NEW ALLIANCE COMMUNITY IN SAN JUSTO, ARGENTINA

Celebration of the sending of the 4th community of Alliance... 

"Happy will be if we walk in your ways; happy will be, Lord."  

He called us and sent us with his little ones to the diocese of San Justo, in Argentina,

as a Community in Alliance.

And we said "Here we are Lord, send us".

On Saturday 23 March 2024, in Lavallol, Buenos Aires, we received a very special grace: that of being able to celebrate and share - in person or virtually (1) - the sending of Cristina, Servant of Mary, and Gladi and Silvina, Sisters of Compassion... Where to? To what? For what?

During this beautiful celebration, we lived and benefited fully from four moments that they shared with us.

 Where do we come from and where are we going?

On this path of the Alliance that four Congregations (2) have been journeying since 2015, welcoming the promise of a new way of living apostolic religious life and with processes, projects and various experiences already in hand, today we are taking a new step in Latin America, founding an Alliance community in the diocese of San Justo. 

This will be the fourth Alliance community, as there are already two in France and one in Spain.

 To what?

To continue to live the mission in community, to be a fraternal and helping presence, in the style of our founders. And here Silvina, Gladi and Cristina expressed to us what they live and what they want to live: they are different women, living two different charisms although very close, with different gifts and personal and institutional careers... and knowing that they are called to integrate into San Justo with other missionaries, other ecclesial charisms, other people and other groups... with whom they will weave their lives and their services.

Weaving with threads of different colors and textures was the expressive gesture that accompanied this moment.

 For what?

To make present the newness of the Kingdom. This moment was the heart of the celebration. We listened to the story of the wedding at Cana, we entered into this scene, we let ourselves be deeply touched ... and from the prayerful silence, expressions emerged from what we were living in the "here and now": "They have no wine...", how many lack, how many brothers and sisters live in need; "Do whatever He tells you... Fill the jars!", fill them with what they are, with their water, which the Lord will transform into new wine for brothers and sisters, the wine of fraternity, of shared and surrendered life...

 Sending!

And here is the key moment, the one that is at the origin of this meeting, of this convocation: the sending of Cristina, Gladi and Silvina to be a fraternal and missionary community, announcing the Kingdom, inserted in the diocese of San Justo. We are aware that it is impossible to live this out with our own strength alone, so we invoke the same Spirit of Jesus to assist, guide, accompany and strengthen them... 

At this point, we all make the sincere gesture of extending our hands in blessing, accompanying the sending of our hands, in the name of each congregation, by the General Superiors (3). Then they offered the new community a small lamp with perfumed oil, a sign that will remind them of this moment and encourage them to live and spread the gentle warmth and evangelical fragrance of prayer and fraternity in their meetings and tasks, to soothe, soften and give flavor, scent and color to their surroundings. 

Then, with an affectionate embrace from all present for the new community, we closed this moment and continued to share delicious "empanadas" in an atmosphere of great joy, anticipating the approaching Easter.

(1) Lay people and Sisters from Argentina, Spain, Cameroon, France, Peru... were connected, via 37 computers, not counting the number of participants present in each case - (2) Servants of Mary, Sisters of Compassion, Daughters of the Cross and Sisters of the Savior - (3) Sister Isabelle, of the Servants of Mary, and Sister Elena, of the Sisters of Compassion.