www.livestrong.com Volume V September Issue No. 6 November- December 2017 Our General Chapter theme: The way of Jesus to walk united with our differences has much to do with the Christmas message, with the Emmanuel. The announcement of the birth of the Emmanuel implies a sending The sending we receive today is to set out, to walk united with our differences. On our way to the crib and on our return from the crib we walk together as true companions on the journey. The conviction that Jesus, the Emmanuel, walks with us gives us the grace to walk with HIM, with our Sisters, with the People of God, because God is with ALL of us; this is the Good News of Christmas. his name shall be called Emmanuel (Mt 1,23, Is 7,14) (Excerpts from M. Angela Strobel's Christmas Letter 2017) A BLESSED CHRISTMAS Participants The Generalate and the Casa Community, Rome
Congregation Lifestream 2 NORFOLK ELECTS NEW PRIORESS Sr. Rosann Ocken was elected Prioress of Norfolk for a term of five years during an Election Chapter held at the Norfolk Priory from November 25-26. Installation will take place on February 28, 2018. Sr. Rosann is currently the superior of the Jinja (Uganda) community. CONGRATULATIONS SR. ROSANN! Abt. Guillermo CICLSAL HOLDS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE The Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL) organized a Conference on Vocation Ministry and Consecrated Life: Horizons and Hopes to prepare for the Synod of Bishops on the topic Young People, Faith and Vocation Discernment to be held in October 2018, Sr. Lumen Gloria Dungca and Sr. Cecil Jo joined 800 participants of major superiors and vocation animation personnel from all over the world at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome from December 1-3. Simultaneous translation was done in five languages namely Italian, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. BEATIFICATION DOCUMENTS NOW IN ROME After the closing ceremony of the preliminary screening of the beatification of the servants of God, Abbot Bonifatius Sauer and 37 Companions, held at the auditorium of the Catholic Conference of Korea on October 19, it was now the turn to have the Opening of the Acts of the Diocesan Beatification Process at the Vatican Office of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Rome on November 6. Among these martyrs were the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing: Sr. Maria Eva Schütz, Sr. Fruktuosa Gerstmayer, Oblate Agneta Chang and Sr. Lucia Park. Formal Opening of the Acts M. Angela The simple ceremony started with a prayer led by Fr. Willibrod Driever, OSB, the postulator of the cause of beatification. Alessandro Federici was delegated to open the sealed documents in the presence of Benedictine Monks and Sisters: Fr. Driever, Sr. Lumen Gloria Dungca, Sr. Marie Bruno Shin and Fr. Poemen Kang. The second phase of the beatification process is now taking place in Rome. ABBOT PRIMATE VISITS CASA SISTERS Abbot Primate Gregory Polan and Fr. Mauritus Wilde, the Prior of Sant Anselmo had coffee colloquy with the sisters of the Casa Community, From l-r: Mr. Federici, Fr. Driever, Rome on December 17. They then updated the sisters with significant Sr. Lumen and Sr. Marie Bruno international Benedictine events. (see page 6 for picture)
Congregation Lifestream 3 BENEDICTINE OBLATES ATTEND WORLD CONGRESS BY OBLATE GIGI PRATS (Manila Priory) From November 4-10 at Fraterna Domus in Rome 250 oblates from 6 continents attended the Fourth Benedictine World Congress to expound on how the Benedictine Community can move forward at a time when monastic life faces uncertainty. The three speakers were Abbot Primate Gregory Polan, Abbot Primate Emeritus Notker Wolf and Sr. Juan Chittister of the Mount Saint Benedict Monastery, Erie, Pennsylvania USA. If the Benedictine tradition of Ora et Labora is to stay alive, then the Oblates will need to play a significant role in the incessant pursuance of this belief. This was the gist of the talk given by Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB as guest speaker of the congress. Sr. Joan mentioned that there is a common bond between the carriers of the great spiritual life in every age. One enlightens the other. One energizes the other. One empowers the other. Her point: Vowed Benedictines and committed oblates need one another. And so the convention took this tone throughout the week we were there. Fr. Edward Linton, OSB and his entire organizational staff were very professional and very kind. I am convinced that this stemmed from the servant leadership and exemplary stewardship exhibited by Fr. Edward himself, presumably during the planning stage but made obvious during the entire convention. The oblates of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, Manila Priory, Our Lady of Montserrat and the Benedictines Nuns of the Eucharist King, who made up the Philippine delegation, went through a significant human experience where we realized that to alleviate poverty, educate the illiterate, and unchain the oppressed, the Benedictine oblates, abbeys, and monasteries must work together. In this light, and in conclusion, the congress oblates emerged with these vision statements: The Rule as Our Living Tradition Listening through prayer and contemplation Oblate formation to ensure the future The oblate as the good steward Oblates are networked. May the fire in the hearts of all oblates continue to light the world in the sincere hope that more may find their vocation so that in all things God may be glorified. Participants to the Fourth Oblate Benedictine World Congress with Abbot Primate Gregory Polan (with green vestment) and Abbot Primate Emeritus Notker Wolf to his left.
Congregation Lifestream 4 BY SR. BERNARDO AHN, OSB BY SR. MARIA PAULA MWEDJILILE, OSB On the month of November the group of oblates and the community came up with the idea to visit our Lady of Aparecida the patron saint of Brazil. Sr. Veronica Prieto and I accompanied them on this journey. There was a lot of excitement among us. One could admire such spirit especially for some oblates who are in their 80s and yet joined such a long pilgrimage. We arrived safely at Guia International airport (Sao Pablo) Brazil. We waited for our sisters from Sorocaba Priory headed by M. Adriana. Immediately we took off directly to the sanctuary of our Lady of Aparecida. We attended the high mass followed by adoration. During the holy mass all the religious men and women were called to sit around the altar. There were multitudes of people. The mood of silence around the sanctuary was very evident. We spent the whole day at this holy place then took off directly to Sorocaba Priory. In every community of the priory there was unique hospitality. We kept talking in Spanish and our sisters continued to talk in Portuguese. It was a bit challenging but somehow we understood one another. Brazil is a big country, very tropical. It has beautiful hills and mountains which brought back my memories to Eastern Africa. There are many African people compared to my mission country in Argentina. After our seven days in Brazil we returned to Argentina. We are so grateful for the opportunity, experiences, blessings and graces received during this pilgrimage. Sr. Bernardo with Participants of the Colloquium The Buddhist-Christian Colloquium started first in Taipei in 1995. It took off to Bangalore and Bodhgaya of India (second and fifth), to Tokyo, Japan (third), and Rome, Italy (fourth). Under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), the Ling Jiou Mountain Wusgeng Monastery in Taipei hosted the dialogue between Buddhists and Christians on November 13 to 16. The theme was Walking Together on the Path of Nonviolence. Representatives from the Vatican and delegates from 18 countries which included cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests and catholic theologians attended the dialogue. Also present were a Benedict monk, Fr. William Skudlarek from Saint John s Monastery, Minnesota and three Sisters of Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, Sr.Scholastica and Sr. Hyoju from Seoul Priory and Sr.Bernardo from Daegu Priory and Catholic laymen. From l-r: Sr. Hyujo, Sr. Bernardo and Sr. Scholastica From the Buddhist side were scholars from Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka, monks and nuns from Taipei. The colloquium was THE BUDDHIST-CHRISTIAN, PAGE 5
Congregation Lifestream 5 CONTINUED FROM LAST ISSUE It was the first time that the changes in our Congregation were expressed so clearly. In the midst of plurality, it is important to state clearly what endures and unites us (end of Nr III). As heading we stated: All our life is missionary. he Chapter saw the basis of our missionary Benedictine life expressed according to RB as seeking God in community under a Rule and an abbot. In this light we saw the different elements of community, the basic attitudes, the Benedictine profession, prayer and work. So we took a strong position for our Benedictine vocation as a cenobitic life under obedience with the praise of God as priority, our missionary role as proclamation of the Good News, especially first proclamation, and for our times: to witness to the presence of the Risen Lord in all spheres of life, "and we declared our solidarity with the poor, the disadvantaged and the oppressed, and our readiness to make our contribution to the liberation of the whole person. All of this constitute some essentials which are expressed here and there in the Temporary Constitutions (like I, II,9.29; IV,11 etc) and will be found in the new Constitutions. "Accordingly, it is the desire of very many sisters to reorient themselves more strongly in the spirit o St. Benedict through a deeper study of the Rule and by seeing the Rule as the way appropriate for us to live the Gospel." For this reason, many wished that the Rule of St. Benedict would become an even stronger foundation for the forthcoming revision of our Constitutions for our Missionary Benedictine life (Supplement I, letter b). The General Chapter document had mentioned under the title Concrete suggestions for fostering our unity and a healthy plurality (Suplement 8) that the Sisters wanted a spiritual deepening through study of the Rule, the Constitutions and the Chapter Declaration; Sr. Aquinata should write a commentary on RB and Sr. Bernita the history of our Congregation. The model of integrating the Rule of Benedict (RB) into the Constitutions would be an innovation. Most Benedictine Congregations have the RB as spiritual document. The Canonist of Propaganda Fide told us, who has one of the old Rules should be glad to have it as such. The General Chapter worked towards an integration of the Constitutions into the Rule with special emphasis on our missionary spirituality. Then the Chapter talked about a recommendation to the General Government to set up a commission in order to draw up a draft for the integration of the Rule and the revision of the Constitutions. THE BUDDHIST-CHRISTIAN, FROM PAGE 4 an enriching and dynamic time to experience the great interest of the Vatican and Taipei. Participants took the time to share after listening to inspirational lectures especially the path of non-violence. We had a dialogue of life with other religious people, a dialogue of action, a dialogue of theological experience and a dialogue of religious experience. We felt that we were one family. Sr. Desideria Bohmholt, 78, died in Ndanda on October 30. Sr. Regelindis Kandler, 94, died in Tutzing on November 6. Sr. Withmara Gnacke, 95, died in Tutzing on November 16. Sr. Margret Rederer, 75, who died in Tutzing on December 20.
Congregation Lifestream 6 to the NEWLY FINAL PROFESSED SISTERS! SUSCIPE ME 1 1. Sr. Vanderlany Santos Silva November 5 - Olinda 2. Sr. Mariana Nandala Tchiwale November 18 Angola (Torres Novas Priory) 3. Sr.Valentina Piedade Domingos November 18 - Angola 4. Sr. Regiane Aparecida Pinto December 9 - Sorocaba 5. Sr. Nicoli Stecker, OSB December 9 - Sorocaba Sr. Consorcia Sr. Gloria Sr. Suelene Sr. Consorcia Rodela from Angola (Torres Novas Priory) back to Manila, her home priory. 2 3 4 5 IJP NOW ON ITS SIXTH YEAR The International Juniorate Program (IJP) in Rome now on its sixth year has seven participants. The program follows the liturgical year which started on December 3, the first Sunday of Advent and ends on the Solemnity of Christ the King on November 25, 2018. The picture above shows from left to right: Sr. Antoinette Adelman, the Junior Coordinator, Sr. Mary Eufrasia Akinyi from Jinja, Sr. Grace Hittu from Ndanda, Sr. Caritas Seok from Seoul, Sr. Lydiah Nyangaresi from Nairobi, Sr. Mary Magdalen Mbanga and Sr. Bakhita Ameya both from Windhoek and Sr. Joyanne Morales from Manila. Sr. Maria da Gloria Silva Querino from the region of A r g e n t i n a (Sorocaba Priory) back to Olinda her home priory. Sr. Suelene Gomes de Matos from Olinda Priory to Norfolk Priory. Abbot Primate Gregory and Fr. Prior Mauritius during their December 17 visit to the Sisters at Casa Santo Spirito, Rome