Provincial Assembly and Jubilee Celebrations
On the 16th and 17th October, the first Assembly of the recently formed Province of Cruz del Sur took place in Luján, Argentina. This Province consists of brothers working in Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. One hundred brothers participated in this assembly, including eighteen brothers from the District of Paraguay.
We focussed on Vocation Ministry by working firstly in age groups and then mixing the groups so as to have a range of ages in each group. Each group discussed the dreams and the challenges to be faced in the future of our Province. The first reflection considered the things that bring happiness, hurt or fear in our lives as Marist Brothers in the Province of Cruz del Sur. After this, the theme of the work turned to the opening letter of the Marist Vocation Year ?Rekindling the fire!? and we considered the challenges presented to us by Brother Seán. During Sunday morning, the teams for Youth Ministry, Vocation Ministry and Initial Formation gave presentations of their work in the area of vocation promotion. The morning finished with a Plenary Session during which concrete proposals were expressed to the Province for the promotion of the Marist Vocation Year.
At the end of the Assembly, a Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated in honour of the Brother Jubilarians who were celebrating 60, 50 and 25 years of Marist life. This was followed by a festive meal during which the brothers shared not only many memories but also the fraternal joy of being sons of the same father, Marcellin, and of the same Mother, Mary.
The brothers who were celebrating 60 years of Marist life were Felipe Alonso and Arcadio Balbás.
The brothers who were celebrating 50 years of Marist life were Julián García (P), Armando Meier Stiedl (U) and Aldo Gamalero.
The brothers who were celebrating 25 years of Marist life were Sergio Castanetto, Francisco Vera (P), and Ángel Medina (P).
?The brothers who persevere, discover anew in all its richness and fullness the meaning of the Evangelical Counsels and their vows flourish into a freeing poverty ? a noble love ? an obedience of a free and simple son, despite human frailty.? Rother Basilio Rueda.