End of Summer Tradition
Maria Victoire – Gulf-South Chapter
Though the heat in the south was at its peak on Saturday August, 26, 2023, it didn’t stop fourteen Gulf-South Maryknoll Affiliates from committing to and showing up for our annual summer gathering at Mary-Ann Becnel’s house in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, an hour’s drive from New Orleans.
Mary-Ann Becnel hosts the gathering.
We happily greeted and hugged each other around the world map tablecloth that Mary-Ann laid over her dining room table. We took a long time searching for countries and seeing where members have been traveling around the world. And of course, Maria Victoire from Mauritius Island, situated fof the Eastern Southern coast of Africa, crossed thousands of miles through the Indian and Pacific Oceans to be part of the Maryknoll gathering. The room was overflowing with joy and happiness at being together.
After our hostess Mary-Ann prayed the “Prayer of Missioners,” Matt Rousso, our contact person, began the meeting with a prayer by a Benedictine Sister: “A Non Traditional Blessing.” This deep and profound blessing for our spiritual journey connected us with the reality of our commitment:
May God bless you with discontent with easy answers, half-truths, superficial relationships…
May God Bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, abuse and exploitation of people…
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war…
May God bless you with the foolishness to think you can make a difference in this world…”
After sharing what makes us angry, cry tears, be discontented and foolish, we began the two-part agenda for the day. First we talked about our community projects. Matt reported that the request for a grant from the national Affiliate Board for the purchase of portable water filters to be installed in the Esquipulas, Guatemala, communities had been approved and the filters had been shipped. Several of our group will be going to Guatemala in November and will engage with the families receiving the filters. He also reminded everyone of the Food Packing Event to be held on October 21 and showed us a sample of the nutritious looking mixed rice and beans.
For the Maryknoll Virtual Retreat in October, we plan to attend as a group at the Rousso home. Our October meeting will include participation in the retreat’s Sunday schedule. Matt also encouraged members to participate in the Diocesan Retreat Center’s new series of Days of Reflection on Synodality.
Concerning the bulk order of Maryknoll magazines, we decided that it is wasteful to continue receiving the magazines as people are not taking them from the churches, and there is no effective way to distribute them. Kevin proposed continuing to receive Misioneros, the Spanish edition of Maryknoll magazine, that he will distribute to his Spanish Class. We will all continue to receive our personal copies.
Part two of our agenda began after enjoying the great potluck offerings and Mary Ann’s tasty fish court boullion. We asked, “What are we looking forward to in the coming year?”
The members shared their expectations for their various ministries: Mary-Ann talked about her commitment with St. Vincent de Paul in Mississippi. Kim spoke of her school year and how she is fighting for the students to be respected and their dignity valued. Charlie talked about his work with migrant resettlement.
Matt then asked for suggestions for the coming year’s focus. Various ideas surfaced: inclusion, understanding one another, listening, forgiveness, racism, immigration, homelessness, etc. With everyone participating, we decided to focus on “The Challenge of Inclusion” —a wide-spread issue to be discussed in the upcoming Synod on Synodality beginning in October.
One member commented, “the monthly gatherings/meetings keep me charged and nourished.” After setting dates for the fall meetings and sharing a closing prayer, we took our annual group picture and headed home.