To All the Sisters.
Dearest Sisters,
Easter is here! Once again we feel invited into the garden where the Lord was buried. Like Mary Magdalene, we listen to his voice calling us. We see him and touch him. Longing for him to stay with us, we cry out with immense love: “Rabbouni…Master!”
Let us allow ourselves to be captivated by the face of the Master, before whom Mary Magdalene prostrated herself in adoration at dawn on the day of the resurrection. Afterward, she was sent to her brethren, becoming a super-apostle, the apostle of the apostles, a figure of the Church that, through its proclamation, communicates the profound experience of meeting the risen Christ: “I have seen the Lord!”
Following the announcement of the angel, Mary hastens to the house of Elizabeth. After her experience with the risen Christ, Mary Magdalene hurries to the disciples to recount what her eyes had seen and her hands had touched.
Mary is the first evangelizer. Mary Magdalene is the first witness to the risen Christ.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Mary sings the Magnificat. After finally being reunited with the One her heart loves (cf. Sg. 3:3), Mary Magdalene sets forth without delay to joyfully announce the good news.
As we welcome the invitation of our upcoming General Chapter to arise and set out on our journey, trusting in the Promise…the figure of Mary Magdalene opens our hearts to an ever-more ardent search for the Lord Jesus; to an announcement brimming over with joy, love and tenderness; to a profession of faith that becomes the surrender of our whole life to “the faithful One.”
Warmest best wishes to all of you, sisters, to our young women in formation, and to each and every one of our collaborators and Cooperators. May we ourselves, our communities and our apostolic centers become to an ever-increasing degree “places” from which to communicate the beauty of the risen Lord, the power and energy of communion, and the fascination and exuberance of a meeting that transforms our existence.
With gratitude and deep affection,
- Sr. Anna Maria Parenzan
Superior General
