The Juniors Take A Breather!
by Sr. Joji Silorio, FI

The Juniors (L-R): Srs. Marie Sweet Candelaria, Felie Acelo, Emily Espino, Lorena Sevillo & Joji Silorio

Fresh from our experiences of mission in the respective apostolic centers where we were sent, we took on a less and (perhaps to many) unusual traveled way of recharging our bodies and souls through the Spiritual Exercises or SpEx (with Srs. Georgette and Fe, our facilitators and guide). Our encounter with the two sisters helped us to once again deepen on the essentials of our life as Hijas de Jesús: the dynamics of the SpEx lived in daily life particularly in becoming more conscious of the meaning of ELECTION in religious life and gaining more spiritual “skills” in discovering the active presence of God in ordinary life Who is our Principle & Foundation & to Whom we ought to give praise, reverence and to serve wholeheartedly. We had this much needed break in our home away from home in Pansol, Laguna last May 25-27.

Our three-day journey took off by allowing us to reflect on our present reality: the “Image Culture” where our senses are seduced – here slender bodies are glorified & our rational communication is oftentimes easily displaced by one that is emotional & swamp by many other information & images which in turn can reduce our capacity to contemplate the simple realities of life such as a quiet gaze and a thought that grows in the silence of our interiority.

This poses a continuing challenge for us to grow into the authentic image of God.  From here, we moved on to contemplating our experiences of how God looks at us so that “in this ‘looking at us’ we may discover the newness of WHO HE IS for us everyday…” This in turn will enable us to arrive at a new sensibility: conversion of the senses that is more attuned and sensitive to “catch God’s moment” in the Word of God and in the way we live the actual realities of daily life through our relationships with God & one another.  In doing so, the Principle and Foundation of our life becomes the fundamental basis of our election in our everyday life.

The opening of our consciousness towards a renewed vision -- that of seeing day to day realities from the vantage point of the Word of God that is both sweet and sharp allowed us to change our mental structures - from a self-focused way of praying to a more contemplative praying of world realities through the lenses of God’s love. The encounter also helped us to experience more interiorly the power of the Word of God not just as a Divine symbol but as the real presence of Jesus. With all these means to grow more in our religious vocation, we the Junior Sisters felt more impelled and challenged to continue becoming women of synthesis, growing in sensitivity and sensibility in responding to God’s many & oftentimes ordinary invitations in the here and now. This also helped us to lessen in the unnecessary and irrelevant attempts to change the world overnight and the tendency to carry everything upon our shoulders.

As we return to our communities, we do so renewed & challenged as we allow the Word of God to confront our lives, and to make our ordinary words and deeds reflect the living, joyful, patient, merciful and most sensible God.