Projects such as Amaranta, Source of Life, Hope, Onna o Sicar are some of the paths that these consecrated women have opened in defense of the liberation, personal integration, promotion and social reintegration of women exploited by prostitution or victims of various forms of slavery.
Anaadoratriz, is one of the voices of Consecrated Life that is part of the report included in the printed issue of this magazine.s. When asked about her charism as an Adorer, she pointed out thate "live adoration from and for liberation, and liberation from the encounter, in prayer and adoration, with Jesus in the Eucharist and incarnated in each of the women, the sisters, in each person of the team of professionals and volunteers. For me, to live the Adorers Charism is to concelebrate life with Jesus, and at the same time with the people closest to me, especially with the women. It is to live my journey with Jesus in a conscious way. I remember now this phrase of Maria Micaela: "Do you know what Adorers and Handmaids mean? Adorer means to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, not only at the foot of the Tabernacle, but all the moments of life, and for this we carry the monstrance hanging from our breast, recommending ourselves at every moment that we must adore Him... Slaves: What is a slave? To be always with her Lord...; and thus we give ourselves body and soul to serve, ... and to love Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. (PIV f. 1168)"
Prayer in the face of human misery
The Adorers touch, on a daily basis, the consequences of the social wounds of prostitution and trafficking. Their prayer unfolds in the face of this reality, How is the prayer of one who touches so much pain and injustice? Ana responds: "Pray with confidence, in poverty, leaving in the heart of the Good God the people we carry in our hearts with all their wounds, worries and also with all their strengths, with all their dreams, their desire to overcome. Pray in communion with so many people who pray".
His dealings with women are part of his prayer material: "I am convinced that the secret of being able to live close to the pain that violence produces in women survivors of trafficking, and above all the possibility of accompanying processes of liberation, is to do it from the essence of the charism in the experience of the Eucharist and from moments of prayer and adoration. To enter into the Mystery, to identify myself with Jesus, to relive his feelings of praise and thanksgiving, of encounter, of closeness, of respect and affection, to feel vulnerable, in need of help, to welcome the affection of the women and together to carry out our processes of liberation"..
To make an incarnated prayer, from the concerns and occupations, personally and communally, to pray with women, in their way, from their parameters, to understand their religiosity, their songs, dances, their images of God ... to welcome in God their fears and, above all, their trust in Him. Women are my teachers in many things, also in prayer. So many experiences to tell. They are marking my path of fidelity and happiness. I thank Jesus for having chosen me and for sharing with them my Life and their Life"..
The hopeful future
Ana sees the future of consecrated life and the Adorer charism with hope: "We have much to contribute in the church and in society. We have to continue to open ourselves more and without fear to the shared mission. Enter into an open and participatory dialogue within the Congregation and in the ecclesial, inter-ecclesial and inter-congregational work. To share from the essence of our identity.
We will do well if we are more and more credible, more spiritual, more prophetic, more open, more flexible, if we are a sacrament of presence, of encounter. We must continue to deepen our way of leading in order to be charismatic. We have to continue creating intercultural, inter-generational, inter-ecclesial communities... The future, although always uncertain, is an opportunity for renewal, for new looks, for rethinking. The future is the great challenge as long as we live the present as a gift.".
The Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament and of Charity
The Adorers recently celebrated their VIII General Conference and are preparing the Provincial Chapter "Together on the Way" for March. These meetings are intended to lay the foundations for the future of their ecclesial and social work around three axes:
- LeadershipWith a style capable of animating life and the Mission. It implies: change of structures: mental and physical, closeness, care for people, listening and accompaniment."
- Adorer Mission and Apostolic ActionFrom our concrete reality and with a broad view as a congregational body, to respond to the challenges presented today by the reality of women, given the situations of vulnerability in which they find themselves".
- Laity and Shared MissionTo strengthen the involvement of sisters and lay people in apostolic action. To live the Shared Mission as a challenge and hope for the Congregation".
Today, the congregation of the Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament and Charity, founded by Saint Mª Micaela Desmaisières y López de Dicastillo, is made up of the following members four provinces and a delegation of the General Government:
- Province of Europe/Africa, comprising Spain, Italy, Portugal, London, Morocco, Cape Verde and Togo.
- The Province of America, comprising Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela.
- In India the Provinces of Kolkata integrating Nepal and Mumbai to the Philippines.
- Japanese delegation present in Vietnam and Cambodia.
