Thank you for joining us at the Opening Mass of the Special Chapter on November 10th. The Mass was celebrated ‘live’, with over 300 participants on Zoom, and streamed from the Mother House with a congregation there. It was celebrated in English, with simultaneous translation into French and Spanish. The celebrant was Douglas Marcouiller S.J., a member of the Jesuit Curia.
It began with an opening talk by Barbara Dawson RSCJ, the Superior General, who talked about love, about letting go, about the challenges that the pandemic has brought and how the world needs the charism of the Religious of the Sacred Heart now more than ever - to discover and make known the love of God in the midst of this blessed and broken world. She discussed the four calls of the 2016 Chapter: to reach new frontiers, to live more humanly in the radical style of Jesus, to create silence, and to be and act as one body. She closed by quoting the Constitutions of 1982: “We shall form but one heart and one mind, thus giving reality to the words: ‘Cor unum et anima una in Corde Jesus’".
The opening hymn, Veni Sancte Spiritus, was played with a video, followed by readings from different people at the Mother House. The priest, Douglas Marcouiller S.J., then gave his homily. Barbara called out to the capitulants from all of the provinces, and in response, each of them called out, “Here I am” and gave their names. It was a moving statement of their presence and of the Society’s oneness, despite geographical borders and the distance that the pandemic has forced on us. Finally, the priest gave communion, and those in their own provinces took communion. The Mass ended with the premiere of the official Chapter song and video, Artisans of Hope.
Below you can watch a video of the Mass and download the schedule of the ceremony as well as other resources, including the opening talk. To watch the Mass in French or Spanish, please click on those languages at the top of this page. To see the gallery, click on the photos to the right. Thank you for celebrating with us!
