16 February- Rewinding the News Reel

The sisters together with the Chapter delegates gathered in the chapel at 6.a.m and prayed for an hour before the Blessed Sacrament, imploring God to give a discerning mind and heart to the Delegates, to elect the leader whom God had already pre-destined for the Congregation.  The morning prayer highlighting the same theme, was conducted by Sisters Nirmal and Jovita.

Archbishop Emeritus of Bangalore Rev. Dr.Ignatius Pinto celebrated the Eucharist at 9.a.m.

At 10.30 a.m. the delegates entered the Chapter Hall in procession. After the election, once again, they came to the chapel and Sister Agatha Mary announced the name of the newly elected Superior General after which the whole assembly sang the Magnificat. 

 The Chapter Delegates entered into prayer and recollection once again in preparation for the election of the General Councillors. 

The elected General Councillors are: 

Sisters Mabilia, M. Lydia, Joselin Joseph and  Vimala Paul.

The day ended with an enjoyable recreation organized by the Sri Lanka Province.  The other Provinces also joined in greeting the Superior General Elect with songs, dance and flowers.  The most hilarious was that of Kenyan region, represented by Sisters Veronica and Rose Mary.  

GOD’S ELECT

Sister M. Susheela A.C. has been elected as the Superior General of the Apostolic Carmel.

Let us rejoice in the Lord for His wonderful love and mercy towards His people. He had predestined Sister Susheela to be our leader at this point of time in the history of the Apostolic Carmel. This divine will is manifested through the General Chapter, 2014.

Let every sister of the Apostolic Carmel echo in faith and love, our traditional pledge of Love, Loyalty and Obedience.

A day of silence and prayer

After the hectic days of discussions and deliberations, today, 15 February, was for us, a day of silence and prayer.  

Fr.Francis Serrao S.J. was once again with us for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Both his homily and the talk that followed gave us fresh insights into the process of discernment.  He was very practical in his approach.  At the same time, the talk he gave us was Christ – centered and Scripture – based.  Thus, it was a great help for us to enter into the prayer of discernment. 

BEHIND THE SCREEN

No great event can take place without the support characters, so also the General Chapter.

The backbone of this support system is great Trio: Sisters Beatrice, Ethel and Quintella of Saranya community. Just for the Chapter Sister Lucy Lobo from Maryhill community also joined the great team. 

                          We are lucky to have Sister Jyotsna  of Lourdes Community as our chief chef. What a privilege! In spite of her being the headmistress of the school, she makes herself available for this important job. 

                                       Then, we have the young group of sisters who are assisting us.  They are seen everywhere, in the kitchen, in the refectory, washing dishes, in the sacristy and chapel; library, chapter Hall, at the reception and taking care of the sick.  Oh! What would have been our fate if these young and energetic sisters were not here to help us; Sisters Shanthi Therese, Pramila D’Souza, Ann Tejas, Sandaris L. Mawlong, Maria Suhani, Maria Christina, Priya D’Souza and Nitha Maria.

 

A day with Mother Veronica

Sister Lancia highlighted the theme in all the prayers that she conducted: Morning prayer, Prayers before sessions and Evening prayer. It rekindled in us the love and admiration for our Foundress, Mother Veronica, a woman of faith and zealous action.

The sessions started with a panel discussion.  The panelists were:  Sisters Lily D’Souza, Julie Ann, Vimala Paul, Sujaya, Deepani and Maria Nancy.

They shared the influence of Mother Veronica in their personal lives.  The sharing of each panelist was touching and inspirational.

Later in our groups, all of us shared the same point: The influence of Mother Veronica  in our personal lives.

The afternoon was devoted to the study of our charism.  Once again, in our groups, we tried to describe the charism in a simpler way.  The General session saw us trying to collate the work of groups and bring out a simple statement of our charism. 

Sunday with a difference

To-day, we had a marathon session from 9.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.  We took up the points on ‘Juniorate’ and ‘ongoing Formation’.  We took sufficient time to discuss, discern and decide on what would be helpful to have a healthy climate in our communities.

We were happy to have a free afternoon even though some committees worked  non- stop even after lunch.

We had an enjoyable evening as we witnessed the dance drama on St. Teresa’s life, depicting the Interior castle and stages of prayer leading to union with God.  It was composed and choreographed by Sister Clarice A.C., the Principal of D.Ed college and enacted by her students. They had already performed this during the Mission Congress of Carmelite Family on the occasion of 5^th Centenary of St. Teresa’s birth.