Have you ever been hungry? Thirsty? Not for bread or water... but for growth, enlightenment... and not to have anything to quench this thirst! Starved of spiritual food and to have only some crumbs dried by 50 years of hiding... In the Church of China, I was a witness to this desire and hunger to learn, the need to acquire more autonomy: to be able to choose, dialogue, accept, refuse freely, to affirm themselves: in short, to be women!

Huguette Chapdelaine, m.i.c., has worked to integrate psychology and spirituality for young Chinese religious in China. Her previous work in Taiwan had prepared her for this mission.

To be born or reborn

After 35 years of mission in Taiwan, I had said good-bye to the Chinese people overseas. But there I was, invited to Beijing, to a National Seminar where 38 young religious from 18 developing or reemergent congregations would experience a month of personal and spiritual formation. With these young people who already held positions of authority, we explored personal, community, churchbased and spiritual courses, through activities, prayers, individual and collective meetings.

The religious in China

The religious are divided into two groups. The first includes the young women who joined the ranks of previously existing congregations, which although dispersed, remained in China following the advent of the new political system. Together until their retirement age, these elderly sisters witness through their life of prayer and service. There are Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary, Daughters of Charity, Little Sisters of Sainte-Therese (founded of the Father Vincent Lebbe), Holy Family Sisters and some others. The second group includes the congregations established directly by the bishops in recent years. Whether they belong to the first or the second group, all the congregations are under the authority and the exclusive competence of the bishops.

A religious vacuum

The young religious of both groups are of Christian stock; however, they are drawn from 50 years of a religious vacuum due to the communist policy. The faith, nurtured underground in their families, comes together now, more beautifully: it is a source of hope for those who wish to know the Christian religion better and to belong to it openly. At the time of this training course, these young Major Superiors had a lot to discover in themselves: their interpersonal relations between
woman/man/priest/religious/bishop/authority/society...
There is only God, our tender and loving Father, to sustain these hearts eager to live a religious life totally committed to following Christ in pastoral and social service.

Inadequate basic training

In spite of their desires and efforts, the bishops, most of them elderly, are challenged by many difficulties incorporating these women devoted to living in community. Because of their initial lack of training, rules of life and particular orientation, certain young women are sent by their bishop to other communities, already well established, to be initiated into the religious life. After one or two years, they return, two from here, two from there, and are then entrusted with the mission of founding a new congregation.

I saw opened hearts…

Traditional communities stress formation and experience. It is unimaginable to establish that in so little time! Faced with certain gaps of formation, several religious congregations call upon resource persons from elsewhere. As with any service, the person who gives, receives more. In Beijing, I saw opened hearts, nourished spirits, souls filled to the top with giving and receiving forgiveness. I met dedicated women, joyfully taking the road of their respective mission again to the four corners of immense China. I was touched by their devotion at the side of the sick, of the AIDS patients... all the while ensuring the doctrinal formation of the young sisters. And I noted their courage to face the innumerable difficulties that await them.

If my contribution could so much as slightly alleviate the spiritual hunger and the thirst for these religious, I return from there grateful to God. And... I often think of the sisters of China: they have an urgent need for our sincere prayer to God that they thrive in His service. At the request of the Church of Hong Kong, we have to support the bishops, the priests, the nuns, the seminarians and the faithful in this delicate period where the "leadership" passes from the old people to the younger generations. And over all, we have to help the Church of China to face the challenges of the modern and secularized world.

The formation continues

Within the framework of a continuous training plan which they have the courage to continue despite the difficulties, 37 more young Chinese nuns will experience, in September 2005, a similar psycho-spiritual integration at the Catholic Center of formation for religious in Taiyuan, in the province of Shanxi, about 500 km to the south-west of Beijing. I will again form part of the formation team. If pain and hope can coexist, I would say that what I feel after this short but very intense experiment with Beijing is very good!

MIC MISSION NEWS
July-August-September 2005
Supported by the organization Amitié-Chine,
Sister Huguette can be reached at : hchapdelaine@yahoo.com