austraLasia #2415

Rekindling the fire today
Salesianity Team, FMA Philippines

LAGUNA (Philippines): 15th May 2009 -- "There is fire in the Oratory of St Teresa (in Chieri), but there is fire, too, in the Oratory of St Angela Merici (in Turin)", our Sisters in Turin once wrote, to describe the spiritual fervour and apostolic zeal impelling their actions and choices.
      There is fire, too, today, in the Philippines Province of St Mary Mazzarello, and it has been blazing more strongly for the past three weeks.
      It all started in the Mornese Spirituality Centre in Pansol, Laguna, where 'encounters of the most intense kind' with Mother Mazzarello and the first FMA community have, for three weeks (April 13 - May 3), been rekindling hearts with the fire of love for God, our Institute and our vocation as FMA.  Such encounters have been the express desire of the Sisters of the Province for a long time, and the Provincial Council thought that 'now is indeed the best time to rekindle the fire'. What they did was band together some of the Sisters who have taken the course on spirituality at the Casa Madre Canta in Rome, giving them trust and the task to conceptualise and facilitate a week-long Salesian formation encounter for each of three groups of Sisters in April, and a fourth group in October 2009. Thus was born this Salesianity renewal Encounter, with the theme of MARIA DOMENICA MAZZARELLO: Like Mary, Mother and Educator.  Reliving our Roots to Rekindle the Fire Today.
    There is nothing fancy at all about its contents or methodology. The encounter aims simply, as its theme states, to help the Sisters rekindle the fire within them by a 'homecoming' to our roots, mainly by personal reflection and prayer, and a first-hand enjoyment of our 'fonti, our literature.  By doing so, the Sisters are led to rediscover Mother Mazzarello's spirituality and educative passion, and draw inspiration from the first FMA communities in reliving the spirit of Mornese today in their own communities.  The main topics are: a glance at Mother Mazzarello's spirituality and one's own spirituality; profiles of the first FMAs; accompaniment a la Mazzzarello; a closer look at some of the communities founded during Mother Mazzarello's lifetime. The days start with a short input on each topic and the rest of the day is spent on personal reading, group sharing and prayer.
    The week is interspersed with other experiences meant to strengthen sisterly bonds and to echo the life of the first communities: fun-filled recreations, a pilgrimage to several Laguna Churches (in memory of Mother Mazzarello's Roman Pilgrimage in 1877), a 'Mornese dinner' of polenta, risotto, cheese and wine. The ambience has also helped - canvases of several icons of the Institute: the well, the village of Mornese, the Valponasca window adorn the room where we hold sessions. A mini-library of Salesian books and a reading area fill one corner of the room. A few minutes every day is set aside for learning a song about Mother Mazzarello, of course in the language of the Founders.
    It is actually all very simple. The Sisters' reactions, though, reveal the fire that has been enkindled in them, and the touch of grace in their lives.
    "It was indeed an enriching experience to unearth the treasures of Mornese. I am bringing those treasures with me as I go back to my community with a great desire to share them through my life", says one.
    "Thank you for this vocation-enriching experience. We are now ready to set our Houses on fire with God's love through the example of Mother Mazzarello and the first Sisters....", says another.
    Maybe it is the sisterly climate that is created; maybe it is the not-too-heavy timetable; maybe it is the openness of each participant, or the enthusiasm generated by all the reading they did; maybe it helps that the Sisters go through the experience with most of their profession companions; maybe it is a bit of everything that rekindles the fire and works the magic. We know only of one thing: Mother Mazzarello and our first Sisters are truly present with us all throughout these encounters (and will continue to be present in the fourth one), and the fire they have set ablaze in each one's heart will remain burning for a long time, because it is born of a love renewed.
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Title: australasia 2415
Subject and key words: Salesian Family FMA Philippines Salesianity
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2415