Sister Patricia's Words for the Opening of Soavimbaoka

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The Inauguration of the House in Soavimbahoaka, Antananarivo Madagascar

Word from Sister Patrica Byrne, General Superior

on 1 March 2014

 

To begin with I want to thank God for the gift of this house.

It has been a long time since we all first began to talk about the need for this house for the care of our elderly and sick sisters.  I remember the many meetings with our last superior general, Sr Yolande Guiraud, who did all she could to begin to make this a reality.  Finally the dream has become a reality and the construction is finished!

I want to share a very moving experience I had when some of us visited the property just at the beginning of the construction work. The road had just been laid so it made it easier for us to descend the steep hill. To my surprise we found ourselves before the small grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes hidden in the wilderness. It was more like Our Lady of Lourdes finding us and telling us that she was already here and waiting for this house. We felt called to pray for all who would to be part of the building of this house and for our sisters who would eventually be sent here on mission and all our neighbours.  It was a strong moment for all of us.

Today I feel privileged to be here to give thanks to God with you and to Our Lady of Lourdes who has been with you all and watched over you at each stage of the building of this beautiful house.  I am confident that she will continue to accompany all of you in the various stages of your life.

I thank Monsignor Nugent in particular for taking the time to come to celebrate this Eucharist with us and to bless this house.

Today on behalf of our Congregation and in particular our sisters in Madagascar, I express my sincere gratitude to all who have participated in the construction of this beautiful house: the local civil administration office, the Architectural company PATRIARCHE and in particular, Mr. Jean Loup Patriarche and Mr. Didier Rojon who are with us today, and all the staff of COLAS, Mr Alain Roger the CEO, and all the your collaborators.

You have worked hard together to build a beautiful house for our sisters. This is the second house that you have built for us, but what you have done is more than build two houses because what you have built are tools in the service of our mission to make Jesus Christ known and loved. These are ‘temples of the Holy Spirit’, houses of prayer for the Malagasy people. I hope you are all proud of this. We, Sisters of the Cenacle, are very proud of you and full of gratitude for what you done.

Be assured that we will continue to pray for each of you and your families. May God bless you all!

Our mission as Sisters of the Cenacle, whether here in Madagascar or in other places throughout in the world where the Cenacle is located, is to awaken and deepen faith in Jesus Christ. The mission of this house in Soavimbahoaka is twofold, firstly it is to take care of our elderly sisters and our sick sisters, and secondly to exercise our apostolate.

To you my dear sisters, you who are our elders and who left Ambohipo yesterday evening, I want to speak directly to you today. Upon entering this new phase of your life, your mission will continue in a special way in this place.  Rooted in a deeper experience of Se Livrer, your mission will be expressed especially through prayer for the world and the Church. I think it is particularly significant that all of this is happening for you as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Se Livrer, this spiritual experience written by our founder St. Thérèse Couderc.

I also want to address the new apostolic team that will animate the apostolate in the other part of this house. I hope that your mission will bear much fruit in helping many people to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ through catechesis, retreats and days of recollection.

Finally I want to thank the provincial team, the construction committee and Sister Beth Cruz, the General Treasurer who unfortunately could not be here because of other commitments, but who is certainly very much with us in spirit. A Big Thank You to all of you for the way you have given yourselves to this project for the service of our mission. I hope you, too, are proud of this successful venture for the Greater Glory of God.

Also thank you to all the sisters who prepared the celebration today.

To the two new communities: Live in Christ who has called each of you! Good mission with the support of Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of the Cenacle and the support Mère Thérèse! 

 

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