What We Take with Us
The SENDEROS program took place at the Claretian Fathers? house in Los Negrales, Alpedrete, Madrid in the first semester of the present year. The course provided quite a meaningful experience for the participating Brothers who came from seven Provinces. Some participants were Portuguese-speaking, the others Spanish-speaking.
By way of wrapping up the program and evaluating it, we asked each participant to leave a written ?souvenir? of the program – ?What remains in my heart?? – that could sum up in a few lines the experience, the high points of this period of ongoing formation. The comments follow.
?The experience has been a time of grace for me, of peace, a chance to look at myself and at the future, sharing this experience in a community of Brothers from differing situations and cultures, all motivated by the same ideals. These days have helped me to find a sense of unity in the great challenges facing the Institute, and from that point to revitalize my commitment and my options. . . .? (JIR)
?A spiritually enriching, personal time for giving new vitality to consecrated life, seeking to revitalize religious life that consists in following Jesus Christ. An invitation: to get beyond daily routine in which we are often so caught up; to search for a return to an enthusiasm that brings happiness in the encounter with the Spirit of the Lord who broadens both our perspectives and the direction of our life, without leaving behind the realities of the world?.? (MD)
?What remains within me is an attitude of thanks to God, to my Provincial and to those who planned and carried out the course; and thanks for having been able to benefit from this opportunity for growth. At this stage of my life, the moment was ripe for finding and guarding within me a serenity that helps me to listen, to take a good look at myself, to verify the direction of my life and to examine the perspectives which give meaning here and now to my life as a Little Brother of Mary. . . .? (DEE)
?The SENDEROS course has been a very profitable experience for me, the consequence of its good organization and it dynamics. To get more involved with the goal of revitalizing consecrated Marist life – at the personal, Provincial and Institute levels – to which we have been introduced by the XXI General Chapter: ?With Mary, go in haste to a new land.? (ABO)
?? to conclude this stage of my life, I am encountering the call of divine Love in my heart. I have been in contact with my ESSENCE and I desire to bring it to full life with my brothers. I desire to love much, and to show the joyful mercy of God to his little ones and to take on the Great Cause of Jesus: to construct the Kingdom of Love beginning with the Marist charism, because I love Jesus. And this . . . I will do in company with my brothers.? (GMCH)
?Besides allowing me a time of calmness, relaxation and peace, the experiences I had at Los Negrales have enabled me to live with great joy and optimism ?. the vocation of a Marist Brother, living with hope for the future, where God, Mary and Champagnat undoubtedly welcome us to horizons of greater vitality, living the Marist mission with greater passion the Marist mission .? The course was solid and inspiring with regards to the topics treated, the reflection times and periods for interiorization and prayer. So too the Exodus pilgrimage, the solidarity experience and the visit to the Marist sites. . . .? (AIRS)
?I feel that I have had a valuable experience . . . to discover, to know and to get beyond certain aspects of my personal reality; to confirm the value of building fraternity . . . of the relevance of the Marist charism for the contemporary world, the conviction that major changes in life demand great confidence in God and a persevering personal search; a fresh enthusiasm to build a new way of living consecrated Marist life: the experience that the basic element of life is marked by the evangelical values which go well beyond material, social and economic dimensions, but are build on a human foundation in day to day life.? (OS)
An excellent chance to update and to experience formation in its human, psychological and spiritual dimensions; revitalization of vocation, of spiritual exercises and the profound experience of God?s love. A time to confront oneself, to re-evaluate life, to reflect and hear the Word of God; of brotherly common life, of new intercultural experiences and celebrating life and giving it new meaning?.? (JH)
?There were moments when I was able to pick up the threads of my recent years, to live in the present and to re-raise the new challenges that face me in the future. I have been made very aware of the call of the Chapter, to go in haste with Mary to a new land which, in my case, is the special reality of fully changing my mission and my normal way of living . . . .? (LAM)
?My experience has given rise, as I see it, to a new feeling of belonging, of integration, of union with God, and this becomes perceptible in joy, peace, love that becomes human in my feelings, and in a deep spiritual happiness. . . .? (RSL)
?It has been a time of rest, of reflection and of interiorization. Of self knowledge and of acceptance of myself, as I am despite my limitations, and of accepting others as my brothers. Of drawing near to God and to the Brothers. Of sharing life. Of becoming aware of new experiences in the Institute that are signs of vitality. It has also been a time of experiences. The solidarity pilgrimage allowed me to see the world through the eyes of the sick and the aged, who are God?s preferred ones and who feel themselves to be loved by God. The Exodus pilgrimage helped me to interiorize the life and mission of Jesus.? (AU)