The 1980's

At the 18th General Chapter in 1983, Rev. Basil Heiser, O.F.M. Conv. celebrated the July 16 Mass prior to the election of the Superior General.  In his homily, Rev. Heiser noted, "Your assembly may be compared to that of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles at the first Pentecost because you, too, await the grace of the Holy Spirit to guide you in this most important election. . . . You have chosen July 16 as the date on which to elect the Superior General since it was on July 16, 1866 that Mother Pauline made her perpetual profession of vows.  Your commemoration of that event is a renewal, too, of your profession to continue the mission of evangelization God gave her and which she bequeathed to you. . . . In the process of aggiornamento, of adaptation to the times and needs of the Church and of the people of today, you have revised your Constitutions and updated your way of life.  You recognize the necessity of your structured community life as outlined in your Constitutions. . . . In the course of this Chapter you have been reviewing the state of affairs, and it will be the special charge of the Superior General whom you elect to implement the decisions made regarding a more fruitful life of consecration and a more efficacious ministry in fulfillment of your calling and consecration."  [On July 16, 1983, Mother M. Pierre Koesters was re-elected to the ministry of Superior General of the Congregation of the Sisters of Christian Charity.]

The theme of the 19th General Chapter (October 2 - November 4, 1989) was "Witness to Jesus through Fidelity to the Charism of Blessed Pauline."  The document published at the end of this General Chapter states, "As we finished our revision of the Constitutions and addressed the concerns of each province, we recognized the necessity of re-animating the apostolic spirituality of our Congregation.  We unanimously agreed that for us, as Sisters of Christian Charity, the Holy Eucharist is the source of this renewal. . . . It is not enough to receive and adore the Eucharistic Body of the Lord; we must allow ourselves to be transformed by him, so that each of us can really say, 'It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.' We are to go forth from the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist to his presence in our Sisters, in all whom we meet, and in all the situations of our life. . . .  Our apostolate will be living and fruitful to the degree that we allow ourselves to be impelled by Christ to share the bread and wine of our life with his people.  This love will open our eyes to the needs of our contemporaries. . . . As we evaluate our apostolic works, we must address the issues of our energy output  Do we spend our energy in making visible the love, the goodness, and the friendliness of our God, or do we overemphasize the institutional and organizational dimensions of the apostolate?  Our authenticity as messengers of the gospel depends upon our willingness both to be present to God's people and to proclaim the gospel by our words and lives. . . . If we serve the Kingdom as a Eucharistic people in joy and love, and are convinced of the importance of our religious life for the Church and for the world, we can be confident that God will grant us perseverance in our own call and will provide the vocations that he needs."

[At the 19th General Chapter, Sister Gregoris Michels, of the German Province, was elected as the tenth Superior General of the Congregation of the Sisters of Christian Charity.]
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The Sisters of Christian Charity of the North American Eastern Province will hold our Provincial Chapter from February 14-18, 2019.  Please join us in praying the prayer for our Provincial Chapter.