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Sao Paulo, 9 August 2011
Dearest Sisters,
Our day began with a surge of power emanating from the Secret of Success, prayed in English, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese during the Eucharistic Celebration. We all feel the need to surrender ourselves with renewed faith into the hands of the Lord, who chose us, loved us and sent us out. We count on his Spirit to give us the light we need to discern the new paths for our mission on this immense and very diversified continent.
Before focusing on our situation in America, in accord with today’s program, we were drawn into the passionate theme of apostolic mysticism-a reality innate to the Pauline vocation, as Sr. Anna Caiazza, General Councilor, underscored in her talk: “The Pauline Mission: When a person is on fire….” Sr. Anna cited Fr. Alberione several times because from the outset he disclosed to his sons and daughters the horizons of this dimension of the Pauline life. Her talk, presented with great simplicity, was anchored in daily life so as to demonstrate that apostolic mysticism is both fundamental and absolutely normal for the Pauline apostle: “When we speak about mysticism, we do not mean only extraordinary phenomena. Instead, we are talking about how to live in communion with God so as to be apostles. Each one of us is called to the mystical life….”
Afterward, we participated in an interesting Symposium, during which the sisters of various circumscriptions shared their thoughts concerning the principles of the Pauline charism that underlie our apostolic commitment. The panelists then offered us their vision of what they thought our Pauline Book Centers should be like in the next five years. Our subsequent group work, carried out according to the “Philips Method,” led us to a surprising convergence of ideas concerning the essence and principles of the Pauline charism.
In the afternoon, two members of the preparatory commission-Sr. Annamaria Gasser and Sr. Natalia Maccari-reviewed the history of our Continental Meetings for the Apostolate, which began in 1987. They offered us a critical reading of the most significant data in this regard and then highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of our apostolate in America, comparing them with the opportunities and threats that spring from the contexts in which our sisters live and work.
Our journey toward drafting a Global/Continental Apostolic Project has begun and we are moving ahead at full speed… . We count on the power of your prayers and thank you sincerely for them!
Sr. Anna Caiazza
