
CONGREGAZIONE
SUORE DELLA PROVVIDENZA ROSMINIANE
Via Aurelia, 773
ROMA
My dear Sisters,
We contemplate once again, this sacred time – central to the liturgical the year: On Easter morning, Mary Magdalen, having encountered the risen Jesus, proclaimed him to the other disciples. She sought Jesus dead and found him alive! And this is the joyful Good News she brought to the others: Christ is alive and he has the power to conquer death and give us eternal life.
Pope Francis, in addressing the “Resurrectionists” at their General Chapter, gave this reflection on the Gospel passage which is pertinent to us today: ‘nostalgia for a past that was rich in vocations and impressive achievements must not prevent you from seeing that the Lord is making things blossom today, too, in your midst. Do not yield to nostalgia, but be women who, moved by faith in the God of history and of life, proclaim the coming of dawn amid the darkness of the night. Women of contemplation, who, with the eyes of the heart fixed on the Lord, can see what others, caught up in the concerns of this world, cannot. Women capable of proclaiming, with the boldness born of the Spirit, that Jesus Christ is alive and is Lord.
Mary Magdalen and the other women who went to the tomb that morning were women “on the move”: they abandoned their “nest” and set out; they took a risk. The Spirit is calling us, too, to be women who set out, “on the move” towards every human periphery, wherever the light of the Gospel needs to be brought. Called to be seekers of the face of God wherever it is to be found: not in the tombs – “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” – but where it lives: in the community and in mission.
From Community to the World; like the disciples of Emmaus, we are called to allow the Risen One to walk at our side, both as individuals and in community, especially along the path of disappointment and abandonment. This encounter will make us run once more, filled with joy, without delay, to the community, and from the community to the entire world, in order to tell others that “The Lord is risen indeed!”
A concrete way of showing this is fraternal life in community. It entails accepting the Sisters the Lord has given us: not those whom we choose, but those the Lord has given us. As the Apostle Paul tells us, now that Christ has risen from the dead, we can no longer look at others from a human point of view. We view them and we accept them as a gift from the Lord. Others are a gift not to be taken for granted or looked down upon; but a gift to be received with respect, because in our Sisters, especially if they are weak and frail, Christ comes to meet us’.
May Mary, who in a singular way experienced and continues to experience the mystery of her Son’s Resurrection, watch over our journey with a Mother’s love.’ (cf. June 24, 2017)
Greetings to you for a blessed Triduum,
a time when we contemplate the mystery of God’s LOVE
– God’s gift of Himself in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
May this Easter-tide be a time of joyful transformation for us, our communities, for our families and among all nations!
It is with great joy that I present you with a gift for Easter 2019!
You will find in the ‘TWO FLOWERS’ a surprise:
a brief profile of Madre Maria Giovanna for the English speaking Sisters and of Mother Mary Agnes for the Italian speaking Sisters. I am sure it will be an inspiration for the whole Congregation. I sincerely thank Sr Lia, who in doing this synoptic research has made this precious gift possible!
God bless.
With love,
c.m.
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