Pastorelle "Women of the Dawn" who walk in Synodality
With gratitude we have completed this 1st Provincial Chapter of our Hispanic America Province. They have been days of abundant graces for the 20 sisters who have participated, representatives of the 16 communities in which we are present, which reveal our wealth on a human and intercultural level.
Our meeting has begun by the hand of Jesus the Good Shepherd with the Spiritual Exercises carried out from January 04 to 09, 2023 in Bogotá. Said retreats were preached by Juliana Alejandra Triana (Biologist, Bible scholar, Researcher and Doctoral Candidate in Theology). Juliana wonderfully guided us through a biblical spiritual itinerary to become integrated, missionary and vocational communities based on the Synodality in the Letters of Saint Paul. This young laywoman, with admiration on her part, has helped us to rediscover the great gift that is our Charism, so current for our times. The Congregation of the Pastorelle was born deeply and decidedly synodal; we have been given birth by the Ruah, at a time when voices were being heard within the Church itself to begin to see itself as the People of God immersed in human history, with a Humanized God. In the certainty of being loved by the Good Shepherd, at the end of these Retreats we have once again offered ourselves to the Father, available to let us renew our mentality to discern what is good, what is pleasant, what is perfect (Rom 12, 1-2).
The next day, we have started our Provincial Chapter from January 10 to 15. We begin by taking a look at the reality of our peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean, guided by Sister Blanca Cely of the Company of Mary, Order of Our Lady (Doctor of Theology, specialist in Bioethics). These contexts strongly marked by the post-pandemic have confirmed to us that today, more than ever, our peoples need us to be signs of the Good Shepherd by living the three main verbs that characterize it: See-feel compassion and teach. There is material hunger and meaning in our brothers, hopefully our hunger for humanity/thirst for souls/pastoral zeal is the response that we give, as a Province, to the harsh reality of our contexts.
On January 11, Father Israel Arévalo, Religious of the Vincentian Fathers, Assistant Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Conference of Religious (CLAR), presented us with the inspiring Horizon of CLAR for the period 2022-2025: "Women of Dawn . The daring hope at dawn. After letting ourselves be illuminated by this inspiring horizon, the Little Shepherds felt invited to follow the example of the women on the morning of Resurrection (cf. Mat 28,1-10); we want to keep our hearts attentive to the emerging signs of life even in the midst of darkness, to get on our way and thus be able to be witnesses of light and life for our brothers.
The following days have been days of study, reflection, dialogue and discernment, on the preceding six-year term, the sheets of the sapiential reading of the charism, the first year as a Province was evaluated, the delegates to the 10CG were elected and the 2023 project was prepared for the entire province.
Every day of our Provincial Chapter we have placed the reality of our towns at the feet of our Blessed Mother Mary, under the different invocations of her belonging to each Country. To her we continue to entrust the paths of our Hispanic-America Province; that through her intercession she grant us from God the necessary graces so that, with a simple heart and open to the intuitions of the Spirit, we continue walking in renewed hope centered on Jesus the Good Shepherd (RdV 7); since only integrated from Him we can become missionary and vocational communities.
We thank Jesus the Good Shepherd for these days of much fraternity, serenity, joy, open dialogue, and the courage to launch ourselves into the future with hope.
Sr. Magally Marín, sjbp