Sixteen Augustinian Recollects from the Brazilian communities of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine celebrates the annual assembly together with Carlos González Castellanos, prior provincial, and Benjamín Miguélez, secretary of the Province.
The missionary friar Luis Antonio Fernández Aguado, who travels through Amazonian lands more than twenty years, tells his vision and experience of the assembly.
“From January 22 to 29 we meet one more year in the city of Lábrea sixteen Recollects together with the prior provincial Carlos González and the secretary of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, Benjamín Miguélez. We were present the titular bishop of the Prelature Dom Santiago Sánchez, and the bishop emeritus Dom Jesús Moraza; José García Corcuera and Santiago Martínez Lázaro, from the Guaraciaba do Norte community, Ceará; the delegate Juan Cruz Vicario, José Artenildo Alves and Francisco Ivanderlei Ribeiro, from the community of Manaus; Miguel Ángel Peralta, Juan José Guzmán and José Arredondo, from the Tapauá community; Alfonso Lázaro, Roberto Carlos and Bernardo Contreras, from the community of Pauiní; and Luis Amílcar Reyes, Antonio Fernández and Sergio Pérez, from the Lábrea community.
As a community we share life and mission during these days, people who live in a plurality of geographical, social, economic realities (Guaraciaba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Purús), pastoral (urban, social apostolate, riverside communities), of ages (young and veterans), and evangelizing visions (traditional and liberating).
From the prior provincial we received, in addition the many concrete information about various aspects of the Province, the message of hope and vision appreciative of all the brothers around us and the reality we live; a call to balance between the human, Christian, charismatic and spiritual dimensions of apostolic action; a call for realism in the face of so many challenges and difficulties; a call to care for elderly and sick friars; a call for training permanent, to discernment, to the accompaniment of others and to be accompanied; a call to discern how to improve the quality of our presence and mission, and how to do it within our charisma; a call to work hard in vocations and in young people. At the end, the prior provincial gave us three considerations, which can be summarized in realism: walking together and never losing hope.
The prior provincial ratifies his conviction not to close ministries in the Prelature, not only because the mission belongs to the identity of the Order, but also so that religious life makes more sense, because we have to go “where the church most needs us”, where no one wants to go, where it is more difficult.
Between us we had the opportunity to open up to each other, and to share feelings, thoughts, practices, visions and dreams. By listening to the experiences from both the veterans, with their historical overviews, and those from the younger ones, many questions arise from this sharing: have we lost our missionary spirit? Why don’t we attract vocations? Can our charism be witnessed in the Prelature where we are often alone? Have we lost the quality of missionary presence? Are we accompanying the profound changes that are happening to all levels in our time? Our Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine is really a missionary? Are we really being prepared for the mission in any of the ministries we are in, not just in Lábrea? Is it true that young people no longer have a missionary spirit? What is the quality of spirituality and community life? Why are many of the decisions we make not carried out? practice? Why, after so much time talking about the need to learn the Portuguese language well, concrete measures are still not being taken? Why Do we not understand each other in the management of the Hope Centers in the Prelature? Why can’t elderly or sick friars stay in Brazil?
In the group meetings many proposals and reflections emerged on the topics treated in the Assembly. We hope that some of them will become concrete fruit for the good of the friars and the people we serve.
Despite the diversity of opinions and the many questions that remain in the air, the days were of great joy in moments of community coexistence.
In these days we also had the opportunity to participate in the diaconal ordination of Frei Sergio Pérez García, which took place on Saturday, January 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lábrea cathedral in a rich inculturated liturgy, with the songs of the Amazon mass, and with the presence also of Henrique Giera, diocesan priest, formerly recollect, and with a lot of participation from the people of the Christian communities of Labrea.
We were left with the message of hope and renewal that was sown in this assembly.”
