GENERAL COUNCIL

The theme of our chapter this year is “Moving on in one spirit” symbolised by WATER.

Water flowing from one source, energetically, to different places but connected. Water flowing dynamically, drenching and reviving, enabling growth. An oval logo symbolizing unity and equality. Water flowing, moving and penetrating even in the small corners, providing change, endless, and open to all new possibilities. 

Water moved by the Spirit, of which the power/energy encourages us to face the present reality and to respect the past. What message does the theme/symbol convey to the whole congregation? In the constitutions we read: “We call ourselves Sisters of Our Lady’.

We have heard the call of Jesus. We want to orient our lives to his good news. He showed us what it means in God’s eyes to be human: everyone matters …

In response, we want to serve God in ourselves and in others, before everything else to seek the Kingdom of God and his mercy, justice and peace. (Constitutions-Purpose of the congregation). Responding to the call of God, we dedicate ourselves to God in the congregation.

Our congregation – the sisters of Our Lady – lives from and is activated by the same source. It started at Amersfoort, then slowly spread out to a number of areas in the Netherlands, Indonesia, Malawi and the Philippines just like water flowing dynamically to all directions beyond borders, but always open for new possibilities. Every time we hold chapters, we try to actualize our living of our spirituality; we try to adapt new forms in correspondence with   the needs of this time. As General Council, we consciously follow the move, while directing the oozing to enable growth. For us, ‘Moving on in one spirit’ means to admit and to accept differences.

We are sure in the whole congregation there are movements to growth, how subtle they might be. There might be big differences in rhythm and rapidity in the particular provinces/region as result of age, life environment, personal capabilities, and including the financial situation. For us, ‘Moving on in one spirit’ means moving forward to the future, standing on the realities of the present and learning from the experiences of the past. At this very special moment – at the opening of the general chapter – ‘Moving on in one spirit’ has to be seen as a personal invitation to let ourselves be moved by the same source, and be open to all kind of new possibilities while gazing at the growth of the congregation towards the future.