FIRST INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP FOR ANNUALLY PROFESSED SISTERS EXPLORES ROLE OF HOLY SPIRIT IN COMMUNITY, WORLD

BY SR. SYMPHONIE GIAO-HUONG NGOC NGO, CCVI

When we are disappointed or facing trials, it is our decision to either become bitter or resentful persons or more contemplative CCVI’s who lean on God with hope and gratitude. This was one lesson fifteen Sisters in annual vows learned in a workshop entitled “Living Religious Life Vibrantly and Passionately in our World Today” held Dec. 19.

“Hope means leaning on God,” said Fr. Don Goergen, OP, a former professor at Aquinas Institute of Theology, who facilitated the zoom conversation with Sisters from Kenya, Guatemala and the U.S. The workshop, planned by Sr. Helena, the International Formation Coordinator, originally had been scheduled for Pre-Assembly 2020.

Fr. Goergen emphasized the significant role of the Holy Spirit in each person, and how a Sister could live out the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our communities and in our world today. In living Religious life, he suggested a more positive way and especially to lean on God, especially during the tough times. When we lean on God, we become an uplifting presence to people around us, especially in a world that is devastated by the pandemic, materialism, and individualism. He encouraged us to become more evangelical in witnessing to hope, more communal in uplifting others, more prophetic to the material world, and more courageous in loving.

It was the first workshop for all the CCVI Sisters in annual vows, and hopefully was not the last. It was delightful to see our fellow Sisters across the globe and to learn from one another. Praised Be the Incarnate Word, Forever!

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