Good Shepherd News

No. 202 August 2007

Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd

What’s inside?

News from Egypt page 7c

Ethiopia’s Millenium page 11

Senegal: 50 years of religious consecration page 12

Indonesia celebrates 80th year of foundation page 14

Unit chapters and restructuring in the congregation

Be led by the Spirit Gal 5:16 By Sr. Odile Laugier RGS On November 25, 1641 at the rue St. Jean in Caen, near the Porte Millet, a house of welcome, a refuge, was opened. (Continued on page 3)

In recent months, several units in the congregation had their pro-vincial, district or sector chap-ters. For some, the chapter also meant electing a new leader or having someone named by the congregational leadership team. In May, the District of China and the sector of Korea (formerly with the East Asia Province) formed a new province, North East Asia. During its first chapter,a new pro-vince leader was named. In 2006, Argentina and Uruguay, as

Provincial Chapter of Bolivia/Chile. From left to right: Srs. Cecilia Patiño (Congregational Leadership Team), Ma. Cristina Opazo (Bolivia) Eliene Barros (Congregational Leadership Team) and Leticia Cortez (Chile) (Continued on page 2)

Outcome of Theological Reflection

A clear message to go forward The congregational leadership teams of the Good Shepherd Sisters and Our Lady of Charity wrote last June 14 that based on the responses of the sisters to the consultation regarding the reestablishment of the two congregations as one, the OLC and Good Shepherd Sisters must continue with the process of journeying together. “While it is clear that we are ready to begin a process for journeying together, we need to determine exactly what that process will be. The two leadership teams recommend that we convene a Commission composed of members from each congregation. This group could have sub commissions working on various topics. From your responses we found some of the areas we could consider. These include: spirituality and history, clarification on canonical issues, studying various governmental models, providing more detailed information about each congregation. We also might need a consultant to work with us.”

Visit the website’s library for a copy of the letter: www.buonpastoreint.org

(Reserved Documents)

2

In this issue: John Eudes, the priest who proclaims the unfathomable riches of Christ

REGINA KUIZON, Communications Coordinator Casa Generalizia, Suore del Buon Pastore, Via Raffaello Sardiello 20- 00165 Roma, Italia Email: ginargs@buonpastoreint.org or com@gssweb.org

Good Shepherd News

The prayer of August 19, Solemnity of St. John Eudes echoes:

“Lord God, you marvelously selected the priest, John Eudes, to proclaim the unfathomable riches of Christ. Grant, we pray, that we may be guided by his word and action, grow in your knowledge, and faithfully live the Gospel...”

St. John Eudes became famous in his time because of his preaching. People were touched by the power of his preaching and returned to God. The books that he wrote continue to offer us a rich resource in contemplating God’s mercy. In this issue of Good Shepherd News, while we

have stories of our different units, we also publish several important activities in the lives of Our Lady of Charity, the Congregation of Jesus and Mary and Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. A fresh reflection is offered to us on St. John Eudes and St. Mary Euphrasia. The two congregational leadership teams of the OLC and the Good Shepherd Sisters felt that the Spirit is at work in us and that both SJE and SME must be “rejoicing at this urging of the Spirit.”

Let us be united as we move forward and continue proclaiming Christ.

BOLIVIA-CHILE... (Continued from page 1)

part of the restructuring in the congregation became one pro-vince.

This month, the province of Chile and the sector of Bolivia became th new province of Bolivia/Chile. Following are excerpts from the joint report of the unit leaders:

We give thanks to God our Fa-ther-Mother that, faithful to His prom-ise, He has walked with us each day in this process

of re-structuring and unification.

• Thanks to the Congregational Leadership Team for trusting our own leadership. • Thanks to each of our contem-plative and active communities for their powerful prayers, their support, their collaboration, their determina-

tion to make way for change ac-cording to each one’s capacity, specifically for this call to unifica-tion as a way to make the “Holy Work” alive and dynamic. • Thanks especially to our Lay Associates who, in the environ-ment of their families, work, and the Church, make present the charism and spirit of Jesus Good Shepherd through their lives of witness and service. • Thanks to our collaborators who enable the continuation of the apostolic task of the Congregation through their unconditional com-mitment. Their witness has taught us to love our vocation more, to be more generous, and has nourished

our apostolic zeal. Thanks that we have been helped to become humbler and to feel the need for God to discover our weak-nesses as Animation Teams, weak-nesses that have impeded a better service to each one and to the mis-sion. We invite all to continue the process begun in the communion of our cul-tures, weaving the future with bonds of compassion and reconciliation, in global solidarity, enlivened by the hope that in the love and trust placed in our Good Shepherd, we may bring forth new life in our beloved coun-tries. Srs. Ma. Cristina Opazo & Ma. Leticia Cortes

The new unit leader of Bolivia/Chile with her council, apostolic and con-templative sisters. From left to right: Srs.Margarita Susana Chaparro Toro (Contemplative); Carmen Abello; María Paz Venegas; Mª Cristina Opazo (Provincial leader) Sonia Salas; Sandra Suárez; Gabriela Contreras T. (Contemplative).

“Be led by the Spirit” - Gal. 5:16

3

By Sr. Odile Laugier RGS On November 25, 1641 at the rue St. Jean in Caen, near the Porte Millet, a house of welcome, a refuge, was opened. This “creation” had required many interventions, not only with the civil authorities but also with the religious. Once the necessary authorizations were obtained, persons were mobilized to or-ganize and take charge of the material needs, a collection was made throughout the city to se-cure the furnishings and most immediate needs of the house. Why this foundation? Who insti-gated it? The preaching of John Eudes, a member of the Oratory of Cardi-nal de Berulle had touched many hearts, and in particular some women who were living on the fringes of morality and were now desiring “to change their life.” Like the mustard seed in the gospel parable, the Word sown during the Mission had taken root, grew and developed. The place for this growth would be the Refuge. John Eudes, chal-lenged within the context of his mission activity, would meet the challenge to the very end and respond to the need expressed by Madeleine Lamy with forceful vigor: “You’d better work to found a house for these poor women who lose themselves for lack of resources and direction.” That would be actualized in a Chris-tian and social reality, in a par-ticular place and age which John Eudes had led together with the

active members of the society of his time. A truly adapted foundation, within a precise context. Incarnated. As the years went by, three groups of persons would live together: the religious, the boarders (adults or children) whose board helped maintain the house, and the women for whom the house was founded. This made John Eudes a foun-der but for us, even more, it made him the initiator of a spiri-tual family. It lighted up a page of the Gospels, showing a face of God for whom every person has infinite value because He regards each one as an infi-nitely loved child. No one is ever too far from Him. No one is ever lost for Him… con-cretely; it is the religious whom He invites to accompany the women who wish to change their lives, “our Sisters Peni-tents” as they are called in the ancient texts (and always capi-talized in writing). All persons, regardless of their past, are worth more than a world. And the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity commit themselves by vow “to imitate, as for as they are able…the most ardent charity by which the Heart of Jesus is inflamed for these souls.” Two hundred years have passed. Ten years after the end of the French Revolution followed by 15 years of wars in Europe which have overthrown frontiers and political regimes, the old social order was disinte-

grating and a new period of his-tory began. It was the beginning of the industrial age, with all its social and economic conse-quences. M. Euphrasia Pelletier, contemporary of all these changes, a happy sister of Our Lady of Charity, realistically ana-lyzed the world-wide changes and took into account the facts facing her as Superior of Angers: 20 postulants in the first 6 months, many requests for new foundations… She asked Rome for the establishment of a Gener-alate “to place in common the persons and resources to be able to work more efficaciously for the glory of God and the sal-vation of souls.” History had shown the relevance of this decision through an im-pressive expansion. And yet, it was not above all the number of foundations which was most striking but the life and ardor of these communities all over the world. The impulsion had been given by M. Euphrasia through her humility as “Servant of God”, her faith and confidence, her ap-ostolic zeal, her detachment re-garding the work and above all, her openness to persons and events. Mary Euphrasia kept alive in her heart the thought of all the suffer-ing persons that her communities could not care for, given the ever-present need of finding ade-quate resources, the uncertain future of sisters sent to far dis-tant missions and facing many difficult situations… To meet all this, she rooted her-self in the strong spirituality of John Eudes and created a com-

(Continued on page 4)

4

BE LED... (Continued from page 3)

Fourth Union of OLC General Chapter The General Chapter of the Union of Our Lady of Charity re-elected last July 14 Sister Angela Fahy as con-gregational leader for the next six years. Three sisters who will work with her were elected on July 16. The three members of the lead-ership team are: Srs. Bertha Alicia Alvidrez, Annick Egu and Josefina Lopez.

The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity met in Carrolton, Ohio, USA for their Fourth General Chapter. The theme of the Chapter was, “Incarnating the love of God in a globalized world as disciples and missionaries of com-passion.”

64th Eudist General Assembly Fr. Michel Gérard, superior general of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, was reelected leader of the congregation. He will be assisted by a new team. The Assembly approved a new gov-

munity of “Pray-ers”, the contem-platives of the Good Shepherd who offer their lives for the mis-sion of Jesus the Good Shep-herd. Here are a few facts to illustrate the ardent flame of zeal burning within her and which made her take action:

When she received the letter from the Prefect of Aube inform-ing her that 100 young prisoners could be transferred to the Good Shepherd, that very same day she sent three touriere Sisters to fetch them! The very same day… !

From left to right, Srs. Josefina, Angela, Bertha Alicia and Annick

When she heard of the slave markets selling children, she exclaimed: “A child of God sold like an animal in a market, that I will never accept!” And she acted! She sent Sisters to Tur-key and to Smyrna (now Izmir). When Msgr. Angebault advised the sisters against choosing Mary Euphrasia as Superior because of her weaknesses, she pacified the sisters on coming out of the chapel: “It’s nothing! Do not be troubled, we are nothing but who we are before God!” That is our Mother!

Today, 150 years have passed,

the world has changed, probably even faster than during M. Euphra-sia’s time; it has become a “global village.” Sr. Brigid reminded us in Feb. 2007 that the Spirit is at work in

us. What creative re-sponse will the Holy Spirit incite in us at the Congrega-tional Chap-ter of 2009? Let us ask John Eudes and Mary Euphrasia that in follow-

ing them we would always be led by the Spirit.

ernment structure. The General Council, that will serve for the next five years, is now composed of the General Superior, a Vicar General who resides in Rome, and two general councilors who do not live

in Rome but in their provinces.

The participants of the 64th Assem-bly elected on August 17 the follow-ing: the Vicar Gen-eral, Fr. Gustavo Londono of Colom-bia; the General Council-lors are Fr. John How-ard of the United States (North American Prov-ince) and Fr. Pierre-Yves Pecqueux of France. The 64th General Assembly of the Eudists was held in Canada from August 5 – 19.

Fr. Michel Gérard

Eudist Assembly delegates, with the laity.

Sr. Brigid Lawlor

5

Province of Medellin c "The dream of worthy housing for my children”

Among those served by the Good Shepherd Foundation a high number reside in inade-quate housing constructed with: plastic, pasteboard, etc., in very overcrowded hotel rooms, in housing of high risk of being de-stroyed by a mudslide and or flood, in sectors in which armed violence is constantly present.

As a response to these situa-tions, the Project was started in Medellin: "The dream of worthy housing for my sons and daugh-ters.” Thanks to the financial contributions of a benefactor, we were able to begin the first stage of construction of seven houses.

The following are some extracts from expressions of gratitude from the beneficiaries of the pro-ject after having received and moved into their small houses: “We, Paola, Albeirito and Andrés, want to express our

gratitude to our benefactor be-cause he gave us a decent and beautiful house … The whole fam-ily is happy living in our small house … you are an Angel that came from the sky … We love you - me and my little brothers! My little brothers share things together with love. Farewell and thank you. We love you so very much … May the Lord bless you and all of your fam-ily. All of my family love you and we would like to meet you - my mom, and my brother and my other brother, my dad, my uncle and I, thank you. Farewell.” Paola

“Every day we ask God to bless

you and your family… as well as we have been blessed with such riches as is our house. May your financial plans also be richly blessed. May our Celestial Father bless your investments many times over – your contribution made our house possible… We would like to express our thanks in person and to give you a big hug to express at least a little of the joy that you have given to my children, my husband and myself… Rosalba and family

“I want to express my immense grati-tude for the great happiness of fulfill-ing my dream of owning a house.” Maria Eugenia and family

“I cannot find the words to express how grateful I am for this wonderful gesture.” Dawn and children

“Thanks to God and you that we have achieved something that would have taken us many years of sacri-fice and hard work. My three children Mariana, Brayan and Yeison live a happier life and have enjoyed ar-ranging our new house. I will never manage to be grateful enough… The happiness of having a proper house is a dream come true, thanks to you. Elicenia

The Agency of Palmira Valle 1997-2007 - 10 years in existence

Social context On August 19, 1997, provincial leader, Sister Blanca Inés Velásquez, began a new work. This ministry was attached to the community called Rosa Virginia. It is a ministry of insertion in the neighborhood called El Recreo, a depressed quarter of the City of Palmira. Its focus is to attend to girls and their families of the sector of “La Galería.”

This sector is characterized by street vendors and an open-air market. There is the potential for minors to be victims of violence in the home, of prostitution, alco-

holism, drug abuse, murder, theft, other crime and abandon-ment. Historical critique

The apostolic work began with three Sisters who were en-trusted to water with the oil of compassion, welcome, libera-tion, enthusiasm, and devotion, 15 girls between 7 and 12 years of age. It is an open cen-ter where the girls are served by special programs.

At present the program serves 40 girls who participate in the

activities both in the morning and in the evening. These girls are between 7 and 16 years of age. There is also aftercare for 15 girls who have fin-ished the program and are now con-tinuing their studies in the different city schools. The service is extended to the family so that almost 250 per-sons attended regularly.

Programs that the foundation oversees Evangelization and catechesis, study/tutorial support, play activities, craft workshops for mothers, training and the possibility for parents to go to school, psychological help, social work services, parenting classes, dances classes, music classes, visits

(Continued on page 6)

6

At our first Chapter Preparatory Committee meeting in December 2006, we considered the ques-tion of a theme for our Provincial Chapter of 2007(Sept.30- Oct. 6). In the end, we decided to have the same theme as the General Chapter. We thought that as our Provincial Chapter is a preparation for the General Chapter, the same theme would allow for a unified preparation for both of these important congre-gational events. Weaving is a very important part of our culture, with the textile industry which expanded as a result of the new

Flags of Bolivia(left) and Germany

technology at the beginning of the industrial revolution in Brit-ain. Each of the countries that make up the United Kingdom has its own typical patterns and designs and these will be re-flected in our piece of cloth to

be presented at the European Assembly as our contribution to the Congregational Quilt. Global Solidarity is likewise important to us and over the last 7 years and before we have networked with other parts of the world. All of which we will highlight during the Chapter and all of which are re-flected in the theme: Weavers of compassion and reconciliation in global solidarity. Please pray for us as we con-tinue both to prepare for our Chapter and discern who to elect for our new Provincial Leader and Leadership Team. Sr. Anne Josephine Carr, RGS Province of Great Britain

Province of Great Britain: c Weaving, a very important part of our culture

AGENCY...(Continued from page 5)

to other schools, home visits, nutri-tion and health, and finally training in moral values. During the past 10 years, 457 girls have participated in the foundation. They have been welcomed, offered formation, catechesis and evangeli-zation.

Achievements

A social service provided to the City

of Palmira The Foundation has taken part in different events organized by com-panies, where the girls have dem-onstrated their artistic abilities Sense of belonging to the Founda-tion Dedication to and love of study Responsibility Creation of a group of volunteers Working in networks Preventive work/services Stability and safety of the Founda-tion in order to attend to the girls and their families

Enthusiasm and commitment

Participation at meetings, training courses and teams to promote health Recognition from the city of the work being done at the Foundation Decrease of violence within families Joyful, healthy and happy girls Connection and participation of the parents in the activities of the Foun-dation Survival of the Foundation in spite of the lack of economic means. -Good Shepherd Sisters, Medellin

Our elderly sisters in Haus Marienhöhe near the Rhine are lucky: Every morning, Lothar Brucker, a retired parish priest, celebrates the Eucharist with them. For sixteen years he worked as a missionary in Bo-livia. Some time ago, one of his friends, Tomas Valencia, the

Province of Germany c Special Greetings from Bolivia to the Rhine

Vicar general of the diocese of Oruro(Bolivia), visited Ger-many. During that occasion, the two friends met. Fr. Brucker shared that he has been chap-lain to the Good Shepherd Sis-ters in Haus Marienhöhe. Fr. Tomas then said: “Good Shep-herd? I owe my life and my vo-cation to the Good Shepherd Sisters in La Paz. I came as an

orphan to them, and they helped me to grow and to find my priestly vocation. Greet the Ger-man sisters and tell them my story!” The Good Shepherd Sisters of Haus Marienhöhe, Waldorf/

7

Spiritual and Apostolic Renewal

The school year 2006-2007 gave us the occasion to share and reflect in community about our annual planning and the opportu-nity to deepen and renew our apostolic commitment. We or-ganized week-end meetings every two months for sisters working in our colleges and resi-dential schools. We are about 25 sisters who experienced three weekends in six months. These meetings have strengthened the ties of affection among us and renewed our zeal and merciful love for the girls confided to our care. St. Mary Euphrasia has been the center which animates this great zeal by the example of her life and her writings.

Meeting of the Apostolic Sisters

During the weekend we were relieved of all work to be able to lis-ten to one another and to share our experiences, the challenges we face, our failures and successes. Each one spontaneously gave her life for the mission in order to deepen our fourth vow and the witness of the presence of a Good Shepherd Sister in this beautiful mission in Egypt.

The parents expect our help above all in the field of education because studies and instruction are every-

where. As they say: “The sisters are the first educators in the forma-tion of Christian and Moslem youth.” The schools are, so to say, one of the most important means for Christian-Muslim dialogue. We never miss expressing our solidar-ity with the Moslems especially during their feasts.

During the meetings we had time to reflect on St. Mary Euphrasia as our resource, and receive profes-sional formation given by a lay professional regarding the prob-lems of the College. Following are the themes we studied and re-flected on during this schoolyear:

St. Mary Euphrasia and the work of the Good Shepherd in Egypt i.e., the work of education or re-education of Egyptian girls, Chris-tian or Moslem. In our personal reflections our sharing revealed how we were touched by the love and tenderness of St. Mary Eu-phrasia for the girls no matter where they are from.

In the second meeting we studied a letter of M. Foundress written in 1845 in which she counsels us “to learn to rely on nothing but God.” With all the conflicts during the year 1845, she seems to have learned to see the will of God in the events. Above all she knew how to renounce all personal satisfaction… One of her practices was to die to self by em-bracing the cross sent by heaven. The most frequent subject of her Instructions to her daughters during that period was: “dying to oneself.” That was the reason for studying the letter.

In the second part, the professional training was directed towards the Finances of the School Secretariat. With the difficult situations in our country such as changes in the Charter, the elections in Parliament, we have felt the need to live with the crosses in accordance with St. Eu-phrasia’s teaching. She has told us “Our Institute is founded on the Cross,” and meditating on her physi-cal and moral sufferings gave us the courage and strength to live our daily life with Jesus the Good Shepherd. The professional training was de-voted to a study of the staff salaries in the schools.

These meetings have helped us in our mission and our unity in following Jesus the Good Shepherd. They made it easier for us to share the challenges we face and our projects for the goal of “weaving” the love and mercy of Jesus for the youth in the colleges. We hope to continue in order to rekindle our faith and zeal that we may be witnesses to the “hope which dwells in us.”

Province of Egypt/Sudan x News from the Good Shepherd Sisters in Egypt

(Continued on page 8)

8

Friends of the Good Shepherd One of the orientations of our Provincial Chapter of 2006 was to support our apostolic and mis-sionary commitment through the recruitment of Friends of the Good Shepherd. Our mission is not only to youth but also to our collaborators. It is therefore a great time that we unite our-selves not only to work together in the educational field but also to live our spirituality and our Good Shepherd charism wher-ever we find ourselves with them. Taken seriously, this new organization is a field of aposto-late with the laity, who are happy to know us and our beginnings with our Founders. At present, there are 30 mem-bers, a dynamic and enthusiastic group. In three meetings we got to know each other as “one can’t be friends without knowing one another.” After the presentations, we spoke of our Founders, their life story above all. Little by little we have shared about the work of love and mercy with St. Mary Euphrasia in the following of Je-sus the Good Shepherd. How touched they were with the history of the founding of the Good Shepherd in Egypt! They were all thirsting for the Word of God and the writings of our holy mother. One of them told us that it is urgent to talk about her in the colleges, especially to arouse

vocations for this work so greatly needed in these difficult times when the young people are exposed to all sorts of abuse. We had time for meditation, prayer and Gospel-sharing. They caught the spirit very well and went home happy. In the last meeting, April 13, 2007, they focused on the question “Why do we want to be ‘Friends of the Good Shepherd’?” Their responses seem to well up from the very heart of our charism – e.g. “to be the light of Christ in this world of dark-ness…” “to pass on His mes-sage’ … “to help persons in difficulty’… “to deepen and in-tensify our interior life.”

It was a joy to see our lay col-laborators close to us and living out our spirituality with love. Working side by side in the vineyard of the Lord, our zeal grew more ardent, more univer-sal and persevering. In the Province, seven sisters are responsible for maintaining the relations with the “Friends.” Even in the heat of summer, the sisters remain in contact with them. May the Lord keep in joy, simplicity, and mercy all those Christ has confided to our care. And may He grant us, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the knowledge to incline their hearts towards their salvation and happiness.

“One has to accept trials and adversities as effects of God’s

Love and Mercy” -SME Request for prayer for a difficult situation encountered

Amanie was received with great compassion by our community in Egypt. She was a 16-year-old high school student with a Catholic background. One day her parents discovered that she had run away from home. Her family immediately reported her disappearance to the Bishop. After searching, a parish priest finally found her living with a non-Christian with whom she had fallen in love. No one could make her listen to reason or change her mind.

After reflection, the Bishop asked that Amanie be returned to her family, who should take respon-sibility for their daughter. Her father and uncle came to the Bishopric to pick her up. They were not very welcoming and Amanie was afraid of them. She begged the Sisters not to leave her but it was in vain as the priests had asked the sisters to return her home. Once back home, Amanie could not stand the situation. She told her parents she could not live without her boyfriend. The father did not respond but kept a se-vere silence. The mother tried to console her daughter, making a thousand promises with tender-ness and affection. More and more enraged, Amanie cried and shouted that she would escape and rejoin her boyfriend, claiming she was married to him. She shouted louder, showing no respect for her mother nor to the whole family. The father had enough, and, getting up he grabbed Amanie by the neck and strangled his daughter to preserve his honor and that of his family.

Amanie’s father gave himself up to the police admitting that he was re-sponsible for his daughter’s death. He is now in prison. The Good Shep-herd does not forget this family so greatly tried by many sufferings.

– Good Shepherd Sisters, Egypt

EGYPT… (Continued from page 7)

Friends of the Good Shepherd

9

Province of Austria/ Switzerland/Czech Republic

Retreat on the streets of Vienna

“Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (Ex 3:5) This is what God told Moses in the burning bush. I have also this experience during our “Retreat on the streets” of Vi-enna from July 14-21, 2007.

I came to Vill, Innsbruck, Austria on June 5, 2005 as a contemplative Good Shepherd missionary. In Cebu City, Philippines where I was assigned for eight years prior to my mission to Austria, I worked at the Altar Bread department. There was a very high demand for hosts and that gave us the opportunity to employ our poor neighbors. They worked with us and we shared our Vision and Mission as Good Shepherd. We have on-going Bible studies and faith sharing during Advent. We also started micro credit and the process of lay empowerment began. The Contemplative Sisters have good relationships with the workers’ fami-lies and we gather for Christmas celebrations. It was an enriching experience for me and I learned so much from them.

Since I came to Austria, I was look-ing for the poor. I kept asking Sr. M. Gratia Schneeweiss, unit leader of the Province of Austria/ Switzerland/Czech Republic, where the poor in Austria were. I missed my experi-ence working with our CGS staff in the Philippines. In a First World and rich country like Austria the poor are not so visible. So last July 14-21, 2007 we had our “Retreat on the Streets” under the guidance of Sr. Petra Hiemetzberger, CJ and Fr. Johannes Konig, SJ. Sr. Elizabeth Garciano, CGS another Filipina con-templative in Innsbruck, Elfrida, a lay woman from Vienna and myself stayed in Haus Sarepta, Home for Mother and Child operated by the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Re-deemer. We took turns daily to pre-pare our simple food.

Every day we recited our morning prayer and we brought with us on the street a text from Scriptures. We were asked to listen and to search where our Holy ground was. This

retreat was so unique because everyday after breakfast we go out to the streets and see God in the poor people we meet. In the afternoon, at 5:30, we have the Holy Eucharist followed by supper and then faith sharing. During the first two days Sr. Elizabeth and I were together for we did not know the streets of Vienna. Each was on her own the third day. We were given some possible places to go and discerned where God was leading us during that day. I wore lay clothes so sometimes I was not welcome. I was able to see where the drug addicts usually meet in Karlplatz U-Bahn Station and was able to witness a woman selling drugs. It really pained me so much for some are so young and their dreams for the future are already shattered. This a global problem and the government of Austria is addressing it. After this encounter, I usually go to the Ado-ration Chapel of St. Stephan Ca-thedral to lay all these things in God’s hands. I felt helpless but I know God can do everything.

I was able to go to the Home for Women in Distress. This is oper-ated by Caritas. The women can stay there for as long as two years. At the residence, I had an encoun-ter with Margareta, 55 years old, married with two children and two grandchildren. She has lived there for one year. She has breast can-cer but luckily she is doing well so the social worker from Caritas helped her and she found a new flat from Caritas. The other lady I met stayed for two years in the Home for Women but she was so restless. She really wanted to have her own flat but it was not possible. The social worker evalu-ated the cases of the residents and their readiness to be on their own.

These poor women receive Aid from the government and they pay for their own monthly rental. They cook their own food and some would go to the GRUFT where the homeless people have free meals. GRUFT is located below the Mariahilfe Church. It was a former cemetery but they renovated it and now provides shel-ter for the poor. It was started during Advent 20 years ago by a group of students who gave free bread to the hungry. Today, one of these stu-dents, works at the center as a so-cial worker. GRUFT is open 24 hours a day and offers free meals and shelter. During summer more than 60 people sleep during the night but during winter 120 people are accommodated. The dining room is also their sleeping quarters. The social workers also go to the streets at night to search for home-less people, establish contact with them and build their trust so that they will go to this place and avail of the services offered.

At the Mercy Brothers Hospital my experience was also different. In my reflection, I realized that when one is sick there is no difference between rich and poor, all feel the same pain and suffering. Really it was a chance for me to evaluate my life as a contemplative missionary. I am fortunate and se-cure in my life as a religious. I be-long to an international congregation and I have a community that pro-vides for my daily needs. When I am sick I am attended to by the sisters and have immediate access to medical care. The poor in Austria are not materially poor because they receive financial help from the gov-ernment and Caritas. The social services are so well organized but loneliness is their poverty. Most of those people I met have no more contact with their families. This is another face of poverty which is dif-ferent from a Third World country where I come from. Even in a rich country like Austria the poor are still there but they are not visible. This encounter made me more appreciate my life as a contemplative mission-ary and deepen it. I carry their faces and anguish in my heart and I lay them in God’s hands. My vow of zeal fired me to pray for them. I thank Sr. M. Gratia Schneeweiss, for giving me this opportunity to be with the poor. It is really God’s gift to me a s a m i s s i o n a r y . Sr. Maria Elena Jalop, CGS Contemplative Sisters of the Good

Contemplative Corner

10

Province of Ireland/Ethiopia c Good Shepherd Sisters- Ethiopia - at the forefront in environmental concerns and initiatives

The Good Shepherd Sisters in Addis Ababa are partners with Gaia Association, a pioneering asso-ciation seeking to establish a market for Ethanol (a by-product of sugar cane) and a purpose design Clean Cook Stoves in a low income neighborhood, Kirkos Sub city. In 2004 Project Gaia began a pilot study of the Clean Cook (CC) Stove in Ethiopia by importing 850 CC stoves and placing them in rural and urban homes across Ethiopia. During the Addis Ababa study 50 CC stoves were tested in Kirkos Sub City in lower, middle and up-per income homes. Following the study Gaia As-sociation formed a partnership with Good Shep-herd Sisters Center (GSSC). All this happened through the networking of Cheryl and Jim O’Brien, a wife and husband team from the USA, who were working with Gaia Association. Cheryl had been a volunteer in the Good Shepherd Program in New York. She contacted the Good Shepherds in Addis and came to visit. It was out of this relationship that the venture was born. Soon after we met with Mr. Harry Stokes, the project head who is anxious that the poor benefit from these clean cook stoves. In July 2006 the Gaia Association with the cooperation of GSSC, conducted an air quality monitoring study in low income household – beneficiaries of GSSC. The study highlighted the clear demand for CC stoves in low income homes, many of which rely on biomass for their daily cooking needs and many of whom can on longer afford to purchase kerosene. The introduction of the CC stoves to such homes has reduced levels of PM and CO to below the World Health Organization recommended allowance. It is a firm belief of Gaia association that market testing need not take place in a middle/upper income sector. The overall objective includes the following:

To create a sustainable stove and fuel business, run by a woman’s cooperative in Kirlos Sub City with the support of GSSC and the Gaia Association.

To market the one-burner stove and ethanol and to demonstrate the feasibility of this type of business model.

To reduce emissions of CO and PM in Kirkos Sub City house-holds thus improving the health of these families.

The Kebele 04 mil-lennium campaign is ‘Clean and Green’. Kebele 04 provides opportunities for a geographically fo-cused retail market for the stoves and ethanol. Logistically it will be relatively straight forward to receive, store distribute and moni-tor clean cook stoves and ethanol in GSSC households. The provision of the clean cook stove and ethanol as a fuel will contribute in no small measure to the campaign slogan. GSSC in cooperation with Gaia Associates hope

To supply 700 stoves to low income household To establish a women’s cooperative to sell ethanol to

the GSSC households To construct an ethanol storage, bottling and distribu-

tion station in a centrally located area of Kebele 04

To reduce emission of CO, PM and CO2 in 700 low income household

To successfully market the one burner CC stove and ethanol in a low income market sector.

The environmental problems associated with household cooking range from the indoor to the global. Curbing

Cheryl, Melat former Director of Gaia Association, Winifred RGS and Jim at GSSC following a demon-stration of Clean Cook Stoves and Ethanol.

(Continued on page 11)

Gaia Association and Good Shepherd Sisters Plan-ning Team, from left to right: Girehiwot Mengesha – Gaia Association, Sr Clemencia, Sr Winifred and Haymanot Teketay, staff of Good Shepherd Sisters Center, Milkyas Debebne, Gaia Association Director, Todd Wofchuck- Project Gaia, Inc./Stokes Consult-ing.

11

Explanation of the Logo of the Ethiopian Catholic Church

Blue colour: represents that the coming millen-nium is the year we renew our lives and the cove-nant between God and human beings would be restated.

Eucharistic Cross of Lalibela: represents that the cross is the sign of salvation and shows that Jesus is with us up to the end of the world through the Eucharist.

Alpha and Omega: to show that Jesus is the beginning and the end. Heb: 13:8 Jesus is the same , yesterday, today and forever.

The globe: to show our belongingness to the world and to invite the whole world to celebrate this Millennium together with us. At the same time to attest Ethiopia as a historical mark to hu-manity and fountain of development.

Map of Africa: to indicate that it is the country in Africa which was not colonized, to show that Ethiopia is a model to other African countries in history and to invite all African brother and sisters to be together and celebrate this coming Millen-nium

Map of Ethiopia: to designate that this is the Mil-lennium of Ethiopia in a special representation.

Dove: represnet the existence of the Holy Spirit and aspiration of peace and prosperity on the coming Mil-lennium The Four Crosswise arrows that come from maps: represent our expectation of Peace, Happiness and Prosperity for the coming millennium to the whole world. Two millenia since the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. The assigned colors of the Ethiopia map are intended Green - signifies development Yellow - signified Freedom Red - signifies Victory

Ethiopia – the land of 13 months of sunshine will celebrate its millen-nium on September 11, 2007 – Ethiopian New Year. Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar which has a seven year difference with the Gre-gorian calendar. The whole country, State and Church are preparing for the event. The year will be marked with various festivals – social and religious. As many as 800 thousand visitors are expected for the celebrations. The Catholic Church held a symposium in which the calendar of events for the year were outlined. Jubilee of priests, dea-cons, seminarians, missionaries and religious will be celebrated on February 8, 2008 with a two day workshop on consecrated life. Flag of Ethiopia

Province of Ireland/Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s Millennium

Ethiopia’s Millennium Celebrations

indoor air pollution will alleviate chronic respiratory prob-lems among women and will prevent child morbidity and mortality. Ethanol substitution for kerosene to meet house-hold cooking energy demands pro vides an opportunity to substitute a non- renewable energy source with one that is renewable and has enormous CO2 reduction potential. This project also falls under the Kyoto Protocol for Clean Development Mechanism. (CDM). This mechanism allows for the identification and certification of emission reductions in Greenhouse Gases to the atmos-phere. (Good Shepherd Sisters, Ethiopia)

GOOD SHEPHERD... (Continued from page 9)

12

Sector of Senegal

50 years of being faithful: a simple and unforgettable celebration

Several months ago, Sr. Marie Marthe Dequidt told the sector council of Senegal that she is now on her 50th year as a Religious of the Good Shep-herd. She then insisted that there’s no need to celebrate. The council did not grant her wishes and the preparation for the celebration began at Thies, the community where she is presently a member.

The Eucharistic celebration last 8th of May at St. Johh the Baptist parish evolved around Sr. Marie Marthe’s gratitude for her golden jubilee as reli-gious.

She summarized it this way:

“I bless you, God of my life, for the marvel that I am. Thanks to my parents for the gift of my bap-tism. Thanks to the Lord for calling me, unworthy of it though I am. For the grace to leave everything, even my country, to respond to the call of the mis-sions, I give thanks. Thanks, too, for the great grace of never doubting the call to the Good Shep-herd Congregation and to the call to be a mission-ary. The Cross and trials, have marked these periods, but as our Mother Foundress used to say, “Great crosses, great graces! I love to say that the joys and happy moments surpass the crosses. The tri-als are buried under the weight of graces and the health problems. I sometimes tell myself: I am still here, a little miracle for me, or at least a smile of God.”

S. Marie Marthe Dequidt, from Lille, north of France, joined the congregation of our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd in Angers and had her first profession on 31st May 1957. She re-sponded to the missionary call outside France when she said “yes” to go to Algeria in 1958 and spent her years there until 1978. Her enthusiasm in responding to the mission in Algeria impelled her to study the Arabic language in order to be effec-tive in her ministry with young Algerian girls in prison.

After Algeria, Sr. Marie Marthe still with full of vig-our for the mission, offered her missionary services and went to Senegal in November 1978. From then on she stays in the sector. Her love for men and women prisoners alike manifested the congre-gation’s charism of compassion that SME aptly puts: “A person is of more value than a world”. Her enthusiasm in promoting the upliftment of women’s’ dignity and women’s development made her creative in conducting cooking and baking les-sons; she taught the women how to crochet and to do other manual work.

After her sabbatical year in Angers she was named

novice directress from 1998-2000. She is among the sisters who began the formation of our lay asso-ciates and continues to accompany them until to-day. Her deep faith in God’s providence and her obedience to God through her coordinators are something young sisters would like to follow.

At her age of 77 years Sr. Marie Marthe can still drive a car and continues involvement in the prison ministry. She untiringly visits and gives communion to the sick. She continues searching for new ways to make cooking lessons with women in our training centre in Thiès interesting.

When asked what secret keeps her going all these years, she said, “Faithfulness to the essentials of religious life.” Like SME she utters, “The glory of God and the salvation of persons is my life.”

Sr. Marie Marthe has her own limitations and mis-takes yet she has touched the lives of many people especially women in difficult situations. Fifty years is always a year of grace and love. God continues to manifest His love to Sr. Marie Marthe.

Sr. Maria Juanita Daño, Senegal

S. Marie Marthe and the Mass concelebrants

S. Marie Marthe renews her vows before Sr. Carmela Rodriguez, sector leader and the community

13

Sector of Senegal

A second parish is born! The parish of St. Martha in the city of Mbour celebrated its 80th year of existence last July 29. Two years ago in the same city a new parish, St. Andrew, was born. Mbour is the third area where we Good Shepherd Sis-ters are present in Senegal, West Africa. Others are Dakar and Thies. We started at St Mar-tha 13 years ago and we con-tinue collaborating with the par-ish through the prison ministry and PAEDAC - counselling cen-tre.

History

There are 181,825 inhabitants in Mbour and some 19,000 of them are Catholics. Before the crea-tion of the new parish there were five religious congregations pre-sent in the city namely: Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Brothers of St. Gabriel, Daugh-ters of Christ the King, Children of the Holy Heart of Mary, a local congregation and, Good Shep-herd Sisters. Catholic influence is evident in all areas even though Catholics comprise only 4% of the total population. As Catholics grew in number having St Martha as the only parish was not enough. Faced with the real-ity of the pastoral needs of the people, Monsignor Adriane Theodore SARR, Archbishop of Dakar, thought of having another parish. The new parish, St. An-drew was established on Octo-ber 16, 2005.

Early existence

With the creation of a second parish, three of the five congre-gations joined St. Andrew: Good Shepherd Sisters, the Daugh-ters of Christ the King and Broth-ers of St. Gabriel.

As what usually happens with new foundations, St Andrew started from zero. Originally, our small chapel was an old poultry house converted into a chapel with a capacity of 100 people. You can imagine how we man-aged to fit ourselves into this small chapel during Sundays and big feasts.

In the beginning, many parish-

ioners did not like the idea of being separated from St Mar-tha. Many of them hesitated to participate in the celebration of the Mass in our small chapel. They sometimes found reasons to avoid being in the parish. Building a church was a far- fetched idea.

Despite the difficulties encoun-tered, Fr. Jean Sene, parish priest and Fr. Etienne Sene, vicar, along with the three reli-gious congregations and the faithful started to build a solid structure and we started well.

On our second year as parish we developed a programm to deal with the lack of enthusi-asm among the faithful. We chose the theme: “COME AND SEE”. We passed on the mes-sage that a new parish exists and that helps us in unifying our efforts to build a new com-munity. As pastoral workers we reinforced our presence to encourage the parishioners.

The presence of the parishion-ers grew evidently as seen in

each celebration. More people became aware of their responsi-bilities and engaged themselves in different church activities. As an outcome, celebrations and church activities became more alive and meaningful.

As Good Shepherd Sisters, we try to be of help where it is needed. Since our community is located very near the parish we tried and continue to be involved in pastoral ministry by visiting and giving communion to the sick, accompanying different Ba-sic Ecclesial Communities, asso-ciations, organisations , etc. We often intervene in clarifying issues when misunderstanding occurs be-tween the priests and some parish-ioners. The beauty in our new parish is that collaboration with priests and with other congregations is strengthened. We became closer to the people thus lay partnership is getting stronger. By frequently visiting the sectors that we adopted many pa-rishioners felt that they had found their place in St. Andrew.

As we enter into our third year we hope to continue educating and con-cienticizing the faithful for a more solid cooperation and collaboration to build the church and the commu-nity. We are also looking for various ways to speed up the construction of our church.

We know we have a long way to go but with hope in our hearts and if every parishioner will do her /his part then St. Andrew will grow in faith and in number like the other parishes that already exist. Sr. Maria Juanita R. Daño, Senegal

St. Andrew’s church

Interiors of St. Andrew’s church

14

Province of Indonesia c

Good Shepherd Sisters in Indonesia mark 80th anniversary Eighty years ago, on April 27, 1927, the Good Shepherd Sis-ters from Holland, after a long journey throught the oceans, ar-rived in Jakarta. Six brave and prayerful women impelled by their obedience made this mis-sion possible. As a sign of our deep gratitude to these pioneers, the Province of Indonesia cele-brated the 80th Anniversary of RGS mission in Indonesia. There was no party, but we were happy to have the gathering sup-ported by all the Good Shepherd Sisters throughout the whole world. We divided ourselves in two groups so that all of us can-come for the Intensive Chapter Preparation as well as for this celebration.

In celebrating this occasion, we would like to express our deep gratitude to Sr. Brigid Lawlor and all members of the Congre-gational Leadership Team, the sisters in Holland, Germany, USA, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines who supported us by their prayers and by sending us missionaries during the early years. We are very grateful to all of you apostolic and contempla-tive sisters who keep supporting us by your prayers and generous assistance at any time. We keep you in our prayers, too and may

God bless each one of you. Let us collaborate as “weavers of compassion and reconciliation in global solidarity” and con-tinue to journey together in our mission as RGS and CGS. (Indonesia was established as a province in 1993. It used to be part of the province of Sin-gapore/Malaysia. The Prov-ince of Indonesia has commu-nities in Jakarta, Bantul, Bogor, Flores, Kalimantan, Yogya-karta, Batam and Tangerang.) Silver jubilee On May 10, 2007, we happily celebrated in Jakarta the silver jubilee of religious profession of our provincial, Sr. M. Catharina Wahyuningsih, RGS, with a

Eucharistic celebration, followed by supper. Sr. Catharina re-newed her vows during the Mass. Every Good Shepherd community in Indonesia sent their representatives to Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bantul, Ruteng-Flores and Marau-Kalimantan. All the sisters from Bogor and Jakarta participated in this sim-ple celebration. Congratulations and keep journeying with all of us in your simple way and thank you for willingly and generously serving us. God bless you abun-dantly. Missioning Sr. Agatha Priuntari RGS and Sr. Flora Nirmala Bude RGS are ready to be missionaries, one in Sudan and the other in Hongkong. Recently, we had simple mission sending rites, giving the two sis-ters our blessings as they pre-pare for the new ministries in different countries. We are going through an experience of sharing from the little that we have. In the province of Indonesia, we are 43 RGS and half of the mem-bers are either doing profes-sional studies or already mis-sionaries. This means that only the other half are engaged in mission work in our own country. Thank you God for providing us with vocations, though fes, but You make

(Contnued on page 15)

Celebrating 80 years of Good Shepherd presence in Indonesia

Greetings to Sr. Catharina on her silver jubilee

15

it possible for us to share it in the different places where there are souls to be saved. God bless you Sr. Agatha and Sr. Flora, we support both of you with our prayers. Visitation of Sr. Sabina Pathrose We welcomed Sr. Sabina joyfully in Jakarta last July 2. Sr. Sabina, the link councilor to Indonesia, came to help us with the preparation for our unit chapter. Our meet-

ings were held in Jakarta and Yogyakarta. We were very happy to have Sr. Sabina in this time of preparation. We had time for questions, clarifications, sharing, enlighten-ment. We are now more aware of the theme of our 2009 Con-gregational Chapter and hope to compliment this as we also journey toward our unit chapter… Together we are called “to go and bear fruit” as well as to be the “Weaver of compassion and reconciliation in global solidarity.” Thank you Sr. Sabina, we are very grateful for your pres-ence and sharing.

Our Lady of Fatima

Every year, from May to October, on the 13th of each month, we have the recitation of the Rosary followed by the Eucharistic celebration. Catholics from various places come to pray with us. The venue for this gathering is our school yard, where we have the shrine in honor of Our Lady of Fatima, and the three children. As you can see in the picture, there are always many people who come to pray and they believe the Lord assists them through His mother, Mary. On May 13, 2007, it was a very special occasion for the Catholics in Eastern Jakarta for we marked the 200th year of the Church in Jakarta, as well.

-Good Shepherd Sisters, Indonesia

Mission sending for Srs. Agatha and Flora

INDONESIA... (Continued from page 14)

Province of Sri Lanka/Pakistan

The Bridgetine Walk Yes, the students of St. Bridget’s Convent to-gether with the staff, the past pupils and the par-ents did walk the streets of Colombo, Sri Lanka in a vast procession of elephants, dancers, musi-cal bands etc. etc. The ‘walk’ was several kilo-meters in length, diverting the traffic and even at some corners stopping it with some angry faces looking on at the inconvenience caused by the procession of school children. The police gave us their fullest cooperation, and the entire proces-sion was led by a police car. The enthusiasm and pride of the students in be-

(Continued on page 16)

2007

Good Shepherd News

While each unit is encouraged to send articles anytime during the year, we have planned that there

are specific issues when each unit is asked to submit an article so

that at the end of the year all the units have been part of Good

Shepherd News. Please send articles on or

before the 5th of each month.

Here is the suggested schedule:

January Commissions, CLT. Other news

February China District, Argentina/Uruguay,

France/Belgium, Kenya

March Mid North, Spain, Belo Horizonte,

Bogota

April East Asia, Bolivia, Germany

May

Chile, Great Britain, Lebanon/Syria

June Austria/Switzerland/ Czech Repub-lic, Egypt/Sudan, Ecuador, Japan

July

India/Nepal, New York, Central America, Hungary

August

Indonesia, Medellin, Senegal, Ire-land/Ethiopia

September

Philippines, Mexico, The Nether-lands, South Africa

October

Singapore/Malaysia, Peru, Italy/Malta, Portugal/ Angola, Canada

November Sri Lanka/Pakistan, Recife, Para-

guay, Spain, The Isles

December CLT, Australia/Aotearoa/New Zea-

land, Mozambique, Venezuela Invitation

Please send articles, photos with captions

for Good Shepherd News to: REGINA KUIZON

Casa Generalizia, Suore del Buon Pastore

Via Raffaello Sardiello 20 00165 Roma, Italia

Email: ginargs@buonpastoreint.org

Good Shepherd News

Special thanks to the following for the translation:

Srs. Karla Bernabé, Marta Ceballos, Evelina Coronel, Armelle Dehannault, Magdalena Franciscus, Gisèle Lalonde, Rosario

Ortiz, Adriana Perez, Digna María Rivas, Delia Rodriguez, Laura Solis, Mary James Wilson, Ms. Valentina Galluzzi

and Mr. Michel Ferrer.

16

SRI LANKA.... (Continued from page 15)

ing part of this glorious event was combined with the loyalty and joy of the adults. The detail planning by the ‘Walk Commit-tee’ was meticulously done, and the entire walk consisted of 45 different items. Sisters, staff, past students and parents all cooperated to take their re-sponsibility very seriously and this made for the smooth run-ning of the entire network and everything contributed to make ‘The Bridgetine Walk-- 2007’ the great success it was.

The main reason for this walk was to collect funds for the re-furbishing of the school audito-rium which was opened by Sr. Marie Bernadette Fox nearly 35 years ago.

Since it was a Sunday the Eucharist was celebrated for the entire crowd accompanied with the glorious singing for which St. Bridget’s girls are famous for. The entire celebra-tion was centered on asking the Lord to accompany us and bring this event of the day to the desired conclusion. The walk began with the ‘Head Girl’ standing proudly carrying the school flag, and the school band giving a few rolls on the drums and all around standing to attention to begin the march. The sisters, the baby ele-phants, and the students from

each grade in the school, fol-lowed on by a cheering crowd each one eager and enthusiastic as all their preparations for the ‘walk’ was now becoming a real-ity.

The walk which commenced at the primary school gate came to a conclusion on the other side of the block opposite the collegiate school gate. The event of course continued with a carnival planned for the day.

We thank the Lord for the won-derful loyalty shown by the entire group, the Planning Committee, the School Development Society, the Past Pupils Association, the parents, staff and students. For me to witness this event was

a great personal joy, a memory relived of the great enthusiasm of these groups when the pre-sent school auditorium was be-ing built many years ago. Sr. Immaculate de Alwis RGS Sri Lanka