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Contents

Editorial

The House of Communications

By Giuseppina Teruggi

Encounters

Poverty and Justice

Why Teresa

The Grace of Unity

Roots of the Future

Fr. Michael Rua and the

FMA Institute

For a relationship of Justice

and Charity

Love and Truth

Arianna‟s Line

Relationships,Identity, Sanctity

Culture

The Myth: in search of the Land

Without Evil

Pastoral-ly

Learning Together

Women in the Context

Hands kneaded with justice

Key Words

The Ecumenical Vocation

Face to Face

Communicating in Community

Communicating the Faith

Communications Pastoral

Book

The Wings of Freedom

Camilla

www.heavenhelp us. Com

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The House of Communication

Giuseppina Teruggi The International Commission on

Communication was established in Rome last

March. It has the aim of creating a process for

research and confrontation with the culture of

communication. The group reaffirmed the

awareness that life is saturated with

communication; we have become an

environment made up not only of means and

instruments, but also with a new sensitivity, a

different mentality in which young people

especially can be found. They are the so-called

“digital natives.”

The virtual and the real are not two opposing

or separate concepts; we live in a virtual

reality, in a reality constructed of digital media,

by which we surpass time and space. Social

networks have become living spaces inhabited

by a growing number of young and not so

young people.

As Salesian educators we cannot stand idly by,

looking at this culture that is becoming more

and more known as a networking culture, in a

generic way. It is important to be able to move

from the ' network ' to a deeper ' being '

network to accompany young people in the

transition from virtual to real, from connection

to relationship.

“The development of new technologies and, in

its overall dimension, the whole digital world

of media, represents a great resource for

humanity as a whole and for the person in the

singularity of his/her being. It is a stimulus for

meeting and dialogue” said Benedict XVI in

the message for the 2010 World Day of Social

Communications

In this issue, DMA proposes a reflection on

poverty and justice. It is a theme that

shakes us up and cannot leave us

indifferent.

Even the field of communications is

marked by the unfair idea called the

“digital divide. A poor experience, the

impossibility of being able to use the new

technologies, are a source of

discrimination by those who enjoy media

resources. Despite various statements by

the United Nations, not only does the

problem exist on the operative level, but it

is far from being resolved, and the gap is

widening.

One phenomenon could exist even on the

local level where at times new “powers”

are created to the greater or lesser use of

the most recent discoveries of technology.

Olivier Turquet tells us that “There can be

no progress unless it is by all and for all.”

The house of communications-as each

educating community should be known-is

called to become an ever-greater open

space of life and expression for each

person who lives there. No one must be

considered to be a stranger, a foreigner, or

someone who is excluded.

gteruggi@cgfma.org

4

Poverty and Justice

Julia Arciniegas, Maria Antonia Chinello

We do speak of justice, but on different levels and

in different forms. It is a primary problem for all

that has already reached global proportions. We

are facing such a stark reality that it has been even

condemned in Caritas in Veritate: “ Global

wealth grows in absolute terms, but the

disparity continues.” In wealthy nations social

categories take on new poverties.

In poorer areas, some groups enjoy a type of

dissipating, consumer based overdevelopment

that contrasts in unacceptable ways with

continuing dehumanizing. situations (CIV 22).

It is not so much the inefficiency of the

phenomenon of globalization but rather the

ineffective, unjust distribution of wealth, of

“economic, social and political systems that have

bound the freedom of persons of economic, social

systems, and politicians who have violated the

freedom of persons and social bodies, and

precisely for this reason they have not been able

to ensure the promised justice. (CIV) Since the

Great Jubilee, some countries have undertaken to

give a response to the question of international

debt. This is an essential tool in the fight against

poverty but it is not enough.

It is ever more necessary that there be an

efficacious, rapid mobilization of financial

resources toward impoverished countries that

gives preference to the social interventions

sector. These solutions are being more

frequently underwritten by prestigious

international groups and rebounding to the

drumbeat of the media world, seem until now

to have had only a semblance of promises.

John Paul II outlines the necessity and urgency

of a widespread educational work to modify the

habits and lifestyles both of consumers and

producers.

“ If economic, social and political development

is to be authentically human”, he said,” it needs

to have a place for the principle of gratuity and

an expression of fraternity.” (n. 34). The basic

question, therefore is that of structural and

social change. It is a complex issue that

requires long times and, last but not least, a

certain boldness even in the decisions of

politicians, in particular „the great ones of the

world‟, for justice in the present and hope for

the future.

The Christian difference

According to a traditional definition, justice is

the moral virtue that consists in the constant,

firm will to give to God and neighbor what is

due to them. Growing globalization has

increased the social value of the virtue of

justice that calls for global solutions on the

social, political and economic levels.

Efforts to build justice on earth must begin with the examination and transformation of unjust structures projected in a more universal dimension. It is a commitment that appeals to the responsible freedom of people in the awareness that structures and institutions are means of human freedom . (Cf. CIV 17, 42, 78). Paraphrasing the classical definition of “justice” we could say that social justice is the constant and firm

5

will to favor the common good as a social condition for authentic, integral human development. Justice cannot remain in the purely legal-positive sector; it is necessary that it sinks its roots into anthropology, so that the value of the person, of dignity and rights are not understood merely in terms of usefulness and of possessing. In Christian anthropology, justice assumes a full, meaningful significance.

It is not, in fact a simple human convention, because that which is just is not originally determined by law, but by the profound identity of the person, of the transcendent vocation. In this sense, and taking into account the role of love in human development, it is necessary that justice be accompanied and enlivened by charity. Justice is the first, absolutely indispensible step, however, it is insufficient to build society in the measure of the person.

6

The Feminine Voice o f Just ice

A n i n t e r v i ew w i t h F l a m i n i a G i o v a n e l l i ,

U n d e r s e c r e t a r y o f t h e P o n t i f i c a l C o u n c i l

f o r J u s t i c e a n d P ea c e

Flaminia Giovanelli is the first woman to fill

the post of Undersecretary of the Pontifical

Council for Justice and Peace. She was born in

Rome on May 24, 1948 and is a past pupil of the

Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. She

graduated from the l‟Ecole Européenne de

Bruxelles, has a degree in Political Science from

the University of Studies in Rome and graduated

from the Gregorian Pontifical University. She has

been working on the Pontifical Council of Justice

and Peace especially with regard to topics

relative to development, poverty, and labor in

view of the social doctrine of the Church.

In accepting the nomination as undersecretary she

said that her work, more than a job, is a vocation

“because it is at the service of humankind and of

the person. It is at the service of the Church and

working relationships.”

Your experience on the Pontifical Council

allowed you to come into contact with many

realities.

What do you see is the crucial problem that

must be faced to escape the present financial-

economic crisis?

The world of work is the main victim in the

financial and economic crisis which, in the long

run, impacts workers in a persistent way.

What is most serious in the case of the crisis

that exploded in 2008 which originated in

developed countries, beyond having heavy

consequences on the working world in these

same countries, it had even more on the

workers of the poorer countries, those whose

economies and institutions more fragile and

are less able to handle them.

For this reason, along with the provisions

taken by individual governments to re-launch

occupations such as the undertaking of public

works with a wider employment of work at

hand, improving services or favoring the

professional retraining of workers, even the

international community promoted some

important initiatives.

International Organization for Work (ILO)

adopted the Global Pact for Occupation in the

perspective of the “decent work” strategy also

encouraged by John Paul II as he reminded us in

Caritas in Veritate n. 63. Still further, it

supported the credit of small and mid-size

enterprises, supporting cooperatives, increasing

further investment in infrastructures of research

and development, and even in ”green production”

as important means of creating jobs, favoring

the passage of informal work to formal

economy. Together with all of this, however,

one must not neglect the need, especially of

poor countries, to build a system of social

protection that is effectively capable of

assisting the weakest.

Can we speak of the poorest among the poor?

It is a given fact that during the last decades,

from more areas and even on the international

level, there has been a restored centrality on

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the question of poverty and the poor.

It is necessary to identify the poorest, but more

than doing so with regard to categories-

women, children, elderly, invalids, etc- we

must insist on the idea of “moral poverty” that

we need to see as being connected to those

commonly used: poverty as privation and

vulnerability, poverty as lack of the resources

necessary to satisfy basic needs and as a lack

of basic human capacity, reduced hope in life,

the poor health of mothers, etc. By “moral

poverty” we mean the absence of moral

reference and the generalized degradation of

values that are translated into behavior and the

mentality contrary to good, particularly

corruption, the exploitation of minors, the

political manipulation of ethnic groups,

bad governance.

Which are the main obstacles to development in

Third World Nations?

The situation is complex and variegated because

there are more than a few nations that just a few

years ago were considered to be part of the so-

called Third World , and today are emerging,

even though, sad to say, their “emerging” is

manifested in lack of equality. There are many

fundamental obstacles, such as the scarcity of

educational opportunities (the number of illiterate

persons is still about 700-800 million), the

difficulty of access to some benefits without

which health deteriorates, for example, from

clean water to medicine. However, there could

be an impediment also in the area of

inadequate sanitary systems, unfair distribution

of land and also the inadequate infrastructures,

transportation, or public administration which,

more often than not is still at the initial stages,

transportation, electrical and telephone

networks that are completely insufficient,

especially in the outskirts or countryside or

public administration that is still at the initial

stage.

Another set of problems, then, is bound to the

choices of political economy, at times imposed

from the external and not responding to real

exigencies or their correct application. All of

this goes without saying that many poor

countries do not yet have any system of social

protection. Finally, in this list which is by no

means exhaustive, there are serious obstacles

that make it difficult, if not impossible, to

carry out normal social and economic activity.

There are wars and the corruption of those

responsible on various levels. However, along

with the obstacles we must keep in mind the

extraordinary possibilities that our times offer.

One among many is that of the new

technologies that could allow for giant steps in

various sectors.

T h e yo u n g , i n w h i c h t h e p o o r c o u n t r i e s

a r e f o r t u n a t e l y r i c h , a s s u m e t h em

q u i c k l y . F r o m t h i s w e s e e t h e

i m p o r t a n c e o f f o r m a t i o n a s a s t r a t e g i c

w a y .

W h a t c a n t h e m o r e i n d u s t r i a l i z e d

c o u n t r i e s d o t h a t t h e y a r e n o t d o i n g ?

E v e n h e r e w e h a v e a v e r y c o m p l e x

p r o b l e m . U n d o u b t e d l y , t h e w e a l t h y

n a t i o n i o n s m u s t f i n d w a ys t o d e d i c a t e

g r e a t e r q u o t a s o f t h e i r G D P ( g r o s s

d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t ) t o t h e a i d f o r

d e v e l o p m e n t - a s u g g e s t i o n t h a t h a s a l s o

c o m e f r o m C IV , # 6 0 , a n d w h i c h , t o m e ,

s e e m s t o b e t h e m o s t e f f i c a c i o u s

b e c a u s e i t i s t h e m o s t h u m a n , a n d i s

o f t e n c a p a b l e o f c r e a t i n g “ f r a t e r n a l ”

r e l a t i o n s h i p s , t h e c o u n t i n g o n an d

e m p o w e r i n g t h e s o - c a l l e d “ f i s c a l

s o l i d a r i t y” t a k i n g t h e i n c e n t i v e o f

f o r m s o f s o c i a l s o l i d a r i t y f r o m t h e

b o t t o m u p , a s h a s a l w a ys b e e n

s u g g e s t e d b y P o p e B e n e d i c t X V I .

H o w m a n y o f u s , i n f a c t , a d o p t

c h i l d r e n f r o m a d i s t a n c e , o r a r e

m e m b e r s o f a n N G O f o r d e v e l o p m en t

e n j o yi n g t h e r e l a t i v e t ax ex e m p t

b e n e f i t s .

W h i c h s o l u t i o n s d o e s t h e C h u r c h

8

f o r e s e e f o r a s o l i d a r i t y d e v e l o p m en t

o n t h e l e v e l o f a g l o b a l s o c i e t y ?

T h e p r o b l em c o n s i s t s i n a n u n f a i r an d

i n e f f i c a c i o u s d i s t r i b u t i o n o f r e s o u r ce s

d u e , a m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s t o g o v e r n a n ce

t h a t i s i n a d e q u a t e , a n d a l s o b e c a u s e i t

i s i n c a p a b l e o f a d a p t i n g a t t h e s a m e

s p e e d t o t h e r a p i d l y c h a n g i n g r h y t h m s

o f t o d a y‟ s s o c i e t y . A l r e a d y f o r t y

ye a r s a g o t h e C h u r c h h a d i n d i c a t e d

t h i s w e a k n e s s i n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l

s ys t e m . F r o m t h i s p o i n t o f v i e w , t h e

s i t u a t i o n i s s o g r a v e a s t o b e

c o n s i d e r e d o n e o f t h e c a u s e s o f t h e s o

c a l l e d s yn d r o m e o f t h e “ t i r e d g i v e r ” .

F o r t h e r e s t , t h e r e c a n n o t b e

d e v e l o p m e n t w i t h o u t g o o d g o v e r n m e n t ,

i . e . , a S t a t e t h a t f u n c t i o n s w e l l , b o t h

o n t h e c e n t r a l l ev e l a n d o n t h e l o ca l

( r e g i o n s , m u n i c i p a l i t i e s … ) o r s e c t o r s

( p o l i c y , j u s t i c e , h e a l t h ,

e d u c a t i o n … ) ; t h a t f u n c t i o n w e l l i n t h e

s e n s e o f e f f i c i e n c y a n d e s p e c i a l l y w e l l

i n t h e s e n s e o f h o n e s t y .

I n t h e w o r d s o f G a l b r a i t h : “ N o t h i n g i s

m o r e i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e e c o n o m i c

d e v e l o p m e n t a n d t h e h u m a n c o n d i t i o n

o f a s t a b l e , t r u s t w o r t h y , c o m p e t en t

t h a n a n h o n es t g o v e r n m e n t . ”

W h i c h c o n c r e t e i n i t i a t i v e i s i t p o s s i b l e

t o o f f e r t o g i v e s h a p e t o g l o b a l

s o l i d a r i t y ?

R e s t o r e e q u i t y i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r ad e

b y b r e a k i n g d o w n b a r r i e r s o f

p r o t e c t i o n i s m . It is necessary that there

be greater efforts to assure all trade

partners the opportunity to draw greater

benefit from the open market and from the

free circulation of goods, services and

capital. Furthermore, today it is

universally recognized that the key to

development in general , and that of

sustainable development in particular ,

resides in science and technology and in

this sector the principle problems are the

obstacles relevant to the “know how”

connected to the technological progress

connected to the wealthy countries who

have them to the poor nations (Cf. CA, n. 32).

If we think that the greater part of the

latter are found in tropical areas in which

the median age is approximately 50 years

and if we keep present that in the world

more than 861 million, of which 2/3 are

women, there is no access to literacy and

more than 113 million children do not go to

school we understand that education and

health measures are an absolute priority.

The 2009 Report of the United Nations

Development Program cites the following

as negative factors in the worldwide crisis:

Finance and Economy

Reduces Growth Stocks

Increased Unemployment

Decreased investment assistance €

Food and Oil

Possible widespread malnutrition

Possible civil disruption and instability

Increased prices, which hinders living

standards

Children leaving school to go to work

Climate Change

Decrease in agricultural production

Increase the risk of disruption of natural

caused by climatic conditions

Increase in tropical diseases

j.arciniegas@cgfma.org

mac@cgfma.org

9

The Grace of UnityGraziella Curti

In front of the monastery of the Incarnation in Avila, there is a beautiful statue of Teresa in a dynamic pose, as though she was walking. She holds a pilgrim staff in her left hand and her gaze is fixed on distant horizons. The statue is a reproduction of the terms attributed to Teresa throughout her history:

In fact, this woman called to the cloister, knew how to join contemplation and action, resting place and activity, with exquisite balance, always with one sole aim: God.

Like Martha and Mary

In entrusting the renewed Constitutions

(1982) Mother Rosetta Marchese wrote

that the presentation made by don Bosco

on the virtues proper to the FMA,

culminates in what we today would call the

grace of unity: “In the Daughters of Mary

Help of Christians this must be in step with

active and contemplative life, move

together, portraying Martha and Mary, the

life of the Apostles and that of the angels.

In the same way, the paradigm chosen

by St. Teresa to describe this dialogue of

operative love is that of Martha and Mary,

symbolizing the harmony between action

and contemplation. “Believe me, to give

hospitality to the Lord, to have Him with us

always”, she writes, “treating Him well and

offering Him food it is necessary that Martha

and Mary get along. In what way could

Mary, remaining seated at his feet, feed Him

if her sister did not help? We feed the Lord

when we do all possible to help Him gain

many souls, who, by saving themselves,

praise Him eternally.”

And she adds:

Let us desire and practice prayer not to

rejoice in but to have the strength to serve

the Lord.”

For, Teresa different from the traditional

exegesis, even when Martha comes after

Mary,she expresses her appreciation for the

sister who sets to welcome Jesus in a good

way, and brings out her virtues (humility,

hospitality, availability) indicating her as an

example of attention to the Divine Guest.

Another element that links our founder to

Teresa is the sense of profound freedom and

simplicity that is attributed to her person-the

inner journey. The Carmelite saint says that

the road to interiority cannot be forced,

because the energies of the soul are to be

gently directed

Contemplative in Action

Teresa‟s writing frequently sends us back

to the inner journey. The Saint places

much attention to have her daughters

consider Jesus as the center of their life and

predisposes where it could become His

stable dwelling place. The conditions to

realize the intimate union with the spouse

are the seeking of silence and fidelity to the

time established for the direct appointments

with heaven. This, however, also brings

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with it the need for much attention and

responsibility

The concrete reality of daily life is

integrated in the inner journey of each

person and creates that unity, of the ora et

labora, that is at the base of Christian

spirituality.

In her book the Interior Castle when Saint

Teresa speaks of the Seventh Mansion, the

final phase, the summit of baptismal grace

there, where one lives the most intense

clarity of the Holy Spirit, she describes the

activity:

-as full unity of contemplation and action,

-as the maximum interior life linked to the

maximum height. The conquest of

interiority, notes Teresa, brings with it the

the greatest openness to one‟s neighbor

Friend God

In her autobiography Teresa says: “For me,

prayer is nothing more than a relationship of

friendship, a finding oneself frequently

alone with the One who we know loves us.”

In a letter to the Jesuit Father Avila, she

emphasizes: “When I think of the grace that

the Lord gives me by keeping me always in

His presence, notwithstanding the great

number of things that pass through my

hands I am more and more convinced that

not even the crosses and most serious

persecutions can disturb me…” (Letter 235)

Through the various phases of her prayer,

Teresa had reached “not allowing the soul to

have any other occupation than to entertain

Him who is present …”

And then, many words are not needed.

“God and the soul understand one another

like two friends, without need for words or

any other external sign, manifesting

reciprocal affection. It is a little like here on

earth, when two persons love each other

very much…they succeed in understanding

one another without need to exchange signs,

but only by looking at one another.” What

is important in prayer is being present to

God in profound attention

Educator and Mother?

In the presentation of her doctoral thesis on

Teresa the educator” Sr. Sylwia

Ciezkowska, a Polish FMA, concludes by

saying: The vertical relationship of Teresa

with God (prayer) and the horizontal

relationship with the community

(exhortation) suggest that she has every right

to the title of mother because she coherently

educated to prayer, by praying. She taught

to love by loving and showed how to serve

by serving. These words recall the

observation of Cardinal Gabriel-Marie

Garrone about the letters of Mary

Domenica Mazzarello, who also had the

characteristics of educator and mother:

“These letters”, he said, help us to clearly

understand the temperament of her spiritual

maternity, inspired by God She did not

discuss, did not reason about it, but lived

and communicated life.”

11

Fr. Michael Rua and the

FMA Institute

Piera Cavaglia’

We have just begun the historical research

on the relationship of Don Bosco‟s first

successor with the FMA Institute.

The recent publication of letters and

circulars of Fr. Rua to the FMA and the

International Congress that took place on

October 2009 in Turin offer precious

contributions on the specific and original

contribution given by him to the Institute.

The FMA of the early generations listened

to expressions such as this: “The Daughters

of Mary Help of Christians, no matter where

they are, merit and have all of my solicitude.

How great a part they have in Don Bosco‟s

inspired works!” (Letter 4-11-1890). These

works were not mere rhetoric, the reality is

evident to their eyes. Fr.Rua, in fact, had

followed the early steps of the Institute from

the time of the establishment of the first

community at Mornese. In November 1875,

at the departure of Fr. John Cagliero for

Argentina, he had been named as Director

General of the FMA Institute and the

following year Spiritual Director of the

Feminine Oratory at Torino, Valdocco.

When in 1888 he was called to direct the

Salesian Congregation, Fr. Rua already had

sufficient knowledge of the Institute of the

FMA from the time of its genesis. He devoted himself with his typical wisdom and

acumen to promote the spiritual cultural,

missionary development and to revive the

spirit of Don Bosco in relationship with the

Sisters and the girls whom they educated in their

oratories and schools.

He was solicitous in caring for the

organizational structure of the Institute, he

accompanied the process of juridical autonomy

with prudence and discretion, promoted the

establishment of provinces and the formation of

educators, preparing them to assume the

historical- cultural challenges of the times.

This was shown, in addition, by the attention

with which he accompanied the Superiors of the

General Council and the individual Sisters, in

his circular letters, the introduction to the

Deliberations of the General Chapter, the

presentation of the Prayer book, and of the first

General Directories of the Institute.

After what biographers called a year of

mourning at the death of Don Bosco, it is

interesting to note that Fr. Rua made his first trip

out of Turin going to the Motherhouse of the

FMA at Nizza Monferrato where he remained

from May 31 to June 5, 1888.€

In the 22 years during which he governed the

12

Salesian Congregation (1888-1910), Fr. Rua

made countless visits to the FMA communities

both in Italy and abroad. His last visit to the

house of Nizza is dated March, 1909. Every

encounter was an opportunity for awareness and

animation that strengthened the bonds of the

religious family animated by the same spirit.

In his visits to the FMA houses, Fr. Rua met not

only with the community but with individuals.

He knew the link to find the depth of the soul,

and his simple, familiar, discreet relational style,

his capacity for listening was appreciated by all.

The respect and veneration for the Superior did

not impede confidence. The many testimonies of

FMA about Don Rua, of which we have the

documentation, attest to how profound was the

esteem and affection that they had for Don

Bosco‟s successor. He, too, cultivated a sincere

affection for them and, in every intervention,

oral or written, he was moved by the explicit

intention of seeking their good on the

institutional and individual level.

Fr. Rua allowed himself to be challenged by the

incipient industrialization that also involved

women and he promoted the opening of

boarding schools for workers. He recommended

to Mother Catherine Daghero not to refuse offers

to direct boarding establishments for young

workers, rather, he held it to be a new mission

that the Lord deigned to entrust to the FMA at

the beginning of the new century.

Reading Fr. Rua‟s letters we are struck by the

fact that in addressing himself to the FMA, he

always kept present the educational mission that

they carry out. He rejoices for the fruitful

apostolic work that they carry out in various

countries; sends greetings and feast day wishes

to the girls. He always shows himself interested

in the growth of the educational works, rather he

stimulates superiors and sisters to empower

enterprise and creativity. He encouraged the

FMA to provide the students and oratorians with

all the help they needed for their human and

Christian formation and invited them to cultivate

religious vocations in all the environments.

He was convinced that even while the

communities could have different

physiognomies, they had to have “the same

imprint” that he identified as “charity and

cheerfulness” (Circular 12-31-1901).

Referring to the practice of the Preventive

System, Fr. Rua recommended that a climate of

charity should be created in the educational

environments: “Charity in words, work and

affections”.

It was a climate characterized by patience and

gentleness of manner, of overcoming every form

of repression or permissiveness.

For the opening of new communities or for the

growth of the mission, Fr. Rua generally did not

give directions, but he discreetly indicated the

criteria to be followed.

He recommended fidelity to Don Bosco‟s spirit

and invited all to prefer the areas most in need or

at risk, to promote works among the people in

need so as to counter the advance of secularism

and to increase the social openness of the

Institute.

In the works of animation and government, Fr.

Rua promoted fidelity to the spirit of Don

Bosco, unity in the Institute and the sense of

belonging to a large family during a time when

there was a strong urge for expansion in various

countries and continents.

As Fr. Pascual Chavez wrote: “He who had

seen the birth of the Institute and had followed

the gradual development, took care of it as a

sacred inheritance left by Don Bosco and was

profuse in lavishing upon it the richness of his

own thought and heart.”

pcavaglia@cgfma.org

13

For a Relationship

of Justice and Charity

Julia Arciniegas, Martha Séïde

The love of God took on face and word in

Jesus of Nazareth, He, the Son given to

humanity, became for us wisdom, justice,

sanctification and redemption (1 Cor 1,30).

The answer to this love of God, which saves

us by means of Christ, is expressed in giving

our lives to Him in love and service to

others. However, love implies an absolute

need for justice in the recognition of the

dignity and rights of one‟s neighbor, while

justice finds its fullness only in charity, in

love. The encyclical Caritas in Veritate

again proposes this inseparable relationship

as a principle that must illumine the life of

the community and every person.

Let us Re-Read the Encyclical

Love, caritas, an extraordinary force,

urges us to commit ourselves with

courage and generosity in the field of

justice and peace(n.1).

Charity surpasses justice and completes

it in the logic of gift and forgiveness

(n.6).

Desiring the common good and working

for it, is a requirement of justice and

charity( n.7).

The importance of the Gospel for the

building up of society according to

freedom and justice (n.13).

The dignity of the person and the

requirements of justice require

economic choices (n.32).

We ask ourselves

Postmodern culture gives great

importance to self-realization according

to the imperative to be one’s self always

and everywhere, without being

preoccupied with the meaning. Has the

educating community noted the

commitment to overcome individualism

and give primacy to the love that seeks

justice and peace for all ?

Consumer pressure, in the broadest sense,

consumption of things, time, opportunities,

tends to separate the public and private

sphere, the collective sector and individual

life. In what measure is this gap present in

our Institution?

Dom Helder Camara, Brazilian bishop,

witness to justice and charity, received

thirty degrees “honoris causae”, from

the Sorbonne and Harvard and forty

international awards; he was also

recognized “ as an Artisan of Peace” €

His last dream was “Jubilee 2000”, a

world without misery .And yet he was

sadly called “the red bishop” by some.

But he himself said: “When I give food

to the poor they call me a saint. When I

ask why the poor do not have food, they

say that I am a revolutionary.”

“I do not need Marxism; I believe in the

Gospel. Are people heavy on you at

time? Carry them in your heart!”

14

Consumer pressure, in the broadest

sense, consumption of things, time,

opportunities, tends to separate the

public and private sphere, the collective

sector and individual life. In what

measure is this gap present in our

Institution?

Is there a reciprocal appeal between the

Gospel and real life, personal and social,

of individuals and community. Which

signs of this profound unity, of this

commitment to conversion do we find in

our educational environment ?

In Action

A few steps to make the study done

operational:

Charity lived and witnessed to,

permeates the building of community

from within according to rights and

justice. Let us seek some ways to

deepen the rapport between justice-

charity in our interpersonal,

community, institutional …

Alongside individual good, there is a

good bound to the social living of

persons: the common good. It is the

good of that we-all, a good sought

for the persons who are part of the

social community.

Let us review our daily life from this

perspective and propose some initiatives

to reinforce the commitment of all in

seeking the common good.

The realty of today‟s world requires

that we go back to the causes of

injustice, those that generate poverty

and violence, to commit ourselves to

Eradicating them. Let us plan some

spaces for a reading that believes in

facts and situations in which God

calls us either personally or as a

community.

j.arciniegas@cgfma.org

mseide@yahoo.com

15

Relationships, Identity, Sanctity Maria Rossi

The process of developing personal identity

is marked especially by the quality of the

interpersonal relationships that an individual

forms in the course of her existence. Studies

and psychological theories show how

relationships experienced with parents are of

primary importance, however, a popular

saying says us Tell me who you go with and

I will tell you who you are. No less

important are those whom a person chooses

to be a part of their life in youth and in

mature age.

A study of St. Teresa of Avila from this

point of view was enlightening for me and

made me want to share it with others. Now I

will attempt to do so in the hope of not

betraying such a versatile figure.

I met Teresa during the „60‟s when, for a

mystical examination, I chose to read The

Teresian Letters. While reading them , I

remained happily surprised in seeing how,

in the dynamic of her relationships with her

confessors, the spiritual direction was more

on her part than on theirs. Up until then I

thought that confession and spiritual

direction was an exclusive prerogative of

priests and consecrated, i.e., males. Twenty

years later, I rediscovered Theresa where I

had never expected to do so. In order to

study the problem of feminine identity

during this time of profound cultural change,

I began to frequent the Seminars of Diotima

1 at the University of Verona . In the

seminars, to my surprise, I was able to

follow reflections and original studies on the

Saint. The philosophy of Diotima, in

particular one of the founders, Luisa

Murano, holds Teresa of Avila to be a strong

reference point. They present her as a

woman who, through relationships and in

particular through the friendship relationship

with Jesus, succeeds in being fully herself,

developing a personal identity that allowed

her to overcome the heavy cultural

conditioning of her times, of

not allowing herself to be intimidated and

blocked by the Spanish Inquisition and by

evil tongues, and by establishing with

learned ecclesiastics and with others, not

relationships of dependence as was the

usage and obligation for the woman, but

rather reciprocal interpersonal relationships

and at times, also that of superiority.

In the family

Interpersonal relationships with parents and

family members can be glimpsed especially

in the Book of her Life. In telling the story,

the figure of her father predominates. Her

mother, Beatriz de Ahumada, from a very

well- to- do family, was married at 16 and

then bore 10 children. Teresa recalls her as

being very beautiful, but suffering and

frequently ill. She died at 33 years of age

when Teresa was 12 and, from the

educational point of view, she appeared to

be almost absent. Her father, Alonso

Sanchez de Cepeda had a preferential

relationship with her. She attributes this to

the fact of having a character that was

different from that of her brothers. She

describes him as a man of great virtue,

honest, generous, non- authoritarian, but

preoccupied more with honra, i.e.,

preserving reputation and with the judgment

of people than with the substance of virtue.

Only once did he react firmly in dealing

with his daughter, when a relationship with

16

a cousin threatened to compromise the

family reputation, the father decisively sent

her to the cloister for a while.

Books were not lacking in the home and she

had a passion for reading. Her father

wanted her to read devotional and formative

books, while her mother, to survive the

illnesses and suffering of her short life,

preferred to read adventures of chivalry, and

also allowed Teresa to do so, but hidden

from her father. Her relationship with her

father was constant, incisive in her

formation and interesting in her evolution.

Teresa learned much from him and reacted

positively to being the favorite, but also

criticized him for his excessive

preoccupation with honra. When her father,

already at an advanced age, was reduced to

being debt-ridden, the relationship was

reversed. She followed him with love, did

not speak of his ineptitude in business, but

introduced him to mental prayer, gave him

the necessary books and was pleased with

the progress he made in this direction. She

protected him.

Her relationship with her father seems, in

some way, to be characterized by the type of

relationship that she established with men,

especially with relatives and religious. The

friendship relationship with Jesus, unifying

it and giving it the capacity of grasping the

true values of life, gave her the strength and

authority

to reverse or at least question in discussion,

among other things, even the role of social

and cultural subordination that the society of

her time had assigned to her because she

was a woman. Interesting in this respect is

the relationship that she was gradually

establishing with her confessors. She seeks

them out, and needs them to discern how

much the grace of God was working in her

and not allowing her to be deceived by the

devil, as people then tended to believe. She

obeyed them even when they ordered the

contrary to what Jesus asked in prayer. But

after having experienced the suffering and

anguish of being guided by confessors who

were learned but without the experience of

mental prayer understood as a relationship

of “friendship, of finding herself frequently

alone and alone with One who we know

loves us”, gradually she chose from among

those who had “common sense and

experience and” perhaps, even learning.

Before entrusting her soul to them, she met

with them for a conversation. She suggested

to her Sisters that they do the same.

Teresa was always aware of the importance

of confrontation and obedience and obeyed

even in situations in which she was not in

complete agreement. But from a certain

time on, her obedience would be given not

only to those who had a certain capacity to

understand her, but who, after having

understood, in a certain sense would have

also considered her as mother. This is what

happened in the encounter with St. Peter of

Alcantara‟, Garcia de Toledo, Father

Gracian, and John of the Cross. It was the

reciprocal interdependence which is

indicated as an exemplary rapport between

man and woman in Mulieris Dignitatem.

And this was in 1500 when the culture went

in the opposite direction. Teresa realized it

and differently from today, experienced fear,

anguish, and pleaded proclaiming herself

obedient in meeting with confessors.

Process of conversion

The process of reaching this point was long

and perhaps it coincided with that which we

call a period of conversion. The period of

conversion could, in part, be seen as the

arduous journey of development and a

woman‟s unsatisfied personal identity due to

the conditioning and constraints that the

culture of the time imposed. In Chapter IX

of her Book of Life Dedicated almost

entirely to conversion, she describes how

her decisive spiritual turn came through an

17

encounter with the wounded Christ at the

feet of the Magdalene and in the reading of

St. Augustine‟s Confessions. In the

encounter with the image of the wounded

Christ, Teresa broke out into flowing tears.

She felt that she was the cause of so much

suffering. Prostrate at his feet and

conquered by the shocking and unifying

love, she succeeded in accepting in herself

the limitations and impotence of a creature..

She freed herself from the pretenses of the

titanic “I” and gave up the tension of not

succeeding in perfection. Like Mary

Magdalene, she gave herself up to Love and

remained in expectation. She yielded to the

Love that unifies, liberates and allows one to

enter into an intimate rapport with God,

open self to others, to be fruitful.

After having established a rapport of

friendship with God that not lonely made

her feel that she was favored and liberated

her from fear, but pushed her toward others.

From her contact with the Source of joy and

love there was born in her the decision for

the Reform, so that others could reach it. It

was a decision that would create for her

tensions, problems of every kind,

misunderstandings. But her rapport with

God, allowed her to reach the highest

dimension of human fullness, placed the

persons in an irrepressible movement of

love. Those who experienced it could not

contain themselves and did everything so

that others could enjoy it.

After her conversion, Teresa set aside the

burden of her keeping an account of sins,

good actions and holy proposals. The

contact with the very Source of love and

with joy, unified her and also put her into

contact with her own capacity for the

infinite, expanded her and pushed her in a

spontaneous movement toward others.

The message that Teresa gave to the Sisters

and also to us is that even between the four

walls of the convent or in school or on the

playground wherever we seem to spend days

that are apparently the same, one can live

the spiritual adventure of a fruitful love.

Teresa places herself somewhat in

continuity with the Magdalene both as a

penitent sinner, but especially by her

friendship with Jesus and her capacity of

placing “everything under her feet”. Urged

on by love, the Magdalene dared to

break the law that forbade her to enter where

she had not been invited and to touch and

dry the feet of Jesus with her hair (with what

it was believed to be the most impure), not

to fear the criticism of those who believed

that they were pure because they were

observant. Reaching Jesus, becoming his

friend, meant for her not only turning her

back on sin, but especially on that world that

wanted to nail her to an inferior image of

herself. In reversed terms, the same was

also true of Teresa. When she became

aware that some socially accepted behavior

made her a successful nun in the convent but

was an obstacle to a true , deep relationship

with the Divine and with the reality of her

being, she turned her back on this perception

of herself.

For both, the encounter and the relationship

with Jesus became possible in the moment

in which, autonomously presenting self to

the presence of the Eternal, recognizing in

Him alone there was the right of building

their new, full identity. May it also be so for

us, but perhaps it already is.

1 Diotima is a philosophical community of

women formed at the University of Verona.

It is made up of university professors, many

laywomen, some who are believers, but not

practicing .

They explore the problem of identity and gender

difference from the philosophical point of view,

and then during annual seminars, offer the fruit

of their reflections to an interested public. Part

of my reflection is based on what I was able to

gather in these studies.

18

A story on the struggle to grow.

Asja and Maria, two fourteen year olds

as different as day and night

each seeking her own identity

19

Asja

On rainy days as a child she

played at inventing a father for

herself…

At home there were no happy

voices to welcome her, no snack

waiting for her on the table.

There was only silence, and in

the winter, darkness. Fear kept

her company, was seated

alongside her…finally, there was

the noise of the door and her

heart leapt. At least for today

her mother had come home to

her…

Maria

Closed in her room Maria

opened the door of the closet and

looked in the mirror.

She looked at that image as

though it were an unknown

enemy

Her body had changed so quickly

during these past months that she

almost did not recognize herself.

A whale !

Asja and the others were

right;she looked like a whale…

she really looked like a whale…

20

Theme: How I see myself in

twenty years…

Maria

I would like to open a flower

shop. I have always loved flowers

because they accompany people

in the important times of life, they

make them happy in beautiful

times and console them in sad

times.

Then, too, I can take into my

shop plants that are suffering,

because plants are like people,

they need to be loved and cared

for.In twenty years I see myself

free, driving a convertible…

Asja

In twenty years I will be thirty five

years old like my mother and I

don’t want to become like her.

She is still young, but seems so

old . My mother suffers from a

horrible illness called depression.

Depression takes away your

desire to live…what I want to say

is that at thirty-five I will be like I

am now…I will not lose my love

of life…

Text taken from Camminare,

correre, volare by Sabrina

Rondinelli

21

22

Myth: Seeking a Land Without

Evil Edited by Mara Borsi The Guaranì are a great people who have

developed around the Aquifer Guaranì

(Guarani Aquifer , a great underground reservoir

of sweet water) and spread throughout all of

South America and the Caribbean. When the

Spanish landed in the Antilles, they spoke of

having met a people called Carios, the same

people who would later be found in Asuncion,

Paraguay. The historical narration of these

ancient people tells us that Guaranì and Tupi

were two brothers and that their families were

growing rapidly, so much so that the place

where they lived was becoming ever smaller and

for this reason, the two brothers decided to

separate . Tupi went with his family to the

North and Guarani went to the South.

From Generation to generation they also told

the founding myth of these people that explains

their profound soul. The myth tells of twin

brothers who were orphaned when their mother

was killed. The two brothers, stolen from their

mother by the evil ones, served them for a long

time until they found the body of their true

mother. That discovery and the attendant

sorrow made the two brothers remember where

they came from and they began to look for their

true home the land without evil.

On the return trip to the house of the Father, they

sought in every way to overcome evil; on their

never-ending journey they ate the food they

could get, but they thought that even on their

way, there would be others who would come

after them and they always left something for

the successive wayfarers. This founding myth

explains the continual pilgrimage of the Guaranì

throughout South America “seeking the land

without evil.”

Interview with Blanca Selva Ruiz Diaz

Gamba.

I am an FMA from Paraguay, from the

Province of St. Raphael Archangel. For

nine years I worked in the missions with the

Aborigines and the Paraguayans in the

section of Upper Paraguay-Chaco, in the

boarding school Bishop Alejo Obelar of ñu

Apu‟a

Before coming to Rome, I was in the House

of St.Joseph for a year as infirmarian among

the elderly Sisters and at the same time I

was working in Youth Ministry.

Which values of your culture do you love

the most?

First of all, the Guaranì language. It puts us

into a relationship with our ancestors, gives

us a sense of our being because every

language expresses one‟s vision of the

cosmos. The Paraguayans feel, imagine,

reflect, and express themselves better in

Guaranì. It is, therefore, the official

language of Paraguay along with Spanish.

Another value is the love of nature. My

people fight for the land so that it will not be

exploited and polluted; they feel that they

23

are part of the land, and defend it against the

companies that strip the forests and buy it

for very little money, leaving so many

farmers without land.

The Paraguayans frequently find God in

nature and even the meaning of life at the

service of others. The sense of We “ñande”

and of the Other “Ore” are values that are

always cultivated in the Paraguayan culture.

The help to unite us as “jopoi”, people,

living the sadness and joy, moving ahead

together, opening new ways. The

“ñande”,We, signifies feeling that we have

the same root that invites us to go along

together, listening attentively to pronounce

the better word and to choose the way to be

followed Another value that attracts me very

much is “seeking the land without evil” the

millenary heritage that the Guaranì left us

and that we remember with celebrations

each year during which we walk with the

desire to reach the house of the Father. We

are accompanied on our journey by the

Virgin of Caacupe “ñande sy marane’y”

i.e., “Our Mother without evil”.

While living in an international culture

what do you appreciate most in other

cultures ?

I am having a very rich experience on the

personal level. Relationships with persons

of other cultures stimulates me to grow in

openness to others so very different from

myself, to discover a different world, to

learn exercises of respect and listening.

All of the beauty that each person expresses

is a gift for others, and for this reason I like

to dialogue, to know, admire and learn about

the different ways of being. I find it very

interesting to see similarities and differences

among cultures and to understand the

meaning of their origins, All this helps me to

know more in depth and to put into practice

the wisdom of my people, the Guaranì, and

to be open to the meaning of their origins,

where we can always catch a glimpse of

God through the most beautiful expressions

that one can imagine. All this helps me to

know more in depth and to put into practice

the wisdom of my people, the Guaranì, and

to be open to the wisdom of other peoples.

Every culture is a world of surprises and has

ways of weaving knowing and feeling, but

the most beautiful thing is that there is

always a thread that unites us.

Which difficulties did you experience in

meeting people from other countries and

cultures ?

I believe that the difficulties I found can be

found also in other contexts: cultural

prejudices, i.e. the exaggerated and

erroneous ideas that we form about others.

There are also the labels that we place on all

other cultures before, during and after

relationships. It seems to me that there is a

long way to go especially for what regards

dialogue and reciprocal understanding

between East and West, between North and

South of the whole World.

We need to be open continually and to unite

mind and heart to walk together. Thank you

so much for this space, not only for me, but

for “We”, “ñande”, i.e., for the Paraguayan

people.

24

Learning Together

Mara Borsi The demand for training continues

to be alive and urgent. Those who plan

formation for educators are aware that it is not

enough to propose content on present themes:

anthropological crisis, culture and languages,

science and faith…

One feels the necessity to use methods that

involve the subjects to whom the formative

proposal is addressed, to avoid boredom,

tiredness, and lack of efficacy.

Educating implies the readiness to care for

another and requires particular ethical

dispositions such as knowing how to see in the

face of another person and in their words the

need for help and to be ready to respond to this

appeal, putting into play one‟s own spiritual,

cultural, and professional resources .In every

challenging human practice, such as that of

education, there emerge two basic conditions to

be able to be faced in a valid, productive

manner: a clear vision of the goal to be reached

and an attentive, punctual perception of the

concrete situation to be faced. If the first

condition implies a conscious vision of the

educational goal to be preferred, the second

brings with it an attentive recognition of the life

conditions of the new generations and of their

most urgent needs. At the basis of this

competence, so that there does not remain only a

potential not effectively exercised, there must be

strongly rooted the desire to respond to the

appeal for help that comes from children, pre-

adolescents, adolescents, and young people. In a

recent study Michael Pellerey said that in order

to promote educational competence, in the first

place it is necessary to nourish love for the

young generations, loving them not in a generic,

sentimental sense, but rather in one that is

concrete and active. For this reason educators

are called to acquire a basic knowledge and the

ability for an explorative and interpretive ability,

with the aim of responding to the educational

requests that individuals and groups carry deep

within themselves.

Reflecting

In the context of a culture that is fragmented,

individualistic, and plural, it becomes decisive

that those who occupy themselves with

education favor reflection. Reflection is a

central need in the educational action and in

every formative method of educators. It is

linked to the capacity of modifying an action to

adapt it to the specific circumstances and

individual person. We deal with working

through formation to promote and support a

reflective individual and group conversation on

the experience in act, a conversation

characterized by an interpretive and problematic

reading of the actual data, which puts into a

relationship experience and previous knowledge

and the emerging situation to reach a prospected

action that responds to the present appeal. In the

contemporary context we are seeing as a

formative modality the practical community, a

formative experience centered on reflection,

involvement and participation.

New Ways

Practical communities are groups being

constituted to respond to find shared

responses to problems inherent to the

exercise of their own work. They appear to

be characterized by being spontaneous, able

to generate organized learning and to favor

processes of identification. The members of

25

a practical community share ways of acting

and interpreting reality, and are, together, an

informal organization within a broader

formal organization, that is articulated and

complex. By their support and contribution

the participants in the activities of this

community increase their professional

identity and create a network that could lead

to real processes of renewal. The practical

communities are, in fact, an efficacious

resource for updating professional

competence. The efficacy comes from the

fact that the content discussed in the

community satisfies the needs for action,

timeliness and contextualizing learning.

Through the activities conducted in the

environment of the practical community in

time they will build a shared repertory of

resources, developing a common language,

styles of convergent actions, and model

themselves on the common recurrent

modalities (routine) of thinking and acting.

Sharing thought and action in the

community, they assume new models for

interpretation of the reality and the

structuring of unexpected , new practices,

that live the contribution of individual

creativity, but in such a way as to modify

the thought and action of the entire

community and they have, therefore, a

strong potential for innovation.

Each member, utilizing what is placed at the

disposition by other participants, can

develop personal journeys for research and

study and processes of “self-learning”, can

ask help from the other members of the

community to reach some objectives.

The person who manages a practical

community is called to facilitate and

articulate the activities of communication,

negotiation, and documentation with means

that promote relational systems of a reticular

type. In this way the processes of

collaborative learning reduce, on the

formative level, the continual recourse to the

expert.

Don Bosco efficaciously faced the

pedagogical thought of his time and in the

same way today, the educating communities

are called to use different models and

proposals to make the formative activity

efficacious. The practical communities are,

without doubt, an excellent stimulus to a

progressive improvement of the action

mara@cgfma.org

26

Hands Kneaded with Justice

Paola Pignatelli,

Bernadette Sangma

We often see the icon of a blindfolded

woman holding a scale in one hand and

sword in the other to symbolize justice.

It leads us to question ourselves on the fact

that the figures representing justice are

always feminine even though , in the reality

of life, the administration of this Virtue has

been for centuries and continues to this day,

a masculine dominion.

Seeking to find the relationship between the

binomial women and justice from daily

experience, we could consider how, often in

all cultures and world contexts, women are

denied justice and yet, women are ever more

involved in the struggle for justice, not only

for themselves, but for the whole of society.

In her book Women and Justice. The Family

as a Political Problem,Susan Moller Okin

states that ít does not mean creating ghettos

of protection for women, or attributing to

them undeserved advantages in public life,

but only eliminating the injustice of the

private world, i.e., making of it a question to

be resolved politically, that there will be a

possible realization of a just that is neither

male, nor female, but human.”

Sr. Estrella Castalone, an FMA in the

Philippines, has worked for six years as the

executive secretary of the Association of

Major Superiors of the Philippines

(AMRSP). In this responsibility she has

been the daring protagonist in the defense of

justice, denouncing corruption and injustice

in government institutions. The executive

Council of AMRSP stated: “Thanks to the

capacity of Sr. Estrella responding

courageously to the situation as never

before, the prophetic role of AMRSP was

brought out and was effective in the

promotion of the moral conscience of

people” The Association supported the

cause of farmers who had been denied

justice by an agrarian reform that had never

been concluded; she was at the side of the

indigenous people who had been evacuated

and distanced from their own land by the

government that had made a contract with

the international mineral companies and

with the migrants who were victims of

irregular and illegal migration.

Among the activities it is important to recall

the AMRSP Sanctuary Program for which

Sr.Estrella was responsible. It is a program

for the protection of the lives of witnesses

who fight against injustice and corruption.

There was a case in which, because of

security reasons, four brothers had to be

moved every two week and there were about

twenty Congregations that offered them

refuge, among which were also FMA

houses.

In another case of threatened life, eleven

Sisters from three female congregations

offered accompaniment and protection with

a condemnation through the media and

Senate testimony. The protection of the life

of this person saw two religious who

remained with her in jail for a good 10 days,

taking turns to protect her!

27

In a 2009 press release, in the AMRSP

said: "We feel the hand of God

in the struggles of our people… With

renewed courage we confirm our

commitment to continue to be the voice of

those who have none, companions of those

who have been abused, to become living

witnesses of truth, justice and peace. "

Marila Nsunda Nimi, a young lawyer

from Turin is another “working person” in

whom we rejoice! She is a witness to the

richness of mixed race, the child of an

Italian mother and a Congolese father, she

herself probably lived the exhausting road to

earn respect and integration, and the

recognition of her own worth on the part of

a society that was shortsighted and

mistrusting of every form of diversity, to the

point of choosing the law as her mission.

Though she had a complete formation, from

Civil Rights to Criminal Law, her origins led

her to become passionate about immigration

rights and, more in particular, to the

problems relative to integration of foreigners

into the Italian reality.

We asked her about this : “My experience

on the topic and “women and justice” led me

often to assist at very grave injustices,

especially with regard to the burden borne

by the woman migrant. Frequently, in fact,

the immigrant women enters Italy to re-join

her family, so it is, in effect, that her

condition and status depend on her husband

who maintains her and provides for her. The

situation of subjugation of the woman to the €

man, typical in many ethnic groups, together

with the lack of legislation,

or that which is rarely acknowledged,

for example, the abused woman is rejected, to be

allowed to remain “autonomously” there, where

her sojourn would be linked to that of the

husband, this brings great harm to this figure

who, precisely for this reason, frequently does

not hold her own rights and/or condemns the

violence to which she is subjected, even on a

daily basis.

For this reason I hold that she, the immigrant

woman, must be integrated seeking work and

learning the language, without being, -as

frequently happens-being deprived of her own

identity and being content with whatever her

husband offers her.”

How do the FMA mould justice in everyday life?

Paola pignatelli@hotmail.com

b.sangma@cgfma.org

28

The Ecumenical

Vocation

Bruna Grassini

“Your Holiness, the days we spent together

raised in our hearts sentiments of profound

spiritual joy…

We felt that we were in a communion of

love and hope, united in the same charity.

Your presence and words, Holiness,

enriched us and consoled us much.

For us it is a duty of the heart

to express the immense gratitude for the

time that God has given us to share in

prayer, in praise to the Holy Trinity, in

fraternal dialogue and the bonds of

affection that we strongly hope will grow.”

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini

To His Holiness Bartholomew I

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

(Milan June 9, 1997)

The Holy Spirit that descended on the

Apostles gathered in the Cenacle has called

us all to unity “opening the hearts of all to

love, to truth, He has placed the cornerstone

of the Church.”

But the ecumenical commitment requires

prayer, hope, and realism before the

difficulties and obstacle that will inevitably

be encountered on the way of reconciliation.

“Religious pluralism”, said Cardinal Martini

“is today a challenge for all religions, if we

do not want to repeat old and new clashes…

But the question of unity must disturb us,

must burn within us.”

Pope John Paul II committed the Catholic

Church in an “irreversible” manner to

undertake the way of ecumenism, faithful to

listening to the Holy Spirit. Jesus‟ prayer

reaches us all, in the East as well as the

West. It is an imperative that imposes upon

us the obligation to overcome divisions.

Pope Benedict XVI exhorts us to realize

spaces of encounter, of fraternity in a

climate of reciprocal trust. Trust surpasses

our divisions, “aware that shared roots can

be found at a much deeper level than those

of our divisions.”

It is certain that ecumenism does not divide,

but on the contrary, unites us in the common

faith of the one God, the one Baptism and

the one Church.

grassini@libero.it

29

30

Communicating in

Community

Lucy Roces

At the sign of peace, Sr. Tesa closes her

eyes and joins her hands “in profound

prayer”.

The evening before, however, she fought

with Sr.Contraria, her neighbor in chapel.

Sr. Devota is always punctual in chapel, she

is more precise than any cloistered nun.

However, as soon as she is outside she

grumbles because that Sister reads too loud,

the other has a habit that is too short…

Sr. Angelica smiles gently all the time and

has a good word for each student and Sister.

She communicates a great love for God and

some girls are now interested in becoming

Sisters.

The word “Communication” comes from the

Latin communicare, and through the ending

–atio- the word communication literally

means placed in common. The ancient

Greek term koinonia designated the concept

of community and was absorbed into the

Latin through the word communion and

therefore, we have society/community. The

fundamental value of the Latin adjective

communis that is at the base of the verb

comunicare, is reciprocity. These three

words, sharing the same root, are

interwoven: communication, communion,

community. For us as consecrated women if

one is missing the other two are also gone.

In community, communicating well is a

powerful means for a psychologically

healthy life, mutual support, personal

growth, and vocational witness.

The lack of true communication in the

community impedes good relationships.

God is not limited to giving man

information on self, nor norms of behavior,

but he has established a relationship which,

through communication, generates

communion

From the beginning

For Mother Mazzarello communication

could not be separated from relationships.

Her way of communicating created a climate

of serene familiar rapport. Mother Antonia

Colombo reiterated this when she wrote of

the first house of the FMA: “It was where

that spirit of Mornese was born and what we

want to characterize, even today, the face of

our community ((with her) with its style of

simple, profound relationships-rooted in the

love of Jesus-that Maria Domenica knew

how to promote and animate among the

persons who lived there: Sisters and

laypersons, girls and young people in

formation, Salesians and family members.”

By our attitude we continually communicate

something of ourselves to others and we

create a climate.

Words are irreversible

Mother Teresa said: “Kind words are brief

and easy to say, but they have an eternal

echo.”

We know that our words can heal and make

unity grow, or they can be cutting. Even

Don Bosco was very clear about good

conversation in community. In his letter of

1884 he wrote: “The thing that harms

31

religious community very much is

murmuring directly contrary to charity…Be

wary of telling a companion anything bad

that someone has said of him, because at

times there can come about disturbances and

rancor that last for months and years…If

you hear something that someone has said

about a person, practice what the Holy Spirit

has advised: „Have you heard a word

against your neighbor? Let it die within

you.‟”

Actions speak

We know that actions, facial expressions our

eyes, express our sentiments more than our

words. In the film “The Island-Ostrov” the

monk Anatoly asks his confrere Father Lov:

“When I die, will you cry for me?” Father

Love gave him a dark look and left the

room, slamming the door. There was no

need for words.

Motivational incentives, a relationship of

respect and sympathy sensitize people and

may have more force than a million dollar

advertising campaign.

Do you hear me?

A good communicator must be, first of all, a

good listener. “A heart that listens”

summarizes “the whole Christian vision of

the person”, emphasized Benedict XVI at

the conclusion of the Spiritual Exercises this

year. “The person is not perfect in self, man

needs relationships, , he is a being in

relation…He needs to listen, listen to

another, especially the Other with a capital

letter, God.

Listening , emphasized the Holy Father,

cannot leave aside the community

dimension. “Not in the isolated „I‟ can we

really listen to the Word: only in the „we‟ of

the Church, in the „we‟of the communion of

saints.” In a letter to Sr. Angela Vallese,

animator of the house of Villa Colón,

Mother Mazzarello wrote: “Speak little,

very little with creatures, but instead, speak

much with the Lord; He will make you truly

wise.” This is the secret of listening: form

to silence, the great ally of speech and

dialogue

We have in our communities healthy

traditions that favor a communicative

climate: the “Good Night”, the monthly

private talk, personal fraternal encounters,

conferences, outings, recreation. However,

to face to face communication frequently

there is an overlapping of communication

through technology. It would be a good

practice to examine our community

communication: is it excellent. passable,

routine, superficial or mediocre? How well

do we know our Sisters? Are there times of

relaxation, dialogue, recreation in

community? Do we have face to face and

heart to heart conversations in community?

amministratoreweb@cgfma.org

Smartphone

Take your old cell phone, your address

book, your notebook, your digital camera,

your video camera, your MP3 player, your

GPS, hundreds of apps, e-mail, a touch

display, wireless internet access, and a

keyboard. Now try to mash them together

and you will have a Smartphone, one of the

latest technological gadgets. In effect, your

cell phone already has these characteristics,

what distinguishes the Smartphone from

ordinary cell phones is that it has an

operative mobile system, and the possibility

to synchronize your e-mail and documents

with the computer making it a mobile

workplace. One could think of the

Smartphone as a miniature computer where

you can send and receive phone calls. It is

interesting, however, that while the market

is flooded with the new Smartphone, many

people still prefer the cell phone.

32

Pas Com: Pastoral

of Communication

Claudio Pighin

“Communication among persons comes

about in a relationship of dialogue. For this

reason it is much more than a passing on of

information . This presupposes production,

transmission and reception of messages. It

also requires a shared awareness of a social

situation and the understanding of the

language and message among those who are

involved. When two persons meet for the

first time, in fact, they use different codes

and channels , proper to each one. For this

reason they do not really interact and, there

cannot be an efficient exchange of

messages, and therefore there cannot be a

true communication.” This is how the

Brazilian Episcopal Conference expressed

itself on the occasion of the Fraternity

Campaign in 1989, the theme of which was

“Communication and Fraternity”.

Without doubt, communication is so

important in the life of persons that it

becomes an essential part, promoting the

relational processes insofar as they are social

and ecclesial. Those who succeed in

communicating well are happier, in that

they succeed in having a true life experience

and learn from those who are before them.

No one, in fact, succeeds in being happy

alone. For this reason the act of

communicating is fundamental to life and

deserves all our commitment to make it

efficacious.

Every day we are literally bombarded by

hundreds or even thousands of pieces of

information; we are the object of disputes

among the countless means of

communications that seek to guarantee a

certain audience, without which this river of

data would not succeed in giving meaning to

our life. Only a true communication that

goes well beyond the simple means that

involve a formative and reflective process is

capable of avoiding “non communication”.

The duty of all those who communicate

would be that of simply speaking the truth,

notwithstanding the fact that it could be

harsh and could provoke unfavorable

reactions. This is the reality that will help to

change the world, freeing it from every

slavery: we are all called to assume the

vocation of the prophet.

How are we to organize PasCom?

I believe that the first step is the

identification of persons who are

impassioned in wanting to increase the value

of communication and who have the talents

to be able to dedicate themselves in this

sector. Then, to constitute the PasCom group

it is necessary to have a place set up with a

minimum of equipment so as to be able to

gather and codify and decodify information

and messages. It then becomes fundamental

to meet with a certain constancy to be able

to plan the activities of the Pastoral itself,

that must always be synchronized with

ecclesial activities. What is important is that

each member of the team is able to integrate

perfectly with the others and give the best of

self, avoiding attitudes that are

individualistic or to “be onstage” to stand

out.

The components of the group, respecting

33

and appreciating the capacity of each

person, must distribute the roles in such a

way as to make PasCom more agile and

efficacious.

Some examples of this task could be the

function of coordinator, spokesperson,

responsible for the area of information and

informatics, audiovisual production, the

celebration of events or liturgical times (to

value the communications dimension in the

area of the particular and worldwide

Church), responsible for religious

marketing, and many other tasks.

So that every role can be assumed with full

responsibility, each participant cannot

consider her task as a simple service,

because it is vested with a certain

professionalism. She must always nourish

herself with the Word of God and the

Magisterium of the Church to respond to

and ethic that distinguishes the true

communicator. It is therefore fundamental

to be in harmony with all the other pastoral

activities, with the bishops, priests and

leaders so as to be able to guarantee and

support the true vocation of the Church.

Not to be excluded from this ecclesial

journey is also an updated technical

formation so that the Pastoral activity may

be penetrating and incisive and could face

today‟s communications challenges.

PasCom must be attentive to the signs of the

times and to the events that mark the story

of humanity, thus helping the Church to be

ever more present and to be a life teacher.

Finally, I would like to insist on how

fundamental the PasCom vocation is in

helping people, and especially the young

people to acquire a critical capacity

regarding the messages they receive through

the great means of communication. Today,

more than ever, we are aware of this

urgency in redeeming the freedom of the

children of God from media manipulation. I

remember a few years ago when, during a

course with the young people of the State of

Amapà (Brazil), at the conclusion of an

analysis of an installment of a TV program

transmitted by Brazilian TV, a girl stood and

said “It seems that the scales have fallen

from my eyes because I can begin to see and

understand what this really is trying tell us.

I would not have been able to do this before

because I would never have caught certain

details as I have now done. I would only

have limited myself to watching.”

All of this in reality does not happen by

chance. There is need for time, study and

dedication. PasCom can help us.

34

The Wings of Freedom

Adriana Nepi

A Spiritual retreat for priests, with the

presentment that this will be the last. It is

this, perhaps, that confers a tone of very

human familiarity to the simple reflections

of this elderly, ill man who feels that he is

“actually at the point of arrival”, but has lost

nothing of his authority and his inner clarity.

The introduction follows a bit along the line

of a traditional retreat, But it immediately

leaves the plan, saying that there are five

actors in the retreat…The listeners perk up

their ears…”If we ask ourselves “, he

continued, “what it would be good to speak

of as a last argument, a last remembrance, I

believe it would be beautiful to speak of

eternal life. It is the great victory of Good,

definitive, irrevocable, that has as its root

the death and resurrection of Jesus…

What strikes me during this last part of my

life, following my frequent hospital stays, is

that the Father almost took Jesus by the hand

and faithfully accompanied him: „This is

my Son, whom I have chosen…‟ then,

gradually, it seems that this Son was

abandoned by the Father…Abandoned to the

depths, to the point of surrendering as pure

loss…Jesus, as a model of total

abandonment…this is a theme that I would

willingly deal with…”

After having introduced himself in this

colloquial manner that would continued to

the end, the cardinal developed his reflection

along the lines of a few letters addresses to

the Romans. He starts with Paul‟s premise:

“I have desired to see you to communicate

to you what a spiritual gift it is for me, to

hearten myself with you and among you

through the faith that we share you and me”.

He cited these words often, he recalls, in

many spiritual retreats, to bring out the

fruitful tension that exists between one who

gives and one who receives the Word. He

would return continually to this reference

during a long experience of pastoral activity,

and all if pervaded by a long breath of faith

and optimism.

The Archbishop Emeritus of Milan recalls

the encounters with Pastoral Council of the

Milan Diocese. It usually began like this:

“We are few, we are always the same, we

don‟t have the young people…etc.” And he

answered: “But don‟t you have anything for

which to thank God? Don‟t you understand

that the mere fact of living the faith in such a

pagan context is an immense gift of God?”

And he then cited the words of Paul “Above

all, I give thanks to my God by means of

Jesus Christ for all of you…” He notes that

the Apostle attests to praying unceasingly

for all the Christian communities, and then

he pauses to speak of intercessory prayer, of

the beauty of this in embracing all of

humanity, all those who suffer any kind of

affliction.

If our intercession is poor and distracted, let

us not forget, he exhorts all, which it is but a

little stream that enters into the great river of

the intercession of the Church, which, in

turn, enters into the immense ocean of the

intercession of Christ, who is always alive

and intercedes for us.

35

Following then the dictate of Paul who

offers an impressive list of all the forms of

human wickedness concluding that it is

impossible to save one‟s self without grace,

the affectionate and confidential tone of the

father assumes the harshness of a real

indictment.

Let no one think “This does not regard me.”

All of these enormous sins have been

committed in the history, not only of the

world, but also in the Church the laity,

priest, Sisters, religious, bishops,

popes…and he opens this point to develop a

merciless examination of the sins of the

world and of the Church, to the point of

touching with lucid penetration certain dark

recesses of the soul: Why should he have

that position, that promotion, and not me?

And certain conformity, certain reticence

dictated by unacknowledged ambition: If I

speak, as I should, won‟t I lose esteem and

prestige? Won‟t I put my career in

jeopardy? Then the squalid use of the

anonymous letter, and a pretended

religiosity, that shows a purely external

observance and the vanity of seeing success,

and the ostentation of fasting…

This meditation is entitled “The wrath of

God and it compares the passing of an

electrical charge through a dark cloud, with

hail, thunder and lightning. It is for us an

undecipherable mystery of evil against

which there is only one salvation: The grace

of Christ, accepted in faith. The negative

forces of evil and the positive forces of good

are in a perennial struggle within us, as they

are in everyone, even in

children…However, we must not be afraid.

This does not even deal with demonizing the

attraction which, at times, the evil one

exercises over us…The Spirit is given to

sustain our weakness and to accept, if we so

desire, the gift of freedom, knowing that

there is no human condition that could

create permanent bitterness, that every

situation could open itself to the joy of the

Lord.

It is precisely on joy, on inner peace that we

measure our belonging to Christ, the

efficacy of our presence among people, our

brothers and sisters. And one last agreeable

personal remembrance …”You” he told his

pastors, “could make your community happy

or sad…If you have a happy face, all with be

infected by your joy” and he concludes: “A

smile is the first duty of a bishop…”

It was not easy to present this book, modest

in size, yet very rich in content. I tried to

give, rather, some little taste, to attract at

least someone to read it. There is a sense of

serenity of a truly personal, authentic,

encounter with the Word, almost as a

confirmation of Paul‟s noted declaration:

“The Kingdom o heaven is justice, peace,

and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 15, 17).

36

www.heavenhelpus!

The new illiteracy? That of the elderly !

Yes, because notwithstanding the wisdom

and experience, today being today, they are

not in condition to use the new technologies

(especially the computer )it is as though they

no longer know how to read and write. Cut

off from life !

This is not a problem only for us “poor”

elderly Sisters. I documented it: between

the elderly and technology there is a

difficult rapport everywhere, in general and

many are mobilizing to begin a dialogue

between these two worlds.

For example it began in England with the

invention of Simplicity –a computer for the

elderly-the first project to approach 200,000

elderly people in the world of informatics.

In Italy there is the Internet Salon an

initiative for informatics literacy, dedicated

to those over 60 to fill the digital gap that

separates the elderly person from the young.

And at Cagliari an 80 year old grandmother

won the Woman of the Year award because

to conquer depression she started a blog, an

Internet diary. So it was that they held her

to be an exemplary feminine figure because

of her capacity to solve problems (what a

discovery! For us, once upon a time, to

conquer depression it was enough to go to

church with faith and to entrust ourselves to

God in a heart to heart conversation. It was

He who gave us the award!)

Finally, I recently read that they have

invented the Silver Cellphone for those of

the third age! It has a keypad to connect

automatically with those closest to the

person (in our case it would have to be the

animator or the nurse, or perhaps Jesus

Himself!), another button to be informed

about topics of general interest: indications

for vaccination, on how to prevent an

illness, or on ways to deal with pension

matters, etc. (for us it might be the schedule

of the practices of piety, the arrival of

Mother General‟s circular, the

announcement of the deceased Sisters, or the

change of houses.. ) But let‟s be serious.

All of this anxiety for technological literacy

of the elderly is useless. This is not how

you fill the gap of existential solitude, that is

not only the way how we train memory, at

our age it is not necessary to follow the

style. We are in the world, but not of the

world! Certainly, if God would accept

registration for Paradise via the web,we

might take a little thought about learning

how to use it! However, I believe that God

is still a good father who still uses the ways

of the heart and not those of telematics! And

then, for us elderly it is enough to go to

church, place ourselves in silence and key in

on the keyboard of the heart: www.you

thinkabout it and www.heaven help us! And

it is done!

37

In the next issue…

ENCOUNTERS Poverty and safeguarding the created

CLOSE UP Why Francis The man of the serene glance

IN SDEARCH OF Pastoral-ly Relationships with young people

FACE TO FACE Communicating in educational environments

The most important thing is not

to think too much but rather to love much.

For this reason, do all that urges you to love… (Teresa of Avila)

38

Only in God does my soul rest

My hope lies in Him alone…

(Psalm 61,6)

HYMN TO LIFE