Today’s eucharist was presided by our Father General. Here are some elements from his homily: the interior man looks towards a horizon. He goes directly towards the interior. But this is the fruit of a journey. The interior man is naked and experiences the joy of God. He is loved by Christ and by the Father. He is also someone who loves community.
The entire day was given over to listening to some of our young confreres, that is to say, who are under forty. The challenge put before us today was to listen. To have these young Carmelites was new, it has never happened before at a Chapter. The General Definitory invited nine friars from all over the world to come to the Chapter for one day with the goal of sharing with us, in a concrete way, two challenges or problems proper to their geographical area, and to give two suggestions for the renewal of the Order. Thus three brothers came from Europe, two from Asia, two from Africa and one from North America and one from Latin America.
Each of our young brothers had twenty minutes to share their desires and aspirations with us, as well as their difficulties and questions. They did this with trust, sincerity and with a good heart. After each one spoke there was a period of dialogue with the Chapter members. The assembly took seriously the words and ‘provocations’ of our young friars and replied with the same trust and goodness …. and ‘provocation’.
A noteworthy element from this day was the profound unity among all the speakers, no matter where they came from. We cite three hopes that were at the same time challenges: an intimate life with God, community life and initial and on-going formation.
At the end of the day, Fr. General thanked our young confreres for their ‘visitation’ and their words. It was good to speak with them and not only with them. At the beginning of this Chapter, we recalled the beauty of our vocation and the fact that we also here in Rome are working for these young friars.