When I was a little girl I was given a present of a picture with a little girl praying, with this text: “Lord, I pray for the happiness of every human being in the world.” It is hard to believe, but God had apparently already planted this desire deeply into my heart.
I am privileged to be engaged in a mission that is connected to the Word -- reflecting on and sharing the Gospel with others, especially with women, allowing them to experience the God of Love. I have been helped by the Society of the Sacred Heart's contemplative outlook towards reality and the richness of our interior life.
"Being privileged to have care, education, health, and opportunities to grow and enjoy life led me to listen to what God wanted of me, to open myself generously to the needs of others in my country and in the Church.... Gradually my life was founded on two pillars: God, and the poor. The Gospel, the Beatitudes especially, were for me a call to announce that nearness of a consoling God in the midst of so much suffering that the poor lived during those years in Chile and in most of Latin America."
When I knew that it would fall to me to introduce you, three Biblical figures came into my mind, three women: Sarah, the Syro-Phoenician woman, and the Beloved in the Song of Songs. - Claire Castaing (BFN)
"This year is the Silver Jubilee of my first vows - fifteen of which have been in Indonesia. So much has happened with no plan at all except a total openness and handing over to the Spirit.... The meaning of my journey as an RSCJ centers in what was so dear to Madeleine Sophie – the interior life. Now I can say from that deep interior space that my home is where my God is and I am here, staying on because this is where God is."
"I entered as a candidate on 11th September, 2004, in a community in the south of the country with an indigenous population. After 11 years, here I am, confirming every day that this is my place, not only for my own growth and development, but to give life to our Mission of "discovering and making known the love of the Heart of Jesus," and in this way collaborating with others to discover together the fullness of our common humanity."
Before, I met God in nature, in silence and in harmony. With the passing of time I had the grace of discovering God where it might seem that He is not present. There, in misery, violence, poverty… a huge emptiness. However, the greater the emptiness, the greater still did I find the Love of God to fill this emptiness, this vacuum.
I love our charism of discovering and making known His Love. I think that is what the world needs, above all in the difficult times in which we live now. I think it is always a challenge to live it in the present, now, in reality.
I am a woman who has been born twice; a woman born, and re-born.
The first birth had its origin in a decision made by my parents, on 3rd of May 1942 in Madrid. The second, the re-birth, was the fruit of my decision, my choice to live amongst the Venezuelan people, and was realised in 1990 when I obtained Venezuelan nationality. My Spanish roots have been enriched by the life energy of Venezuela, enhancing in me a great multicultural sensitivity and a special affection for the people of Bolivar and the people of Quijote.
