Our September 13th pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida was a day of great grace. Archbishop Orlando Brandes remembered our Interchapter during the Mass and gave a special blessing to all of us, along with all the participants of the celebration. It was a day filled with the loving presence of our Lady and the witness of deep faith of the pilgrims who came to the shrine.
We especially want to thank Sr Rosa Ramalho and Sr Marlene Konzen for the preparation of the pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida and for their dedication to the many details that made the day truly meaningful and joyous.
Today in our Eucharistic celebration of the Exaltation of the Cross, we remembered that we are transformed through the cross of Christ. We carried this spirit with us as we determined the one priority we would embrace to guide the revitalization of our programming toward the next General Chapter.
Gathered in our four small groups, we worked to find convergence on the elements we felt were most important, then in assembly each group presented the single priority they had decided on. At this point together we voted on the one priority that we will embrace to guide our work in the future.
Finally, we reconvened in the small groups to decide on two practical strategies to achieve the priority goal.
