?Look now at the skies and count the stars?

The I Interamerican Encounter of Marist Formators took place from Oct. 31 – Nov. 4 in Curitiba, Brazil. The event’s theme was the provocation of God to Abraham “look now at the skies and count the stars” (Gen. 15:5).

Over 40 participants – Brothers, formators, provincials, lay men and women from 10 provinces of the continent – all took part.

The goal consisted in speaking about the formative processes and to discover the numerous new paths and possibilities of the Marist vocation.

A video of superior general Brother Emili Turú motivated the encounter, and the reflection of the lay Juan Luis Gonçalves on “the trip of Abraham” helped the group to start its path, available for the new and with the courage of daring.

In a determined moment, the participants gathered with youth of different environments, which led to a fruitful exchange of perceptions and ways of seeing young people.

There were also moments of personal and group reflection, to try to identify the voices and intuitions that are born from the Institute’s calls and formation – like internationality, rights of children and youth, the relationship between brothers and laity, among others.

The challenge of the programme of the encounter was to discover new paths and hope in America for the Marist formation of brothers and laity. Dialogues were filled with joy and fraternal coexistence.

The conclusion of the encounter was the following: if God promised Abraham great offspring, why not trust that this same God also ensures us the fecundity of the promise and the continuity of the mission, as the new Marists of Champagnat?

Brothers Hipólito Pérez, of the Brothers Today Secretariat and Javier Espinosa, of the Secretariat of the Laity participated on behalf of the general administration.