which you accomplished efficiently and agreeably to our ears.

Sr. Ramona, Sr. Perpetua and Sr. Suchada, how can we thank you for the liturgical prayers prepared with so much care? You have led us to praise the Lord and to pray with joy. Thank you for choosing such lovely images and videos for our morning prayers. Thank you, Ramona and Suchada for playing two instruments, allowing us to unite our voices harmoniously. Thank you, Perpetua for the artistic decorations in the chapel and in the common areas. You have contributed to the interiority we needed so much. Thank you to the three of you.

New technology! We are afraid of it sometimes, but thanks to it, the majority of our sisters in the world were able to follow, day by day, the unfolding of the Chapter. And that of course, thanks to the competence of our dear technicians, Vinnu, Marie-Therese and Anne Marie. Thank you for your discrete showings. Thank you for the choice of photos, some serious, others unexpected and that the sisters were happy to see again. A big, big thank you for this beautiful work!

Have I finished? I have the impression that I have forgotten something! Someone maybe! Of course it is Matthieu.

 

Matthieu, our facilitator, our coach, our guide and even unexpectedly our spiritual counsellor.

Matthieu, the unruffled, even in the midst of severe back pain that made him feel bad.

 

Matthieu who knows only one letter of the alphabet: the U and who has converted us to forget all the others.

 

Matthieu who has accompanied us with obstinate patience to help us become one body, to examine the depth of our inner life and to guide us to envisage transformations of our mental models and of our behaviour.

 

Matthieu, thank you for all that, for this method that you made us follow, in spite of our slowness and sometimes even our objections.

Thank you for having allowed us to become more aware of our reality, so that the congregation can participate in God’s plan for humanity. May the Lord accompany your work of interior transformation and may he bless your family.

 

 

Rome, 26th July, 2019