Contemplating the call of Saint Andrew and his brother Simon, the preacher reminds us of the distinction between profession and vocation. According to Gregorio Marañón, a well-known Spanish doctor, we can either do things from within and enjoy the newness of each day, or from routine and rely on automatic tasks. Our religious profession must be nourished and renewed on a daily basis in order to avoid becoming a mere structure, appearance, or routine.

In the hall, we continue to discern the contents of the final document. With effort, dedication, and patience. As a family and for the common good, for the mission.

Fr. Felicísimo Martínez encouraged personal reflection on the words we use to nourish ourselves. Do we allow the Word to resonate within us, or do we surround ourselves with words that distract us from what is essential?

After an intense day of work, we enjoyed the cultural evening with dancing, singing, and having fun in the most creative way possible. Gratitude and brotherhood filled the room and our history.

We consecrated today with the Eucharist, allowing the Word to bring light and hope into our lives. Today’s Gospel reminds us that we must take our proper place in the construction of God’s kingdom. He wants us to be able to lift our heads because salvation is near. We feel invited to let go of our fears and see reality through “long lights.” To cultivate a deep look beyond the present moment.

It was an intense day of work, as well as a synodal process of listening, discernment, and participation in the search for God’s will for the next eight years.

After breakfast we resumed the work of the Chapter, sisters and laity, reading what has been elaborated so far, in order to discern the contents that will be used to draft the agreements, based on the reflection on the instrumentum laboris and the reports presented by the general and provincial government teams, referring to the laity and sisters..

In the afternoon, we continued with the same methodology.

We ended with a prayer, asking God for new eyes to see his signs of hope and truth in ordinary people, and to look at life more deeply.

On a day filled with joy and gratitude, we made a pilgrimage to the city where St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Jesus shown their passionate love and active faith during their most trying times. We arrived in Toledo to walk the streets and explore the corners that served as silent witnesses to those events.

St. Teresa arrived in Toledo to accompany the noblewoman Luisa de la Cerda, and later lived secluded in the monastery that became her prison, at the request of the Nuncio, who described her as “restless and wandering,” to remain there without moving. There, she also began writing “The Mansions,” a treatise on spiritual life and personal growth in God.

On the spot of the former Carmelite convent, next to the Tagus River, we could hear the same sound of the spring of water that St. John heard in the darkness of the prison. Father Gustavo Prats, who accompanied us throughout the day, handed us this “relic” of the saint.
During our pilgrimage, we admired the Primate Cathedral of Santa María, known for being rich in art and history. We explored the city’s cultural, historical, and religious treasures, including the monastery of “San Juan de los Reyes,” the palace of “Doña Luisa de la Cerda,” the synagogue of “Santa María la Blanca,” the “Puerta del Cambrón,” the fortress, El Greco’s house, the Church of the Jesuits, and the Toledo’s Jewish quarter. We also visited the church of the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites, considered Santa Teresa’s fifth foundation.

We enjoyed the scenery, the conversations, and even the tiredness… We returned home delighted by this fraternal and cultural experience.

The Carmelitas Misioneras Teresianas are celebrating the XVI General Chapter of the Congregation, with the theme “Custodians of life, we are reborn in communion”. On November 24, Sr. Mª Teresa García was elected as General Animator for the next eight years.
Likewise, in the Chapter that is taking place these days in Madrid, the election of General Councilors who will form, along with the General Animator, the General Team of Animation and Government took place today, on the 25th. The following sisters were elected:

• Sonia Mendoza Osorio, 1st councilor and vicar
• Zaninka Odette Gapira, 2nd councilor
• Elzbieta Strach, 3rd councilor
• Chrezann Magyaya Angulo, 4th councilor.

n the morning, during the Eucharist, we asked the Lord to bless the service of Sr. Mª Teresa. The homily on the passage through the temple focused on generosity and the true value of what is given. Gratuity means prioritizing quality over quantity. We are not saved by the strength of our fists and the quantity of good works. We are saved through his grace. It is not a cheap grace, a license to feel protected and the freedom to sin. It is a costly grace, at the price of God’s mercy. “It is expensive because it calls to follow Jesus Christ, it is expensive because it costs man his life, it is grace because it gives him life…” – (D. Bonhoeffer).
The morning was dedicated to voting, while the afternoon was spent celebrating fraternity. And to thank the Lord of Life for the dedication and availability of both the sisters who are leaving their places of service, as well as those who are willing to serve. The sisters’ exchange of blessings marked the close of this evening’s prayerful moments.

SOME INFORMATION OF THE LIFE OF OUR GENERAL ANIMATOR
Sr. Mª Teresa García was born on October 22, 1964, in Segovia (Spain) and moved to Callosa de Segura (Alicante) as a child for family reasons. Callosa is known for providing numerous vocations for Carmelitas Misioneras Teresianas.
She joined the Congregation in 1982 and professed her religious vows three years later. Sr. Teresa inherited her father’s passion for education and studied Education in Palencia before pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences at the Autonomous University of Madrid. She carried out her apostolate in education at Novelda, Callosa de Segura, and Torrevieja schools, where she served as principal for 11 years. She held positions of responsibility in youth ministry and served in the Provincial Government of the then-Province “San Alberto” for three years, from 2000 to 2003, 2003 to 2006, and 2009 to 2012. She was also a member of the Titular team for all schools in the Province.

In 2010, the XIV General Chapter held in Rome, she was elected as fourth general councilor. Six years later, at the next Chapter in Madrid, she was re-elected as the third general councilor. During both periods, she was the general treasurer.

Sister Maria Teresa Garcia Rodriguez has been elected General Animator of the Congregation of the Teresian Carmelite Missionary Sisters, on Sunday, November 24, 2024, during the XVI General Chapter held in Madrid.

We are grateful for her availability to accept this call of the Lord.

The Constitutions state that to carry out this service of animation and government, “the sister who has completed at least ten years of perpetual profession in our religious family can be elected. She should possess the human and charismatic qualities necessary to adequately fulfill her office, a strong sense of belonging to the Congregation, a vision of the future and a missionary restlessness” (C105).

The capitulars will continue with the prayerful discernment of the reality in order to carry out all the necessary votes to elect the four councilors, always one at a time, who will form together with her the Animation and Government Team.

Throughout the day, the homily from today has remained relevant. Regarding the Gospel passage, Fr. Felicísimo Martínez has emphasized Jesus’s response to the Pharisees’ perverse inquiries: either a profound silence or a perverse response. Additionally, they appear to be moving on two quite different planes: Jesus’s plane of God and theirs, the worldly one.

After breakfast, we started the day of discernment in silence under the direction of Mariña Ríos, a Company of Mary religious, a coach, and a graduate of psychology and religious sciences. An initial phase before the election of the General Animator and the entire General Animation and Government team.

Sister Mariña encouraged us to begin with great courage and availability while committing to be faithful towards the spirit of Jesus and one’s own charism. Settling down ourselves down and being silent, coming to live it from freedom and depth, doing what is necessary to discern, welcoming what is revealed as God’s will, and welcoming when the time comes to respond from availability.

She reminded us of the model of evangelical leadership that we should follow in our lives. In the manner of Jesus. The capacity for leadership that our constitutions require (C102), the historical need that we recognize from the reality presented these days, from the signs of the times, from the charism and the calls that we have been sensing… should guide our prayerful and lucid search for the best person to respond to for the good of the Congregation and the entire Body of the Church, God, and our neighbors. Discern, we must prepare ourselves to make decisions based on genuine motivations, honesty, and without calculations or strategies. In freedom, in righteousness, willing to discern, open to welcome the Spirit and pray, ask for the necessary information if one needs it, and be open to whatever comes up. The sign that confirms the will of God will be a profound peace.

The counselor suggested that we examine our conscience regarding our current emotions, thoughts, and attitudes. At noon, after a personal prayerful reflection, we each shared three essential characteristics of people who could assume leadership in the General Team of Government and Animation: in this ecclesial and congregational reality, and taking into account the God-given calls that we have found. The fruit of the synodal conversations in the discernment communities was shared in the plenary. We all welcomed the lights, a maximum of five characteristics from each group, that emerged to us through this spiritual discernment exercise.

The afternoon provided additional suggestions for good discernment: pray for one another and for the Congregation. Look for the right person and determine if their motivations are evangelical. Take into account the benefits that will bring to the Congregation with the choice of this particular person. Also, there are limitations. Try to take care of their freedom without imposing conditions on others.

The evening prayer has placed us in the arms of the Lord, in his presence, to speak about everything that has occurred, to compare our intuitions with him, and to express our desire to seek his will.

The last announcement before leaving indicated what awaits us tomorrow: silence until lunchtime. In the morning, after the Eucharist and breakfast as usual, we will proceed in the same prayerful attitude to vote and elect the new General Animator.

The Eucharist, along with the prayer of Lauds, started the day of our chapter work. Once again, in the plenary, sisters and lay have opened our ears to identify consonances and discern important questions in view of the chapter agreements.

Throughout the day, some topics that required additional information, precision, or clarification were discussed. Thus, we were all able to hear something about what it means to be a charismatic family, which prompted questions and reflection.

Another topic that has recently been illuminated and discussed in the plenary is “safe environments,” which allow human life to be protected, develop, and flourish. There has been discussion about the need to move forward with the processes and steps necessary to make it a congregational reality.

The beautiful prayer prepared by lay people and sisters from the Province of America led us to contemplate the face of one of the participants with the intent to find the presence of the Church, our Beloved, in his/her presence. At last, by joining our small pieces of fabric together, we created a single ribbon that connected the two parts of the scapular. This now remains with us as a symbol of Mary’s protection and intercession as our Queen, Sister, and Mother.

Remembering Mary’s presentation, in the temple of our hearts, we try to be more aware of the One who is always with us. Mary, the perfect type of church, inspires us with her constant yes, faithfulness, and perseverance to carry on the work entrusted to us, sisters and lay together.

We dedicated the entire day to conversations in the Spirit in accordance with synodal methodology, seeking to discern the invitations we were hearing in what we reflected on and what others shared in the sessions that followed. Pacing with the silences to let it resonate and see where it leads us.

Each discernment community enhanced the contributions received from their counterpart. In the afternoon, we formed three mega-communities of discernment with the goal of mutually illuminating our reflections. The fruit of our listening was then presented to the assembly, and we continued to add what resonated to us.

We ended the day with a prayerful celebration of peace, presenting to God everything we had done. We spent some time after dinner celebrating fellowship with some entertainment, songs, and dances.