Winter Provincial Assembly

January 29, 2011

at OLV Center

ONCE AGAIN AT THE CROSSROADS

Father Dom Minsart and Mother Claire

in dialogue

D.M. There they are at the crossroads again, Claire. They seem to need our guidance, As we stand at this transformation moment with them, I'm feeling the same urgency and some excitement about the possibilities that lie ahead. You and I have a broader perspective than they do. Can you see a new horizon?

Claire: I see a horizon toward which they're moving. The problem at the crossroads is the breadth of the horizon and the optional paths they will be facing. Pere, how do you see the mission in 2010 compared to the options we faced in 1819?

D.M. When I was forced to leave the monastery where my joy and strength were in my mission of contemplative prayer, I faced a devastating turning point--terible, yet full of unknown possibilities. Forced into the streets of Namur as a diocesan pastor, I have to wrestle with that new life of activity that was thrust upon me. My heart went out to the desperate people on the streets, especially young women whose future held little choice except for a life of begging and/or prostitution. I chose a path of simple lifestyle, using my gifts at the service of these young women as well as others who were marginalized and oppressed. They became my passion--how to open their minds and hearts to the hope of the Gospel which I tried to bring alive in their midst. I couldn't do alone what was urgently needed for the people around me. And then came the path that led to you and to the others, Claire. I found women graced with desire to know and love God through prayer and dedicated service to other women. Fortunately I did have material resources available to me. I decided to use these resources to help better the lives of others. A transformative journey had begun.

Claire: And so you gathered us into the little community that became the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur. You know, Pere, looking back, I see that the needs surrounding you then are so much the same as we live into the twenty-first century. In every province, the sisters see women suffering from destitution, forced into prostitution, human trafficking,...starving children,...drug violence and the aftermath of wars, destruction of the environment. What is the difference in what we faced then and what we face now?

D.M. First of all, the sisters were young, full of energy, zeal and adventure and ready to face the unknown that lay across the seas. Full of simplicity and joy and perhaps naivete, they followed the Spirit alive in them through seemingly impossible situations--storms, disease, opposition, death...faith kept those young women going toward new horizons.

Claire And today the sisters are aging in our northen provinces with the young mostly in Africa and Brazil.

D.M In the 19th and 20th ceturies, we focused on education, built academies and boarding schools where the teaching and living of Christian values prepared women for their choices in life. Year after year, their former atudents, to a great extent, kept alive the spirit of the Sisters of St. Mary.

Today, at the crossraods, our aging sisters, in association with oblates and assoctaes, live their days in simplicity and joy in a spirit of hospitality, with a strong focus, on the disturbing issues of justice and peace that so devaste God's people and all creation at the begining of this millennium.

Claire Don't you get concerned about finding leaders to assume responsibility in the Congregation?

D.M Certainly that is an urgent concern; however, do you think, Claire, that it was easy to discern appropriate leaders from among few young adults in the 19th century? We lived by faith, seeking always the Spirit's guidance, firmly believing that what is of the Spirit will live and what is not of the Spirit will die and it should! So it must be and I see that it is the same with the women whom God has called to international leadership at this time.

Claire Pere, what do you consider most necessary for living our charism into the future and traversing the crossroads at this time?

D.M Authentic communities, deep prayer life (both individual and communal). If the present journey rises out of lived gospel values, which means outreach to the marginalized, they will be living Eucharistic lives and the journey will be transformative.

* Simplicity, joy, hospitality, preference for the less fortunate

* Deepening sense and love for our internationality. They need to hear, share and cherish the stories of the crossroads thet led to our establishment in various parts of the world.

* Clear open communication--Claire, our sisters still don't know how to listen well or how to lovingly handle differences and conflicts. They have got to learn to listen to their hearts and the hearts of one another! There connot be divisiveness, competitiveness or control issues in a truly transformative process.

* trust

* Enthusiasm--a great passion for the possible!

* Ownership by all the sisters; that requires 'transparency'.

* Lots of personal interaction among the sisters from the various provinces, so that the sisters come to know, understand, love and respect one another

* Solidarity

Claire There are also obstacles that can hinder an on-going transformative vision. Do you agree? As they open to the the Spirit's guidance, perhaps we can help them overcome such obctacles as fear of change, power struggles, territorial issues, control issues, possessiveness, lack of trust, secrets and gossip, lack of ownership and lack of enthusiasm and energy?

D.M Claire, is my perception wrong or do you, too, sometimes sense among the sisters a fear or uneasiness about the future?

Claire: In their humanness, they can become frustrateed; anxious about the future; petty in their concerns. Doesn't it do your heart good though, Father, to see how the Rwandese sisters are transforming the Eastern province spirit and attitude? They speak of going all out to speak clearly and slowly, trying to help their sisters learn English. At the same time, these young Rwandese sisters are delighting their American elders with their youthful energy, their kindness and attentiveness.

D.M. I do see that, Claire, and I see where the path might be leading. New challenges summon the sisters closer to one another across the provinces; new challenges that call them to reach out beyond thenselves. Fear and anxiety take over where community life diminishes; where the women turn in too much in on themselves. The sisters are faced with more and more challenges for bringing spiritual as well as human quality to the lives of one another. Thoughtfulness and laughter are essential to lift up spirits.

Claire: Through the years we have moved from one culture to another. In fact, our earliest members came from varous parts of Europe and the Bristsh Isles, speaking several different laguages. It has always been challenging to discern what is eassential to SSMN, without tranpling on the soul and sacredness of each unique culture. Re-founding has been and will, I suppose, be different for each culture.

D.M. Our General Council would like to encourage the development of new structures. I believe they foresee future transformational chages. Maybe it's time for them to continue to explore options there as we stand at this crossroad.

Claire: Our responsibility for them never ends, does it, Pere?

D.M. We're with them all the way. Help me remind them that it's in the process, the journey, that transformation happens. I'm proud of them as they begin this new venture, which they have already begun by a number of 'prototypes', e.g., the international juniorate, international formation planning, summer Haiti experiences, the international and provincial websites, the recent gathering of leadership from the Eastern and Western provincees, vocations promotions, and, of course, the Justice and Peace Network and the Think Tank.

Claire: For wnat has been, thanks, for what is now, thanks, and for what is yet to come, thanks!

Members of the SSMN Think Tank

Fort Worth, Texas

October 26, 2010