Surely all that you have lived here is a gift of the Spirit to the Vicariate and to the Family at this time when you celebrate 150 years of Holy Family Contemplative life!

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As you return to your communities may you be bearers of the good news and with love and hope prepare the sisters to welcome the decisions. It is all the members, together with the leadership team, who assume responsibility to promote and live these decisions. In this, as in all situations of life, you are invited to open yourselves evermore fully to God and to others, to give and to receive. (Art 223) May the Holy Family accompany you on your journey and help you to “go forward” with joy and love.
Margaret Muldoon (Sup. Gen)

So, since the election of the new Vicariate Council has already taken place the Chapter is drawing to a close earlier than anticipated.

This afternoon we will meet in the hall at 4:00pm to approve the final text which will help us during the next five years. After that and a short break the chapter will be declared closed after Margaret has spoken, the acts of the chapter have been signed and the closing celebration is over.

But everything does not end here. Tomorrow morning at 11:30 the Superior General of the Oblates will come to celebrate the Eucharist in thanksgiving for the 150th anniversary of the Foundation of the contemplative vocation in the Holy Family.

We know that you will be present with us and that many will be the times when we shall meet again on the journey which began here during these days, - that is what our family is about! Thank you all for everything.

The members of the new council are:

Bernadette Taurinya (Vicaria)

Mª Dolores Sanzberro. Nacida en 1942. España

Lorenza Ponnanwila. Nacida en 1946. Sri-Lanka

Françoise Daigneault. Nacida en 1931. Canadá

Good morning!

The day began with some sad news : the death of a Contemplative sister:
Sister Marguerite Marie Le Coq (Martillac. France)

After a few words of introduction reminding us that today we must look beyond ourselves, our own interests and preferences, we spent some time in prayer repeating many times over the invocation to the Holy Spirit.

The final prayer:

God, our Father,
when we realise how much you love us,
something in our life becomes calm and we are transformed.
In Jesus, your well-beloved Son, our Peace and our Joy,
You bless us and call us to CHOOSE LIFE.
In your goodness, grant our prayer today so that,
through Him and in Him,
attentive to your Spirit,
in all our decisions and all our choices,
we may be a hymn of praise to your Glory.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

After the prayer there followed the period of listening that we mentioned yesterday. The sisters expressed themselves in depth and sincerity. We then moved on to the next step: the indicative vote.

Malini and Malena handed a voting paper to each capitulant on which she was asked to write three names. From these a new list will be drawn up according to the number of votes each sister had received.

At 10:30 the sisters will be able go back to the hall to pick up this new list. From this time until 11:30 Margaret and the facilitator will be available to any sister who wishes to communicate the reasons why she would like her name to be taken off the list .

At 11:45 we will return to the chapter hall where we will find the definitive list and we will proceed with the election proper according to the Constitutions of the Institute:
the required majority, number of votes etc. (Art. Const. 230)

Oteiza (España)