Preparatory Commission meeting

These were intense days, both in the work we had programmed and in the dialogues we established. The Preparatory Commission for the XVI General Chapter met in Madrid from 1 to 8 May.

The elaboration of the basic document – the working instrument – which gathers together all the contributions received from the Total Work during these months took up a large part of the time. It was a joy to read the responses and reflections, as well as to see the joint involvement of the family united in the charism of Nazaria; this, without doubt, was an enormous incentive to forget the tiredness and to go ahead.

The dialogues, where reflections could be shared, questions clarified and difficulties presented, were equally intense. Everyone was looking at a common goal, a dream long meditated upon: the shared mission as a family united in the same charism.

In a way, we are making Nazaria’s wish come true:

(Meditation on) the Kingdom of Christ. […] the year 1920 … I felt in my soul an immense desire to enlist souls under the banner of Christ. I remember that I saw an immense group of souls coming with me. […] The great field described by St. Ignatius appeared before my eyes: the Divine Captain attracted my gaze, I ran to Him and went to love and serve Him eternally. I could not allow Jesus to go alone, no; I would sacrifice myself to attract souls to Him, to bring the whole world, if I could, to His service. (D. E. T. II 1926 No. 46)