Perú and Bolivia, 08/29/2020, Marie Poussepin Laity.- The year 2020 has brought us great testing times that have made our gaze turn to the merciful God and cry out for his protection in the face of a pandemic that is damaging the lives of many people, without discrimination against social status, race or religion. However, we have great hopes and joys in the face of these great sufferings.

From November 20, 2019 to November 21, 2020, the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Charity of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, instituted a Year of Grace, as a time of gratitude to our God, for the Beatification of Marie Poussepin, foundress of the Congregation. We are celebrating 25 years of beatification: this fills us with joy and calls us to renew our commitment to a life of mission and service.

On Friday 21 August, we had the FIRST ONLINE MEETING: MARIE POUSSEPIN LAITY, PERU AND BOLIVIA. We are happy to share with you our feelings of what this meeting meant for us.

It was very enriching to be able to share with more than 90 participants who are part of nine groups of lay brothers and sisters in Peru and in Bolivia, united through a single charism: the life of charity of Marie Poussepin and a single Faith in the Risen Christ. Each group gave testimony of what the presence of God and of the Congregation of Dominican Sisters means in their life and mission.

In these testing times, participating in a meeting focused on Faith is something very valuable, as it awakens our hope in the Merciful Christ who knocks at our door to assume our commitment with greater awareness of those who are feeling the pain and torment of this pandemic. The Lord calls us to go out to meet our brother and sister, just as the Gospel of the day highlighted that the love of God is manifested in the neighbor. We have reflected and acknowledged that we can find ways to provide that support, that helping hand to our neighbor, from the social distance that we are bound to keep.

We agree, as lay people, that our works of mercy go hand in hand with prayer, accompaniment, charity, giving encouragement, offering hope, educating in the way of Jesus, using technological means from where we are. This is how we follow in the footsteps of Marie Poussepin, being apostles of charity from our homes or places of work.

This meeting has encouraged us in our spiritual life, has fanned the flame of love for God that is sown in our hearts and made us see that we cannot lose hope and that we have a communal responsibility to evangelize by being kind in our words, simple in our actions, "Always ready to do Good."

We hope that other meetings can be encouraged where we can share life experiences, actions and attitudes in which the Charism of Blessed Marie Poussepin will become visible. We have faith and we trust that She will be raised to the altars in the near future, as a model of holiness.

We are grateful to the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation for offering us this time of meeting.

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