The Seminary of San Ezequiel Moreno in Pozos de Santa Ana (Costa Rica) is a place practically joint to the City of San Jose. Between the 14th to the 26th of January, a group of 37 religious, coming from 12 countries, studies on how how to give unity and solidity to the formation of the future Augustinian Recollects in 27 houses of formation and in the three half-way houses of the Order around the world.
Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Mexico, USA, Philippines – accommodate presently 447 young men who want to become Augustinian Recollects. The majority of the vocation come from the Philippines and America, although there are some europeans, Chinese, and Indians. In the first stage of formation, the aspirancy, there are 103 candidates. One step higher is the postulancy, where presently the Order is caring for 205 candidates. Coming next is the Novitiate, the stage where 22 young men are being accommodated; and lastly, the study of theology, as simple professed with temporal vows – 117 religious are presently found in this particular stage.
Integral
The General Secretariat of Formation took charge of organizing this gathering, highlighted in the process of revitalization and restructuring which now has set the Order ablaze. With these sessions of study and discussions among all the formators we dare to strengthen, from the communion and communication, the formative process. The main objective really is to give unity and solidity in the Augustinian Recollect Formation.
At work The participants in the gathering bore in mind the orientations of the Church for the formation of the candidates to the priestly and religious life.”We want to offer to our formands a wholistic formation which, from the Augustinian Recollect Charisma, will lead them to the real encounter with Christ, and will help them grow in the formative process, and will empower them to move on in their mission in the Church,” thus, emphasized Fr. Jose Ramon Perez, the president of the Secretariat.
The gathering revolved around the details of four subject matters: the personal accompaniment, the Itinerary of Augustinian Recollect Formation (IFAR), the elaboration of program of Formation Proper for each stage in Initial Formation (Aspirancy, Postulancy, Novitiate, Post-Novitiate) and the exchange of formative experiences.
A Message from Fr. General
The Prior General, Miguel Miro, addressed a message, especially directed and incisive, in which the determining role of the formator to revitalize the Order was insisted on. He placed the key to the Renewal in the Charismatic Identity, without which we take the risk of derailing: ” We have to be clear what North Star to follow. If this North Star is ambiguous and vaguely defined, and not communicated, then each organ of the Order should have its particular objective and its own vision.”
And in the danger of scattering, he insisted in a very concrete and urgent expression: “If each province or house of formation only executes which it deems as its own priority and objectives, if we allow ourselves to be carried by our personalism, by our group or national interest, if we look for condescendence, if we satisfy the comfort and the isolation to the detriment of the requirement of the common charism and the missionary dimension, it will be difficult to elaborate plans, programs, or common objectives for all the provinces, and, far from the communion which we need, we will be tending towards the dispersion of efforts.”
Hence; the message of the Prior General is converted into a manifest of favor towards the communion in this concrete field within the Order. Miro hopes that the meeting in Costa Rica establish “a demanding common itinerary which will pave the personal unity of religious.” And, while thanking them for their work, he places the formators in front of the concrete reality of the Order, and, without any further ado, raises them the question of utmost interest: “What criteria should be established for the viability of an Augustinian Recollect Formation House?”