Refelctions about Biblical texts, prayer and spiritual life.
Our Founder Theodore said: ” you must live in your Bible like your Homeland” Acording to Jewish traditon, Torah and teshuva where created before the creation of the World. Why Torah and teshuva, the sages anwser, because the Torah teaches the way to God, and teshuva shows the way to return to God. The word Torah means to show, to teach the way Ps: 25,8 teshuva means to come back, to return where you come from….
Sr. Colette sees her Call as a gift from God, a seed that developed after being planted by the hand of God. This letter is a way of sharing some of that story. Growing up in a very poor family where sometimes, as a child, she had to go to school without breakfast because there was just nothing to eat for a family of seven in post-war Ireland. Things changed when a sister of Sion, a distant relative, working in the school in  Worthing, England helped two children of the family to continue our education in the boarding school in Worthing. That meant that as child I never went home during the school year, as we just didn’t have the money for travelling. So I stayed with the sisters. After finishing my education, it was quite naturally the next step to enter the sisters and become one of them. I went to France for my novitiate and the next couple of years seemed to proceed very naturally, I experienced no big surprises or difficulties; I …
My name is Victoria Nabil Helmi. I am Egyptian, originating from a poor Coptic-Catholic family living in village in Upper Egypt. I have a high school diploma in the sewing section and my hobbys are drawing and handicrafts. After graduating from school I worked for a year in the kindergarten of our village because I love children. The sisters of Notre Dame de Sion living in our village know me well from the time I was a child and they also know my family. From the time I was young I used to think about being a sister but when I grew up I forgot this idea. But the Lord reminded me again about this idea with a verse of the scripture saying: “Leave everything and come and follow me.†Also the mission of the sisters in the village had an effect on me and so I again began to think about religious life. Why did I choose to be a sister in the Congregation of “Notre Dame de Sionâ€? First of all, its not …
In the chapel of Ein Karem with all the sisters, brothers and friends of Sion. We celebrated Ash Wedensday the beginning of Lent which leads us to New life.
Begin with a quiet moment. Attentive reading: In reading the text, ask what the text says in itself: First read it aloud, Then read it quietly, even a few times if necessary. Pay attention to: the time in which the story occurs; when and where it was written and in which language; to whom it is addressed. Where does the text appear in this chapter: what is before it, and what is after it? Ask yourself what kind of text this is: a story, a prayer, a letter, a song, a prophecy …? Where does the story occur: in a closed or open space? What do I know about this text: have I already heard this story or is this the first time? Now look at the words in the text, especially if some are used more often. Who are the people in the text and what are they doing? Do the people know one another or not? How does the text speak about God, and what picture/image of God can we see there? To …
“Enter into Sunday” with the sisters, brothers and associates in Ein Karem. We shared the gospel of Mt 6:24-34. The question “How much I trust?” was the source of our sharing.
Today is Sunday. We celebrate the Eucharistic with the parish of the Arabic speaking Latin (= Roman Catholic) community in Jerusalem. Then we had lunch with the Beit Ruth community of our congregation “Notre Dame de Sion”. And we enjoyed walking in the rain. In Jerusalem they never have bad weather! They either have “dry and hot weather” or “good weather”. Today we had good weather as all plants and people wait for the rain filling up the water reservoirs!
