Celebrating the Gift of Consecrated Life
Sr. Valentina Hernández de Blas
“Thy word is a lamp unto my steps, O Lord, a light unto my path…”
In this stage of semi-post-confinement Covid 19, here in London, today, June 27, we enjoyed the celebration of 60 years of life in the Congregation of Sr. Valentina. The actual date of the sister’s anniversary of entry will be next July 2. But as in almost everything else, this time the virus has also affected us.
When we were planning for the course in January, we thought that by having the Province Pastoral meeting in Reims during these days, the celebration to celebrate Sr. Valentina would have been very different…
Living TODAY this day of celebration with Sr. Valentina, we consider it one of the many opportunities for good and for personal and community growth offered by the confinement. The Provincial Meeting planned in Reims for the end of June was cancelled. This made it possible for Sr. Lucia Alvarez to be here in London and we were able to celebrate with her and all the Sisters of the Southwell Gardens Community an unbeatable day of Thanksgiving and fraternal celebration.
We decided to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the entry into the Congregation of Sr. Valentina on Saturday, June 27th. Since the morning there was an atmosphere of celebration and affection because we all wanted to give a gift to our sister, preparing the chapel for the celebration of the Eucharist, the dining room and the typical bustle of festive food in the kitchen, the expectation of seeing again the Sisters of Southwell Gardens who came to visit us after three long months of “monastic life” … in short, a lot of animation throughout the house ….
Sr. Lucia went with the car to pick up the sisters from the other house and we all gathered to share the table. We began with a simple and moving blessing of the table with a prayer where we were invited to express something positive that caught our attention from Sr. Valentina. A good opportunity to continue preparing the land for fraternity …
In the early afternoon we had a time of recreation prepared, with a very “therapeutic activity, or a moment of family-community therapy” very good, I would say, given the context of the celebration.
We were invited to interpret the following:
Singing like birds during confinement. To represent how a child experienced confinement. To express with sounds the different moments of confinement. Imitate Donald Trump explaining how bleach prevents coronavirus. Invent a greeting that is neither elbow, foot, nor hand. Explaining coronavirus to an alien.
To represent a garo in confinement. Imitate a community sister during confinement. Represent with gestures the different moments of confinement. Explain how we imagine the virus inside the body. Explain how the dogs in Spain felt at the beginning of the confinement. (Only dogs were allowed to go out). Name three forms of communication that were used during this time. Imagine the
coronavirus talking to the pangolin before going to its favorite host, man. Represent what our experience was like doing the Covid19 test.
A wide variety of activities helped us to share in a creative way what the experience of confinement has meant to each of us.
There was also a homemade “theatrical performance” that consisted of staging what it will be like for the younger sisters to talk about this experience in 40 years, we move to the year 2060… And it seems that we will also talk about what “has been done all our lives…”
The fantasy led us to suggest themes or titles of possible movies: “Better Times” “Pandemic” “Lockdown” “Catastrophe” “Contagions” “Unexpected Change” “When the World Went Silent” “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” “The Poor Always Lose”.
I believe that we all saw ourselves reflected in the different representations and all this is helping us to accept, to integrate and share in a healthy way, laughing together, and above all to continue walking in this historic moment which is unique because of its great challenge.
And the day of celebration concluded with the CELEBRATION par excellence. The Eucharist. Time for community intimacy with the Lord. The entire Mass was carefully prepared, we thank the sisters of the Southwell Gardens Community who prepared the songs. Sister Valentina renewed, once again, her Vows for Life and said a few words of thanksgiving for the gift of life, for her families, her vocation, for the Congregation and for so many sisters and young women who have sustained her fidelity during these 60 years.
At the end of the Eucharist Sr. Lucia Alvarez and the Sisters from the other community left. We were all left with the joy of having celebrated a Great Party. The Feast of God’s Fidelity, and supported by her Fidelity Sr. Valentina and all of us believe that the Lord will continue to create in each one of us the capacity to respond to his call, in communion of love and following the example of the Faithful Virgin. So be it!
London June 28, 2020
Struan House Community.