On Wednesday, March 22, 2023,
seven RSCJ, who are in Rome for probation
(a period of intensive preparation for final commitment),
received their name and devíse.
It is a tradition of the Society of the Sacred Heart, from the time of Sophie, that we are given a name and a devise chosen for us as a probation community, which marks our group and serves as a call and a reference point for each one as we begin our journey as finally professed RSCJ.
Today, Superior General Barbara Dawson RSCJ gave this probation group their name and devíse:
From you, we have received your name and devise
as the expression of your deepest experience.
Your name is:
GOD’S LOVE SETS US FREE
And the devise that accompanies this name:
GO FORTH AND LIVE THE WORD OF GOD
She likewise shared some points that speak not only to this probation group, but to all of us who are invited to build something new, strengthened and revitalized by the grace of our vocation.
It was not by chance that you arrived for probation and found yourself in the midst of a construction site…God seemed to have a message for you in the signs that said “work in progress”. And so you began, recognizing that we are all a “work in progress”. You arrived from different places, both geographic and personal, and began to construct a community that has become a source of unity and strength for you, especially for this time, but also as a touchpoint for your future.
Yours was a probation that included autumn and winter and now bit of Spring – allowing you to experience the all-encompassing presence of God in the beauty of creation with its amazing life cycle. You walked the same paths that Sophie walked and felt her presence with you on your journey. In the midst of this God-filled environment, you were invited into God, like the gentle action of a spiral, slowly, slowly going deeper and deeper. And there, in the Heart of God, you allowed God to know you at the depth of your being, with all your strengths and weaknesses, your wounds and suffering, your longings and dreams. God held you there and you knew that you are precious in God’s eyes and loved just as you are.
This time was for you a time of grace and healing and knowing that you are loved deeply by God, a time to deepen, solidify and celebrate this relationship. What confirms your vocation as a Religious of the Sacred Heart, is your passion and commitment to proclaim what you have discovered with God’s people, in your ministry, in your communities, among your families and friends and especially with young people. Like the woman at the well who understood herself in a whole new way after her encounter with Jesus, you are ready to go back to your villages, your towns and your people to proclaim the Good News from the depth of your being.
We pray for this probation group and thank them for sharing with us the graces that they have received.
You can see the photo gallery of the conference to the right.