North Haledon (New Jersey). On December 27-31, 2017, the Temporary Professed Sisters of SEC and SUO gathered in North Haledon, New Jersey for the annual formation encounter organized by the North American Interprovincial Conference (NAC). Sr. Mary Pat Gavin, RSM, guided a workshop on the theme: Till the land: the work of personal and community formation.
Sr. Mary Pat spoke on the desire to be protagonists of one’s formation; the centrality of Christ in the life of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians; the role of contemplation and of action in the process of ‘putting on Christ’; the total gift to the God of the Covenant; community in mission: a place of growth and of personal realization through the service of education, of affective maturity and of consecrated life; a community on a journey; and lastly, Salesian life as an experience of Wei-ji.
The basis of the workshop was the guideline given by the Formation Document Rooted in the Covenant. “Salesian tradition is a fertile ground that necessitates being tilled every day through the work of personal and community formation, in order to bear fruit in every season of life”.
The encounter was a very enriching time for the Temporary Professed, both through the formative journey of the workshop and with the informal times of meeting, sharing, and joy.
The annual formation encounter is a joyful opportunity for the formandees to meet again with their companions and rekindle the fervor of the beginnings of their vocational journey.
