Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Being Witnesses of the Mission
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
“Je cherche le visage le visage du Seignuer”-- “I seek the face of God,” was our sung refrain for today and I really don’t think a more appropriate refrain could have been chosen. The focus for today was on that of the Lasallian Family and Association—those of you who are reading this and are connected with the Lasallian Mission know that this is a “hot topic” right now. Our day together was broken up into two main parts: 1) sharing of our experiences with the whole group and 2) listening to a presentation about the new Council on the Lasallian Family.
For the first part of the day, we spent the morning in our CIL meeting room presenting on our expectations for our time together at CIL (with simultaneous translation— see picture below-- it’s amazing how as the days go on your ability to understand multiple languages being spoken increases). Even though we come from different languages, cultures, countries, and lived realities. . . the MOST exciting thing is that we all voiced a similar vision and hope and two main themes seemed to surface as we shared: 1) a passion around the idea of Association—including: a) the want to experience it; b) the want to share our life experiences of it; and c) the want to deepen our understanding of it. The second theme that emerged was the idea of the power of “witness”—i.e how we are all being called to this Lasallian Family as witnesses of Christ’s love to our students and our colleagues.—i.e. being the face of God. . .and we were reminded that “actions speak louder than words”--“Example makes a greater impression on the minds and hearts of the young than do words.”--St. John Baptist de La Salle
The afternoon session consisted of a wonderful presentation by Bro. Charles Kitson, Secretariat: Lasallian Family & Association. He presented an overview of the area of Association and presented us with the many gifts and some of challenges that are involved with this area of our Lasallian Family. His presentation sparked many questions and my only sadness for the day was the we didn’t have more time to dialogue (encuentro) about this topic—but I know that we are just at the start of our wonderful journey together and I am sure the time will come.
Tomorrow we head-out on a half-day pilgrimage together to Saint Paul Outside the Walls. . . and our journey as a Lasallian Family continues. . .
I continue to be amazed at how our differences in languages, cultures and lived realities continue to be a source of unity amongst the group. . .
I will leave you with this quote “The [Lasallians] seek God together and together we find God.”—The Rule (adapted) I have no doubt that we are, together and by association, finding God.
Buenas noches,
Tina
Today was a beautiful day in Roma!!—the first day it didn’t rain—with the sun out and a beautiful and crisp blue. (enjoy the pictures)
“Je cherche le visage le visage du Seignuer”-- “I seek the face of God,” was our sung refrain for today and I really don’t think a more appropriate refrain could have been chosen. The focus for today was on that of the Lasallian Family and Association—those of you who are reading this and are connected with the Lasallian Mission know that this is a “hot topic” right now. Our day together was broken up into two main parts: 1) sharing of our experiences with the whole group and 2) listening to a presentation about the new Council on the Lasallian Family.
For the first part of the day, we spent the morning in our CIL meeting room presenting on our expectations for our time together at CIL (with simultaneous translation— see picture below-- it’s amazing how as the days go on your ability to understand multiple languages being spoken increases). Even though we come from different languages, cultures, countries, and lived realities. . . the MOST exciting thing is that we all voiced a similar vision and hope and two main themes seemed to surface as we shared: 1) a passion around the idea of Association—including: a) the want to experience it; b) the want to share our life experiences of it; and c) the want to deepen our understanding of it. The second theme that emerged was the idea of the power of “witness”—i.e how we are all being called to this Lasallian Family as witnesses of Christ’s love to our students and our colleagues.—i.e. being the face of God. . .and we were reminded that “actions speak louder than words”--“Example makes a greater impression on the minds and hearts of the young than do words.”--St. John Baptist de La Salle
The afternoon session consisted of a wonderful presentation by Bro. Charles Kitson, Secretariat: Lasallian Family & Association. He presented an overview of the area of Association and presented us with the many gifts and some of challenges that are involved with this area of our Lasallian Family. His presentation sparked many questions and my only sadness for the day was the we didn’t have more time to dialogue (encuentro) about this topic—but I know that we are just at the start of our wonderful journey together and I am sure the time will come.
Tomorrow we head-out on a half-day pilgrimage together to Saint Paul Outside the Walls. . . and our journey as a Lasallian Family continues. . .
I continue to be amazed at how our differences in languages, cultures and lived realities continue to be a source of unity amongst the group. . .
I will leave you with this quote “The [Lasallians] seek God together and together we find God.”—The Rule (adapted) I have no doubt that we are, together and by association, finding God.
Buenas noches,
Tina
Today was a beautiful day in Roma!!—the first day it didn’t rain—with the sun out and a beautiful and crisp blue. (enjoy the pictures)
Orientation to Our Global Lasallian Family: Days 1 and 2 of the CIL Program
Monday, January 25, 2009 and Tuesday, January 26, 2009
As I sit to write this blog entry, I find myself at a loss for words to be able to truly articulate the experiences of the last two days—and I have a feeling that may be the case for this entire experience—however, I’ll do my best.
According to our schedule (yes, we received one today—and I’m pretty sure the only folks carrying it around are the Americans ☺ )—the first two days of the program were to focus on “orientation.” We’ve all been to orientation sessions and in general they are pretty standard, right??—review of the program schedule; “housekeeping” items; possibly a tour of the facilities, etc. . . Well, this “orientation” has been like no other I have been involved in. . .and FAR MORE than simply an orientation to the program—but really an orientation to the realities of our world. . . and the realities of how people in the world are treated.
As with every morning, we started the day with prayer and lifted in prayer those CIL participants who have yet to be able to join us: two participants from Bogotá, Columbia, who are still awaiting visas; one from Lebanon, who was denied a visa and one participant from Burkina Faso, West Africa—who was being detained at the airport in Rome (they detained him overnight for no good/ logical reason and released him in the morning)—and when he arrived he was full of such great joy and walked around greeting everyone!!—and more amazingly said that being here was worth the experience in the airport. As I sat there during prayer, I couldn’t help but think about my experience in the Rome airport with the passport control agent, who did not look at the inside of my passport. . . but instead only looked at the blue cover that indicated it was from the United States. . . I could say SO much about this, but I think I’ll let those of you who are reading this reflect on this reality for yourself.
The morning continued with the sharing of stories amongst the participants, as we continue to get to know one another (it would be impossible to capture all of the stories) but one story that particularly struck me was from Maher Matar, who is a teacher at our Lasallian High School in Bethlehem. I was chatting with him during the coffee break and telling him that I was going to be visiting Bethlehem—and he extended many kindnesses to me regarding visiting his home. . . .In the course of our conversation I asked him what he taught—and expected him to say something like “English, math, etc. . .” instead he told me that he teaches his students (who are mostly Palestinian) that they are good people, filled with goodness and Godliness. . . and reminds them on a daily basis that they need to be confident that God will bring peace to the Holy Land. (He is also the director of the French program.) At the core of our Lasallian Mission we are called to be “ambassadors and ministers of Christ,”—what a profound expression of the Mission!!
This is just one of MANY stories like this. . .and I will share more as the days go on.
The afternoon and evening was one of GREAT joy and community building!! In the afternoon a group of us (folks from Vietnam, Bethlehem, Australia, and the United States) headed to some of the sites in Rome (I posted a few pictures). We had a MOST wonderful time exploring Rome and sharing our stories with each other. Monday night ended with a Fiesta!!—where we celebrated being peoples from around the world all gathered here as Lasallians—a great joy!
Today, the refrain of our sung prayer was from the message of the prophet Samuel; Aqui estoy Senor, para hacer tu voluntad; Me voici Seigneur, pour faire ta volonte; Here I am Lord, I come to do your will. The experience of the last two days has been so overwhelmingly holy. . .the goodness that is happening in the world because of the Lasallian Family—brothers and lay partners, (many who are CIList, but MANY more who are working at our ministries as we are here) who together and by association, have said "Here I Am Lord, I come to do your will, is amazing and humbling . . .
Tonight we ended our evening with a walk to the local gelato store (I think this is going to become a common ritual). . . an international community of participants from Bethlehem, Egypt, Canada Francophone, and the United State were on tonight’s walk. . . and in our escapade to the gelato store we “ran into” a group of about 10 students from Saint Mary’s College of California who are here for their Jan Term break. . .I think it was quite fitting that we ended our day by meeting on the street those who are “entrusted to our care.”
The schedule for tomorrow states we are going to “share our expectations with the group”. . . who knows what tomorrow will really bring. . . so I think I’m going to leave my “schedule” behind and instead follow the schedule the Holy Spirit has planned for all of us in CIL.
I’ll end with an Arabic greeting that I learned today--ASSALAMU ALAYKUM (“Peace be upon you”). . .just think, what would our world be like if we blest each other with this greeting on a daily basis!
Bonne nuit,
Tina
As I sit to write this blog entry, I find myself at a loss for words to be able to truly articulate the experiences of the last two days—and I have a feeling that may be the case for this entire experience—however, I’ll do my best.
According to our schedule (yes, we received one today—and I’m pretty sure the only folks carrying it around are the Americans ☺ )—the first two days of the program were to focus on “orientation.” We’ve all been to orientation sessions and in general they are pretty standard, right??—review of the program schedule; “housekeeping” items; possibly a tour of the facilities, etc. . . Well, this “orientation” has been like no other I have been involved in. . .and FAR MORE than simply an orientation to the program—but really an orientation to the realities of our world. . . and the realities of how people in the world are treated.
As with every morning, we started the day with prayer and lifted in prayer those CIL participants who have yet to be able to join us: two participants from Bogotá, Columbia, who are still awaiting visas; one from Lebanon, who was denied a visa and one participant from Burkina Faso, West Africa—who was being detained at the airport in Rome (they detained him overnight for no good/ logical reason and released him in the morning)—and when he arrived he was full of such great joy and walked around greeting everyone!!—and more amazingly said that being here was worth the experience in the airport. As I sat there during prayer, I couldn’t help but think about my experience in the Rome airport with the passport control agent, who did not look at the inside of my passport. . . but instead only looked at the blue cover that indicated it was from the United States. . . I could say SO much about this, but I think I’ll let those of you who are reading this reflect on this reality for yourself.
The morning continued with the sharing of stories amongst the participants, as we continue to get to know one another (it would be impossible to capture all of the stories) but one story that particularly struck me was from Maher Matar, who is a teacher at our Lasallian High School in Bethlehem. I was chatting with him during the coffee break and telling him that I was going to be visiting Bethlehem—and he extended many kindnesses to me regarding visiting his home. . . .In the course of our conversation I asked him what he taught—and expected him to say something like “English, math, etc. . .” instead he told me that he teaches his students (who are mostly Palestinian) that they are good people, filled with goodness and Godliness. . . and reminds them on a daily basis that they need to be confident that God will bring peace to the Holy Land. (He is also the director of the French program.) At the core of our Lasallian Mission we are called to be “ambassadors and ministers of Christ,”—what a profound expression of the Mission!!
This is just one of MANY stories like this. . .and I will share more as the days go on.
The afternoon and evening was one of GREAT joy and community building!! In the afternoon a group of us (folks from Vietnam, Bethlehem, Australia, and the United States) headed to some of the sites in Rome (I posted a few pictures). We had a MOST wonderful time exploring Rome and sharing our stories with each other. Monday night ended with a Fiesta!!—where we celebrated being peoples from around the world all gathered here as Lasallians—a great joy!
Today, the refrain of our sung prayer was from the message of the prophet Samuel; Aqui estoy Senor, para hacer tu voluntad; Me voici Seigneur, pour faire ta volonte; Here I am Lord, I come to do your will. The experience of the last two days has been so overwhelmingly holy. . .the goodness that is happening in the world because of the Lasallian Family—brothers and lay partners, (many who are CIList, but MANY more who are working at our ministries as we are here) who together and by association, have said "Here I Am Lord, I come to do your will, is amazing and humbling . . .
Tonight we ended our evening with a walk to the local gelato store (I think this is going to become a common ritual). . . an international community of participants from Bethlehem, Egypt, Canada Francophone, and the United State were on tonight’s walk. . . and in our escapade to the gelato store we “ran into” a group of about 10 students from Saint Mary’s College of California who are here for their Jan Term break. . .I think it was quite fitting that we ended our day by meeting on the street those who are “entrusted to our care.”
The schedule for tomorrow states we are going to “share our expectations with the group”. . . who knows what tomorrow will really bring. . . so I think I’m going to leave my “schedule” behind and instead follow the schedule the Holy Spirit has planned for all of us in CIL.
I’ll end with an Arabic greeting that I learned today--ASSALAMU ALAYKUM (“Peace be upon you”). . .just think, what would our world be like if we blest each other with this greeting on a daily basis!
Bonne nuit,
Tina
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Arrival to Roma for CIL
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Ciao, All
I arrived into Rome early on Saturday morning following a very pleasant flight from the States. I actually “ran into” Richard Gray in Washington DC on my connecting flight and not only were we on the same flight to Rome, but he was actually just one row behind me! When we arrived into Rome the car scheduled to pick us up wasn’t there and after a few unsuccessful calls to the Motherhouse (it was early in the morning) we thought it would be best to take a taxi instead of waiting any longer at the airport. (I wasn’t worried about this —it's difficult to organize the logistics for that many folks and I had taken a taxi to the Motherhouse on more than one occasion). Given what the taxi situation is like in Rome, with the MANY “unlicensed” taxi drivers trying to elicit business from “foreign travelers,” I think Richard was MORE than happy that he had ran into me at that point, since I knew how to navigate the system a bit. (We later came to find out that there was a mistake in the reading of our flight itineraries- and a driver was waiting for us at the airport on Friday!!—it wasn’t a problem for us, but I felt really bad for the brother that was waiting for over 2 hours for us the day before.)
When we arrived at the Motherhouse, and as has always been my experience, we had a MOST warm welcome by all the brothers who are here!!—the MOST amazing thing about being at the Motherhouse is the fact that you are truly a part of an International Lasallian Family. . . and as you walk down the hallways, everyone greets you—and in the span of just a few steps you are being greeted in Italian, Spanish, French and English. . . and even other languages such as German or Swahili! The participants in the program come from all over the globe and represent all areas of our Lasallian Family—participants’ homes include Costa Rica, Spain, Malaysia, Japan, Palestine, France, Italy, Greece, Congo, Mozambique, Cameroon, Kenya, Colombia, Bolivia, Lebanon, Ecuador, Canada, Australia, and Vietnam!! (I’m sure I’ve forgotten some places). So often we speak about our worldwide Lasallian Family. .. but to be here and experience it first hand for such a length of time is truly a gift.
After we got a little settled in our rooms, I offered to give the other American lay partners (there are 4 in addition to myself) a little “tour” of the house and the neighborhood—since none of them have been here before and I have had the blessing of being invited to the Motherhouse prior to this trip for various meetings. It was great fun to walk around, chat and “take in” the sites of the local neighborhood . . .and we ended our evening with a fun dinner out.
Today was a fairly quiet day—and it was lovely to be able to walk around Rome, connect with and spend some time with a few of the brothers who live here and are always very kind to me when I am in town. . . and then end the evening with a walk to the local gelato store with Bro. Bob Smith and the American CIL lay partners. :)
The official CIL session starts tomorrow and there will be about 30 lay partners joining the 34 brothers already present for the program. (The brothers are a part of a 6 month CIL session—if you are interested, the website for the program is www.lasalle.org/cil/). I’m not really sure what to expect, as we have yet to be given an “official schedule”—we have been told that breakfast is from 7:30-8:30am and that the first session is at 9:00am. (no one besides the Americans seem to be "uptight" with this fact. . . but I keep reminding them, and myself, that we are in Rome :). I can’t imagine that the experience will be anything short of wonderful!!_- how couldn’t it be, given all the talented and dedicated folks from around the world who have been gathered!—in addition to the kindness shown to us from the CIL staff and the brothers in the program.
One other fun fact I found out today was that each of the brothers who are in the CIL program was assigned a lay partner participant to be “pen pals” with. I didn't know this until I got here, because my “pen pal” is a WONDERFUL and energetic 67 year old brother named Gaetano who is from Sicily. I guess his first experiences with e-mail is during this program—so none of his messages successfully made it to me. He chose me because of my southern Italian last name. and he only speaks Italian . . but little did he know I have very little Italian-- actually my comprehension isn't so bad, but my speaking ability is TERRIBLE! He was VERY cute and kind and spent most of the day asking me about where my family was from and about the work that I do. . .and after every sentence or so would stop and say “capite”?.—and whether I understood him or not. . . he kept talking. . . and trying to communicate with me. . . so hopefully my Italian will be better when I return. It is amazing, though, how much we were able to communicate!
It is almost 2:00am here in Italy-- so I need to head to bed. . . looking forward to a wonderful “official” start to the program and MOST thankful to be able to have this experience.
I’ll write again soon.
Enjoy the pictures below. . . just to give you a little idea about where I am.
Buona Notte,
Tina
Ciao, All
I arrived into Rome early on Saturday morning following a very pleasant flight from the States. I actually “ran into” Richard Gray in Washington DC on my connecting flight and not only were we on the same flight to Rome, but he was actually just one row behind me! When we arrived into Rome the car scheduled to pick us up wasn’t there and after a few unsuccessful calls to the Motherhouse (it was early in the morning) we thought it would be best to take a taxi instead of waiting any longer at the airport. (I wasn’t worried about this —it's difficult to organize the logistics for that many folks and I had taken a taxi to the Motherhouse on more than one occasion). Given what the taxi situation is like in Rome, with the MANY “unlicensed” taxi drivers trying to elicit business from “foreign travelers,” I think Richard was MORE than happy that he had ran into me at that point, since I knew how to navigate the system a bit. (We later came to find out that there was a mistake in the reading of our flight itineraries- and a driver was waiting for us at the airport on Friday!!—it wasn’t a problem for us, but I felt really bad for the brother that was waiting for over 2 hours for us the day before.)
When we arrived at the Motherhouse, and as has always been my experience, we had a MOST warm welcome by all the brothers who are here!!—the MOST amazing thing about being at the Motherhouse is the fact that you are truly a part of an International Lasallian Family. . . and as you walk down the hallways, everyone greets you—and in the span of just a few steps you are being greeted in Italian, Spanish, French and English. . . and even other languages such as German or Swahili! The participants in the program come from all over the globe and represent all areas of our Lasallian Family—participants’ homes include Costa Rica, Spain, Malaysia, Japan, Palestine, France, Italy, Greece, Congo, Mozambique, Cameroon, Kenya, Colombia, Bolivia, Lebanon, Ecuador, Canada, Australia, and Vietnam!! (I’m sure I’ve forgotten some places). So often we speak about our worldwide Lasallian Family. .. but to be here and experience it first hand for such a length of time is truly a gift.
After we got a little settled in our rooms, I offered to give the other American lay partners (there are 4 in addition to myself) a little “tour” of the house and the neighborhood—since none of them have been here before and I have had the blessing of being invited to the Motherhouse prior to this trip for various meetings. It was great fun to walk around, chat and “take in” the sites of the local neighborhood . . .and we ended our evening with a fun dinner out.
Today was a fairly quiet day—and it was lovely to be able to walk around Rome, connect with and spend some time with a few of the brothers who live here and are always very kind to me when I am in town. . . and then end the evening with a walk to the local gelato store with Bro. Bob Smith and the American CIL lay partners. :)
The official CIL session starts tomorrow and there will be about 30 lay partners joining the 34 brothers already present for the program. (The brothers are a part of a 6 month CIL session—if you are interested, the website for the program is www.lasalle.org/cil/). I’m not really sure what to expect, as we have yet to be given an “official schedule”—we have been told that breakfast is from 7:30-8:30am and that the first session is at 9:00am. (no one besides the Americans seem to be "uptight" with this fact. . . but I keep reminding them, and myself, that we are in Rome :). I can’t imagine that the experience will be anything short of wonderful!!_- how couldn’t it be, given all the talented and dedicated folks from around the world who have been gathered!—in addition to the kindness shown to us from the CIL staff and the brothers in the program.
One other fun fact I found out today was that each of the brothers who are in the CIL program was assigned a lay partner participant to be “pen pals” with. I didn't know this until I got here, because my “pen pal” is a WONDERFUL and energetic 67 year old brother named Gaetano who is from Sicily. I guess his first experiences with e-mail is during this program—so none of his messages successfully made it to me. He chose me because of my southern Italian last name. and he only speaks Italian . . but little did he know I have very little Italian-- actually my comprehension isn't so bad, but my speaking ability is TERRIBLE! He was VERY cute and kind and spent most of the day asking me about where my family was from and about the work that I do. . .and after every sentence or so would stop and say “capite”?.—and whether I understood him or not. . . he kept talking. . . and trying to communicate with me. . . so hopefully my Italian will be better when I return. It is amazing, though, how much we were able to communicate!
It is almost 2:00am here in Italy-- so I need to head to bed. . . looking forward to a wonderful “official” start to the program and MOST thankful to be able to have this experience.
I’ll write again soon.
Enjoy the pictures below. . . just to give you a little idea about where I am.
Buona Notte,
Tina
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