Then M. General greeted us with words that reminded us that we were on “holy ground”, land that reminded us of Exodus and Paschal mysteries where our Founder, free from all ties, met God, a land also of the Holy Spirit who like in anew Pentecost, becomes present among us.

She referred to the readings of the day that seemed to have been chosen for us and for this occasion as when God sent Elijah to the widow of Zarephath, so He sends us today to the consecrated life to be prophets of hope and liberation to be salt of the earth and the light of the world, such as today’s Gospel tells us about giving meaning to reality, to be an announcer of light and renounce of evil situations to love passionately, to present an alternative to life to the greater part of humanity.

She invited us to open up a space in our lives for the Holy Spirit to spread into our hearts.  M. General ended thanking the sisters of the Province of Our Lady of the Pillar for their hospitality, the availability of working spaces for their interest in organizing with the Franciscan Friars every minute detail and making us feel at home.

Victoria Gonzalez de Castejon, a Religious of the Sacred Heart, who will accompany us and moderate the reunion, invited us to summarize in one sentence, what our feeling were at the beginning of the retreat.