Oita (Japan). On 8 January 2024 in Oita, at the Community of St. Joseph, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of Alma Mater Province (GIA) celebrated the annual Feast of Gratitude.
Every year, the Japanese Province celebrates Gratitude Day alternating its locality between Tokyo and Oita, involving the sisters of all the Communities in the preparation and implementation, thanks to the online mode.
The preparation began three months earlier, coordinated by a Commission which proposed certain commitments and animated all the Communities with the request for concrete participation.
“Communities that generate life: Let us show our thanks with the presence of each one” is the theme chosen for this year, associated with the symbol of the hands. Each FMA was asked to send the print of their hand cut out on paper. All these hands then formed a tree, whose trunk then formed an arm and hand.
The desire was to represent the Community that generates life, which with a heart full of gratitude is committed to the spirituality of the 5 fingers of Pope Francis: Prayer – Community – Sincerity – Forgiveness – Service. By living the spirituality of the 5 fingers, the commitment was renewed to be generators of life among the young.
Gratitude was expressed in particular to the Provincial, Sister Michiko Miyawaki, the point of reference in the Provincial Community in the search of an authentic life.
Carrying in their hearts the present world, where wars seem endless, and the suffering of many people caused by the earthquake in Japan on the first day of the year, the FMA of the GIA Province celebrated the Feast of Gratitude in simplicity, convinced that “THANK YOU” makes the heart even more open to generate life.
