Belgian South Province

Some experiences of our Sisters:

• From the bedside of a dying man:

May you be blessed, Mr. Adrien!
You are among our elders. It’s not long since I met you and we’ve had some important moments together. You came to the dining room not knowing how to express yourself very well, but your eyes radiated kindness. You did not come any more and, passing along your room, I saw you very slimmed down. Afterwards, looking at you from afar, I realized that your eyes were already turning towards the unknown. Your breathing was panting. I sat down next to you. My gaze went from your face to the sheep grazing in the meadow, they just had to lower their head, look down and there was fresh grass under their feet. A ray of sunshine, and peace was complete. Your eyes looked down at me, and I was overwhelmed … Then it came to my mind to turn to our Father.
And I said: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Spirit who unites them, I forgive you all your weaknesses.”
I dared, yes! There are no more priests. There has been a return among us to simplicity, to truth.
You are gone, Mr. Adrien, do not forget us, neither your wife nor your two children.
See you soon.

• While scrupulously respecting to all the instructions, one SCJM made a large poster and went to hold it up in front of a Nursing Home that she used to visit and bring communion to the elderly. In this way she wanted to spontaneously thank and encourage all the staff so heroically devoted to the vulnerable. Several caregivers expressed their gratitude for this fraternal sign.

• Two SCJMs, residents of a Rest Home, are concerned about the overworked staff and try to support them as much as they can. They participate and animate moments of conviviality, help a few residents who can no longer eat on their own and try to spread good humour around them. In these difficult days, they are gifts for this House which they consider as their own.

• Two SCJM communities have joined a popular initiative: every evening at 8:00 p.m., they ring the bells of their chapel as a sign of thanks to all those who take risks to relieve and care for the victims of Covid-19.

• The telephone has become a precious and irreplaceable channel for meetings. It allows the Province to live more concretely a fraternal communion already lived in prayer. It brings courage and hope to the Sisters and to those relationships that suffer most from confinement. It is a remedy against depressing solitude, strengthens bonds and allows us to live joyfully the solicitude that each one needs.

Sri Lanka

As 2020 began to blossom, the news that kept coming from Wuhan was disturbing. Yet none of us thought that it would cross the borders. So, we were shocked to realise that Covid-19 did cross and made its entry into our own country and has already started making its claim on our lives. We were puzzled not knowing how to handle this new situation. There were more questions than answers. News coming from the European countries was disheartening. The world had come to a stand-still.

As we were journeying during the season of Lent, we were reminded of the journey of Exodus. The faith deep within us was strengthening us to walk forward to the promise land but the reality just in front of us tend to make us lose our hope. Houses, villages, towns and cities were locked down. Life became so hard, especially for the very poor.

Many of us made a spiritual journey through an online retreat during the Holy Week. It was a different Holy Week from any other we had in our life time. In spirit, we embraced the whole world, especially the victims of coronavirus, their families, the medical personnel and hospital staff, the leaders of the country, security forces, and so on. We found courage in the Divine Providence and felt strengthened by the moto ‘Give! It will be given to you’. We shared with the poor what we could afford. We heard the cry of the poor and we were urged to embrace them in Charity. We shared dry rations and vegetables with the needy. This act of charity brought smile on their faces and hope in their life. Assistance was offered over phone to those who were in fear and panic; consolation to the family members who had lost their loved ones. As Pope Francis tells us, “In hopeless situations of pain and suffering, God never abandons His children but rather remains close to them”. We are happy that at least in some small ways we too could bring some hope to the victims of COVID 19.