Like any other academic year which ends and must be closed, last Friday June 9 the RECs and directors of the Province of Spain-Italy were convoked at the Interprovincial House of Madrid. The program of the day had already caught the attention of the participants: setting sail, entering port, mapping the course, … And the truth was, the day did not turn out to be one of just like “any other academic year”.
The meeting was intended to be a moment of recognition of and gratitude for the management task that have been carried out for several years by our directors and REC’s. While it is true that at the beginning of the morning, we “set sail” moving ahead with some aspects of the next academic year, such as the motto; important information on the part of the Superior Provincial, in a “time of reaping fruits”; the steps that are being taken in the quest for and the desire to form a family of Mother Candida, of laity-Daughters of Jesus living in shared Mission, as presented by Teresa Pinto FI; and the concrete proposal of the Revitalization Team about working together on the social apostolate as a cross-cutting theme, made by Blanca Esther Iriarte FI; the rest of the day we have dedicated to “entering port” after a long journey in which there have been days of temporary hardship, but many, thank God, of calm seas, in which our efforts “to reach a safe harbor” have been mitigated by the conviction that we were in the service of a Project that unites us, in which we believe, and through which we row together.
Elías López SJ moved and touched us profoundly, when this morning he helped us to “let go” to “let it come” and “to pass the baton.” How beautiful it has been to feel us all forming a forest, with the tree that each one of us represented and which expressed how we appreciate ourselves and how we are in this moment of letting go and welcoming, and how we support and strengthen each other.
As every celebration should have “Mass and meal”, that is what we have done, share a rich meal in an atmosphere of joy and festivity, and then move on to the Eucharist, which is Thanksgiving. A simple, intimate family celebration in which the Community of the Inter was also present, and in which we gave thanks for all the good lived during these years and for having had the opportunity to be part of Mother Candida’s dream. Mª Carmen Martín FI, Provincial Superior, expressed her thanks for our assignment and our service, as well as the availability of each one of us, and encouraged us to hand over the baton and continue to build.
“Thank you for making her dream YOUR MISSION”
By Charo Ros, published in Web from Spain-Italy
