Rome (Italy). On 27 March 2022, the five Communities of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians belonging to the Preprovince of Mary Mother of the Church of Rome gathered in the rooms of the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences “Auxilium” to celebrate the Feast of Gratitude together.
The day opened with the Eucharistic Celebration, thanksgiving par excellence, presided over by Fr. Rossano Sala, a Salesian of Don Bosco, in the Aula Magna of the Faculty, during which gratitude was expressed in a particular way towards the Sisters who this year celebrate the 25th and 60th anniversary of religious life.
After the fraternal sharing of the festive dinner, the FMA lived a moment of thanksgiving in the park of the complex, in communion with each other and with creation. In fact, in the days preceding the feast, each community received a word of the logo of the 2021-2022 Programming of the Preprovince, on which to reflect and from which to prepare a moment of animation for the afternoon of the Feast.
St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello Community, using a short obstacle course, invited everyone to exercise daring, a fundamental value in the charismatic and educational experience of Mother Mazzarello. Mother Angela Vespa Community, through a song animated by gestures, encouraged reflection on generativity, starting with the contemplation of nature. Sister Teresa Valsè Pantellini Community, invited all to revive educational passion with a dance around the trees of the park to communicate the beauty of life. Mother Ersilia Canta Community, through a plurality of artistic expressions, awakened in the FMA the awareness that everything expresses care and requires care. Finally, Paul VI community of Concesio, through a network connection, called for fidelity to the charismatic roots, inviting all to sing together “O qual sorte”.
The afternoon concluded with an exchange of gifts. The Superior of the Preprovince, Sr. Maria del Carmen Canales, received the symbolic gift of a lemon plant, which in the language of trees indicates purity and salvation. Each Sister then received as a gift from the Preprovince, their own tree, in the format of a bookmark, as the invitation to take care of all that life entrusts to their hands.
