Congregational Spiritual Renewal Program in Brazil

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We are the last group engaged in the Congregational Spiritual Renewal Program in Brazil. Ten groups preceeded us. We came from Salaverry – La Libertad (Peru), Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Maranhão, Tocantins, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). Besides our luggage, we brought hearts full of enthusiasm, joy, expectation and an inner disposition to welcome what was to come.

We are very grateful to the Congregation, to the Brazilian Provinces and to our communities who provided this precious time of spiritual renewal through prayer, reflection, silence, study, sharing and integration for us.

Here are some testimonials from the participants regarding the Renewal:

• Watching the sisters arriving from different states in Brazil and even from Peru with big smiles on their faces was a real experience of God´s goodness and a sign of the Kingdom of God among us! Now we are missioned to live rapture of action. Come! Let us wake up the world! (Sr. M. Lory Inês Rockenbach)

• The Spiritual Renewal Program was a unique opportunity to reignite our first love. The themes, the sharing, and the new experiences were designed to recapture the real meaning of our call. I am grateful for the opportunity. (Sr. M. Áurea)

• It has been a period of immersion into our human, Christian and Congregational history. I experienced 20 rich days of sharing, silence, harmony and synthesis. I thank the sisters who were our facilitators, my religious community, the Province and the Congregation. (Sr. M. Rosa Hoelscher)

• The person who is able to contemplate is also able to understand the great significance of human existence. The Spiritual Renewal Program helped me to review the past, to contemplate the present and to plan for the future. Thank you! (Sr. Norma M. Specht)

• Spiritual Renewal: hope for a new beginning, time to review the beginning and the middle of our journey and to start walking with new light. Many indications were apparent and we have to find out which ones take us to the NEW, in this ever changing world. (Sr. M. Ivone Strehl)

• It has been a time of grace, renewal and of rekindling my consecration. (Sr. Caciane M. Quatrin)

• It was a time to return to the original sources as well as to review the Congregational history. A period of renewal, harmony and joy for being a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame. (Sr. M. Dalva Garlet)

• A special time to recall the history of the Congregation and to enjoy the beauty of experiencing the good and provident God who permeates our lives in so many ways. I felt refreshed and ready to continue sharing my gifts and talents in the mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame. (Sr. Lenimar Pereira da Silva)

• It was a beautiful time of gathering between the two Brazilian Provinces — a time for conversion and mercy. I like to feel part of the Sisters of Notre Dame’s history. (Sr. M. Salete Rech)

• A special time of grace, blessings, renewal and spiritual and communal beginnings. (Sr. M. Margarete Cerutti)

• The Spiritual Renewal Program can be described as a time of abundant grace, enchantment and reflection about who we are and what we are called to be as SNDs. I was looking forward to this renewal. It has been a wonderful experience! Thank you for the opportunity. (Sr. Maria Luisa de Luca)

• The Renewal Program is more than a program. It is an encounter, an experience and a sharing. It is an experience of mystery. It is a review of our Congregational history and a clarification of what is essential in our consecrated religious life. (Sr. Maria Helena Kumpfer)

• For me, the Renewal Program has been a path to transformation, an “exodus” experience, a time of a deep review of the Congregation’s history and a personal renewal in the following of Jesus Christ. (Sr. M. Marli Auziliero)

• The Renewal Program was a time of blessings, a time of encounter with oneself, with God, with the mission and history of the Congregation. The beautiful environment and the wonderful group of sisters helped us to transform prayer and renewal into a source for more life. (Sr. Ivete M. Costella)

• We went deeply into the Notre Dame mystical spirituality that goes beyond the borders of our own hearts, and impels us to live in empathy with human pain. (Sr. Mirian Terezinha Garcia).

• It was a great light, a sign of the infinite tenderness and mercy of the good God. (Sr. Thereza M. Slonski)

• This time was enriching and I believe it will help us to carry on with more “lightness” and more commitment to our mission. “Just choose to respond positively to the Lord´s appeals”. (Sr. Ulda Maria Mattje)

A hearty thank you to the Sisters of Our Lady of Aparecida Province, the Sisters and staff at the Notre Dame Center of Events for the outstanding care for our well-being.

A special thank you to Sr. Leoni Maria Krämer, Sr. Vania Maria Dalla Vecchia and Sr. Deisi Maria Naibo who were the coordinators of the 11th Congregational Spiritual Renewal Program from January 4^th to January 24^th, ending with a retreat.

We are also grateful to their assistants: Sr. M. Terezinha Quatrin, Sr. Renete M. Cocco and Sr. M. Laudete Zambonin.

We commit to incarnating the love of our good and provident God.