From Friday 26 June to Sunday 28 June, the juniorates session of the Province of France took place, bringing together the junior sisters of Auteuil and those from the Province of Europe (Belgium). This session, led by Sister Véronique, focused on the Superiors General from Mother Marie Célestine to Sister Martine Tasopba. During the session, we explored the aims and works of the various General Chapters held under the convocation of each Superior, while examining how each one approached the extension of the kingdom, the renewal of our spirituality and charism, without losing the contemplative and apostolic dimension of our religious family.
Our sharing underscored the importance of returning to the source in order to draw from it the vital ferments needed for our own growth. We find it essential to nourish ourselves from the events of our world, the Church and local realities, in order to build a present rooted in the love of Christ and the Church, where each sister feels co-responsible and fulfilled. Likewise, it is imperative to become aware that change springs from our vital relationship with Christ, and to work collaboratively so that each sister may express herself with full freedom and full awareness. This return to the source would be lived concretely through interior silence, through the Divine Office that nourishes us from within and enables us to see and encounter Christ in all things.
We also enjoyed moments of relaxation, such as watching a football match at the parish while sharing pizza. A guided tour took us from rue Rodin to the community of Auteuil, enabling us to discover the site of the great monastery and the chapel in the woods from the time of Mother Marie Eugénie.
This session enabled us to share our experiences, to spend moments of gratuitous joy together, and to enter more deeply into communion with our congregation through the work of our Superiors General. A reading of our mothers' writings allows us to note a certain continuity in their endeavours and to affirm with joy that they were all women open to modernity while preserving the lived experience of the three essential pillars of our life. In a sense, they laid the groundwork for synodality and integral ecology within our congregation.