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Theological Reflection
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Provincial Assembly 2009
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 From October 18th to 20th, the Missionary Sisters and their lay collaborators traveled from all points of the Stella Maris Province to meet in Malvern, Pennsylvania for the 2009 Provincial Assembly. The theme of this year’s Assembly was “Bring the Vision to Life!” At the conclusion of an Assembly, a Theological Reflection is composed. “Theological Reflection” (TR) means bringing a faith perspective to the realities we look at in order to work for social justice. The purpose of the TR is to serve as a point of reference and to pull us into the future in terms of the commitments named in the TR. Those in the Cabrinian Community who were not in attendance at the Assembly might glean from the TR the hopes and aspirations of the Assembly participants. We invite all in the Cabrinian Community to participate in these aspirations through prayer and action.We gathered together, MSCs and laity, representing a rich diversity of peoples, places and cultures. We were challenged from the outset to be mystics as was St. Frances Cabrini; that is, men and women of faith with an absolute confidence in the power of God “to do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.” (Eph. 3:20) Strengthened by this conviction we are able to confront the many challenges before us using discernment to move “passionately and swiftly”. We were led to reflect on the economic, political, social and ecclesial trends of our time. We were invited to use our creative imagination and re-imagine charity through reinvention and a willingness to try new ways that listen first to the needs of the people and encourage their engagement in the process. Building relationships grounded in the belief that every person has something to contribute to the common good was seen as essential to building solidarity, global networks and new spaces of life-giving missionary activity. As men and women of faith we are called to be prophetic – to make choices that represent an alternative way of being and acting in the world – to seek the common good over our vested interest – to be Missionaries of God’s love in the world – to “bear fruit, fruit that will endure.” (John 15:16) We are called together for mission. Our goal, our end is to know, love and serve God. We sense among us a growing communion and solidarity to do together what we cannot do alone. We commit to strengthening relationship and partnerships among us for mission. We commit to a process of decision making that includes listening to God and being in constant discernment. We commit to the practice of habits and virtues rooted in the Gospel and our Cabrini Missionary Identity. We commit to be a presence of God’s love in the world and to discover ways to re-imagine charity in all that we do. As we strive to live these commitments we hold fast to our belief that God is with us and that together we can open new spaces of missionary activity that will respond to the urgent needs of our time. Assembly Presentations Sr. Eileen Currie, MSC, addresses the MSC Stella Maris Provincial Assembly 2009 from Cabrini Communication Department. This video, entitled, Discernment: Toward Our Corporate Future, is presented by Sr. Eileen Currie, MSC, whose current ministry is in retreat work and spiritual direction. Sr. Eileen explained discernment as a process and way of living and encouraged us to consciously consider choices in our everyday life by the power of the Holy Spirit.Sr. Patricia Spillane Presentation to MSC Stella Maris Provincial Meeting 10/09 from Cabrini Communication Department. - Sr. Patricia Spillane, MSC is the seventh Superior General to serve the Missionary Sisters. Her presentation entitled, Cabrini Missionary Identity, helped us to more fully understand and incorporate our Cabrini Missionary Identity into our personal lives and our Cabrini ministry. |
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