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When Sr. Margaret Gonzi, who ministers in Malta, starts her day reading the Gospel, she said she is reminding herself why she is in this ministry at all. “That is what gives me meaning,” she said.
“At the same time, my concern is: What is happening to the trafficked persons in this moment that I don’t know about? What can I do? I can’t do anything, but I can keep them in my heart and reflect that the Lord knows … . I feel I’m with them in the Lord’s presence. That gives me meaning: sitting in the presence of the Lord.” Margaret is a Sister of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, said sewing is also a good distraction. “There’s no need to spiritualize everything. It just takes my mind off things,” she said, adding that art and Spanish lessons are also positive outlets for her.
Sr. Gabriella Bottani, Talitha Kum’s international coordinator said belonging to the Talitha Kum network is itself self-care.
“More and more, I realize that our gatherings are not only for planning, but that it is a way to feel that we are not alone, that we can share and understand one another because we all have those experiences.”
Celebrating Talitha Kum’s 10th anniversary in Rome, where representatives from each country’s network gathered Sept. 21-27, Sr. Carmela Gibaja Izquierdo, coordinator of El Salvador’s Talitha Kum network, Red Ramá, echoed Bottani’s sentiment, saying the gatherings are important “because you’re in an environment where you are in tune with others, speaking this same language of problems and hopes and illusions — that gives you encouragement.
“It tells me I’m not wasting my time, that I’m doing something worthwhile,” she said.
Bottani recalled Pope Francis’ words to the Talitha Kum sisters during their Sept. 26 private audience, when he told the sisters that at the end of their days, they should think of the faces of the victims they’ve helped. “This will be a beautiful prayer,” he told them.
To support and empower one another, Bottani said, is also a “deep prayer, because many of us feel alone throughout the activity.”
Full report form Soli Salgado at: https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/people/religious-life/news/community-and-prayer-sustain-sisters-helping-victims-trafficking