loader image

Affection, Accompaniment and the Presence of a Sister

February 12, 2021

LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL TO THE SISTERS OF THE NURSING HOUSES AND OLDER SISTERS

Closeness, affection, and deep gratitude.

For the sick: support and comfort. For those who care: gratitude. It is a way of synthesizing the essentials of the letter, which yesterday, World Day of the Sick, Our Superior General Graciela Francovig, sent to the sisters of the nursing homes and older sisters.

Every time that Mother General writes to us, it is an opportunity to pause and listen to what the Lord wants to tell us through the human mediations that he places on our path.

In our life as consecrated women from the charism of Saint Cándida María de Jesús, there is a style of living the disease and the service of caring for the sisters in this situation. Graciela says in her letter:

Mother Candida wanted to leave us the way in which a Daughter of Jesus is called to live illness and weakness. From the Constitutions, “light and guide” in the way of the Lord, she tells us: “In sickness and death, as in all life, each Sister must seek that God our Lord be glorified and served in her … She will try to have before eyes the spiritual good of the Congregation, the Church and the entire world and, in their attitudes and words, show that they fully trust in the goodness and mercy of our Creator and Lord, and accept sickness as the grace of his hand, since it is no less so than health. “ (CFI 181)       

In the same way there is a way to embody the sending of caring for the sick and most fragile sisters.

The other Sisters … will attend them with love and solicitude, putting the necessary means to alleviate them; and, with prayers and conversations, they will try to help them to cope with the disease with courage, to trust in the Lord and to conform in every thing to his will. “[CFI 182]

Because that is how it is being, the word that comes from the Superior General is a THANK YOU:

I would like to express my gratitude to the Delegate for the Nurseries, Superiors and Sisters who collaborate in these houses and my “support in prayer.” They are carrying out a service that the Congregation greatly appreciates. Never forget that, by serving our sick sisters, you are serving Jesus Christ Himself, “helping those for whose life He died.” (CFI 188)

Do not forget to also thank the external auxiliary staff who collaborate in our infirmaries, without whom this care would not have been possible.

 The pandemic has highlighted the dedication and generosity of doctors, nurses, auxiliary personnel, and how many people collaborate with us; We have seen this in different provinces and I also want to thank them. Without this collaboration, we might not have been able to adequately accompany the lives of our sisters.

Read the  complete letter from the Superior General.

 

Relacionados