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08/03/2022

March 8th 2022 International Women’s day

THE VALUE OF WOMEN AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO DEVELOPMENT

Decor: Globe, statue of the Virgin Mary, statue or image of Marie Louise

Processional with the following symbols:

  • Apron representing women in service and responding to the need of society
  • Lighted candle and plant representing women who bring life and light to the world

Entrance Song: Woman of yesterday and today

Introduction

World Women’s Day is the perfect occasion to celebrate the struggles and achievements of women and to honor them for their irreplaceable fdlsparticipation in the family, in society and in the country. It is necessary to respect their dignity especially as bearers of life.

The role of women is essential, as they are the first educators and leave their mark on the development of the individual.

fdlsIn Madagascar, the principle of equal rights between men and women is enshrined in the Malagasy Constitution, in particular in Article 8: “Nationals are equal in rights and enjoy the same fundamental freedoms protected by the law without discrimination based on sex, level of education, wealth, origin, race, belief or opinion.

Quiet reflection                                                                                                                           

The Word of God:  Mt 28, 8

“Jesus has risen from the dead and is waiting for you in Galilee. You will see him there”… The women quickly leave the tomb. They are afraid, but they are very happy. They run to announce the news to Jesus’ disciples.

Meditation

Women quickly leave the grave…

Why do the women run along the road of Galilee?

  • The women left the tomb with joy, interpreting its emptiness positively; having gone to care for the Dead, they understood that their task was to announce the Living One. Thus they were able to meet Jesus and receive from him a new mission.

The lives of our Founders

Montfort said: “It is done, I am travel through the world, I have taken a wandering mood, to save my poor neighbor. (Cant 22, 1)

Marie Louise: During 43 years, Marie Louise of Jesus led and developed the foundations with a few women.  Through her life and her works, she revealed a message of burning relevance: the integral promotion of the human person and the service of the poorest for the love of Jesus Christ Wisdom.

Quiet reflection

And us, where are we going? Travelling on the roads of the world to carry and give life…

“Do not forget that the Church is a mother, the Church is a woman,” said Pope John Paul II. “And while mothers give life and women keep the world safe, let us all promote mothers and protect women.

fdlsI would like to express a particular gratitude to the women involved in the most diverse sectors of educational activity, well beyond the family: education, social services, parishes, associations and movements. Wherever there is a need for formative work, one can see the immense availability of women who devote themselves to human relations, especially in favor of the weakest and the defenseless. In this action, they carry out a form of affective, cultural and spiritual motherhood, of truly inestimable value for the effects it has on the development of the person and on the future of society.                    (Message of Pope John Paul II for Women in 1995)

Meditation

As a life-giving woman, what is my contribution to the present reality of life?

Commitment (each person is invited to write down her commitment and place it before the altar)

Hymn: Mary, witness of hope

Prayer of intercession

Through the intercession of our Founders and in union with millions of women around the world, let us open our hands, incline our hearts in deep respect for our mothers, daughters and sisters and pray:

Ref:         Thank you, thank you Lord, you give me the taste of love

  • Thank you, to you “woman”, for the mere fact of being a woman! Through your own perception of your femininity, you enrich the understanding of the world and you contribute to the full truth of human relationships.
  • Thank you to all the women who welcome into their bosom a human being in the joy and sorrow of a unique experience through which they become smiles of God.
  • Thank you to all consecrated women who, following the greatest of women, the Mother of Christ, the Incarnate Word, open us in all docility and fidelity to the love of God, thus helping the Church and the whole of humanity to marvelously express the communion that He wants to establish with His creatures.
  • Let us pray for women, victims of violence who have lost their dignity, that they may be protected by society and that their suffering may be taken into account and listened to.

Lord God, we believe that you are the strength and hope of all women.  Thank you for your presence and support. Lead us in your Love to walk together on the path of your justice and to embrace your truth.

Women, it is you who hold in your hands the salvation of the world. ! Marie Louise herself will encourage Fr de Montfort to leave Poitiers… and thus, reveal that “her choice to lead an apostolic life contrasts with the model of religious life, still prevalent in the 18th century, of the cloistered contemplative”. A progressive creation, the Daughters of Wisdom is a Co-foundation: if the initial intuition is masculine, its implementation is the responsibility of a woman struggling with the misery of the little people of Western France and her own aspirations: devotion, dolorousness, refusal of intellectualism.

Final song: Pilgrims in your footsteps, Mary

 

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