(ANS – Porto Alegre) –Between 31 October and 2 November the XXXI Provincial Assembly of the Nossa Senhora Aparecida Province (BPA) was held. The event with the theme “Poverty and goods in common in the light of the  mission and the charism – ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit’” brought together 69 Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) and three young postulants, in the Saint Teresa House in Porto Alegre
The aim of the Assembly was to study further the Second of the Guidelines of the last General Chapter of the FMA. All the communities have undertaken a preliminary study of the theme, taking into account the more recent documents published by the Institute (Formation Plan, Guidelines for the Mission, Cooperation for Development, Acts of the GC XXII).
To the pleasant surprise of the Sisters  the Economer General, Sr Vilma Tallone, made a contribution to the reflection with a video recorded in Rome a few days before the Assembly. In her reflection Sr Vilma compared the proposal of the  Chapter with the Constitutions, locating the subject of poverty in daily life and mission, and raised a number of serious questions. Sr Vilma was simple in her language, pratical in her ideas and courageous in the truth: «Either we are poor,” she said, “ and we show we are, or we are not, and we have to admit that we are not .»
On the third day of the Assembly Sr Vilma made her presence felt again, this time through another surprise: she greeted the Assembly through Skype. It made quite an impression on all those present to see how the new means of communication can make the world seem a much smaller place and bring people closer together, creating unity among communities. Sr Vilma said: «The poor are not a burden, but a resource. In this way our poverty too is not a burden but a resource.» Sr Vilma replied to some questions from the Sisters and spoke about her visit to the United States and gave some news about the Superior General and the Brazilian community in Rome.
In addition to the main theme, the Assembly was also able to analyse the conclusions of the American Seminar on Missionary Animation, held the previous month of  September a Cumbayá, in Ecuador.
As a practical exercise the Assembly  presented a report regarding the Strategies and the Strategic Plans of the Province for the period 2004-2009; this work was useful and necessary in view of the revision of the Strategic Planning  arranged for 2010.
The FMA concluded the Assembly very satisfied with the simplicity of the event, with the opportunities for sharing and spending time together, with the  courage in facing the topic of poverty, and above all with the novelty of Sr Vilma’s  participation.

Published 9/11/2009