Program of accompaniment in difficult situations: testimony of Dilma Alves

From April 7 to May 4, a formation program was held at the General House addressed to people who accompany Brothers Dealing with Difficult Situations. The course, organized by the Institute’s ongoing formation team, was attended by 19 Brothers and one laywoman, Dilma Alves Rodrigues, from the Province of Brasil Centro-Norte, who shares below her experience in Rome.

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Accompanying difficult situations or searching for your inner treasure?

‘Recreate your life, always, always. 
Remove the stones, plant rose bushes and make sweets. Begin again.’
(Cora Coralina – Brazilian writer and poet)

When I was invited to participate in a meeting in Rome, I was surprised and grateful for the invitation and, at the same time, I did not know exactly this formative itinerary. When I said yes, I went to the course with my heart open to the action of the Spirit in my life!

From the very first moment, all the participants, the Marist Brothers and I, felt welcoming and ready to embark on this unknown journey, but confident that we would live a time of grace in our lives.

For a month, we had the opportunity to embark on a personal journey seeking to look within ourselves, to become aware of who we are, and what we were and are called to each day. We breathed! And we welcomed one another with fraternity and compassion. It was certainly a journey that allowed us to discover our inner treasure, sometimes forgotten in some corner of our heart.

The program designed with the possibility of working on content and making strategic stops contributed greatly to create a balance between thinking and feeling, and the call to welcome, listen, pray, assimilate, reflect, and nurture.

At the conclusion of this privileged time of formation, I can say that it was an opportunity in my life to begin in a new way, more aware of how my presence in the world should be. I learned that I can be more attentive to my individual needs, but also be more compassionate and in solidarity with the people around me or who demand my attention and accompaniment.

For all of us who embraced this path and gave ourselves completely to this challenging and exciting experience, at the same time, it was an opportunity to review and recreate our trajectories, nurture our dreams, and caress the soul.

We were invited to re-examine the humanity that lies deep within us, to embrace the lights and shadows that lie within us. We were asked to educate our sensibilities, to expand and expand the boundaries of our heart, to remove the stones, to plant rose bushes, to sow seeds and always begin again.

We learned that our gaze can be guided by our heart; that we can see from the heart, and that the time of the other will always be different from ours, and that a compassionate and tender attitude can help us to see the face of God in a situation of conflict or in a person who may seem difficult at a certain moment; that we can make a decision that makes us face conflicts in a positive way and learn from these adversities. The decision will always be ours!

For me, the only woman who participated in the course, who joined the brothers who came from different corners of the world to live this formative journey, it was a time to cultivate my inner peace, to reaffirm my identity, to reprogram my mind, a time to listen to my heart, to rediscover my potential, to identify and know my limitations.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Marist Province of Brasil Centro-Norte, in the person of Brother Provincial José de Assis, for this memorable opportunity for growth; to Br. Wellington Mousinho de Medeiros and Br. Ataíde José de Lima, I thank them for their support, encouragement, fraternal friendship and the loving fellowship we had during these four weeks. Thank you very much my dear friends and brothers. To the “wonderful companions” on the road, the Marist Brothers who participated in the course, the Coordinating Team and our dear translator, and my eternal gratitude for the fraternal welcome, the joy in living together, the gratitude and affection at all times.

May you continue to trust in the love of Mary, our Good Mother, who guides your steps in the mission entrusted to you by Marcellin Champagnat, following Jesus Christ.

May God, Father and Mother, bless you all! Thank you!

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Dilma Alves Rodrigues
Province of Brasil Centro-Norte