Synodal Journey a priority of Salesian Sisters

Taking on missionary synodality as a lifestyle that creates new ways of participation, animation and governance is one of the priorities highlighted by the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, during their General Chapter in 2021, a time of examination, reflection and orientation for a community in search of God’s will for the Institute.

“Synodality is a charismatic aspect for us because, as an Institute, we have been synodal from the very beginning, if we see synodality as a way of being and acting and promoting the participation of all in the shared educational mission”, said Mother Chiara Cazzuola, Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. Indeed, “synodality is the expression of the spirituality of communion that has its basis in the Trinity and becomes tangible in the communion between the sisters and young people. The uniqueness of Maria Domenica Mazzarello, as religious mother, educator and Cofoundress, is that she has cooperated in creating synodal communities, that is, communities marked by working, praying, living and sharing life and the mission “together”.

Our mission among young people

“We are called to animate and accompany the vocational growth of each person entrusted to us, in continuous discernment”, Mother Cazzuola underlined. “In this sense”, she added, the main objective of the education mission is to direct young people towards the encounter with Jesus of Nazareth. Young people themselves then become protagonists in the educational offer. They ask us to assume new lifestyles and new strategies for a pastoral service that is more open and synodal, in response to their expectations”.

“The education mission is entrusted to the entire community of educators — religious, lay people, young people — and demands the convergence of various initiatives within a project of global diffusion which, in turn, demands the participation of many voices at various levels of interaction: ecclesial, social, and political. By putting young people at the centre, the educating community is committed to weaving a web of solidarity among all those who believe and work in the education mission”, Mother Cazzuola explained.

This is why, she underscored, methods of pastoral intervention need to be sought out, experienced, and checked within the context they work in, so that they may respond to the real issues that emerge. Being able to coordinate in a harmonious way guarantees the synergy of all the resources related to the common project, beyond the various ways and various bodies of animation. “Life grows and is developed if we seek to nourish it together by working with optimism and pastoral care and strengthening communion with Jesus, the true wellspring of our communion”, the Superior General concluded.

Dealing with inevitable disagreements and conflict

“Charity should be the powerful force that spurs the soul, makes very different people converge and helps them overcome inevitable conflict and poverty at all levels. It is necessary to find the time and to have the opportunity to express oneself, to listen to one another with attention and respect, even and especially, when the other person has a different view”, said Mother Yvonne Reungoat, Superior General emeritus, to Vatican News. The Expert and Facilitator of the Synodal Assembly added that this debate should be supported by the firm willingness to seek what unites so that it may prevail over what separates. “Choices and decisions should always arise from reflection and prayer”, she explained.

Being people of Communion and Reconciliation

Sharing her experience, Mother Reungoat underlined that a point of convergence can be reached and that being people of communion and reconciliation is possible despite differences in views, if we make progress in dialogue, clarity, mutual hospitality, awareness of the need for a continuous process of conversion of the heart and of the mind, according to the Gospel.

“We cannot deny disagreement and conflict because when they are well-handled they become precious opportunities for growth for everyone. They stir up reflection, analysis and push us to always go beyond, to see if effectively we are walking in the way of the charism, or running the risk of remaining closed off within a rigidity of thought and trapped in our own partial views”, she continued. Mother Reungoat highlighted that dealing with disagreements and conflict well, can help us make the Paschal step that leads us to come out of the “I”, seen in an individualistic sense, to reach the “communitarian/ecclesial us”.

“We must never forget that we are a community for the mission”, the Superior General emeritus of the Salesian sisters and Expert and Facilitator of the Synodal Assembly, concluded.

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Sr Ausilia De Siena, fma