UISG Plenary Assembly: Mysticism and Prophesy

“I know the fountain well which flows and runs…though it is night.”

It is on this theme that 800 representatives of Women Religious are gathered in Rome from May 7 – 11, 2010.

The quotes in this post are culled from a variety of internet articles on the meeting of the UISG that is going on in Rome over these next several days. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the UISG website, it’s worth the cyber-trip. You can download the talks from each day.

This morning I read and prayed with the two talks from the opening day. I’ve selected a few quotes from these talks, from the UISG site, and from a press statement that I found online. I must admit, at first I thought the title of the first presentation was a bit daunting. But once I started to read it, I couldn't put it down. The whole interplay between mysticism and prophecy resonated deeply with our CSSJ spirit and spirituality.


From the UISG website

“I know the fountain well which flows and runs…though it is night. ” It is on this theme that representatives of Women Religious are gathered in Rome from May 7 – 11, 2010.
The Plenary Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) constituted by all those who lead the different women Religious Congregations spread throughout the world had its formal Opening on Friday May 7.

From a news release on the international website of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The theme, Challenged to Weave a New Spirituality which Generates Hope and Life For All, evolved from a consultation with all the Superiors General who are members of the Union. The topics to be discussed show the five threads that need to be woven into a new fabric, a spirituality for our time: Women, the Laity, the Religions of the World, the Displaced, and the Earth and its Sacredness.

From the Opening Address UISG Plenary Gathering 2010 by Sr. Maureen Cusick, NDS, President UISG

…we are being called again to seriously renew our commitment to the mystical aspect of our lives in order to renew also the prophetic dimension of our lives. We cannot speak a prophetic Word if we are not mystics in our relationship with God!

And here are a couple of quotes from the presentation given Friday, May 7, 2010 by Ciro Garcia, OCD
Title: Mysticism and Prophecy, a style of life and new areopagus
Once I discovered that "areogapus" just means "fields of witnessing" the title didn't seem quite so daunting. The full text of this presentation is really worth reading. Here are a few quotes to get you started.

All our Founders and Foundresses were mystics and prophets. We are called to recreate their mystical-prophetic charism in the Church. Without mystics and prophets consecrated life does not have a future.

There is no authentic mysticism if it does not flow from an ethical and prophetic commitment, nor is it possible to think of a prophesy which is not nourished by a deep union with the divine.

It is not so much a matter of being a mystic “OR” of being a prophet but of being both a mystic “AND” a prophet.

Well...I'm off to download Saturday's presentations. They are already available on line .
It's pretty exciting to be able to follow such an important meeting as it unfolds. On a final note: If these links happen to default to another language just enter http://www.uisg.org/ into your browser and it should bring you to the UISG home page where you can select from six languages.