?Men integrated and integrating?
During the Saturday morning (January 17th), in the meeting at Limache, in Chile, we had the rich contribution from Brother Agustín. In two sessions he gave us an excellent documental presentation on Marcellin and his historical milieu. The subject was developed in two parts: in the first part we looked at Marcellin and his social milieu and his human and vocational development; in the second, Brother Agustín gave us an approach to the documental record and the work achieved by our best known and representative researchers. An excellent presentation on the first years of the Founder?s apostolic life between 1810 and 1828.
Group departure and excursion
Very early the organisers announced the departure for the locality of Limache on the Pacific coast. In two small buses we left for Viña del mar and Valparaiso, one of the most important ports of Chile and destination of our first brothers on their voyage to Oceanía. In this city, Father Chanel and Brother Marie-Nizier disembarked 171 years ago. After celebrating Sunday Mass in the ancient church of la Matriz we visited the ancient part of the city where several buildings survive from the time of our first brothers.
The ages of life
Monday presented itself with a lovely dawn typical of Limache, fresh and clear. The weariness of the previous day was evident in the hesitancies of speech and the aching muscles. But this did not prevent attendance at the time of chanting the salve and morning prayer introducing a new day of reflection and work.
The licentiate Ana María Díaz assembled us in the reception room, after the daily task of eating and clearing which the participants in the meeting did daily in teams. As the central subject they worked on the distinct stages of life and their bearing on the vocational maturity of the religious. Thus several Brothers younger than 40 worked on the ?Age of the Hero? and its characteristics as driving forces for change and hopes for religious life. Then the age of the ?Master? for the stage including those between fifty and sixty-five. A stage of rest and maturity in decisions. Also the stage of leadership and constant service in mission. The third stage includes those older than sixty-five, known as the ?Sages? in which one can reap the benefits of a wealth of experience. The contributions and work in groups allowed a deepening of the experience of the initial contributions. The work was done in spontaneous groups and then shared in the plenary session later.
Presentations on Bolivia and Argentina
For the evening and after supper, the brothers currently working in mission in these two counties gave presentations on the regions with videos on tourism and the Marist works. Songs and some regional sweets and drinks completed the presentation. A very opportune moment to learn a little more about the apostolic and pastoral work of the brothers in those countries.