“Our vulnerability is a space for grace”
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La Grande Bretèche (Tours), 07/20/2024, Sr. Gemma Morató i Sendra and Sr. Conchi García Fernández - www.domipresen.com.- The national holiday of Colombia does not exempt from work, but it marks a festive day for several sisters present here, who, united with everyone, remember the moment their country is living.
The prayer in the hall was followed by the listening of the national hymn of Colombia, accompanied by a magnificent video that showed us the beautiful Colombian landscapes. Afterwards, a detailed act was read.
Sister Martha Mendieta introduces today's speaker, Sister Paula Noronha Jordão of the Missionary Fraternity Verbum Dei, as follows:
“She studied Philosophy and Theology at the Verbum Dei Theological Institute. She holds a Master's degree in Spirituality from the Faculty of Theology at Loyola University of Granada. And as a novice formator, she completed the Master's degree from the School of Formators in Salamanca at the University of Comillas.
Currently, after more than 30 years of missionary life, she lives in Rome and is the Formation Coordinator of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), where she accompanies and has strengthened meeting and training spaces for different groups of sisters. Her greatest desire is to help people know themselves under the loving gaze of God. She believes that happiness is woven with the threads of friendship and transcendence. She has written the book “Tan frágiles y tan amados: Una pedagogía para la libertad" (So Fragile and So Loved: A Pedagogy for Freedom”), published by Sal Terrae.”
The book is a call to live like Jesus in a concrete and accessible way, with an approach that combines anthropological, psychological, biblical, and spiritual aspects. It invites us to explore our inner world and discover our identity as beloved daughters of God and to learn to live the freedom that only authentic love can offer. The author wants to guide us through practical steps to learn to free ourselves from enslavements, transform life, and love like Jesus.
We thank her for her presence in our chapter assembly and for sharing her reflection on vulnerability. She begins with a statement that is at the same time a question, “our vulnerability is a space for grace”, illustrated with a video and then we share on it.
Vulnerability is the capacity we have to be hurt, and by feeling vulnerable, we ultimately hurt ourselves. Vulnerability affects us in one way or another. Human beings think they should not be vulnerable, so, how to accept vulnerability? Vulnerability is an emotion of our experience in times of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. We are afraid that others might hurt us, there are situations where we respond appropriately if we have the resources and vision to respond. Do we have the courage as a Congregation? How are we vulnerable? How do we respond?
Being honest with ourselves, we always try not to be vulnerable, but as we learn, we see that vulnerability is the first choice for life.
I can only obey knowing what I want; obedience is not the cancellation of my own will. On the contrary, I want to give myself to my community, to my Congregation.
Although we sometimes understand the vow of obedience as the denial of our will, which is not human, I only obey knowing what I want, and therefore, what I want I place in the hands of another. It is not the cancellation of my own will, it is quite the opposite, I want to give myself to my Congregation, to the community, I want to form myself and walk together. So, vulnerability is this awareness that by choosing this path I will have more strength.
What does vulnerability mean to us and how do we relate to our vulnerability and that of others? What kind of God do we believe in? God revealed himself in a special way in his Incarnation in Jesus Christ. We are here to serve and God also serves us.
Sister Paula gave several examples from daily life, starting with Jesus himself, and was clear: we often do not let ourselves be served in any way. She says that sometimes we are offered to have our clothes washed and we do not accept it; then, we have not understood that we have come to serve and be served. She shared that she was in the Philippines and was offered to have her clothes washed and she said: “oh no!” Then she found herself preaching that we must let ourselves be served and realized she had to change. If I allow God to wash my feet, I must also let my sisters do it in daily life. It is easy to say and complicated to live. Mary allowed “to be done what you say”, it is a passive attitude of Mary that makes us allow the other to wash our feet and all that this means in community life.
It is not the I or the me, it is emptying oneself and allowing things to be done in community. It is emptying oneself like Jesus, becoming a slave and dying on the cross. The more vulnerable and empty we are, the more space we make for others and the more we let God in.
Vulnerability comes from God himself and if God is love, he is vulnerable. And with vulnerability, we accept being true human beings. How to be human? She asked us this question and quoted Kahlil Gibran: “When love beckons to you, follow him… For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you”.
It is embracing fatigue and continuing, I cannot deny it, but we must see what God can do in me and what we can do together in community. Sometimes I don’t know how to do it, but if we embrace vulnerability, we will be less so. Do I accept my vulnerabilities, do I accept that I don’t shine like others, that I can’t like others…? Do we identify with Jesus? In weakness, God acts.
The morning ends with these questions: what kind of God do we believe in?, how does the vulnerability of God and love become part of our lives?, and finally, what biblical quote helps us to know the vulnerability of God?
We share this and Sister Paula highlights that often in the community we demand, but we do not give. We must look at our courages and vulnerabilities, it is always about opening paths.
The afternoon began with the animation group, with the song “Qué bonita es esta vida” and continued with Sister Paula on the challenges of today's world (globalization, acceleration of change, technological revolution, ideologies, social networks…), everything is connected. We live in a VUCA world, acronym which in English means Volatility – Uncertainty – Complexity – Ambiguity.
It is a time of change and there are things that will die anyway, and we must ask for the grace not to be afraid. She gave hundreds of examples of what happens to us in religious life and how we are at a moment of rethinking vows and giving them new content. Moreover, quoting Cardinal Braz de Aviz, she spoke about the illness of believing that the Holy Spirit only speaks to some.
We are in crisis, which is the Greek word that leads to discernment, to opportunity. We must seek other answers, and she did not forget to talk about synodality, the lack of spiritual and theological preparation in religious life...
And she concluded by saying that after all this, we must analyze how to do it and she shared with us the video “You Are Special” (https://youtu.be/Hq3jDgSqLUo?si=SHFSMYNhTrmyeCx6) from the book by Max Lucado. She insisted that “humility is walking in truth”, from Saint Teresa of Avila; it is to thank what each one is as long as we let ourselves be seen by God.
We share the entire PowerPoint that Paula showed us during her extensive dissertation, and even some more pages that she did not have time to develop.
Now we have a personal task before the Lord, so that in our vulnerability he makes us strong and we let ourselves be loved by Him. What does God say about you?
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