Sisters of Notre Dame…
missioned to incarnate the love of our good and provident God
Motherhouse/Generalate
Rome
April 16, 2017 / Easter
Dear Sisters,
The post resurrection appearances of Jesus reveal him as compassionately loving toward his disciples. He nourishes them, consoles, forgives, enlightens, encourages, and bestows peace upon them. And at the same time he gently moves them to a new understanding of their mission. Jesus moves them into compassionate inclusive action.
· He sends Mary Magdalene to deliver good news.
· He commissions Peter to feed his sheep.
· He directs the apostles to throw out their nets for a greater catch.
· He gives them authority over his teachings and the power to forgive sins.
· He sends them forth to proclaim his message to all nations.
For forty days after the resurrection he guides his disciples to look outward, to think outward, and to move outward. Jesus’ teachings consistently challenge the people of his time to be open-minded. He leads them to a global consciousness. The post resurrection life of Jesus teaches his disciples that resurrected life means living compassionately from a deep global consciousness that is inclusive of all.
This inclusiveness is emphasized as central to the message of Jesus by Pope Francis and Church documents today – encouraging us toward universal openness.
The Church’s fundamental function in every age and particularly in ours is to direct man’s gaze, to point the awareness and experience of the whole of humanity towards the mystery of Christ. Jesus lives on the shore of the lake in Capernaum and is in contact with many people: he attends the synagogue, meets the crowd, heals the sick. Jesus goes where the people live. In his message, in his actions and in his choices, he expresses a dynamism that moves in the direction of universal openness.
Proclaim # 14, Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated life and Societies of Apostolic Life
As Sisters of Notre Dame we have committed to this same perspective in our 2016 General Chapter Vision Statement which calls us as members of the Risen Body of Christ to minister in our world with compassion and with an expansive global consciousness which embraces all.
Trusting in God who makes all things new, we commit ourselves to
live incarnational spirituality,
grow in life-giving relationships,
be one in diversity.
Our history as a Congregation testifies to our going forth in compassionate inclusive love. St. Julie encouraged us to “Have hearts as wide as the universe.” Hilligonde and Elisabeth reached out in compassionate inclusive love when they opened their door to poor, neglected children. In each part of the world where the seed of the Congregation has been planted sisters have reached out to be the PRESENCE of God’s compassionate inclusive love.
Impelled by a missionary spirit,
we respond to the needs of the times
and share God’s compassionate love
with people of all faiths and cultures,
particularly those who are poor and marginalized. Const. Art. 3
Sadly, our world today is experiencing a time of extreme nationalism and isolationism. Greed, discrimination and lack of tolerance for what is “other” seem to have the upper hand. The witness of our charism lived out incarnationally as God’s love and provident care for ALL gives an even more profound counter-cultural witness today. As the Risen Body of Christ our words and actions proclaim a message of compassion and inclusiveness which brings hope to our world. From the bush of Africa, to the inner cities of North and South America, to the refugee habitats of Europe, to the villagers of India, and to the poor throughout Asia, we bring the love of our good and provident God restoring hope and changing lives forever as we have the courage to risk the “new.”
We develop awareness of and a sensitivity to issues of justice,
peace and the integrity of creation. Sisters are encouraged
to be active regarding these concerns both personally and
communally. Const. Directive 30.1
To fulfill our mission in the Church, we approach our ministries
with a pastoral orientation. We place special value on educating
people in the truths of the faith and on preparing them to
participate in the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church.
When ministering with people of other faith traditions, we enter
into dialogue with them to promote mutual respect, reconciliation
and peace. Const. Directive 65.1
Jesus’ life answered the question “What is goodness?” The nature of goodness is all that the person of Jesus was—unending compassionate inclusive love for all. Love poured out, gathering all of creation into himself and offering it back to the Father.
If we live the spirituality of our Congregation we will be living and witnessing to the resurrected life. We will be bringing to our world the love and understanding it so desperately needs. As globally conscious persons we will gather our brothers and sisters in through dialogue and collaboration. And together in unity and peace we will offer back to God a world reconciled.
We live in a world in need of change. And by our baptism and religious profession we are the agents of that change. We are not on the sidelines watching things happen. In the name of the Church, in the name of the Gospel we have to be totally immersed in the change. We have to be the most prayerful and the most transcendent. We have to be the most prophetic and outspoken. We have to be the most equipped to lead others in the processes which will bring about the transformation of life which brings hope to our world.
Where do we start to prepare ourselves for the mission ahead? We start with prayer, education and experience. Prayer must be the air we breathe. We must give significant amounts of time to prayer and to taking in God’s presence revealed to us in creation. We are restored and strengthened when we fill ourselves with the energy of God pulsating within us and around us. Then we need to spend time understanding our world by educating ourselves. We can only be prophetic when we know the issues of our time and can hold these up to the light of the Gospel and show others through word and deed where the injustices lie and what actions need to be taken to restore justice. Finally, experience will give us the opportunity to learn from others their cultural realities and place us in a position where together we can work for the transformation of society that will bring about the reign of God.
All of this calls for personal effort and self-discipline. It will no longer be O.K. to be isolated and protected or to be uneducated on important topics that shape our world. Our consciences should be disturbed if we have too much time for self-indulgence and very little time for our neighbor in need. There is a world to engage and much to learn. There are minds to enlighten, attitudes to change, people who need to find their dignity, and we have been commissioned to be agents of this movement. The Book of Revelation says, “Behold, I make all things new.” We are the hands and feet who will begin the transformation. And we come prepared to do the task. Prepared through prayer, knowledge and experience to be the compassionate inclusive love of our good and provident God.
In the encyclical Evangelii Gaudium Pope Francis writes, “an authentic faith—which is never comfortable or completely personal—always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transit values, to leave this earth somehow better than we found it.” In this spirit let us enter into the time after Easter renewed in our commitment to be the compassionate inclusive love of our good and provident God bringing a profoundly counter-cultural presence to our world today.
United with you trusting in our God who makes all things new,
Sister Mary Kristin, SND
Reflection Questions:
· What constitutes a compassionate heart?
· What does compassion look like in my life?
· What incidence of compassion in the life of Jesus speaks to me the most?
· Where is there darkness in my life where I might bring the light of compassion?
· Would I consider myself a globally conscious person?
· How might I grow in inter-cultural and inter-faith understanding?
· Where might I be more open-minded?
· Where might I help others to expand their horizons and come to greater understanding of our interconnectedness?
· Our world reflects diversity wherever one looks. Do I take in the lessons all around me in creation and in the face of my neighbor?
· How do the ecological challenges of our times give me the opportunity to be a global citizen?
· What am I doing to move our world consciousness to one of compassionate concern for all and global responsibility?
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