The Revitalization Team, made up of Fr Enrique A.Eguiarte, Fr Pablo Panedas, Fr Lauro Larlar, Fr Jairo Soto, Fr Carlos Gonzalez, and Fr Carlos Maria Dominguez, met in the General Curia in Romefrom the 18th to the 22nd of March. The plan was to evaluate the activities planned for 2013 and 2014, such as the Augustinian spiritual exercises and the St Augustine Prayer Workshops, and which at present are being implemented throughout all the jurisdictions of the Order.
With this aim in view, they discussed the various series of spiritual exercises given in the Order’s different regions (Brazil,Mexico,Peru,Spain, andVenezuela), within the plan drawn up by the team under the title ‘Revitalization and Evangelization’.
The experience of the exercises planned for this year, under the theme ‘Revitalization and the Fraternal Life in Common’, was evaluated too. To date, ten series of exercises have been offered in various jurisdictions of the order (Brazil,Mexico,Peru,Spain, andVenezuela), using the material designed by the team last year, and there are many others in the pipeline before the end of this year.
During the meeting, a review and evaluation was also made of the St Augustine Prayer Workshops, likewise designed by the team last year. They came to the conclusion that these Workshops have been very well received in all geographical zones of the Order, and in some places have been introduced with particular vigour. In these places, it has proved necessary to form several groups because of the great number of people wanting to experience them.
Planning the exercises for 2015.
Afterwards, the planning of the themes and dynamics for the 2015 exercises was addressed, under the title ‘Revitalization and Interiority’. The intention was to respond to the wishes and comments received by the team from those who had taken part in the exercises with this framework during 2013 and the first months of 2014.
Another important points of the meeting was the presentation of the finalized programme for the on-line Diploma in Augustinian Spirituality which will begin on 23rd April, as part of the academic options offered by the university run by the Augustinian Recollects inBogota (Colombia). The course director, Fr Jairo Soto, delivered a presentation concerning the logistical mechanisms and the information platform on which the Diploma has been set up. He also covered the ten modules which make up the course, the dynamic to be followed, and the necessary requirements for following this course on-line.
Lastly, they evaluated the training sessions held for the ‘multipliers’ of the spiritual exercises and workshops, held throughout the Order in 2013. They also planned the meetings which will follow up all this during 2014, underlining the idea of being able to set up an international network of capacitators (both for spiritual exercises and for St Augustine Prayer Workshops), as well as the importance of giving some sort of badge to the capacitators to help strengthen their Augustinian Recollect identity.