Maria Carmen Vilardell (moderator) reminded us that in the Eucharist the Lord invites us to listen, saying :”Don’t harden your heart”, and invites us to be open to whatever we hear with our hearts. Not to let our attitude be that of someone who is just receiving a piece of information.

The Steering Committee has judged it necessary to modify the programme envisaged for today and so in addition to the Financial Report the content of January 19th will be transferred to today.

Bernadette began by presenting the Financial Report that had been prepared by the out-going Council and said that sometimes the statistics presented mention November 2008 and not only December 2007. They thought this necessary because of the present world economic situation.

During the morning such words expenses, fixed assets, liquid assets, capital, circulation of goods could be heard in the room.

Our goods are the goods of the Institute. They are entrusted to us to manage for the Vicariat and are at the service of communion.

Hospitality, needlework, the making of hosts and pensions are the principal sources of income in our monasteries, but our young sisters are encouraged to prepare themselves to take up some work which can assure us of income, and help us to live the contemplative life to which we are calle.

Article 26 of the Constitutions: “Material goods are gifts from God destined for all. We accept them gratefully, use then moderately and simply, and are careful to share then”.

A frugal lifestyle means living the ethic of just enough. The important thing, said Bernadette, is to discern our needs (personal, as a Vicariat and as an Institute). In our way of life having too much as just as bad as having too little.

“All our works support one another. ” (PBN) This is our reality. Mutual support and pooling refer not only to economics, but rather to the quality of our lives, our welcome, the gift of ourselves…

“Good management leads to solidarity” Benedict XVI.

Time was then give for clarifications, questions and comements.

At 11:20 the Communities of Oteiza Posadas were invited to present their reflexions on how they were beginning to live the orientations from the last General Chapter regarding :
Posadas (Argentina ) “The Eucharist and adoration”
Oteiza (Spain) “The Liturgy of the Hours”.

After this there was a period of personal reflection on the texts on which the presentations were based.