With great joy, our Provincial Assembly 2026 took place from September 27 to 30, with the motto: “To be born again, the generous overflow of what we are.”
This was an invitation from the Lord to be reborn in Him, allowing the new life of the Spirit to overflow within us and in our mission. Like the seed that sprouts and the water that flows, we are called to let what we are in Christ overflow generously into our communities and into the women we accompany.
To start off in the best way, we made a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján asking for her guidance and blessings for our meeting. In this assembly, 24 sisters from the four countries that make up our Province participated.
We shared an excerpt from the opening remarks, delivered by Sister Mirta Zulema Sánchez, our provincial superior:
OPENING REMARKS. PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY 2026
“TO BE BORN AGAIN. THE GENEROUS OVERFLOW OF WHO WE ARE”
Dear sisters, with great joy and also with deep gratitude we begin this Provincial Assembly which wants to be a “meeting of renewal.”
We want this to be more than just another meeting. We’ve come this far after a long journey, filled with searches, questions, weariness, dreams, decisions, uncertainties, and also with so much life still blossoming between us.
We arrive with our history, with all that we have experienced, with our strengths and weaknesses. We arrive just as we are. And precisely for that reason, today we can hear Jesus’ invitation once again to “BE BORN AGAIN.”
To be born again is to allow ourselves to be recreated by the Spirit. It is allowing God to surprise us again. It is recognizing that there is still life ahead, paths we have not yet travelled, and possibilities we have not yet imagined.
“The generous overflow of who we are.”
I like to think that overflowing is not something that is forced. Overflow happens when something is full. When a life is filled with the Gospel, it overflows with fraternity. When a heart is full of compassion, it overflows with tenderness. When a community is filled with Spirit, it overflows with hope. When a Province recognizes and embraces what it is, it can generously offer its gifts.
Therefore, perhaps today the question is not only: what do we have to do? But also: What is it within us that needs to be reborn? What gifts have you received that are waiting to be shared? What new life is trying to break through among us? We have received a lot.
We have a rich history. We have a charism that still has a message for our time. We have the life dedicated to us of so many sisters and laywomen who came before us. We have a mission that continues to cry out for dignity, justice, support, and hope.
Some young women are emerging who are searching for meaning. We have women who are waiting for our closeness. We have an Oblate Family that wants to continue growing in communion and co-responsibility. And we also have fragilities, limitations, and realities that challenge us. Our fragilities can also become a place of birth.
Like Nicodemus, perhaps we need to dare to step out of our comfort zones, enter the darkness, acknowledge that we don’t know everything, and let ourselves be guided by the Spirit…
Let’s try to be reborn is to recognize what dwells within us, to value the bonds that sustain us, and to choose how to continue our own course.
HAPPY PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY
Mirta Zulema Sanchez, OSR – Provincial Coordinator
(Source: oblatassr.org/)
