The CEAR presidents have discussed the 2021 programming and assessed the progress of projects at their last meeting.
The CEARs have faced in this 2020, as all the population, a great challenge to the pandemic. This and other topics were discussed in the meeting that the CEAR presidents have had with the president of RedCEAR, Javier Monroy. The meeting, held telematically, evaluated the fruits generated in the meetings in Mexico (2018) and Rio de Janeiro (2019), shared the path taken by each of the CEARs and programmed the new year.
From November 30 to December 3, the presidents of the CEARs of Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Spain and Venezuela shared the different activities they have had throughout the year. The dissemination of the Augustinian Recollect spirituality in this time of pandemic has favored the courses of human growth, the deepening of various Augustinian aspects and has also facilitated some solidarity activities.
Javier Monroy recalled on the first day how these centers of spirituality are ministries of evangelization of the Order, whose coordination is shared between lay and religious. They are a new form of presence within the Church, whose objective is to listen to and dialogue with the people of today, they facilitate ecclesial communion and spread our charism.
Throughout the days there was reflection on how to organize an internal structure of quality that facilitates the fulfillment of the objectives in each of the areas of evangelization. With the experience of those present, some lines of action were shared for the different areas of CEAR: human growth, Augustinian experiences of God, formation of leaders and coordinators in the ecclesial field mainly, accompaniment with a professional requirement and the actions that are being carried out from CEAR with the national ARCORES were mentioned.
The participation of religious and lay people is established by teams of coordinators and teams of collaborators who are the ones who elaborate the annual action plan and who organize the different activities throughout the year.
The meeting also clarified what RedCEAR is. It is an organism made up of religious and lay people that seeks communion among the different centers of spirituality that are growing all over the world and that intends to support and relate all CEARs. Furthermore, it wants to show that it is a common charismatic brand. To do so, it has the international support of the General Curia to spread the Augustinian Recollect spirituality in the media facilitating and simplifying the work in the network.
On the last day of the meeting, the Prior General was present and he invited us to work on the formation of the laity and to continue being creative in the centers of spirituality by offering something of ours that will help create communion and fraternity as Pope Francis is continually inviting us to do.
The meeting ended with an invitation to continue this ministry and to implement new areas that will help consolidate these centers, as well as a plan to follow up on the CEARs with meetings via telematics with the teams that make up these centers of spirituality.