Photos: Lolín Menéndez rscj
At the Dharma Drum Monastery
Kwon Min Ja, Atsuko Miyama, Gerardette Philips
Toshiko Takahashi, Rita Carroll
Mely Vazques gives Shanti Fernandes a final blessing
Sachiko Tanase listens to the explanation of one of the nuns from the Dharma Drum Monastery
Standing: Chihwei Sun, Toshiko Takahashi, Sol Navidad, Sachiko Tanase, Han Soon Hee, Mely Vazques, Lolín Menéndez, Atsuko Miyama
Sitting: Mary D’Apice, Gerardette Philips, Rita Carroll, Carolyn Siy, Shanti Fernandes, Kwon Min Ja
“Be
the Heart of Jesus –
open
to the world, embracing
the universe”
Chick here to read a talk on the interior life given by Toshiko Takahashi rscj
Fifteen
RSCJs gathered at the Sacred Heart Spirituality Center in Taipei from
August 10 to 20, 2006. They came from Asia and Australia/New Zealand;
the RSCJ international web weaver also participated in the meeting.
They met to articulate the important elements of RSCJ spirituality
today as requested by the provincial, district and area superiors at
the meeting which took place in Manila a year ago.
Through
a process of reflection and prayer, consisting in the sharing of each
one’s spiritual journey, discussion of the elements that emerged
form the sharing, exposure to the culture of Taiwan, and to the
richness of several religious traditions, the participants
synthesized their shared insights in the following text:
We
participate in Jesus’ limitless love by opening ourselves to the
experience of God through prayer and the interior life. Daily we
create space for personal prayer, drinking from the wells of
spirituality of our own and of other religious traditions, using the
ways and forms of prayer they have developed. This presupposes a
solid grounding in Jesus Christ who showed us the way through his
life, death and resurrection.
The
Paschal Mystery is central to the spirituality of RSCJ. We are led to
enter more deeply into the mystery of the cross through the
experience of suffering and darkness, transforming us and bringing
about joy, liberation, peace and love into our lives. We live this
daily but most especially in limit situations and moments of
brokenness and vulnerability.
The
interior life St. Madeleine Sophie described as the foundation of our
spirituality requires discernment: a constant awareness of our
thoughts and feelings and the messages these have for us, allowing
them to be transformed according to the interior dispositions of the
Heart of Jesus. Spiritual accompaniment and friendship are vital
helps to a life of discernment which helps us to embrace our shadow.
Prayer,
whose form changes according to each stage of life, and attention to
the interior life, together with a balance between work and leisure,
results in inner freedom.
As
RSCJs in community, we help one another grow in love. We learn
detachment, generosity and self-transcendence in concrete ways
through our life together. We create a lifestyle that fosters
interiority. We accompany each other in prayer and we take time to
listen to one another’s stories in trust and acceptance. We create
real communities that are centers of the Open Heart—giving space
for relationships built on mutual service, shared prayer, fun and
relaxation, and genuine interest in one another’s ministry. We
learn to focus on the positive rather than the negative, affirming
and appreciating the good, and seeing the love behind different ways
of expressing it.
We
develop compassionate relationships with others; we engage in our
ministries in a way that is intentional, centered, and present and we
work without seeking the fruits of action.
We
rediscover the spiritual riches and depth of our Constitutions by
often returning to them and making them alive in our context and
culture. We learn that obedience is the way to self-transcendence,
stretching us beyond the familiar and developing us in unexpected
ways. Obedience is an opportunity to meet God and a precious moment
of growing in union and conformity with the Heart of Jesus. The vow
of Poverty brings about joy and freedom, the fruit of a lived
experience that “God is all and everything else is nothing.”
This
meeting is seen as one concrete step in the process of articulating
the spirituality of the Sacred Heart. This is not a final document,
but part of a process which will continue as we walk together
towards the General Chapter of 2008.
Participants:
- Australia-New
Zealand: Mary D’Apice, Rita Carroll
- India:
Shanti Fernandes
- Indonesia:
Gerardette Philips
- Japan:
Sachiko Tanase, Toshiko Takahashi
- Korea:
Han Soon Hee, Kwon Min Ja
- Philippines:
Amelia Vasquez, Mirasol Navidad
- Taiwan:
Atsuko Miyama, Chang Manling, Chihwei Sun, Carolyn Siy
- Webweaver:
Lolín Menéndez
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