Good Shepherd News

No. 190 August 2006

Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd

Lebanon: Drawings of children call for Peace page 2

Ireland: New Horizons pages 4

Celebrating 135 years in Peru page 6

Indonesia: Thank you very much page 7

WHAT’S INSIDE?

“Christian life is a continuation and a fulfilment of the life of Jesus...Forming Jesus in us should be our wish, our concern and our chief occupation…”

SJE

August 19 was a gala day for everyone at the Good Shepherd compound at 1043 Aurora Blvd., Quezon City. The five communities in Qu-ezon City celebrated the feast of St. John Eudes by inviting all the other communities in Metro Manila to a gathering with Fr. Ron Bagley and Fr. Amadeo Pedroza, the first two Eudists in the Philippines who gave conferences on St. John Eudes followed by Mass and lunch in the Good Shepherd Community. The day began promptly at 8:30 a.m. with the first talk by Fr. Ron highlighting the historical background and key events in the life of St. John Eudes. Fr. Ron’s light touches made us feel closer to our dear Saint, so much loved and re-vered by Mother Foundress. Even the historical

August 19: Feast of St. John Eudes

Philippine Province

An encounter with SJE and the Eudists

(Continued on page 11)

Eudist Bishop René Marie Ehouzou of the Diocese of Abomcy in Benin and Fr. Honoré N’gouan (Ivory Coast) of the Eudist community in Rome celebrate Mass at the Good Shepherd Generalate on August 19.

IN ROME

Frs. Amadeo Pedroza (standing), Ron Bagley and the Good Shepherd Sisters.

Province of Lebanon/Syria

How long will the children and the poor have to pay the price for hatred and violence? Who will be able to give us an answer to this question when women and children have to leave today their homes, not anymore secure if they could find shelter elsewhere? Who will give them back the dignity and the security of home when they are with other families in a single cramped class-room or in a house that is open to the nakedness of their suffering?

That is the inhuman barbarism where we are in today: a small country that could hardly get up, completely destroyed, slaughtered in the name of democracy and the struggle against terrorism. There are more than 700,000 refugees in all the regions of the country. Most of them are women and children.

In our region of Deir Al Ahmar, we welcome more than 900 people accommodated in schools and homes. All are looking for a shelter that offers them the minimum of their human rights. We welcome them and accorded them human and familial atmosphere that goes beyond ideologies and policies.

Children are the first victims, unfortunately. They bear the consequences of the violence of the mighty. To Btédii we chose to make life better for them. We try to sow a little life at the heart of the tragedy. We choose to weave threads of understanding among children. At the Good Shepherd Center, a, small isolated village, children of villagers and children of refugees choose to make a project in favor of peace. Children, Christian and non Christian, want to live ardently in peace and joy. Who will be there to listen to the cries of inno-cents? In this small center, children play together, do manual activities (clay and other projects) watch a movie… They share their dreams for peace, their de-sires to meet children from the same country and look at them beyond all differences. "We want to live in peace, " is the theme of our project for Christians and

non Christians.

Here are three drawings of children that tell us painfully that they want to live together in this small country and with children of the world. Imad, a boy of the village, is 6 years old, makes his small drawing while writing: " I want to live in peace. “ He adds colors of the bow in sky as symbol for peace, with a child who prays at God’s house for peace.

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Drawings of children:

« I want to live in peace »

Drawing of Imad

Drawing of Christine

Drawing of Rawad

Rawad, is 4 years old, non Christian and refugee of the city of Baalbeck. He drew two children playing together. He wants all children to laugh and be happy.

Christine, a child of the village, is 10 years old. She ex-presses her desire to live in peace. On her drawing she writes: we don't want to be a dry tree, we want to be a living tree. She refuses to allow death and hatred and instead chooses life for her and for others. May our small project be united with yours in the hope that it will grow and that it will become like a drop of oil in this ocean of inhuman drama. We count on your help to continue to deepen this project for children to help them build a future generation that will enjoy peace, confidence, tolerance, openness and welcome amidst differences; to make of them a happy people, capable to sow peace, joy solidarity and the hu-manization in our poor world marred by hate and divi-sion. Good Shepherd Sisters of Btédii, Srs. Colette Hourany and Micheline Lattouf

“Lifebearers with and for the poor of the world”

Theme of the 2003 General Chapter

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Province of Ireland/Ethiopia

Thoughts from Northern Ireland

By Sr. Breda O’Connell The Derry I returned to in 2003 had changed a lot since I had lived there some 20 years previously.

During the ‘70’s and 80’s in Northern Ireland I was accus-tomed to living during the ‘troubles’ as the period of con-flict and violence from 1970 on-wards became known. It was a very turbulent period. Among other things affecting peoples’ lives bombings, shootings, im-prisonment, house searches were common. Sectarian kill-ings on both the Catholic and Protestant side were common-place. There was much fear and instability and people learned how to live where the abnormal became normal.

2003, living in the area where I had previously been involved in youth work and community development, I was struck by the change in peoples’ lives and in the environment. Now there was an obvious freedom of movement – people were able to move about freely – go-ing into the city centre no longer required going though a checkpoint – there were no army patrols in the area. The area itself had taken on a new look with old houses refur-bished, new houses built, the streets and surrounding area were clear of rubble and barri-cades. What I noticed above all was the lovely fresh grass and flowers in abundance.

Of course the people who had sur-vived the suffering of the ‘troubles’ were still the same people. Some still bore the scars of bereavement, injuries, imprisonm ent and stress related illnesses. Most had moved on through support networks set

up over the years and were trying to live fulfilled lives.

One of the people I visited in 2003 was Karen. Up to 1974 Karen en-joyed good health and was married with two little girls. In May 1974 she was seriously injured in a booby trap bomb explosion losing an eye and a leg. Her father-in-law was killed in the same explosion. Karen’s chances of survival looked very slim. It was some time before she regained consciousness. Hav-ing spent almost a year in hospital Karen felt that she could not return to her former home so she moved house while staying in the same area. Her mother continued to support her in looking after the chil-dren. Since her accident Karen has had good and bad times. She has been in and out of hospital and has taken several overdoses . With all her ups and downs Karen has a very positive attitude to life and I marvel at her strength in cop-ing. She takes a very active inter-est in the life of her two daughters and her grandchildren. She has a very caring attitude and retains an interest in local people and events. Her Faith is a great support to her. On the 31st May 2004, the thirtieth anniversary of the bomb explosion that maimed Karen she handed me a card with some touching senti-ments. A few are quoted as fol-lows -

“I thank you all so very much - over the years when I needed someone to turn to the Good Shepherd Sisters were always there for me. Some are now de-parted but I know that they are with me in spirit. The Sisters were al-ways there when I needed som e-body to turn to in my hour of need. I really cannot thank you all enough…… Karen

Karen’s story is just one of many highlighting the steadfastness and courage of so many people ad-versely affected by the ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland.

Hospital Chaplaincy - Life Begins at 60+

Taking up a new ministry can be challenging and exciting. When I returned to Derry in 2003 it took me some time to discern where best to serve in the local commu-nity and parish. When the opportu-nity arose to take up the ministry of hospital chaplaincy I welcomed the idea.

Sr. Carmel Guinan who is chaplain for the past ten years introduced me to hospital chaplaincy in Altna-gelvin Hospital. Sr. Carmel showed me the lay out of the hos-pital and introduced me to the staff nurse in each ward. I found this very helpful in finding my feet. I joined the interdenominational team of chaplains including the local R.C. Priests, an Anglican Priest, a Methodist and a Presbyte-rian minister. I found the monthly team meetings very helpful as I eased my way into hospital chap-laincy.

Last year the opportunity arose for me to apply for a place on the Clinical Pastoral Education unit which was to commence in Janu-ary this year. I was delighted to be one of the six chaplains from Northern Ireland accepted on the course, a pilot unit and funded by the Department of Health.

From January to March I travelled weekly from Derry to the City Hos-pital in Belfast, the venue for the course. My ministry in Altnagelvin/Waterside Hospitals was recog-nised as the practical requirement.

(Continued on page 6)

“Weavers of compassion and reconciliation in global solidarity”

Theme of the 2009 Congregational Chapter

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Province of Ireland/Ethiopia

New Horizons: First Good Shepherd Community In Galway

On March the 19th, the feast of St Joseph a new Good Shep-herd community was officially opened in Galway city in the West of Ireland. This was a dream realised as it had been in the minds of our congrega-tional leaders for over 50 years! This foundation has brought Good Shepherd Sisters to the four corners of Ireland. The help of St. Joseph had been sought to find us a suitable property, if it were God’s will, and without realising it the house purchased is in the par-ish of St Joseph. Our house is situated in a new housing es-tate where the majority of the residents are immigrants who are renting and working here. Our next-door neighbours are from Slovakia so this sets the tone for our new Ireland.

For close on two years this pro-ject was being researched and prayed about. At a meeting in November 2003 with the then Director of Ruhama, a project in Dublin working with women in prostitution, the needs of women in prostitution outside Dublin was discussed and the Director indicated that Galway was one such area. The work of exploring the needs in Galway then took root. Meetings were held with vari-ous organisation including the then bishop, Bishop James Mc Loughlin (R.I.P) and we got linked in with a research project that had been established in the Women’s Studies and Hu-man Rights Department, Uni-versity College Galway. The need to be close at hand to continue with the research was recognised and in November 2004 a house was rented for sisters to reside in Galway. A

committee comprising of our own sisters, the University chaplain and laity with a broad range of professional experi-ence was established to offer support and guidance. Galway, like many other parts of Ireland has avery strong immigrant population and a number of brothels established here would have non nationals as prosti-tutes. The local Galway news-paper highlights these facts and mentions that the local po-lice force has great difficulty prosecuting brothel owners as non-nationals are usually afraid to give evidence.

To raise awareness of Good Shep-herd Sisters in Galway, in Novem-ber 2005 in the chaplaincy quarters in the University, we had a launch of a Book of Pomes by Sr Nora Kenney, (R.I.P.) who originally hailed from Galway and who is well known to a lot of our sisters throughout the world as she spend many years in Sri Lanka. On the same day a cookery book meeting

the dietary needs of special groups including HIV suffers compiled by another one of our sisters, Sr Anna Landy was also launched. This book was a project undertaken by Anna as part of her studies here in Galway university.

As the need for sisters to be here became recognised, another sister joined the community in January, who had experience in addiction work. Ireland continues to have many issues in relation to addiction and frequently drug addiction and prostitution can go hand and hand. The work of the sisters here takes in involvement with the Refuge community in collaboration with the Methodist Church, involvement with the parish and with people struggling with various addictions. Another dimension to the ministry is the raising awareness in relation to sexual exploitation of women through prostitution and trafficking. We ask for God’s blessing and your prayers for this new endeav-our.

Good Shepherd Sisters Province of Ireland/Ethiopia

From left to right, Sisters Anne Lenehan, Noreen O’Shea and Cait O'Leary.

Contemplative Corner

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Reflection on Zeal To live and pray, work for the salvation and dignity of person is to have an invincible trust in the Paschal Mystery, which our Sisters in Lebanon are doing and experiencing these days.

Somewhere I read “ Do to us what you will, bomb our churches early in the morning, kill our children, and we will still LOVE THE LORD WITH NO LIMIT." What zeal? A person can be saved whenever a destructive life turns around into a creative one; whenever despair turns into hope and trust s\he is save d.

As a Contemplative, I pray with our Mother Foundress “O my God may every beat of my heart ... may each of our sigh be so many appeals for mercy.” Yes my sisters, we are there with you all, to support you and we too walk with you in your daily pain and suffering to save our sisters and brothers who are in danger.

Our Shepherd God must have been saying to each one us “I have no body, so I need you to be present in amidst this real-ity”. Who can separate us from the love of our Shepherd God? The Good Shepherd is a pres-ence of love and hope in our world. Our present world is full of inequality, injustice and crime. I

Province of India/Nepal

Protecting & promoting child rights in Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh

Guntur District Forum for Child Rights (GDFCR) is striving for a “child friendly Guntur District” which is a collective platform of allied systems speaking on be-half of voiceless children. The new initiative is protecting and promoting Child Rights. Since the inception of GDFCR on 22nd August 2005, Good Shep-herd Convent, Mangalagiri is playing a vital role in this mis-sion at the district level. Sr. Aruna is one of the nominated working group members of Guntur District Forum for Child Rights. The children of Guntur district are in the clutches of alarming issues like child trafficking and child marriage. Girl Children are sold across the borders, for Rs. 3,000/- to Rs.50,000/- for commercial sexual exploitation. The child is the main prey of the traffickers. Evidences sug-gest that trafficking has been rearing its ugly head again in recent times. At their early age, girl children get married to aged husbands who finally leave them young widows. The root causes are multiple and com-plex. GDFCR felt the need to impart awareness on the above dis-cussed issues and organized a big “Workshop on Girl Child Rights” on 27 May 2006 at Don Bosco Navajeevan, Guntur. Nearly 350 girl children and 50 social workers participated actively in this workshop. Sr. Aruna and B.S.Rani facilitated the orientation session on the issues. Children were shown a documentary telefilm on child trafficking, which focused on the commercial sexual exploita-tion and violation of Child Rights. Children shared that they loved the testimonies shared by the victims of traffick-ing in the documentary. Later the children were divided into

25 child groups and discussed a questionnaire on the issues. Each group was facilitated by a moderator, a social worker from one of the organizations. Twenty-five groups presented their reports, which were com-piled into a remarkable docu-ment. The Documentation ses-sion was facilitated by Dr. Israel the area development manager

of World Vision Guntur. The valuable points of the docu-ment were disseminated to various organizations to incor-porate their interventions. At the culmination of the work-shop a panel was organized

pray that this would be remolded into a beautiful world through each one of us, and the creation of a new world is to start within me. But I often forget this truth.

Our vow of zea,l the heart of the Good Shepherd vocation, leads us to seek the wounded and the those neglected by the world". Our zeal is not limited to those whom we serve but it is a universal zeal. We pray for the entire world. If God has loved us so, we must have the same ardent love for everyone. When I go to pray, I go as an empty vessel invoking the Holy Spirit to fill me with His love, com-passion and mercy, so that I can pass on the compassionate love and mercy of Jesus the Good Shepherd to the broken world. I believe that “one person is more value than the whole world". I am with you all in spirit at this moment, when time seems to stand still just before us. Sr. Lilly Kunnanattu Province of India/Nepal

(Continued on page 8)

For me participation in the CPE was a good learning experience. Of particular value was the interde-nominational dimension of the group – the six of us comprised of 2 Anglican priests, 1 Presbyterian deaconess, 1 Methodist minis ter, 1 Roman Catholic priest and myself. It was good to pray, share and work together.

The course concluded on March 30th with the Presentation of Certifi-cates preceded by Morning Prayer in the Belfast City Hospital. We all invited guests to the presentation

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Province of Peru

Celebrating 135 years of Good Shepherd presence in Peru We celebrated our 135 years in Peru by praying the Holy Ro-sary directed by Fr. Fidel Oñoro, cjm. It was a most sig-nificant experience for each one of us.

The Joyful Mysteries

1. The seed sown by SJE and SME incarnates itself in Peru.

2. The founding of the Contemplative Sisters. February 2, 1879.

3. The first Peruvian vo-cations.

4. The first foundations 1871-2006

5. Integration of the laity into our mission.

The Sorrowful Mysteries

1. The sufferings of the founding sisters: lan-guage problems, a dif-ferent culture, poverty.

2. The fire that burned our St. Euphrasia College

3. Separation of the Prov-ince from the sisters of

Bolivia. 4. Terrorism, assassina-

tions and the martyr-dom of Sr. Aguchita

5. The departure of the Eudist Fathers from Peru.

The Glorious Mysteries

1. The foundation of the community of Betania

2. Renewal sessions (by ‘generations’) on the province level.

3. The canonization of St. John Eudes, St. Mary Euphrasia and the be-atification of Maria Droste.

4. Province renewal with the Second Vatican Council.

5. Recognition of our con-gregation with the mar-tyrdom of Sr. Ma. Agustina Rivas.

The Mysteries of Light

1. The presence and gen-erous dedication of the 7 Canadian missionar-

THOUGHTS FROM NORTHERN... (Continued from page 4)

and it was a lovely occasion en-joyed by all. Mr. Coey, Chief Ex-ecutive, Belfast City Hospital Trust gave the address and the Certifi-cates were presented by Mrs. Rud-dock, Chairman, Belfast City Hos-pital Trust.

Reflecting on my continued minis-try in hospital chaplaincy and on successfully completing the CPE unit I am reminded of the saying that ‘Life begins at 40’ but in my case I can add on over 20 years and say that ‘Life begins at 60+’! God be praised!

Sr. Ma. Agustina Rivas

Born on June 13, 1920 in Ayacucho Peru.

On September 27, 1990 she offered her life for

the sake of Peace, without leaving the flock in

Florida – Peru.

ies in Peru. 2. The extension

(expansion?) of the Mission of Jesus Good Shepherd in Peru.

3. The presence of our General Leadership Team and the achieve-ments of Assemblies and Chapters.

4. Renewal sessions in the light of the Church and of the Congrega-tion.

5. The arrival of the Eud-ist Fathers and the ex-perience of the retreat in the Heart of the Mas-ter.

(We thank our Sisters of Portu-gal for accompanying us during our retreat 2006.)

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News from Indonesia

Visitation from member of CLT

With joy we prepared every-thing to welcome our dear Sis-ter Sabina who visited after the shocking earthquakes in Ban-tul…finally she came on the 1st of July, and on the 3rd she flew to Marau, Kalimantan Barat. This is the most difficult journey for us. How was the journey? By car from our house, then by plane to Pontianak, another plane to Ketapang and by bus or motorcycle for 8 to 12 hours…It was a difficult jour-ney. Sr. Sabina embraced the people after the tiring journey and they were very happy to meet her. The meeting with the Good Shepherd Sisters in Marau led them to take a new step in restructuring: allow the board-ing school in Ketapang be ad-ministered by another congre-gation and let the three Sisters live together in Marau to con-centrate in serving the people there, rather than to stay in Ketapang as well as in Marau and take frequently the 8 to 12 hours journey by motorcycle or bus…

From Marau to Yogyakarta

After a few days in Marau, Sr. Sabina continued her journey to visit Yogyakarta: Gampingan and Bantul. There is a very dif-ferent landscape now after the earthquake, many houses and churches collapsed and were damaged… Here in Yogyakarta Sr. Sabina visited not only Sis-ters but also the victims of the earthquake. She went from one house to the other, and met many families. She visited the rebuilt houses made possible through the help of Good Shepherd family worldwide. Our hearts were filled with gratitude to God and to all of

you who were united with us during these earthquakes and disasters. We were sad, yet we felt God’s blessings through the many people worldwide. Is this the real Pentecost for us in this century? He is with us and helps us to realize His pres-ence through all of you. By this

time 15 houses had been re-built and many more will be constructed in the future be-cause of your generosity and solidarity. Thank you and God bless each one of you, too.

Back to Jakarta Meetings were held. This time, the RGS in West Java (Bogor,

Thank you very much!

Dear Sister Brigid, the Congregational Leadership Team, all Good Shepherd Sisters and Friends, Two months and one week after the shocking earthquakes, which came one after the other, we Good Shepherd Sisters in Indonesia come as a province to share our experiences as we face these realities. For some, tears still remain.

“The Lord gave and He has taken them back to heaven with Him, blessed be the Lord”

Like Job, we try to surrender our lives to the Lord. But as a Unit we would like to express our deep gratitude to all of you for your love, prayers, concern, solidarity, helping hands and donations. With all of these, we could stand, plan and work together with the people to rebuild their houses little by little.

The first step that we took was to help the victims, to be with them, to alleviate their hunger by sharing food with them, to heal the wounds, to help them find shelters, and to rebuild the houses… five houses were built and another five are underway and we continue with the hope that when the rainy season comes, we have already done enough houses for the needy.

By this time, we had enough money to help the people in rebuilding … From all of you, we collected USD. 32,855 and Euro 29,206. And our plan is to rebuild around 50 houses as the first step. The Lord made this plan possible through all of you. Once again we thank you for your gen-erous heart in journeying with us, with all the people in Central Java es-pecially in Bantul, Yogyakarta.

May the Lord bless each one of you and accompany you in every step you take as you journey in this life.

Good Shepherd Sisters , Province of Indonesia (July 2006)

(Continued on page 8)

Meeting with Sr. Sabina Pathrose

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consisting of district officials from Education Department, Women & Child Welfare De-partment, and working group of Guntur District Forum for Child Rights and Anti Trafficking Pro-ject Team of Guntur. Our Good Shepherd cultural team performed a touching street play on the conse-quences of Child Marriage. The children leaders of the groups presented the report to the panel and put forth their de-mands to sensitize the adult world on the rights of children,

to ensure children’s participa-tion at all levels, violations to be addressed, offenders to be punished and child help-lines to be established. Girl children are the most vul-nerable of the child rights viola-tions. Monitoring mechanisms should be developed to inten-sify pro-activism on child rights. This is a continuous struggle to reach the equality eliminating discrimination. Good Shepherd Sisters are collaborating with organizations which are fighting for the same cause. Sr. Aruna George

INDIA... (Continued from page 5)

INDONESIA... (Continued from page 7)

Jakarta, Tangerang), Batam and Ruteng (Flores)… were happy to get together and dis-cuss the CLT Letters, COR Commission… and many other issues. The Preparation Unit Chapter Commission and Unit Leadership Team also had their turn to meet with Sr. Sabina…Do we dare to have an “Open Chapter”? Oh this is a big chal-lenge for us… What is that? How is it? Yes, we still have many home work, many things to think about, many plans to make. We trust in God, He will be with us now and for ever… to continue our life journey as

RGS.

Indonesian RGS meeting

This year we managed to have a joint program for all those who have made final vows: workshop for the first group of ten – gathering for all – work-shop for the second group (another ten RGS). We shared about many concerns, and planned for the future. Several sisters said: “This gathering is very helpful, we benefit a lot from this work-shop”. One sister said “I long for this kind of gather-ing”…”after the workshop, I felt healed of many wounds I had carried with me since I was small” etc. Thank you God for your healing touch

Prayers

Province of Ecuador

Eruption of Tungurahua Volcano

We ask prayers for our

country and above all for the victims of this

natural disaster, many of whom had lost everything.

Read full story in

Flash News

http://www.buonpastoreint.org/www/media/a-flash06.08.25.pdf

Lebanon:

The People of the Cedars say,

Thank You!

http://www.buonpastoreint.org/www/media/06.08.16Lebanon.pdf

Good Shepherd Sisters in Indonesia

9

Dear Sisters, We come to join you once more, after a ten-day session on the spirituality of our congre-gation with Sr. Odile Laugier from France. First of all, a big thank you to each one who had replied to our first letter and for the prayers. We are very ap-preciative of your spiritual sup-port and we already feel its benefits. We started on July 31 with Sr. Odile by expressing what each one understood by the word “Spirituality” and we arrived at the following description: “Spirituality is born of a man or woman’s strong experience of God within a particular con-text.” (cf. the great masters of the French school) We studied the letters of Cardi-nal de Berulle: his passion for God – so great and so close to us; the Incarnation – a perma-nent state and mystery of Love. We are not saved by…but saved for…, called to partici-pate in the very divinity of God. Jean Eudes, disciple of Berulle, doesn’t say anything different! We find in Vol. X of his Com-plete Works (O. C. X pp. 79-83) and repeated in the Constitu-tions of Our Lady of Charity… “the proper end of the Institute is to imitate the ardent charity of the Heart of Jesus and of Mary His Mother.” And Mary Euphrasia in her turn ex-presses herself thus: “Jesus the Good Shepherd in the true model whom we must en-deavor to imitate…to be His living images.” Then we read and studied some letters of our Holy Mother as well as certain texts from her Conferences to see her prac-tice. For what is important for us is not to accumulate

Letter from Senegal

Good Shepherd Sisters and RIMOA intensification program

knowledge but to deepen our spirituality, to enable us to root ourselves, now and throughout our religious life, in the spirit of Jesus the Good Shepherd! We now share with you what particularly struck us in our own sharing during the final session:

• The pride of belonging to our Congregation founded by a woman of daring, of courage, but also of humility, always valuing the gifts and qualities of each per-son (e.g. Sr. Marine V e r g e r , S r . Mechtilde…)

• I discovered that the Conferences were not written by SME but the result of a synthesis from 80 notebooks of notes taken down by the novices.

In everything that Mary Eu-phrasia undertook, she first of all looked at the person. “A soul is of more value than a world”.

We thank Sr. Odile most

warmly for her love of Mother Foundress, a love she knew how to transmit to us with her ardent conviction, her generos-ity and availability, despite the overwhelming heat and the lack of ventilation due to the fre-quent power failures. We give thanks for this gift she has received and also for the re-search she did to provide us with “the best”. 10 August. Sr. Odile left in the morning and by afternoon we had reached the Benedictine Monastery at Keur Goulaye. After setting down in the little houses not far from the sisters, we got acquainted with our sur-roundings. The church of the Benedictines is simple and tranquil. The walls are deco-rated with paintings of African art depicting the principal events in the life of Jesus. The doors are always wide open to allow the occasional light breeze to enter… the terrain where our tiny huts are situated is well shaded, enabling us to practically live outdoors: for prayer, conferences, meals,

(Continued on page 10)

recreation at night… 11 & 12 August. Fr. Michel Robert, a French monk at Keur Moussa came to speak to us on the identity of the conse-crated life in the morning, and in the afternoon, the talk was on prayer. Fr. Michel is 75 years old and has lived in Senegal more than 20 years. Having heard his words and the experiences he related, he seemed to us a really holy man, full of humor, very simple and humble (and yet he is eru-dite, having studied science before entering the monastery of Solesmes in France). He edified us by who is as well as by his teachings. Of course, we can only give you here mere bits and snatches: • Consecrated life involves a

double movement; God who calls and the person who re-sponds with a total gift of self till the end. “We have taken the time to reflect on the meaning of consecrated life, of consec rated life today”.

• In the conferences on prayer, three points were stressed: preliminary ques-tions, how to pray, and the joys and trials of prayer.

On this same day, Anne left us for health reasons. 13 August. Desert day at Keur Moussa 14 August. We returned to Keur Goulaye for our last ses-sion with Fr. Michel. After the morning presentation, we cele-

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Province of Peru

In the service of women and children victimized by family violence

“A person is of more value than a world.”

SME In the north of the country, at 2,700 meters above sea level, going across the Andes, one finds the region of Cajamarca. Challenged by the great needs of the region, we began a dis-cernment process in 2000 to the needs of the least served, urged by the tender mercy of Jesus the Good Shepherd. It was in 2004 that our service focused on women and chil-dren who were victims of family violence, in our center of Sup-port to Women. The women who come to our St. Mary Eu-phrasia Center relate painful experiences of physical and psychological maltreatment, abuse of power, humiliations, abandonment and vexations almost unto death. Our task is to make possible that each per-son become aware of her value and dignity as a child of God and to feel loved by God through our welcome, our lis-tening and accompaniment, with attention to their basic needs, providing access to health, psychological and legal services. We accomplish this work in coordination with the municipal government, the Women’s Emergency Center and the Health Centers. From our experience, we see that each woman can learn to recognize the love of God in her life. One of them said, “God is so good and suc h a loving father who has led us to this house.” From this lived experi-ence, they themselves see their life and their reality with new eyes; they feel animated and enthusiastic to defend their hu-man rights. Another woman ex-pressed this determination: “From now on I will not allow anyone to beat me or my chil-

dren because we are children of God.” They keep in constant contact with us and express their grati-tude to God in their daily lives.

Each one of these experiences teach us that the mission is God’s but He needs our hands. Good Shepherd Sisters Cajamarca, Peru

RIMOA... (Continued from page 9)

(Continued on page 12)

Fr. Michel Robert, Sr. Carmela Rodriguez and the participants.

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Province of Lebanon/Syria Mahmoud: Saved from the Desert

(Continued on page 12)

context in which SJE lived and worked and struggled became un-derstandable, especially for our young sisters. The aspirants, pre-novices were all ears!

After a merienda break, Fr. Amadeo spoke on the major themes of the doctrine underpin-ning the spirituality of St. John Eu-des. He touched on six themes, illustrating them with quotes from the Eudist Lectionary. These in-cluded Christocentrism, the Church, the Christian life, Mary, the priesthood, and of course, the Heart of Jesus and Mary.

Fr. Ron and Fr. Amadeo concele-brated the Eucharistic liturgy at 11:00 a.m. in the Euphrasian Chapel. The joyous singing of the sisters was accompanied on the organ by Sr. Madeleine Nicolas and by the young sisters with their tambourines and other instru-ments. Before imparting the final blessing Fr. Ron thanked every-one, especially the RGS, who had helped them in their integration into Philippine Culture and in the begin-ning of their ministry in the Diocese of Imus. Father also announced that they have just acquired a house in Tagaytay which they have

SJE... (Continued from page 1) named ‘Ave Cor’ and to which we

are all invited. Lunch was served at the Good Shepherd Community refectory. With more than 75 sisters (RGS & CGS) from all over Metro Manila and from as far away as Tagaytay, as well as 15 lay people (mostly from the Pamayanan ng Mabuting Pastol) the refectory was really full! It was truly a joyful celebration of our holy Father’s feastday and a historic first, with the presence and participation of the first Eudist priests in the Philippines.

Sr. James Wilson, RGS Philippine Province

Mahmoud is a name that means “grateful.” Mahmoud is the son of a Palestinian father and an Iraqi mother who lived in the desert at the border of Iraq and Syria. This child's adventure began in May, when his parents escaped the hell of Baghdad, after one bloody day and several threats for the Palestinians. They were a group of 181 people crammed between the Iraqi and Syrian borders. They were liv-ing in tents in the desert. They were not allowed to go to Syria, and at the same time, they face the impossibility to go back to Iraq. On May 19, an urgent call from the office of the United Nations

Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) asked Good Shep-herd Sisters if we could wel-

come a young woman about to deliver her baby! We waited... indeed toward 15h00, a frail young woman, unable to walk on her own came with Dr Abdel Kader of the UNRWA. She was in tears, knowing that she also left in terrifying conditions her husband, and two small girls -- 3 and 6 years old. Primary care was given the woman, a gynecologist was be-side her. After two days of labor, the woman was too weak and phy-sicians had to help the woman de-liver the baby by Caesarean sec-tion. A small boy was born, he was in a fragile state of health, he was put under medical surveillance. The good news about his birth was immediately transmitted by UNHCR to the camp and joy pre-vailed in the tent of Abou Mah-moud. Mahmoud’s father forgot for one moment his suffering and re-

12

2006 Good Shepherd News

While each unit is encouraged to send articles anytime during the year, we have planned that there

are specific issues when each unit is asked to submit an article so

that at the end of the year all the units have been part of the Good

Shepherd News. Please send arti-cles by the 5th of each month.

Here is the suggested schedule:

January COR Commission, Committee for the Planning of the General Chapter,

RIMOA meeting, other News

February Japan, Portugal/Angola, Malta,

Recife, Chile

March Argentina/Uruguay, Sri Lanka/

Pakistan, France/Belgium, Bolivia

April Egypt/Sudan, Netherlands, Bo-

gota, Mid North America

May Australia/Aotearoa/NZ, Mozambique,

Medellin, Great Britain, Kenya, Belo Horizonte

June

East Asia, South Africa, Paraguay, Central America

July

India, Senegal, Germany, Lebanon/Syria

August

Indonesia, Ireland/Ethiopia, Peru,

September Philippines, Les Isles, Italy, New York.,

Mexico

October China District, Spain, Ecuador

November

Singapore/Malaysia, Hungary, Venezuela

December

Canada, Austria/Switzerland/Republique Tcheque, CLT

Invitation

Please send articles, photos with captions

for Good Shepherd News to:

REGINA KUIZON Casa Generalizia,

Suore del Buon Pastore Via Raffaello Sardiello 20

00165 Roma, Italia Email: ginargs@buonpastoreint.org

Good Shepherd News

Special thanks to the following for the translation:

Srs. Karla Bernabé, Marie Establier, Magdalena Franciscus, Charlotte Gill, Rosario Ortiz, Adriana Perez, Digna María Rivas,

Delia Rodriguez, Mary James Wilson, Ms. Claire Alessandri

MAHMOUD... (Continued from page 11)

RIMOA ... (Continued from page 10)

ceived congratulations from every-body.

On 27 May, Mahmoud, who ear-lier was placed in an incubator in another hospital, was in the hands of his mother. His mother’s face lit with a smile as she received him, and soon, tears of joy rolled down her face, in silence… ! The child was there… the mother was there …but for how long will they be able to be this way? When they return

to the desert, they will be under the scorching heat of the sun and liv-ing in poor sanitary conditions? We, Good Shepherd Sisters, with our limited collaboration with UNHCR, try our best to delay the return of these poor refugees to the desert, but we also seek to find a just solution to the plight of chil-dren and women, who are submit-ted to these inhuman conditions. Sr. Lolita Hussein Community of Damascus

brated mass outdoors (the other days we attended the Eucharistic liturgy at the Benedictines). Sr. Lucanda renewed her vows and the simple celebration was very prayerful and touching.

15 August. In union with all of you, we celebrated Mary’s feast with mass at Keur Moussa. What vitality the young monks had to sing the glory of God! To pray with them is a real grace.

After the mass, Carmela brought us to the Rose Lake, a tributary of the sea with a great density of salt: 330 g of salt for every liter of water, so the water is really rose colored.

16 August. Sr. Anne Beatrice could not come till the next day and we took advantage of the free day to go to Somone on the Atlan-tic coast. Shall we tell you about our swim? Three hours in water of 35 degrees, an unexpected relaxa-tion!

17 August. We welcomed Sr. Anne Beatrice for 3 days of reflec-tion and sharing on the vows. Anne Beatrice is Senegalese and knows her subject very well. Be-sides her competence, she is young, happy, open and full of dy-namism and daring to make cons e-crated life known and accepted in Senegal. 19 August. Like you, we feted

“the father of us all”, St. John Eu-des, in union with the Congrega-tions which follow his spirituality. Sr. Anne Beatrice left in the eve-ning and we went to mass at the cathedral, together with our Lay Associates and the Lebanese peo-ple who live in Thies. The mass had been requested by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd for the in-tention of peace in Lebanon.

20 August. Integration day: Indi-vidual reflection on the vows as expressed in the Constitutions and in relation to what had been worked on during the past week.

Carmela left for Dakar and will re-turn tonight with Eugene, a lay man who will acquaint us with the ideas of globalization for the next two days. We take this opportunity now to thank Carmela who is con-stantly attentive to all our needs, both physical and spiritual, for her self-forgetfulness and constant availability that we may all enjoy this special time in peace.

Many thanks, too, to Brigitte and Jeanne who anticipated our de-sires and responded discreetly and effectively. We really felt at home!

It is time to conclude… thank you for your prayers which are already bearing fruit… please continue. We, on our part, are very close to you all. Your “little sisters”,

Brigitte, Lucie, Hortense, Claire, Jeanne and Lucanda, as well as Carmela, Ines and M. Paule