After two and a half years without a face-to-face meeting due to the pandemic, the PTVs of Europe and their leaders gathered between August 10 and 17 in Poznań, Poland for a time of meeting, mutual knowledge, fellowship and formation. We were very happy to welcome Naty from Chile, who recently arrived in Spain to study theology. Our international group did not stay long in Europe, from the second day, we met with Kathy Conan (who was in the Philippines) via Zoom, to listen to her interventions on our spirituality.
The theme for this week, as well as for the school year, was the spirituality of the Sacred Heart. On the first day, we shared our particular experiences this year that are linked to our spirituality. This sharing also helped us get to know each other better. Our days were full: after the morning prayer, prepared by different pairs according to the theme of the day, we joined Kathy on Zoom for the morning, and most of the time, also for the afternoon. With her, we made a beautiful journey that led us through our own images of God, the images of God of St. Madeleine Sophie, excerpts from the Constitutions and General Chapter documents, and testimonies of the sisters of her community in the Philippines. We had personal time to digest and internalize what we had heard, and also time in small and large groups for exchanges around the proposed questions, for example: What attitudes of the heart of Jesus does today’s world need the most? ...and we, RSCJs after the Special Chapter? The last full day was dedicated to the rereading of the week in an atmosphere of silence, interiority, and prayer.
In our free time, we nourished our relationships. The community of Poznań, whose members kindly and abundantly fed us during the whole week, invited us to have a snack together. It was a great opportunity to get to know each other. One evening we had the chance to share the evening meal with Julia, a woman from Ukraine who fled the war in March with two children. She told us in all simplicity and honesty her story, her hopes and her sorrows. We experienced very intense and moving moments with her. Another evening, the choir of the students who live in the building gave us a magnificent, multilingual concert. After the concert, we had a barbecue in the courtyard with the students and with the members of the community. It was a time of conviviality and sharing. And on the other evenings: beautiful walks in the city, with some ice cream or even with some beer.
We are grateful to have been able to spend this week together! And let’s hope that we will meet again next year in Budapest.
Cecilia Molnar
PVT from the Province of CEU