Happy Anniversary to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word! Today we celebrated as a congregation 140 years of CCVI and 45 years here in Chimbote, Peru.
The morning mass was dedicated to the Congregation and we had representatives from the sisters, missionaries, and associates participate in the various parts of the mass. After mass we had a small compartir (sharing of food) with hot chocolate and bread. Representatives of the various facets of the congregation (vowed religious, associates, and missionaries) shared some words about their experience, and our theater group performed two skits. The first skit was a brief history of how the congregation came to Chimbote and the various work we do here. I was honored to play the lead role of Sister Marie Charles who first came to Chimbote. The second skit was on the true spirit of Christmas and inviting Jesus into our celebration instead of focusing on Papa Noel or all of the presents and traditional foods. Being part of CCVI and working so much with religious groups here has been a blessing in really focusing on Jesus this Advent, so I haven't had as much contact with the secularism or commercialism of Christmas; but it is still present here too.
After the morning celebration we had a really nice lunch with the whole CCVI family: sisters, missionaries, and associates. It was the first time we all got together, and it was a great sharing and celebration of the various work and components of the Incarnate Word congregation. Being far away from family for the first time this Christmas and being in such a foreign enviornment, it is really a blessing for me to be part of the Incarante Word family and to have the sisters, associates, and fellow missionaries to celebrate with. Sharing in the group together was a great reminder of our common mission to be the presence of the word incarnate in the world today, to manifest the love of the divine in service of the divine presence in our brothers and sisters. In 5 days, Christians all over the world will celebrate the gift of the Incarnation, of God freely choosing to enter into human history and share fully in our reality, struggles, and joys. My hope and prayer for myself and for everyone this Christmas is that we respond to the incredible gift of the incarnation by following God's example and fully entering ourselves into the reality of human history with all of its struggles and joys, freely giving ourselves to the service of others and working to make real the kindom of God.
Praised be the Incarnate Word!
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