As part of our initial formation, we, the young Sisters of Burkina Faso, held our experience review session from Wednesday 27 to Friday 30 December 2023 in the community of Ouagadougou. “Living fraternal life in community following the example of our first sisters” was the subject prepared and given by Sister Silvie ROAMBA, vice-provincial.
First of all, Sister Silvie set out some objectives for us: to spend a special time together as young professed sisters, looking at the very first sisters of the Congregation in France: at Le Légué, Plérin, Taden, etc.; to re-read our experiences of community life: what makes us grow, what is difficult, and to make resolutions for tomorrow… During an initial prayer, we read what our spirituality tells us about our communities, “houses of charity”: “They are places where our identity as Daughters of the Holy Spirit is experienced, lived out in attentiveness to the movements of the Spirit and in the wake of the Virgin Mary, places where the mission can be relived, in sharing between sisters and in prayer”
Then a questionnaire enabled us to re-read the Christmas celebration, our states of mind, to share our joys, our difficulties linked to the mission and to express our expectations. We used source texts from the Congregation, the Church and the letter of 8 December 2016 “Marie et Renée -first sisters of the congregation- witnesses to the Love that changes the world”, written by Sister Anne-Marie FOUCHER.
From the session, we retain the following: To become a disciple of Christ is to journey with Him. Following him presupposes a personal encounter and a free, considered choice that encourages community life. The community is a place of fraternity, of human and spiritual growth. It is also a place where each member comes with what she is and what she has, a place of complementarity that the vows ratify: poverty by sharing goods, chastity by renouncing selective relationships and obedience that binds wills in favour of the common good. Looking at our first sisters, we can conclude that they built their community life on love: mutual respect, trust, dialogue, prayer, and dedication to the mission of serving the poor, the sick and children.
Our reflection session ended with the celebration of the Eucharist and some fraternal sharing.
Sister Ida Nitogra MEDA, DHS. Published on 2 January 2024
