Posted on: 13 May 2019

Author:Sr Joan Kerley

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Today has been another very full day which again began with a beautiful prayer in Spanish based on our senses and the need to use them in our inter religious dialogue.

We prayed that with our eyes we will captivated by the beauty of God and that our own eyes will see His people who need our love and our care.

With our ears we will listen to the slight breeze which will distinguish the cries of the poor and listen to the voice of love.

With our mouth we will sing the Good News, speak words of love closed to gossip and we will taste the flavour of the Kingdom.

With our hands we will collaborate in the new life that is coming in all parts of the world and we will demolish walls of exclusion.

With our hearts we will be more loving, without resentment, hearts of flesh and not stone.
With our feet we will be pilgrims on the journey

We then listened to a young African Sister who is here as a listener to feed back to us what she heard the previous day. While she was speaking Sr Medrine sent me a message to say she is her friend and to try and meet her. She has stayed with our Sisters in Nairobi, Marigat and Salawa. She gave a wonderful report and it was a joy to meet her.

Our main presentation today was on inter religious dialogue and we were told the new document updating Mutuae Relaciones will soon be published. In addition to our main lecture by an American lay woman we listened to three young women studying in Rome who told of their own dialogue with people of other faiths here in Rome. They told us we should go out to our neighbours of other faiths and share their joys and sorrows in everyday life and we should pray together in the company of one another. From small acts of dialogue our relationships can grow and flourish into real dialogue and a deeper understanding. We were reminded that in our faith and our encounters with others we can be visible witnesses of the invisible God.

This afternoon we were in country groups and our English group welcomed Ireland, the Netherlands, Hungary and Norway. I was the chair of this meeting when we discussed questions given to us in preparation for the meeting of the delegates next Monday and Tuesday. Then as the delegate for England I had to present to the whole plenary at the end of the afternoon and I am grateful for the strength which came to me from your prayer. At the end of the afternoon we were told that each of the delegates, about thirty of us will get to shake hands with Pope tomorrow during our audience and after Mass in St Peters. For me this is a great privilege and when I greet him you will all be in my heart and his blessing will be for all of us as Congregation.

With love and prayers
Maureen