On Saturday, September 13, the Casa Santa Joaquina of Vinalesa dressed up to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of three Sisters: Barbara Gea Blasco, Elisa Corella Castellot and Maria Teresa Coderch Santonja. Their relatives came from the Province of Teruel and from Alcoi to accompany the sisters and the community on this day.
The Eucharist was presided by Hyacinthe Zannou, from the Parish of San Honorato de Vinalesa, whom we call Brother Jacinto and concelebrated by Enrique Montalt, son of the town, Antonio Polo and Antonio Nofuentes, Servite religious, who maintain a relationship with the community. It was a solemn and simple celebration, which we lived with emotion and joy. In the homily, Jacinto emphasized:
“This Diamond Jubilee celebration in religious life is to raise our heads and look at the Trinity and the road we have traveled to remember, give thanks and ask for forgiveness.
Remembering the call is always a response to the Lord’s call, a gratuitous call without any merit on our part. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should bear fruit and that your fruit should remain” (Jn 15:16).
Remember and give thanks for all that you have experienced along the way, from your entry into the novitiate, passing through the different communities. The Lord has placed people who have welcomed, guided and accompanied you on your journey, who have shared your joys and eased your sorrows. Thanks be to the Lord for each one of them.
But also, to ask for forgiveness from God and from people. This means recognizing that everything was not perfect, and that human relationships are full of ups and downs”.
And he ended with the words of St. Joaquina:
“Let us enliven faith, let us have confidence, let us practice charity and we will attain the blessing of the Holy Trinity.”
The Santa Joaquina de Vedruna School gave us the dining room to celebrate the party. An atmosphere full of joyful laughter, gestures of affection, Aragonese music and a Moorish march, typical of the filà alcoyana, plus songs and words of thanks, completed the day. We wanted Barbara, Elisa and Maria Teresa to experience something unforgettable.
The community was grateful for their presence and at the same time, we were a testimony of sororal love and unity. That the “accumulated youth” gathered together still have a lot of Life.
The celebration continued on Sunday afternoon, the 15th, during which, in the community, we had a snack of horchata and Fartons and we handed out gifts for the sisters who were the protagonists of the event, poetry readings, the papal blessing, etc. There was much to thank the Lord for and at the same time we enjoyed experiencing his presence among us.
Isabel Martínez, ccv
