Dear Mother Ascensión Nicol

Today I dare to write to you from the depths of my heart, with a sincere desire to converse with you, not only as a co-founder of the Congregation, but as a woman of faith, a worker, humble, and an elder sister.

From your generous  YES to the Unknown, like that of the Virgin Mary, our Mother, I learned that walking with God is an act of trust and courage. Therefore, today I want to share with you something of what dwells within me: my dreams and my fears.

I dream of a more vibrant Congregation, one that continues to open paths where no one wants to go, as you did. I dream of communities that are homes for those who have given up everything. I dream of a mission that hears the cries of the poorest, especially those who have no voice, whether in the Church, in society, or even in our own families, who today are our “Maldonados,” as you did hear them in the jungle.

I dream of a more humane, more synodal, closer Church, where we all have a voice and can journey together, as sisters, in discernment and fraternity. I dream of not losing the missionary passion you inspired which God has ignited; of continuing to believe that another world is possible when there is faith, hope, love, and dedication. But also, Mother, I am afraid.

I am afraid that fatigue or routine will make me forget the fire of my first love. I am afraid that urgency and demands will rob me of tenderness, the tenderness you experienced as a silent force in your leadership. I am afraid that our communities will close themselves off to the Spirit and we will lose the capacity to listen, to trust, to welcome what God wants to do new things among us.

Sometimes I am also afraid of not living up to the Charism I have inherited, or of lacking the courage to risk what I have for the Kingdom. I am afraid of remaining comfortably settled, when you were always a journeyer, sought the poor and hoped continually.

Therefore, I ask you: intercede for me, for us. Teach us to live with joy, with depth, with realism, and with trust in God. Help us always choose the narrow door, the one that leads to an encounter with the poorest and with ourselves. I also ask you to intercede so that I may be open to God’s will and to the action of the Holy Spirit in my missionary life.

Thank you for your life, for your legacy, for your witness. May we, like you, continue to say every day: “May He give us light to know His ways and decisions, to follow them despite our hardships.”

With love and gratitude,

Melanie Angeline Angoni Bilos

Aldaia, Valencia, Spain