Králíky (Czech Republic). From 13 to 21 July 2024 in Králíky, on the Mountain of the Mother of God, in the Czech Republic, the Spiritual Exercises of Mary Immaculate Province (CEL) of the Czech Republic and Lithuania were held, with the participation of some Sisters from Mother of God Preprovince (EEG) of Eastern Europe and Georgia.
On the first day, the FMA experienced the Feast of Gratitude in which they expressed gratitude to Sister Zdeňka Švédová, CEL Provincial and Sister Malgorzata Pietruszczak, Superior of the EEG Preprovince. Presentations of the respective Province and Preprovince Communities and works were projected and, during the fraternal evening, it was possible to get to know each other better, even personally. From the beginning of the experience, a beautiful and joyful communion was lived, despite the difficult contexts from which some Sisters came.
Sister Malgorzata presented the EEG Preprovince with the different historical passages. There was a strong moment of sharing when the Sisters spoke about the situation in these Countries, in particular the Ukraine, and how Providence, through the generosity of the people, helped to overcome the difficulties. For example, when there was no electricity, power generators and several flashlights arrived from unknown benefactors; when the big cold arrived, radiators and thermal shirts were donated.
The flexibility and creativity of the FMA also contributed to alleviating the burdens. If there was no light, the type of work changed… “If we don’t take a lesson from this situation, then we lose the possibility of learning something new; we lose the opportunity to grow; the grace to take a step forward. We are created to be creative,” they concluded.
The Sisters of the EEG Preprovince are also beautiful examples of how to live among the people, for their ability to always find reasons for joy, to grasp the beauty and positive side of things. Throughout this time, Sister Malgorzata continued to visit the communities in these Countries. Of course, she had to change her plans and accept the situation as it was: the uncertainty of travel times, changing means of transport, dealing with ‘surprises’ and inconveniences at the borders.
“But when a door closes, a window or small window opens”, she observed, and went on to list the many “stars of joy” that she sees, “the gratitude that comes from the people in these Countries: ‘thank you, because the Sisters have not left; they have not left us…’; the courage and willingness of the Sisters to change their mission and their service according to the conditions and needs of the reality; the spiritual and moral support of the other Sisters of the Preprovince; the continuous prayer; the solidarity of the world.”
At the end of the Celebration of Gratitude each sister received a gift of an umbrella with the logo of the CEL Province.
The group then began the Spiritual Exercises preached by Sister Eliane Petri, FMA, who accompanied the sisters in studying the Word of God, connecting various Gospel passages with the spirituality of Mother Mazzarello.
The splendid nature of the mountains and the ancient monastery where they spent these days helped the FMA to live this very precious time in peace and serenity, with the request to God for numerous spiritual fruits in their personal and community life, and that this experience together can be a sign that peace and fraternity, even between different Nations, is possible.
