MORNING
First, there was a sharing among the provincials, followed by a discussion about what it means to belong to the congregation and to have a sense of the local and universal Church. It is important to keep reminding our communities that they must remain open to the broad mission of the Church, already during the years of formation of the religious as well as in the way they live.
There exists, in each of our provinces, “flagship” apostolates whose influence extends beyond the borders of the country where they are located. Assumption as a whole benefits from these apostolates. We should all sensitize ourselves to the importance of maintaining the apostolic vitality of the following: the university in Worcester, our educational institutions, Bayard, etc.
At the end of the morning, we voted on texts and proposals that had been previously drawn up and amended. The result of the voting revealed the degree of consensus that had been reached regarding the decisions to be taken.
Finally, Fr. Julio Navarro, as Postulator of the cause of Father d’Alzon, requested the help of the Provincials and the appointment of a go-between religious in the Provinces and Regions.
AFTERNOON
The afternoon was spent evaluating what had been done. Each member had the occasion to express himself. It was a very rich sharing because this Council left no one indifferent.
The decision to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Father Emmanuel d’Alzon encouraged and motivated the religious attending this 40th Council of the Congregation. The 2010 bicentennial will allow us to rediscover our founder. It will be an invitation to follow Christ with Emmanuel d’Alzon.
The conclusive speech of Fr Richard
In his concluding address, Father Richard Lamoureux, Superior General, touched upon all the topics that had been discussed during this working session. The Eucharistic celebration that followed our final meeting was the occasion for us to offer to God all the issues that had been shared during this Council of the Congregation, the first to be held in Asia.
EVENING
The last evening get-together of this 2008 Council of the Congregation gave the members an excellent occasion to share quality time with each other. In keeping with the Korean Asian tradition, we received and exchanged small souvenir gifts. Our African brothers, who were in charge of the evening, did things very well. We thank them for it.
This is the last “Red Thread” of this Council of 2008. Thank you for reading it.
