Ixtapa (Mexico). From 22 to 26 April 2025, at the Salesian Villas in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo in the State of Guerrero, the Formandees of the Provinces of Our Lady of Guadalupe (MME) and Mother of the Church (MMO) lived a formative meeting on the Word “Put out into the deep” (Lk 5: 1-11).
The meeting was attended by 21 young people – pre-aspirants, aspirants, postulants, novices, and Temporary Professed – accompanied by the formation communities of the Aspirantate and the Novitiate and animated by the MME Formation Team: Sister Elvia Castillo, Sister Blanca Margarita López, Sister Verónica Gutiérrez, and Sister Rosa Isela Solares.
The aim of the formation days was to foster a climate of fraternity and coexistence, at personal and community level, and the experience of God through the Word, contemplating, celebrating, and thanking for their call.
In the initial prayer, the symbol of the shell accompanied them to prepare themselves for listening, contemplation, and encounter with the Word “Put out into the deep” (Lk 5:1-11).
The formation days were then developed in five moments, to deepen and be illuminated by various texts of the Gospel, according to a methodology of encounter with the Word of God and the commitment of life: Open horizons (focus on the theme); Touch the heart (enlightenment from the Word of God, from the Magisterium of the Church, from the Charism); Words are not enough (apply all this to life, take action – time for personal reflection, sharing in groups); Treading the ground (personal and community commitment); Celebrating (meeting in prayer with oneself and with the God of Jesus).
The young women were able to reflect on various themes: “Gratuitousness of the call” (Lk 5:1-2), with the symbol of the helm; “Duc in altum” (Lk 5:3-4), with the symbol of the anchor; “I will cast the nets” (Lk 5:5-6) with the symbol of the fish (ichthys); “Depart from me because I am a sinner” (Lk 5: 7-9), with the symbol of the heart; “I entrust myself and follow You!” (Lk 5: 10-11) , with the symbol of footprints.
The moments of prayer, meetings with the Eucharistic Jesus, the prayer of the Rosary, sharing experiences, reflections, and life, spaces for relaxation and fraternity, short walks by the sea to pray at sunset in front of the sun, helped to make these days of human growth and faith special.
Thank you to the formation team, to the communities that accompanied the young women, and to the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians who permitted them to live this experience of human, Christian, and Salesian growth with a great sense of belonging, with the aim of consolidating the call to Salesian religious life.
