From North to South America with the laity of the Family
In the garden of the Mother House of the Ursulines, the olive tree continues to grow, wrapped up in winter! Around the olive tree, the delegates to the International Week who came with the seeds of their country gathered for a new beginning, full of hope. The Word bears fruit: we have seen and heard it…
Canada
The delegates to the International Chavagnes Week enthusiastically recounted some anecdotes and with their beautiful slideshow, they gave the Assembly a sense of the atmosphere of this meeting. During her visits to the Ursuline sisters of Canada, Sr. Dominique gave news of the Family of the Incarnation, making each one grow in the desire to receive and share news thanks to the means at our disposal: the EN FAMILLE magazine, the site, emails, etc.
Friends of the charism are also friends of the Ursulines of Jesus! Six new members have joined them. Even if the meetings can no longer take place in the warm UdJ house at Dwelling Place, they continue.
Their professional or associative commitments are varied and demonstrate their concern for human dignity and the daily practice of the charism of the Incarnation which, in a short time, gripped them.
“The entrance doors” prepared by Father Marcel Berthomé are a precious help in keeping alive the spirituality of the Incarnation and providing themes of sharing and prayer for the five meetings of the year. Benedict XVI’s encyclical on the new evangelization is one of the texts read together.
Venezuela
Arriving a few days before the official date of the International Week of the Incarnation, the delegates, religious and lay people from Venezuela, were there to celebrate Our Lady of Mount Carmel with the Carmelite sisters of Chavagnes... to the great joy of all!
The Fraternities of the Incarnation were raised up by the Sons of Mary Immaculate.
In Caracas, the first fraternity dates from 1995 and took the name “Mary Immaculate”. She continues her monthly meetings regularly. As preparation for the year of faith, the themes of reflection were chosen in relation to faith, to deepen the charism of worshipers of the Incarnate Word.
Roberto and Wilfredo are completing their preparation to be ordained permanent deacons: may they be faithful announcers of the Good News through the testimony of their lives in the service of their brothers!
Thanks to Isaac and Maria-José, members of our Fraternity, a new branch has just grown on June 10, 2011: “the Fraternity of the Incarnate Word” in the parish of Artigas where Father Roner, FMI, exercises his pastoral ministry.
The FMI novices in Caracas are planning the launch of a Youth Fraternity according to the “preferential option for young people” of the Region’s missionary project. The objectives are defined, the means are specified, the logo is found!
In this year of presidential and regional elections, everyone expresses the hope that in the midst of so many difficulties and social problems, the words of this song well known to all become reality:
I believe everything will change,
That love will triumph.
I believe that forever will shine,
The light of hope
Which will never die out.
Chili
Few in number in each country but full of missionary dynamism, the Ursuline sisters of Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador are used to traveling together: and it is quite natural that they prepared with the lay delegates some symbolic choreographies of the journey traveled with its joys and its obscurities.
It was in Chile, in 1981, that the first Fraternity of the Incarnation was born, with a group of young people.
Each Fraternity was encouraged by the visit of the delegates to the International Week of Summer 2010. They were impatient to share their deep joy at being in the places where Louis-Marie and Charlotte opened themselves to the action of the Holy Spirit. Aware of having had the chance to discover how spirituality is lived day to day in other countries, they aroused the desire for the history of the different groups of the Family to appear on the website.
With or without the immediate presence of the Ursulines of Jesus, Fraternities continue to meet.
- in Santiago, the capital;
- in Freirina in the North;
- in Los Angeles and Mulchén in the Center;
- in the island of Chiloé: Quellón is formed into a Fraternity while a very lively group is found near the sisters in Ancud.
The Fraternities are based on three pillars: prayer, in-depth communication, integral formation.
- In family, work and health trials, it is good to experience the support of other members of the Family through visits and to remain in communion through the Exercise of the Incarnation. In addition to the two celebrations on December 8 and March 25, an annual retreat is open to all.
- Welcoming each other at all levels takes time.
The concern for integral formation leads us to participate in the meetings offered to live according to the Second Vatican Council and to grow in our humanity, by meeting the challenges of society. The themes of spirituality given by the EN FAMILLE magazine are received as a beautiful gift.
