Today, Fr. Fausto Lincio, the Provincial of Lombardy, presided at the Eucharist. He asked us: what word could light up our journey when we find ourselves at an impasse? … To accept that in our lives there we have experienced injustice, but it is there that God come to us and renews our lives.
This morning, the brothers once more came together in the Chapter hall to work again on the Charistmatic Declaration. Fr Martin MartinezDefinitor, and Fr. Gabriele Morra, the Provincial of the Central Italian Province, explained to us, one by one, the changes (corrections, insertions, clarifications) made to the said Declaration. The revised text that was presented to us is the fruit of work done by various groups, and the commission assigned to synthesize the observations from the Chapter members. After their interventions the friars were free to express their views on the news proposals for the Declaration. At about 11.00 there we were let free to reflect and dwell on the theme.
In the afternoon, Fr. Daniel Chowning, from the Washington Province, presented our Ratio Institutionis. As Potissimum Insitutionis confirms #1: “The renewal of Religious Institutes depends principally on the formation of its members”. Fr. Daniel concentrated on some elements of the Ratio that need to be reviewed. He began by giving us a panoramic view of the context of the process for the redaction. Then he indicated three important points in which our Ratio is lacking: the absence of any referrals to the recent documents of the Church’s magisterium on consecrated life; the text is too theoretical and does not take into consideration concrete experience; the lack of references to the Teresian charism. In the end, he proposed to integrate three big elements in the future Ratio: formation of the formators; the challenge presented by social media and telecommunications; the protection of minors and the criteria of competence for this ministry (of formation). After his intervention the assembly took time to discuss the theme of formation in the Ratio.
We concluded the session about 7 pm.