On the evening of September 24, in Granada, we gathered to celebrate the official opening of the International Juniorate. The community is currently made up of Dianny Adon, a junior sister from the Dominican Republic, Mayerly Ruiz, a Junior Sister from Colombia, Lola Giménez, a member of the formation community, and Raquel Amigot, the teacher of the juniors.
We were accompanied in person by Rosa Espinosa. The sisters of the community of Almeria; two sisters from the community of Malaga; a sister from the community of Berrospe in Madrid; a representative of the sisters of the infirmary community of Granada; the niece of Maria del Blanca del Barrio, Hija de Jesus assigned in the Dominican Republic, with her husband, and a Piarist religious assigned in Cuba. In addition, we felt the presence of the universal body in all the congratulations that reached us from the different communities. From here, we thank you for your accompaniment and closeness.
The opening had two enriching and profound moments, in which we experienced fraternity, welcome, and belonging to a body that is expanding:
The first moment was the celebration of the word. We began by recalling, through the letters of our Superior General, how the decision to locate the international juniorate in Granada came about and what the objective of the juniorate is, according to our documents. From there, we shared our desire for this project:
“that it would be born from our charismatic roots, that it would have an open horizon, that it would be attentive to God, to reality, that we would touch life, the most needy, in addition to theological formation, that God, Jesus be at the center of our life, that Mary would place us with her son and illuminate our path…”
Once we listen to our desires, we open ourselves to the Word of God: the house that is built on rock (Mt 7:21, 24-27) and we allow ourselves to be challenged by it. Each one of us expressed our personal commitment as an expression of our collaboration to give consistency and solidity to the juniorate. It was a spontaneous, profound moment in which we felt the joy, and the desire to grow as Hijas de Jesus and to help one another. Simple but real commitments, within the reach of our possibilities and, therefore, they tasted of authenticity and warmed our hearts:
“I commit myself to pray for you every day, to be positive in my words, to be open to the newness of the charism that the young women bring, to give wings to the charism in you, to let myself be taught by you and to offer my experience and trajectory as a hija de Jesus…”
We ended up placing ourselves in Mary’s hands. We chose this day because it is the day of the first perpetual vows in the Congregation because it is a Marian day: the Virgen de la Merced, and in Granada, the day on which the patroness of the city, the Virgen de las Angustias, takes to the streets and is venerated and popularly acclaimed. We ask her, our mother, to protect us and place us with her son.
The second moment was a fraternal sharing around the table. It was an intimate space and time for family conversation, unhurried, savoring the food, the dialogue, and the encounter.
We are grateful for what we have experienced, for feeling part of a universal Body that we have experienced as alive and that impels us to grow in our vocation from the roots and committed to the needs of our time in our daily life here in Granada.
Community of the International Juniorate of Granada.
