From September 2 to 7, eleven religious dedicated to vocation promotion in Brazil, Costa Rica, Spain, the United States and Mexico met for a meeting of formation, deliberation, planning and evaluation of their tasks.
The religious in charge of Vocation Ministry in the different demarcations of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, convened by their coordinator, Víctor González, met from September 2 to 7 at the Saint Augustine House of Formation in Las Rozas (Madrid, Spain) under the motto “Everything begins with a desire”.
The first part of the Meeting focused on ongoing formation, with the collaboration of the Augustinian Recollect Francisco Javier Monroy, member of the General Council and special person in charge of formation.
The main theme of reflection was the accompaniment in the process of vocational discernment from its psychological and Augustinian perspectives. The President of the General Secretariat for Vocation Ministry and also a member of the General Council, the Augustinian Recollect Fabián Martín, then focused on the presentation of the latest documents and materials produced by the Church and by the Augustinian-Recollect Family regarding Vocation Ministry.
In this way, the promoters were given the tools to motivate the communities in this task, to form teams of lay people who act in vocation ministry, to accompany the vocational processes of those who request it and to apply in the different demarcations the decisions taken by the Province and the Order sponsored by the Life and Mission Projects that emerged from the last Chapters.
On the last day, the Augustinian Recollect Alfonso Dávila, a member of the Provincial Communications Office, offered a workshop to the vocation promoters on communication plans applied to the processes of vocation animation.
The Provincial Prior, Carlos González, was present to listen to the concerns and worries of the religious agents of vocational pastoral, to assess the situation of each one and their work and to propose the creation of a true vocational culture in each community and ministry of the Province in all the places where it is found.
There was also time and space for socializing and sharing experiences and proposals in a more relaxed way during a day of rest in the city of Toledo and with visits to other Recollect communities, which allowed those present at the meeting to remember their previous stays in Spain or meet again with whom they once shared life and ministry with.
The reception of the local community was important and significant, with whom they shared moments of spiritual life and meals, a space for community enrichment and greater mutual understanding.
The meeting, chaired by Víctor González, was attended by Mario Alberto Corrales and Francisco Ivanderlei Ribeiro (Brazil), Alberto Valecillos and Eduardo Chávez (Costa Rica), Francisco Oyanguren and Héctor Molina (Spain), Rafael Castillo and Eric Crelencia (United States) and Isaac Almaraz, Manuel Antonio Flores and David Molina (Mexico).
