Program for Accompanying Older Brothers ends

From November 6 to 29, 2023, the first course in the Institute on the theme of Accompanying Older Brothers was held at the General House, coordinated by the Institute’s ongoing formation team, made up of Brothers Ataide José de Lima (Brasil Centro-Norte), Xavier Barceló (L’Hermitage) and Michael Sexton (Star of the Sea).

The following Brothers took part in the course Dickson Auxensio Sion (África Austral), Adolfo Cermeño Giraldo (América Central), Joaci Pinheiro de Sousa (Brasil Centro-Norte), Jarbas Rodrigues de Sousa (Brasil Centro-Norte), Otalivio Sarturi (Brasil Centro-Sul), Solano Bageston de Lima (Brasil Sul-Amazônia), José Luis Marijuán Venero (Compostela), Alberto García Rodríguez (Compostela), Carlos García Zamora (Ibérica), Ambrosio Alonso Díez (Ibérica), Antonio Torrelles Juvillà (L’Hermitage), Simeó Camprubí (L’Hermitage), Juan Antonio Úsar Echarri (Mediterránea), Carlos Guillermo Perales López (México Occidental), Eduardo Navarro de la Torre (México Ocidental), Ángel Valle González (Norandina), Juan Pablo Gaviria Chindoy (Norandina), Kevin Wanden (Star of the Sea) e Stephen Milan (USA).

Program

In the first week, Pedro Jesús Arenas developed the theme of “integral care of the elderly person”, emphasizing that the accompaniment of a Brother, developed by a team, requires technical, relational, emotional, spiritual, ethical and cultural skills.

In the second week, José Cristo Rey, a Claretian priest, developed the theme of “longevity and extra time, with the implications for a healthy religious life”. And Brother Landelino Ortego (Norandina), on the last two days, presented the theme of the spirituality of the elderly Brother.

In the third week, Mrs. Vicky Irigaray presented the theme of “personal and community spiritual accompaniment”, while Brother Michael Green (Star of the Sea) developed the theme of “accompanying older brothers from Marist origins”.

Over the last two days, Brother Joe McKee (West Central Europe) helped the group to reflect on the “care of the caregiver”, where he pointed out that contemporary culture tends to emphasize doing, to the detriment of being. Caring for an elderly brother presupposes that, starting from a personal life project, one is able to take care of oneself.

There were also two Marist workshops. In the first, Brother Óscar Vicario, General Councillor, emphasized that the Marist vocation is a vocation to care for the lives of children and young people. It is up to the Brother in old age, when he no longer has many apostolic activities, to take care of his vocation, his health, nature, those who live with him and those who visit him. Brother Ernesto Sánchez, Superior General, based on his letter Homes of Light, invited us to take care of life and to cultivate a new life. He recalled that Mary, thanks to her free heart full of God’s warmth, was able to welcome divine newness. He believes that the rebirth of the Institute and its future has a lot to do with the concrete commitment of each person to take seriously the cultivation of interior and spiritual life.

Two other workshops were given by Brother Dairon Menezes, a member of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, and Sister Maite Pablo, a Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa.