ELM FINAL DAY
The 2024 Loyola ELM came to a conclusion today. The CJ participants continued their work, focussed on the topic of finance and the future of Via Nomentana. The final session was filled with joy and gratitude for the opportunity for getting to know the IBVM and the CJ members and growing together as One Body.
IBVM participants travelled together to San Sebastian to celebrate the service of Geraldine McAleer, outgoing Institute Treasurer.
The ELM concluded with a Eucharistic celebration of gratitude for the gifts received during this time together. Each Province, Region, and Generalate Leadership Teams were given a candle from Loyola to bring home to share light and joy of Being One. We continue to walk the path together as Mary Ward women.
DAY 12
IBVM and CJ participants spent the day apart, in their respective groups, for some time to process the previous days and to discuss specific congregational issues. Participants came together at the end of the day for a Eucharistic celebration.
DAY 11
The day was spent reviewing the IBVM Capacity for Life and Ministry Resource Assessment conducted by L&P. With a focus on mission sustainability so that the Mary Ward charism can be continued into the future. Participants also took time to give a heartfelt thank you to Sr. Geraldine McAleer for her many years of service as Institute Treasurer, supporting Sisters, Provinces, and Regions across the world. We welcome and thank Sr. Hellen Oluoch who assumes the role going forward.
SAFEGUARDING DAY 3
Today was the third and final day of an intensive formation on safeguarding with our facilitator Tina Campbell. Following some time for reflection and collective processing of yesterday’s material, Tina led participants through a series of safeguarding topics: the reality and possible causes of abuse in the Church, explanation of cognitive distortions, the reality of abuse in religious life and in formation, accompaniment of and care for victim survivors of abuse including the creation of care plans, social media and online abuse, and the use of codes of conduct in community life and ministry. It was a very full day. The day concluded with a final reflection and Eucharistic celebration.
SAFEGUARDING DAY 2
Participants continued with learnings on safeguarding. The day began with some processing of the previous day’s material, followed by prayer.
‘Blessing for the parents of one who has committed crime’ – John O’Donohue
No one else can see beauty
In his darkened life now.
His image has closed
Like a shadow.
When people look at him,
He has become the mirror
Of the damage he has done.
But he is yours,
And you have different eyes
That hold his yesterdays
In pictures no one else remembers.
Waiting for him to be born,
Not knowing who he would be,
The moments of his childhood,
First steps, first words,
Smiles and cries;
And all the big thresholds
Of his journey since…
He is yours in a way
No words could ever tell:
And you can see through
This stranger this deed has made him
And still find the countenance of your son.
Despite all the disappointment and shame,
May you find in your belonging with him
A kind place, where your spirit will find rest.
May new words come alive between you
To build small bridges of understanding.
May that serenity lead you beyond guilt and blame
To find that bright field of the heart
Where he can come to feel your love
Until it heals whatever darkness drove him
And he can see what it is he has done
And seek forgiveness and bring healing;
May this dark door open a path
That brightens constantly with new promise.
Throughout the day participants received input and had time for reflection/integration on safeguarding issues including concerns, allegations and red flags, sexual abuse behaviours, responsibilities of leaders, and review of scenarios and case studies.
The day ended with spiritual conversation and Eucharist.
SAFEGUARDING DAY 1
Participants have now begun a three-day module on safeguarding facilitated by Tina Campbell, who has worked previously with both branches of the Institute on the issue.
The morning began with a poem-prayer by John O’Donohue:
For A Leader
May you have the grace and wisdom
To act kindly, learning
To distinguish between what is
Personal and what is not.
May you be hospitable to criticism.
May you never put yourself at the centre of things.
May you act not from arrogance but out of service.
May you work on yourself,
Building up and refining the ways of your mind.
May those who work for you know
You see and respect them.
May you learn to cultivate the art of presence
In order to engage with those who meet you.
When someone fails or disappoints you,
May the graciousness with which you engage
Be their stairway to renewal and refinement.
May you treasure the gifts of the mind
Through reading and creative thinking
So that you continue as a servant of the frontier
Where the new will draw its enrichment from the old,
And may you never become a functionary.
May you know the wisdom of deep listening,
The healing of wholesome words,
The encouragement of the appreciative gaze,
The decorum of held dignity,
The springtime edge of the bleak question.
May you have a mind that loves frontiers
So that you can evoke the bright fields
That lie beyond the view of the regular eye.
May you have good friends
To mirror your blind spots.
May leadership be for you
A true adventure of growth.
Participants then reflected on where they are in their personal journey of safeguarding. Over the course of the day, input was provided on the topic of safeguarding – definitions, forms of abuse, and the process of grooming. The day concluded with spiritual conversation and Eucharist.
DAY 7
CJs shifted tables this morning, while IBVMs stayed put, to create new table sharing groups. The morning began with faith sharing, followed by plenary sharing on what was resonating within participants from the previous day.
The focus of this day, the final day together with the Discerning Leadership team, was to gather the graces of the past three days, recognize them, and contemplate how to bring them back home.
Participants were invited to form triads and develop creative expressions / statements of the graces of this time, whether in video form, dramatic representation, artwork, or song. These creative statements were shared with the large group.
In the afternoon, participants were invited to continue their reflection of the graces received over the past three days, going deeper into conversation in their triads and sharing in the large group.
The day concluded with a Eucharistic celebration in the chapel of conversion of St. Ignatius.
DAY 6
IBVMs shifted tables, while CJs stayed put, to create new groups for faith sharing on the readings of the day. The group became grounded in the grace of the day: to live our truth, together for mission.
The day’s focus was to deepen our intimacy, to show up authentically, to begin voicing our hopes, fears, tendernesses, with the hope of deepening our body which is in formation.
The morning was spent in retreat-like contemplation of three questions:
- What tenderness, concern, or fear am I holding as I consider our future together?
- In colloquy with Mary Ward and Jesus, I am invited to bring what I am holding and share it with them.
- What awareness does this awaken in me? What grace do I ask for to move forward with hope and courage?
Following personal reflection, participants engaged in spiritual conversation in triads, followed by plenary sharing in the large group.
In the afternoon, participants continued to share on the morning’s prayer, finding resonance in the importance of sharing our unique voices. A brief Q&A time was spent with Sr. Carmel and Sr. Veronica responding to practical questions concerning the merger. The day ended with a Eucharistic celebration.
DAY 5
IBVM and CJ participants gathered together for the first day of joint meetings. We rejoice in this moment of oneness!
Sr. Carmel, IBVM and Sr. Veronica, CJ shared some opening words of welcome to the combined group. Here are Sr. Carmel’s words:
Good morning, Guten morgen, Beunos Dias, joh-eun achim-ieyo, Dobre rano, bom dia, buna dimineata, yo regelt, buongiorno.
On behalf of all IBVM participants, I want to assure you that we are in unanimous agreement that the time for merger is now. It is here, now is the moment. We are at one in truly believing that these three days with you will be the start of something wonderful for the Church and for the service of God’s people – a significant moment of renewal and revitalization.
Loyola represented a place of transformation and conversion for Ignatius. Here he experienced a restlessness, an opening to divine awareness where God spoke to him in unexpected ways. Since coming here, we have discovered anew how prayer gives us the wider view. In the time apart, David and Pablo helped to create a space for love and togetherness where the movement of the spirit was evident, in fact tangible. We gave thanks for our shared Ignatian heritage and charism which has stood the test of time. We join you today as MW /TB women. We come in faith and respect. We look forward to building relationships of deep trust. We carry with us all of our members, our friends , families, colleagues and co-workers, who are praying with us during these precious days of adventure.
Since our arrival, we have been reflecting on our initial YES. Yesterday’s YES is a deeper YES today. We are here under God’s loving gaze, each willing to meet the spark of the divine, to encounter Christ in the other. We assure you that we feel blessed to journey together, appreciating and honouring the God-seed of both congregations. Our prayer is that we will have the extravagant disposition that MW and TB exemplified. We are moved to be at the service of the future, mission focussed and asking: What more can we do for Christ? Merger is the culmination of a long process, of a deep desire for union. We feel the presence of a great cloud of witnesses, IBVM and CJ women who loved Christ and shared his values with those they met. Since the first Loreto foundation in Rathfarnham, God has moved well ahead of us. Before we ended yesterday, Jane shared a strong image of Teresa Ball with her white handkerchief, raised in blessing and gratitude as she encouraged us to GO. So here we are this morning with full hearts, some curiosity, a little trepidation and secure in the knowledge that He who gave us the initial inspiration and grace to say Yes to union with you all – our CJ/MW sisters – will bestow upon us abundant grace to continue the Yes.
Jesus say Amen
Sr. Veronica’s welcome message (summary):
First of all, I would like to say a very big thank you to each and every one for being here this morning. Not only physically but here with open hearts, open minds, happiness in each single face being here this morning. Thank you for this disposition. I think we should save it in our heart as we save files in our disks. This moment of being sure, being aware, we are deeply touched, we are really ready, we are happy for this moment of journeying together has come closer. Now, we get up and walk together. When I welcomed the CJs, I quoted a poem, called Journeying Together – an indication of the way ahead
The right way is always the way,
that we walk together.
No distance is too far for me,
let me be surprised.
Curious about you
And our way – adventure
Without ifs and buts …
Participants began the day with faith sharing prayer at their tables. The morning was spent getting to know one another on a deeper level, starting with some fun physical mapping exercises illustrating the diversity of age, years in religious life, geographic origin, and preferences like ocean or mountain, Martha or Mary, and introvert or extravert, among others.
Participants were then invited to take an Emmaus walk with a Sister from the other branch and share their stories of their journey of Becoming One, whether an experience of the first few days of this ELM gathering or a many-year journey of discovery.
After lunch, participants were invited to continue to deepen knowledge of one another by reflecting on three questions:
- What was it that inspired me to enter religious life as a Mary Ward sister?
- What were one or two defining moments in my journey since?
- What sustains me now in this calling?
After quiet reflection, table groups took time to share the fruits of their contemplation. The day ended with sharing in the large group and a reflection using the Examen Prayer, followed by Eucharist.
DAY 4
The day began with faith sharing in small groups on the gospel of the day. The morning’s conversations focused on the role of local leadership in identifying and responding to the needs of members in regions and provinces with respect to the whole merger process.
Our facilitator led us through a presentation and reflection on change management and the tools of attractor / container in creating stability and honest dialogue / transforming space in creating disturbance. In processes of change, both stability and disturbance are necessary, in the right balance.
The afternoon session focused on individual reflection and communal preparation for tomorrow’s joint meeting with the CJs.
The day ended with a Eucharistic celebration.
BREAK DAY
Check out our social media to see what ELM participants got up to during the break days!
DAY 3
The morning began with an extended time of personal prayer and reflection on the gospel passage of the wedding fest at Cana. What does this passage have to say to us about the upcoming merger? Drawing on and expanding the themes from the previous day, participants creatively expressed their hopes and desires for ‘oneing’.
Our facilitators led us through an afternoon reflection, including an Emmaus Walk, on the possibilities of Adaptive Leadership. What does this model have to offer to us? And how do we empower members as we journey along the path of ‘oneing’?
The afternoon session concluded with a gathering of the graces that were then celebrated at Eucharist.
Sunday is a free day for participants so stay tuned for photos of their adventures!
DAY 2
Today had the flavour of a retreat day. It began with faith sharing in small groups on the gospel of the day and moved into morning and afternoon personal reflection on the theme of celebration of the people and ministries that have shaped the history of the IBVM.
The morning and afternoon were spent in remembrance, contemplation, and sharing. As one of the facilitators noted, when we gather for spiritual conversation, we are creating a container for spiritual resonance, a safe space for sharing at a deep level, touching the places of tenderness and poignancy within.
The day ended with a Eucharistic celebration to give thanks and gather the graces.
DAY 1
The day began with faith sharing in small groups on the gospel of the day. Carmel welcomed the group to Loyola, noting the significance of this place of holiness and conversion for the conversations that will unfold over the coming weeks.
She gave thanks for each person’s ‘yes’ to serving on leadership and for their presence at this meeting. A special acknowledgment of Mary Wright’s absence and prayers for her.
After the Discerning Leadership team members – David McCallum, SJ and Pablo Bernal – were introduced, the group was led through a an icebreaker session and then a series of exercises reflecting on intention, desire, and the reality of this moment.
The day ended with a Eucharistic celebration to gather the graces.
