Provincial Assembly - Pachmarhi

The Province, India, was held from 6 to 8 June 2019 at Pachmarhi, India. Forty-seven sisters of the Province participated in this gathering.
S. Annies Padayattil the Provincial in her inaugural address acknowledging the need for an in-depth introspection of their religious commitment and the need to reorient their life and mission said, “Consecrated life will always mean living on the edge and participating in the struggles and the insecurities of the  peripheries,” and paused the question,“Do we recognise the most neglected and peripheralized people around us?”

The theme “Being Sacraments of New Relationships in the Fractured World” was very well discussed from a Biblical point of view by the resource person Fr. Francis Scaria a priest from the Arch diocese of Bhopal. His presentation covered all aspects of the life of a religious from personal level to Mission in today’s context. He stressed the importance of priests and religious living a disciplined and ascetic life and witness to the values of Jesus rather than identifying themselves with the world and its superfluities.

The word Sacrament entails many aspects.  Sacraments are efficacious signs which will produce an effect. If our presence does not make an effect on the society, we cannot be sacraments of Jesus.
Sacraments give an experience of what they stand for. “I am a sacrament of Jesus presence in the world” he said. “Self-promotion is a sin against sacramentality.” Jesus is the centre and not I. “Can I make God visible through my humanity?”

The assembly recognised the need to make some changes at personal level, community level and at the ministry level. 
The commissions of various ministries and the regional coordination teams presented their reports and expressed their struggles in materialising the dream of “Being Sacraments of New Relationships in the Fractured World.” The groups revised the action plans for the year 2019-20 in the light of the Word of God and the presentations.

S. Navya Neelamvilail