22 Nov New Sprouts, New Hope for the Mission
ACI Young Professed Sisters, East Timor and Indonesia
Benlutu, Indonesia
October 31 – November 3, 2024
We want to live out our mission by continuing the legacy of our beloved foundresses. This meeting has enabled us to deepen our spirituality, drawing inspiration from the fidelity and courage of Saint Raphaëlle Marie to meet the challenges of loving and following Jesus in the Eucharist.
The young professed sisters on mission in Timor (Mingas, Fina, Jefa) and those on mission in Indonesia (Betty, Rosita, Feda), accompanied by Sr Tam, ACI, met from 31 October to 3 November at the spiritual centre of Benlutu, Indonesia.
On the afternoon of our arrival, we joined a few people from the village to pray the rosary.
The next morning, we began our day with the Eucharist celebrated by Fr Yono, CMF and Fr Hergi, CMF.
In the afternoon, Sr Paula Torres, ACI, with the help of Br Nemo Castelli, SJ as interpreter, helped us to deepen our understanding of the theme “Discernment in the spirituality of Saint Raphaela Mary”. We’d like to share a few thoughts with you.
Personal and community discernment
Discernment must always be made in the light of the Gospel. Discernment means redirecting myself towards God. Examining our conscience is one of the ways we can do this every day. It enables us to seek God continually.
Our experiences need to be scrutinised. To do this, the continual search for God is very important. This is done through discernment and examination, which helps to strengthen our relationship with God.
Personal discernment allows us to :
– take an honest look at one’s life, recognising one’s own limitations and gifts
– identify your desires and grow in your affections, as well as in other aspects of your life.
Community discernment is our common search for God’s will.
To live it out, it is essential to know how to discern together, but also that our relationship with God be nourished on a daily basis by prayer, adoration and the continual search for his will.
The following sessions aimed to deepen our understanding of discernment in the light of and inspired by the spiritual notes of Saint Raphaela Mary. We had the opportunity to read about her spiritual journey and to recall how her whole life was centered on and for Jesus-Eucharist.
On the last day, we were able to share some of our experiences in our missions, our dreams and our hopes, all for His greater Glory.
We ended each of our days with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, receiving the many graces and blessings and offering up all our prayers and thanksgiving.
We ended our meeting with the Eucharist in the parish of Saint-Vincent, with the Catholics of the village.
We continue to pray for our missions in East Timor and Indonesia. We look forward to a grace-filled discernment, especially in our experimental communities in Indonesia.
Ma. Feda Broqueza
