Tuesday May 1st 2018
The gift of the new day was begun with the Eucharist celebrating St. Joseph the worker and all the labourers of the world. Fr. Jose reflected on the worker’s slogan ‘Victory to the Revoluton’. He said ‘All the earth is the Lord’s . And all the produce of the land is the fruit of the earth and work on f human hands. All bread is to be shared – that is revolution. We are called by Jesus , the son of Joseph, the worker, in this celebration of the Eucharist to change and to be transformed and to turn the world upside down. The first reading by Kahlil Gibran spoke of: What it is to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house’.
At our first session the Philippine sisters spoke of the boat which is a symbol of a journey by which the Presentation Sisters first arrived in their nation of 7500 islands, bringing the flame of Nano. The boat goes in the direction of a new destination. We Presentation Sisters, are planning to travel in a new direction.
In the afternoon we took our places at different tables to hold conversations on the Reports of the Congregational Commissions and Teams. Each table worked on one report and picked out significant aspects of it and looked at the proposals.
In the afternoon we saw the symbol from India North of the pot being broken. It revealed the light within, symbolizing our blessedness and brokenness on the journey.
Then we ended the day with a beautiful ritual of thanksgiving and blessing for the Congregational Leadership Team, remembering their contribution to the Congregation in the past six years. Their lives and work were appreciated and each of them received a gift as a token of gratitude. We ended with a spiral dance as we sang:
Women are we, Spirit are we,
We have the infinite within ourselves
We can find no beginning,
We can find no end,
All this we are, All this we are.
Submitted by the Pakistan Unit Delegates.