To help us bring to life what we prayed during the novena, we made symbolic and prophetic gestures that somehow give tangible form to the proposals of the Congregational Directions.

These gestures are community responses to situations of injustice or need in the area where the communities are located, they are acts of solidarity with people or groups living in situations of neglect or lack in the vicinities or the countries.

The gestures are the results of community discernment and are carried out with the participation of the sisters, within the possibilities of the communities and the way that they see would fit the local realities.

The purpose of these gestures is to concretely experience community discernment and to encourage the communities to take steps that lead to widening the circle of communion, possibly changing their structures and opening up to real situations that challenge their consistency in the experience of communion with God, with creation and with people inside and outside the Congregation.

Ponta Grossa 25/05/2016

College and Faculty Sant’Ana Community

Theme: concrete action of the Pentecost Novena

MAY THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVE IN OUR HEARTS

“We engage in a permanent community discernment of our priorities, with the eyes on the Good Samaritan who knew when to stop to help and when to hand over the wounded to the care of others” (DC).

Throughout the whole preparation to celebrate the Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, imploring His light and hope, we ended our novena with two concrete gestures of presence and solidarity to two families of our helpers:

1^st GESTURE: We allowed the leave of one of our helpers of general services for two months to stay in São Paulo to care for her daughter in law and her grandson Leonardo who, still in his mother’s womb, underwent a surgery to install a balloon in his trachea and thus try to correct his lung and heart developing in the right side of his chest. Therefore, the mother remains in hospital for being a risky pregnancy. During this period, we employed a new worker to do her job until her grandson has the chance to be born with all the needed care. We helped also with a raffle to help the payment of all the expenses…

   
2^nd GESTURE: We helped the family of our cook going through a period of sickness of the head of the family with 6 children, three of them still small. At the moment, because the father is out of work, they suffer the need of food and diapers for the twins one year old. About a year ago, the father started with some convulsions and this month underwent a surgery, without being sure of the diagnosis of this illness, remaining thus away from work. His wife works as a diarist at weekends, when her sisters in law care for the children… Our help through the effort of each Sister was to provide diapers, food and clothing…

“Like the Good Samaritan we do not feel ashamed to touch the wounds of the suffering, but try to heal them with concrete gestures of love” Pope Francis.

Other Concrete Gestures of the Pentecost Novena done by our other Communities:

1. Pastoral Community: Help to a bedridden man without one of his legs, abandoned by his sons and in need. The wife works, but is not able to cover the most necessary with her salary. Thus, the SSpS Community of three Sisters, takes regularly something of ours to them and also tries to involve others to help them.
2. Hospital Community – 4 Sisters: As community, each Sister took the commitment to welcome, dialogue and be delicate with all people, in spite of the aggressively found in the Hospital reality; constant attitude of discernment, searching the will of God in each situation they face; and, once a week, consciously seek unity with the whole Congregation during morning prayer.
3. School Community: Widen the mission awareness among the Sisters and School Community for the care of the Environment; for the wellbeing of people through the collection of the solidarity seal with the aim to obtain wheelchairs for people in need. Thus we widen our vision outside, to others.
4. Pastoral Community: Give attention to women in prison, teaching them something to improve their lives, through physical exercises to raise their self-esteem.
5. Social Centre Community in a favela: give lunch to those who collect the rubbish in the village and continue to give incentive the children in the Centre to a greater care of nature, helping them in small projects.
6. Pastoral Community in a poor parish in the interior: Give special attention to refer (forward) the fallen on the roads, streets, pubs – drunken, drug addicts or sick.
7. Vocational Community: gesture to widen the Circle of Communion with neighbours and communities, the families of the barrio, independent of their religious faith.
8. School Community: Visit families with sick people, taking them something to share.
9. Hospital Community: Visit the people in situation of suffering outside the hospital; regular presence in the House of Recuperation of chemical addicts to reflect, celebrate and pray with them; in the hospital itself, pray the novena with the sick and workers, culminating with a special celebration.
10. Old Age People’s Community: human treatment to all the old people, especially the poorest and excluded by their own family and society; take part in actions and mobilizations at regional and municipal level against the closing of the local Hospital of Charity.
11. School Community: Solidarity with the most needed, giving special attention to those who work with us; projects with the students to collect selective waste and, awareness of the use of water; lunch without meat twice a week during one month and with this money help women in prison with articles of hygiene of personal use.
12. Provincial House Community: intensify the visits to neighbouring barrios, especially the sick; widen the ties of reception in joy, self giving and availability.
13. Pastoral Community in the north of Brazil: Strengthen the ‘Pastoral da Criança’ (Children’s Pastoral), giving attention to women, pregnant women and children of 0 to 6 years of age through visits and moments of formation, together with the Municipal Social Worker and nurse; teach the women the confection of jams with seasonal fruit and the multi mixture with Amazonian products; re-use the disposable for the confection of arts material, helping the poorest families and collaborating with the preservation of our Common Home.
14. Pastoral Community that was just started end of April: Widen the circle of Communion, through the effort to know our neighbours and all the Parish communities and, with them, feel the real needs which our missionary community could attend.
15. Pastoral Community in Parish without Parish Priest, in the most northern State of Brazil: Preparation of the feast of Pentecost in the 11 family prayer groups in the city, with the ‘Bandeira do Divino’ (Divine Flag),journing with the groups and, thus, include all the people who felt welcomed and valued by the Church; celebration with sharing as an expression of life, prayer, welcoming and the sense of being at home in the Church; preparation for the Baptism of children until seven years of age in the families of parents and grandparents, to thank God for the gift of the children´s life and to pray with the parents for the children, committing them to a greater participation and involvement in the ecclesial community and living of the Christian faith.

Gestures of Commitment – Communities of the German Province

1.  St. Theresia Guest House – Eriskirch-Moos

“Called to widen the circle of communion”

“Shared bread”

• in sympathetic listening to the concerns and needs of others / of the guests
• taking what has been confided to us into our prayer
• taking time to be together
• sharing faith in our spiritual initiatives thus allowing us to share in what moves us and gives us hope
• witnessing through our liturgy to what supports us
• visiting old persons – in the home for the aged – bringing joy and giving strength
• working together to ensure that the Guest House can continue to be an “Oasis along the way”

2.  Berlin-Biesdorf

As a community we commit ourselves to pray daily for our neighbours.  The married couple in our neighbourhood has been out-of-work for six months now.  Since both are no longer all that young, they are having a hard time to find new work.

Through our encounters with them we try to strengthen their hope.

3.  Berlin-Marzahn

Sr. Alicja and Sr. Annette – As a “gesture of commitment” in line with the Congregational Directions we thought of specifically paying attention to using less plastic. That requires a certain change in our habits and we are presently experimenting and working out strategies. Within our modest possibilities we want to contribute in this way to preserving creation. Foodstuffs, etc. without plastic often cost more. We are trying out how to manage this as far as possible without increasing our budget.

4.  Heilig-Geist-Kloster, Wimbern

Widening the Circle

We were not able to take the Pentecost Novena as proposed by the congregational leadership for the following reason:

Before the proposal came from Rome, Sr. Lucia Regina had already planned the Pentecost Novena  with several committed members of the Holy Spirit Mission Association, based on the texts that Sr. Anna Monika put together last year in preparation for the provincial chapter.

We prayed the Novena in the evenings at 6 p.m. and it was led each time by a Sister and by a member of the Holy Spirit Mission Association. Since an invitation to join the Novena was carried by the parish newsletter and the press, there were always also people from Wicked and Wimbern coming to take part. In that way the “circle was widened” without that being the express purpose.

5.  St. Hildegard Home, Oberdischingen

Our community gesture of commitment from the Pentecost Novena 2016

The candle is burning –

It’s already almost spent.

But even like that it gives light and warmth, comfort and joy.

• We share our life with the old, weak and sick people whom we meet in daily life – e.g. during the shared meals, in the daily Eucharistic celebration, in shared festivities and celebrations.
• Our ears and hearts are open for their worries and needs.
• We accompany the dying residents of the Home.
• We try as far as we can to lighten the burden of the staff.
• But above all we are grateful for the many possibilities we have to there with and for other people.

6.  Dreifaltigkeitskloster Laupheim

We Sisters commit ourselves

• To widen the circle: After holy Mass on Sunday we will invite women for breakfast with us who are suffering from loneliness after the death of their husband and who have long been connected with us, such as Mrs. Filser and Mrs. Burkert.

• As a further commitment: We want to give the monthly prayer for peace more space, i.e. for those who can take part or support the prayer in their own way. On the first Thursday of the month, when it takes place, we will change the daily schedule and pray our Vespers at 5:30 p.m.so that sufficient time is left for people to participate [in the prayer for peace].

7.  Provincial House Community

Communio

Praying the Novena – even though in a simplified form – we felt united to the Congregation as a whole.

The provincial house in Finthen has always been an open, hospitable house for our Sisters, MaZ, neighbours and others. Now we are closing this house.

As we will be in four different communities in future, our gesture of commitment consists in immediate undertakings:

• For almost one year we have given accommodation to a young, Coptic Christian couple from Eritrea. We regard it as our current responsibility to help them make a smooth transfer to another dwelling.
• For our young, Turkish household help we were able to ensure the continuation of her employment in the house.
• When we clear the house, we will remember persons who need specific pieces of furniture and what we do not need ourselves, we will donate to Caritas Mainz.

Andemichael and Louwam

from Eritrea

8.  Wahlwiller Community

Called to Widen the Circle of Communion

Since 2014 we have been in talks with Sr. Ann-Maria, Leader of the Province regarding our future. Although we did not find the decision easy, we expressed ourselves in favour of selling our convent, rounding off our apostolate in Wahlwiller and preparing for something new.

Together with committed lay persons we are looking for ways in which our house can still remain a spiritual centre in future.

Although we are very much involved with the process of letting go and saying farewell to Wahlwiller and all the obligations connected to that, we do not allow that to bind our attention but endeavour as far as possible to continue our mission service.

Internally we continue to support people who come to us as guests and who are searching and questioning.

Externally (both as a main task and also as volunteers) Sisters take on visits to elderly, sick and lonely persons, care for funerals and many other pastoral ministries.

With gratitude we look back on the blessings of the past 36 years. As missionaries we know that departure, saying farewell and beginning anew are a constant part of our life and we walk with openness and trust along the new paths wherever God wishes to lead us.

9.  Frankfurt

Afire with Christ – committed to life  /  Communio – toward communion, widening the circle

That could have been the heading for our discernment process here in Frankfurt.

In our first steps we defined cornerstones that are important to us:

• there is the name of our house: Madeleine Delbrêl – “to ensure a space for God” in the realities that await us here
• “widening the circle” and getting to know personally those on the margins: in practice each one tries to take her noon meal in the soup kitchen once a week, sitting at table with the disadvantaged in their rooms, sharing the meal with them
• “toward communion” to invite people to share our community meal on Sunday after the Sunday Eucharist – in practice to invite people whom we meet, whether we made their acquaintance in the soup kitchen or among the parishioners.

Photo: Trinity Sunday, 2016:

A Shared Responsible Stewardship of Our Land

Yei, South Sudan Catholic Women Group made land productive and green surrounding through their group gardening and acceptance of young skills in the same endeavor.    The groups is composed of 20 women, members of the Catholic Women Association.  Every Tuesday and Thursday,   they are working in the garden.  This is to make the land in the compound of the parish productive and to green the surrounding using their knowledge on agriculture and assisted by a technical know-how of agricultural students from Yei Crop Training Center.  So the project employ the young skills of the students on agriculture which was accepted by the women.  This is very unique in this project because the teamwork of young and elderly agricultural skills met to make land productive thus tapping its capacity to be fruitful.

Hence using the skills of human hands to unearth the seemingly fruitfulness and unproductive land turned to be a source of food during conflict and hunger in Yei, S. Sudan for the women and their families

Human communion and relatedness in doing and sharing goodness is indeed blessed by the CREATOR God to be co- creator with him benefitting both the steward as well at the land to be source of food and refreshing environment. A vibrant life for our common home…for us likewise, as stewards of the said home.

From unproductive to productive land- A teamwork of young and elderly knowledge attitude, skills and capacity as steward of our land…life in our common home for simple people in a village.

Before the conflict in S. Sudan on July 2016 the land is already productive with corn and vegetables.  Despite of the conflict some of the members of the group who did not leave Yei to go to the bush because of fear from arising conflict continue the gardening.

Now, that hunger lingers in Yei town because of conflict and closed borders of the neighboring countries the said land is the source of food—appeasing hunger.