Dear Sisters,
Our preparation for Easter has been very much centered in the Liturgy. Deep eucharistic experiences shared with the Australia-New Zealand communities, as well as their questions, enabled us to reflect and search out together what it means to have "a serious prayer life, centered in the eucharist and the Word of God." Above all, the paschal mystery gives us the power to become a celebrating community, as we express our joy in worship. May the joy of Easter be a real experience for each of our communities.
In faith, we know that the Easter mystery gives us the capacity for fullness of joy, though this is realized only little by little in our own personal and communal experience of conversion, a conversion we must make each day, that we can live concretely: "share in his sufferings and know the power of resurrection" (Philippians 3:10). Our opening-out to the world, our commitment to a more human progress will be genuine if we rediscover the value of this asceticism of presence and communion in Christ. His heart, opened, shows us the way. He calls on us each day to be in communion with the sufferings of humanity; he continues to urge us to struggle against egoism, sharing with our brothers and sisters in the sorrow caused by injustice and evil. Are we conscious of this responsibility of our faith? Do we live it by serious work through which Christ continues His service in the world?
Our communities must again experience the need of new life... a fraternal life open to others "so that we may bring everyone up to full maturity in Christ" (Colossians 1:28)....
We await a new experience in the Spirit that we hope will result from a searching together.... It is this which will enable us to enter into a new vision, which will be that of the whole Society seeking in faith to live out the Easter mystery of death-resurrection in today's world.
M.L. Saade rscj D. Boland rscj F. Cassiers rscj M.C. McKay rscj