18 Nov ‘Now is the time to serve’ – Meeting of New Superiors of the Americas in Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Some of the sisters who participated in the meeting of superiors of the Americas share with us their experience. They share with us how grateful they are and the calls they have received: to live the mission of superior as a service in the way of Jesus and Raphaela Mary, caring for spaces so that all are treated well, welcoming conflicts and not running away, and above all, always looking to God to find His will.
From Jessica, ACI, United States
We concluded the meeting very grateful for all that we received, shared, and lived together in this meeting of new superiors of the Americas. The five days of workshops, prayer, and conversations of the heart allowed us to enter into the meaning of the body and the mission we received. We left renewed… more integrated… more humble… more hopeful… and committed to integrate what we learned for the greater good of the communities and the mission.
Thanks to the general team that called us together; thanks to the province of Cono Sur that welcomed us with affection, and thanks to our sisters in community with whom we walk towards greater fullness among us and for all.
From Paulina, ACI, Ecuador
The formation meeting we had with the general team was an experience full of fraternity, synodality and much learning about the mission entrusted to us as superiors. I stress the importance of seeing this mission as a service in the style of Jesus and Raphaela Mary. The desire to encourage the community to live our ACI vocation (Ancillae Cordi Iesu) with joy, creating nurturing environments where “good treatment” is a priority. It was a time to thank the Institute through the general team for these meetings that nourish and encourage life and mission, reminding us that we are not alone, that we are sisters, that we are a body in mission. Thank you for everything.
From Magdalena, ACI, Ecuador
This meeting of superiors in Argentina was a great gift from God for the attitudes, gestures and words full of wisdom that come forth from our life. A first word from Rosario (Rosario Villarán) animated us during a time of transition. Another from Marcela, that nothing is new, everything is in the books… what is important is what passes through the heart… through my heart it passed not only leaving content, tools, strategies, but ingredients, in other words, something that gave flavour to my being, doing. Belén, for her part, spoke about befriending the wolf brother (for conflict resolution, good treatment and mission). All this in a global, ecclesial, synodal, and Institutional context. With great delicacy, the seed was planted through presentations, questions, open dialogue, discernment of the presence of the God of Jesus in the role of the superior. It was a journey to connect with the ESSENTIAL – GOD, who accompanies us and gives us the grace to commit ourselves to his project.
From Camila, ACI, Argentina
The meeting of ‘new superiors’ of the Americas invited us to deepen our experience as local superiors. We had the opportunity to reflect on the authority we received in our Institute of Ignatian-style government in the present moment of a Church called to accentuate and deepen synodality.
The exchange between sisters from different countries of the Americas was of great richness: we felt in communion, sharing our searches, successes and failures.
I briefly share a few points:
– At the beginning of the meeting, Sr. Rosario, our Superior General, invited us to share from what each one of us lives, from our own truth.
– A synodal way of exercising authority requires inner work to detect fears and resistance in the face of situations or people who challenge us. Insecurities that can make it difficult to listen to ‘all the voices’, threatening the joint search.
– There are many possibilities to explore in the experience of conflicts in human groups. We received tools to expand our own ‘I’ in conflict situations, seeking to be ‘the best me in the worst circumstances’.
– Power has to do with the deepest fibres of the person. Asking ourselves the question: ‘What happens to me when I don’t have power?’ provided valuable information about what moves us when we assume positions of responsibility and was the starting point for delving into the experience of an authority based on respect and consideration for other people.
– In our communities we can broaden the spaces of joint search in harmony with the Spirit of God who creates communion. Consensus as a tool in this search, ‘none of us is as intelligent as all of us are together’.
