On September 3rd, the two SSCC General Chapters met for a retreat day, led by Sr. Mary Barron, Superior General of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles and the President of the Union of International Superior Generals. From Ireland originally, she has been a missionary in Tanzania. She has participated in the Synod on Synodality and is a member of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
We echo here a short story that Mary shared in her first talk on being open to hope. It is the story of a Protestant missionary who was translating a Bible in Papua New Guinea. He could not find the appropriate expression in the local language for the word "hope." He tried to find the word for a long time, but nothing seemed to be able to translate the meaning of hope. One day, his wife of many years died. While he buried her, a boy from the town watched him. The boy asked him, "Why don't you cry?" The man replied, "Why should I? We will meet again." The boy thought for a moment, and then said: "That shows me what I have heard said about you Christians! You are a people that look beyond the horizon." It was then that the missionary realized what it really means to look beyond the horizon.
09/04/2024