Seoul, 24 June 2011
Dear Sisters,
Greetings to all of you. On 21 June, our facilitator, Sr. Battistina Capalbo said she was keen that we would not go off track but that we would proceed to draw up our Global Continental Project. So that morning she presented two organisational charts to use as models with regard to the functioning and management of our diffusion centres. She said that our work should be concrete and should be aimed at improving diffusion. We carried out our activities on the small group level and there was such a convergence in our thinking that it was clear that the Spirit was truly among us. We were definitely moving towards responsibility/corresponsability in managing our diffusion.
In the afternoon, we attempted to synthesize our work of the past days. The emphasis shifted from the formation of the Pauline Apostle to the formulation of a concrete Project to be carried out in the area of diffusion, with particular attention to our book centres.
On Wednesday, 22 June, the Asia-Pacific Coordinating Team (APCT)-the liturgists of the day-prepared us for our 4th session of group work, which focused on the search for and choice of a way of being present in our territory. As we entered the first day of novena to our Father St. Paul, we asked the Apostle of the Gentiles to inspire and enlighten us in these last days of our communal labours.
We felt that our prayers were truly answered when we were able to pinpoint the steps to take so as to give a new face-a redesigned face-to our channels of diffusion, giving our book centres in particular higher visibility. After much animated discussion, we finally came to a convergence of ideas among ourselves and drafted a concrete and communal Project to redesign our diffusion. The Project will be carried out in various stages, according to well-defined timeframes, with specific responsibilities clearly assigned. We also discussed the possibility of carrying out some initiatives on the continental level.
The morning of that day, the air was dense, not with tension or anxiety, but with grey clouds and humidity. Even though it rained, our spirits remained high and the words of St. Paul in our introductory prayer invited us to serious work. We were in the concluding stage of our itinerary and Sr. Battistina commented that our activities the previous day had been very encouraging because they reflected everyone’s desire to draw up a project that could be concretely carried out when we return to our own circumscriptions.
After Morning Prayer, she presented us with the reworked text of our document, Redesigning Our Diffusion: areas in which to invest?t for final editing. In a short time our ideas converged into one. We were satisfied with the results and committed ourselves to realizing this Project.
The remaining hours of the day and the next morning Sr. Antonieta and the circumscription superiors met among themselves and also with the members of the Asia-Pacific Coordinating Team (APCT), while Sr. Gabriella Santon met the Treasurers to discuss some changes in preparing the Financial Report.
The rain continued to fall but this did not dampen our spirits and on the afternoon of the 23rd we ventured out to visit downtown Seoul in spite of the bad weather. Armed with umbrellas, we defied the downpour and strong winds and visited some beautiful places in this energetic and bustling city, including our MyongDong Book Centre.
On the last day of the encounter, our concluding Eucharistic Celebration was animated by the community with a dance and a Liturgy sung melodiously in Latin. At the Offertory, our Project was carried to the altar along with the bread and wine. That morning’s work session could be compared to a psalm of praise, thanksgiving and hope for the future. We were grateful for the enthusiasm, openness, trust and humility that reigned among us-all of which helped us go beyond our smallness and limitations, and we appreciated the strong desire on the part of everyone to collaborate with one another despite the fact that the Asia-Pacific part of the world is so diversified. All the sisters expressed their deep gratitude to our sisters of the Korean province and to the organising team.
In her concluding message, Sr. Antonieta stressed that the new evangelization we are called to carry out should be new in ardour, new in methods and new in expression-qualities that echo the pastoral strategy of Blessed James Alberione. She also expressed her gratitude to all the participants, mentioning each sister by name.
And with this, sisters, we say goodbye to you, thanking you all very sincerely for your prayers, messages and support. Please continue to remember us to the Lord as we strive to concretise the priorities we have chosen. May he enable us to proceed with our “missionary adventure” with the same passion and holiness of the Apostle Paul, Fr. Alberione and Maestra Thecla.
With affection and gratitude,
sr. Consolacion Ducusin and sr. Anne Plathara
