Focus Statement of the United States Province of the Congregation of Divine Providence of St. Jean de Bassel

We, Sisters of Divine Providence, Daughters of John Martin Moye, Women Religious of the Church in the United States and Citizens of the World, having reflected and prayed together, accepting the prophetic call of the Gospel, now come with questioning hearts.

We know Providence, the creating, sustaining life force and so we ask, are we willing to risk

• …hearing the cry of those being suffocated by structures of dominance and greed?
• …seeing the beauty and interconnectedness of creation begging to be preserved and reverenced?
• …action that confronts and disarms the culture of death and violence in our society and in our hearts?

We live Providence, the companion of the poor and defender of the oppressed and so we ask, are we willing to risk

• …hearing the pleas of the voiceless drowned by the din of commercialization and the empty roar of power?
• …seeing our own complicity in the injustices that cause oppression?
• …action that questions the use of power in Church and society that neglects, denies and rejects women‘s gifts?

We proclaim Providence, the unifying heart of all creation and so we ask, are we willing to risk

• …hearing anew our call to witness community life in an individualistic society?
• …seeing new ways of coming together as Church, peoples and nations in solidarity and caring?
• …action that is public and collaborative, that draws on the power of unity in diversity?

Today, in community and as individuals, we accept the risks, embrace the grace, abandon ourselves to Providence and say “yes”, “amen”, “so be it.”