Messaggio della Consigliera per le Missioni - Sr. Alaide Deretti

1. Medellín, 14 July 2020
Dearest Sisters,
I greet you from Colombia, in Mary Help of
Christians Province (CMA) where, together with Sr.
Maria Luisa Miranda and the Colombian Sisters, we
accompany the reality of the world, of the Church, of
the Institute. We hope to find a humanitarian flight as
soon as possible in order to return to Rome. Our
prayer is insistent and intense. We invoke the
Lord’s mercy for all the people struck by
Covid-19 and for the poverty that the
pandemic is hitting more forcefully,
increasing the social divide and transforming
many sisters and brothers into ‘waste matter’
because of the negligence of some
governments.
In spite of the harsh reality that touches the life of many
people in the various parts of the world, the Gospel continues to make inroads and arrives where
perhaps we cannot arrive and in the most unthinkable ways, as the Lord wanted, thought, and desired,
with or without our collaboration.
With the pandemic, we have seen the Word of God, the Eucharistic Celebration, the Church…
arrive in many homes, plant its ‘tent’ among the families. We have seen grow in the people, the need
for spirituality, the search for God, and we have realized that the ‘domestic Church’ has been reborn
in some way!
Often in these recent months, the parishes, even the parishes of our communities and/or works,
have ‘entered’ the homes of the families with a simple ‘click’ through the Internet, through direct
streaming of a Eucharistic celebration, for catechesis, for a formation encounter, a meeting, a visit, to
have online school, or to pray the Rosary. It comes spontaneous to me to thank the Lord for the many
opportunities He offers us to proclaim and witness the Gospel with a language that is understandable
for out times. The pandemic has made us search for ways to go out to continue to carry out our
mission. Even more, the pandemic made us live with creativity an attitude that is very dear to Pope
Francis while remaining in our environments: OUTGOING. An outgoing Church, an outgoing
Institute, outgoing educating communities… this is something new that is being born and we already
see the sprouts.
Dearest Sisters, it is important to always and everywhere seek the best way to proclaim and
witness the Gospel, and to make ourselves close to those in need. I say this thinking of St. Mary
Magdalene, whose FEAST occurs on July 22. She, the Apostle of the Apostles, fills us with courage
and daring in our mission. She helps us to live intensely the encounter with the Risen One, to then
proclaim with joy and honesty, “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20: 18).
Continuing the journey of encounter with Mother Mazzarello through her letters to the
missionaries, I would like to propose Letter 25, written from Nizza precisely on July 22 of 1879.
Mother Mazzarello turns to the superior of the house of Montevideo, Villa Colón, Sr. Angela Vallese,
offering her some practical norms for the formation of the sisters and transmitting news of the Mother
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2. House. I invite you to read this letter again and meditate on some expressions of Mother Mazzrello
that are of great actuality.
Right at the start of the letter, Mother Mazzarello writes, “Don’t be afraid”. Certainly, the
context is totally different from our own... “Don’t be afraid that your letters annoy me…”. If we think
of the great challenges of today, these words help us to place all our trust in the Lord. Jesus Himself
assured His disciples saying, “Do not be afraid”. The Angel also repeated this to the women when
they came looking for Jesus in the sepulcher (Mt. 28: 5).
Regarding the situation of Sr. Giovanna Borgna, “too young and not mature enough to take the
place of the superior,” Mother Mazzarello repeats the same refrain, but with another tune: “You have
no need to be afraid”. And she recommends, “Calmly correct and remedy what we can and leave the
rest in the hands of the Lord”. How much wisdom in Mother Mazzarello!
And she continues, “There is no need to pay too much attention to trifles. Sometimes important
things are ignored in focusing on non-essentials”.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says something very similar, “Woe to you…you pay tithes of mint
and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and
fidelity… Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!” (Mt. 23). Mother did not
mean to ignore the little things, but to “understand and practice charity… You need to inspire
confidence.” This is the ‘secret of our education’ that has to be lived first in the community and then
lived with the girls, the young people, and the children. Other words of Mother Mazzarello also
confirm this in Letter 25, “It seems to me that if you know how to take her, she will turn out well.”
This is marvelous feminine pedagogy that teaches how to accompany to make grow!
I would like to highlight other recommendations of Mother Mazzarello that I think can help us
a lot during this time: prayer, patience, vigilance, and perseverance. “Trust in Jesus… leave it to Him.
He will put everything right. Be always cheerful, always of good heart.”
Letter 25 suggests other points for our reflection as for example, love of work, care of one’s
health, “love for sacrifice, self-contempt, and absolute detachment from their own will”. I leave it up
to you to read deeply and also share in community, seeking to find the moments of life and of the
mission in which these words are light, repose, comfort.
Dearest Sisters, in preparation for GC XXIV and recalling the dispositions of Pope Francis
regarding the Loreto Litanies, let us pray together, Mary, Mother of Mercy, Mother of Hope,
Comforter of the migrants, fill our jars with the wine of trust, of serenity in the face of adversity, of
gratitude towards the Creator and towards creatures.
Happy feast of SAINT MARY MAGDALENE! And many wishes for the mission to
proclaim and witness Jesus with commitment and creativity in time of the pandemic.
A warm embrace and always in sisterly communion and reciprocal prayer.
Councilor for the Missions
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