On May 23 which was yet another rainy day in Loyola, we started  with morning prayer prepared by our Spanish sisters.  Using images of grapes and the sound of water cascading from a lovely fountain they invited us to reflect on the passage from John about the vine and the branches.  As we prayed the closing prayer, we “branched” across the room placing our right hand on the left shoulder of the sister next to us symbolizing our rootedness in Jesus.

There are many loose ends for us to tie up as the end of the Chapter nears.  So, today we discussed how we want to present the Chapter documents as a whole, the type of booklet we’d like to create, its title, images, scripture and other references and the arrangement of content.  We did this in small groups around our tables and in conversation/discussion among all the capitulants.  Unlike other days we did all this in the Chapter room with short breaks every 45 minutes or so.  This helped us clear our minds and refresh our bodies during a long day that demanded a lot of listening and attention to detail.

We were glad to leave the Chapter room to take a walk, go to Mass, or simply just relax as we prepared our bodies, minds and souls for another day’s work tomorrow.