Before sharing my experience in relation to this topic, I want to take in some elements that will help contextualize my words: I come from a country where a small portion of our beloved Congregation is present, the works are of missionary character and work in parish ministry, communities with few sisters, therefore, one of the reasons to come to Colombia for formation or for other reasons is to know communities with enough sisters and houses with older sisters, so that planning a trip to Medellin always includes the visit and sharing with our elderly and sick sisters.
Our Constitutions say: «They have spent their energies in the service of the Congregation and now they encourage us with their experience and witness of fidelity to the Lord» (Const. 34). And so it is, the sisters who come to this community live a concrete stage of their life with its own characteristics: reduction of the rhythm of life, having more time for things, especially prayer which, together with pain, is the daily offering to God and a way of continuing the mission in the world. They also feel helplessness, fear, pain, need for listening, companionship and help from others, they begin to depend. Although we know that it is a normal stage of life, we are not always ready to go through it, it takes us by surprise and it is a process to adapt to the changes.
I have been accompanying the community «Nuestra Señora de Montiel» in Medellín for 5 months now, where I share life with our elderly and sick sisters together with a group of sisters who form the «support team» of the community. We are immediate in charge of looking after their wellbeing.
If I am asked what does this mission mean to me? I say that, like any mission, it implies a service that I welcome with faith and good disposition; an opportunity to love, serve and grow. Although I had no work experience in this area, I have two clarities that help me, «the mission is with my sisters» and «we walk together»; these are the keys to assume with love the day to day, which is always full of novelties and feel that we are all on the way at different paces, but together as we are asked by the synodality.
Some lessons for life:
- To live the welcome and respect
In a world where the elderly are excluded, to SEE the sisters as elders; to recognize that they came first to the Congregation, that they have traveled a path of following and service that we continue, helps me to value and respect each one in her own reality.
- To express gratitude feel
The sisters who are in the community have spent their lives and energies living their vocation and carrying out a mission, no matter if in relevant positions or humble services, they all carry the high bar «HERE IS A FOLLOWER OF JESUS, BUILDER OF THE CONGREGATION», it is a merit that no one can stop; therefore, in their presence only gratitude, much gratitude to honor their legacy.
- To contemplate the work of God, to welcome a blessing
Each sister is an eloquent SIGN of what God is capable of doing in each human being when she takes it on her own; sometimes, in the midst of their limitations, it is not very easy to discover «the work that God has done in them». However, their lives reflect God’s faithfulness and mercy and His saving action.
- To appreciate the essential
In adulthood many physical or mental faculties are lost and it is surprising to find the essence of each sister. What she has cultivated during her life is what remains. So you can enjoy the joyfulness, prayer, availability, strength, and active service among the many gifts that God placed in their hearts.
It is beautiful to contemplate some details of the present of the sisters that simply fills the heart with tenderness and admiration: the sense of God and their relationship with Him, no longer with numerous words or great speeches; they just know how to be, they are like little candles at the foot of the tabernacle. A great testimony is that even in their pain they look for the community and ask, «Where are they all? Bring me to them”. Despite the fact that they no longer go out from the house, they still have a sense of helping others, especially the poor. They care for others and for those who care for them. They create bonds and share their wisdom in words of encouragement and messages that help them grow. Their sense of belonging to the Congregation is also noticeable. They ask for the sisters, they ask for their names to be repeated over and over again, they ask to be told who to pray for and, if the young women in formation come to such spaces they like to tell them their stories over and over again, offering them prayer and giving them advice; they are for them like a grandmother with her grandchildren.
Finally, for those who read this story, the invitation is to value the elderly around you. They have a lot to give, so let us not miss the opportunity to give them proximity, gentleness, company and help.
Sr. Bilma Freire Chamorro, Tc