HIC SUM! The Here I Am at the reEvolution Of Works Of Mercy
It has now been two weeks since the fourth training for Ambassadors for Works of Mercy around the world, and I am still animated with such enthusiasm that I wanted to share the experience
The training was attended by over thirty participants including twenty religious women from different congregations from four continents: Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
It started with “Here I am!” toward the reEvolution of the Works of Mercy but first and foremost a moment of revolution and personal awareness before the Lord during the Eucharistic celebration.
The theme of the formation was focused on how to spread the Works of Mercy in the world. Right from the start we understood that it was not really about formation but more about “transformation” because, in reality, we all already practice the Works of Mercy but it was about placing emphasis on the spirit in which they are lived in a world, like today’s, that is constantly changing.
In common parlance we always tend to emphasize the corporal Works of Mercy, often neglecting the spiritual ones that are instead the basis of action and therefore should walk together in a path of awareness.
Even the small gestures that inhabit our daily lives (such as a smile, a handshake, a simple greeting of daily life) if lived with a feeling of compassion and mercy are to be recognized as Works of Mercy.
In fact, every Christian, and even more so religious women, already live in their normal activities, the Works of Mercy also commonly called works of charity.
What we have discovered together, however, is the need to revitalize our way of working by enhancing the theme of reciprocity that leads us to recognize the dignity of each person: both of the one who does a work of mercy through a concrete gesture and of the one who receives it.
Making room for prayer
The main Work of Mercy for us as Christians must be prayer from which our action must start following the example of Jesus, as Fr. John Dombo reminded us in his report on this very theme.
Formation, for the women religious, began each day from the encounter with the Lord, through the prayer of Morning Lauds and the celebration of Holy Mass, and ended with the vespers prayer. So, at sunrise we would depart from the Lord and then hand everything back to Him at sunset “I am the vine, you are the branches, abide in me, you will bear fruit.”
In the school of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit acts in us even without our knowledge. Marco Chiolerio helped us to better understand the great need to always invoke Him before any of our actions especially if it is of great importance as it is to live and promote the Works of Mercy.
Making room for welcoming
We understood that practicing the Works of Mercy according to God’s commandment “be merciful as your Father in Heaven is merciful…” is very different from doing works of solidarity because it stems from a sense of gratitude as we ourselves are the first beneficiaries of God’s mercy.
And we have a duty to make all our brothers and sisters sharers in this mercy because no one is so rich that he or she does not need the help of others and no one is so poor that he or she has nothing to give to others.
We then moved on to consider the value of working together by taking as an example the flock of birds that emphasizes that unity is strength. If we are to promote the Works of Mercy in the world, and not only in our religious communities but in all spheres of life, from the ecclesial to the social, economic and political spheres, there is an urgent need to bring everyone’s abilities to bear, with humility, because as an African proverb quotes, “if you want to get there first run alone, if you want to get far walk together.”
The greatest challenge for us as artisans of the Works of Mercy is precisely the communication that must animate us as a family so that we work in synergy supporting each other in this mission.
True welcome comes from listening. In fact, for the first time, volunteers representing the misericordia were present at the formation who gave their availability to welcome and host the religious during these summer months before they return to the college where they study, and this was really a special feature of this fourth formation to also underscore the growth of spazio + spadoni as a family where we feel more and more the desire to walk and grow together…just like the flock.
Making room for listening
The one in Rome was a very nice moment that saw all participants involved not only in listening to the trainers but also in the freedom to ask questions, offer a small reflection, contribution or testimony from what was presented.
In fact, the last moment of these days, at the behest of the founder of spazio + spadoni, was devoted precisely to listening to each participant.
At the conclusion of the training there was a sense of gratitude in all the participants expressed in an African song by the words “I cannot leave again without thanking” because every encounter brings with it and in it a transformation.
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