Sisters Mary Shruti, Mary Vijaya, Mary Sarita, Mary Madhuri, Mary Manasi, Mary Manjukta and Mary Sunari attended a Seminar at Institute of Consecrated Life – Sanyasa, Bangalore, India on the theme: Pilgrims of Hope ensuring Dignitas Infinita for God’s people. The purpose of the seminar was to understand and reflect on the document Dignitas Infinita along with 2025 Jubilee theme.
There were V plenary sessions held over the period of two days. Fr Paulson Veliyannoor, CMF gave a very elaborate presentation about the background of this document, and its chapters that speaks about a growing awareness of the centrality of human dignity, the role of the Church in proclaiming, promoting and assuring it and the grave violations that are happening in the present world. In the second session Fr. Jose Cristo Rey, CMF spoke about the pneumatology of Dignity and Hope. Post lunch there was a voluntary poster presentation on the theme of the seminar for which a prior registration was required. Ten creative and insightful posters were displayed by different congregations.
The third session was regarding ‘Recovering Hope and Dignity of the Pilgrims in the Indian Peripheries’ by Fr. George Kannathanam. The issues highlighting the degrading hope and dignity in the Indian scenario were brought out. Practical and concrete actions were also discussed by which Indian religious could be a beacon of hope and dignity to the marginalized and poor. The day one ended with the celebration of Holy eucharist by His Excellency Peter Machado, Archbishop of Bangalore.
The IV session on day two was taken by Sr. Lalita Thomas, SJT who was one the women religious
representatives of India and Asia at Synod. She spoke about ‘Hope of Dignity within the Church and
consecrated life.’ Her sharing was mainly based on the experience of synodality during first and second synod assemblies. The V session of the seminar was taken by Bro. Paul Raj, SG based on ‘Ministers of Hope and Dignity: Formative Implications.’ The session was directed towards addressing the issues related to hope and dignity in religious formation. The seminar concluded with a panel discussion where the speakers of day one and two answered and clarified the doubts of the audience.
It was a deeply enriching experience as sessions provided profound insights into the sacredness of every human life and reinforced our commitment to treating others with respect, compassion, and love. Through engaging discussions and reflective moments, we gained a deeper understanding of how to uphold human dignity in our daily interactions and community service.
Sr. Mary Shruti SND