Restructuring

Family Tree of 1883 in Color

The congregation is like a large tree with branches that grow and are pruned, flower and offer fruit. Similar to nature sometimes branches of the congregation also die. The restructuring of the School Sisters of Notre Dame is happening throughout the world. The situation in Europe has been unique for each Unit, as the following segment documents.

As School Sisters of Notre Dame in non-communist Europe offered support to their newly freed European neighbors, the ideal of unity took on new meaning within the congregation. Their restructuring was expressed in different ways as exemplified in Romania and their decision to unite with Bavaria.

As our sisters who lived under communism taught so much by their faithful lives, so in their acceptance of “pruning” and death, they continue to witness that: “It is with a faithful God that we make our covenant of fidelity. Simultaneously we bind ourselves to the members of the Romanian community, trusting in their faithfulness to support us.” You Are Sent, #11

August 28, 2002
Feast of St. Augustine

Dear Sisters,

As this Year of the Chapter draws to its climax, I greet you on this Feast of St. Augustine with the hope that you have experienced these months as an ever-deepening journey into the depths and roots of our spirituality. I hope that you have had time to ponder A Fire Kept Burning, the end-of-term reflection prepared by the General Council, as the first part of our State of the Congregation report. The very first reflection question in this booklet, “What might a one-heart/one-soul community look like?” reminds us of our grounding in the Trinitarian oneness of Augustinian spirituality.

There are several topics that I want to address in this letter. The unifying theme is our experience of our life in transition—life continuing to flow in individuals, communities, and units

 

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Learn more about Living Under Communism by exploring the options below:

Extended Family Final VowsBerlinMosaicRestructuringInterrupted LivesReturn to Living Under Communism

 

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