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CGP - Highlight of the day n.8 - Tuesday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Pilgrim onions!
It was with this surprising image that Fr. Chi Ai caught our attention in his homily yesterday morning on “the salt of the earth and the light of the world”... Indeed, according to our gourmet preacher, onions go well with most dishes, but no one talks about them; they are discreet, almost disappearing into the dish... Christians, who must be pilgrims of the Gospel, must therefore be like pilgrim onions, adding flavor in many different contexts... This is also a beautiful image for our international PGC meeting, as each of us will return to such different contexts...
Our last two days of work were devoted to the first apostolic appointments; to the letter of mission for the working group on a more centralized management of our investments; and to a report on the financial balance of the General Administration. In fact, one of our three houses in “Due Pini,” the Generalate, has become available for rent, and according to budget projections, this should allow us to usually balance the general budget. Of course, this comes with some challenges, including the involvement of the brothers in the practical running of the house and the demanding task of keeping expenses under control and securing income. With this new context, we decided that the working group for a possible relocation of the Generalate is no longer necessary.
After sharing some news, we ended our meeting by choosing the next location for the PGC in June 2026, namely Romania. This will be an opportunity to highlight our “Mission in the East” once again. Until then, we will meet, as usual, for our next PGC in Rome in early December 2025.
In his closing remarks, the Superior General reminded us that the Assumption has faced various challenges throughout its history, and each time there have been brothers to respond to the challenges of the moment. Today it is our turn to do so! And indeed, at the end of the PGC, Fr. Ngoa told us how much he perceived the sincerity of this deep desire to do, or to propose, what is right and good for our Congregation today... This is indeed the synodal spirit that we seek to live: when the burden is carried together, it always becomes a little lighter.
These words of Fr. Emmanuel d'Alzon at the end of the General Chapter of 1868 should reawaken in us this sense of duty. He said: "Now, my Brothers [...] let us bless God for having inspired us with these unanimous views, these energetic resolutions that we all promise to develop and maintain with fervor and intelligence. Let us always have for one another that affection of true religious, based on respect and the need to hold fast to one another; let us form one body in the sincerity of our souls and the loyal frankness of our relationships; let our indissoluble bond be Jesus Christ."
Final photo of those present at the PGC in June 2025 in Buenos Aires
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Visit to our Institute of Our Lady of Lourdes, very close to the sanctuary
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Last look at the neighborhood under the protection of Our Lady of Lourdes
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Fr. Benoît Bigard