Cambodia – Myanmar. On 11 October 2020, Sr. Alaide Deretti, General Councilor for Missions, held an online conference for the missionary Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of Mary Our Help Province of Cambodia and Myanmar (CMY), in view of World Mission Day on October 18 2020.
The FMA missionaries present in Cambodia gathered in the Provincial House of Phnom Pehn, and the Animators and the Coordinators of the Provincial Team of Myanmar connected online to listen to the conference on the theme: “How to generate life in this time of pandemic to respond to the mandate of the Lord. “
Sister Alaide began her presentation by considering the current situation, with a quote of the Message of Pope Francis for Word Missionary Day 2020:
“In this year, marked by the sufferings and challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, this missionary journey of the whole Church continues in the light of the word that we find in the account of the vocation of the prophet Isaiah: ‘Here I am, send me’ (Is 6: 8). … In this context, the call to mission, the invitation to come out of oneself for the love of God and neighbor, presents itself as an opportunity for sharing, service, intercession. The mission that God entrusts to each one makes us pass from the fearful and closed self to the rediscovered and renewed self through the gift of self .”
Starting from the solicitations of the Holy Father, she addressed some questions for the FMA to delve deeper into the theme by focusing on the willingness to accept the missionary call: “Here I am, send me! We too repeat this in the today of our reality as community, province, and everyday life. In this boat in which we sail, faced with an unexpected situation, we cannot drag the nets on the ground, but must continue to sail together in the boat, giving each other hope and seeking the light of a new future. ”
With the multimedia presentation ‘It’s time for Missio ad gentes’, Sister Alaide Deretti then offered a reflection on the spirit of the Missio ad gentes, which rests on fraternal relationships, on openness to all, and on a life of communion and of relationship that is already proclamation. She also referred to the Encyclical “Fratelli tutti”, signed at Assisi by Pope Francis on 3 October 2020, and the Beatification of the young Carlo Acutis, which call to live the mission ad/inter gentes with evangelical radicalism.
After the intervention of Sr. Alaide, the FMA had the opportunity to share their resonances on the conference and on the call to be missionary-disciples bringing the joy of the Gospel and bearing witness to God’s tenderness for each person. Each returned to her community with a renewed commitment to say: “Here I am, send me!”.
