Rejoice in the Lord always
On 4th February 2023, in Limassol, after three years of suspension due to the pandemic, we experienced the first meeting of all the Religious of Cyprus.
To spend a day dedicated to consecrated life, the sisters of the different congregations present on the island came to the Provincial House. The meeting was led by Father Marco Riva, ecclesiastical assistant of the Union of Religious of the Holy Land - USRTS, who came from Jerusalem. The day began with a warm welcome from the Provincial Superior, Sister Antonia Piripitsi, President of the Union of Religious of Cyprus and with the presentation of the new sisters who make up the different communities.
Father Marco Riva offered the participants a detailed reflection on the Letter to the Philippians and especially on the final exhortation to joy in chapter 4: "Rejoice in the Lord always; I say again, rejoice" (v.4). Therefore, the rapporteur invites us to adopt a first attitude: 'to remain' in the Lord, the essential presupposition of the joy that is good for the life of the person and the community: "May your affability be known to all men. The Lord is near!" (v.5).
To the question - To us, consecrated today, what does the Letter to the Philippians mean? - Father Marco Riva suggests some very important invitations.
The first invitation is to remain firm. One thing is firm: the Lord. Therefore, we remain firm, if we build on the rock. On which rock, then, do we build our personal and community life?
The second invitation is to get along. This means collaborating in the proclamation of the Gospel; collaborating with Christ, with the brothers and with creation. Paul proposes to us the way of life of the Church: doing things together, not alone. It is necessary to collaborate, accepting differences, because these open to communion, confrontation and dialogue.
The third invitation is to care for relationships. It is important to make ourselves lovable and worthy of affection. It is important to be qualified witnesses before the world (cf. Phil. 3:17).
The fourth invitation is to improve the quality of our life with the people around us, sharing the experience of Jesus and enriching ourselves from every culture in the true, in the beautiful, in the right. "In conclusion, brothers, all that is true, noble, just, pure, lovable, honoured, that which is virtue and deserves praise, may all this be the object of your thoughts" (v.8).
"Always be joyful in the Lord, I repeat to you: be joyful". The last challenge is that of joy. The world needs significant people who renew their joy in every circumstance and stage of life. Pope Francis underlines in Evangelii Gaudium: “But I recognize that joy is not experienced in the same way in all the stages and circumstances of life, sometimes, very hard. It adapts and transforms, and always remains at least as a glimmer of light that arises from the personal certainty of being infinitely loved, beyond all” (no.6).
So, it is up to us to commit ourselves to base our faith on the rock that is Christ. Basic questions:
- How to work on ourselves to make us lovable?
- How to train for a fraternal coexistence of communion?
- What continuing formation is required of us today?
- How to assume the feelings of Christ on a personal and fraternal level?
- How to live unity in intercultural and intergenerational discourse?
Three cardinal points:
- Discern and understand the reality.
- It is possible to be together.
- Walking the streets together.
Later, Father Mark gave us some news about the situation of the Church and religious orders in the Holy Land. He stressed above all, how the synodal path has favoured the resumption of the Union programmes. The latest statistics show, that the religious communities are less numerous, and that now, the difficulties are evident in managing the works. Therefore, the formation of the laity is a priority urgency. Instead, the communities of the new forms of consecrated life are increasing and this reveals how the epochal change, even in the perspective of faith, becomes a time of flowering. In recent days, the high tension between Israel and Palestine has returned with a series of attacks and mutual violence. We are invited to pray and implore peace for the peoples of the Holy Land.
The solemn liturgical celebration of the feast of the Presentation of the Lord gathered all the intentions and supplications of the sisters present. Two essential aspects were underlined by Father Mark during his homily. The rite of the presentation of Jesus makes the redemption present and responds the expectation of the people. Therefore, with Jesus, a new reality is born with which to confront. In this light, also the consecrated Life is a response to the divine plan that must be brought to completion. The fulfilment is entrusted to our lives, to our hands, to our call. From here, it springs all the richness of the different charisms in the Church. Another substantial element is the presence of the two old gentlemen, Simeon and Anna. With them, the old covenant gives way to the new covenant. Therefore, particular charisms in the Church, are a visible expression of the newness of the Gospel. Our consecrated life is newness when:
- let us feed a new look,
- we nurture a new ability to discern the reality,
- we make something new which, in the fullness of time, will be accomplished.
The invitation for us, consecrated women, is to be present in the world as a sign of God’s project, that walk towards its fulfilment.
All the participants were satisfied and shared some touching reflections that help the mutual growth of the fraternities and the local Church in which we are called to witness to the Gospel in newness of life.
The lunch was another fraternal moment and a source of praise and thanksgiving for the gift of the life of sister Antonia Piripitsi, the Provincial Superior. Let us thank the Lord for having united us in joy and in the communion of life, and let us walk with courage by making available all the gifts and talents.
