The RSCJ European Forum for professed of temporary vows, perpetually professed for not more than 10 years, and members of the initial formation teams took place in Miraflores de la Sierra (Madrid) from 28 December 2019 to 1 January 2020.
This meeting is a continuation of the one that we had in Joigny in August 2019, also with Cath Lloyd as our facilitator. Four Egyptian professed sisters joined us this time, so all together we were 32 rscj.
This European Forum, as we call it, aims to be a space in which we can share, get to know each other better, and create or strengthen bonds. It is also the space for us to reflect together on our life and mission as European rscj, and also as members of the whole Society, as we move towards the the Special Chapter that will take place in 2021.
An expression that has been repeated many times during these days and that summarizes the group's feeling about the future, is to experience our small Society in Europe as a "community of communities". With great diversity among provinces, countries, and generations, we also find some common realities and challenges such as the aging of our provinces, the possibilities that we have in terms of mobility and communication, and the desire to energize our life and mission.
Although some of us have learned other languages, like those of us who made their novitiate in France or several Polish rscj who studied Spanish, the use of the English language during this meeting has enabled all of us to communicate with each other without the need for translation. These have been great days full of sharing that helped us to grow in relationship and in the sense of belonging to a “body” as European rscj.
Thank you very much to everyone who made this meeting possible in Miraflores, where we have felt so much at home.
RSCJ European Forum, Miraflores de la Sierra (Madrid, Spain), December 2019