Ignited by the Spirit

Dear Friends,

God manifests His loving presence in our midst in many ways, and our challenge is to recognize that presence and to accept it. Our XXXIV General Chapter, held in July 2017, was one of these manifestations of God in our midst. It was a time of grace for our Congregation, as the delegates prayed, lived, and worked together for over a month with the common goal of preparing for the life of our Order over the next six years. It was a time of communion for us, remembering Jesus’ earnest prayer at the Last Supper, “that they may all be one, and as you Father are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us.” (Jn 17:21).

The Chapter was guided by three major themes: Charism, Communion, and Mission. Reflecting on these topics helped us to focus on what is truly essential in the life of each Sister of Our Lady of Sorrows, and to identify the core values that shape our life. We especially realized that our witness to a divided and unsettled world must be a life lived in communion, a communion which is the fruit of mutual love, in spite of our many differences, of respect for one another and all of creation, and of selfless service to children and young adults through education and pastoral ministry.

The recommendation given by Mother Elisabetta to her sisters almost two hundred years ago, still rings true today, “To the young she said, ‘Bring the gift of

your fresh energy to the Congregation,’ and to the old, ‘Put the treasures of your wisdom at the disposition of everyone.” We will give glory to God by working together, and putting our best energy at the service of the mission that the Lord has entrusted to our religious family. We left the Chapter confirmed in our identity as Sisters of OLS and with the desire to fully live out our educational charism wherever we minister in the world.

“Jesus is here…and He is always with you. He alone founded the Congregation; He alone will keep watch over it.” These words of Mother Elisabetta are a great reminder to me! The Congregation is still in existence today because of God’s providential love and the many sisters who have preceded us, who worked together to continue the mission entrusted to Blessed Elisabetta and make it what it is today. Ours is now the task to let that fire which the Spirit ignited in us, burn and give light as we continue our journey together.

I humbly ask for the support of your prayers.

God bless you.

Mother Carla Bertani, OLS Superior General of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows

Mother Carla Re-elected Mother General

I was born in Italy to very religious parents, who instilled in me the love of God and love for others. I made my first vows 45 years ago and spent 32 years of my religious life as a missionary in the United States, ministering to people with developmental disabilities. In 1993, I became a member of the General Council and served in this capacity until 2011, when I was elected to serve the Congregation as Superior General. This summer, our Congregation held its XXXIV General Chapter, where I was reelected to serve as Superior General for a second six-year term. Our foundress, Blessed Elisabetta, challenges us, “Each one of you is responsible for handing on the Institute, whole and perfect, to those who follow you.” These words have been a guiding light for me throughout my service, giving me the desire to fully live out the educational charism of our Congregation, and the energy and creativity to make it grow in our times. It is a challenge I gladly take on once again, together with the members of the General Council, that we may be witnesses of God’s love and of communion among us, in the Church, and in the world. I humbly entrust our journey into the hands of Mary, Our Sorrowful Mother, sure of her guidance and protection.

Sr. Serena Elected Vicar General

I am a teacher. This is how I like to define myself, because these words contain the essence of who I am: a consecrated woman and an educator in the spirit of Mother Elisabetta. Born in Italy, I have been a Sister of Our Lady of Sorrows for 23 years. In 2011, I was elected to the General Council; I was simply a “normal” sister. I had never been in leadership before, and the only thing I knew how to do was be a teacher. It is a ministry I have always loved, and I carried it out with dedication every day for 22 years.

I bring to the Congregation my passion for education and ability to set the stage for learning, to see beyond, to believe in my students, to encourage them to be creative and self-motivated, and to accompany them on their journey. The service on the General Council for me, then, is a change of ministry, not of mission! I hope to help my Congregation in the continued formation of a life that is deeply rooted in the Lord and sustained by the inner motivations that are essential to religious life. Communion must be our goal if we want to overcome the hidden, but widespread, temptation of individualism. In these two dimensions rests our own happiness and our credibility to the world.

I am guided each day by these words from our foundress, Blessed Elisabetta Renzi: “Other than God nothing is important, nothing, nothing in the world. If there is life, it passes; if there is wealth, it vanishes; if there is health, it is lost; if there is reputation, it is attacked; ah, they will dissolve, they will perish.” Living united with the Lord, the only true good, is what I most desire.

Sr. Susana Elected Councilor

Born in Mexico, I have been with my community for 18 years. In all these years, the words of our foundress, Blessed Elisabetta Renzi, have been my guide each day: “that I may always remain under the great vision of God.”

Being on the General Council is a great responsibility toward God, the Church, and my Congregation. It shows the faith that God and my sisters have placed in me. This new service will give me the opportunity to experience the internationality of our religious family, which characterizes us in a profound way. In this new role, it is important for me to come to know and love the reality of our Congregation today, with all of its strengths and challenges. Above all, the Lord is calling me to abandon myself into His arms, allowing Him to do His will through me.

I pray that our contribution as a General Council would be a witness of living unity in diversity and, that we may be a sign of gentleness and mercy for our sisters. Even when we don’t always agree, may we always work together for the good of the Congregation.

I remain hopeful that the Lord will continue to bless us with vocations and that our witness will bring new vocations. May each one of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows be committed to living our consecrated life with passion and conviction.

Sr. Karla Elected Councilor

I am from Brazil and have been a Sister of Our Lady of Sorrows for 22 years. During my life of consecration, gradually, each day, I renew and internalize the conviction that my actions flow from my sense of belonging to God and to my religious family, the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows: “Every day I appreciate religious life more. Here there is no one but Him. He is everything and sufficient for everything and everyone.”

This was the conviction of our Foundress, Blessed Elisabetta Renzi, and it is also an exhortation for us, her daughters, to continue the story of her charism and her mission. I am convinced that religious life is a vocation, called today to witness to the mystical and the prophetic. I desire, then, to contribute with the simplicity of a sister who searches to see and understand the call of God today, in the reality in which we find ourselves. Illuminated by the Holy Spirit and with prophetic courage, we strive to find answers to these new appeals in our time in history through discernment, knowing that “He is everything and sufficient for everything and everyone.”

In this service on the General Council, I believe that we need to be prophets of hope, I believe that our God, with the powerful strength of His Spirit, is inviting us to something of great importance: “See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Is 43:19a). For me, for us, the attention and the collaboration needs to be focused on what God has already began in the Congregation. We need to read the signs of the times with mysticism and prophecy.

Sr. Annamaria Elected Councilor

“I have called you by name!”(Isaiah 43:1). These words from God to Jacob in the Old Testament have resounded in my mind and heart many times during my years of religious life. The first time was when, after hearing the call to follow Jesus and entering the OLS Congregation, I professed my vows to the Lord, 45 years ago in Coriano, Italy, the birthplace of our religious family. Seven years later, those words were again my strength and hope as I left my own country to come to Louisiana, having to adapt to a new culture, learn a new language, and start ministering to children and youth in Alexandria and Shreveport. Then, in 1999, God’s voice surprised me and invited me to accept a new responsibility as a member of the General Council for our religious family, and I moved back to Italy. After 13 years, I was asked to come back to Louisiana to serve as the novice director, even though my responsibility as a member of the leadership team had not ended. This commitment was renewed during this past summer at our 34th General Chapter, and as a Council member, I continue to respond to God in serving my religious family and spreading the charism of Blessed Elisabetta Renzi throughout the world.

Ours is a small religious family, a small light that shines in 6 countries, where we minister through a variety of educational and social assistance apostolates to bring children and youth to God. It is my hope and desire that in following Blessed Elisabetta Renzi, all members of our family strive to deepen their roots of a strong spirituality in union with Jesus Crucified, give of themselves generously and joyfully in living their community life, and nourish every activity with charity, humility, and trust in Gods’ providential love. My hope and desire for myself is to learn from Bl. Elisabetta Renzi to have, as she did, a heart full of the will of God, to “want only what He wants, and love only what He does.”