{"id":7135,"date":"2020-05-24T13:38:56","date_gmt":"2020-05-24T17:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palabranueva.net\/hijas-de-la-misericordia\/"},"modified":"2021-02-17T09:19:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T13:19:00","slug":"hijas-de-la-misericordia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palabranueva.net\/en\/hijas-de-la-misericordia\/","title":{"rendered":"An opportunity to talk about Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Follow Christ, listen to Christ,
\nhumble yourself in Christ,
\nsuffer silently in Christ,
\nburn in Christ, forgive in Christ,
\nlove in Christ, sacrifice in Christ.”
\nBlessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Petkovi<\/p>\n

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\"Vecinos
Neighbors of Jaimanites receive missionaries in their homes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For a week, Jaimanites and Santa Fe were a land of permanent mission. In these villages on the north coast of Habanero, where there are no priests, Cuban and foreign lay people promoted, together with religious of the Congregation Daughters of Mercy of the Third Regular Order of San Francisco, the International Mission Cuba 2020.<\/p>\n

In this way, the second moment of the Jubilee was fulfilled by the centenary of the foundation of this religious community, which has been present on the island since 2014. Sister Salvadora Mercado, CFM, General Counsellor of the Congregation, responsible for the formation of the laity area worldwide, told the New Word that “Cuba is a land thirsting for the Word of God, open to being evangelized”, that is why her choice to live this time of celebration.<\/p>\n

Inserted into the reality of these two Habaneras localities, missionaries from Cuba, Paraguay, Peru, Chile, Italy, Croatia and Argentina knocked on the doors of houses to proclaim Jesus Christ and invite him to live his gospel in the divine logic of his free and merciful love for every human person.<\/p>\n

The Jubilee for the Centenary of the Sisters of Mercy comprises, in addition to this mission in Cuba, two other moments: a symposium that took place in Paraguay, attended by a delegation of Cubans, and a camp in Peru, to be held in 2021.<\/p>\n

A community that bets on the mission<\/p>\n

The Congregation Daughters of Mercy of the Third Regular Order of St. Francis (CFM) was founded in Blato, Korsula (Croatia), on October 4, 1920, by Maria Petkovia (1892-1966), in the religion Mary of Jesus Crucified, now blessed on the altars. According to the desire of the founding mother, who is described as “an eternal lover of Jesus”, the institute created by her would have the mission of serving those most in need. This work would soon translate into works that expressed the Father’s Love and Mercy.<\/p>\n

Responding to the challenges of each time and place, little by little the followers of Mary Petkovia developed their charism through the education of children and young people, the care of elderly and sick people, and the parish apostolate and missions. In their service to the Church, they expanded into new countries and continents until they were present today in Europe, America, and Africa. In his walk, the support and collaboration of the faithful has been decisive. It is for this reason that the Jubilee for its centenary has united lay and religious in a great mission.<\/p>\n

Since her arrival in Havana, Sister Onoria Paredes Mart\u00ednez, a restless woman by nature, has insisted that the fundamental mission in Cuba is to make Jesus and his gospel known. “Here we find that people tell us about the Virgin Mary of Charity with some closeness, yet the figure of Jesus is unknown to them, far away. And He is the center of Christianity. It’s impossible to define yourself as Catholic and not know him,” he explains.<\/p>\n

Coinciding with this view, Sister Asunci\u00f3n Segovia Cohene, also Paraguayan and with forty-three years of consecrated life, states: “In Cuba there is a need to fall in love with Christ. Everyone believes in God, but not in Christ. And that is what motivates this mission: we want Cubans to know Christ, to fall in love with Him. It is He who gives life, the s-peranza… I see very hopeless people. They need to be motivated by hope in Christ. We human people fail, but He will not fail us.”<\/p>\n

In this regard, the sisters and lay people who work together with them add other objectives that have much to do with the con-gregational charisma. “We seek to promote,” Sister Onoria says, “the three pillars on which our charism is based: mercy, fraternity and mission. Sisters and lay people in community form, pray and missionary with humility, simplicity and Franciscan joy motivated by faith, hope and charity. We have a firm purpose of reviving the life of faith in these two Haban neighborhoods that do not have the usual assistance of a priest. Our project also seeks to accompany the Cardinal, who is the Archbishop of the Archdiocese. He is a great missionary, and at the beginning of his ecclesial government in Havana, we were moved by his proposal to practice the Lectio Divina. From this initiative, we think about the creation of small Christian communities (houses of prayer, not mission) based on the Word of God.”<\/p>\n

\"De
From left to right, sisters Asunci\u00f3n Segovia, Angelina Rodas and Onoria Paredes, who make up the community of Cuba.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Located in the village of Jaimanitas since its arrival in Cuba, this religious community soon made contact with young missionaries from the Archdiocese, mainly from mayabeque towns, to learn about the reality of the country, the Church and work in communion. The sisters wanted to listen to them and learn from them. Jaimanites and Saint Faith were lands asleep in the faith and needed to be revived. After that initial meeting, they were invited to collaborate with them and together they developed a three-day mission.<\/p>\n

Soon the nuns realized the need for formation that these young people had. In this regard, Sister Onoria recalls: “I said, ‘Look, you are fantastic, you have dynamism and goodwill, but you lack a clear spirituality. We offer you training in our spirituality, and you help us energize these communities.'” Accepted. It was the birth of a team of missionaries, in constant formation, that is called LAIMIS (Lay Missionaries of Mercy).”<\/p>\n