Learning from the life of Saint Marcellin Champagnat
It was with words of encouragement and fully convinced that these days were going to renew the lives of those involved in the Marist work in Ecuador that Br Laurentino Albalá, Provincial of the Province of « Norandina » welcomed the participants to the meeting in Loja from 21 to 23 November. Under the leadership of Br Andrés Miranda, a period began when fraternity, hope and openness of heart made possible a sharing with all those who make up the administrative personnel of the Marist works of Ecuador.
The first day, we were plunged into the Scriptures which, through the story of Joseph, left us with some great lessons. We learned that « Life is not what one has lived but what one remembers, and the way in which it is remembered in order to be told. »
The next day, we learned, through the life of Saint Marcellin Champagnat, that we are the fruit of our relationship with society. God has placed us in a fixed time and place and with fixed persons. Through a story based on the question : « What would we have become if… », we discovered that our lives could have been quite different, but God placed us in a concrete time and a precise place so that we could do something for the good of the family and society.
The third day, we examined our conditions, favourable and unfavourable, for achieving the essential objectives in our life situations : family, work, society, economy, culture and ecology. We looked for solutions and possible commitments so that the negative aspects might become strong points, allowing us to journey towards maturity.