The
Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions was
founded by Euphrasie Barbier in 1861 in Lyons,
France.
TIME OF
PROMISE: 1861-1893
Euphrasie Barbier sent her first
missionaries to New Zealand
as early as
1865. From then on departures from Lyons for the
missions takes place at regular intervals. After having to
give up the missions in Central Oceania, new fields of action
open up in East Bengal. Having centered her
spirituality on the
Divine Missions, Euphrasie Barbier realises that there
is mission in every place. Therefore she sends her
sisters to
England and to a predominantly working-class
area in Armentières in Northern France. (On the death of the
Foundress, the Congregation counts 205 professed
Religious).
TIME OF GROWTH:
1894-1937
Go
out to the whole world
Works of education developed everywhere
particularly in New Zealand from where the sisters branch out into
Australia from 1897 onwards. New missionary
horizons open up in Canada for religious obliged to leave France in 1901. Sharing the poverty and
hardships of the pioneers, the sisters established 13 missions
in 15 years in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Other
missionaries set out from Europe for the Tropics. With
Chittagong as their centre, new foundations spring up and soon
become the
Indian province (1920). In 1924 the first mission
is established in Indo-China (North Vietnam). The Sisters who were forced to
leave France are able to return.
TIME OF STABILITY:
1938-1966
The number
of sisters working in different parts of the world having
risen to 850 on the eve of World War II, reached its peak in
1966 with a total of 1243 members. New foundations are
made especially in Europe but soon there is evidence of a
decline in numbers. External reasons of a political,
social and economic order play a part in this - young
nations achieving independence, etc. Reasons of an
internal nature have also exercised an influence on the
evolution of the Institute. Each province grew and
developed its own structures, thus becoming able to supply its
own needs regarding personnel and material resources.
The intake of vocations was sufficient to meet the needs of
the local church. Stability in the works of education
and in other spheres of activity took precedence over the
original missionary thrust of the Congregation, so that
departures for the foreign missions became less frequent. This
period is also marked by the departure of the missionaries
from Burma and the exodus from North Vietnam in 1954 followed
by their insertion in the South.
TIME OF RENEWAL IN HOPE:1966-84
After the Second Vatican Council, the
General Chapter of 1966, conscious of the slowing down of the
Congregation's missionary thrust, wished to rekindle the flame
of zeal which animated Euphrasie Barbier and the first
generations of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions.
Each province adopts a new mission: Australia turns towards Papua-New-Guinea, Canada towards Peru, New Zealand recovers a foothold in Samoa and the two European provinces choose
Africa, establishing missions in Kenya
and Senegal. The Congregation transfers the
Generalate to
Rome. Figures and statistics are not
the only criteria for evaluating the vitality of a
Congregation. The first criteria is fidelity to the
Gospel and to the charism of the foundation.
Integrity
Let us be
with the poor as they seek to empower themselves and to
transform unjust structures.
This return to our beginnings has given
birth to a profound spiritual renewal and fresh missionary
thrust. This does not mean that our Institute is exempt
from the difficulties of our times - diminution of life and
strength resulting from departures and lack of vocations in
countries with a long tradition of christianity and from
slowness or resistence to change here and there. The
Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions want to be present to
today's world and to become more deeply inserted into the
People of God. They are ready to go beyond the frontiers
of their local Church in order to become more available to the
wider needs of the universal church thus making mobility and
internationality which must characterise every missionary
institute more effective. The
Spirit of God who makes all things new is urging us to leave
behind the beaten paths in order to enter more resolutely
along the road of creativity and renewal in
Hope.
AT THE DAWN
OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM...
The times in
which we are now living, more than any other time perhaps, are
charged with signs which challenge our generation.
Today the Church is at a new crossroads. What direction
is she going to take?
And we,
Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions - are we ready to allow
ourselves to be called to account by the Gospel and to respond
with responsibility and prophetic ardour similar to those
which animated Euphrasie Barbier?
In the light
of reflection and research in today's Church, we are convinced
that mission demands solidarity on the one hand and, on the
other, a change of direction in the name of the
Gospel.
Evangelization /
Inculturation
New times -
new missions! Each succeeding generation is a whole new
continent to be evangelized, with its own mentality, culture,
everything special to it.
Mission
To
understand and appreciate more profoundly that our
internationality is a gift for mission- a gift which also
holds the call to be ready to be sent anywhere for the sake of
mission.
-Being With:
After the
example of Christ in his incarnation, seeking to be more
deeply inserted among the men and women of our time wherever
we may be sent.
-Sharing:
. . . the conditions of life, the
expectations and hopes of those around us in order to bring
them the Good News and thus transform humanity itself from
within and make it new.
- In
Dialogue:
Evangelization is an encounter of the
Gospel with different cultures. In order to be authentic
witnesses, understood and accepted by our generation, we must
study the ideologies which attract people today, understand
the religions of other believers and know how to read the
signs of the times.
Internationality/Universality
We become
more aware of the international character of our Congregation
not as a means of greater apostolic effectiveness, but as a
gift, a richness lived out concretely in our provinces and
communities with a variety of cultures and traditions giving
our mission of evangelization a universal
dimension.
In a world
which is a prey to violence, discrimination and racial
prejudices, we strive in our communities to live true
friendship based on sisterhood in an atmosphere of communion
and reconciliation.
- OPEN TO OTHERS...
- ATTENTIVE...
- RESPECTING DIFFERENCES...
- SHARING...
Option for the Poor and for
Justice
The Gospel
is a Gospel of love. But love demands justice.
Therefore, the Gospel is also a Gospel of justice. It is
the Good News proclaimed to the poor.
- Discerning:
Being informed, being aware of living
conditions of those around us. Passing from awareness
to allowing our consciences to be touched. Being
converted from mere sympathy to true
solidarity.
- Living
Justly:
Allowing ourselves to be challenged by
situations in the light of the Gospel, striving to be
converted - continually examining our lifestyle. Witness
is life. Witnessing to justice is witnessing to the
dignity and freedom of humankind and to God's love for
all.
- Working For
Justice:
Rethinking our apostolic
commitments. Engaging in resolute solidarity with
others. Committing ourselves to work for justice means
accepting insecurity and being willing to take risks in the
name of Jesus Christ.
|
Contents per courtesy of Religieuses de Notre Dame des
Missions Web Site (http://www.rndm.org/) - thank you
Sister Tara
Dubord |
