COUNCIL'S AGENDA

Son In Sook will be in China, the Philippines and Taiwan between May 4 and 23.
Mariado Górriz will go to Congo May 5-13.
Marisa Sacerdote will visit Chad from May 5 to 15.
Clare Pratt will attend the General Assembly of the UISG in Rome from May 6-10. From the 15^th to the 19^th of May she and Mariado will take part in a seminar prepared by SEDOS on, "What is Our Vision of the Missionary Church for the 21^st Century".
Jane Maltby will attend the annual meeting of the provincials including some team and staff members of CAN-CUB-MXN-PTR-USA which will take place in Prince George, Canada, from the 8^th to the 16^th of May. From there she will go to New York to take part in a work group, for religious congregations on NGO's entitled "Religious Life and Global Concerns".

NOMINATIONS

The following provincials have been named for a first mandate:
Françoise Greffe (FRA), Luciana Lussiatti (ITA) and Socorro Rubio (MXN). To serve a second mandate, Jeannette Hanna (EGY).

MEETING OF NEW PROVINCIALS

The meeting of new provincials will take place at the mother house from June 6-17. The following will attend:
Cristina Colás (CUB) Keiko Iwai (JPN) Mary Hinde (ENW)
Socorro Rubio (MXN) Françoise Greffe (FRA) Amelia Vasquez (PHI)
Marie Noronha (IND) Josefina Ramos (PTR) Maria Mullen (IRS)
Hilda Bamwine (UGK) Luciana Lussiatti (ITA)

SHARING LIFE

During these resurrection days, we have felt much like the disciples whose first impulse after each appearance of Jesus was to share what they had seen and heard. In fact this is a year-round experience for the mother house community as we joyfully welcome visitors from around the world. We are grateful for the opportunity to experience first-hand our internationality and to share our life and the life of the Society with rscj, family, friends and colleagues who come to visit Rome. They have come from the Philippines, France, Belgium, the United States, Argentina, England, Spain, Korea and many other places. Our visitors from Italy have even provided us the opportunity to practice our Italian!

One highlight was the visit of twenty members of the Pratt family who added special life to our Easter celebration. They came from the U.S. and from England for Easter week in Rome and were our guests for an evening reception which included tours of the motherhouse as well as singing and dancing, accompanied by Clare on her accordion.

Early on in our life together, the community decided that our goals for the year would focus on the call to interculturality, with a particular desire "to allow our boundaries to be expanded in truly reciprocal and hospitable relationships." (Chapter 2000) We are especially grateful that our open door has brought us, this Easter-tide, a stream of visitors with whom we can share life and the good news of the risen Jesus.

Son In Sook travelled to Korea on Holy Thursday, April 12^th, because of the serious illness of her brother Son Yong Kyu, Antonio. Sadly she arrived two hours after his death, on Good Friday, but at least she was able to be with her mother and her family on those April days, before beginning her visit to China, the Philippines and Taiwan. We are with her and share her sorrow, and we know that the whole Society is united in praying for her family.

Once more Carolyn Siy suffered a loss in her family. Her brother, George, who lives in the Philippines, died after a very short and unexpected illness. These have been painful days for her and her family, and we have tried to support her in our love and prayer asking the Risen Lord to be very present to them.

The provincial councils of Belgium, France and Italy had a meeting at the Villa Lante and each of them had an opportunity to meet with the General Council. Each of the three groups had lunch with the community, giving us the chance to learn something about their provinces.

On April 21 we welcomed Mieko Shinjo to the mother house. As you know, she will be the Treasurer General of the Society. During the next few months she will work with Monique Fabre and Carolyn Siy to learn the particulars of the "Économat Général".

THE SURPRISE OF COMMUNICATION

Each morning, around our small prayer table, or around our worktable,our communication is a miracle…Two months, at our age, are not enough to learn a language. The communities that welcomed us during those months knew well the limitations we would face on our return.

In spite of this, we have been able to communicate, to pray together and to work as a team! And during these past weeks, the difficulties of language have made us realize several things.

When you know a language, it is easy to think that you understand all that you hear. Straining to understand what was being said in English sharpened my listening skills as well as the attentiveness to the other in order to grasp what was being said. I became attentive to each word and also to each gesture. I listened to every sound and watched every expression. I felt the need to make sure that I had understood properly, that I had understood the real meaning of words. While this creates a certain amount of insecurity, it also helps to increase interest in the thoughts and feelings of the other, and it awakens the desire to communicate. I ask myself, "Do I always listen like this? Do I try to listen in the same way each time someone speaks in my own language?"

When you are aware of your limitations for understanding, you become more sensitive to your own manner of expression. You look for the simplest way to say things, you do not demand to be understood and you only try to help the other to understand. You adjust your way of expressing things, you try to be concrete, to synthesize.

I have discovered that each language captures both a history and a culture. Some languages are made of pure sound. In others, misunderstanding can occur when the subject is implied: the subject of each sentence must be expressed in order to know what is being spoken about. In some languages, one word can have several meanings, and you need to listen until the end in order to grasp the sense. Other languages have a more evocative structure. Prepositions are always problematic, and at first I thought, "It makes no sense to speak like this." But then I understood that each language has its own logic, and its structure has its reasons for being that way. I could go on talking about differences and meanings.

Finally, another thing I learned is the importance of body language. How many things can be said with the body, with gestures, with facial expressions, with hands, with eyes. Looking at the other is such an important part of communication!

Probably the most important lesson, the surprise, is that we are able to receive and welcome the life that comes to us through letters and reports. When I receive folders of documents in English that circulate among us, I feel the delight of being able to read them. I can receive the communication, and I can know about and share in the life of the whole Society.

Marisa Sacerdote

THE MALTA EXPERIENCE

This was the title of the multi-media presentation of the history, culture, geography, language and people that is Malta, which Clare Pratt and I attend- ed together with the Provincials of Europe who had invited us to join them at their reunion from March 27 &endash; 31. I will not attempt to give an account of the meeting since that belongs elsewhere, but to share some of our impressions and thoughts.

Together we were initiated into the 7,000 year history of this tiny island -just 27 km by 15.5 km in size- and the role it has played through the centuries, due to its significant geographical position in the middle of the Mediterranean. We learnt of successive waves of wanderers, traders, invaders and rulers -but never conquerors- whose diversity of language and culture, and whose impact, have moulded the individual character of the nation. This experience, together with our visits to ancient sites of worship and culture, seemed to highlight for us in a powerful way, the uniqueness and preciousness of each country and province represented at our meeting, and the need to honour and sustain this at every level.

The immediacy of the reality of Malta, together with our reunions and sharing with the four communities, seemed to focus the reflections and discussions of the provincials in a very concrete way.

Maryvonne Keraly recounted in Information no. 92 (June 1997) the background to the regular meetings of Provincials of Europe, and the beginnings of collaboration between provinces and with the laity. Now, in listening to the reports from each provincial, we were impressed by the amount of interaction at every level, and the numerous examples of collaboration. There have been joint provincial chapters and joint vacations; regular meetings between provincial councils, between different age groupings and ministry groups; joint apostolic projects and joint noviceships, as well as mutual exchange of personnel, and support or help in both initial and on-going formation programmes.

We sensed a greater ease of relating between provinces, a greater openness to and acceptance of difference, and at times, of collective responsibility for wounds inflicted in the past, and a real desire to "think Europe", something that our newer religious have no difficulty with, but that comes less easily to older generations. It was apparent, too, that the different processes of reconciliation, the perhaps small, but certainly significant, attempts to read each country's history from the perspective of the other, have resulted in a greater sensitivity towards the needs and aspirations of other countries. Aware of the enormous diversity of language and history that comprises our European countries, we were struck by a real growth in the essential spirit of collaboration, as expressed movingly by one as, "your problem is my problem".

As each one shared the General Chapter follow-up meetings and reviewed developments in her province, it became clear that mutual support and interaction between provinces is seen as integral to present life and future planning of each one, and of Europe as a whole.

Jane Maltby.

A REMINDER

Religious of the Sacred Heart involved in formal education are asked to share the following with Heads of Schools: The Second International World Conference of Heads of Schools of the Society of the Sacred Heart will be held in Sydney, Australia from April 13-18, 2002. Details can be obtained from the conference web site in English, French, Spanish and Japanese in www.sacre-coeur.net/Australia . The conference will be held concurrently with the XII World Congress of AMASC.