A week of deep listening, of body and soul. This is how the younger Augustinian Recollects lived the first stage of their meeting in Rome, where spirituality, formation and fraternal life were intertwined in a journey of interior and communitarian transformation.
Young Recollects: body, soul and community in an intense week
From the Philippines, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Spain and other countries, the youngest Augustinian Recollects from
Augustinian Recollects gathered in Rome
gathered in Rome for a week of deep formation. The eternal city was the scene of an intense process of spiritual renewal, interiority, listening and healing.
Each day began with the
Eucharistic celebration
presided over by different friars in Spanish, Portuguese and English. Javier Monrroy, the director of the meeting, who emphasized that
ongoing formation is not a list of studies, but a process of discernment
He emphasized that ongoing formation is not a list of studies, but a process of continuous discernment so that our restless hearts remain centered on God.
Dreaming the Kingdom from within
The first day culminated with a
symbolic workshop with LEGO
Alfonso Dávila, where the participants expressed their fears, hopes and desires about life in community. Under the title The Dreams of the Kingdom of God, the exercise allowed to translate into form and color what is often difficult to say in words.
Neurobiology and faith: recognizing in order to heal
The following days were guided by
Oscar and Erica
from the
Newman Institute of Mexico
who introduced an innovative formation:
neurobiology applied to religious life.
. Through emotional and bodily dynamics, participants reflected on how the body remembers and expresses wounds that have not yet been healed.
The workshops helped to identify automatic reactions, recognize one’s “safe spaces” and connect the body’s language with the spiritual life.
connect the language of the body with the spiritual life.
. The key: listening with compassion, without judgment, to welcome all that is part of our personal and community history.
“Our traumas speak in the body and in our relationships”.
reminded the facilitators. Healing requires time, depth… and fraternity.
One mind, many voices: integrating for living
The third day focused on the inner multiplicity
inner multiplicity
. Friar Danilo de Souza presided the mass in Portuguese and Friar Rafael Ferreira gave a sermon focused on the integration of the self. The inner voices are not a problem, but a sacred ground to learn to listen to.
The idea of trauma as a fragmented memory
fragmented memory
The emotions are there, but the images do not appear. From there, the younger Augustinian Recollects reflected on how to live an incarnated spirituality.
an incarnated spirituality
where the body is also an expression of faith and redeemed history.
The polyvagal theory: the body also prays
On Thursday, the friars of the Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno
Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno
presided at the Eucharist, and the friars delved deeper into the
polyvagal theory
which explains how the nervous system regulates our emotions. Understanding the body as a sacred space also allows us to understand from another perspective what happens to us,
to understand from another perspective what happens to us.
.
Biases, wounds and a Church in need of healing
The last workshop with the Newman Institute addressed a sensitive topic:
How personal traumas are also reflected in ecclesial life.
. They talked about
religious biases
The unconscious attitudes that mark the way of living the faith and that must be recognized in order to be healed in the light of the Gospel.
Genazzano and Assisi: faith made pilgrimage
Over the weekend, the Augustinian Recollects went on pilgrimage to two particularly significant places. On Saturday they arrived at the
Sanctuary of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, where they renewed their religious consecration before Mary, the Mother of Good Counsel.
where they renewed their religious consecration before Mary, the Mother of Good Counsel.
On Sunday, the pilgrimage culminated at
Assisi
the birthplace of
St. Francis
,
St. Clare
and of the young
Carlo Acutis
. A place where evangelical radicalism, purity of heart and youthful holiness continue to resonate strongly.