On September 1, 2020, a surprise question was asked to me by Sara Puluhen, a 7-year-old girl, who wanted to prepare herself to receive the sacrament of Baptism. I clarify that her parents are practising, but each in their own religion. Actually, the mother is Muslim and the father is Catholic. Although they are of different religions, they are helping the sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, for 10 years.

Sara is a very smart girl and very interested in religious topics. We then began the preparation and at the end of October 2020, during a very moving celebration, solemnly entered the catechumenate of the parish of St Aldric - Le Mans (France).

Despite covid 19, we have made the meetings with commitment twice a week. We had three meetings with the parish priest, Father Hervé-Marie Cotten. Every Saturday, the parents were present to accompany her, because they are very respectful of the choice of the daughter and so involved in her education. For this purpose, we had a day of retreat with parents, godmother, godfather and witness.

Also because of covid 19, the Baptism that was scheduled for 11 April 2021 was postponed for 30 May, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Sara was looking forward to that day. On Saturday morning, May 29, we had for the first time a time of prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Sara was ecstatic before the mystery of Jesus in the consecrated Host; on her knees she adored Him and made her personal prayer in silence and with joy.

Finally, the day so desired, arrived: Sunday, May 30, 2021, in the presence of her family, her friends and the parish assembly, Sara became «the favourite daughter of the Father, the favourite baptised of Jesus and a ray of light of the Holy Spirit» according to her own words.

The photos are evidence of this important stage in the life of Sara and her family. I give thanks to God for giving me the joy of accompanying her in the knowledge of the Lord and of her entry into the Church.

Sister Marie Armelle Kosta
Province «San Luigi IX»

The month of May, in many corners of the earth, is the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the incarnate God and model of all mothers. This is why the world also celebrates mothers, women who have accepted the life that God has allowed to be generated in them.

Everywhere, we seek ways to pay homage to them, to highlight their importance, the preciousness of their being, the essential for the gestation of human life. In Latin American countries, they are celebrated with Eucharistic celebrations, songs, dances, gifts, hugs, flowers, with different signs of love and gratitude to those who are able to give their lives for their children, certainly, in times of pandemic like the current ones, everything has changed.

Some of the values in which children are formed through our evangelizing action are gratitude, respect, love for mothers, the elderly, who have given everything to build a better family. Proof of this is the celebration of Mother’s Day with the elderly of the "Pastoral Care of Health" and of the "children of Missionary Childhood" of the community of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Cusco - Peru. From a purely human or even more Christian point of view, this activity is very significant in Latin American surroundings.

The children of Missionary Childhood, through their meetings, in presence, Saturday afternoons, and virtual, the last Sunday of each month in the morning, show great enthusiasm and responsibility in their activities. His commitment is admirable, a source of motivation and dedication.

On the other hand, the loneliness and abandonment in which the elderly find themselves is very sad, especially in this time of pandemic where they experience more the sense of abandonment, the illness and the loneliness of old age.

In this reality, the Word of God, always alive and effective, meets in the journey of life: "Arise before those who have white hair; honour the person of the old and fear your God. I am the Lord" (Lv. 19, 32), or "direct the youth on the way to go; not even as an old man will he depart from it" (Pr. 22, 6).

The lockdown  imposed every Sunday in Cusco, due to the pandemic, did not allow that the celebration of Mother’s Day takes place as planned, such anniversary was anticipated on Saturday, May 8. On this occasion, the children of Missionary Childhood were given the opportunity to know the elderly of the health pastoral care, held by the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, and to share something with them.

The most suitable place for reception and celebration is the house of God, the Parish Our Lady of Carmen, which in its organization has animators for groups of the elderly and children, so much alive in the conduct of groups.

Words and teachings must always be accompanied by works, coherence in what is said and done, is the path of formation, in this situation for children. The concrete gesture of sharing is very significant in the Latin American peoples: the elderly received a bag of solidarity food, a glass of jelly with fruit, a flower and a balloon in the shape of a heart, gestures that load with emotion the 45 grandmothers who make themselves present at the meeting.

The presence of two generations, the frailty of the elderly and the joy of children, mingle in an affectionate embrace, while the little ones delivered their gifts. In a simple gesture the union of two generations was achieved: on the one hand, the existence that comes close to the goal, when one goes fleeing life, when one weakens his/her strength and "sees close" the embrace with the eternal Father; and on the other hand, the mountain of dreams in innocent hearts that begin to value and discover the meaning of life.

It has been a beautiful opportunity to let children experience the reality of some grandparents who suffer loneliness and abandonment by their families and society, and as a simple gesture may fill them with joy and emotion. Here is the difference between the celebration that makes the consumer society and the one that is animated by love for God: giving everything you have, even to the "unknown", who does not belong to the family circle!

Children enjoy this meeting and value the greatness of good works, of doing good and of how the heart of the one who gives himself is enriched, because everything that is done to the other, is done to Jesus, as He Himself said, He is present in every human being, especially in the most vulnerable brothers and sisters who are suffering and in need.

In conclusion, the Word of God, once again, continues to give meaning to Eternal Life even to the little ones of this corner of the world, and as the Apostle, exhorts to "give with joy", and the Lord’s beatitude, "Come, blessed of my Father, ... because I was hungry and you gave me food, ..." (cf. Mt. 25:34-40)

Here, the innocent hearts of the children "cusqueños" who are good soil! The seed is growing, wants to bear fruit, 30, 70 and 100!

May the good witness of the adults who surround them and the society, allow them to continue to grow in the light of faith!

Cuzco sisters - Peru

It has been a year, and we’re still in pandemic time. The Covid 19 has done its way leaving behind a bit of perplexity in everyday life, so the meetings are done online, and it is a normal style at this time. However, we thank these digital and virtual means of communication because they help us to weave social relationships. We are especially grateful because we have had the grace to participate in a meeting of on going formation and thus to meet so many sisters of perpetual vows. The meeting was organised by the USMI on 15 and 16 May 2021, via the Zoom platform It was attended by the young sisters present in the community of Centocelle where gathered also the sisters from the community of Viale Saffi and Lido dei Pini. The sisters from the communities of Florence, Frosinone and Albania attended online. It was an important and very opportune moment because we sisters of the Province met and shared our journey.

The conference held in these two days highlighted the theme: ALWAYS ON MISSION: I AM FOR ANOTHER LIFESTYLE.

On the first day, the speaker Sister Lucia Antonioli carried out the theme: "A prophetic and contemplative gaze" and used three key words to enter the heart of the Word of God through the Lectio Divina from the passage of the Gospel of Luke 12:27ff - the gaze, the prophecy, contemplation, which are also the necessary conditions to take on another lifestyle.

Our contemplative gaze comes from outside us and must become the instrument with which we judge ourselves. We are called to taste Wisdom, to contemplate the history of our religious family where the essential pillars of the charism do not change, but we will be able to change the form to respond to the provocations of our time. Starting from our human reality, as baptized, with our consecration we share in the life of Christ-He who is Wisdom and dwells in us, makes us become bearers and witnesses of His word that is founded in love and in loving one another.

The second speaker of the day, Professor Tonino Solarino, deepened the spiritual and psychological aspects of the theme: "Ecology of daily life" and stressed the hygiene of the house that is our heart and the hygiene of the relationship.

Professor Solarino then, speaking of the pathologies of time - chewing and spitting; the panic attack; narcissism, and borderline style, stressed that we are called to the new paradigms of life and "not conform to the mentality of this world". The present psychological suffering calls for different organization, different culture, pathologies change and the psyche expresses the pathologies of the time. Suffering also has its own intelligence that we must welcome the wisdom of a new way of being with ourselves and with God. It is necessary to know how to distinguish the existential wounds from the spiritual ones because the wounds of life help to heal other wounds if they are addressed to God. Speaking of the hygiene of the heart, he highlighted that many of our actions are sincere, and many others are the result of unawareness and these hurt. The crisis that wounds produce we must take as an opportunity to allow the hygiene of the heart that transforms love into a gift, in fact every love is born of need, asks us to die to ourselves in order to love others.

To allow the hygiene of the fraternal relationship, it must be remembered that the first fraternal relationship begins by listening to oneself: this is a task, a gift to be exchanged with each other in order to generate life and love. The community, then, is the place where purification takes place.

The following day Fr. Antonio Marzano spoke on the subject: "Joy and Peace" which are the fruits of desire, in fact the achievement of desire is happiness. The limits, moreover, make our desire concrete. What makes us not reach desire is the block that does not help us to see beyond the limit. It is up to us to choose the means to achieve our desire and experience "an evangelical way of life that is able to rejoice deeply without being obsessed with consumption". It is up to us to choose the path that leads to true joy and peace, to distinguish what is illusion and deception. Fr. Marzano also stressed an alternative way to live life, that way that can truly lead to true joy and peace and is to remain in Christ, in fact joy is not the satisfaction of our desires, but being in Christ. Jesus is peace and joy and the only way to get them is to stay with Him!

The moment of sharing together with the group was the most beautiful moment, in fact in this time we feel a strong need to meet, confront and encourage each other and it was never lacking. After the conclusion of the conference, on the afternoon of May 16, we felt the need to share again together with all the sisters of the province who participated. And so, even if the time is never enough, we still had the joy of seeing each other, meeting and sharing together the desire for a new lifestyle.

We are grateful to the Lord and pray that we commit ourselves to live and witness together a lifestyle based on contemplative gaze, capable of "seeing the new in the same" in order to weave a relationship of faith and love and thus become authentic prophets in our time.

One of the participants interpreted the appreciation of all of us with the following words:

"Abide in My love, that your joy may be full" Jn 15,9-11. To remain is an invitation of intimacy, of a profound relationship with the Lord in prayer, adoration, in silent conversation with Him who alone is the source of all wisdom, who sheds light of love in the heart in order to live united to Him all the moments of my life. Only if I remain in his love, I let myself be transformed by Him and I become a gift of love for others. Only by remaining in Him can I see the Good News even in moments of crisis, of pain, in my fragility, in weakness and in my limits, in accepting all this to learn humility, open to accept the correction, the limits and the fragility of others. In fact, I believe that change can happen starting from ourselves with the help of God and so we will be "good" together, for the Lord. Only the gift of the Spirit is able to heal wounds, to make hygiene in my heart, and to make me capable of  care for "the house" that is my heart. Only by remaining in His love can we find "the new in the usual", learn and be expert in meeting God in our sisters, expert in being there, in forgiveness, in tenderness, in intimacy and in clarity. "Remain in my love...". Remaining in his love is the point of reference, a truth where I can verify myself daily: Where am I? How am I living my life? Do I live for God’s sake? It is not only an invitation to me but it is also a command of love, a gift is a promise because he knows that only in him can we live full joy and true peace, and with him all this reflection can bear fruit of witness in everyday life."

To the praise and glory of God!

By the sisters of the Province "Mary Immaculate"

Covid 19 has profoundly influenced the life of every person and our society. This critical experience has highlighted our conception of life and our inner richness and at the same time our limits. It revealed the goodness of so many men and women who live beside us and who dedicate themselves to the care of the sick and comfort those who mourn the loss of a relative.

The time we live is a time of great suffering, but also a «time of grace». It allows us to reorient our society and our personal life. The pandemic reminded us that no one can save themselves ... we all feel the urgency to cultivate fraternity and solidarity, which are manifested, as Pope Francis says, in gestures of generosity... and in accepting the fact that we live together in a common home, bound by reciprocal constraints.

It is precisely in this spirit that the Catholic community of Tavannes (Switzerland) has committed itself to recovering the bonds that had weakened and to revitalizing the evangelical impulse, in a way compatible with the necessary health restrictions.

Our interpersonal relations weakened due to the difficulty of meeting in Sunday assembly; the lack of interpersonal encounter, of mutual support touched us deeply. Now we must all wake up, shake off from the torpor that unconsciously slowed down our lives as Christians and we sisters are at the forefront of this path of revitalization and renewed missionary enthusiasm.

The care of the children, after the quarantine due to the disease of the sisters, continues in joy and commitment. The youth at Glee Club were looking forward to meeting and now have the joy of being together, although they are not yet allowed to sing in group during the celebrations.

In compliance with safety standards, the members of the «Gospel at home» group also met regularly during the pandemic period. How then to express the joy and gratitude of the lonely or sick people who can now receive Communion or simply have a time to share with the sister?

After a long period of interruption, it is not easy to resume catechesis meetings. The confinement, due to the pandemic, deprived some children of the long-awaited and prepared celebration of a stage of their Christian initiation: Baptism, Reconciliation, Communion and Confirmation. It is true that the pastoral team proposed to all children online activities that allowed them to keep in touch with each other and with the parish, and therefore to continue their preparation for the sacraments. Catechesis now resumes at a new pace and the organization is well structured.

After the most critical moment of the pandemic, finally children, who should have received the sacraments in the year 2020, can have an «individual celebration». The participation of every single child is deeper and more lively because everyone feels personally involved and the whole assembly concerned. Everything converges to the essential, to the deepest and richest sense of the Sacrament. From the feast of the Merciful Jesus, every Sunday, the community gathers around one or another of these children and their families who celebrate the Sacrament.

A new dawn is announced, a human and spiritual rebirth to be lived in the "providential tenderness of God the Father".

The sisters of Tavannes - Switzerland