As far as I remember I have always been fascinated by the beauty of Creation, the lilies in the field, the shimmering colors of a sunset, the immensity of the sky with its billions of billions of stars. I remember being stunned by the infinity big and the infinity small of Creation, by being one in this universe and uniquely loved by my Creator. The Psalm 8 expresses my prayer of this time: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”
For the last 8 years and half, I have been living in St Lucia. I immediately fell in love with this paradisiac site with its unparalleled natural environment, which abounds with fauna, flora and aquatic life and lends itself to communion with God and nature in the spirit of the Encyclical “Laudato Si”. Here everything speaks out of a God of generosity, of love, of harmony. It has been a privilege to live in this sacred space. There is no doubt that it has helped me to develop my own spirituality which has become one of Creation, of wonder, of awe, of reverence. I have a sense of immense privilege that I was the spiritual director in the St Lucia Retreat and Training that I was running on behalf of the Vicariate.
The other side of my mission, and our mission as Ursuline Sisters, was to develop justice and peace, especially through education in the villages surrounding St Lucia, where many people suffer a lack of employment, education, food, health,…in this economically unprivileged part of the world. One of our programmes links the care for Creation and the care for the poor. The income of a beekeeping project sponsors the education of some children in a good school. Everything is connected!
I felt very privileged to have lived and to worked in a space where the spirituality of Creation is at its heart. I don’t see myself as a crusader to save the world but I see how those 8 last years have transformed my heart. I feel more connected in my unique role with all of Creation and created beings. In South Africa there is one word that says it all: “'Ubuntu”. It speaks about the country's moral ideals, the spirit of togetherness and it ability to work together. Essentially, 'ubuntu' means “I am, because you are”. 'Ubuntu' represents that we are all connected.
As I am ready to leave St Lucia and South Africa for a new mission in Europe, a page in the book of life is turning for me, for the Ursuline Sisters in South Africa, for the mission here in St Lucia and the surrounding villages. I am grateful to have had the privilege of welcoming you to the St Lucia Retreat & Training Centre. That is a great joy to know that the Marist Brothers and their lay associates will continue the mission at St Lucia, at the Retreat Centre and in the neighbouring villages. The Ursuline Sisters and the Marist Brothers have a long history of collaboration in South Africa and I am fully confident that the mission continues here in good hands and in a shared spirit.
Sr Elisabeth Marie ANSART, osu
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