CND Forum – Day 2 – Let us begin!

Sunday was a day of hope.

It began with words of welcome from Sr Ercilia who asked us to look at the world differently drawing our attention to the small globes on our tables which presented a view of the the world from a new perspective. Sr Ona then invited us to embrace the challenge of the holy work ahead remembering that though broken we are loved by God.

Father, Kevin Kelly expressed his great joy at being with us for the Eucharist which opened with the beautiful hymn Christ Be Our Light. Connected as one body we celebrated in all our four languages. During her homily Sr Ercilia called on us to become the presence most needed in the world today recognizing that we might be the only Bible, a living Bible, that some people know.

In her analysis of the 2021 to 2024 CND Interculturality Project, Jeanne- Marie Rugira reflected back on the daring and generous journey that the CND have taken since 2016. She invited us to ask the hard questions about the impact of colonialism not only within society, but within the congregation itself; to look at the imbalance present in the relationship between north and south, and closely examine the issues of racism, classism, and ageism … but without guilt and pointed fingers. She asked us to begin with our own hearts and to listen patiently to one another. Speaking passionately about the power contained in our story, Jean Marie reminded us that we must not just simply retell it as it has always been told. Rather, we need to revisit it often looking with new eyes and with new awareness, to retrieve our subjectivity and to value each person’s lived experience within the larger context.

After a delicious lunch, we reconvened for a powerful re-exploration of Marguerite’s own life. Sr Patricia Simpson was our guide as we revisited moments from the life of Marguerite placing them within their historical framework and connecting them to our contemporary context. Patricia spoke about how Marguerite responded to the needs of her times, about her readiness to adjust as changing circumstances required, always remaining steadfast in her vision. In particular, Patricia emphasized the many years that Marguerite worked amongst the poor in Troyes as an extern member of a congregation. It was during that time that she became committed to creating a group of women who would live and work among the people. Marguerite faced many challenges, but never wavered in her commitment to this vision. Encouraged by her deep belief that she would find God in all things, she faced each challenge with courage and love, and built relationships with both the settlers and the indigenous people. She opened herself to the “new” and allowed herself to be changed by her experiences. Marguerite recognized the power of education and Sr Patricia reminded us that it is this liberating power that will allow us to work towards the decolonization of the congregation. Marguerite’s image of a garden of flowers also contains weeds. How can we celebrate the flowers while ignoring the weeds of prejudice and discrimination?

The day closed with a cultural celebration of music and song, video and dancing. Thank you to the Social Committee for this beautiful moment of joy!