Fr. Beaumont was at the time of his election the vicar of the Province and the director of Colegio Augustiniano in Madrid where he had spent almost twenty years of his life. Aside from education, the new provincial was also engaged in formation, especially in the Philosophate and the Theologate in Torrent (Valencia, Spain). He willingly accommodated us for an interview for the website of the Order.
Q. What do you think is the main thrust pointed out by the Provincial Chapter for the new triennium?
R. It is to put dynamism into our spiritual life and decisively resolve the global issue of reengineering that will help us live better our charism and accomplish our mission within the Church and in the society.
Q. How do you put dynamism into the spiritual life of the communities?
R. If only we had the solution we would not have entertained the same problem in every chapter we hold. We continue without any definitive solution even though it affects all Orders and congregations. In my opinion, the spiritual life of the community has to be built on the human foundation of maturity, balance, serenity, respect towards each one’s idiosyncrasies, ability for dialogue, etc. Without these I see the difficulty of having the quality demanded by our fraternal and intercommunitarian relationships. And of course we have to live our relationships based on the gospel vision of charity. If only the love of charity were possessed by each religious and in every community we live in “cor unum”, such things as individualisms, “being well established”, “stagnancy”, depressions, and disappointments would have been gone. They portray a low quality of life.
Less religious
Q. What do you mean by reengineering the Province?
R. To answer this question is quite hard for me because it was studied by the precapitular commission and some suggestions were presented to the Chapter which were not acted upon by the latter, as usually done with complex issues, leaving the decision to the Provincial and his Council. Why do the Chapter and myself find it difficult? Because we are few religious, with higher age level and the same apostolates. Some find the solution in closing ministries, others in the re-shuffling of the religious assignments to uproot those who are so entrenched in their positions. Of course, the re-structuring should follow the serious analysis of the situation of every houseand of the nations where we find ourselves and following as well the objectives we have set for ourselves – feasibility, pastoral considerations, communitarian growth, economic sustainability, vocation promotion… There is a need to keep searching for solutions and have the courage to make decisions that might even be painful for some.
Beacon of Hope
Q.- How can the next general chapter contribute towards a renewed spirit among the religious in living the Augustinian Recollect charism, the community life, and the evangelizing mission?
R.- Of course, the General Chapter is supposed to serve as a beacon of hope. But I am convinced that if each province does not put premium on what I mentioned earlier, everything will just remain as cute projects. It is true that the role of the General Chapter is to provide means so that each province may work out for that yearned for quality Augustinian Recollect kind of life, quality community life, and the dream of gospel-witnessing. I would like to ask the General Chapter to nourish, promote and facilitate among the religious and the communities the value, courage, creativity and holiness of the founder as the apt response fo the signs of the times prevalent in the world today.
Personal Maturity
Q. You have been a formator. Which do you think are the areas that need to be tackled in the initial and continuous formation of the religious?
R. I think we have to be more demanding with respect to some basic requirements both in the selection and formation of the candidates to the religious life. I reiterate the importance of working on the human foundation upon which we can construct a balanced personality in both material and spiritual dimensions. A spirituality that is not prepared for a community life and is lacking in affective balance and wanting in personal maturity is destined to personal frustration and uneasiness in the community. With regards to continuous formation, means and possibilities abound. In our case, there is a need to come up with a program of formation that is practical and doable, not huge programs whose implementation is not feasible.
Lay Substitute
Q. In the schools, a change is happening wherein the lay are getting more and more tasks that used to belong to the religious. Don’t you think formation is important for the professors in order to respond to the challenges of evangelization in the framework of S. Augustine
R. The very question carries within itself the solution. If the take over of the lay is not accompanied by a special formation that orients the professors with the government and our specific character, they run the risk of simply imparting knowledge with truly educating and even sacrifice the evangelizing mission of the school. We should not forget that the religious have the evangelizing vocation and we made a profession of it. The challenge is very important within the short term. We cannot disregard any means of providing formation for those who would occupy significant positions and formation on our specific character as Augustinian Recollect schools. (Soon they will be attending our chapters and they are not going to be considered strangers). We are going to count on them in dealing with the future of our educational apostolate meant to evangelize culture.
Q. May we know your wishes as prior provincial?
R.- That God may give me good health, enthusiasm and help to respond to the challenges and the ordinances which the Chapter entrusted to my care for implementation. I hope that my brother religious help me in this task. Without them and the help of God there is nothing I can achieve.