“In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week,
the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them,
“Peace be with you!”
And showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and Jesus said to them again: “Peace be with you!
As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.”
After saying this he breathed on them and said,
“Receive the Holy Spirit”. (Jn 20:19-23)
Jesus breathes life, transmits to his own what makes them live, that vital and luminous principle, that intensity that made him different, unique in his way of loving. In that locked room, in that suffocating situation, the profound and deep breath of God enters. The abandoned one returns to those who had abandoned him. He does not accuse anyone; he initiates life processes. He manages the fragility of his disciples in a very human and creative way.
He reassures them that his love for them has not changed: He showed them his wounded hands and his open side, wounds of love;
he reaffirms his total trust in them:
“Even if you abandoned me, I still believe in you and I send you forth!”
Dear Sisters, dear Friends
It’s Pentecost! I believe there is no better or more suitable liturgical occasion to reach you with this letter, preceded by the Word of God proclaimed throughout the world on this day and accompanied by a profound conviction that sustains the journey of the General Council.
I express it drawing on the words of Cardinal Martini:
“The Spirit is also here today, as in the time of Jesus and the Apostles: he is here and is working, he precedes us, he works more and better than us; it is not up to us to wake him up, but above all recognize him, welcome him, comply with him, open the way, follow him. He is present and has never lost heart with respect to our time; on the contrary, he smiles, penetrates, invests, envelopes, he even reaches where we would never have imagined. Faced with the crucial crisis of our time, which is the crisis of the sense of God, the Spirit is at work, invisibly and in smallness, without clamour and in everyday life”.
At Pentecost, the Church begins to live its adulthood: it is the time of witness, of responsibility, it is the time to take control of one’s own life of faith. We are well aware that as we are entering a new phase of life, relationships change, are transformed, but are not cancelled or destroyed. Jesus’ words in the Gospel had helped the disciples to enter into a new way of relating with him: the presence of the Consoler is the new way in which Jesus will be with his disciples.
The Spirit will speak new words, because God never stops speaking to humanity. God continues to speak, he communicates because the word is an expression of love. God said, the Word became incarnate, now the Spirit “will tell you all that he hears and will tell you what is to come” (Jn 16:13). To us too, Daughters of Charity, in the ecclesial event of the General Chapter (August 2022), “future things” were announced, new words, crucial challenges, changes to be recognized and faced with courage, to testify with parrhesia to the unity of the Institute of Charity.
Mary, present at Pentecost as Mother of the newly born Church, is the Mother of Charity under the Cross, the true foundress of the Institute. She is the one who has guided our Institute this far and shows us the proper attitude to live God’s love.
Magdalene exhorts us:
“Continue always to be attached to Our Blessed Mother Mary, and all of you, in whatever need, run to Her, and never doubt anything”.
May the familiarity with which we entrust ourselves to her maternal intercession, our affection and our devotion lead us to live as she did, walking the path of service and mission with humility and trust.
May our Mother Magdalene, whose 250th anniversary we celebrate, continue to love us as Daughters of Charity and bless us.
Together with the Councillors
