By Sister Luisa Bernardo, RSCM
The gift of understanding is a gift of the Holy Spirit that requires wisdom, intuition, perception, and clarity around the real situation of people, things, and events. It requires an awareness of the movement of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. It is through the light of this gift that we perceive what God asks of us in our life as RSCM.
In our African culture, to understand people and events, we need to know how to listen and then discern between what is good and what is not.
In looking at the needs of our times today, we find that the gift of understanding is very important in our life and in the life of the whole Institute. It is through this gift that we know where God wants to lead us in living the Charism of Fr. Gailhac, “I have come that all may have life, and life in abundance” (Jn.10:10). Thus, the plant and the jar symbolize the vitality of this gift of God that we all share and put at the service of mission through our ministries.
In this sense, the conclusions of the 2019 General Chapter are the expressions of the Charism. We are to be open to the signs of the times and the needs of our world today, in a world characterized by inequality and globalization. We need this gift to live the conclusions of the General Chapter, to discern the needs and the calls of the Church and the world.
It is especially important in our current context, which has been affected by a pandemic of natural disasters such as, cyclone Idai, Guambe, Kenedy, to feel the pulse of the people, to welcome and understand their cry, and to discern how to put ourselves at their service. In this context, the RSCM in Mozambique try to be close to the people, sharing their pain, their suffering, their despair, visiting them and sharing material goods.
MASK PRODUCTION IN THE INFORMAL MARKETS IN MOZAMBIQUE
These informal market tailors used to be dedicated to fitting secondhand clothes, bought on the spot. Nowadays, due to the intense demand for masks, because of the coronavirus disease, these tailors spend most of their time producing capulana based face masks. This is one way of understanding and addressing the situations, events, and changes in the country, seeking alternative solutions, and facing the problem. Thanks to the gift of understanding we recognize and see that we are called to look at the current context with hope, to better welcome the changes in our routines of life and work, and to be attentive to the needs of others, to put ourselves in their place.
PREPARING KITS FOR THE NEEDY
The team from the Catholic University of Mozambique in Maputo City, support victims who suffer from the cyclones in various parts of the country. By giving a testimony of hope, in this time of confinement, we are helped us to understand the current situation in which we live and are invited to put ourselves at the service of our others.
