Bulding to Grow, Growing to Build

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Frascati (Rome), February 15-17, 2019 - We had all been happily awaiting our Italian assembly: there we meet and celebrate our faith in God. During this year’s meeting, we also talked about our all of our experiences, and reflected on our ministries and on the meaning of our journey. This year we also had an update about our General Chapter, and the election of Sr. Wilma Molinari as Area Councilor. We also greeted and thanked Sr. Marina Triglia for her loving service during these past 5 years. We also were happy to have two members of the Council as guests: Sr. Marvi Delrivo and Sr. Marilyn Trowbridge. It was Sr. Marilyn’s first time to attend an Italian assembly which, this year included 36 Sisters and 11 Associates. Sr. Licia Mazzia sent us a message in which she hoped that “we would walk together in the spirit of Mother Frances, united in our diversity to be instruments of healing and to take care of the common good, welcoming all the expressions of life.” She also sent us a bookmark made for the Bicentennial of the birth of Mother Frances, Year of Healing.
We welcomed with great joy the rosary of Mother Frances that Sr. Marilyn brought here to us from the US Area. With the help of Francesca Busnelli, we considered different steps through which we could relive the spirit of our Chapter. The first day ended with the composition of a daisy, each petal of which represented one thing that impressed us during the day: body, passion, movement, journey, start-up, co-responsibility, possibility, gratitude for our roots.
On Saturday we considered some other aspects of the Chapter, starting with the warm welcome we received from our German Sisters who did everything possible to make us feel at home. Having access to Mother Frances’ tomb was a Great Gift, and we kept a candle with the logo of our Chapter burning brightly. We listened with great interest to the presentation of the Chapter Direction and the three Calls, and we participated in small groups to facilitate understanding. In this way, we begun to familiarize ourselves with the Spirit of the Chapter decisions, waiting for the Congregational Pastoral Plan from the Leadership Team to begin implementation and co-responsibility. The day ended with a focus on the fact that each change brings growth both internally as well as externally. It is important to be aware of what happens inside us, to reflect on it, and to take time to consider the fruits of the experience we lived.

On Sunday, the closing morning, we celebrated a Mass dedicated to the jubilee of Srs. Letizia, Beata and Regina Nigro. Finally, we shared our thoughts about the ‘gift’ each person brought with her/him, and the one we left with the group.

The Spirit of God and Mother Frances prepared us for this event: “building to grow and growing to build” became an embodied reality among us!