?Men of integrity and integration?
In spite of the tired faces of the ones who had to cross the Cordillera of the Andes ? not to take part in a ?rally?, but to participate in a brotherly meeting ? with hearts full of hope, in the Chilean city of Limache, the second meeting on community animator formation began. There were fifty participants, brothers coming from the Provinces of ?Santa Maria de los Andes?, ?Cruz del Sur? and from the District of Paraguay. The presentation of the participants took place in the morning, through the words of Br. Demetrio Espinosa of ?Cruz del Sur?.
After the necessary indications concerning the dynamics of the meeting and a few practical instructions, work began in small groups gathering together brothers who do not meet frequently. They shared information and experiences on the successful activities carried out during the year, the ones that produced moments of satisfaction and joy because of the mission shared with laypeople.
After lunch and a brief rest, we gathered again in the small cave of the Virgin. There we could experience a beautiful Marian moment. Each Ave was marked by different invocations to honour the Virgin Mary in the different places of origin of the brothers who were taking part in the meeting.
Professor Ana Maria Diaz, the speaker, made a first approach to personal acquaintance as the basis of every relationship. In the afternoon we worked on the experience of our initial formation. This work gave rise to feelings of gratitude and nostalgia for our faults and limits, but also to many rich experiences of generous life as a gift. The Eucharistic celebration was the right moment to lift up our hearts to the Lord and thank him for the richness of life shared during this first day.
The second day of the meeting started in the meeting hall of the school of Santa Maria de Limache with the morning prayer; in a calm, peaceful manner. All together the participants collected and presented to the Lord the life experience of the previous day.
The main theme of the day was personal development animation in the perspective of knowledge of self and interpersonal relations. Professor Ana Maria Diaz spoke of the development of the expectations of Religious Life in these last years. The fullness of vocation was envisaged starting from a hope, that of becoming ?citizens of heaven?. In this perspective the Kingdom of God was presented as an experience that needs to be accomplished regardless of one?s history and life. In a second instance, the work focused on the call to be ?citizens of history?, or integrating what is historical, transcendent and spiritual. In this respect, a number of aspects were stressed such as simplicity of life, austerity, sharing and devotion to the cause of the liberation of the oppressed. The third moment was devoted to working on religious fullness as ?citizens of ourselves?, so man can advance full of hope, discovering the presence of the Kingdom of God in his life. This work filled both sessions of the morning and occupied even the one in the afternoon.
The work in communities of life allowed to envision the growth of the community starting from the Gospel. The different groups worked on passages of the Bible where the Lord meets people suffering from physical and moral limits and wounds. During the Eucharist in the afternoon the different communities bore witness to their availability of heart and mind by laying a flower on the altar as a sign of consecration.