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POLICY STATEMENT
2005
SFIC GENERAL CHAPTER
“For the Love of God,
to Give Shape to God’s Kingdom of Justice and Peace”
Introduction
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow
He is alive in us, among us, in the Church, in the world and in all creation. But His presence is marred by the lures of globalisation: individualism, consumerism, money, power, prestige and pleasure. These conditions make religious life an easy prey to shallowness. They challenge us to immerse ourselves into the spirituality of our Foundress.
The Love of God
Spirituality
Mother Teresia van Miert steeped herself in the love of God and she brought that love to life. Her surrender to the living God was the source of her joy and enduring hope.
We, the capitulars of the 2005 General Chapter, uphold Mother Teresia van Miert as the sole Foundress of the SFIC Congregation. Her spirit of simplicity, submission, penance, joy and love for God and the poor serves as the continuing inspiration of our life, prayer, witness and mission. By giving special attention to our spirit and charism in our daily life, and animated by the Franciscan spirituality of justice, peace and integrity of creation, we are emboldened to face life’s challenges.
Formation
We help and encourage one another in our growth towards the fullness of God’s image and likeness. ( cf. Constitutions: Spiritual Basis, Ch. 2, lines 6-8).
A holistic formation, adapted to the culture and situation of the country, will be given to all our Sisters to enable them to give witness as Franciscan women religious. All will undergo
an in-depth study of the Rule and Life of the Brothers and Sisters of Third Order Regular of St. Francis (TOR), the Constitutions, General Statutes and other Franciscan sources for a common understanding.
To give shape to God’s Kingdom
of justice and peace
Governance
Sister Teresia and the first Sisters used the goods of this world as did the simple people in their surroundings. Today each Sister will take care to be recognized as a woman of simplicity. Her preference will be for the poor and the needy so that these people will experience her solidarity with them. Thus she will work with them for the fulfilment of God’s Kingdom of justice and peace. (Const: Spiritual Basis, Ch. 4, lines 21-32).
Mission
Sisters who are called to serve in foreign land immerse themselves in the cultural milieu, familiarize themselves with the most important expressions of the local culture and discover its values. This will equip them to communicate effectively, and to adopt a manner of living which is a sign of God’s witness and of solidarity with the people. (cf. Constitutions: Spiritual Basis, Ch. 7 lines 93 and ff.)
Internationality
Opening our eyes to the nearness of God in our people around us, the poor, the little ones and the powerless, enables us to work for His Kingdom of justice and peace (cf. Constitutions: Spiritual Basis, Ch. 3, lines 16-20).
Concluding Statement
In acceptance of the human existence with all its limitations, we want to bear Jesus Christ in our hearts and bodies and bring Him to birth through our SFIC way of life. (cf. Constitutions: Spiritual Basis, Ch. 1, lines 69-70, 74-75).
Borne by the love of God and led by the Holy Spirit, under the patronage of Mary, our Blessed Mother, and following in the footsteps of our holy Father Francis and Mother Teresia van Miert, we join minds, hearts and hands in journeying towards God’s Kingdom of justice, peace and love.
The General Chapter
of the Franciscan Sisters
of the Immaculate Conception
of the Holy Mother of God (SFIC)
Jalan Tamar 8,
Pontianak
Kalimantan Barat,
Indonesia
May 18-31, 2005
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