"A little step every day . . ." in Rome

A brief summary of our days in Rome thus far:

Wednesday, April 23:

• Our meetings began with a beautiful reflection, "The Prayer of the Street Child." A brief introduction reminded us that the the General Chapter of 2007 called for a JPIC coordinator in each province to keep the Sisters informed of the world-wide issues as well as local needs and to encourage and help the Sisters to become as involved as possible in these issues. Explanations of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, our Congregation's involvement with the USG/UISG Joint Commission for JPIC, and Mother Pauline's life of social justice involvement were helpful in setting the tone for the meetings. The introduction's conclusion beautifully sums up why we are here: "May the intercession of Mother Pauline help us to do something more, a little more, a little step every day, as much as we can and according to the real possibilities we have at hand."
• A presentation of the initiatives in the North American Western Province gave us insights into our Sisters' responses to the call for social justice there.
• On our first trip, we went to the headquarters of the Italian Jesuit Refugee Service, Centro Astalli, which includes a soup kitchen serving over 400 people each night, accommodation centers for asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants, an outreach clinic, a legal center, an Italian language school, and a project for victims of torture (just to name a few services). If you read Italian, check out the web site: http://www.centroastalli.it/. However, if you're interested in the JRS in the US, see http://www.jrsusa.org.

Thursday, April 24

• Our visit to the offices of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provided us not only with information about international efforts to defeat hunger, but also with isntructions on how to access enormous amount of information available to those who want to learn more. See the excellent FAO web site -- http://www.fao.org/ -- for further information.
• Presentations of the social justice initiatives in the North American Eastern Province, Argentina, and Uruguay provided insights into our Sisters' responses to the call for social justice in these areas.

Friday, April 25

• Our day began with a presentation of the Sisters' responses to the call of social justice in our German province.
• Our visit to Dono di Maria ("Gift of Mary"), a shelter for the poor operated in the Vatican by the Missionaries of Charity, provided an eye-opening experience. Pope John Paul II entrusted this shelter to the care of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in 1988. At this shelter, poor men and women are fed each day, and about 70 women receive medical care and overnight accommodations.

Of course, our visit is not without its Roman sightseeing, but that would be beyond the scope of the blog! Stay tuned for further updates from Rome and thanks for keeping us in your prayers.