Dear Sisters,
My warmest greetings to each of you in Christ Jesus, in this time of celebration of the Scalabrinian Year. This time invites us to intensify the search for the revitalization of our consecration and missionary spirit as Scalabrinian Missionary Sisters, in fidelity to the Scalabrinian charism, open to the new calls of the Lord, living and strengthening of our own identity, being a sign of the Kingdom of God, witness and prophecy, in the world of human
mobility.
In an attitude of faith and welcoming the mandate of the XIV General Chapter, we were asked to carry out the guidelines issued by the same Chapter, so that creative and dynamic processes of renewal of consecrated life, grounded in Jesus Christ, could be promoted in the Congregation, in view of a growth in spiritual and missionary fruitfulness in the whole Congregation. And we have started our journey, trusting in the grace of God that “makes all things new” (Is 43:19).
After two years of journey, in the light of the Chapter directives, with a heart full of gratitude and thanksgiving to God for all that He has accomplished in us and, for everything that His grace has made it possible for us to accomplish, I convoke the X General Assembly of the Congregation, according to Regulations n.103, letter q, and numbers 115-117. As announced during the meeting of Governments held last November, the Assembly will have the following theme and motto:
– Theme: Revitalization of Scalabrinian Consecrated Life in a Charismatic, Ecological
and Synodal Key.
– Motto: Let the wealth of the nations enter in you (Isaiah 60:11).
The Assembly will take place from September 14 to 23, 2022, at CECREI – Cristo Rei Spirituality Center, Rua Regina Mundi, no 333 – Bairro Cristo Rei – São Leopoldo – RS, Brazil.
We will, therefore, carry out this journey in the light of the provisions issued by the XIV General Chapter, whose chapter document highlights the importance of caring for creation as the “common home, in which everythin is interconnected”. For us, in particular, as the Final Document of the Chapter rightly states, the common home is also
the Congregation, where everything is interconnected, where we carry out our mission and live our relationships: with ourselves, with God, with others and with migrants and refugees. Yes, dear Sisters, Consecrated Life is called in this world to witness to the Word of God and His will. And, in order to fulfill this prophetic mission, Consecrated Life is called to remain attractive, continuing to be a school of communion, nourishing the freshness and novelty of the centrality of Jesus Christ, the attractiveness of spirituality and the strength of mission, witnessing to the beauty of following Jesus Christ and radiating hope and joy.
In fact, the task entrusted to consecrated life is to bear witness – in this our time – that God is happiness. Fixing our gaze and our hearts on Him allows us to live in fullness.
Motivated by the desire to live consecration in an ecological and synodal perspective, in the certainty that the joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus Christ (Rejoice, 1), we feel challenged to revitalize the spiritual and missionary fruitfulness of the Congregation, starting from the joy of the call to be missionary disciples of Jesus, witnessing: The joy of following Jesus Christ; The joy of prophesying; The joy of walking with migrants and refugees; The joy of sharing.
We are living in a time of epochal change, where a change of mentality is not sufficient, but a “mentality of change” is necessary. Therefore, it is important to recognize and welcome this time of change not as a drama affecting our generations, but as a resource, a possibility, or even a gift of the Spirit for the present and for the future. Both the opportunities and the difficulties that arise in times like these must be faced with innovative and audacious
responses, with a new way of looking at and perceiving reality.
It is in this context that the Congregation is searching for paths of reorganization in order to serve migrants and refugees, especially the most vulnerable, in a responsible and merciful way, in fidelity to the Scalabrinian charism which is, at the same time, a gift and a task, a grace and a responsibility. Therefore, the process of reorganization for revitalization is not the result of a simple organizational procedure but is inserted in a process of global
transformation, in which consecrated and missionary life is also inserted.
Sisters, the General Assembly is an event of grace, a gift that God makes to all the members of the Congregation and to the Church and, as such, it should be welcomed by all the Sisters, so that all feel they are participating in it, from its preparation to its realization. Therefore, I ask you that the X General Assembly be prepared and lived in all our
communities, with prayers and Eucharistic celebrations, as well as through study and reflection on the material for its preparation, in an attitude of listening and in openness to the Holy Spirit in order to welcome God’s calls to our Congregation at this moment in our history.
Let us entrust this X General Assembly of the Congregation to the protection of the Virgin Mary, our Mother on the journey, asking her to keep alive in us the spark of wonder and the beauty of the centrality of Jesus Christ, the true light which enlightens all humanity (John 1:9).
With sisterly affection,
Sr. Neusa de Fátima Mariano, mscs
Superior General
