Special spazio + spadoni Missionary October. Our Mission in Italy
Sister Freeda and Sister Pravina from India to the Misericordia of Anghiari
The story of the lives, of the Congregation, of the mission of the two sisters, Franciscans of Saint Thomas.
Sister Freeda
Sister Freeda lets you touch the exhilaration of the dream, of someone who flies relentlessly, but in the end crouches on the slopes of desire that is fulfilled. This dream is linked to those of another sister: Sister Pravina. Together they live in the community of Anghiari, first at the local Misericordia and currently at the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Carmine.
The mathematics of Providence
I am a sister of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Thomas. I come from a large family: there are 8 of us, 4 brothers and 4 sisters. Providence, too, is so mathematical! I am the 5th daughter in the family.
After high school, I had to make up my mind. What to do with my life? I had an uncle who was a priest and he touched my heart: he inspired me to observe everything he did and how he did it. My family has always been very Catholic and we often gathered to recite the Rosary. In those moments, my mother, without telling me anything, set the intention for me to become a nun. In our house, the Rosary could not be missing, so much so that my mother always said: “He who doesn’t pray doesn’t eat”.
I made the decision to enter the Convent at 18. Even though my uncle wanted to direct me towards another congregation, I chose the Franciscan Sisters of St. Thomas where rice is grown, service is provided to the poor, a simple life is led and all of this constitutes a real family. I remember that at my first profession, my mother gave me her blessing, with tears in her eyes. I was making his dream come true.
“Preethi” means love
“Preethi” is my nickname which in Tamil means “love” and my mother has always been a model of this. She is the one who nourished my love for the Madonna. When I made my final profession, she had been dead for two months and at that moment I prayed a lot to accept the pain of her passing: my mother was a great woman and a great gift.
Something full of mystery: very soon I was superior. I took care of the orphanage house where we take care of the children. I was very worried about being able to give them a future. In fact, everyone must have the opportunity to cultivate their dreams. We too had a dream, that of creating a new community, which came true thanks to spazio + spadoni.
The origins
I come from Muttom, a seaside village and from a family of fishermen: my dad was one, so is my brother. I have always felt like a living part of my village, there we live like a big reunited family.
What is Muttom like for those wishing to visit it?
Muttom is a quiet beach surrounded by huge rocks as if to give the pleasant feeling of a pristine beach. If you want to watch the sunset there is no better place than this.
Sister Pravina
“Living in contact with reality is always living in contact with a dream, it’s a book that is written.”
Our encounter with spazio + spadoni
Luigi Spadoni always told us: “You who are in a Misericordia, become for it like angels with legs. Here are the gifts of God that walk!”
Certainly opening a community was not easy, especially convincing others that this type of project could work. If someone can’t achieve their dream, the least you can do is try to help them. Luigi Spadoni says: “It takes time to teach how to fish but then it’s a matter of a moment to get to work.”
The fruits of here I am
In Italy I really found another life, at the beginning it was very complicated: the effort, the language, the culture! The simplest thing to understand was one, which was that you always had to start everything from scratch.
I’m ready, here I am! I say: “Let’s experience this fruit!”. We are ready to act, to do God’s wonders! The evangelical parables increasingly lead me to understand that the fruit of love is what is called “equality” (there is no rich person and there is no poor person, we are equal) and equality leads to reciprocity but above all to Grace. I myself, for example, am the fruit of a grace asked of the Lord: as soon as I was born, I fell and my mother asked Mary for a grace, dedicating myself with all my intentions to her.
In Italy
In these years of mission in Italy, I have been able to understand even more how much the suffering of lonely people can be alleviated with company, being together, building relationships. And how many times tears become a gift that makes us understand how precious that little good that we do and that always comes back to us is.
In India
Who ever said that there is poverty in South India? People live well there. Indeed, it is Northern India that is currently most in crisis and is also the place where there are the most vocations.
At 17 I decided to enter a convent, after meditating on Saint Teresina. Another of the figures who inspired me is Mother Teresa of Calcutta, arousing in me the instinct for mission.
Living, embodied mission: our HIC SUM project
I immediately became involved in patient service, having studied to be a nurse. I practiced the profession in the villages, I managed the dispensaries.
What are the main difficulties in contact with the reality of the village? Certainly, that of moving, in addition to living in poverty. There are hospitals in the city, both government and private, but the problem is how to get there. In fact, many people do not have the money for transport and we at least try to put them in a position to get to the hospital, considering that the bus to the city only passes twice a month.
We have a small dispensary but that small dispensary is very useful. The nurse does everything there, she is not only the one who distributes the medicines but also acts as a doctor. Due to the difficulty of reaching hospitals in certain situations it is necessary to intervene urgently even with operations. Imagine the weight of the responsibility. All the people in need come to our dispensary, it doesn’t matter if they are Hindus or Catholics.
Personally, I remember that when I returned to my village I was also happy to meet the other local women who, like me, had chosen to become a nun. The village is like a family coming together. And in relationships there is God, there is everything.
“Here I am, send me!”
Jesus is my God. Jesus is my husband. Jesus is my life. Jesus is my only love. Jesus is everything to me. Jesus, for me, is the only one. We believe in the mission of Jesus. We believe in the mission of the Church. Only God can give faith, Jesus you, but you can give testimony. You alone are the light; you, however, can make me shine in everyone’s eyes. You are everything to me, without you I can do nothing. Father, give us today and always the Faith that knows how to see and serve Jesus, your Son, in the poor.
Lord, wherever you call us to continue your journey, give us the strength to carry out our mission, so that our effort bears fruit and is a source of blessing. AMEN.