The work of the XXXI General Chapter of our Congregation, the Adorers, Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament and of Charity, has continued to progress with the blocks of the Directory and the Shared Mission.
Directory
From 26 to 28 September 2023, the Chapter Sisters addressed the theme of the Directory, that is, the norms for congregational life which incarnate our charism within the Church. The Directory is the concretisation, the implementation of the Constitutions of the Congregation for the life of all Adorers.
Kelly Connors, Sister of the Presentation of Mary, canonist, who gave the Chapter Sisters a series of guidelines for working with the Directory document.
In this way, the Capitulants reflected on the living of consecrated life, Eucharistic life, community life and the mission and apostolate of the Congregation.
Finally, the new Directory document was approved. This text, without changing its essence, has been adapted to the face of the times, taking into account the diversity of cultures and realities that coexist within the Congregation, in the different provinces and delegations and in the Adorer communities.
Shared Mission, the presence of lay people at the XXXI General Chapter
On 29 and 30 September, the Shared Mission Formation Plan was discussed. Srs. Pilar Solís and Natalia Diniz, were joined by several lay people from different parts of the world who are part of the Adorer Family: Luz Helena from Bogotá and Floralba from Manizales (Colombia); José Ignacio, from Santa Rosa, La Pampa (Argentina); Ana and José Enrique from Seville, Ester from Ciudad Real and Juana from Logroño (Spain).
The lay people identify with the charism and spirituality of Adoration and Liberation of St. Maria Micaela and put their talents at the service of the women and the community, in which they are inserted, fulfilling their evangelical and Christian purpose of participation in the Church within the mission of our Congregation.
As Sister Pilar Solís, who has been working with the laity since 1975, explains, “they (the laity) give us a lot and we can give them a lot, but it is reciprocal, neither we more nor they less, we simply walk together”.
Juana, for her part, emphasizes that the presence of the laity in our 31st General Chapter helps to reinforce the common experience of the shared Mission between the sisters and the laity, without forgetting “that we all belong to the Adorer Family following the Pedagogy of Love and Care of St. Mary Michael Micaela”.
On Friday 29th, Brother Antonio Botana, a Lasallian, gave an interesting talk on Synodality in the Church as part of the Synod on Synodality taking place in Rome this October.
During these two days, the lay people had the opportunity to present their own experience and to present to the Capitulants the shared work they carry out with the sisters of the different communities to which they belong. In addition, together with them, they studied and reviewed the Shared Mission Formation Plan. This document, Luz Helena explains, “gives us a path to follow, a path that allows us to clarify doubts, remove fears and harbor hopes”.
Until such time as this formation plan has a starting date, “we lay people will continue to work together so that this work, this charism, this mission, will go forward, as Saint Maria Micaela has placed it in our hands and in our hearts”.
