Community life
Community life is
a source of joy,
mutual support
and sharing together;
it is also a place of conversion
and forgiveness.
“Our fellowship
in community is gift,
mission and witness:
it teaches us
to become sisters”
(General Congregation 2017)
© Wieslawa Klemens
Living together as sisters in community is made up of the ordinary events of daily life:
welcoming each other, community prayers, meals, daily tasks, and times spent together, sharing news, our worries and our joys, and the interest and concern we show in the mission that has been entrusted to each sister.
Each sister finds space in her day to include moments of personal prayer, (meditation, spiritual reading, review of the day) and regularly takes time out for a day of silence.
Our life is also structured by a rhythm of personal prayer, celebration of the Eucharist and community prayer which brings us together two or three times a day.
“At the heart of our life, the Eucharist is food for the joy of giving” (General Congregation 2011). The Eucharist is celebrated in community or in parishes, depending on the mission and location of the communities.
“Nurture above all
our belonging to Christ,
nourishing
a spirit of praise,
blessing and gratitude
where adoration is expressed
in humble service.”
(Le Vitrail, part VI)
Time spent together in community is especially precious for nurturing the relationships we have with one other. When different commitments mean the community is less able to be together, we discuss the timetable together and adapt it, which means that each person has to think about what the priorities are.
As well as the normal rhythm of community life, each individual community plans its own specific times of sharing (weekly and monthly meetings), as well as retreats and outings together.
Feast-days and week-ends when we come together for reflection, or visits from one community to another, are all occasions for meeting one other.
is built up and
invents itself every day,
through the participation
of one and all.”