Day 26. An ending is a beginning

The Liturgy Team is made up of three RSCJs from different continents, who take turns preparing the daily prayers so that different cultures are represented. On Monday morning, the capitulants prayed in an unusual way, watching an animated film by Korean-American artist Edwin Chang: Wind. The film shows a grandmother who sacrifices herself for her grandson. According to the explanation of the Liturgy Team, the “wind” symbolizes a kind of wave that passes from one generation to another as life continues. The Liturgy Team presented a passage from Genesis after the film: the promise of God to Abraham to make his descendants “as numerous as the stars in the sky”. The prayer ended with a blessing: “O, God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and of Jesus, and of Madeleine Sophie, Philippine Duchesne, our RSCJ ancestors, and of all the RSCJs in the world, we are walking through a very important moment. Bless us that, whatever we do, we may walk relying on Your great power rather than relying on our own abilities and power.”

It is needless to say that this moving film deeply touched the hearts of the capitulants and provided a good start to the day. First, the capitulants finished the conversations about sharing resources, then they continued working to prepare the closing documents of the Chapter, which will define the Society’s journey over the next eight years.