PROVINCE ASSEMLY
Refueling the Spirit of Prayer and Community
Part of being an Augustinian Recollect is
to live the "common life" by spending time together
in prayer, study, dialogue, and fraternity.
Augustinian Recollects
from the New York and Los Angeles regions as well as from Mexico
City gathered at St. Augustine Priory in Oxnard, California, January
10-14, 2005, for a Province Assembly. Part of being an Augustinian
Recollect is to live the "common life" by spending time
together in prayer, study, dialogue, and fraternity. Such activities
are normally not possible for the entire community due to distance,
varying schedules, and a great many pastoral responsibilities.
The Province Assembly is one way in which these obstacles can
be overcome by setting aside a special time when community comes
first.
Province Assemblies are not frequent
events for us (the last was held in 2000), but they are important
for building community spirit in a world where individualism seems
to be the order of the day. We began our time together with quiet
prayer before the Eucharist, knowing that it is God who is the
center and source our unity, and that the presence of Jesus in
the Blessed Sacrament is the principal way to draw upon those
divine graces which alone enable us to succeed in every good work.
The first, and perhaps most important
experience of the Assembly is simple togetherness. The friars
from the various regions of the Province spend the week getting
reacquainted, and talking with each other about issues that are
of common concern. The overall theme of the week, as a matter
of fact, was fostering fraternal charity -- one of the most important
aspects of our life together as brothers in the Consecrated Life.
Charity is fostered by prayer and fidelity to who we are as Augustinian
Recollects (our charism),
by communication and sharing, and by mutual respect and forgiveness.
These were some of the themes and activities which marked our
week together. Part of the richness and challenge of the experience
was the bringing together of the older and younger members of
the community as well as the recognition of the variety of cultures
and personalities that we are challenged by our founder, St. Augustine,
to fashion into a community "one in mind and heart."
Coordinator and principal presenter
of the week was Fr. Lauro Larlar, OAR, provincial of St. Ezekiel
Moreno Province (Philippines), who shared his experiences of the
difficulties and challenges of living together, and directed the
Assembly in its group discussions. Other speakers had been chosen
to provide input for each days sharings, which included such themes
as the psychological aspects of living together, aging and elder
care, wholistic health, celibacy, and responsible stewardship
of community and Church goods in today's world. One of the highlights
of each day was community Mass, when all the brothers gathered
together to pray for vocations, our missions, our deceased brothers,
and for an increase in devotion to the saints of our Order and
our Blessed Mother under the title of Our Lady of Consolation.
Although the schedule of the Assembly
was quite full, there was also time for socializing, especially
through a wonderful evening and dinner spent with a very special
family, who are faithful benefactors of the community in Oxnard.
Good humor, story telling, and the laughter of long-time companions
are ways in which God lightens our burdens and reminds us of the
hopefulness and joy of our religious vocations and our life together.
In the evaluation forms sent out after
the Assembly, one of the friars commented that "you get out
of the Assembly what you put into it." Our commitment to
living together as brothers is certainly strengthened by such
events in which we can recognize our disagreements and continuing
need for spiritual growth, but in which we can also celebrate
the blessings of belonging to a religious family and encourage
one another in our common effort to follow Jesus Christ as his
disciples, and to serve His people through the testimony of our
religious lives.
Fr. John Gruben, OAR
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