© Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence
Global Connections, Vol. 7-4
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18: 20)
Sister Rosa Eunsoon Kim
On the days when the verse of Matthew 18:20 is proclaimed at Mass, it is common in Korea to sing the following hymn, “Where two or three are gathered together, there is the Lord. We gather here to share love and hope. Come, O Lord, bless us, and we will spread your joy to the whole world.” The song, indeed, is asking to bless us who believe that we can get through the harsh realities and an uncertain future as the Lord is with us.
With that, it gets me thinking that the verse tells us what should be our attitude towards our efforts to live out the 24th Congregational Directional Statement. I can’t help but add that God’s blessing alone doesn’t work without our efforts, as all of us know, for it is collaboration between God’s blessing and our efforts to accomplish the Statement. In other words, I would like to emphasize that we are responsible for half of the result whatever it turns out to be.
There is a term called “Critical Mass.” The term relates to the smallest amount of fissionable material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction and now it is used for the monthly event being held in over 300 cities around the world. Critical Mass-like bike tours with hundreds of participants took place in Stockholm, Sweden in the early 1970s. Since it began as bike tours similar to the type of Critical Mass on September, 1992, in San Francisco, however, it is said that the term has been used as “the minimum number of people needed to initiate some actions.”
I think, therefore, that the verse itself, “Where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them” and the meaning of Critical Mass seem to have something in common. In this sense, I feel that even if we, “as a congregation,” have only two or three members taking steps to accomplish the Chapter Directional Statement, and continually carrying it out, it will work. It also reminds me of the verse from the bible, “Though your beginning was small, your future will flourish indeed.” (Job 8,7).
Let us take a hard look at ourselves moving toward transformation as a congregation at this critical juncture in our history. And let us humbly ask God to be with us as we ourselves reflect, as a member of the critical mass, what we who have gathered together in the congregation in the name of Jesus have accomplished and what we could do further.
Asking the blessing for the congregation and for ourselves, I would like to share with you once again the 24th Congregational Chapter Directional Statement.
“Impelled by the spirit of Jesus Christ, who is Providence incarnate, and faithful to our charism and mission, we, the sisters of Divine Providence, commit ourselves to: actualizing intercultural living based on a growing understanding of each other through creative ways, particularly technology; caring for creation and the vulnerable on the periphery; sharing our resources transparently and collaboratively.”
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