LET THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO SEEK THE LORD REJOICE!

"Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice…" (Ps 105,2-3)

The Community is the vital place in the life of religious consecration, in which every member is precious because it is a "gift of the Lord". The sister is called to bear witness with her life to the following of Christ, in her daily life, so that her community may become the dwelling place of the Spirit. Moreover, the wisdom and creativity of the Superior has much to do with the proper functioning of the community, of the educational, health, social and pastoral works, without forgetting that the main author and manager is God.

The Provincial Superior of the Province "Holy Family" India, sr. Mini Joseph, together with her council, with regard to continuing education, has scheduled from 02 to 03 July 2022 the meeting for the local Superiors of the communities, the leaders of the various apostolic works and activities, to encourage and motivate them in their specific role to be faithful to the Franciscan-Missionary lifestyle, in the careful discernment of the different changes in society.

The sessions were led by Rev. Fr. Chinnappa Reddy Ofm, who explained and differentiated the literal meaning of the words: "Religious Superior" and "Franciscan Superior". Superiors or leaders in the secular world are different from a religious superior who has Christ in her mind and heart. She takes Jesus as a model and visibly reflects the qualities of the Master. She enlivens her community with enthusiasm, encourages the sisters in their commitment and guides them assisted by the Spirit.

The speaker proposes as an ideal a religious life animated by joy and happiness that are two wonderful feelings to experience on a personal level. Indeed, joy is more substantial and is cultivated internally and we can acquire it when we make Peace with ourselves and with others and have clarity of our being consecrated. The community will be a home of joy when we are all convinced of this fact.

Father Chinnappa Reddy proposed Jesus and St. Francis as models of life to be followed in the responsibility of being superior to the communities. According to St. Francis the Superior is the "guardian", the one who takes care of the brothers as a mother with her children. Although Jesus is the Son of God, He manifested love, compassion, forgiveness, attitudes that revealed His personality. From His actions, people understood who Jesus was: He prayed early in the morning, healed diseases, multiplied bread, gave life to the dead.... all this because He was concerned about the welfare of people and took care of them.

The service of authority is a mandate to her who takes care of the community and the apostolic works, to guide the people entrusted to her. Therefore, the superior and those responsible for the works must, with the spirit of the Founders, animate the community towards the Will of God. We can grow in joy and mutual love by sharing the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. Life united to Christ allows us to make the benevolent attitudes of Jesus to others flow.

Oh, how blessed are those when they do such things and persevere in them; because the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon them (cf. Is. 11,2) and will make His home and dwelling with them (cf. Jn. 14,23) ..." (Cf. 1 Letter to the Faithful I,5)