Members of the Mission of Welcome team and novices at the Inside Mexico Immersion Program.[/caption]
Several members of the Ministry of Welcome team, our novices and our candidates are attending the Inside Mexico Immersion Program in Mexico City. Sr. June Fitzgerald has been chronicling their experiences on Facebook; here is one of her posts about why our Congregation has chosen to attend this program.
We are overjoyed to begin our second week here in Mexico City, attending the Inside Mexico immersion program at Casa Xitla.
We have had some questions about why we chose to bring our Sisters to this program, and I hope that I can answer them here.
The Inside Mexico program is truly an immersion experience. While here, our sisters are learning to speak Spanish, studying Mexican history & culture, and being introduced to the social justice, environmental and human rights issues at the forefront in Mexico today.
We are present here for several reasons:
First, we believe that it is important for our sisters to have a global understanding of Church and issues that affect all of us. This cross-cultural experience is an important educational opportunity for our sisters in various stages of initial formation.
Second, we believe that we must grow and change in response to changes in the Church. Hispanic Youth are the fastest-growing membership group in the Church in America. This immersion language program will help us learn to communicate with this important population in the Church and to preach the Gospel in the language in which they are most comfortable.
Third, in order for us to, in the words of the Holy Father, build bridges of communication with our most populous neighbor, we must understand their history and culture. Understanding is the first step to peace.
Finally, as Dominican Sisters of Peace, we are committed to building, preaching and embodying peace. By immersing ourselves in the social justice, environmental and human rights issues in Mexico, we can partner wth them in transformative dialog, breaking barriers and realizing a world without borders.
Click here to see photos of their travels.