Grateful Memory

Our month of October has been enriched with prayers. Various intentions help us pray. Highlights include the 87th anniversary of the Foundation of the Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd – Pastorinhas in Genzano, Italy, and the 79th anniversary of their arrival in Brazil.

On the 7th, we celebrated the anniversary of our founding. In the morning, we read and savored the congratulatory message sent by the Superior General, Sister Aminta Sarmiento Puentes, for which we are deeply grateful. A little later, we prayed the Rosary, Mysteries of Joy, contemplating the decades according to the events that preceded and the creation of the Congregation. This Rosary was prayed at Casa São José, with the participation of the Sisters of that community.

In the afternoon, prayer focused on vocations, as it does every 7th of the month. At the end of the day, a message from Sister Sueli Berlanga, Superior of the Fr. Alberione Province, based in São Paulo, reminded us that we were "born" on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. May She continue to intercede for us so that we may be faithful to the calling we have received.

In the evening, via video call, the cooperators, on their own initiative, prayed the five decades, with commentary prepared by them, in thanksgiving for the founding of the Congregation and the mission of the Little Shepherds.

On the 10th, we celebrated our arrival in Brazil. This time, the contemplation was the Mystery of Glory, centered on the joy of the pastoral mission, revealing the face of Jesus the Good Shepherd, in communion with the shepherds and the People of God, faithful to the charism received from the Church through our founder, Blessed James Alberione.

These events, among so many that fill our days, enliven the experience of our spirituality and our pastoral mission.

Sr. Bertila Picelli, sjbp